Sharing HARQ processes by multiple configured grant resources

Abstract

To provide a method, device, apparatus and computer-readable storage medium for sharing HARQ processes by multiple configured grant resources.SOLUTION: In the method, a network device transmits information concerning the multiple configured grant resources and a common pool HARQ process to a terminal device. Further, for one of the multiple configured grant resources, the terminal device selects a HARQ process from the common pool of HARQ processes. In this way, the throughput is improved and low latency for high priority data is ensured.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications, and more particularly to methods, devices, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for sharing a Hybrid Automatically Repeat Request (HARQ) process by multiple configured grant resources. [Background technology]

[0002] With the development of communication systems, new techniques are proposed. For example, in order to reduce the waste of periodically allocated resources, communication systems allow multiple devices to share periodic resources, called configured grants. A base station allocates configured grant resources to multiple terminal devices, and the terminal devices randomly utilize the resources when they have data to transmit. By allocating configured grant resources, the communication system eliminates the packet transmission delay of the scheduling request procedure and increases the utilization ratio of the allocated periodic radio resources. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In general, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method for sharing multiple configured grant resources and corresponding HARQ processing by communication devices.

[0004] In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code, together with the at least one processor, cause the first device to receive information indicating a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes from a second device at the first device. The plurality of HARQ processes are shared by the plurality of configured grant resources. The first device is also configured to select a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes in response to determining that data needs to be transmitted on one of the plurality of configured grant resources. The first device is further configured to transmit data to the second device on one of the plurality of configured grant resources using the selected HARQ process.

[0005] In a second aspect, a second device is provided. The second device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code, together with the at least one processor, cause the second device to generate information indicating a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes at the second device. The plurality of HARQ processes are shared by the plurality of configured grant resources. The second device is also adapted to transmit information to the first device. The second device is further adapted to receive data from the first device on one of the plurality of configured grant resources using a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes.

[0006] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method includes receiving, at a first device, information indicating a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes from a second device. The plurality of HARQ processes are shared by the plurality of configured grant resources. The method also includes selecting a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes in response to determining that data needs to be transmitted on one of the plurality of configured grant resources. The method further includes transmitting data to the second device on one of the plurality of configured grant resources using the selected HARQ process.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes generating, at a second device, information indicative of a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. The plurality of HARQ processes are shared by the plurality of configured grant resources. The method further includes transmitting the information to the first device. The method also includes receiving data from the first device on (at) one of the plurality of configured grant resources using a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises means for receiving, at a first device, information indicating a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes from a second device. The plurality of HARQ processes are shared by the plurality of configured grant resources. The apparatus also comprises means for selecting a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes in response to determining that data needs to be transmitted on one of the plurality of configured grant resources. The apparatus further includes means for transmitting data to the second device on one of the plurality of configured grant resources using the selected HARQ process.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises means for generating, at a second device, information indicative of a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes. The plurality of HARQ processes are shared by the plurality of configured grant resources. The apparatus also comprises means for transmitting the information to the first device. The apparatus further comprises means for receiving data from the first device on (at) one of the plurality of configured grant resources using a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least a method according to any one of the third to fourth aspects above.

[0011] It should be understood that this Summary of the Invention section is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent through the following description.

[0012] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of interactions between devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] 1 is a flowchart of a method implemented in a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart of a method implemented in a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5]1 is a flowchart of a method implemented in a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart of a method implemented in a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart of a method implemented in a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic diagram of interactions between devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer-readable medium according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements.

[0015] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some examples. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only, to help those skilled in the art to understand and practice the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0016] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, 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 belongs.

[0017] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "one embodiment," "an exemplary embodiment," and the like indicate that the described embodiment describes a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but do not require that all embodiments include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such 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 believed to be within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0018] Terms such as "first" and "second" may be used herein to describe various elements, but it is understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element can be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element can be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of the listed terms.

[0019] The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and are not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprise", "includes", "has", "having", "including", and / or "comprising" specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but are understood not to preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0020] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations containing only analog and / or digital circuitry); and (b) (where applicable) (i) A combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry(s) and software / firmware; and (ii) Any hardware processor (including a digital signal processor), software, and memory that cooperates with software to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or a server, to perform various functions; A combination of hardware circuits and software such as the above, (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processors, such as microprocessors or portions of microprocessors, that require software (e.g., firmware, etc.) for their operation, although the software may be absent if not necessary for operation.

[0021] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As a further example, the term circuitry as used in this application encompasses just a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor, and its associated software and / or firmware implementation. The term circuitry also covers, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or a processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device, if applicable to the particular claim element.

[0022] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network conforming to any suitable wireless communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), New Radio (NR), and the like. Furthermore, communications between user equipment and network devices in a communication network may be performed according to any suitable developed communication protocol, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols now known or developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Considering the rapid development of communication, there are of course future types of communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure can be embodied, which should not be considered as limiting the scope of the present disclosure only to the above-mentioned systems.

[0023] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a wireless communication network through which user equipment accesses the network and receives services therefrom. A network device can refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP), e.g., a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also called gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low power node such as femto or pico, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied.

