Transmission of uplink control information

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a terminal device, a network device, methods, apparatuses and a computer readable storage medium for UCI transmission. In the solution, a terminal device may obtain information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI. The terminal device may transmit the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH if the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI. Since the information is agreed upon at both the network side and the terminal device, the network device can determine the UCI from the first PUSCH without blink detection. As a result, the transmission efficiency of the UCI can be improved.

Description

TRANSMISSION OF UPLINK CONTROL INFORMATIONFIELD

[0001] Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to a terminal device, a network device, methods, apparatuses and a computer readable storage medium for a transmission of uplink control information (UCI).BACKGROUND

[0002] Physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) is used to carry UCI, such as scheduling request (SR), beam failure recovery (BFR) request, hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) feedback, and / or channel state information (CSI). Physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) is normally for a transmission of uplink user data, also called as uplink shared channel (UL-SCH). In some cases, the UCI may be multiplexed on PUSCH.SUMMARY

[0003] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for UCI transmission.

[0004] In a first aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to: obtain information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, transmit, to a network device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0005] In a second aspect, there is provided a network device. The network device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device at least to: transmit, to a terminal device, information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of icarrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, receive, from the terminal device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0006] In a third aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises: obtaining, at a terminal device, information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, transmitting, by the terminal device and to a network device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, by a network device and to a terminal device, information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, receiving, by the network device and from the terminal device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises: means for obtaining, at a terminal device, information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and means for based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, transmitting, by the terminal device and to a network device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises: means for transmitting, by a network device and to a terminal device, information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and means for based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, receiving, by the network device and from the terminal device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, there is an apparatus. The apparatus comprises: obtaining circuitry configured to obtain, at a terminal device, information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and transmitting circuitry configured to based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, transmit, by the terminal device and to a network device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0011] In an eighth aspect, there is an apparatus. The apparatus comprises: transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, by a network device and to a terminal device, information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and receiving circuitry configured to based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, receive, by the network device and from the terminal device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0012] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method in a third or fourth aspect.

[0013] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least the method in a third or fourth aspect.

[0014] It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network environment in which some example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a process flow in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIGS. 3A-3E illustrate some examples of UCI transmission in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a process flow for two PUSCHs overlapping with PUCCH in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a network device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0023] FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0026] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0027] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it iswithin the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0028] It shall be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0029] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof. As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0030] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):(i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and(ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and(c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0031] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0032] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), New Radio (NR), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0033] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a new radio (NR) NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

[0034] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). Theterminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a machine type communication (MTC) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0035] In the present disclosure, the terms “multiplex”, “carry”, and “piggyback” may be used interchangeably in some cases, and the terms “PDCCH” and “DO” may be used interchangeably in some cases, the present disclosure does not limit for this aspect.

[0036] UCI is generally transmitted via PUCCH. In some cases, when there are at least two PUCCH resources carrying at least two UCIs are overlapped in time domain, a handling mechanism of UCI multiplexing on PUCCH may be used.

[0037] A main purpose of PUSCH is to transmit uplink user data, and in some cases, PUSCH is also used to transmit UCI. For example, a UCI may be explicitly scheduled to transmit on PUSCH, such as aperiodic CSI (A-CSI) or semi-persistent CSI (SP-CSI). For example, the PUSCH resource on the same or a different serving cell for uplink carrier aggregation (CA) operation overlaps with the PUCCH resource in time domain, the UCI may be piggybacked on the PUSCH, e.g., the PUSCH can be used to transmit SP / P-CSI as well as HARQ-ACK / NACK.

[0038] In this scenario, the UE multiplexes the UCI on PUSCH based on a specific set of rules, which may involve dropping certain UCI (such as SR). Consequently, the UE will not transmit any overlapping PUCCH and PUSCH(s) in the time domain for an UL carrier aggregation configuration, as the UCI will be multiplexed on one of the PUSCH(s)(following certain rules), while the PUCCH will not be transmitted (i.e., it will be dropped).

[0039] In legacy, to avoid overloading a single carrier with UCI information and / or to enable independent UCI operation for different groups of cells (e.g. for inter-site CA), it is possible to configure two PUCCH groups, such as a primary PUCCH group and a secondary PUCCH group. Feedback relating to the primary PUCCH group containing a sub-set of carriers is transmitted in a primary cell (PCell) and feedback relating to the secondary PUCCH group containing complementary sub-set of carriers is transmitted on another cell which is denoted as a PUCCH secondary cell (PUCCH-SCell). For instance, one or two PUCCH cell groups can be configured explicitly or implicitly. For instance, HARQ-ACK feedback for PDSCH on a DL serving cell of a cell group is restricted to being scheduled into PUCCH on a PUCCH cell, and potential multiplexing on PUSCH is confined to a UL serving cell of PUCCH cell group. For the baseline operation, after handling overlapping channels, there would be no PUCCH transmission overlapped in time with a PUSCH transmission of the UL serving cell of the PUCCH cell group.

