Apparatus, method, and medium for communication

Abstract

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an apparatus, method, and computer storage medium for communication. A terminal device receives, from a network device, CG information indicating multiple configured CG occasions within a CG period. If the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame, the terminal device determines an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame. The terminal device determines multiple HARQ process numbers for the multiple configured CG occasions based on at least one of the number of the multiple configured CG occasions or a current symbol number determined based on the integer value. The terminal device performs uplink transmission to the network device based on the multiple HARQ process numbers. In this way, the current symbol number can be determined based on the integer value associated with the hypersystem frame, taking into account the SFN wraparound issue, and therefore, more accurate determination of the HARQ process number can be ensured. Therefore, the efficiency of communication between the terminal device and the network device can be improved.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications technologies, and more particularly to apparatus, methods, and computer-readable media for communications. [Background technology]

[0002] Recently, a new work item on Extended Reality (XR) service enhancements is underway in New Radio (NR) Release 18 (Rel-18), where power savings and capacity enhancements will be explored and specified to better support XR services.

[0003] The Configured Grant (CG) Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) is beneficial to meet some requirements of XR services because it eliminates the need for Scheduling Request (SR) and Buffer Status Report (BSR) reporting. However, enhancements to the CG PUSCH require further research. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Generally, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus, method, and computer storage medium for communications. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided, the terminal device including at least one processor configured to at least: receive, from a network device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions in a CG period; determine whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determine an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame according to the determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determine a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions or a current symbol number determined based on the integer value; and perform uplink transmission to the network device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers.

[0006] In a second aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes at least one processor, and the processor is configured to cause the terminal device to at least: receive from a network device CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; determine at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions; determine a first HARQ process number of a first configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; and transmit to the network device uplink control information (UCI) associated with the at least first configured CG occasion, wherein the UCI includes at least one of: a first number of the at least one used CG occasion; a second number of the at least one unused CG occasion; a first index of a last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of a first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating at least a first HARQ process number.

[0007] In a third aspect, a terminal device is provided, the terminal device comprising: at least one processor configured to cause the terminal device to at least receive, from a network device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions in a CG period; and transmit, to the network device, UCI associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted on the configured CG occasion.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a network device is provided, the network device including at least one processor configured to at least: transmit, to a terminal device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions in a CG period; determine whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determine an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame according to the determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determine a plurality of HARQ process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions or a current symbol number determined based on the integer value; and receive an uplink transmission from the terminal device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a network device is provided, the network device comprising at least one processor configured to at least: transmit, to a terminal device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions in a CG period; and receive, from the terminal device, UCI associated with at least a first configured CG occasion, the UCI including at least one of: a first number of at least one used CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a first index of a last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of a first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating a first HARQ process number of the at least first configured CG occasion.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a network device is provided, the network device comprising: at least one processor configured to cause the network device to at least: transmit, to a terminal device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions in a CG period; and receive, from the terminal device, UCI associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted on the configured CG occasion.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a communication method is provided, including: receiving, in a terminal device, CG information from a network device indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions in a CG period; determining whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determining an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame according to the determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determining a plurality of HARQ process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions or a current symbol number determined based on the integer value; and performing uplink transmission to the network device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: receiving, in a terminal device, from a network device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period, determining at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions, determining a first HARQ process number of a first configured CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions, and transmitting UCI associated with the at least first configured CG occasion to the network device, wherein the UCI includes at least one of a first number of the at least one used CG occasion, a second number of the at least one unused CG occasion, a first index of a last used CG occasion from the at least one used CG occasion, a second index of a first unused CG occasion from the at least one unused CG occasion, or a HARQ process indication indicating at least the first HARQ process number.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a communication method, the method including: receiving, at a terminal device, from a network device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions in a CG period; and transmitting, to the network device, UCI associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted on the configured CG occasion.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including: transmitting, in a network device, to a terminal device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions in a CG period; determining whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determining an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame according to the determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determining a plurality of HARQ process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions or a current symbol number determined based on the integer value; and receiving an uplink transmission from the terminal device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including: transmitting, in a network device, to a terminal device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions in a CG period; and receiving, from the terminal device, UCI associated with at least a first configured CG occasion, the UCI including at least one of: a first number of at least one used CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a first index of a last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of a first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating a first HARQ process number of the at least first configured CG occasion.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including: transmitting, in a network device, to a terminal device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions in a CG period; and receiving, from the terminal device, UCI associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted on the configured CG occasion.

[0017] In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to any one of the seventh to twelfth aspects above.

[0018] It should be understood that this Summary of the Invention is not intended to identify key features 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 be readily apparent from the following description. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] These and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent through a more detailed description of several exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings.

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an exemplary communication system in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0021] [Figure 2] 1 shows a signaling chart illustrating a communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] [Figure 3A] 1 shows a schematic diagram of multiple set CG occasions within a CG cycle according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] [Figure 3B] 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of multiple HARQ process numbers according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] [Figure 3C] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a CG period with SFN wraparound problem according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] [Figure 4] 1 shows a signaling chart illustrating a communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0026] [Figure 5A] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an association between a UCI and a configured CG occasion according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] [Figure 5B] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an association between a UCI and a used CG occasion according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] [Figure 6] 1 shows a signaling chart illustrating a communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] [Figure 7] 1 shows a schematic diagram of an association between a UCI and a CG occasion according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] [Figure 8] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] [Figure 9] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] [Figure 10] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] [Figure 11] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] [Figure 12] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] [Figure 13] 1 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0036] [Figure 14] FIG. 1 shows a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for practicing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0037] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are set forth for illustrative purposes only and are intended to aid those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the present disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in a variety of ways other than those described below.

[0039] 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 belongs.

[0040] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," and the like indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not all embodiments need include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, 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.

[0041] In this specification, terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various elements, but it should be 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 could be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element could be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0042] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit example 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. Furthermore, it will be understood that the terms "comprise," "comprising," "having," "having," "including," and / or "containing," when 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.

[0043] In some instances, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as "best," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. It will be understood that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection may be made from among many functional options available, and that such a selection is not necessarily better, smaller, higher, or more preferred than other options.

[0044] As used herein, the term "communications network" refers to a network conforming to an appropriate communications standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), or Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Furthermore, communications between terminal devices and network devices within a communications network may be performed in accordance with any appropriate generation of communications protocol, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, 5G-Advanced, or sixth generation (6G) communications protocols, and / or other protocols now known or developed in the future.

[0023] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communication, there will naturally be future types of communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure may be embodied. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered limited to only the aforementioned systems.

[0045] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device with wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include User Equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, Machine Type Communication (MTC) devices, vehicle-mounted devices for V2X communications (where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure / network), devices for Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), spacecraft or airborne vehicles in Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), including satellites and High Altitude Platforms (HAP), including Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and other technologies. These include, but are not limited to, extended reality (XR) devices, which include various types of reality such as real reality (VR) and virtual reality (VR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are aircraft without a human pilot, commonly known as drones, high speed train (HST) mounted devices, image capture devices such as digital cameras, sensors, game consoles, music storage and playback devices, or internet appliances that enable wireless or wired internet access and browsing.A "terminal device" may also have "multicast / broadcast" features to support public safety and mission-critical, V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast distribution, IPTV, smart TV, radio services, over-the-air software distribution, group communication, and IoT applications. It may also incorporate one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), known as multi-SIM. The term "terminal device" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device.

[0046] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a device that can provide or host a cell or coverage area over which terminal devices can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, satellites, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) platforms, Node Bs (NodeBs or NBs), evolved Node Bs (eNodeBs or eNBs), next-generation Node Bs (gNBs), transmission reception points (TRPs), remote radio units (RRUs), radio heads (RHs), remote radio heads (RRHs), IAB nodes, low-power nodes such as femto nodes, pico nodes, and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs).

[0047] In one embodiment, a terminal device may be connected to a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a master node, and the other may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs). In one embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device, and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device is an eNB, and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information related to the different RATs may be transmitted to the terminal device from at least one of the first network device and the second network device. In one embodiment, the first information may be transmitted from the first network device to the terminal device, and the second information may be transmitted from the second network device directly to the terminal device or via the first network device. In one embodiment, information regarding the terminal device configuration configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. The information regarding the reconfiguration of the terminal device set by the second network device may be transmitted directly from the second network device to the terminal device or may be transmitted via the first network device.

[0048] Communications described herein may conform to any suitable standard, including, but not limited to, New Radio Access (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Evolution, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), cdma2000, and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). Furthermore, communications may be performed in accordance with any currently known or future-developed generation of communications protocols. Examples of communications protocols include, but are not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.85G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G), and sixth-generation (6G) communications protocols. The techniques described herein may be used with the wireless networks and technologies mentioned above, as well as other wireless networks and technologies. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in accordance with any generation of communication protocols now known or developed in the future, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or sixth generation (6G) networks.

[0049] Terminal devices or network devices may be equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning capabilities, which typically involve models trained from a large amount of collected data for a specific function and that can be used to predict some information.

[0050] The terminal or network device can operate in multiple frequency ranges, such as FR1 (410 MHz to 7125 MHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz to 71 GHz), frequency bands above 100 GHz, and Terahertz (THz). It can also operate in licensed, unlicensed, and shared spectrum. The terminal device may have multiple connections with the network device in a Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenario. The terminal or network device can operate in full duplex, flexible duplex, and cross-division duplex modes.

[0051] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in test equipment such as a signal generator, a signal analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a network analyzer, a test terminal equipment, a test network equipment, or a channel emulator.

[0052] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in accordance with any generation of communication protocols now known or developed in the future, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or sixth generation (6G) networks.

[0053] As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to a hardware circuit and / or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. For example, a circuit may be a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware. As a further example, a circuit may be any portion of a hardware processor with software, such as a digital signal processor, software, and memory that cooperate to perform various functions on a device, such as a terminal device or network device. In yet another example, a circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that requires software / firmware for operation but may be absent when not required for operation. As used herein, the term circuitry also covers implementations of only a hardware circuit or processor, or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its associated software and / or firmware.

[0054] As used herein, the singular forms "a" and "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "comprises" and variations thereof are intended to be open-ended, meaning "including, but not limited to." The term "based on" is intended to mean "based at least in part on." The terms "one embodiment" and "embodiment" are intended to mean "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment" is intended to mean "at least one other embodiment." Terms such as "first," "second," etc. may refer to different objects or the same object. The following content may include other definitions, both explicit and implicit.

[0055] In some instances, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as "best," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. It will be understood that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection may be made from among many functional options available, and that such a selection is not necessarily better, smaller, higher, or more preferred than other options.

[0056] As mentioned above, power saving and capacity enhancements for XR services will be considered. XR traffic has several key characteristics that make it completely different from other servers, including: Packet arrival time jitter: For downlink (DL) or uplink (UL) video streams, there is a noticeable jitter effect on data packet arrival times, which means that packets can arrive at the gNB or UE at any time within a certain range around the theoretical mean arrival time, e.g., [-4ms, 4ms]. ●Latency Budget: For XR services to provide a good user experience, it is crucial to transmit video and pause / control packets with low latency, which necessitates very strict latency budget requirements, e.g., 10ms, 15ms. Large and fluctuating packet sizes: For high-quality video streams, video frames usually have large sizes, e.g., about 1 Mbit per frame after video stream compression. Furthermore, data packet sizes vary over time, making it difficult to predict packet sizes before arrival.

[0057] CG PUSCH is beneficial for meeting tight delay budgets because it does not require SR and BSR reporting, but extensions of CG PUSCH must take into account large and variable packet sizes.

[0058] It is agreed that multiple CG PUSCH transmission occasions may be supported during a single CG PUSCH configuration period. There are two types of transmissions without dynamic grants: configured grant type 1, where the uplink grant is provided by Radio Resource Control (RRC) and stored as a configured uplink grant, and configured grant type 2, where the uplink grant is provided by the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and stored or cleared as a configured uplink grant based on Layer 1 (L1) signaling indicating activation or deactivation of the configured uplink grant.

