CONFIGURED GRANT PROCESSING METHOD, APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM - Patent application

Abstract

A configured grant processing method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium are provided. The configured grant processing method in the present application includes the steps of: obtaining configured grant CG information, where the CG information is used to configure a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of a first CG; transmitting indication information, where the indication information indicates a first time interval; and skipping data transmission on the PUSCH of the first CG within the first time interval. In the present application, when a terminal determines that uplink data transmission does not need to be performed via the PUSCH of the CG within the first time interval, the terminal feeds back the first time interval to a base station to help the base station allocate and use PUSCH resources within the first time interval, thereby reducing communication resource waste and improving communication resource utilization.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications technology, and in particular to a configured grant processing method, a communications device, and a computer-readable storage medium. [Background technology]

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202211743365.4, entitled "CONFIGURED GRANT PROCESSING METHOD, APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM," filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on December 30, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0003] With the continuous development of communication technology, data transmission delay is continuously reduced and transmission capacity is increasingly increased, and several multimedia services with high requirements for real-time performance and data capacity are gradually emerging, such as video transmission, cloud gaming (CG), and extended reality (XR). XR includes virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

[0004] Currently, for multimedia services with high requirements for real-time performance and data capacity, uplink service data transmission is mainly performed via a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configured using a configured grant (CG) mechanism. To increase the uplink service data transmission rate, a dense PUSCH may be configured, for example, by shortening the duration of each CG period, configuring multiple PUSCHs per period, or configuring multiple CGs.

[0005] In practical application, the amount of service data of a terminal usually changes dynamically. When the amount of uplink service data decreases under high-density PUSCH communication conditions, fewer PUSCHs are required to perform service data transmission. As a result, a large amount of PUSCHs are unused, resulting in wasted network resources. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium for reducing wastage of communication resources and improving utilization of communication resources.

[0007] According to a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which may be implemented by a terminal, or may be implemented by a component of the terminal (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or may be implemented by a logical node, a logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functionality of the terminal. The method includes: obtaining CG information, the CG information being used to configure a PUSCH of a first CG; transmitting indication information, the indication information indicating the first time interval; skipping the use of a PUSCH of a first CG within a first time interval, i.e., skipping uplink data transmission via a PUSCH in the first CG; Includes:

[0008] In the present application, when the terminal determines that uplink data transmission does not need to be performed via the PUSCH of the CG within the first time interval, the terminal may feed back the first time interval to the base station to help the base station allocate and use PUSCH resources within the first time interval, thereby reducing waste of communication resources and improving utilization of communication resources.

[0009] Optionally, uplink data transmission may further be performed via a PUSCH of the first CG within a time interval other than the first time interval.

[0010] Optionally, there may be one or more first CGs, which is not a limitation in the present application. According to another aspect, there may be one or more PUSCHs in each period of the first CG to meet different data transmission requirements, which is not a limitation in the present application.

[0011] Optionally, the CG information indicates information such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, and a period of the first CG.

[0012] According to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the indication information of the present application indicates the duration of a first time interval. However, when receiving the indication information, the base station may determine that the duration of the first time interval indicated by the indication information begins to be effective when the time domain currently used by the terminal device ends, thereby shortening the information length of the indication information and thereby improving the efficiency of transmitting the indication information.

[0013] According to the first aspect, in an optional implementation, in addition to indicating the duration of the first time interval, the indication information in the present application further indicates a start time of the first time interval. After receiving the indication information, the base station needs to wait until the start time indicated by the indication information arrives, and then determine that the duration of the first time interval indicated by the indication information begins to take effect, so that the first time interval indicated by the indication information becomes more accurate and flexible.

[0014] Based on the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the indication information of the present application indicates a first CG. The base station may configure one or more CGs for the terminal. When the base station configures multiple CGs for the terminal, the terminal may want to skip uplink data transmission for only a portion of the CGs (i.e., the first CG of the present application) within the first time interval. Therefore, the indication information transmitted by the terminal may carry index information indicating the first CG. Thus, after receiving the indication information, the base station knows that the terminal does not need to occupy a PUSCH in the first CG within the first time interval to perform uplink data transmission, and that the terminal still needs to use a PUSCH in a CG other than the first CG configured by the base station for the terminal. Therefore, the terminal can flexibly and freely select a CG that needs to be skipped, to improve the flexibility of the solution.

[0015] Based on the first aspect, in an optional implementation, first configuration information corresponding to a first CG is obtained, and the first configuration information configures that skipping a PUSCH of the first CG is permitted. Specifically, the base station may first configure whether skipping a CG is permitted, and the terminal skips a PUSCH for this CG within a first time interval only when skipping a CG is permitted, thereby preventing the terminal from erroneously skipping a PUSCH used for some high-priority service data, and thereby avoiding an impact on service execution.

[0016] Based on the first aspect, in an optional implementation, first response information is obtained, and the first response information indicates that the PUSCH of the first CG is allowed to be skipped within the first time interval. Therefore, before selecting to skip the PUSCH of the first CG, the terminal first receives a response confirmation from the base station, so as to ensure that the behavior of the terminal is consistent with the behavior of the base station and that the skipped PUSCH resource can be recycled by the base station.