[0040] The third generation partnership project (3GPP) release 17 (R17) introduced a simultaneous transmission of PUCCH and PUSCH for intra-band CA. If UE supports and is configured with simultaneous PUSCH / PUCCH transmission, the potential multiplexing of UCI from PUCCH on a PUSCH is limited to UL serving cells within the same band only. The simultaneous transmission may reduce the coordination requirements at the network side to UL serving cells of the same band only. However, due to the potential for parallel PUCCH transmission on PCell / PUCCH-SCell and some PUSCH transmission on UL serving cells of the PUCCH group, performance may be affected by application transmission power sharing and prioritization. Additionally, note that simultaneous PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions can face several issues (e.g., in the case of intra-band CA), such as inter-modulation distortion, increased peak to average power ratio (PAPR), and maximum power reduction (MPR). This would lead to a higher power back-off for UE, resulting in a lower link budget gain (coverage) in UL.

[0041] UCI handling / multiplexing (on PUCCH / PUSCH) is primarily managed within each PUCCH group’s serving cells independently. UCI handling / multiplexing (on PUSCH) is established based on relatively static rules, allowing the UCI to be multiplexed on any of the UL serving cells / PUSCHs within the PUCCH cell group. The static rules necessitate coordination among cells to determine whether a UCI will be multiplexed on the PUSCH(s) of a specific UL serving cell. However, the legacy handling / multiplexing scheme for UCImay require blind detection(s) or multiple hypotheses at the gNB to identify where the UCI is multiplexed.

[0042] Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for UCI transmission. In the solution, a terminal device may obtain information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI. The terminal device may transmit the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH if the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI. Since the information is agreed upon at both the network side and the terminal device, the network device can determine the UCI from the first PUSCH without blink detection. As a result, the transmission efficiency of the UCI can be improved. Principles and some example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a network environment 100 in which some example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The environment 100, which may be a part of a communication network, comprises a network device 110 and a terminal device 120.

[0044] The communication environment 100 may comprise any suitable number of devices and cells. In the communication environment 100, the network device 110 can provide services to the terminal device 120, and the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 may communicate data and control information with each other. In some embodiments, the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 may communicate with direct links / channels.

[0045] In the environment 100, a link from the network device 110 to the terminal device 120 is referred to as a downlink (DL), while a link from the terminal device 120 to the network device 110 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In downlink, the network device 110 is a transmitting (TX) device (or a transmitter) and the terminal device 120 is a receiving (RX) device (or a receiver). In uplink, the terminal device 120 is a transmitting TX device (or a transmitter) and the network device 110 is a RX device (or a receiver). It is to be understood that the network device 110 may provide one or more serving cells. In some embodiments, the network device 110 can provide multiple cells.

[0046] Communications in the network environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), comprising, but not limited to, cellularcommunication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G) and the sixth generation (6G) and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple- Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0047] It is to be understood that the numbers of devices (i.e., the terminal device 120 and the network device 110) and their connection relationships and types shown in FIG. 1 are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitation. For example, the environment 100 may include any suitable numbers of devices adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, while FIG. 1 depicts the terminal device 120 as a mobile phone, the terminal device 120 may be any type of user equipment.

[0048] In the present disclosure, terms “cell” and “carrier” are used, a cell may refer to a serving cell (e.g., PCell, SCell, etc. in FIG. 3A), a carrier may refer to a component carrier (CC), and they may be exchangeable in some cases, for example, a cell may be or may correspond to a CC, unless stated otherwise. In the present disclosure, a PUCCH intended to carry a UCI may refer to a PUCCH that is configured to, or scheduled to, or supposed to transmit the UCI.

[0049] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a process flow 200 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process flow 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process flow 200 involves a network device 110 and a terminal device 120. It would be appreciated that although the process flow 200 has been described in the network environment 100 of FIG. 1, this process flow may be likewise applied to other communication scenarios.

[0050] At 210, the terminal device 120 obtains information which indicates whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCHthat is intended to carry the UCI.

[0051] In some embodiments, the information indicative whether a PUSCH can carry (or piggyback) a UCI as a result of a time overlap of PUCCH(s) and at least one PUSCH is obtained by the terminal device 120, where a PUCCH is scheduled (or configured, or intended, or supposed) to carry a UCI. For example, the PUCCH and the at least one PUSCH may be on a same cell or on different cells. For example, the PUCCH and the at least one PUSCH may be on a same carrier or on different carriers.