[0059] Type 1 and Type 2 are configured by RRC for a serving cell per Bandwidth Part (BWP). Multiple configurations can be active simultaneously within the same BWP. For Type 2, activation and deactivation are independent between serving cells. For the same BWP, a Medium Access Control (MAC) entity can be configured with both Type 1 and Type 2.

[0060] After an uplink grant has been configured for configured grant type 1, the MAC entity shall sequentially consider the Nth (N>=0) uplink grant to have occurred in the next symbol. [(SFN × numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot) + (slot number in frame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot) + symbol number in slot] = (timeReferenceSFN × numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot + timeDomainOffset × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot + S + N × periodicity) modulo (1024 × numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot), (Formula 1) where S is derived from SLIV or provided by the RRC configuration startSymbol, and timeReferenceSFN refers to the System Frame Number (SFN) used to determine the resource offset in the time domain, and the UE uses the closest SFN with the indicated number prior to receiving the configured grant configuration.

[0061] After an uplink grant has been configured for a configured grant type 2, the MAC entity shall sequentially consider the Nth (N>=0) uplink grant to have occurred in the next symbol. [(SFN × numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot) + (slot number within frame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot) + symbol number within slot] = [(SFNstart time × numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot + slotstart time × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot + symbolstart time) + N × periodicity] modulo(1024 × numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot) (Formula 2) where SFNstart time, slotstart time, and symbolstart time are the SFN, slot, and symbol, respectively, of the first transmission opportunity of the PUSCH at which the configured uplink grant is (re)initialized.

[0062] Although CG PUSCH is known to be beneficial for XR services, some further issues of CG PUSH, such as determining the HARQ process number, still need to be studied.

[0063] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication solution. In this solution, a terminal device can receive CG information indicating multiple configured CG occasions from a network device. The terminal device can further determine a HARQ process number for the corresponding configured CG occasion based on an integer value associated with a hyper system frame. In this way, the SFN wraparound issue can be taken into consideration, and the determination of the HARQ process number can be ensured accordingly to be more accurate. Therefore, the efficiency of communication between the terminal device and the network device can be improved. The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0064] 1 illustrates an exemplary communication system 100 in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The communication network 100 includes a network device 110 and a terminal device 120. The network device 110 may provide a service to the terminal device 120.

[0065] In system 100, terminal device 120 is assumed to be located within the coverage of network device 110. In some examples, the link from network device 110 to terminal device 120 is referred to as the downlink (DL), and the link from terminal device 120 to network device 110 is referred to as the uplink (UL). In the downlink, network device 110 is the transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter) and terminal device 120 is the receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In the uplink, terminal device 120 is the transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter) and network device 110 is the RX device (or receiver). In some embodiments, network device 110 and terminal device 120 can communicate over a direct link / channel. The DL may include one or more logical channels, including, but not limited to, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The UL may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). As used herein, the term "channel" may refer to a carrier or a portion of a carrier consisting of a contiguous set of resource blocks (RBs) where a channel access procedure is performed within a shared spectrum.

[0066] Communications in system 100, for example between network devices 110 and terminal devices 120, 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 for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocols now known or developed in the future. Further, the communications may use 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 Duplexer (FDD), Time Division Duplexer (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), and / or other technologies now known or developed in the future.

[0067] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to any suitable scenario. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in NR devices with reduced capabilities. Alternatively, embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of the following: NR multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), NR sidelink enhancements, NR systems at frequencies above 52.6 GHz, NR operation extensions to 71 GHz, Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) / enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) over non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), NTNs, UE power saving enhancements, NR coverage extensions, NB-IoT and LTE-MTC, integrated access backhaul (IAB), NR multicast broadcast services, or multi-radio dual connectivity enhancements.

[0068] It should be understood that the number of devices (i.e., network devices 110 and terminal devices 120) and their connection relationships and types shown in Figure 1 are for illustrative purposes only, without implying any limitation. System 100 may include any suitable number of devices adapted to implement embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0069] Reference is now made further to Figure 2, which illustrates a signaling diagram illustrating a communication process 200 in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For clarity only, process 200 will be described with reference to Figure 1. Process 200 may involve network device 110 and terminal device 120.

[0070] Network device 110 transmits 210 CG information 212 to terminal device 120. In some demonstrative embodiments, CG information 212 may indicate a number of configured CG occasions within a CG cycle. In some examples, the number of configured CG occasions may be represented as Ncg, which may be an integer greater than 0. For example, 1≦Ncg≦8. It should be understood that the value of Ncg may be any integer, and the disclosure is not limited in this respect. In other words, CG information 212 may indicate that there are Ncg configured CG occasions per CG cycle.

[0071] In some demonstrative embodiments, CG information 212 may indicate a CG of Type 1. In some examples, CG information 212 may include a CG configuration, e.g., the CG information may be transmitted via an RRC message / signaling.

[0072] In some example embodiments, the CG information 212 can indicate a Type 2 CG. In some examples, the CG information 212 may be transmitted via RRC messages / signaling or via Downlink Control Information (DCI). In some examples, the DCI may be used to activate multiple configured CG occasions within a CG period.

[0073] In some examples, the CG information 212 may further indicate a reference system frame number (SFN), for example, the reference SFN may have the same definition as "timeReferenceSFN" in the above equation 1. In some examples, the CG information 212 may further indicate an SFN start time, for example, the SFN start time may have the same definition as "SFNstart time" in the above equation 2. A detailed description of the reference SFN or SFN start time will be provided below.

[0074] Thus, the network device 110 can indicate to the terminal device 120 that the CG period includes Ncg configured CG occasions. On the other side of the communication, the terminal device 120 receives 214 the CG information 212. Based on the CG information 212, the terminal device 120 can determine the Ncg configured CG occasions in the CG period.

[0075] In this disclosure, a configured CG occasion may refer to a transmission occasion of a CG PUSCH. For example, a configured CG occasion may occupy multiple time units, where a time unit may be a symbol, a slot, a subframe, a frame, etc.

[0076] The terminal device 120 can determine whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame. As shown in Figure 2, the terminal device 120 determines whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame (220).

[0077] It is understood that SFNs may be indexed from 0 to 1023 within the NR, and the time duration from the start of SFN 0 to the end of SFN 1023 may refer to a hypersystem frame or SFN period. In other words, a hypersystem frame may include 1024 system frames with SFNs 0 to 1023. After the end of SFN 1023, the value of SFN returns to 0, and a new hypersystem frame (or a new SFN period) begins.

[0078] It should be understood that the periodicity of the CG period can be any value, so that SFN wraparound issues may exist, for example, if a new integer or non-integer periodicity is introduced.

[0079] In some examples, a CG period may span two different hypersystem frames, e.g., a CG period may partially overlap with SFN 1023 of a first hypersystem frame and partially overlap with SFN 0 of a second hypersystem frame after the first hypersystem frame. In some examples, a CG period may start in a new hypersystem frame, e.g., a CG period may end at SFN 1023 of a first hypersystem frame and the next CG period may start at SFN 0 of a second hypersystem frame after the first hypersystem frame, in other words, the next CG period starts in a new hypersystem frame.

[0080] A CG period is a time duration of length Tp, where Tp is determined based on CG information, e.g., based on a periodicity indication. A CG period may start from the start of the first configured CG occasion within the CG period, or from a time offset before the start of the first configured CG occasion within the CG period. Alternatively, the start time of a CG period is determined based on a reference SFN or SFN start time.

[0081] If the terminal device 120 determines that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or that the CG period starts in a new hypersystem frame, the terminal device 120 determines an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame (230). For example, the integer value may be different for each hypersystem frame. In some examples, the integer value may be represented as Msfn, which may be used to determine the HARQ process number of the configured CG occasion.

[0082] Terminal device 120 determines multiple HARQ process numbers for multiple configured CG occasions (240). In some examples, the HARQ process number is also referred to as an HARQ process ID. In some exemplary embodiments, for each CG period, terminal device 120 can determine multiple HARQ process numbers for multiple configured CG occasions within the CG period. In some examples, the HARQ process number is determined based on a current symbol number determined based on the number of multiple configured CG occasions (Ncg) and / or an integer value Msfn. For example, the current symbol number may also be referred to as a current symbol index and may be represented as "CURRENT_symbol."

[0083] In some example embodiments, for each of the N configured CG occasions, terminal device 120 may determine a corresponding HARQ process number. In some examples, for a T configured CG occasion (where T=0, 1, ..., Ncg-1) among the N configured CG occasions within a CG period, the HARQ process number of the T configured CG occasion may be determined (or calculated) based on Equation 3 or Equation 4: HARQ process ID = [floor(CURRENT_symbol / periodicity) × Ncg + T] modulo nrofHARQ-Processes (Formula 3) HARQ process ID = [floor(CURRENT_symbol / periodicity) × Ncg + T] modulo nrofHARQ-Processes + harq_offset (Formula 4)

[0084] In some exemplary embodiments, floor(x) may refer to a function that finds an integer less than or equal to x, and modulo (also denoted as "mod") may refer to a function that determines the remainder when one integer is divided by another. In some exemplary embodiments, periodicity may refer to the time duration of the period. In some exemplary embodiments, nrofHARQ-Processes may refer to a configured maximum number of HARQ processes. In some exemplary embodiments, harq_offset may be an integer value, e.g., the value of harq_offset may be set by the network device 110.

[0085] In some exemplary embodiments, CURRENT_symbol may refer to a symbol index, which may be determined as follows: CURRENT_symbol = (SFN × numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot + slot number within frame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot + symbol number within slot), (Formula 5) where numberOfSlotsPerFrame refers to the total number of consecutive slots per frame and numberOfSymbolsPerSlot refers to the total number of consecutive symbols per slot. In some examples, CURRENT_symbol may be determined based on one of option 1 and option 2.

[0086] Option 1: CURRENT_symbol refers to the symbol index of the first symbol of the first configured CG occasion among the Ncg configured CG occasions. Specifically, the SFN, slot number within the frame, and symbol number within the slot in Equation 5 may be determined based on the first configured CG occasion among the Ncg configured CG occasions. It is understood that the first configured CG occasion is used to determine the HARQ process number, and thus backward compatibility may be achieved by the present disclosure.

[0087] Option 2: CURRENT_symbol refers to the symbol index of the first symbol of the T configured CG occasion among the Ncg configured CG occasions. Specifically, the SFN, slot number within the frame, and symbol number within the slot in Equation 5 may be determined based on the T configured CG occasion among the Ncg configured CG occasions.

[0088] In some exemplary embodiments, an SFN wraparound issue may exist, e.g., a particular CG period may include a first portion in a first hypersystem frame and a second portion in a second (i.e., next) hypersystem frame. In this case, there may be a HARQ process number collision among Ncg configured CG occasions within the CG period, and there may also be a HARQ process number collision between a configured CG occasion in a CG period and another configured CG occasion in the next CG period. In this case, the SFN wraparound issue may be considered, and CURRENT_symbol may be determined as follows: CURRENT_symbol = [(1024 × Msfn + SFN) × numberOfSlotsPerFrame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot + slot number within frame × numberOfSymbolsPerSlot + symbol number within slot] (Formula 6)

[0089] Based on Equation 6, CURRENT_symbol may be determined based on an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame. In some examples, when determining the HARQ process number for a particular configured CG occasion (e.g., the Tth configured CG occasion), terminal device 120 may determine which hypersystem frame is associated with the particular configured CG occasion and further determine the integer value of the hypersystem frame. For example, a hypersystem frame including a first symbol of a first configured CG occasion may be determined. As another example, a hypersystem frame including a first symbol of a particular configured CG occasion (e.g., the Tth configured CG occasion) may be determined. In some exemplary embodiments, the SFN, slot number within frame, and symbol number within slot in Equation 6 may be determined based on Option 1 or Option 2, as described above.

[0090] In some examples, the integer value may be expressed as Msfn, which is an integer associated with a hypersystem frame. In some examples, CURRENT_symbol may be determined further based on the length of the hypersystem frame. For example, the length of the hypersystem frame is represented as 1024 in Equation 6 because a hypersystem frame includes 1024 system frames.