[0024] The term "terminal device" refers to any end device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be called a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station (PS), mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT).End devices include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cell phones, smartphones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable end devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture end devices such as digital cameras, gaming end devices, music storage and playback equipment, vehicle mounted wireless end devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearables, head-mounted displays (HMDs), and the like. display), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain contexts), consumer electronics devices, devices operating in commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0025] As mentioned above, a technique "configured grant" has been proposed. In New Radio (NR) Release 15 (Rel-15), only one configured grant (CG) per bandwidth part (BWP) can be configured. Some number of HARQ processes out of 16 HARQ processes are configured to be used for CG via RRC signaling, and the terminal device determines which HARQ process is used for a particular CG opportunity based on the slot / symbol number of both type 1 CG (periodicity, physical resource block (PRB) and modulation and coding scheme (MCS) are all configured via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling) and type 2 CG (periodicity is configured via RRC, PRB / MCS ​​is configured via Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) activation / deactivation). The HARQ entity is per cell / carrier, so that when the terminal device is switched to another BWP of the same cell / carrier, HARQ retransmission can continue there. Table 1 below shows the contents in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 38.331 and 38.321 specifications.

[0026] [Table 1-1] [Table 1-2]

[0027] Multiple configured grants (CGs) per BWP are discussed. For example, it is agreed to have different HARQ processes for these multiple configured grants, and when multiple uplink CG or downlink Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS) configurations are configured, an offset for each configuration is needed for the calculation of the HARQ process identity.

[0028] However, HARQ operation in unlicensed NR (NR-U) systems differs slightly from legacy operation because the HARQ process identity used for a CG opportunity is not determined based on timing. The selection of the HARQ process to be used for a configured grant is left to the terminal device. The terminal device then indicates the HARQ process in uplink control information (UCI).

[0029] Multiple CGs per BWP for NR-U are likely to be configured on different Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) subchannels to increase transmission probability. Since the LBT success rate can change dynamically depending on the logical channel occupancy status, semi-statically configuring a certain number of HARQ processes per CG may result in inefficient utilization of HARQ processes and starvation of HARQ processes when the subchannel for CG is overloaded. This results in wastage of CG resources since transport blocks cannot be transmitted when all HARQ processes are waiting for retransmission when the retransmission timer is running. Therefore, a new mechanism is needed for sharing multiple HARQ processes by multiple configured grant resources.

[0030] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of configured grant resources share a common pool of HARQ processes. The network device transmits information about the plurality of configured grant resources and the common pool HARQ processes to the terminal device. Furthermore, for one of the plurality of configured grant resources, the terminal device selects a HARQ process from the common pool of HARQ processes. In this way, throughput is improved and low latency for high priority data is ensured.

[0031] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 in which an embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication system 100 comprises a first device 110 and a second device 120. For illustrative purposes, hereafter the first device 110 can be referred to as a terminal device 110 and the second device 120 can be referred to as a network device 120. It should be noted that the first device and the second device are interchangeable. For example, a procedure described as being implemented in a terminal device may also be implemented in a network device, and a procedure described as being implemented in a network device may also be implemented in a terminal device.

[0032] The link from the second device 120 to the first device 110 may be referred to as the "downlink," and the link from the first device 110 to the second device 120 may be referred to as the "uplink."

[0033] A communication system 100, which is part of a communication network, comprises terminal devices 110-1, 110-2..., 110-N (collectively referred to as "terminal devices 110", where N is an integer). The communication system 100 comprises one or more network devices, such as network device 120. It should be understood that the communication system 100 may also include other elements that are omitted for clarity. It should be understood that the number of terminal devices and network devices shown in FIG. 1 is given for illustrative purposes, without implying any limitation. The terminal devices 110 and the network devices 120 may communicate with each other.

[0034] It should be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is for illustrative purposes only, without implying any limitation, and system 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices adapted to implement embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] Communications in communication system 100 may be performed according to any suitable communications protocol, including, but not limited to, cellular communications protocols such as first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G) and fifth generation (5G), wireless local network communications protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 902.11, and / or any other protocol now known or developed in the future. Further, the communications may utilize any suitable wireless communications 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 Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other technology now known or developed in the future.

[0036] 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of interactions 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The interactions 200 may be implemented in any suitable device. For illustrative purposes only, the interactions 200 are described as being implemented in a terminal device 110-1 and a network device 120.

[0037] The network device 120 generates (2005) information. The information indicates a number of configured grant resources and a number of HARQ processes. The number of configured grant resources share the number of HARQ processes. The information may include identities of the number of configured grant resources and identities of the number of HARQ processes. In this manner, sharing the number of HARQ processes increases throughput and allows the configured grants to use more processes than their respective fixed number. If there is no transmission data for the configured grants, no processes are consumed.

[0038] The configured grant resource can be a periodic resource shared by the terminal devices. The term "configured grant (CG)" refers to grant-free resources in the uplink, meaning that pre-configured UE-specific resources are used for UE UL transmissions without dynamic scheduling / grant. HARQ can be used in stop / wait mode or selective repeat mode. Stop / wait is simpler but has reduced efficiency due to waiting for receiver acknowledgement. For this reason, multiple stop / wait HARQ processes are often actually parallel, and when one process is waiting for an acknowledgement, another process can transmit some further data using a logical channel. A logical channel is defined by the type of information it carries.