[0052] The information enables the terminal device 120 to know which PUSCH(s) to consider for carrying a UCI in case of multiple candidate PUSCH(s) for UCI multiplexing. For example, there may be multiple candidate PUSCH(s), each is overlapped with the PUCCH scheduled (or configured, or intended, or supposed) to carry a UCI. For example, one or more than one PUSCH, among the multiple candidate PUSCH(s), may be determined to consider for carrying the UCI. For example, each of the one or more than one PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI.

[0053] In case of multiple cells or multiple carriers (e.g., in CA cases) are configured, the information enables the terminal device 120 to know which PUSCH(s) in which cell(s) / carrier(s) to consider for carrying a UCI in case of multiple candidate PUSCH(s) on multiple candidate cells / carriers for UCI multiplexing.

[0054] In some example embodiments, the information may indicate whether the first PUSCH can carry the UCI if the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI. For example, the first PUSCH and the PUCCH may be on a same cell or on different cells. For example, the first PUSCH and the PUCCH may be on a same carrier or on different carriers.

[0055] In some example embodiments, the information may also indicate a cell or a carrier that the first PUSCH on. In some examples, there may be multiple cells or multiple carriers (e.g., in a case of CA), the information may indicate a cell or a carrier (e.g., include an index of the cell or the carrier), so that the terminal device 120 may know on which cell or which carrier the first PUSCH is. For example, the carrier in the present disclosure may be a component carrier (CC) in CA.

[0056] In some implementations, the information may be predefined. For example, the terminal device 120 and the network device 110 has agreed upon the information. For example, the information has specified by the standard specification.

[0057] In some implementations, the information may be preconfigured or transmitted by the network device 110. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the network device 110 may transmit, and the terminal device 120 may receive, the information at 204. For example, the information may be included in at least one of: radio resource control (RRC) signalling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or a DO.

[0058] In some embodiments, the information may be included in or be associated with a configuration, which may be a configuration of the first PUSCH, a configuration of the PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI, or a configuration of the UCI. For example, the configuration of the first PUSCH may be a CG configuration or a dynamically scheduled configuration. In some examples, the information may be included in or be associated with a specific configuration, and the information may indicate whether the PUSCH(s) corresponding to the specific configuration can carry a UCI. In some examples, the specific configuration may indicate a set of carriers (e.g., one CC or multiple CCs), in this case, the information may indicate whether the PUSCH(s) (e.g., corresponding to the specific configuration) on the set of carriers can carry a UCI.

[0059] For example, there may be one or multiple PUSCHs corresponding to the specific configuration, and the one or multiple PUSCHs are associated with one or multiple cells / carriers respectively. For example, the information may further include an index of a specific cell / carrier, so that a PUSCH on the specific cell / carrier can carry UCI in case the PUSCH is overlapped in time with a PUCCH carrying the UCI.

[0060] For example, the information may be included in or be associated with a DO scheduling one or multiple PUSCHs associated with one or multiple cells / carriers respectively. For example, the information may further indicate one or more than one specific cell / carrier / PUSCH, so that the indicated one or more than one PUSCH (or one or more than one PUSCH on the indicated one or more than one cell / carrier) can carry UCI. For example, the DCI may include indication information (such as index / indexes) of the one or more than one specific cell / carrier / PUSCH.

[0061] In some other examples, if there is no such information included in or associated with the specific configuration, the terminal device 120 may determine or may assume that the PUSCH(s) corresponding to the specific configuration cannot carry a UCI or specific type of UCI.

[0062] In some embodiments, the information may be included in or be associated with aMAC CE, which is, for example, used for scheduling or activating the first PUSCH or which is, for example, associated with the firs PUSCH or with the UCI.

[0063] In some embodiments, the information may be included in or be associated with a PDCCH or a DCI, which is used for scheduling or triggering the first PUSCH. For example, the information may be provided through a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), a control resource set (CORESET), a search space, or a search space set corresponding to the PDCCH or DCI.

[0064] In some embodiments, the information may be included in or be associated with a further PDCCH or a further DCI, which is used for scheduling or triggering the PUCCH or the UCI. For example, the information may be provided through a RNTI, a CORESET, a search space, or a search space set corresponding to the further PDCCH or the further DCI.

[0065] In some other embodiments, if the PDCCH / DCI for scheduling or triggering the first PUSCH or the further PDCCH / further DCI for scheduling or triggering the PUCCH / UCI does not include the information, the terminal device 120 may assume that the first PUSCH cannot carry the UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH. Alternatively, if the PDCCH / DCI for scheduling or triggering the first PUSCH or the further PDCCH / further DCI for scheduling or triggering the PUCCH / UCI does not include the information, the terminal device 120 may assume that the first PUSCH can carry the UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH. For example, the default behavior of the terminal device 120 in case the explicit information is absent may be preconfigured, configured, or specified by the network device 110. For example, the default behavior of the terminal device 120 in case the explicit information is absent may be determined based on UE implementation.