[0091] In some exemplary embodiments, the integer value may be set to an initial value, such as a predefined value. For example, the predefined value may be equal to 0 or another value preset by the network device 110. In some examples, the integer value may be determined as a predefined value at the start of a system frame having a reference SFN or SFN start time. Specifically, the above-mentioned CG information 212 may indicate the reference SFN or SFN start time, and thus the terminal device 120 may determine the reference SFN or SFN start time based on the CG information 212. If the terminal device 120 determines a system frame having an SFN equal to the reference SFN (represented as timeReferenceSFN for a type 1 CG) or the SFN start time (represented as SFNstarttime for a type 2 CG), the integer value may be determined as a predefined value. In other cases, the integer value may be updated by incrementing by 1 at the start of a new hypersystem frame. In other words, the integer value is incremented by 1 when a new hypersystem frame starts, i.e., every time the SFN returns to 0, i.e., at the start of a system frame having an SFN equal to 0.

[0092] In some other exemplary embodiments, the integer value may be a hypersystem frame number (HSFN). In some examples, when determining the HARQ process number for a particular configured CG occasion (e.g., the Tth configured CG occasion), terminal device 120 may determine which hypersystem frame is associated with the particular configured CG occasion and further determine the HSFN of the hypersystem frame. For example, a hypersystem frame including a first symbol of a first configured CG occasion may be determined. As another example, a hypersystem frame including a first symbol of a particular configured CG occasion (e.g., the Tth configured CG occasion) may be determined. In some examples, terminal device 120 may obtain the HSFN from system information transmitted from network device 110. In other examples, the HSFN may be configured by network device 110, and terminal device 120 may determine the HSFN based on the configuration from network device 110.

[0093] Thus, Equation 6 may be used to determine a CURRENT_symbol, which may be used to determine the HARQ process number based on Equation 3 or Equation 4. In some examples, the HARQ process numbers for the configured CG occasions are consecutive. For example, one of the HARQ process numbers may be one of the values ​​0 through nrofHARQ-Processes-1.

[0094] 2, the network device 110 may determine (225) whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame. The network device 110 determines (235) an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame and determines (245) multiple HARQ process numbers for multiple configured CG occasions within the CG period. It is understood that the operations at the network device 110 may be similar to those at the terminal device 120 and will not be repeated here.

[0095] Additionally or alternatively, terminal device 120 can determine at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from multiple configured CG occasions. In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 can determine the number of required CG occasions as the at least one used CG occasion after the arrival of an uplink data burst. In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 can determine the at least one used CG occasion based on the size of the uplink data burst and resource allocation information, which may include, for example, the amount of allocated resource elements (RE) for each configured CG occasion, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) for each configured CG occasion, etc.

[0096] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one used CG occasion may include multiple used CG occasions, and the multiple used CG occasions may be contiguous within the multiple set CG occasions. In some examples, the multiple used CG occasions may start from the first of the multiple set CG occasions. However, it should be noted that in some other cases, the multiple used CG occasions may not be contiguous, or the multiple used CG occasions may start from any one of the multiple set CG occasions, and the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0097] In some examples, the Tth configured CG occasion of the Ncg configured CG occasions may be determined as a used CG occasion or an unused CG occasion. For example, terminal device 120 may determine that the Tth configured CG occasion is one of at least one unused CG occasion. If the Tth configured CG occasion is an unused CG occasion, terminal device 120 does not expect to receive DCI scheduling a retransmission with the same HARQ process number as the Tth configured CG occasion.

[0098] In some examples, the Tth configured CG occasion may have at least one OFDM symbol that overlaps with an unavailable resource, and terminal device 120 may determine not to use the Tth configured CG occasion. In some examples, the unavailable resource may include one or more of a downlink symbol, a flexible symbol indicated by a slot format indication (SFI), or a symbol used by network device 110. For example, terminal device 120 may determine that the Tth configured CG occasion is one of the at least one unused CG occasion. For example, terminal device 120 may determine that the Tth configured CG occasion is neither one of the at least one used CG occasion nor one of the at least one unused CG occasion. If the Tth configured CG occasion overlaps with an unavailable resource, terminal device 120 does not expect to receive DCI scheduling a retransmission with the same HARQ process number as the Tth configured CG occasion.

[0099] Additionally or alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2, terminal device 120 transmits 250 uplink control information (UCI) 252 to network device 110.

[0100] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI may be associated with a used CG occasion, e.g., the UCI may be transmitted on a PUCCH associated with the used CG occasion; in another example, the UCI may be transmitted on a used CG occasion, i.e., the UCI may be a CG-UCI.

[0101] In some demonstrative embodiments, the UCI may indicate a first number of at least one used CG occasion. For example, terminal 120 may determine at least one used CG occasion within a CG period and further determine a total number of the at least one used CG occasion as the first number.

[0102] In some demonstrative embodiments, the UCI may indicate a second number of at least one unused CG occasion. For example, terminal device 120 may determine at least one unused CG occasion within a CG period and further determine the total number of at least one unused CG occasion as the second number. In some examples, if a Tth configured CG occasion overlaps with an unavailable resource, the Tth configured CG occasion may not be a used CG occasion, and in some cases, the Tth configured CG occasion may be one of the at least one unused CG occasion and the Tth configured CG occasion may be counted toward the second number; in other cases, the Tth configured CG occasion may not be one of the at least one unused CG occasion and the Tth configured CG occasion may not be counted toward the second number.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the UCI may indicate a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion. In some examples, the at least one used CG occasion may include multiple consecutive used CG occasions, and the UCI may indicate an index of a last one of the at least one used CG occasion.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the UCI may indicate a second index of a first unused CG occasion of the at least one unused CG occasion. In some examples, the at least one unused CG occasion may include multiple unused CG occasions, and the UCI may indicate an index of a first one of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0105] In some example embodiments, the UCI may include a HARQ Process Indication (HPI) that indicates the HARQ process number of the configured CG occasion.

[0106] On the other side of the communication, network device 110 may receive 254 UCI 252. In some demonstrative embodiments, network device 110 may determine, based on UCI 252, one or more of: a first number of at least one used CG occasion; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion; a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; or a second index of a first unused CG occasion of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0107] In some demonstrative embodiments, the UCI 252 includes an HPI, and the network device 110 may determine the HARQ process number based on the HPI. For example, the HPI is used to determine the HARQ process number of an associated CG occasion based on one or more of: a number of configured CG occasions in a CG period; a first number of at least one used CG occasion; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion; or whether the associated CG occasion overlaps with unavailable resources.

[0108] Terminal device 120 transmits (260) an uplink transmission 262 to network device 110. Specifically, uplink transmission 262 may be a CG PUSCH (or UL-SCH) on at least one used CG occasion. On the other side of the communication, network device 110 receives (264) uplink transmission 262.

[0109] Additionally or alternatively, the network device 110 may further transmit a DCI to the terminal device 120, where the DCI is used to instruct the terminal device 120 to retransmit with the indicated HARQ process number determined based on the UCI 252.

[0110] In some example embodiments, the network device 110 may determine the HARQ process number for the retransmission. For example, a HARQ process number of a configured CG occasion that overlaps with unavailable resources may not be used.

[0111] Terminal device 120 can receive the DCI and can perform uplink retransmission based on the DCI. In some examples, terminal device 120 can determine one used CG occasion having an HARQ process number equal to the indicated HARQ process number in the DCI, and terminal device 120 can retransmit the UL-SCH in the one used CG occasion.

[0112] In this way, the retransmission of the CG PUSCH can be scheduled based on the HARQ process number as needed, thereby improving the reliability of communication.

[0113] FIG. 3A illustrates a schematic diagram 310 of multiple configured CG occasions within a CG cycle in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, there are four configured CG occasions per CG cycle. Terminal device 120 can determine at least one used CG occasion and at least one unused CG occasion. As illustrated in FIG. 3A, assume that terminal device 120 determines three used CG occasions within CG cycle 312 and two used CG occasions within CG cycle 314. Specifically, the first three configured CG occasions within CG cycle 312 are used CG occasions, and the first two configured CG occasions within CG cycle 314 are used CG occasions.

[0114] FIG. 3B illustrates a schematic diagram 320 of multiple HARQ process numbers according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3B, there are four configured CG occasions per CG period. Assume Ncg=4 and nrofHARQ-Processes=6. Terminal device 120 can determine that the multiple HARQ process numbers for the multiple configured CG occasions are consecutive. The HARQ process number of a configured CG occasion may be equal to the HARQ process number of the previous CG occasion plus 1, if necessary, modulo nrofHARQ-Processes. As shown in FIG. 3B, the HARQ process numbers are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 0, 1, ..., respectively. Terminal device 120 can determine at least one used CG occasion and at least one unused CG occasion. As shown in FIG. 3B, assume that the terminal device 120 determines three used CG occasions in the CG period 322 having HARQ process numbers 0 to 2, and determines one used CG occasion in the CG period 324 having HARQ process number 5.

[0115] 3C illustrates a schematic diagram 330 of a CG period with an SFN wraparound issue according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. A portion of a CG period 332 and a CG period 334 are shown in FIG. 3C, and some exemplary configured CG occasions 331-339 are illustrated in FIG. 3C. As shown in FIG. 3C, the CG period 332 includes a first portion within a first hypersystem frame (i.e., SFN 1023) and a second portion within a second hypersystem frame (i.e., SFN 0).

[0116] In some examples, there may be HARQ process number collisions among the Ncg configured CG occasions during a CG period when CURRENT_symbol in Equation 5 for determining the HARQ process number is determined using Option 2. For example, the SFN numbers for the first two CG occasions 331 and 333 and the last two CG occasions 335 and 337 may not be consecutive, and if Option 2 is used, it is possible that one of the first two CG occasions 331 and 333 and one of the last two CG occasions 335 and 337 may have the same HARQ process number.

[0117] In some examples, option 1 for determining CURRENT_symbol in Equation 5 may be able to avoid collisions between Ncg configured CG occasions within a CG period, but collision issues may still exist between two consecutive CG periods, such as CG periods 332 and 334. For example, the SFN values ​​used for the two CG periods 332 and 334 are 1023 and 1, respectively, and it is possible that some of the configured CG occasions within the two CG periods 332 and 334 may have the same HARQ process number.

[0118] In the case shown in Figure 3C, the above-mentioned Equation 6 is used to determine a CURRENT_symbol, which can be used to determine the HARQ process number based on Equation 3 or Equation 4. In this way, the SFN wraparound issue can be taken into account and the collision of HARQ process numbers can be resolved.

[0119] It is understood that several examples are shown in Figures 3A-3C for illustrative purposes only, without implying any limitation as to the scope of the present disclosure, and several other examples are also applicable, but will not be listed here for the sake of brevity of the present disclosure.

[0120] According to an exemplary embodiment described with reference to Figures 2 to 3C, the HARQ process number for each of the multiple configured CG occasions may be determined based on the number of the multiple configured CG occasions and the symbol index of the current symbol that may be associated with the hyper system frame. In this way, the SFN wraparound problem can be taken into account when determining the HARQ process number, collisions of HARQ process numbers can be avoided, and communication between the terminal device and the network device can be guaranteed. Furthermore, at least one used / unused CG occasion may be determined and indicated by the UCI, and resources of the unused CG occasion may be reallocated by the network device 110 to other terminal devices, which is beneficial to resource efficiency.

[0121] Reference is now made further to Figure 4, which illustrates a signaling diagram illustrating a communication process 400 in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For clarity only, process 400 will be described with reference to Figure 1. Process 400 may involve network device 110 and terminal device 120.

[0122] Network device 110 transmits 410 CG information 412 to terminal device 120. In some demonstrative embodiments, CG information 412 may indicate a number of configured CG occasions within a CG cycle. In some examples, the number of configured CG occasions may be represented as Ncg, which may be an integer greater than 0. For example, 1≦Ncg≦8. It should be understood that the value of Ncg may be any integer, and the disclosure is not limited in this respect. In other words, CG information 412 may indicate that there are Ncg configured CG occasions per CG cycle.

[0123] In some demonstrative embodiments, the CG information 412 may indicate a CG of Type 1. In some examples, the CG information 412 may include a CG configuration, e.g., the CG information may be transmitted via an RRC message / signaling.

[0124] In some exemplary embodiments, the CG information 412 may indicate a Type 2 CG. In some examples, the CG information 412 may be transmitted via RRC messages / signaling or may be transmitted via downlink control information (DCI). In some examples, the DCI may be used to activate multiple configured CG occasions within a CG period.