[0039] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine configured grant resources and allocate them to the terminal device 110-1. The network device 120 may also determine the number of HARQ processes based on one or more conditions. For example, the conditions may include one or more of quality of service, traffic volume, and service type.

[0040] In some embodiments, the information may include one or more rules for determining the priority of the data to be transmitted, details of which are provided below.

[0041] The network device 120 transmits information to the terminal device 110-1 (2010). In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may determine (2015) that data needs to be transmitted on one of a plurality of configured grant resources. For example, the terminal device 110-1 may determine that a certain type of service needs to be transmitted on the configured grant resource. The data may belong to a logical channel that uses the configured grant resource. The data may arrive in a buffer of the terminal device 110-1.

[0042] The terminal device 110-1 selects a HARQ process from the multiple HARQ processes (2020). The terminal device 110-1 may determine an available HARQ process (among the multiple HARQ processes) in the multiple HARQ processes (2025). For example, when selecting a HARQ process for a configured grant resource, the terminal device 110-1 may determine whether a HARQ process from a common pool is available for a new transmission / retransmission based on a timer of the HARQ process. For example, the timer may be a ConfiguredGrantTimer and a CG retransmission timer status of the corresponding HARQ process. In some embodiments, multiple configured grant resources may be considered as one configured grant, so that a retransmission may be made in a different configured grant resource than the initial transmission if the resources provide the same transmission block size.

[0043] The ConfiguredGrantTimer and the CG retransmission timer are maintained for each HARQ process to determine whether the HARQ process is available for new transmission / retransmission. When the CG retransmission timer is running, the terminal device 110-1 may wait for a potential HARQ feedback or uplink grant and thus cannot use the HARQ process for either automatic retransmission or new transmission in the CG resource. When the ConfiguredGrantTimer is running, the terminal device 110-1 may wait for a dynamic uplink grant and cannot use the HARQ process for new transmission. The ConfiguredGrantTimer may be configured longer than the CG retransmission timer because the terminal device 110-1 should be allowed to attempt at least one retransmission in the configured grant resource before the corresponding transmission block is dropped and an ACK is assumed in the terminal device 110-1.

[0044] In some embodiments, the information may explicitly indicate which of the HARQ processes may be used by one or more of the configured grant resources. Alternatively or additionally, the information may explicitly indicate which of the HARQ processes may be used by logical channels / channel groups having a priority higher than a threshold priority and / or which of the HARQ processes may be used by logical channels / channel groups having a priority lower than a threshold priority.

[0045] In one embodiment, the terminal device 110-1 can determine the number of available HARQ processes. In a situation where the number is less than a threshold number, the terminal device 110-1 can determine the priority of the data to be transmitted. If the priority of the data exceeds the threshold priority, the terminal device 110-1 can select a HARQ process from a plurality of HARQ processes. The threshold number can be obtained from information. Alternatively, the threshold number can be predefined. In this way, it is ensured that data with high priority can be transmitted. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 can check the number of HARQ processes used to transmit low priority data, i.e., data belonging to a logical channel / channel group having a priority less than a second threshold priority. In this situation, if the number of HARQ processes used to transmit low priority data less than the threshold number is less than the threshold number, the transmission of data with low priority is allowed. "Low priority data" or "data with low priority" refers to data belonging to a logical channel / logical channel group having a priority lower than the threshold priority. "High priority data" or "data having high priority" refers to data belonging to a logical channel / logical channel group that has a priority above a threshold priority.

[0046] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may extract (2030) a criterion for the selection of a HARQ process from the information. For example, to increase the chance of having free HARQ processes for transmitting high priority data in the configured grant resources, the criterion may indicate that a subset of HARQ processes within the multiple HARQ processes for the CG may be used only for transmission of high priority data. Low priority transmissions may be limited to HARQ processes outside of that subset of the multiple HARQ processes for the CG.

[0047] The terminal device 110-1 may determine a first set of HARQ processes based on the information (2035). The first set of HARQ processes may be used for data having a priority higher than a threshold priority. Alternatively, or in addition, the terminal device 110-1 may determine a second set of HARQ processes based on the information (2040). Data having a priority lower than the threshold priority may use only the second set of HARQ processes. In other words, transmission in the configured grant resources of data belonging to a logical channel having a priority lower than the threshold priority may use only the second set of HARQ processes.

[0048] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may determine a priority of the data (2045). The terminal device 110-1 may determine a service type to which the data belongs and determine a priority based on the service type. In other embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 may determine a priority of a logical channel to which the data belongs (2050). The terminal device 110-1 may determine a priority of the data based on other rules. For example, the terminal device 110-1 may determine whether the data includes any MAC control elements (CEs) for high priority traffic (e.g., buffer status reports for high priority logical channels). If the data includes a MAC CE for high priority traffic, it may be determined that the data has a high priority. Alternatively, the terminal device 110-1 may determine a priority of the data based on a buffered time of the data. For example, the terminal device 110-1 may determine how long the data has been waiting in a buffer and increase the priority of the data if the buffered time exceeds a threshold time.

[0049] In other embodiments, the priority of data can be determined based on the time remaining until the delivery deadline. For example, terminal device 110-1 can determine how much time is left until the data is due for delivery. If the time remaining is less than a threshold, the priority can be increased.