[0017] Based on the first aspect, in an optional implementation, in addition to being used to configure a PUSCH of a first CG, the acquired CG information is further used to configure a PUSCH of a second CG. Thus, the PUSCH of the first CG is skipped within the first time interval, i.e., only some CGs configured by the terminal are skipped, and the PUSCH of the second CG is not skipped. Thus, data transmission can continue to be performed on the PUSCH of the second CG within the first time interval. Some CGs can be selected to be skipped. Thus, when some PUSCH resources are released, another PUSCH can continue to be reserved for data transmission, ensuring normal service execution.

[0018] Based on the first aspect, in an optional implementation, second configuration information corresponding to a second CG is obtained, and the first configuration information configures that the PUSCH of the second CG is not allowed to be skipped. Specifically, the base station may first configure whether the CG is allowed to be skipped. For a CG that is not allowed to be skipped, the terminal cannot skip the CG, thereby preventing the terminal from erroneously skipping the PUSCH used for some high-priority service data, thereby avoiding an impact on service execution.

[0019] Based on the first aspect, in an optional implementation, the indication information transmitted by the terminal is carried in uplink control information (UCI) or medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), so that existing communication protocols do not need to be extended or modified, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal transmitting the indication information.

[0020] According to a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which may be implemented by a base station, or by a component of the base station (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or by a logical node, a logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functionality of the base station. The method includes: sending configured grant CG information to a terminal, where the CG information is used to configure a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of a first CG; receiving indication information from the terminal, the indication information indicating a first time interval; not receiving data from the terminal on the PUSCH of the first CG within the first time interval (skip receiving data from the terminal on the PUSCH of the first CG within the first time interval); Includes:

[0021] Based on the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the indication information indicates a duration of the first time interval.

[0022] Based on the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the indication information further indicates a start time of the first time interval.

[0023] Based on the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the indication information indicates the first CG.

[0024] In accordance with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, a method comprises: The method further includes transmitting first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information configures that skipping of the PUSCH of the first CG is allowed.

[0025] In accordance with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, a method comprises: The method further includes transmitting first response information, where the first response information indicates that the PUSCH of the first CG is allowed to be skipped within the first time interval. Therefore, before selecting to skip the PUSCH of the first CG, the terminal first receives a response confirmation from the base station, so as to ensure that the behavior of the terminal is consistent with that of the base station and that the skipped PUSCH resource can be recycled by the base station.

[0026] According to the second aspect, in an optional implementation, the CG information is further used to configure a PUSCH of a second CG, and the method includes: The method further includes receiving data from the terminal on a PUSCH of the second CG within the first time interval.

[0027] In accordance with the second aspect, in a possible implementation, a method comprises: The method further includes transmitting second configuration information, wherein the second configuration information configures that skipping of the PUSCH of the second CG is not permitted.

[0028] The contents of information exchange and execution processing of the embodiment described in this aspect are based on the same concept as the embodiment described in the first aspect. Therefore, for the description of the beneficial effects of this aspect, please refer to the first aspect. The details will not be described again in this specification.

[0029] According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus. The apparatus may implement the method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect. The apparatus includes corresponding units or modules configured to perform the method. The units or modules included in the apparatus may be implemented by software and / or hardware. The apparatus may be, for example, a terminal, or a chip, chip system, processor, etc. that supports the terminal in implementing the method, or may be software that can implement all or part of the functions of a logical node, logical module, or terminal.

[0030] According to a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus. The apparatus may implement the method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect. The apparatus includes corresponding units or modules configured to perform the method. The units or modules included in the apparatus may be implemented by software and / or hardware. The apparatus may be, for example, a base station, or a chip, chip system, processor, etc. that supports the base station in implementing the method, or may be a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functionality of the base station.

[0031] According to a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus including a processor coupled to a memory configured to store instructions that, when executed by the processor, enable the apparatus to implement a method according to the first aspect or any one of possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0032] According to a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus including a processor coupled to a memory configured to store instructions that, when executed by the processor, enable the apparatus to implement a method according to the second aspect or any one of possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0033] According to a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, enable a computer to perform a method according to the first aspect or any one of possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0034] According to an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, enable a computer to perform a method according to the second aspect or any one of possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0035] According to a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, the computer program product comprising computer program code, which when executed on a computer enables the computer to perform a method according to the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect.

[0036] According to a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, the computer program product comprising computer program code, which when executed on a computer enables the computer to perform a method according to the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0037] According to an eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory. The memory is configured to store instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the chip is enabled to perform a method according to any one of the first aspect, the second aspect, possible implementations of the first aspect, or possible implementations of the second aspect.

[0038] According to a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system including an apparatus according to the third aspect and an apparatus according to the fourth aspect.

[0039] According to a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system including an apparatus according to the fifth aspect and an apparatus according to the sixth aspect.