[0125] Thus, the network device 110 can indicate to the terminal device 120 that the CG cycle includes Ncg configured CG occasions. On the other side of the communication, the terminal device 120 receives 414 the CG information 412. Based on the CG information 412, the terminal device 120 can determine the Ncg configured CG occasions in the CG cycle.

[0126] In this disclosure, a configured CG occasion may refer to a transmission occasion of a CG PUSCH. For example, a configured CG occasion may occupy multiple time units, where a time unit may be a symbol, a slot, a subframe, a frame, etc.

[0127] Terminal device 120 determines at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from a plurality of configured CG occasions (420). Terminal device 120 determines at least a first HARQ process number of a first configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions (430). Terminal device 120 transmits UCI 442 to network device 110 (440). In some exemplary embodiments, UCI 442 may be associated with a first configured CG occasion within a CG period. In some other exemplary embodiments, an associated UCI 442 may be transmitted for each of the at least one used CG occasion, i.e., at least one UCI may be transmitted in association with at least one used CG occasion.

[0128] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 can determine the number of required CG occasions as at least one used CG occasion after the arrival of an uplink data burst. In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 can determine the at least one used CG occasion based on the size of the uplink data burst and resource allocation information, which may include, for example, the amount of allocated RE for each configured CG occasion, the MCS for each configured CG occasion, etc.

[0129] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one used CG occasion may include multiple used CG occasions, and the multiple used CG occasions may be contiguous within the multiple set CG occasions. In some examples, the multiple used CG occasions may start from the first of the multiple set CG occasions. However, it should be noted that in some other cases, the multiple used CG occasions may not be contiguous, or the multiple used CG occasions may start from any one of the multiple set CG occasions, and the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0130] In some examples, the Tth configured CG occasion of the Ncg configured CG occasions may be determined as a used CG occasion or an unused CG occasion. For example, terminal device 120 may determine that the Tth configured CG occasion is one of at least one unused CG occasion. If the Tth configured CG occasion is an unused CG occasion, terminal device 120 does not expect to receive DCI scheduling a retransmission with the same HARQ process number as the Tth configured CG occasion.

[0131] In some examples, the Tth configured CG occasion may have at least one OFDM symbol that overlaps with unavailable resources, and terminal device 120 may determine not to use the Tth configured CG occasion. In some examples, the unavailable resources may include one or more of downlink symbols, flexible symbols indicated by the SFI, or symbols used by network device 110. For example, terminal device 120 may determine that the Tth configured CG occasion is one of the at least one unused CG occasion. For example, terminal device 120 may determine that the Tth configured CG occasion is neither one of the at least one used CG occasion nor one of the at least one unused CG occasion. If the Tth configured CG occasion overlaps with unavailable resources, terminal device 120 does not expect to receive DCI scheduling a retransmission with the same HARQ process number as the Tth configured CG occasion.

[0132] In some demonstrative embodiments, UCI 442 can indicate at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion within a CG period. For example, UCI 442 may include an indication field that includes one or more of: a first number of the at least one used CG occasion, a second number of the at least one unused CG occasion, a first index of the last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion, or a second index of the first unused CG occasion of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0133] For example, the first number may be a value from 1 to Ncg (e.g., CG-UCI) or a value from 0 to Ncg (e.g., UCI on PUCCH). For example, the second number may be a value from 0 to Ncg-1 (e.g., CG-UCI) or a value from 0 to Ncg (e.g., UCI on PUCCH). For example, assume that multiple configured CG occasions each have an index from 0 to Ncg-1. For example, the first index may be a value from 1 to Ncg-1 (e.g., CG-UCI) or a value from 0 to Ncg-1 (e.g., UCI on PUCCH). It is understood that if the first index is 0 (e.g., UCI on PUCCH), it means that all configured CG occasions are unused CG occasions. For example, the second index may be a value from 1 to Ncg (e.g., CG-UCI) or a value from 0 to Ncg (e.g., UCI on PUCCH). It is understood that if the second index is Ncg, it means that all set CG occasions are used CG occasions.

[0134] In some examples, there may be a preset or predefined minimum number to indicate the minimum number of used CG occasions. In some examples, the preset or predefined minimum number may be a parameter for the minimum number of used CG occasions, which may be represented by Nmin, which is less than or equal to Ncg. For example, the parameter may be set by the network device 110.

[0135] In some examples, when the UCI 424 indicates at least one used CG occasion, the first number may be equal to or greater than a preset or predefined minimum number. For example, the first number may be a value between Nmin and Ncg. In some examples, when the UCI 424 indicates at least one unused CG occasion, the second number may be equal to or less than the difference between Ncg and a preset or predefined minimum number. For example, the first number may be a value between 0 and Ncg-Nmin.

[0136] In some examples, assume that multiple configured CG occasions each have an index ranging from 0 to Ncg-1. In some examples, when UCI 424 indicates a first index of the last used CG occasion, the first index may be equal to or greater than a preset or predefined minimum number minus 1. For example, the first index may be a value from Nmin-1 to Ncg-1. In some examples, when UCI 424 indicates a second index of the first unused CG occasion, the second index may be equal to or greater than a preset or predefined minimum number. For example, the second index may be a value from Nmin to Ncg. A second index that is Ncg may indicate that all configured CG occasions are used CG occasions.

[0137] Alternatively, if the size of the traffic packet is not sufficient to transmit the UL-SCH on all of the N CG occasions, for a CG occasion among the first N CG occasions, terminal device 120 may not transmit a CG PUSCH if there is no UL-SCH to be transmitted, i.e., if the data in the buffer is completely transmitted. Alternatively, if the size of the traffic packet is not sufficient to transmit the UL-SCH on all of the N CG occasions, for a CG occasion among the first N CG occasions, terminal device 120 may retransmit a UL-SCH already transmitted on one of the first N CG occasions. For example, the terminal device 120 may retransmit the most recent UL-SCH or may determine the UL-SCH based on the index of the CG occasion, e.g., if Nmin=4 and two UL-SCHs are transmitted in the first two CG occasions and all data is transmitted completely, the terminal device 120 may retransmit the first and second UL-SCHs in the third and fourth CG occasions, respectively.

[0138] In some exemplary embodiments, UCI 442 may be associated with a first configured CG occasion or associated with a CG periodicity. UCI 442 may be transmitted as a CG-UCI or as a UCI transmitted on a PUCCH associated with the first configured CG occasion. In some examples, network device 110 may configure a PUCCH resource associated with the first configured CG occasion based on, for example, a time offset between the PUCCH and the first configured CG occasion. Terminal device 120 may transmit UCI 442 on the configured PUCCH resource. In some examples, configured CG occasions other than the first configured CG occasion may not have an associated UCI transmitted.

[0139] In some examples, UCI 442 may further include a HARQ process indication (HPI) indicating a first HARQ process number of a first configured CG occasion among a plurality of configured CG occasions. For example, the first HARQ process number is determined based on the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions (Ncg) and the symbol index of the first symbol in the first configured CG occasion, i.e., the above-mentioned CURRENT_symbol, as described above. In some examples, terminal device 120 may determine the first HARQ process number of the first configured CG occasion in a manner similar to that described with reference to FIG. 2, for example, may determine the first HARQ process number with reference to Equation 3 or Equation 4.

[0140] In some examples, the HPI may indicate an integer that may be represented by K, where K is understood to be an integer between 0 and nrofHARQ-Processes-1. The HPI may indicate that the first HARQ process number of the first configured CG occasion is K or K+harq_offset (see equation 4 above).

[0141] Terminal device 120 may further determine a HARQ process number for a further configured CG occasion. For example, terminal device 120 may determine a second HARQ process number for a second configured CG occasion as the first HARQ process number plus one, where the second configured CG occasion is closest to and after the first configured CG occasion. In some examples, terminal device 120 may determine the HARQ process number by applying a modulo arithmetic of nrofHARQ-Processes, incrementing by one for each subsequent used CG occasion in scheduled order. For example, for the Qth configured CG occasion, its HARQ process number may be [(K+Q) modulo nrofHARQ-Processes] or [(K+Q) modulo nrofHARQ-Processes+harq_offset].

[0142] In some examples, terminal device 120 can determine a HARQ process number for each used CG occasion, or for each used or unused CG occasion. For example, the Tth configured CG occasion can have at least one OFDM symbol that overlaps with unavailable resources, in which case the HARQ process number is not incremented by one.

[0143] In some examples, a used CG occasion for a retransmission or repetition may have the same HARQ process number as a used CG occasion for the first transmission. In other words, if the UL-SCH transmitted on a used CG occasion is a retransmission or repetition, the HARQ process number of the used CG occasion is not incremented by 1 but is equal to the HARQ process number of another used CG occasion for the first transmission.

[0144] In some other example embodiments, for each used CG occasion, terminal device 120 may transmit an associated UCI to network device 110. In some examples, the UCI may be a CG-UCI or may be a UCI transmitted on a PUCCH associated with the used CG occasion. Terminal device 120 transmits (440) UCI ​​442 on each used CG occasion or on each PUCCH associated with each used CG occasion. In some examples, for configured CG occasions that overlap with unavailable resources, the associated UCI may not be transmitted. For example, a configured CG occasion that overlaps with unavailable resources may be an unused CG occasion, or may be neither a used CG occasion nor an unused CG occasion.

[0145] In some examples, each UCI may include an HPI that indicates a HARQ process number for an associated CG occasion. In some examples, the HPI may indicate an integer that may be represented by K, where K is understood to be an integer between 0 and nrofHARQ-Processes-1. The HPI may indicate that the HARQ process number for the associated CG occasion is K or K+harq_offset (see Equation 4 above). For example, a UCI associated with a first used CG occasion may include a first HPI that indicates a first HARQ process number for the first used CG occasion, and a UCI associated with a second used CG occasion may include a second HPI that indicates a second HARQ process number for the second used CG occasion.

[0146] In some examples, terminal device 120 can determine a respective HARQ process number for each of at least one used CG occasion. For example, terminal device 120 can determine the HARQ process numbers consecutively. For example, if the HARQ process number of a used CG occasion is K, the HARQ process number of a subsequent used CG occasion may be [(K+1) modulo nr of HARQ-Processes] or [(K+1) modulo nr of HARQ-Processes+harq_offset], where two adjacent used CG occasions may be in the same CG period or in different CG periods.

[0147] On the other side of the communication, the network device 110 receives (444) the UCI 442. The network device 110 can determine at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion within the CG period. The network device 110 can further determine a HARQ process number for each of the at least one used CG occasion based on the UCI 442.

[0148] 4, terminal device 120 may transmit (450) an uplink transmission 452 to network device 110. Specifically, uplink transmission 452 may be a CG PUSCH (or UL-SCH) in at least one used CG occasion. On the other side of the communication, network device 110 may receive (454) uplink transmission 452.

[0149] Additionally or alternatively, network device 110 may further transmit a DCI to terminal device 120, where the DCI is used to instruct terminal device 120 to retransmit with an indicated HARQ process number determined based on UCI 442. Terminal device 120 may receive the DCI and may further perform uplink retransmission based on the DCI. In some examples, terminal device 120 may determine one used CG occasion having an HARQ process number equal to the indicated HARQ process number in the DCI, and terminal device 120 may retransmit the UL-SCH in the one used CG occasion.

[0150] 5A shows a schematic diagram 510 of the association between UCI and configured CG occasions according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Assume that Ncg=4 and nrofHARQ-Processes=4. As shown in FIG. 5A, there are four configured CG occasions per CG period. A UCI may be a CG-UCI that may be transmitted on the first configured CG occasion within a CG period.

[0151] Terminal device 120 may determine at least one used CG occasion and at least one unused CG occasion. Terminal device 120 may further determine an HARQ process number for each of the at least one used CG occasion. As shown in FIG. 5A, assume that terminal device 120 determines three used CG occasions in CG period 512 with HARQ process numbers 0 to 2 and two used CG occasions in CG period 514 with HARQ process numbers 3 and 0.

[0152] As an example, UCI 513 transmitted for the first configured CG occasion in CG period 512 may include an indication that the number of unused CG occasions is 1 and an HPI that the HARQ process number of the first configured CG occasion in CG period 512 is 0. UCI 515 transmitted for the first configured CG occasion in CG period 514 may include an indication that the number of unused CG occasions is 2 and an HPI that the HARQ process number of the first configured CG occasion in CG period 514 is 3.