[0050] In another embodiment, the priority of the data may be determined based on Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) duplication. If the data is a duplication, the terminal device 110-1 may determine how far along it is in comparison to the counterpart leg. If the data is lagging to a certain extent relative to the counterpart leg, the priority may be increased. It should be noted that the priority of the data may be determined based on any suitable rule. The rule may be pre-configured. Alternatively, or in addition, the rule may be determined by the network device 120 and transmitted in the information, as described above.

[0051] In this situation, the terminal device 110-1 can compare the priority of the data in one of the multiple configured grant resources with a threshold priority. The threshold priority can be derived from information. Alternatively, the threshold priority can be predetermined. If the priority of the data exceeds the threshold priority, the terminal device 110-1 can select a HARQ process from the first set of HARQ processes. In another embodiment, if the priority of the logical channel to which the data belongs exceeds (exceeds) the threshold priority, the terminal device 110-1 can select a HARQ process from the first set of HARQ processes.

[0052] Alternatively, if the priority of the data is less than the threshold priority, the terminal device 110-1 may select a HARQ process from the second set of HARQ processes. In other embodiments, if the priority of the logical channel to which the data belongs is less than the threshold priority, the terminal device 110-1 may select a HARQ process from the second set of HARQ processes. In some embodiments, the second set may be a subset of the first set of HARQ processes. In some embodiments, the information may indicate that a third set of HARQ processes is used for one of the multiple configured grant resources. If the data is to transmit using one of the multiple configured grant resources, the terminal device 110-1 may select a HARQ process from the third set of HARQ processes.

[0053] In an exemplary embodiment, the terminal device 110-1 may select a HARQ process based on the configured grant resource. For example, the information may indicate that one or more HARQ processes may be used for a particular configured grant resource. Details of the exemplary embodiment are described in detail with reference to FIG.

[0054] Terminal device 110-1 transmits (2055) data on one of the multiple configured grant resources to network device 120. In this manner, data having a high priority can be transmitted with low latency.

[0055] 3 shows a flowchart of a method 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 300 may be implemented in any suitable device. For illustrative purposes only, the method 300 is described as being implemented in a terminal device 110-1. It should be noted that the method 440 may also be implemented in a network device 120.

[0056] In block 310, the terminal device 110-1 receives information from the network device 120. The information indicates a number of configured grant resources and a number of HARQ processes. The number of HARQ processes are shared by the number of configured grant resources. The information may include identities of the number of configured grant resources and identities of the number of HARQ processes. In this manner, sharing the number of HARQ processes increases throughput and allows the configured grants to use more processes than their respective fixed number. If there is no transmission data for the configured grant, no processes are consumed.

[0057] By way of example only, there may be two configured grant resources (e.g., CG#1 and CG#2) configured for the bandwidth portion of the serving cell, which may share 10 HARQ processes. It should be noted that the number of configured grant resources and HARQ processes is merely an example and not a limitation.

[0058] When the subchannel corresponding to CG#1 is overloaded, the terminal device 110-1 cannot transmit many transport blocks and thus does not consume too many HARQ processes. During the cases when the subchannel corresponding to CG#1 is not overloaded, the terminal device 110-1 can continue to use CG resources to transmit new transport blocks in different HARQ processes while waiting for HARQ feedback for other transport blocks of other HARQ processes, and thus the terminal device 110-1 can use more HARQ processes from the common pool.

[0059] In block 320, the terminal device 110-1 selects a HARQ process from the multiple HARQ processes if it determines that data needs to be transmitted on one of the multiple configured grant resources. For example, the terminal device 110-1 may determine that a certain type of service needs to be transmitted on the configured grant resources. The data may be transmitted in a logical channel that uses the configured grant resources.

[0060] The terminal device 110-1 may determine an available HARQ process (among the multiple HARQ processes) in the multiple HARQ processes. For example, when selecting a HARQ process for a configured grant resource, the terminal device 110-1 may determine whether a HARQ process from a common pool is available for a new transmission / retransmission based on a timer of the HARQ process.

[0061] In some embodiments, the information may explicitly indicate which of the HARQ processes may be used by the set of configured grant resources. Alternatively or additionally, the information may explicitly indicate which of the HARQ processes may be used by logical channels / channel groups having a high priority and / or which of the HARQ processes may be used by channels / channel groups having a low priority.

[0062] In one embodiment, the terminal device 110-1 can determine the number of available HARQ processes. In a situation where the number is less than a threshold number, the terminal device 110-1 can determine a priority of data in one of the multiple configured grant resources. If the priority exceeds (is above) the threshold priority, the terminal device 110-1 can select a HARQ process from the multiple HARQ processes. The threshold number can be derived from information. Alternatively, the threshold number can be predefined. In this way, it is ensured that data with high priority can be transmitted.

[0063] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 can extract a criterion for the selection of a HARQ process from the information. For example, to increase the chance of having a free HARQ process for transmitting a high priority service in the configured grant resource, the criterion can indicate that a subset of HARQ processes within the multiple HARQ processes for the CG can be used only for high priority transmissions. Low priority transmissions can be limited to HARQ processes outside of that subset.