[0040] The beneficial effects of the features in the third to thirteenth aspects corresponding to the first and second aspects may be understood by referring to the relevant descriptions in the first and second aspects, and the details will not be described again. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0041] [Figure 1] This is a diagram of the communication network architecture for XR technology. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram of a scenario for periodic transmission of video frames. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a scenario for configuring a PUSCH using a CG mechanism. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram of a scenario in which a denser PUSCH is configured. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 illustrates another scenario in which a denser PUSCH is configured. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 illustrates another scenario in which a denser PUSCH is configured. [Figure 7] 1 is a diagram of a possible non-limiting system architecture of a configured grant processing method according to the present application; [Figure 8] 1 is a schematic flow chart of a configured grant processing method according to the present application; [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a scenario in which the configured grant processing method according to the present application is applied to a short-period CG. [Figure 10] 1 is a diagram of a scenario in which the configured grant processing method according to the present application is applied to multiple CGs. [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram of a scenario in which the configured grant processing method according to the present application is applied to multiple PUSCHs configured within a period. [Figure 12] 1 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is another structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 14] 1 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0042] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The embodiments of the present application provide a configured grant processing method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium for reducing communication resource waste and improving communication resource utilization.

[0043] The following describes the embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present application.The terms used in the implementation of the present application are only used to describe the specific implementation of the present application, and do not limit the present application.Those skilled in the art can know that with the development of technology and the emergence of new scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to similar technical problems.

[0044] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes an associative relationship between related objects and indicates that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B may indicate three cases: only A is present, both A and B are present, and only B is present, where A and B may be singular or plural. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c refers to a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c may be singular or plural.

[0045] In the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application, terms such as "first," "second," "third," and "fourth," if any, are used to distinguish between similar objects but do not necessarily indicate a particular order or sequence. Data used in this manner are interchangeable, where appropriate, to allow the embodiments of the application described herein to be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein. Additionally, the terms "comprise" and "have" and other variations are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a list of steps or units is not necessarily limited to the explicitly listed steps or units and may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent in such process, method, product, or device.

[0046] With the continuous development of communication technology, data transmission delay is continuously reduced and transmission capacity is increasingly increased, and several multimedia services with high requirements for real-time performance and data capacity are gradually emerging, such as video transmission, cloud gaming (CG), and extended reality (XR). XR includes virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

[0047] As communication transmission speeds rapidly improve, real-time video transmission services (including the aforementioned services such as cloud gaming, VR, and AR) are gradually becoming one of the core services in today's networks. Continuous advances and improvements in XR technology are also driving the development of related industries. Currently, as one of the XR technologies, VR technology is widely used in various fields closely related to people's production and daily lives, such as education, entertainment, medicine, environmental protection, transportation, and public health. Compared with traditional video services, VR offers multiple viewing angles, strong interaction, and other advantages, providing users with a new video experience. VR integrates multiple technologies, such as computer graphics and multimedia, to simulate the visual, auditory, tactile, and other functions of the human senses, and can implement real-time interaction through language and gestures to enhance immersion. AR technology uses computer technology to superimpose virtual information onto the real world. This virtual information is displayed and perceived by people through mobile phones, tablet computers, glasses, or other devices to integrate real and virtual information, enriching the real world. Simply put, real-world objects are given more information, enhancing the depth, visual effects, and interactive experience.

[0048] In XR technology, cloud computing technology and cloud rendering technology are introduced into XR service applications (including AR service applications and VR service applications). A high-speed and stable network allows display output, audio output, and the like on the cloud to be encoded and compressed before being transmitted to the terminal. In this way, XR service content can be moved to the cloud and rendered, and the terminal can be lightweight and mobile. FIG. 1 is a diagram of a communication network architecture in XR technology. As shown in FIG. 1, an XR service terminal connects to the network through a base station or another access point and obtains XR services from the cloud.

[0049] The service model of XR transmission services and video transmission services is usually such that video frames arrive periodically based on a frame rate. FIG. 2 is a diagram of a scenario of periodic transmission of video frames. As shown in FIG. 2, ideally, in a video with a frame rate of 60 frames per second (FPS), one frame of image arrives every 16.67 milliseconds. The data volume of XR transmission services and video transmission services is usually large. In addition, since different video frames have different compression rates and different frame types, the size of each video frame varies greatly. That is, the size of each video frame usually changes dynamically.

[0050] Different XR services typically have different uplink and downlink service models. Display changes in VR service scene content are caused by posture or position (action). The uplink transmission of VR services is primarily for terminal position and posture information, resulting in a small amount of data, typically only tens of kilobits per second (kbps). The downlink transmission of VR services is primarily for rendered video streams, resulting in a large amount of data, potentially reaching tens to hundreds of megabits per second (mbp). Unlike those of VR services, display changes in AR service scene content are caused by changes in the fixed focus target and the spatial relationship between the position and fixation point (action). The uplink transmission of AR services includes visual information (including depth) required for perception. Therefore, uplink transmission may be primarily for clear, stable, data-intensive images or video streams, or for some extracted environmental feature information. Generally, the network uplink rate required for the initial experience of an interactive AR service is about 2 Mbit / s, and the network uplink rate required for an advanced experience is 10 Mbit / s to 20 Mbit / s. Therefore, compared with VR services, AR services have higher requirements for uplink transmission speed, making uplink transmission more difficult.