[0153] It is understood that network device 110 may receive UCI 513, and network device 110 may determine that there is one unused CG occasion in CG period 512, and that the HARQ process number of the first configured CG occasion is 0. Network device 110 may further determine that there are three used CG occasions in CG period 512. Network device 110 may further determine that the HARQ process number of the second configured CG occasion in CG period 512 is 0+1=1, and that the HARQ process number of the third configured CG occasion in CG period 512 is 1+1=2.

[0154] 5B shows a schematic diagram 520 of the association between UCI and used CG occasions according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Assume that Ncg=4 and nrofHARQ-Processes=4. As shown in FIG. 5B, there are four configured CG occasions in each CG period. A UCI may be a CG-UCI that may be transmitted in each of the used CG occasions within a CG period.

[0155] Terminal device 120 may determine at least one used CG occasion and at least one unused CG occasion. Terminal device 120 may further determine an HARQ process number for each of the at least one used CG occasion. As shown in FIG. 5B, assume that terminal device 120 determines three used CG occasions in CG period 522 with HARQ process numbers 0 to 2 and two used CG occasions in CG period 524 with HARQ process numbers 3 and 0.

[0156] For example, UCI 521, 523, 525, 527, or 529 may be transmitted with an associated used CG occasion. Each of UCIs 521, 523, and 525 in CG cycle 522 may include an indication that the number of unused CG occasions is 1. Furthermore, UCIs 521, 523, and 525 each further include an HPI indicating that the HARQ process numbers of the associated CG occasions are 0, 1, and 2, respectively. Each of UCIs 527 and 529 in CG cycle 524 may include an indication that the number of unused CG occasions is 2. Furthermore, UCIs 527 and 529 each further include an HPI indicating that the HARQ process numbers of the associated CG occasions are 3 and 0, respectively.

[0157] It is understood that several examples are shown in Figures 5A-5B for illustrative purposes only, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure, for example, the UCI may be a UCI on the associated PUCCH rather than a CG-UCI, and several other examples are also applicable, but are not listed here for the sake of brevity of the present disclosure.

[0158] According to the exemplary embodiment described with reference to Figures 4 to 5B, at least one used / unused CG occasion may be determined and indicated by the UCI, and resources of the unused CG occasion may be reallocated to other terminal devices by the network device 110, which is beneficial to resource efficiency. Furthermore, the HARQ process number may be indicated by the UCI, and retransmission of the CG PUSCH may be scheduled based on the HARQ process number if necessary, which may improve reliability.

[0159] Reference is now made further to Figure 6, which illustrates a signaling diagram illustrating a communication process 600 according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For clarity only, process 600 will be described with reference to Figure 1. Process 600 may involve network device 110 and terminal device 120.

[0160] Network device 110 transmits 610 CG information 612 to terminal device 120. In some demonstrative embodiments, CG information 612 may indicate a number of configured CG occasions within a CG cycle. In some examples, the number of configured CG occasions may be represented as Ncg, which may be an integer greater than 0. For example, 1≦Ncg≦8. It should be understood that the value of Ncg may be any integer, and the disclosure is not limited in this respect. In other words, CG information 612 may indicate that there are Ncg configured CG occasions per CG cycle.

[0161] In some demonstrative embodiments, the CG information 612 may indicate a CG of Type 1. In some examples, the CG information 612 may include a CG configuration, e.g., the CG information 612 may be transmitted via an RRC message / signaling.

[0162] In some demonstrative embodiments, the CG information 612 may indicate a Type 2 CG. In some examples, the CG information 612 may be transmitted via RRC messages / signaling or may be transmitted via downlink control information (DCI). In some examples, the DCI may be used to activate multiple configured CG occasions within a CG period.

[0163] Thus, the network device 110 can indicate to the terminal device 120 that the CG period includes Ncg configured CG occasions. On the other side of the communication, the terminal device 120 receives CG information 612 (414). Based on the CG information 612, the terminal device 120 can determine the Ncg configured CG occasions in the CG period.

[0164] In this disclosure, a configured CG occasion may refer to a transmission occasion of a CG PUSCH. For example, a configured CG occasion may occupy multiple time units, where a time unit may be a symbol, a slot, a subframe, a frame, etc.

[0165] Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 120 may determine (620) at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions. The determination operation may refer to the operation described with reference to FIG. 2 or FIG. 4, and therefore will not be repeated here.

[0166] Terminal device 120 transmits 630 UCI 632 to network device 110. In some demonstrative embodiments, UCI 442 may be associated with a configured CG occasion and may include a presence indication that indicates whether an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) is transmitted on the configured CG occasion.

[0167] In some exemplary embodiments, a UCI 442 may be associated with each of the at least one used CG occasion and the at least one set CG occasion prior to the used CG occasion.

[0168] In some examples, a traffic burst may arrive after the start of a first configured CG occasion of multiple configured CG occasions, and thus terminal device 120 may determine at least one used CG occasion to initiate from an intermediate configured CG occasion. In some examples, terminal device 120 may be unable to transmit the UL-SCH on the first N1 configured CG occasions due to the late arrival of a traffic burst.

[0169] In some examples, terminal device 120 may transmit a UCI associated with each of the first N1 configured CG occasions, and the presence indication in the UCI may indicate that the associated CG occasion does not include a UL-SCH. For example, the presence indication may have a predefined value (such as 0), meaning that a UL-SCH is not transmitted on the associated CG occasion.

[0170] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI may further include a numeric indication used to indicate one or more of: a first number of the at least one used CG occasion, a second number of the at least one unused CG occasion, a first index of the last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion, or a second index of the first unused CG occasion of the at least one unused CG occasion. In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI may further include an HPI used to indicate a HARQ process number of the associated CG occasion.

[0171] In some examples, for the UCI associated with each of the first N1 configured CG occasions, the numerical indication and / or HPI may be a predefined value, such as all zero values.

[0172] In some examples, the presence indication may be implicitly indicated by the numeric indication and / or the HPI. For example, the presence indication field may be omitted from the UCI, and a special value of the numeric indication and / or the HPI may be used to indicate whether the UL-SCH is transmitted in the configured CG occasion. For example, all 1's or all 0's of the numeric indication and the HPI may mean that there is no UL-SCH in the configured CG occasion.

[0173] On the other side of the communication, the network device 110 receives (634) UCI ​​632. In some examples, the UCI 632 associated with each of the first N1 configured CG occasions includes a presence indication that indicates that no UL-SCH is present in the first N1 configured CG occasions, and the network device 110 can ignore the numeric indication and HPI in the UCI 632. In some examples, the UCI 632 associated with each of the first N1 configured CG occasions may not explicitly include a presence indication, and the network device 110 can determine that the numeric indication and HPI in the UCI 632 are predefined values ​​(e.g., all zero values) and can further determine that the numeric indication and HPI implicitly indicate that no UL-SCH is present in the first N1 configured CG occasions.

[0174] Additionally or alternatively, terminal device 120 may send 640 an uplink transmission 642 to network device 110. In some demonstrative embodiments, terminal device 120 may transmit a UL-SCH on N+1 configured CG occasions after the arrival of the traffic burst, and terminal device 120 may further transmit UCI associated with the N+1 configured CG occasions. It is understood that the N+1 configured CG occasions may be one of at least one used CG occasion.

[0175] In some example embodiments, the UCI associated with the used CG occasion may include one or more of: a presence indication indicating that there is a UL-SCH in the configured CG occasion; a first indication indicating a first index of the last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; a second indication indicating a second index of the first unused CG occasion after the at least one used CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating a HARQ process number of the configured CG occasion. In some examples, the presence indication may further have a predefined value (e.g., 1), which means that a UL-SCH is transmitted in the associated CG occasion.

[0176] Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 120 may determine a HARQ process number for each of the at least one used CG occasion. The operation of determining the HARQ process number may refer to the operation described above with reference to FIG. 2 or FIG. 4, and therefore will not be repeated here.

[0177] On the other side of the communication, the network device 110 receives 644 the uplink transmission 642. The network device 110 may further receive UCI associated with the used CG occasion.

[0178] Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram 700 of the association between UCI and CG occasions according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Assume Ncg=4 and nrofHARQ-Processes=4. Figure 7 shows a CG period 710 and a CG period 720, where each CG period has four configured CG occasions. A UCI may be a CG-UCI that may be transmitted on one of the configured CG occasions.

[0179] Terminal device 120 may determine at least one used CG occasion. Terminal device 120 may further determine a HARQ process number for each of the at least one used CG occasion. As shown in FIG. 7, assume that terminal device 120 determines two used CG occasions in CG period 710 with HARQ process numbers 0-1 and determines three used CG occasions in CG period 720 with HARQ process numbers 2-3 and 0. Because a traffic burst arrives after the first configured CG occasion, at least one used CG occasion does not start from the first configured CG occasion.

[0180] For example, UCI 711 associated with a first configured CG occasion indicates that the first configured CG occasion does not have a UL-SCH, UCI 713 associated with a second configured CG occasion indicates that the second configured CG occasion has a UL-SCH and further indicates that the HARQ process number for the second configured CG occasion is 0, and UCI 715 associated with a third configured CG occasion indicates that the third configured CG occasion has a UL-SCH and further indicates that the HARQ process number for the third configured CG occasion is 1.

[0181] As an example, UCIs 721, 723, and 715 associated with the first three configured CG occasions within CG period 720 may each indicate the presence of a UL-SCH and may further indicate that the HARQ process numbers of the three configured CG occasions are 2, 3, and 0, respectively.

[0182] 6 and 7, the UCI including the presence indication is transmitted from the terminal device 120 to the network device 110, so that the network device 110 can know whether the UL-SCH is transmitted, and thus the network device 110 can know whether a traffic burst arrives late at the terminal device 120. Therefore, the efficiency of communication between the terminal device and the network device can be improved.

[0183] 8 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method 800 implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the method 800 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 120 with reference to FIG.

[0184] In block 810, the terminal device 120 receives CG information from the network device indicating multiple configured CG occasions within a CG period. In block 820, the terminal device 120 determines whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame. In block 830, if the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame, the terminal device 120 determines an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame. In block 840, the terminal device 120 determines multiple HARQ process numbers for the multiple configured CG occasions based on at least one of the number of the multiple configured CG occasions or a current symbol number determined based on the integer value. In block 850, the terminal device 120 performs uplink transmission to the network device based on the multiple HARQ process numbers.

[0185] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 120 determines the integer value as a predefined value when the system frame number (SFN) is equal to the reference SFN or SFN start time, or updates the integer value by incrementing it by 1 at the start of a new hyper system frame.

[0186] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 determines a reference SFN or SFN start time based on the CG information.

[0187] In some exemplary embodiments, the integer value is the hypersystem frame number of the hypersystem frame that contains the multiple configured CG occasions.

[0188] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 determines at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions. In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 transmits to network device 110 a UCI indicating at least one of: a first number of the at least one used CG occasion, a second number of the at least one unused CG occasion, a first index of the last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion, or a second index of the first unused CG occasion of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0189] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI further indicates a number of HARQ process numbers.

[0190] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 receives a DCI from network device 110 instructing the terminal device to retransmit on an indicated HARQ process number of one of the at least one used CG occasion. In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 performs an uplink retransmission based on the DCI in one of the at least one used CG occasion.

[0191] In some demonstrative embodiments, terminal device 120 determines that the configured CG occasion that overlaps with the unavailable resource is one of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0192] In some exemplary embodiments, when a CG period does not span two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame, the terminal device 120 determines multiple HARQ process numbers for the multiple configured CG occasions based on the number of the multiple configured CG occasions and the current symbol number, where the current symbol number is at least one of the symbol index of the first symbol in a first configured CG occasion among the multiple configured CG occasions or the symbol index of the first symbol in an associated configured CG occasion of the multiple configured CG occasions.

[0193] 9 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method 900 implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the method 900 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 120 with reference to FIG.