[0064] The terminal device 110-1 may determine a first set of HARQ processes based on the information. The first set of HARQ processes may be used for configured grant resources having a priority higher than a threshold priority. Alternatively, or in addition, the terminal device 110-1 may determine a second set of HARQ processes based on the information. Data having a priority lower than the threshold priority is only allowed to use the second set of HARQ processes. The second set of HARQ processes may be a subset of the first set of HARQ processes.

[0065] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 can determine a priority of the data in one of the multiple configured grant resources based on the information. Alternatively, or in addition, the terminal device 110-1 can determine a service type to which the data belongs and determine the priority based on the service type. In other embodiments, the terminal device 110-1 can determine a priority of a logical channel to which the data belongs. A logical channel is defined by the type of information it carries.

[0066] In this situation, the terminal device 110-1 can compare the priority of the data with the threshold priority. The threshold priority can be obtained from information. Alternatively, the threshold priority can be predetermined. If the priority of the data exceeds the threshold priority, the terminal device 110-1 can select a HARQ process from the first set of HARQ processes. In another embodiment, if the priority of the logical channel to which the data belongs exceeds the threshold priority, the terminal device 110-1 can select a HARQ process from the first set of HARQ processes.

[0067] Alternatively, if the priority of the data is less than the threshold priority, the terminal device 110-1 may select a HARQ process from the second set of HARQ processes. In another embodiment, if the priority of the logical channel to which the data belongs is less than the threshold priority, the terminal device 110-1 may select a HARQ process from the second set of HARQ processes.

[0068] 4 shows a flowchart of a method 400 for selecting a HARQ process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, CG#1 can be used for transmission of a high priority service (e.g., logical channel #1), and CG#2 can be used for transmission of a low priority service (e.g., logical channel #2). A pool of N HARQ processes can be configured to ensure that CG#2 can be used in a maximum of X HARQ processes, which means that NX HARQ processes in the pool are served for CG#1. It should be noted that the numbers N and X can be any suitable integers.

[0069] In block 410, terminal device 110-1 determines that data needs to be transmitted on CG#2 (channel #2). The data may arrive in a buffer of terminal device 110-1. The data belongs to a logical channel with priority.

[0070] In block 420, terminal device 110-1 determines whether there is an available HARQ process for CG#2. In this example, CG#2 is only permitted to select from the second set of HARQ processes. For example, if there is no available HARQ process, terminal device 110-1 may proceed to the next occurrence of CG#2 in block 430.

[0071] If there is an available HARQ process among the X HARQ processes, then in block 440, terminal device 110-1 selects an HARQ process from the available HARQ processes.

[0072] 5 shows a flowchart of a method 500 for selecting a HARQ process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this situation, CG#2 can select any of N HARQ processes under the condition that there are at least Y available HARQ processes. It should be noted that the numbers N, X and Y can be any suitable integers.

[0073] In block 510, terminal device 110-1 determines that data needs to be transmitted on CG#2 (channel #2). The data may arrive in a buffer of terminal device 110-1. The data belongs to a logical channel with priority.

[0074] In block 520, the terminal device 110-1 determines whether the number of available HARQ processes is higher than a threshold number, which may be represented as Y. The threshold number may be any suitable number. For example, if the number of available HARQ processes is less than Y, in block 530, the terminal device 110-1 may proceed to the next occurrence of CG#2. The threshold number may be determined by a network device and transmitted to the terminal device. The threshold number may also be predetermined in the terminal device.

[0075] If the number of available HARQ processes is higher than Y, then in block 540, terminal device 110-1 selects an HARQ process from the available HARQ processes.

[0076] 6 shows a flowchart of a method 600 for selecting a HARQ process according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, the maximum number of HARQ processes used simultaneously by CG#2 may be Z. It should be noted that the number Z may be any suitable integer.

[0077] In block 610, terminal device 110-1 determines that data needs to be transmitted on CG#2 (channel #2). The data may arrive in a buffer of terminal device 110-1. The data belongs to a logical channel with priority.

[0078] In block 620, the terminal device 110-1 determines whether the number of HARQ processes used by CG#2 is higher than a threshold number, which may be represented as Z. The threshold number may be any suitable number. For example, if the number of HARQ processes used by CG#2 is higher than Z, in block 630, the terminal device 110-1 may proceed to the next occurrence of CG#2. The threshold number may be determined by a network device and transmitted to the terminal device. The threshold number may also be predetermined in the terminal device.

[0079] If the number of HARQ processes used by CG#2 is less than Z, then in block 630, terminal device 110-1 selects a HARQ process from the available HARQ processes.

[0080] Referring back to FIG. 3, the terminal device 110-1 transmits data to the network device 120 on one of a number of configured grant resources. In this way, data with high priority can be transmitted with low latency. The embodiments of the present disclosure increase throughput to allow the configured grant resources to use more processes than a fixed number of each. If there is no data to transmit for a configured grant resource, no processes are consumed. On the other hand, by reserving a certain number of processes for the configured grant resource, low latency of high priority data is ensured.

[0081] 7 shows a flowchart of a method 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 700 may be implemented in any suitable device. For illustrative purposes only, the method 700 is described as being implemented in the network device 120. It should be noted that the method 700 may also be implemented in the terminal device 110-1.