[0066] In some embodiments, the information may be configured or provided per cell or per cell group. For example, the information is associated with a cell or a cell group, and the information may indicate whether a PUSCH on the cell or the cell group can carry UCI as a result of a time overlap of the PUSCH and PUCCH(s) for carrying UCI(s). For example, there may be multiple PUSCHs on the cell or the cell group, e.g., PUSCH-1 and PUSCH-2, and the information may indicate whether PUSCH-1 on the cell or the cell group can carry UCI as a result of a time overlap of the PUSCH-1 and PUCCH(s) for carrying UCI(s), and / or the information may indicate whether PUSCH-2 on the cell or the cell group can carry UCI as a result of a time overlap of the PUSCH-2 and PUCCH(s) forcarrying UCI(s).

[0067] In some examples, there may be first information (infol) associated with a first cell or a first cell group, and second information (info2) associated with a second cell or a second cell group.

[0068] In some embodiments, the information may be configured or provided per bandwidth part (BWP) or per BWP group. In some examples, there may be first information (infol) associated with a first BWP or a first BWP group, and second information (info2) associated with a BWP cell or a second BWP group.

[0069] In some embodiments, the information may be configured or provided per UCI type. In some examples, there may be first information (infol) associated with a HARQ-ACK, and second information (info2) associated with a CSI. For example, the first information may indicate whether a first PUSCH can carry HARQ-ACK if the first PUSCH is overlapped in time with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying HARQ-ACK. For example, the second information may indicate whether a first PUSCH can carry CSI if the first PUSCH is overlapped in time with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying CSI.

[0070] At 220, the terminal device 120 transmits the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH, if the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and the first PUSCH is capable of carrying UCI.

[0071] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine that the UCI is to be transmitted, and further determine whether there is a PUSCH being overlapped with the PUCCH (which is scheduled for carrying the UCI).

[0072] In some embodiments, if there is no PUSCH overlapping with the PUCCH, the UCI may be transmitted in a legacy manner, for example, the PUCCH carrying the UCI can be transmitted.

[0073] In some embodiments, if the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH (and optionally no other PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH), and the first PUSCH cannot carry UCI (e.g., indicated by the information discussed above), the terminal device 120 may determine to transmit the first PUSCH and / or the PUCCH according to another configuration or another indication. In some examples, the terminal device 120 may drop the first PUSCH and transmit the PUCCH carrying the UCI. In some examples, the terminal device 120 may drop the PUCCH carrying the UCI and transmit the first PUSCH. In some examples, the terminal device 120 may transmit the first PUSCH and the PUCCHcarrying the UCI in parallel.

[0074] In some embodiments, if the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH (and optionally no other PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH), and the first PUSCH can carry UCI (e.g., indicated by the information discussed above), the UCI can be multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0075] In some embodiments, if there is more than one PUSCH (such as a first PUSCH and a second PUSCH) overlapping with the PUCCH, the terminal device 120 may select one PUSCH for multiplexing UCI.

[0076] In some examples, if the first PUSCH can carry UCI (e.g., indicated by the information discussed above) and the second PUSCH cannot carry UCI (e.g., indicated by same information or different information), the UCI can be multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0077] In some examples, if the first PUSCH can carry UCI (e.g., indicated by the information discussed above) and the second PUSCH can carry UCI (e.g., indicated by same information or different information), the UCI can be multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on at least one of the following: (a) the first PUSCH is earlier (or later) than the second PUSCH, (b) a first PDCCH / DCI scheduling the first PUSCH is received later than a second PDCCH / DCI scheduling the second PUSCH, (c) a first index of a first cell is smaller (or larger) than a second index of a second cell, where the first PUSCH is on the first cell and the second PUSCH is on the second cell, (d) a first index of a first carrier is smaller (or larger) than a second index of a second carrier, where the first PUSCH is on the first carrier and the second PUSCH is on the second carrier, (e) the first PUSCH is a dynamically scheduled PUSCH and the second PUSCH is a CG PUSCH, or (f) the first PUSCH is a CG PUSCH and the second PUSCH is a scheduled PUSCH.

[0078] In some other embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine that multiple UCIs are to be transmitted, for example, there may be N UCIs to be transmitted. In some examples, if each of the multiple UCIs is overlapped with a first PUSCH and the first PUSCH can carry a UCI if the first PUSCH is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI, then the multiplex UCIs are multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0079] In some examples, a maximum number of UCIs (of same type and / or of different types) that can be (or that are allowed to be) multiplexed on a PUSCH can be preconfigured or provided or indicated. For example, the maximum number may be represented by Nmax.For example, if each of the N UCIs is overlapped with a first PUSCH and the first PUSCH can carry a UCI if the first PUSCH is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI and N>Nmax, then Nmax UCIs in the N UCIs will be multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0080] On the other side of communication, the network device 110 determines the information which indicates whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI. In some implementations, the information may be predefined. For example, the terminal device 120 and the network device 110 has agreed upon the information. For example, the information has specified by the standard specification. In some other implementations, the network device 110 may determine (or generate) the information and provide it to the terminal device 120, for example, the information is transmitted / provided to the terminal device 120 at step 204 as illustrated.