[0194] In block 910, terminal device 120 receives CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period from network device 110. In block 920, terminal device 120 determines at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions. In block 930, terminal device 120 determines a first HARQ process number for a first configured CG occasion of the plurality of configured CG occasions. In block 940, the terminal device 120 transmits to the network device 110 a UCI associated with at least a first configured CG occasion, the UCI including at least one of a first number of at least one used CG occasion, a second number of at least one unused CG occasion, a first index of the last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion, a second index of the first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion, or an HARQ process indication indicating at least a first HARQ process number.

[0195] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 120 determines the first HARQ process number for the first configured CG occasion based on at least one of the number of multiple configured CG occasions or the symbol index of the first symbol within the first configured CG occasion.

[0196] In some exemplary embodiments, if an uplink transmission in a first configured CG occasion is a retransmission or a repetition, terminal device 120 determines that the first HARQ process number of the first configured CG occasion is equal to the second HARQ process number of the second configured CG occasion for the first transmission.

[0197] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 120 determines a second HARQ process number for a second used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion based on the HARQ process number of the first used CG occasion that is closest to and before the second used CG occasion plus one.

[0198] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI includes at least one UCI associated with at least one used CG occasion.

[0199] In some example embodiments, the HARQ process indication in each of the at least one UCI is used to indicate the HARQ process number of the associated used CG occasion.

[0200] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 120 determines at least one HARQ process number for at least one used CG occasion based on at least one of the number of multiple configured CG occasions, or the symbol index of the first symbol in a first configured CG occasion among the multiple configured CG occasions, or the symbol index of the first symbol in an associated used CG occasion.

[0201] In some exemplary embodiments, at least one HARQ process number of at least one used CG occasion is consecutive.

[0202] In some demonstrative embodiments, terminal device 120 determines that the configured CG occasion that overlaps with the unavailable resource is one of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0203] In some exemplary embodiments, the first number is greater than or equal to a preset or predefined minimum number.

[0204] In some exemplary embodiments, the second number is less than or equal to a number that is the difference between the number of the plurality of CG occasions and a preset or predefined minimum number.

[0205] 10 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method 1000 implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the method 1000 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 120 with reference to FIG.

[0206] In block 1010, terminal device 120 receives, from a network device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period. In block 1020, terminal device 120 transmits, to the network device, UCI associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted at the configured CG occasion.

[0207] In some demonstrative embodiments, terminal device 120 determines at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from a plurality of configured CG occasions.

[0208] In some exemplary embodiments, the set CG occasion includes one of the at least one set CG occasion prior to the at least one used CG occasion in the CG period.

[0209] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI further includes at least one of a numeric indication or a HARQ process indication (HPI) having a predefined value.

[0210] In some exemplary embodiments, the presence indication is implicitly indicated by at least one of a numeric indication or a HARQ process indication.

[0211] In some exemplary embodiments, the set CG occasion includes one of the at least one used CG occasion.

[0212] In some example embodiments, the UCI further includes at least one of: a first indication indicating a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; a second indication indicating a second index of a first unused CG occasion after the at least one used CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating a HARQ process number of the configured CG occasion.

[0213] In some demonstrative embodiments, terminal device 120 determines that the configured CG occasion that overlaps with the unavailable resource is one of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0214] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 transmits the uplink shared channel to the network device after the arrival of the traffic burst.

[0215] 11 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method 1100 implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the method 1100 will be described from the perspective of the network device 110 with reference to FIG.

[0216] In block 1110, the network device 110 transmits CG information to the terminal device indicating multiple configured CG occasions within the CG period. In block 1120, the network device 110 determines whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame. In block 1130, if the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame, the network device 110 determines an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame. In block 1140, the network device 110 determines multiple HARQ process numbers for the multiple configured CG occasions based on at least one of the number of the multiple configured CG occasions or a current symbol number determined based on the integer value. In block 1150, the network device 110 receives an uplink transmission from the terminal device based on the multiple HARQ process numbers.

[0217] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device 110 determines the integer value as a predefined value when the system frame number (SFN) is equal to the reference SFN or SFN start time, or updates the integer value by incrementing it by one at the start of a new hyper system frame.

[0218] In some exemplary embodiments, the CG information further indicates a reference SFN or an SFN start time.

[0219] In some exemplary embodiments, the integer value is the hypersystem frame number of the hypersystem frame that contains the multiple configured CG occasions.

[0220] In some demonstrative embodiments, network device 110 receives from the terminal device a UCI indicating at least one of: a first number of at least one used CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a first index of the last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion; or a second index of the first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0221] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI further indicates a number of HARQ process numbers.

[0222] In some exemplary embodiments, network device 110 transmits downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device instructing the terminal device to retransmit on an indicated HARQ process number of one of the at least one used CG occasion. In some exemplary embodiments, network device 110 receives from the terminal device an uplink retransmission based on the DCI in one of the at least one used CG occasion.

[0223] In some exemplary embodiments, if the CG period does not span two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame, the network device 110 determines multiple HARQ process numbers for the multiple configured CG occasions based on the number of the multiple configured CG occasions and the current symbol number, where the current symbol number is at least one of the symbol index of the first symbol in a first configured CG occasion of the multiple configured CG occasions or the symbol index of the first symbol in an associated configured CG occasion of the multiple configured CG occasions.

[0224] 12 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method 1200 implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the method 1200 will be described from the perspective of the network device 110 with reference to FIG.

[0225] In block 1210, the network device 110 transmits CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period to the terminal device. In block 1220, the network device 110 receives UCI associated with at least a first configured CG occasion from the terminal device, the UCI including at least one of: a first number of at least one used CG occasion of the plurality of configured CG occasions; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion of the plurality of configured CG occasions; a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of a first unused CG occasion of the at least one unused CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating a first HARQ process number of the at least first configured CG occasion.

[0226] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device 110 determines the first HARQ process number for the first configured CG occasion based on at least one of the number of multiple configured CG occasions or the symbol index of the first symbol in the first configured CG occasion.

[0227] In some exemplary embodiments, if an uplink transmission in a first configured CG occasion is a retransmission or a repeat, the network device 110 determines that the first HARQ process number of the first configured CG occasion is equal to the second HARQ process number of the second configured CG occasion for the first transmission.

[0228] In some example embodiments, the network device 110 determines a second HARQ process number for a second used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion based on the HARQ process number of a first used CG occasion that is closest to and precedes the second used CG occasion plus one.

[0229] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI includes at least one UCI associated with at least one used CG occasion.

[0230] In some example embodiments, the HARQ process indication in each of the at least one UCI is used to indicate the HARQ process number of the associated CG occasion.

[0231] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device 110 determines at least one HARQ process number for at least one used CG occasion based on at least one of the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions, or the symbol index of the first symbol in a first configured CG occasion of the plurality of configured CG occasions, or the symbol index of the first symbol in an associated used CG occasion.

[0232] In some exemplary embodiments, at least one HARQ process number of at least one used CG occasion is consecutive.

[0233] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one UCI includes a first UCI and a second UCI having information, and the network device 110 determines the at least one used CG occasion based on the most recently received UCI.

[0234] In some exemplary embodiments, the first number is greater than or equal to a preset or predefined minimum number.

[0235] In some exemplary embodiments, the second number is less than or equal to a number that is the difference between the number of the plurality of CG occasions and a preset or predefined minimum number.

[0236] 13 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method 1300 implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ease of explanation, the method 1300 will be described from the perspective of the network device 110 with reference to FIG.

[0237] In block 1310, the network device 110 transmits CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period to the terminal device. In block 1320, the network device 110 receives UCI from the terminal device associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted on the configured CG occasion.

[0238] In some exemplary embodiments, the set CG occasion includes one of the at least one set CG occasion prior to the at least one used CG occasion in the CG period.

[0239] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI further includes at least one of a numeric indication or a HARQ process indication having a predefined value.

[0240] In some exemplary embodiments, the presence indication is implicitly indicated by at least one of a numeric indication or a HARQ process indication.

[0241] In some exemplary embodiments, if the presence indication indicates that no uplink shared channel is being transmitted on the associated CG occasion, the network device 110 ignores the numeric indication and the HARQ process indication in the UCI.

[0242] In some exemplary embodiments, the set CG occasion includes one of the at least one used CG occasion.

[0243] In some example embodiments, the UCI further includes at least one of: a first indication indicating a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; a second indication indicating a second index of a first unused CG occasion after the at least one used CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating a HARQ process number of the configured CG occasion.

[0244] Details of some embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 13. Exemplary implementations of a terminal device and a network device will be described below.

[0245] In some exemplary embodiments, a terminal device comprises circuitry configured to receive from a network device CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period, determine whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame, determine an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame according to a determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame, determine a plurality of HARQ process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions or a current symbol number determined based on the integer value, and perform uplink transmission to the network device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers.

[0246] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device comprises circuitry configured to determine the integer value as a predefined value when the system frame number (SFN) is equal to a reference SFN or SFN start time, or to update the integer value by incrementing it by one at the start of a new hyper system frame.

[0247] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device comprises circuitry configured to determine a reference SFN or an SFN start time based on the CG information.

[0248] In some exemplary embodiments, the integer value is the hypersystem frame number of the hypersystem frame that contains the multiple configured CG occasions.

[0249] In some demonstrative embodiments, the terminal device comprises circuitry configured to determine at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from a plurality of configured CG occasions, and to transmit uplink control information (UCI) to the network device indicating at least one of: a first number of the at least one used CG occasion, a second number of the at least one unused CG occasion, a first index of the last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion, or a second index of the first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0250] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI further indicates a number of HARQ process numbers.

[0251] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device comprises circuitry configured to receive downlink control information (DCI) from the network device instructing the terminal device to retransmit on an indicated HARQ process number of one of the at least one used CG occasions, and to perform an uplink retransmission based on the DCI in one of the at least one used CG occasions.

[0252] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device includes circuitry configured to determine that a configured CG occasion that overlaps with an unavailable resource is one of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0253] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device includes circuitry configured to determine, in accordance with a determination that the CG period does not span two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame, multiple HARQ process numbers for multiple configured CG occasions based on the number of multiple configured CG occasions and a current symbol number, where the current symbol number is at least one of a symbol index of a first symbol in a first configured CG occasion among the multiple configured CG occasions, or a symbol index of a first symbol in an associated configured CG occasion of the multiple configured CG occasions.

[0254] In some exemplary embodiments, a terminal device comprises circuitry configured to receive, from a network device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period, determine at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions, determine a first HARQ process number for a first configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, and transmit uplink control information (UCI) associated with the at least first configured CG occasion to the network device, wherein the UCI includes at least one of: a first number of the at least one used CG occasion; a second number of the at least one unused CG occasion; a first index of the last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of the first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating at least the first HARQ process number.

[0255] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device comprises circuitry configured to determine the first HARQ process number by determining the first HARQ process number for a first configured CG occasion based on at least one of the number of multiple configured CG occasions or a symbol index of a first symbol within the first configured CG occasion.

[0256] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device comprises circuitry configured to determine a first HARQ process number by determining, in accordance with a determination that an uplink transmission in a first configured CG occasion is a retransmission or a repeat, that the first HARQ process number of the first configured CG occasion is equal to a second HARQ process number of a second configured CG occasion for the first transmission.

[0257] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device comprises circuitry configured to determine a second HARQ process number of a second used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion based on the HARQ process number of a first used CG occasion that is closest to and before the second used CG occasion plus one.

[0258] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI includes at least one UCI associated with at least one used CG occasion.

[0259] In some example embodiments, the HARQ process indication in each of the at least one UCI is used to indicate the HARQ process number of the associated used CG occasion.

[0260] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device comprises circuitry configured to determine at least one HARQ process number for at least one used CG occasion based on at least one of the number of multiple configured CG occasions, or a symbol index of a first symbol in a first configured CG occasion of the multiple configured CG occasions, or a symbol index of a first symbol in an associated used CG occasion.

[0261] In some exemplary embodiments, at least one HARQ process number of at least one used CG occasion is consecutive.

[0262] In some demonstrative embodiments, the terminal device includes circuitry configured to determine at least one unused CG occasion by determining that a configured CG occasion that overlaps with the unavailable resource is one of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0263] In some exemplary embodiments, the first number is greater than or equal to a preset or predefined minimum number.

[0264] In some exemplary embodiments, the second number is less than or equal to a number that is the difference between the number of the plurality of CG occasions and a preset or predefined minimum number.