[0082] In block 710, the network device 120 generates information. The information indicates a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of HARQ processes. The plurality of configured grant resources share a plurality of HARQ processes. The information may include identities of the plurality of configured grant resources and identities of the plurality of HARQ processes. In this manner, sharing a plurality of HARQ processes increases throughput and allows the configured grants to use more processes than a fixed number of each. If there is no data to transmit for the configured grant, no processes are consumed. The configured grant resources may be periodic resources shared by the terminal devices.

[0083] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine configured grant resources and allocate them to the terminal device 110-1. The network device 120 may also determine the number of HARQ processes based on one or more conditions. For example, the conditions may include one or more of quality of service, traffic volume, and type of service.

[0084] In an example embodiment, the network device 120 may generate a threshold number of available HARQ processes. The information may indicate the threshold number. If the number of available HARQ processes is less than the threshold number, data having a high priority may be guaranteed and data having a low priority may be omitted. The network device 120 may generate information indicating a priority of a plurality of configured grant resources. The network device 120 may also generate a threshold priority of the data.

[0085] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may generate information indicative of a first set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes. The first set of HARQ processes may be used for transmissions having a priority higher than a threshold priority. Alternatively, or in addition, the network device 120 may generate information indicative of a second set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes. Transmissions having a priority less than the threshold priority may only be allowed to select from the second set of HARQ processes. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may also generate a threshold priority.

[0086] At block 720, the network device 120 transmits information to the terminal device 110-1. In some embodiments, the information may explicitly indicate which of the HARQ processes may be used by one or more of the configured grant resources. Alternatively, or in addition, the information may explicitly indicate which of the HARQ processes may be used by channels / channel groups having a higher priority and / or which of the HARQ processes may be used by channels / channel groups having a lower priority.

[0087] In some embodiments, the information may include criteria for the selection of HARQ processes from the information. For example, to increase the chance of having a free HARQ process for transmitting high priority services in the configured grant resources, the criteria may indicate that a subset of HARQ processes within the multiple HARQ processes for the CG may be used only for high priority transmissions. Low priority transmissions may be restricted to HARQ processes outside of that subset.

[0088] At block 730, the network device 120 receives data from the terminal device 110-1 on one of the multiple configured grant resources using an HARQ process, which may be selected from multiple HARQ processes by the terminal device 110-1.

[0089] As mentioned above, Fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram of an interaction 800 for selecting a HARQ process based on which CG the resource belongs to. The network device 120 transmits information to the terminal device 110-1 (8005). A detailed description of the information is given with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 and is omitted here for clarity. By way of example only, there may be two configured grant resources (e.g., CG#1 and CG#2) configured for the bandwidth portion of the serving cell.

[0090] The terminal device 110-1 determines that data is to be transmitted in CG#1 (8010). The information may indicate that a third set of HARQ processes is used for CG#1. Thus, the terminal device 110-1 selects HARQ process #a from the third set of HARQ processes for transmission in CG#1 (8015). The terminal device 110-1 transmits data in CG#1 using HARQ process ID #a (8020). In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit a retransmission uplink grant for HARQ process ID #a to the terminal device 110-1 (8025). The terminal device 110-1 may retransmit data in CG#1 with HARQ process ID #a (8030). It should be noted that the information may indicate that more than one HARQ process may be used for CG#1.

[0091] The terminal device 110-1 determines that further data needs to be transmitted in CG#2 (8035). The information may indicate that a fourth set of HARQ processes is used for CG#2. Thus, the terminal device 110-1 selects HARQ process #b from the fourth set of HARQ processes for transmission in CG#2 (8040). The terminal device 110-1 transmits data in CG#2 having HARQ process ID #b (8045). The fourth set of HARQ processes may be a subset of the third set of HARQ processes.

[0092] In some embodiments, an apparatus for performing the method 300 (e.g., terminal device 110-1) may comprise respective means for performing corresponding steps in the method 300. These means may be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, the means may be implemented by circuitry or software modules.

[0093] In some embodiments, an apparatus comprises: means for receiving, at a first device, information indicating a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes from a second device, the plurality of HARQ processes being shared by the plurality of configured grant resources; means for selecting a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes in response to determining that data needs to be transmitted on (at) one of the plurality of configured grant resources; and means for transmitting data to the second device on (at) one of the plurality of configured grant resources using the selected HARQ process.

[0094] In some embodiments, the means for selecting a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes includes means for extracting, from the information, a criterion for selecting a HARQ process, and means for selecting a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes based on the criterion.

[0095] In some embodiments, the means for selecting an HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes includes means for determining a set of available HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes; means for determining a number of available HARQ processes (among the plurality of HARQ processes) in the plurality of HARQ processes; means for determining a priority of one of the plurality of configured grant resources in response to the number being less than a threshold number; and means for selecting an HARQ process from the available HARQ processes in response to the priority exceeding (exceeding) the threshold priority.

[0096] In some embodiments, the means for selecting an HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes includes means for determining, based on the information, a first set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, where the first set of HARQ processes is to be used for data having a priority higher than a threshold priority, means for determining a priority of the data, and means for selecting an HARQ process from the first set of HARQ processes in response to the priority exceeding (exceeding) the threshold priority.

[0097] In some embodiments, the means for selecting an HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes includes means for determining a second set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes based on the information, where data having a priority below a threshold priority is only allowed to use the second set of HARQ processes, means for determining a priority of the data, and means for selecting an HARQ process from the second set of HARQ processes in response to the priority being below the threshold priority.