[0051] Currently, for multimedia services (e.g., the aforementioned AR, VR, or video services) with high requirements for real-time performance and data capacity, data transmission of uplink services is mainly performed via a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) configured using a configured grant (CG) mechanism. Figure 3 illustrates a scenario for configuring a PUSCH using the CG mechanism. As shown in Figure 3, CG means that in uplink transmission processing, communication resources (which may include time-domain resources and frequency-domain resources) need to be allocated to a terminal only once by using radio resource control (RRC) signaling or downlink control information (DCI). In this case, the terminal may periodically and repeatedly use the same time-domain and frequency-domain resources to perform uplink transmission. There are two types of CG. Type 1 involves using RRC to configure related parameters for CG transmission, such as the CG period, and the time-domain and frequency-domain resources of the CG, and then activating the corresponding CG resources using RRC signaling. Type 2 is to configure parameters related to CG transmission, such as a CG period, using RRC, and to configure and activate corresponding CG resources using DCI.

[0052] In order to increase the uplink service data transmission rate, a high-density PUSCH may be configured to upload more service data. Specifically, the following methods may be used for implementation:

[0053] 4 is a diagram of a scenario in which a high-density PUSCH is configured. As shown in FIG. 4, the duration of each CG cycle can be shortened. In this case, the number of PUSCHs in the CG increases during the same period.

[0054] 5 is a diagram of another scenario in which a high-density PUSCH is configured. As shown in FIG. 5, the number of PUSCHs can be configured per CG period.

[0055] 6 is a diagram of another scenario in which a dense PUSCH is configured. As shown in FIG. 6, multiple CGs may be configured for a terminal. In this case, multiple PUSCHs from different CGs are used to perform uplink data transmission during a unit period.

[0056] In practical application, the amount of service data of a terminal usually changes dynamically. Under high-density PUSCH communication conditions, when the amount of uplink service data decreases, fewer PUSCHs are required to perform service data transmission. As a result, a large amount of PUSCHs are unused, resulting in wasted network resources.

[0057] In consideration of this, this application discloses a configured grant processing method, a communication device, and a computer-readable storage medium for reducing communication resource waste and improving communication resource utilization. For ease of understanding, a possible, non-limiting system architecture of the configured grant processing method in this application is first described. FIG. 7 is a diagram of a possible, non-limiting system architecture of the configured grant processing method according to the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, a communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in FIG. 7, collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (e.g., 120a to 120j in FIG. 7, collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may further include another RAN node, for example, a wireless relay device and / or a wireless backhaul device (not shown in FIG. 7). The terminals 120 are wirelessly connected to the RAN nodes 110. The RAN nodes 110 are wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network 200. The core network devices of the core network 200 and the RAN nodes 110 of the RAN 100 may be different physical devices or may be the same physical device that integrates the logical functions of the core network and the radio access network.

[0058] The RAN 100 may be a cellular system associated with the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP), such as a 4G or 5G mobile communications system, or a future-oriented evolved system (e.g., a 6G mobile communications system). The RAN 100 may alternatively be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN, or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system. The RAN 100 may alternatively be a communications system integrating two or more of the aforementioned systems.

[0059] The RAN node 110 may also be referred to as an access network device, RAN entity, access node, etc., and is part of a communication system for assisting terminals in implementing wireless access. The RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 10 may be the same type of node or different types of nodes. In some scenarios, the role of the RAN node 110 and the role of the terminal 120 are relative. For example, the network element 120i in FIG. 7 may be a helicopter or an unmanned aerial vehicle and may be configured as a mobile base station. With respect to the terminal 120j accessing the RAN 100 through the network element 120i, the network element 120i is a base station. However, with respect to the base station 110a, the network element 120i is a terminal. The RAN node 110 and the terminal 120 may be referred to as communication devices. For example, the network elements 110a and 110b in FIG. 7 may be understood as communication devices having base station functionality, and the network elements 120a through 120j may be understood as communication devices having terminal functionality.

[0060] In possible scenarios, the RAN node may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation NodeB in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access point in a Wi-Fi system, etc. The RAN node may be a macro base station (e.g., 110a in FIG. 7), a micro base station or an indoor base station (e.g., 110b in FIG. 7), a relay node or a donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node may alternatively be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. For example, an access network device in a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology may be a roadside unit (RSU). All or part of the functionality of a RAN node in this application may alternatively be implemented using software functions running on hardware or using virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). A RAN node in this application may alternatively be a logical node, a logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functionality of a RAN node.

[0061] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes cooperate to help terminals implement radio access, and another RAN node implements some of the functions of a base station. For example, a RAN node may be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and DU may be located separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0062] In other systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand the meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, the CU may be referred to as an O-CU (open CU), the DU may be referred to as an O-DU, the CU-CP may be referred to as an O-CU-CP, the CU-UP may be referred to as an O-CU-UP, and the RU may be referred to as an O-RU. For ease of explanation, the CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU are used in this application as illustrative examples. Any one of the CU (or CU-CP or CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application may be implemented by using a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0063] A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals may be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, and smart city. Terminals may be mobile phones, tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The device form of the terminal is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0064] In the communication system 10, the RAN nodes 110 and the terminals 120 may communicate with each other via a wireless network, a wired network, or a removable storage medium. The wireless network uses standard communication technologies and / or protocols. The wireless network is typically the Internet, but may alternatively be any network, including, but not limited to, any combination of Bluetooth, a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a mobile network, a private network, or a virtual private network. In some application scenarios, customized or dedicated data communication technologies may be used to replace or complement the aforementioned data communication technologies. The removable storage medium may be a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash memory, a removable hard disk, another removable storage medium, etc. This is not a limitation in this application.