[0265] In some exemplary embodiments, a terminal device comprises circuitry configured to receive, from a network device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period, and to transmit, to the network device, uplink control information (UCI) associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, wherein the UCI includes a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted at the configured CG occasion.

[0266] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device comprises circuitry configured to determine at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from a plurality of configured CG occasions.

[0267] In some exemplary embodiments, the set CG occasion includes one of the at least one set CG occasion prior to the at least one used CG occasion in the CG period.

[0268] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI further includes at least one of a numeric indication or a HARQ process indication having a predefined value.

[0269] In some exemplary embodiments, the presence indication is implicitly indicated by at least one of a numeric indication or a HARQ process indication.

[0270] In some exemplary embodiments, the set CG occasion includes one of the at least one used CG occasion.

[0271] In some example embodiments, the UCI further includes at least one of: a first indication indicating a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; a second indication indicating a second index of a first unused CG occasion after the at least one used CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating a HARQ process number of the configured CG occasion.

[0272] In some demonstrative embodiments, the terminal device includes circuitry configured to determine at least one unused CG occasion by determining that a configured CG occasion that overlaps with the unavailable resource is one of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0273] In some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device comprises circuitry configured to transmit an uplink shared channel to the network device after arrival of a traffic burst.

[0274] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device comprises circuitry configured to: send, to a terminal device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; determine whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determine an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame according to a determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determine a plurality of HARQ process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions or a current symbol number determined based on the integer value; and receive an uplink transmission from the terminal device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers.

[0275] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device comprises circuitry configured to determine the integer value by determining the integer value as a predefined value when the system frame number (SFN) is equal to a reference SFN or an SFN start time, or by updating the integer value by incrementing it by one at the start of a new hyper system frame.

[0276] In some exemplary embodiments, the CG information further indicates a reference SFN or an SFN start time.

[0277] In some exemplary embodiments, the integer value is the hypersystem frame number of the hypersystem frame that contains the multiple configured CG occasions.

[0278] In some demonstrative embodiments, the network device comprises circuitry configured to receive, from the terminal device, uplink control information (UCI) indicating at least one of: a first number of at least one used CG occasions among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a second number of at least one unused CG occasions among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a first index of a last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion; or a second index of a first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0279] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI further indicates a number of HARQ process numbers.

[0280] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device comprises circuitry configured to send downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal device instructing the terminal device to retransmit on an indicated HARQ process number of one of the at least one used CG occasion, and to receive from the terminal device an uplink retransmission based on the DCI in one of the at least one used CG occasion.

[0281] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device comprises circuitry configured to determine, in accordance with a determination that the CG period does not span two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame, a plurality of HARQ process numbers for a plurality of configured CG occasions based on the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions and a current symbol number, wherein the current symbol number is at least one of a symbol index of a first symbol in a first configured CG occasion of the plurality of configured CG occasions or a symbol index of a first symbol in an associated configured CG occasion of the plurality of configured CG occasions.

[0282] In some exemplary embodiments, a network device comprises circuitry configured to transmit, to a terminal device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period, and to receive from the terminal device uplink control information (UCI) associated with at least a first configured CG occasion, wherein the UCI includes at least one of: a first number of at least one used CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a first index of a last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of a first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating a first HARQ process number of the at least first configured CG occasion.

[0283] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device comprises circuitry configured to determine a first HARQ process number for a first configured CG occasion based on at least one of a number of the plurality of configured CG occasions or a symbol index of a first symbol within the first configured CG occasion.

[0284] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device comprises circuitry configured to determine a first HARQ process number by, in accordance with a determination that an uplink transmission in a first configured CG occasion is a retransmission or a repeat, determining that the first HARQ process number of the first configured CG occasion is equal to a second HARQ process number of a second configured CG occasion for the first transmission.

[0285] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device comprises circuitry configured to determine a second HARQ process number for a second used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion based on the HARQ process number of a first used CG occasion that is closest to and before the second used CG occasion plus one.

[0286] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI includes at least one UCI associated with at least one used CG occasion.

[0287] In some example embodiments, the HARQ process indication in each of the at least one UCI is used to indicate the HARQ process number of the associated CG occasion.

[0288] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device comprises circuitry configured to determine at least one HARQ process number for at least one used CG occasion based on at least one of: a number of the plurality of configured CG occasions, or a symbol index of a first symbol in a first configured CG occasion of the plurality of configured CG occasions, or a symbol index of a first symbol in an associated used CG occasion.

[0289] In some exemplary embodiments, at least one HARQ process number of at least one used CG occasion is consecutive.

[0290] In some exemplary embodiments, the at least one UCI includes a first UCI and a second UCI having information, and the network device comprises circuitry configured to determine the at least one used CG occasion based on the most recently received UCI.

[0291] In some exemplary embodiments, the first number is greater than or equal to a preset or predefined minimum number.

[0292] In some exemplary embodiments, the second number is less than or equal to a number that is the difference between the number of the plurality of CG occasions and a preset or predefined minimum number.

[0293] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device comprises circuitry configured to transmit, to a terminal device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period, and to receive, from the terminal device, uplink control information (UCI) associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted at the configured CG occasion.

[0294] In some exemplary embodiments, the set CG occasion includes one of the at least one set CG occasion prior to the at least one used CG occasion in the CG period.

[0295] In some exemplary embodiments, the UCI further includes at least one of a numeric indication or a HARQ process indication having a predefined value.

[0296] In some exemplary embodiments, the presence indication is implicitly indicated by at least one of a numeric indication or a HARQ process indication.

[0297] In some exemplary embodiments, the network device comprises circuitry configured to ignore the numeric indication and the HARQ process indication in the UCI in accordance with a determination that the presence indication indicates that an uplink shared channel is not being transmitted on the associated CG occasion.

[0298] In some exemplary embodiments, the set CG occasion includes one of the at least one used CG occasion.

[0299] In some example embodiments, the UCI further includes at least one of: a first indication indicating a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; a second indication indicating a second index of a first unused CG occasion after the at least one used CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating a HARQ process number of the configured CG occasion.

[0300] 14 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 1400 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Apparatus 1400 can be considered a further exemplary implementation of terminal device 120 and network device 110, as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, apparatus 1400 can be implemented in, or as at least a portion of, terminal device 120 or network device 110.

[0301] As shown in the figure, the apparatus 1400 includes a processor 1410, a memory 1420 coupled to the processor 1410, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1440 coupled to the processor 1410, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1440. The memory 1410 stores at least a portion of a program 1430. The TX / RX 1440 is for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 1440 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although in practice, the access nodes referred to in this disclosure may have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between eNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Serving Gateway (S-GW) and an eNB, a Un interface for communication between an eNB and a relay node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between an eNB and a terminal device.

[0302] The program 1430 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by an associated processor 1410, enable the device 1400 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, as described herein with reference to FIGS. 1-13. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1410 of the device 1400, by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1410 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the combination of the processor 1410 and the memory 1420 may form a processing means 1450 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0303] Memory 1420 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, including, but not limited to, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed and removable memory, etc. Although only one memory 1420 is shown in device 1400, multiple physically distinct memory modules may be present in device 1400. Processor 1410 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, but is not limited to, 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. Device 1400 may include multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips time-slaved to a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0304] In summary, the embodiments of the present disclosure can provide the following solutions:

[0305] The present disclosure provides a terminal device having at least one processor, wherein the processor is configured to cause the terminal device to at least: receive CG information from a network device indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; determine whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determine an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame according to the determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determine a plurality of HARQ process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions or a current symbol number determined based on the integer value; and perform uplink transmission to the network device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers.

[0306] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the terminal device is configured to determine the integer value by determining the integer value as a predefined value when the system frame number (SFN) is equal to the reference SFN or SFN start time, or by updating the integer value by incrementing it by 1 at the start of a new hyper system frame.

[0307] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the terminal device is further configured to determine a reference SFN or an SFN start time based on the CG information.

[0308] In one embodiment, in such a terminal device, the integer value is the hypersystem frame number of a hypersystem frame that includes a plurality of configured CG occasions.

[0309] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the terminal device is further configured to determine at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions, and to transmit uplink control information (UCI) to the network device indicating at least one of: a first number of the at least one used CG occasion, a second number of the at least one unused CG occasion, a first index of the last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion, or a second index of the first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0310] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the UCI further indicates a plurality of HARQ process numbers.

[0311] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the terminal device is further configured to receive downlink control information (DCI) from the network device instructing the terminal device to retransmit on an indicated HARQ process number of one of the at least one used CG occasions, and to perform uplink retransmission based on the DCI in one of the at least one used CG occasions.

[0312] In one embodiment, in a terminal device as described above, the terminal device is configured to determine at least one unused CG occasion by determining that a configured CG occasion that overlaps with an unavailable resource is one of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0313] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the terminal device is further configured to, according to a determination that the CG period does not span two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame, determine multiple HARQ process numbers for the multiple configured CG occasions based on the number of the multiple configured CG occasions and the current symbol number, wherein the current symbol number is at least one of the symbol index of the first symbol in a first configured CG occasion among the multiple configured CG occasions, or the symbol index of the first symbol in an associated configured CG occasion of the multiple configured CG occasions.

[0314] The present disclosure provides a terminal device having at least one processor, wherein the processor is configured to cause the terminal device to at least receive from a network device CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; determine at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions; determine a first HARQ process number of a first configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; and transmit uplink control information (UCI) associated with at least the first configured CG occasion to the network device, wherein the UCI includes at least one of: a first number of at least one used CG occasion; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion; a first index of a last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of a first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating at least a first HARQ process number.

[0315] In one embodiment, in a terminal device as described above, the terminal device is configured to determine the first HARQ process number by determining the first HARQ process number of a first configured CG occasion based on at least one of the number of multiple configured CG occasions or the symbol index of a first symbol in the first configured CG occasion.

[0316] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the terminal device is configured to determine the first HARQ process number by determining that the first HARQ process number of the first configured CG occasion is equal to the second HARQ process number of the second configured CG occasion for the first transmission according to a determination that the uplink transmission in the first configured CG occasion is a retransmission or a repetition.

[0317] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the terminal device is further configured to determine a second HARQ process number of a second used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion based on the HARQ process number of the first used CG occasion that is closest to the second used CG occasion and before the second used CG occasion plus one.

[0318] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the UCI includes at least one UCI associated with at least one used CG occasion.

[0319] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the HARQ process indication in each of the at least one UCI is used to indicate the HARQ process number of the associated used CG occasion.

[0320] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the terminal device is further configured to determine at least one HARQ process number for at least one used CG occasion based on at least one of the number of multiple configured CG occasions, or the symbol index of a first symbol in a first configured CG occasion among the multiple configured CG occasions, or the symbol index of a first symbol in an associated used CG occasion.

[0321] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, at least one HARQ process number of at least one used CG occasion is consecutive.

[0322] In one embodiment, in a terminal device as described above, the terminal device is configured to determine at least one unused CG occasion by determining that a configured CG occasion that overlaps with an unavailable resource is one of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0323] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the first number is equal to or greater than a preset or predefined minimum number.

[0324] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the second number is equal to or less than the difference between the number of the plurality of CG occasions and a preset or predefined minimum number.

[0325] The present disclosure provides a terminal device having at least one processor, the processor being configured to cause the terminal device to at least receive, from a network device, CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period, and to transmit, to the network device, uplink control information (UCI) associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, wherein the UCI includes a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted at the configured CG occasion.

[0326] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the terminal device is further configured to determine at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions.

[0327] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the set CG occasion includes one of the at least one set CG occasion that precedes the at least one used CG occasion within the CG period.

[0328] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the UCI further includes at least one of a numeric indication or a HARQ process indication having a predefined value.

[0329] In one embodiment, in such a terminal device, the presence indication is implicitly indicated by at least one of a numerical indication or a HARQ process indication.

[0330] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the set CG occasion includes one of the at least one used CG occasion.

[0331] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the UCI further includes at least one of a first indication indicating a first index of a last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion, a second indication indicating a second index of a first unused CG occasion after the at least one used CG occasion, or an HARQ process indication indicating a HARQ process number of the configured CG occasion.