[0098] In some embodiments, the means for determining the priority of the data includes means for determining the priority of the data based on at least one of a priority of a logical channel / logical channel group to which the data belongs, a buffered time for the data, or a priority of traffic to which a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) included in the data relates.

[0099] In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for determining, based on the information, a third set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, the third set of HARQ processes to be used for one of the plurality of configured grant resources, and means for selecting a HARQ from the third set of HARQ processes.

[0100] In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for determining, based on the information, a fourth set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, where a third set of HARQ processes is used for a further one of the plurality of configured grant resources, and the fourth set of HARQ processes is a subset of the third set of HARQ processes.

[0101] In some embodiments, the means for selecting a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes includes means for determining a logical channel to which the data belongs, means for determining a number of HARQ processes currently used by the channel, and means for selecting a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes in response to the number being less than a threshold number.

[0102] In some embodiments, the means for selecting an HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes includes means for determining a set of available HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes based on a timer of the plurality of HARQ processes, and means for selecting an HARQ process from the set of available HARQ processes.

[0103] In some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

[0104] In some embodiments, an apparatus for performing method 700 (e.g., network device 120) may comprise respective means for performing corresponding steps in method 700. These means may be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, the means may be implemented by circuitry or software modules.

[0105] In some embodiments, an apparatus comprises means for generating, at a second device, information indicative of a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes, the plurality of HARQ processes being shared by the plurality of configured grant resources; means for transmitting the information to the first device; and means for receiving data from the first device on (at) one of the plurality of configured grant resources using a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes.

[0106] In some embodiments, the means for generating the information includes means for generating criteria for selection of a HARQ process and means for adding the criteria to the information.

[0107] In some embodiments, the means for generating information includes means for generating information indicative of a threshold number of available HARQ processes (among the plurality of HARQ processes).

[0108] In some embodiments, the means for generating information includes means for generating information indicative of a first set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, the first set of HARQ processes being used for data having a priority higher than a threshold priority.

[0109] In some embodiments, the means for generating information includes means for generating information indicative of a second set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, where data having a priority below a threshold priority is only allowed to use the second set of HARQ processes.

[0110] In some embodiments, the means for generating information includes means for generating information indicative of a third set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, the third set of HARQ processes to be used for one of the plurality of configured grant resources.

[0111] In some embodiments, the means for generating information then includes means for generating a threshold priority.

[0112] In some embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

[0113] 9 is a schematic block diagram of a device 900 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 900 can be provided to implement a communication device, such as the network device 120 or the terminal device 110 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 920 coupled to the processor 910, and one or more communication modules (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver (TX / RX)) 940 coupled to the processor 910.

[0114] The communication module 940 is for two-way communication. The communication module 940 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements.

[0115] The processor 910 can be of any type suitable for a local technology network and can include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP) and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 900 can have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0116] The memory 920 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) 924, electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), and other magnetic and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that do not persist while power is off.

[0117] The computer program 930 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 910. The program 930 may be stored in the ROM 924. The processor 910 can load the program 930 into the RAM 922 to perform any suitable operation and processing.

[0118] The embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 930 such that the device 900 can perform any process of the present disclosure described with reference to Figures 2 to 7. The embodiment of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0119] In some embodiments, the program 930 may be tangibly included in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 900 (such as memory 920) or other storage accessible by the device 900. The device 900 may load the program 930 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 922 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. FIG. 9 shows an example of a computer-readable medium 1000 in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer-readable medium has the program 930 stored thereon.

[0120] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may 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 the present disclosure can be illustrated and described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or other diagrammatic representations, it should be understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented in, by way of non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0121] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions that execute on a target real or virtual processor device, such as those included in a program module, to execute the method 400 or 900 described above with reference to FIG. 2-FIG. 5. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split among program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in a local device or in a distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0122] The program codes for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus such that, when the program codes are executed by the processor or controller, it performs the functions / operations defined in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program codes can be executed entirely on the machine, or partly on the machine as a stand-alone software package, or partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0123] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or associated data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0124] The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the above. More specific examples of the computer-readable storage medium include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0125] Furthermore, although operations are shown in a particular order, this should not be interpreted as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown, or sequentially, or that all of the operations shown be performed in order to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although details of several specific implementations are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to certain embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0126] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure, as defined by the appended claims, is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method comprising: receiving, at a terminal device, information indicating a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, processes, the plurality of HARQ processes forming a common pool of HARQ processes shared by the plurality of configured grant resources, the plurality of configured grant resources being comprised of a bandwidth portion; selecting, by the terminal device, a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes; performing, by the terminal device, an initial transmission of data on one of the plurality of configured grant resources using the selected HARQ process; and performing, by the terminal device, a retransmission using the selected HARQ process on one of the configured grant resources different from the one of the initial transmission, the configured grant resources of the initial transmission and the retransmission having the same transmission block size. A method comprising:

2. Selecting the HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes comprises: - extracting from said information a criterion for the selection of said HARQ process; and selecting the HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes based on the criterion; The method of claim 1 , comprising:

3. The selecting of the HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes comprises: determining a set of available HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes; determining a priority of said data; and selecting the HARQ process from the set of available HARQ processes based on the priority of the data; The method of claim 1 , comprising:

4. The priority of the data is the priority of the logical channel / logical channel group to which said data belongs; the time that the data was buffered, or Priority of traffic to which a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) included in said data relates; The method of claim 3 , wherein the determination is based on at least one of:

5. 1. A method comprising: generating, in a network device, information indicative of a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, processes, the plurality of HARQ processes forming a common pool of HARQ processes shared by the plurality of configured grant resources, the plurality of configured grant resources being comprised of a bandwidth portion; transmitting, by the network device, the information to a terminal device; receiving, by the network device, an initial transmission of data from the terminal device on one of the plurality of configured grant resources using a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes; and receiving, by the network device, from the terminal device, a retransmission on one of the plurality of configured grant resources different from the one of the initial transmission using the selected HARQ process, wherein the configured grant resources of the initial transmission and the retransmission have the same transmission block size. A method comprising:

6. The generating of the information comprises: generating a criterion for the selection of the HARQ process; and adding said criteria to said information; The method of claim 5 , comprising:

7. The information is a first set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, the first set of HARQ processes being used for data having a priority higher than a threshold priority; a second set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, where data having a priority lower than a threshold priority is only allowed to use the second set of HARQ processes; a third set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, the third set of HARQ processes being used for one of the plurality of configured grant resources; a threshold number of available HARQ processes within the plurality of HARQ processes; and the threshold priority, The method according to claim 5 or 6, further comprising at least one of the following:

8. A terminal device, comprising: At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code; Equipped with The at least one memory and the computer program code, together with the at least one processor, configure the terminal device to: receiving information indicating a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, processes, the plurality of HARQ processes forming a common pool of HARQ processes shared by the plurality of configured grant resources, the plurality of configured grant resources being configured in a bandwidth portion; selecting a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes; performing an initial transmission of data on one of the plurality of configured grant resources using the selected HARQ process; and performing a retransmission using the selected HARQ process on one of the configured grant resources different from the one of the initial transmission, wherein the configured grant resources of the initial transmission and the retransmission have the same transmission block size. This allows the terminal device to

9. The at least one memory and the computer program code, together with the at least one processor, configure the terminal device to: - extracting from said information criteria for the selection of said HARQ process; and Selecting the HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes based on the criteria. The terminal device according to claim 8, further configured to:

10. The at least one memory and the computer program code, together with the at least one processor, configure the terminal device to: determining a set of available HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes; determining a priority of the data; and selecting the HARQ process from the set of available HARQ processes based on the priority of the data; The terminal device according to claim 8 or 9, further configured to cause

11. The priority of the data is the priority of the logical channel / logical channel group to which said data belongs; the time that the data was buffered, or Priority of traffic involving medium access control, MAC, control element, CE, included in said data; The terminal device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the determination is based on at least one of the following:

12. A terminal device according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the HARQ process is selected when the data needs to be transmitted on one of the plurality of configured grant resources.

13. 1. A network device, comprising: At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code; Equipped with The at least one memory and the computer program code, together with the at least one processor, configure the network device to: generating, in the network device, information indicative of a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, processes, the plurality of HARQ processes forming a common pool of HARQ processes shared by the plurality of configured grant resources, the plurality of configured grant resources being configured in a bandwidth portion; transmitting said information to a terminal device; receiving, from the terminal device, an initial transmission of data on one of the plurality of configured grant resources using a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes; and receiving a retransmission from the terminal device using the selected HARQ process on one of the configured grant resources different from the one of the initial transmission, wherein the configured grant resources of the initial transmission and the retransmission have the same transmission block size. network devices.

14. The information is a first set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, the first set of HARQ processes being used for data having a priority higher than a threshold priority; a second set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, where data having a priority lower than a threshold priority is only allowed to use the second set of HARQ processes; a third set of HARQ processes from the plurality of HARQ processes, the third set of HARQ processes being used for one of the plurality of configured grant resources; a threshold number of available HARQ processes within the plurality of HARQ processes; and the threshold priority, 14. The network device of claim 13, wherein the network device exhibits at least one of:

15. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by at least one processing unit of a terminal device, causing the terminal device to: receiving information indicating a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, processes, the plurality of HARQ processes forming a common pool of HARQ processes shared by the plurality of configured grant resources, the plurality of configured grant resources being configured in a bandwidth portion; selecting a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes; performing an initial transmission of data on one of the plurality of configured grant resources using the selected HARQ process; and performing a retransmission using the selected HARQ process on one of the configured grant resources different from the one of the initial transmission, wherein the configured grant resources of the initial transmission and the retransmission have the same transmission block size. A computer-readable medium for causing

16. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by at least one processing unit of a network device, causing the network device to: generating, in a network device, information indicative of a plurality of configured grant resources and a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, processes, the plurality of HARQ processes forming a common pool of HARQ processes shared by the plurality of configured grant resources, the plurality of configured grant resources being comprised of a bandwidth portion; transmitting said information to a terminal device; receiving, from the terminal device, an initial transmission of data on one of the configured grant resources using a HARQ process from the plurality of HARQ processes; and receiving, from the terminal device, a retransmission on one of the plurality of configured grant resources different from the one of the initial transmission using the selected HARQ process, wherein the configured grant resources of the initial transmission and the retransmission have the same transmission block size; A computer-readable medium for causing a

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