[0081] In addition, the network device 110 may receive the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH at 220. Since the information is agreed upon at both the network side and the terminal device, the network device 110 can determine the UCI from the first PUSCH according to the information without blink detection. The operations at the network device 110 can be simplified and the UCI can be obtained in time.

[0082] FIG. 3 A illustrates an example of UCI transmission 310 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a DCI in PDCCH-1 may indicate that PUSCH- 1 can piggyback UCI if the PUSCH- 1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI; a DCI in PDCCH-2 may indicate that PUSCH-2 cannot piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-2 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI; and a DCI in PDCCH-3 may indicate that PUSCH-3 cannot piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-3 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI. Although the PUCCH is overlapped with PUSCH- 1, PUSCH-2, and PUSCH-3, but only the PUSCH-1 can piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI, thus, the UCI will be multiplexed on PUSCH-1.

[0083] It should be noted that PUCCH is on PCell, PUSCH-1 and PUSCH-2 are on SCell#l, and PUSCH-3 is on SCell#2 as illustrated in FIG. 3A, however, some other scenarios are also applied, for example, PUCCH and PUSCH-1 may be on a same cell; forexample, PUSCH-1 and PUSCH-2 may be on different cells; for example, PUSCH-1 (or PUCCH) and PUSCH-3 may be on a same cell; etc., the present disclosure does not limit for this aspect.

[0084] FIG. 3B illustrates an example of UCI transmission 320 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a DCI in PDCCH-1 may indicate that PUSCH-1 can piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI; and a DCI in PDCCH-2 may indicate that PUSCH-2 cannot piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-2 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI. PUCCH 1 (for carrying UCI-1) is overlapped with PUSCH-1 and the PUSCH-1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI, thus, the UCI-1 will be multiplexed on PUSCH-1. Although the PDCCH2 (for carrying UCI-2) is overlapped with PUSCH-1 and PUSCH-2, but only the PUSCH-1 can piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI, thus, the UCI-2 will be multiplexed on PUSCH-1 too. As a result, both UCI-1 and UCI-2 will be multiplexed on PUSCH-1.

[0085] FIG. 3C illustrates an example of UCI transmission 330 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a DCI in PDCCH may indicate that PUSCH-1 can piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled (or configured) for carrying a UCI. PUSCH-2 is a CG PUSCH, for which the configuration indicates that PUSCH-2 cannot piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-2 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI. PUCCH1 (for carrying UCI-1) is overlapped with PUSCH-1 and the PUSCH-1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI, thus, the UCI-1 will be multiplexed on PUSCH-1. Although the PUCCH2 (for carrying UCI-2) is overlapped with PUSCH-1 and PUSCH-2, but only the PUSCH-1 can piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled (or configured) for carrying a UCI, thus, the UCI-2 will be multiplexed on PUSCH-1 too. As a result, both UCI-1 and UCI-2 will be multiplexed on PUSCH-1.

[0086] FIG. 3D illustrates an example of UCI transmission 340 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a DCI in PDCCH-1 may indicate that PUSCH-1 can piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled (or configured) for carrying a UCI; and a DCI in PDCCH-2 may indicate that PUSCH-2 cannot piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-2 is time-overlapped with aPUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI. Although each of PUCCH1 (for carrying UCI-1) and PUCCH2 (for carrying UCI-2) is overlapped with both PUSCH-1 and PUSCH-2, but only the PUSCH-1 can piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled (or configured) for carrying a UCI, thus, both UCI-1 and UCI-2 will be multiplexed on PUSCH-1.

[0087] It should be noted that although PUCCH 1 and PUCCH2 are overlapped, there is no need to handle the overlapped PUCCHs first, e.g., before handling overlapped PUSCH(s) and PUCCH(s). For example, UCI-1 and UCI-2 can be directly multiplexed on PUSCH-1 without determining a new PUCCH carrying multiplexed UCI-1 and UCI-2. As such, the operation may be simplified, and the handling efficiency may be improved. Note that although the example in Fig. 3D focuses on the case of two PUCCHs and two PUSCHs, it should be understood that the proposed approach is also applicable / valid for a more general case with more than two PUCCHs and / or more than two PUSCHs.

[0088] It should be noted that PUCCH 1 and PUCCH2 are on CC#0, PUSCH-1 is on CC#1, and PUSCH-2 is on CC#2 as illustrated in FIG. 3D, however, some other scenarios are also applied, for example, PUCCH and PUSCH-1 (or PUSCH-2) may be on a same carrier; for example, PUSCH-1 and PUSCH-2 may be a same carrier; etc., the present disclosure does not limit for this aspect.