[0065] In the following, the configured grant processing method in the present application will be described from the perspective of the interaction between the RAN node 110 and the terminal 120. It should be understood that the RAN node shown in FIG. 7 may alternatively be expressed differently, for example, as a "base station." For ease of explanation, the present application will use the term "base station" for description unless otherwise specified. In practical application, the technical solutions provided in the present application may also be applied to other "RAN nodes" that are expressed differently or are of different types.

[0066] FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart of a configured grant processing method according to the present application. In FIG. 8, an example in which a base station and a terminal are used as execution entities of an interaction example is used to describe the method. However, in the present application, the execution entities of the interaction example are not limited. For example, the base station in FIG. 8 may alternatively be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the base station in implementing the method, or may be a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the base station. The terminal in FIG. 8 may alternatively be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the terminal in implementing the method, or may be a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal. As shown in FIG. 8, the configured grant processing method of the present application includes the following steps:

[0067] 201: The base station transmits CG information to the terminal.

[0068] During service communication between a base station and a terminal, the base station first needs to configure a CG for the terminal so that uplink service data transmission at the terminal can be completed via a PUSCH with the CG allocated to the terminal by the base station. In practical application, the base station estimates the period, cycle, and data volume of the terminal's service based on the terminal's service information (including, but not limited to, a user service request, a quality of service (QoS) flow establishment request, or other assistance information reported by the terminal) to determine configuration parameters of CGs (including a first CG) that need to be configured for the terminal, such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, cycles, and other parameters. After configuring the CG configuration parameters, the base station transmits CG information to the terminal, which is used to configure a PUSCH for the first CG. After receiving the CG information, the terminal may transmit uplink data to the base station via a PUSCH with the first CG based on the information indicated by the CG information, such as the time domain resources, frequency domain resources, and cycles. In practical application, the base station may configure one or more CGs for the terminal. Therefore, the number of first CGs is not limited in this application. In addition, there may be one or more PUSCHs during each period of the first CG to meet different data transmission requirements, which is not limited in this application.

[0069] 202: The terminal transmits indication information to the base station.

[0070] In practical application, the amount of service data in a terminal usually changes dynamically. For example, if the amount of service data in the terminal is small (or even zero) during some time intervals or some periods, or if the terminal has another task with a high priority to perform, the terminal may not need to transmit uplink data to the base station during these time intervals or periods. Therefore, this also means that the terminal does not need to occupy the PUSCH to transmit uplink data. In the present application, the terminal may determine a time interval or period in which the terminal does not need to occupy the PUSCH to transmit uplink data, and the time interval or period in which the terminal does not need to occupy the PUSCH to transmit uplink data is the first time interval in the present application. The terminal may send indication information to the base station, where the indication information indicates the first time interval.

[0071] After receiving the indication information from the terminal, the base station may determine a PUSCH that does not need to be used by the terminal based on the first time interval indicated by the indication information, so that the PUSCH that does not need to be used by the terminal is reallocated for use to another terminal, thereby improving resource utilization of the PUSCH.

[0072] In this application, "sending information to A" may be understood as meaning that the final destination of the information is A, and may include sending information directly or indirectly to A. In addition, "receiving information from B" or "receiving information from B" may be understood as meaning that the sending end of the information is B, and may include receiving information directly or indirectly from a terminal. Necessary processing, such as formatting, may be performed on the information between the sending end and the final destination of the information transmission. However, the final destination may understand the valid information from the sending end. Similar expressions in this application may be understood in the same way, and details will not be explained again.

[0073] In the present application, the indication information may indicate the first time interval of a plurality of different content types, which will be described separately below.

[0074] In a possible implementation, the indication information transmitted by the terminal indicates the duration of the first time interval. However, when receiving the indication information, the base station may determine that the duration of the first time interval indicated by the indication information begins to be effective when the time domain currently used by the terminal device ends, thereby shortening the information length of the indication information and thereby improving the efficiency of transmitting the indication information by the terminal.

[0075] In a possible implementation, in addition to indicating the duration of the first time interval, the indication information transmitted by the terminal further indicates a start time of the first time interval. Upon receiving the indication information, the base station needs to wait until the start time indicated by the indication information arrives and then determine that the duration of the first time interval indicated by the indication information begins to take effect, thereby making the first time interval indicated by the indication information more accurate and flexible. For example, in practical application, the start time of the first time interval in the indication information may be represented by an "offset period." If the offset period in the indication information is 1 second, the base station determines that the duration of the first time interval indicated by the indication information begins to take effect 1 second after the base station receives the indication information.

[0076] In a possible implementation, the indication information transmitted by the terminal indicates a first CG. The base station may configure one or more CGs for the terminal. When the base station configures multiple CGs for the terminal, the terminal may want to skip uplink data transmission for only a portion of the CGs (i.e., the first CG in the present application) within the first time interval. Therefore, the indication information transmitted by the terminal may carry byte content indicating the first CG. Thus, after receiving the indication information, the base station knows that the terminal does not need to occupy a PUSCH with the first CG within the first time interval to perform uplink data transmission, and that the terminal still needs to use a PUSCH with a CG other than the first CG configured by the base station for the terminal. Therefore, the terminal can flexibly and freely select the CG that needs to be skipped to improve the flexibility of the solution. For example, the indication information may carry an index or an identifier of the first CG to indicate the first CG. In this case, after receiving the indication information, the base station uses the index or identifier of the first CG to determine that the CG for which the terminal wants to skip data transmission within the first time interval is the first CG. In another example, the indication information does not carry the index or identifier of the first CG. In this case, after receiving the indication information, the base station uses the CG in which the PUSCH used to transmit the indication information is located as the first CG, or uses all CGs of the terminal as the first CG.