[0332] In one embodiment, in a terminal device as described above, the terminal device is configured to determine at least one unused CG occasion by determining that a configured CG occasion that overlaps with an unavailable resource is one of the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0333] In one embodiment, in the terminal device as described above, the terminal device is further configured to transmit the uplink shared channel to the network device after the arrival of the traffic burst.

[0334] The present disclosure provides a network device having at least one processor, wherein the processor is configured to cause the network device to at least perform the following: send CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period to a terminal device; determine whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determine an integer value associated with the hypersystem frame according to a determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame; determine a plurality of HARQ process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions or a current symbol number determined based on the integer value; and receive an uplink transmission from the terminal device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers.

[0335] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the network device is configured to determine the integer value by determining the integer value as a predefined value when the system frame number (SFN) is equal to the reference SFN or SFN start time, or by updating the integer value by incrementing it by 1 at the start of a new hyper system frame.

[0336] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the CG information further indicates a reference SFN or an SFN start time.

[0337] In one embodiment, in such a network device, the integer value is the hypersystem frame number of a hypersystem frame that contains a plurality of configured CG occasions.

[0338] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the network device is further configured to receive uplink control information (UCI) from the terminal device indicating at least one of: a first number of at least one used CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a first index of the last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion; or a second index of the first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion.

[0339] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the UCI further indicates a plurality of HARQ process numbers.

[0340] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the network device is further configured to transmit downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal device instructing the terminal device to retransmit on an indicated HARQ process number of one of the at least one used CG occasions, and to receive an uplink retransmission from the terminal device based on the DCI in one of the at least one used CG occasions.

[0341] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the network device is further configured, according to a determination that the CG period does not span two hypersystem frames or starts in a new hypersystem frame, to determine a plurality of HARQ process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions and a current symbol number, wherein the current symbol number is at least one of the symbol index of a first symbol in a first configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, or the symbol index of a first symbol in an associated configured CG occasion of the plurality of configured CG occasions.

[0342] The present disclosure provides a network device having at least one processor, wherein the processor is configured to cause the network device to at least: transmit CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period to a terminal device; and receive uplink control information (UCI) associated with at least a first configured CG occasion from the terminal device, wherein the UCI includes at least one of: a first number of at least one used CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a first index of the last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of the first unused CG occasion among the at least one unused CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating a first HARQ process number of the at least first configured CG occasion.

[0343] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the network device is further configured to determine a first HARQ process number for a first configured CG occasion based on at least one of the number of multiple configured CG occasions or a symbol index of a first symbol in the first configured CG occasion.

[0344] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the network device is configured to determine the first HARQ process number by, according to a determination that an uplink transmission in the first configured CG occasion is a retransmission or a repeat, determining that the first HARQ process number of the first configured CG occasion is equal to the second HARQ process number of the second configured CG occasion for the first transmission.

[0345] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the network device is further configured to determine a second HARQ process number of a second used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion based on the HARQ process number of a first used CG occasion that is closest to the second used CG occasion and precedes the second used CG occasion plus one.

[0346] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the UCI includes at least one UCI associated with at least one used CG occasion.

[0347] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the HARQ process indication in each of the at least one UCI is used to indicate the HARQ process number of the associated CG occasion.

[0348] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the network device is further configured to determine at least one HARQ process number for at least one used CG occasion based on at least one of the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions, or the symbol index of the first symbol in a first configured CG occasion of the plurality of configured CG occasions, or the symbol index of the first symbol in an associated used CG occasion.

[0349] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, at least one HARQ process number of at least one used CG occasion is consecutive.

[0350] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the at least one UCI includes a first UCI and a second UCI having information, and the network device is further configured to determine at least one used CG occasion based on the most recently received UCI.

[0351] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the first number is greater than or equal to a pre-set or pre-defined minimum number.

[0352] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the second number is equal to or less than the difference between the number of the plurality of CG occasions and a preset or predefined minimum number.

[0353] The present disclosure provides a network device having at least one processor, the processor being configured to cause the network device to at least: transmit CG information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period to a terminal device; and receive uplink control information (UCI) from the terminal device associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted at the configured CG occasion.

[0354] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the configured CG occasion includes one of the at least one configured CG occasion prior to the at least one used CG occasion within the CG period.

[0355] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the UCI further includes at least one of a numeric indication or a HARQ process indication having a predefined value.

[0356] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the presence indication is implicitly indicated by at least one of a numeric indication or a HARQ process indication.

[0357] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the network device is further configured to ignore the numerical indication and the HARQ process indication in the UCI in accordance with a determination that the presence indication indicates that no uplink shared channel is being transmitted on the associated CG occasion.

[0358] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the configured CG occasion includes one of the at least one used CG occasion.

[0359] In one embodiment, in the network device as described above, the UCI further includes at least one of: a first indication indicating a first index of a last used CG occasion among the at least one used CG occasion; a second indication indicating a second index of a first unused CG occasion after the at least one used CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating a HARQ process number of the configured CG occasion.

[0360] The present disclosure provides a communication method including operations performed in the terminal device described above.

[0361] The present disclosure provides a communication method including operations performed in the network device described above.

[0362] The present disclosure provides a terminal device comprising a processor and a memory storing computer program code, the memory and the computer program code being configured, together with the processor, to cause the terminal device to execute the method implemented in the terminal device described above.

[0363] The present disclosure provides a network device comprising a processor and a memory storing computer program code, the memory and the computer program code being configured, together with the processor, to cause the network device to perform a method implemented in the network device described above.

[0364] The present disclosure provides a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method implemented in the terminal device or network device described above.

[0365] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may 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 executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representations, it will be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller, or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0366] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, that execute on a target real or virtual processor or device to perform the processes or methods described above with reference to Figures 2-13. 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. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0367] Program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, and when executed by the processor or controller, perform the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program code may be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0368] The program code may be embodied in a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-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 foregoing. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media include an electrical connection having 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 disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0369] Additionally, while operations are shown in a particular order, it should not be understood that such operations must be performed in the particular order shown, sequentially, or that all of the operations shown must be performed to achieve desirable results. In certain situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while the above description includes some specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular 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 individually or in any suitable subcombination.

[0370] 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. A terminal device comprising at least one processor, the processor providing the terminal device with at least: receiving configured grant (CG) information from a network device indicating a number of configured CG occasions within a CG period; determining whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or begins in a new hypersystem frame; determining an integer value associated with a hypersystem frame in accordance with a determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or begins in a new hypersystem frame; the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions; or a current symbol number determined based on said integer value; determining a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of: performing uplink transmission to the network device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers; configured to cause Terminal device.

2. The terminal device determining the integer value as a predefined value when a System Frame Number (SFN) is equal to a reference SFN or SFN start time; or updating said integer value by incrementing it by one at the start of said new hypersystem frame; configured to determine the integer value by The terminal device according to claim 1 .

3. The terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the integer value is a hypersystem frame number of the hypersystem frame that includes the plurality of configured CG occasions.

4. The terminal device determining at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions; and The network device, a first number of the at least one used CG occasion; a second number of the at least one unused CG occasion; a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; or a second index of a first unused CG occasion of the at least one unused CG occasion; transmitting uplink control information (UCI) indicating at least one of: further configured as follows: The terminal device according to claim 1 .

5. A terminal device comprising at least one processor, the processor providing the terminal device with at least: receiving configured grant (CG) information from a network device indicating a number of configured CG occasions within a CG period; determining at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions; determining a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number for a first configured CG occasion of the plurality of configured CG occasions; transmitting, to the network device, uplink control information (UCI) associated with at least the first configured CG occasion, the UCI comprising: a first number of the at least one used CG occasion; a second number of the at least one unused CG occasion; a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of a first unused CG occasion of the at least one unused CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating at least the first HARQ process number; and configured to cause Terminal device.

6. The terminal device and determining a second HARQ process number of a second used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion based on a HARQ process number of a first used CG occasion that is closest to and precedes the second used CG occasion plus one. The terminal device according to claim 5.

7. The terminal device of claim 5 , wherein the UCI includes at least one UCI associated with the at least one used CG occasion.

8. The terminal device of claim 7 , wherein the HARQ process indication in each of the at least one UCI is used to indicate a HARQ process number of an associated used CG occasion.

9. The terminal device of claim 5 , wherein the first number is equal to or greater than a preset or predefined minimum number.

10. A terminal device comprising at least one processor, the processor providing the terminal device with at least: receiving configured grant (CG) information from a network device indicating a number of configured CG occasions within a CG period; transmitting, to the network device, uplink control information (UCI) associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted on the configured CG occasion; configured to cause Terminal device.

11. A network device comprising at least one processor, the processor providing the network device with at least: transmitting configured grant (CG) information to a terminal device indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; determining whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or begins in a new hypersystem frame; determining an integer value associated with a hypersystem frame in accordance with a determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or begins in a new hypersystem frame; the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions; or a current symbol number determined based on said integer value; determining a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of: receiving an uplink transmission from the terminal device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers; configured to cause Network equipment.

12. A network device comprising at least one processor, the processor providing the network device with at least: transmitting configured grant (CG) information to a terminal device indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; receiving, from the terminal device, uplink control information (UCI) associated with at least a first configured CG occasion, the UCI comprising: a first number of at least one used CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of a first unused CG occasion of the at least one unused CG occasion; or a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process indication indicating a first HARQ process number of at least the first configured CG occasion; and configured to cause Network equipment.

13. A network device comprising at least one processor, the processor providing the network device with at least: transmitting configured grant (CG) information to a terminal device indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; receiving, from the terminal device, uplink control information (UCI) associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted on the configured CG occasion; configured to cause Network equipment.

14. 1. A communication method comprising: receiving, at the terminal device, configured grant (CG) information from a network device indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; determining whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or begins in a new hypersystem frame; determining an integer value associated with a hypersystem frame in accordance with a determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or begins in a new hypersystem frame; the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions; or a current symbol number determined based on said integer value; determining a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of: performing uplink transmission to the network device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers; Including, Communication method.

15. 1. A communication method comprising: receiving, at the terminal device, configured grant (CG) information from a network device indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; determining at least one used CG occasion and / or at least one unused CG occasion from the plurality of configured CG occasions; determining a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number for a first configured CG occasion of the plurality of configured CG occasions; transmitting, to the network device, uplink control information (UCI) associated with at least the first configured CG occasion, the UCI comprising: a first number of the at least one used CG occasion; a second number of the at least one unused CG occasion; a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of a first unused CG occasion of the at least one unused CG occasion; or a HARQ process indication indicating at least the first HARQ process number; and Including, Communication method.

16. 1. A communication method comprising: receiving, at the terminal device, configured grant (CG) information from a network device indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; transmitting, to the network device, uplink control information (UCI) associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted on the configured CG occasion; Including, Communication method.

17. 1. A communication method comprising: transmitting, in the network device, configured grant (CG) information to the terminal device, the configured grant (CG) information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; determining whether the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or begins in a new hypersystem frame; determining an integer value associated with a hypersystem frame in accordance with a determination that the CG period spans two hypersystem frames or begins in a new hypersystem frame; the number of the plurality of configured CG occasions; or a current symbol number determined based on said integer value; determining a plurality of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process numbers for the plurality of configured CG occasions based on at least one of: receiving an uplink transmission from the terminal device based on the plurality of HARQ process numbers; Including, Communication method.

18. 1. A communication method comprising: transmitting, in the network device, configured grant (CG) information to the terminal device, the configured grant (CG) information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; receiving, from the terminal device, uplink control information (UCI) associated with at least a first configured CG occasion, the UCI comprising: a first number of at least one used CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a second number of at least one unused CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions; a first index of a last used CG occasion of the at least one used CG occasion; a second index of a first unused CG occasion of the at least one unused CG occasion; or a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process indication indicating a first HARQ process number of at least the first configured CG occasion; and Including, Communication method.

19. 1. A communication method comprising: transmitting, in the network device, configured grant (CG) information to the terminal device, the configured grant (CG) information indicating a plurality of configured CG occasions within a CG period; receiving, from the terminal device, uplink control information (UCI) associated with a configured CG occasion among the plurality of configured CG occasions, the UCI including a presence indication indicating whether an uplink shared channel is transmitted on the configured CG occasion; Including, Communication method.

20. A computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method of any one of claims 14 to 19.

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