[0089] FIG. 3E illustrates an example of UCI transmission 350 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In this example, a multi-carrier single-cell scheduling (operation) is considered, for example, a single PDCCH / DCI may schedule multiple PDSCHs, e.g., on multiple CCs respectively. As illustrated, a DCI in PDCCH may indicate that PUSCH-1 on CC#1 can piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled (or configured) for carrying a UCI. For example, the DCI may include indication information (such as an index, or an identifier) of the PUSCH-1 or CC#1. Optionally, the DCI in PDCCH may further indicate that PUSCH-2 on CC#2 cannot piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-2 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled (or configured) for carrying a UCI, and / or indicate that PUSCH-3 on CC#3 cannot piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-3 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled (or configured) for carrying a UCI. In some examples, if such information related to PUSCH-2 / PUSCH-3 is not indicated, the terminal device 120 may assume that PUSCH-2 on CC#2 cannot piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-2 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI, and that PUSCH-3 on CC#3 cannot piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-3 istime-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled for carrying a UCI. Although each of PUCCH1 (for carrying UCI-1) and PUCCH2 (for carrying UCI-2) is overlapped with PUSCH-1, PUSCH-2, and PUSCH-3, but only the PUSCH-1 on CC#1 can piggyback UCI if the PUSCH-1 is time-overlapped with a PUCCH being scheduled (or configured) for carrying a UCI, thus, both UCI-1 and UCI-2 will be multiplexed on PUSCH-1 on CC#1.

[0090] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a process flow 400 for two PUSCHs overlapping with PUCCH in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process flow 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process flow 400 involves a network device 110 (such as a gNB) and a terminal device 120 (such as a UE).

[0091] At 410, the network device 110 transmits, and the terminal device 120 receives, a configuration enabling to provide the UE with information indicative whether a PUSCH can piggyback UCI as a result of (time) overlap of a PUCCH(s) and at least one PUSCH.

[0092] At 420, the network device 110 transmits, and the terminal device 120 receives, a UL grant for PUSCH-1, indicating that PUSCH-1 can piggyback UCI. At 430, the network device 110 transmits, and the terminal device 120 receives, a UL grant for PUSCH-2, indicating that PUSCH-2 cannot piggyback UCI.

[0093] At 440, the terminal device 120 determines a PUCCH for carrying a UCI, and the PUCCH is overlapped with the PUSCH-1 and the PUSCH-2. At 450, the terminal device 120 determines to piggyback the UCI on PUSCH-1, e.g., based on steps 420 and 430.

[0094] At 460, the terminal device 120 transmits, and the network device 110 receives, the PUSCH-1 with piggybacked UCI and PUSCH-2. At 470, the network device 110 may obtain the PUSCH-1 with piggybacked UCI and PUSCH-2.

[0095] It should be noted that the process flow 400 is only one illustrative example without any limitation in the present disclosure, some other examples are also applied and the present disclosure does not limit for this aspect.

[0096] It is to be understood that the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 2-4 are only for the purpose of illustration without any limitation, some other embodiments may still be within the scope of the present disclosure. In some examples, the information at 210 may be implemented as or be replaced by multiple pieces of information for different PUSCHs, difference cells / carriers, different cell groups, different BWPs, different BWP groups, different UCI types, etc. In some examples, the configuration at 410 may beomitted in some cases.

[0097] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart 500 of a method implemented at a terminal device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 120 with reference to FIG. 1.