[0077] It should be understood that in addition to the above-mentioned several content formats of the indication information, in actual application, the terminal may further indicate the first time interval in another different content format, which is not limited in the present application.

[0078] In a possible implementation, the indication information transmitted by the terminal is carried in uplink control information (UCI) or medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), so that existing communication protocols do not need to be extended or modified, thereby improving the efficiency with which the terminal transmits the indication information.

[0079] When the indication information is transmitted in a UCI, for example, the UCI includes three fields shown in Table 1 below, which are n bits, m bits, and q bits, respectively, and represent the duration of the first time interval, the start time of the first time interval, and the index information of the first CG, respectively.

[0080] [Table 1]

[0081] When the indication information is included in the MAC CE, for example, the MAC CE includes three fields shown in Table 2 below, which respectively represent the duration of the first time interval, the start time of the first time interval, and the index information of the first CG, and each field is 1 byte (8 bits).

[0082] [Table 2]

[0083] 203: The terminal skips data transmission on the PUSCH of the first CG within a first time interval.

[0084] The terminal skips using the PUSCH in the first CG during the first time interval, i.e., the terminal does not perform uplink data transmission via the PUSCH of the first CG. During time intervals other than the first time interval, the terminal may continue to perform uplink data transmission via the PUSCH of the first CG.

[0085] In the present application, when determining that uplink data transmission does not need to be performed via the PUSCH of the CG within the first time interval, the terminal may feed back the first time interval to the base station to help the base station allocate and use PUSCH resources within the first time interval, thereby reducing waste of communication resources and improving utilization of communication resources.

[0086] In a possible implementation, before selecting to skip the PUSCH of the first CG, the terminal first receives a response confirmation from the base station. Specifically, the terminal needs to receive first response information from the base station to confirm that the base station allows the terminal to skip the PUSCH of the first CG within the first time interval. In this way, it is possible to ensure that the behavior of the terminal is consistent with that of the base station, and that the skipped PUSCH resources can be recycled by the base station.

[0087] The configured grant processing method in this application can be applied to skipping PUSCH in different scenarios, examples of which are described below.

[0088] 9 is a diagram of a scenario in which the configured grant processing method according to the present application is applied to a CG with a short period. As shown in FIG. 9, since the skipped CG has a short period, the number of skipped PUSCHs increases within the first time interval.

[0089] 10 is a diagram of a scenario in which the configured grant processing method according to the present application is applied to multiple CGs. As shown in FIG. 10, the PUSCHs of all CGs are skipped within the first time interval.

[0090] 11 is a diagram of a scenario in which the configured grant processing method according to the present application is applied to multiple PUSCHs configured within a period. As shown in FIG. 11, all PUSCHs of the CG in the first time interval are skipped.

[0091] In a possible implementation, the base station may transmit first configuration information corresponding to a first CG to the terminal, where the first configuration information configures that skipping a PUSCH of the first CG is permitted. The base station may first configure whether skipping a CG is permitted, and the terminal may skip a PUSCH in this CG within the first time interval only when skipping a CG is permitted, thereby preventing the terminal from erroneously skipping a PUSCH used for some high-priority service data and thereby avoiding an impact on service execution.

[0092] In a possible implementation, in addition to being used to configure a PUSCH of a first CG, the CG information transmitted by the base station to the terminal is further used to configure a PUSCH of a second CG. Thus, the terminal selects to skip PUSCHs of the first CG within the first time interval. That is, the terminal selects to skip only some CGs configured by the terminal, and does not skip PUSCHs of the second CG. Thus, the terminal can continue to perform data transmissions on PUSCHs of the second CG within the first time interval. The terminal may select to skip some CGs. Thus, when some PUSCH resources are released, another PUSCH continues to be reserved for data transmission, ensuring normal service execution.

[0093] In a possible implementation, the base station may transmit second configuration information corresponding to a second CG to the terminal, and the first configuration information configures that skipping of the PUSCH of the second CG is not permitted. The base station may first configure whether skipping of a CG is permitted. For a CG that is not permitted to be skipped, the terminal cannot skip the CG, thereby preventing the terminal from mistakenly skipping a PUSCH used for some high-priority service data, thereby avoiding an impact on service execution.

[0094] For example, in actual application, the base station may use two different solutions to send the first setting information and the second setting information of the present application to the terminal. In other words, the base station may use two different solutions to set whether CG skipping is allowed. The following describes the two different solutions separately.

[0095] Solution 1: The base station adds one configuration parameter for CG, for example, cg-puschSkipAllowed, to the configuration parameters of CG configured for the terminal to indicate whether the CG can be skipped. If this parameter is true, it indicates that the CG can be skipped. Otherwise, the CG cannot be skipped. Alternatively, one configuration parameter for CG, for example, lch-puschSkipAllowed, is added to the configuration parameters of the logical channel to indicate whether the PUSCH of the logical channel can be skipped. If this parameter is true, the PUSCH of the logical channel can be skipped. Otherwise, the PUSCH of the logical channel cannot be skipped.