[0098] At block 510, the terminal device 120 obtains information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI. At block 520, based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, the terminal device 120 transmits, to a network device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the information is included in at least one of the following: a first PDCCH or a first DCI which schedules or corresponds to the first PUSCH, a further PDCCH or a further DCI which schedules or is associated with the PUCCH, a configuration or a CG configuration associated with the first PUSCH, or a further configuration associated with the first PDCCH or the further PDCCH.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the information is obtained through at least one of the following corresponding to the first PDCCH or the further PDCCH: a RNTI, a CORESET, a search space, or a search space set.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the information is configured or provided per cell, per cell group, per BWP, per BWP group, or per UCI type.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the information is included in a DCI scheduling one or multiple PUSCHs which are associated with one or multiple cells or one or multiple carriers.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 120 determines that the PUCCH is overlapped with both the first PUSCH and a second PUSCH. In some example embodiments, based on determining that both the first PUSCH and the second PUSCH are capable of carrying the UCI, the terminal device 120 transmits the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on at least one of the following: the first PUSCH is earlier than the second PUSCH, a first DCI scheduling the first PUSCH is received later than a second DCI scheduling the second PUSCH, a first index of a first cell is smaller than a second index of a second cell, wherein the first PUSCH is on the first cell and the second PUSCH is on thesecond cell, a first index of a first carrier is smaller than a second index of a second carrier, wherein the first PUSCH is on the first carrier and the second PUSCH is on the second carrier, or the first PUSCH is a dynamically scheduled PUSCH and the second PUSCH is a CG PUSCH.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 120 determines that the PUCCH is overlapped with both the first PUSCH and a third PUSCH. In some example embodiments, based on determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI and the third PUSCH is not capable of carrying the UCI, the terminal device 120 transmits the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0105] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 120 determines that the first PUSCH is overlapped with both the PUCCH being intended to carry the UCI and a further PUCCH being intended to carry a further UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying both the UCI and the further UCI, transmits the UCI and the further UCI both being multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0106] In some example embodiments, a maximum number of UCIs that are allowed to be multiplexed on the first PUSCH is indicated by the information, or is predefined or preconfigured.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the terminal device determines that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI and that the first PUSCH is overlapped with multiple PUCCHs that are intended to carry multiple UCIs respectively; and based on determining a number of the multiple UCIs being larger than the maximum number, the terminal device determines the maximum number of UCIs among the multiple UCIs; and the terminal device transmits, to the network device, the maximum number of UCIs being multiplexed on the first PUSCH, wherein one or more UCIs other than the maximum number of UCIs are dropped.

[0108] In some example embodiments, based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is not capable of carrying the UCI, the terminal device performs at least one of the following: transmitting the PUCCH carrying the UCI and dropping the first PUSCH, transmitting the first PUSCH and dropping the PUCCH, or transmitting the PUCCH carrying the UCI and the first PUSCH in parallel.

[0109] In some example embodiments, the information is received from the network device, or is preconfigured or predefined.

[0110] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart 600 of a method implemented at a network device inaccordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the network device 110 with reference to FIG. 1.

[0111] At block 610, the network device 110 transmits, to a terminal device, information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI. At block 620, based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, the network device 110 receives, from the terminal device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0112] In some example embodiments, the information is included in at least one of the following: a first PDCCH or a first DCI which schedules or which corresponds to the first PUSCH, a further PDCCH or a further DCI which schedules or is associated with the PUCCH, a configuration or a CG configuration associated with the first PUSCH, or a further configuration associated with the first PDCCH or the further PDCCH.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the information is provided through at least one of the following corresponding to the first PDCCH or the further PDCCH: a RNTI, a CORESET, a search space, or a search space set.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the information is configured or provided per cell, per cell group, per BWP, per BWP group, or per UCI type.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the information is included in a DCI scheduling one or multiple PUSCHs which are associated with one or multiple cells or one or multiple carriers.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the network device 110 determines that the PUCCH is overlapped with both the first PUSCH and a second PUSCH; and based on determining that both the first PUSCH and the second PUSCH are capable of carrying the UCI, the network device 110 receives the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on at least one of the following: the first PUSCH is earlier than the second PUSCH, a first DCI scheduling the first PUSCH is received later than a second DCI scheduling the second PUSCH, a first index of a first cell is smaller than a second index of a second cell, wherein the first PUSCH is on the first cell and the second PUSCH is on the second cell, a first index of a first carrier is smaller than a second index of a second carrier, wherein the first PUSCH is on the first carrier and the second PUSCH is on the second carrier, or the first PUSCH is adynamically scheduled PUSCH and the second PUSCH is a CG PUSCH.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the network device 110 determines that the PUCCH is overlapped with both the first PUSCH and a third PUSCH; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI and the third PUSCH is not capable of carrying the UCI, the network device 110 receives the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the network device 110 determines that the first PUSCH is overlapped with both the PUCCH being intended to carry the UCI and a further PUCCH being intended to carry a further UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying both the UCI and the further UCI, the network device 110 receives the UCI and the further UCI both being multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0119] In some example embodiments, a maximum number of UCIs that are allowed to be multiplexed on the first PUSCH is indicated by the information, or is predefined or preconfigured.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the network device 110 determines that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI and that the first PUSCH is overlapped with multiple PUCCHs that are intended to carry multiple UCIs respectively; and based on determining a number of the multiple UCIs being larger than the maximum number, receives, from the terminal device, the maximum number of UCIs among the multiple UCIs, wherein one or more UCIs other than the maximum number of UCIs are dropped.

[0121] based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is not capable of carrying the UCI, the network device 110 performs at least one of the following: receiving the PUCCH carrying the UCI without receiving the first PUSCH, receiving the first PUSCH without receiving the PUCCH, or receiving the PUCCH carrying the UCI and the first PUSCH in parallel.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the information is transmitted to the terminal device, or is preconfigured or predefined.