[0096] Solution 2: The base station adds one configuration parameter, for example, cg-groupIndex, to the RRC configuration parameters to group the CGs configured for the terminal (for example, group the CGs into a first CG that is allowed to be skipped and a second CG that is not allowed to be skipped). In this case, the indication information sent by the terminal to the base station is only applicable to skipping the first CG.

[0097] Next, in order to better implement the aforementioned solution in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application further provides a related device configured to implement the aforementioned solution. Specifically, Figure 12 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to the embodiment of the present application. The device may be a terminal, a component of the terminal (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or a logical node, a logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal. As shown in Figure 12, the communication device includes: an interface unit 201 configured to obtain configured grant CG information, the CG information being used to configure a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of a first CG; the interface unit 201 is further configured to transmit indication information, the indication information indicating the first time interval; Processing unit 202 and wherein the processing unit controls the device to skip data transmission on the PUSCH of the first CG within the first time interval.

[0098] In a possible design, the indication information indicates a duration of the first time interval.

[0099] In a possible design, the indication information further indicates a start time of the first time interval.

[0100] In a possible design, the indication information indicates the first CG.

[0101] In a possible design, the interface unit 201 is further configured to obtain first setting information, where the first setting information sets that the PUSCH of the first CG is allowed to be skipped.

[0102] In a possible design, the interface unit 201 is further configured to receive first response information, where the first response information indicates that the PUSCH of the first CG is allowed to be skipped within the first time interval.

[0103] In a possible design, the CG information is further used to set up a PUSCH of a second CG, and the interface unit 201 is further configured to perform data transmission on the PUSCH of the second CG within the first time interval.

[0104] In a possible design, the interface unit 201 is further configured to obtain second setting information, and the second setting information sets that the PUSCH of the second CG is not allowed to be skipped.

[0105] In a possible design, the indication information is carried in uplink control information UCI or medium access control MAC control element CE.

[0106] It should be noted that the contents such as information exchange and execution process between modules / units in the communication device are based on the same concept as the method embodiment corresponding to Figure 8 in this application. For specific contents, please refer to the description in the preceding method embodiment in this application. The details will not be described again in this specification.

[0107] 13 is a diagram of another structure of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application. The device may be a base station, a component of a base station (e.g., a processor, a chip, or a chip system), or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of a base station. As shown in FIG. 13, the communication device includes: an interface unit 301 configured to send configured grant CG information to a terminal, where the CG information is used to configure a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of a first CG; the interface unit 301 is further configured to receive indication information from the terminal, the indication information indicating the first time interval; a processing unit 302 configured to skip receiving data from a terminal on a PUSCH of a first CG within a first time interval; Includes:

[0108] In a possible design, the indication information indicates a duration of the first time interval.

[0109] In a possible design, the indication information further indicates a start time of the first time interval.

[0110] In a possible design, the indication information indicates the first CG.

[0111] In a possible design, the interface unit 301 is further configured to transmit first configuration information, where the first configuration information configures that the PUSCH of the first CG is allowed to be skipped.

[0112] In a possible design, the interface unit 301 is further configured to transmit first response information, where the first response information indicates that the PUSCH of the first CG is allowed to be skipped within the first time interval.

[0113] In a possible design, the CG information is further used to configure a PUSCH of a second CG, and the processing unit 302 is further configured to receive data from the terminal on the PUSCH of the second CG within the first time interval.

[0114] In a possible design, the interface unit 301 is further configured to transmit second configuration information, which configures that skipping the PUSCH of the second CG is not allowed.

[0115] It should be noted that the contents such as information exchange and execution process between modules / units in the communication device are based on the same concept as the method embodiment corresponding to Figure 8 in this application. For specific contents, please refer to the description in the preceding method embodiment in this application. The details will not be described again in this specification.

[0116] FIG. 14 is a structural diagram of a communication device 400 according to the present application. Specifically, the communication device 400 may be a terminal, a component of the terminal (such as a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal in the above-described embodiments. Alternatively, the communication device 400 may be a base station, a component of the base station (such as a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logical node, logical module, or software implementing all or part of the functions of the base station in the above-described embodiments. FIG. 13 is a possible logical structural diagram of the communication device 400. The communication device 400 may include, but is not limited to, at least one processor 401 and a communication interface 402.

[0117] Further, optionally, the device may include at least one of a memory 403 and a bus 404. In this embodiment of the present application, the at least one processor 401 is configured to control the actions of the communication device 400.

[0118] Additionally, the processor 401 may be a central processing unit, a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or another programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component, or any combination thereof. The processor may implement or execute various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described with reference to the contents disclosed in this application. Alternatively, the processor may be a combination of processors that implement computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, or a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor. It may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that for convenient and concise description, the detailed work processes of the aforementioned systems, devices, and units may be referred to the corresponding processes of the aforementioned method embodiments, and the details will not be described again herein.

[0119] It should be noted that the communication device 400 shown in Fig. 13 may be specifically configured to implement the steps implemented by the terminal in the aforementioned method embodiments and to implement technical effects corresponding to the terminal. Alternatively, the communication device 400 may be specifically configured to implement the steps implemented by the base station in the aforementioned method embodiments and to implement technical effects corresponding to the base station. For specific implementations of the communication device shown in Fig. 12, please refer to the description in the aforementioned method embodiments. Details will not be described again herein.

[0120] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including instructions. The computer program product may be software, or may be a program product including instructions and capable of being executed on a computing device or stored on any available medium. When the computer program product is executed on at least one computing device, the at least one computing device is enabled to perform the method described in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.

[0121] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be any usable medium that can be stored by a computing device or a data storage device, such as a data center, that includes one or more usable media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state drive), etc. The computer-readable storage medium includes instructions that instruct a computing device to perform the method described in the embodiment shown in FIG.

[0122] The apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application may specifically be a chip. The chip includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit may be, for example, a processor. The communication unit may be, for example, an input / output interface, a pin, or a circuit. The processing unit may execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage unit such that the chip performs the method described in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8. Optionally, the storage unit is a storage unit within the chip, such as a register or a cache. Alternatively, the storage unit may be a storage unit within the wireless access device end but external to the chip, such as a read-only memory (ROM), another type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, or a random access memory (RAM).

[0123] In addition, please note that the described device embodiments are merely examples. Units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, and may be located in one location or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the solutions of the embodiments. In addition, in the accompanying drawings of the device embodiments provided by the present application, the connection relationships between modules indicate that the modules have communication connections with each other, and this communication connection may be specifically implemented as one or more communication buses or signal cables.

[0124] Based on the above description of implementation, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the present application may be implemented by software in addition to necessary universal hardware, or by dedicated hardware including dedicated integrated circuits, dedicated CPUs, dedicated memories, dedicated components, and the like. Generally, any function that can be implemented by a computer program can be easily implemented by using corresponding hardware. Moreover, the specific hardware configuration used to achieve the same function may take various forms, for example, an analog circuit, a digital circuit, or a dedicated circuit. However, for the present application, a software program implementation is a more appropriate implementation in most cases. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the present application may essentially be implemented in the form of a software product, or a portion that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium such as a computer floppy disk, a USB flash drive, a removable hard disk, a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a training device, a network device, or the like) to implement the methods of various embodiments of the present application.

[0125] All or part of the foregoing implementations may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. If software is used to implement an embodiment, all or part of the implementation may be implemented in the form of a computer program product.

[0126] A computer program product includes one or more instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded into a computer and executed, the procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated, in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from a computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from a website, computer, training device, or data center to another website, computer, training device, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optics, or digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio, or microwave) techniques. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium capable of being stored by a computer, or may be a data storage device, such as a training device or data center, that integrates one or more available media. Possible media include magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disk drives, or magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), and semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

Claims

1. obtaining configured grant CG information, the CG information being used to configure a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of a first CG; transmitting an indication information, the indication information indicating a first time interval; skipping data transmission on the PUSCH of the first CG within the first time interval; A communication method, including:

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication information indicates the duration of the first time interval.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the indication information further indicates a start time of the first time interval.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the indication information indicates the first CG.

5. 5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of acquiring first configuration information, the first configuration information setting that skipping the PUSCH of the first CG is permitted.

6. 6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of obtaining first response information, the first response information indicating that skipping of the PUSCH of the first CG is allowed within the first time interval.

7. The CG information is further used to configure a PUSCH of a second CG, and the method includes: The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of: performing data transmission on the PUSCH of the second CG within the first time interval.

8. The method comprises:

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: a step of acquiring second configuration information, wherein the second configuration information sets that skipping the PUSCH of the second CG is not permitted.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the indication information is carried in an uplink control information UCI or a medium access control MAC control element CE.

10. A communication device, an interface unit configured to obtain configured grant CG information, the CG information being used to configure a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) of a first CG; an interface unit, the interface unit further configured to transmit indication information, the indication information indicating a first time interval; a processing unit configured to control the device to skip data transmission on the PUSCH of the first CG within the first time interval; A communication device comprising:

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the indication information indicates a duration of the first time interval.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the indication information further indicates a start time of the first time interval.

13. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the indication information indicates the first CG.

14. The device according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the interface unit is further configured to acquire first setting information, and the first setting information sets that the PUSCH of the first CG is allowed to be skipped.

15. 15. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the interface unit is further configured to obtain first response information, the first response information indicating that the PUSCH of the first CG is allowed to be skipped within the first time interval.

16. 16. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the CG information is further used to configure a PUSCH of a second CG, and the interface unit is further configured to perform data transmission on the PUSCH of the second CG within the first time interval.

17. 17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the interface unit is further configured to obtain second configuration information, and the second configuration information configures that skipping the PUSCH of the second CG is not allowed.

18. The device according to any one of claims 10 to 17, wherein the indication information is carried in an uplink control information (UCI) or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

19. 1. A communications device comprising: a processor, the processor coupled to a memory; the memory configured to store instructions; A communications device, wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions in the memory to enable the device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

20. A computer readable storage medium storing a computer program, the computer program implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 9 when executed by a processor.

21. A computer program product storing computer readable instructions which, when executed by a processor, implements the method of any one of claims 1 to 9.

22. A communication device, comprising a unit adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

23. A communication system comprising an apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 18 and a radio access network node.

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