[0123] In some example embodiments, an apparatus (for example, the terminal device 120) comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: obtain information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and based on determining thatthe first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, transmit, to a network device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0124] In some example embodiments, an apparatus (for example, the network device 110) comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, to a terminal device, information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, receive, from the terminal device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0125] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 500 (for example, the terminal device 120) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for obtaining, at a terminal device, information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and means for based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, transmitting, by the terminal device and to a network device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the information is included in at least one of the following: a first PDCCH or a first DCI which schedules or corresponds to the first PUSCH, a further PDCCH or a further DCI which schedules or is associated with the PUCCH, a configuration or a CG configuration associated with the first PUSCH, or a further configuration associated with the first PDCCH or the further PDCCH.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the information is obtained through at least one of the following corresponding to the first PDCCH or the further PDCCH: a RNTI, a CORESET, a search space, or a search space set.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the information is configured or provided per cell, per cell group, per BWP, per BWP group, or per UCI type.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the information is included in a DCI scheduling oneor multiple PUSCHs which are associated with one or multiple cells or one or multiple carriers.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining that the PUCCH is overlapped with both the first PUSCH and a second PUSCH; and means for based on determining that both the first PUSCH and the second PUSCH are capable of carrying the UCI, transmitting the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on at least one of the following: the first PUSCH is earlier than the second PUSCH, a first DO scheduling the first PUSCH is received later than a second DCI scheduling the second PUSCH, a first index of a first cell is smaller than a second index of a second cell, wherein the first PUSCH is on the first cell and the second PUSCH is on the second cell, a first index of a first carrier is smaller than a second index of a second carrier, wherein the first PUSCH is on the first carrier and the second PUSCH is on the second carrier, or the first PUSCH is a dynamically scheduled PUSCH and the second PUSCH is a CG PUSCH.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining that the PUCCH is overlapped with both the first PUSCH and a third PUSCH; and means for based on determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI and the third PUSCH is not capable of carrying the UCI, transmitting the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with both the PUCCH being intended to carry the UCI and a further PUCCH being intended to carry a further UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying both the UCI and the further UCI, transmitting the UCI and the further UCI both being multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0134] In some example embodiments, a maximum number of UCIs that are allowed to be multiplexed on the first PUSCH is indicated by the information, or is predefined or preconfigured.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI and that the first PUSCH is overlapped with multiple PUCCHs that are intended to carry multiple UCIs respectively; and means for based on determining a number of the multiple UCIs being larger than the maximum number, determining the maximum number of UCIs among the multiple UCIs; and transmitting, to the network device, the maximum number of UCIs being multiplexed on the first PUSCH,wherein one or more UCIs other than the maximum number of UCIs are dropped.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is not capable of carrying the UCI, performing at least one of the following: transmitting the PUCCH carrying the UCI and dropping the first PUSCH, transmitting the first PUSCH and dropping the PUCCH, or transmitting the PUCCH carrying the UCI and the first PUSCH in parallel.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the information is received from the network device, or is preconfigured or predefined.

[0138] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 600 (for example, the network device 110) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for transmitting, by a network device and to a terminal device, information indicating whether a first PUSCH is capable of carrying a UCI in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a PUCCH that is intended to carry the UCI; and means for based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, receiving, by the network device and from the terminal device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the information is included in at least one of the following: a first PDCCH or a first DCI which schedules or corresponds to the first PUSCH, a further PDCCH or a further DCI which schedules or is associated with the PUCCH, a configuration or a CG configuration associated with the first PUSCH, or a further configuration associated with the first PDCCH or the further PDCCH.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the information is transmitted through at least one of the following corresponding to the first PDCCH or the further PDCCH: a RNTI, a CORESET, a search space, or a search space set.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the information is configured or provided per cell, per cell group, per BWP, per BWP group, or per UCI type.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the information is included in a DCI scheduling oneor multiple PUSCHs which are associated with one or multiple cells or one or multiple carriers.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining that the PUCCH is overlapped with both the first PUSCH and a second PUSCH; and means for based on determining that both the first PUSCH and the second PUSCH are capable of carrying the UCI, receiving the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on at least one of the following: the first PUSCH is earlier than the second PUSCH, a first DCI scheduling the first PUSCH is received later than a second DCI scheduling the second PUSCH, a first index of a first cell is smaller than a second index of a second cell, wherein the first PUSCH is on the first cell and the second PUSCH is on the second cell, a first index of a first carrier is smaller than a second index of a second carrier, wherein the first PUSCH is on the first carrier and the second PUSCH is on the second carrier, or the first PUSCH is a dynamically scheduled PUSCH and the second PUSCH is a CG PUSCH.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining that the PUCCH is overlapped with both the first PUSCH and a third PUSCH; and means for based on determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI and the third PUSCH is not capable of carrying the UCI, receiving UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with both the PUCCH being intended to carry the UCI and a further PUCCH being intended to carry a further UCI; and means for based on determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying both the UCI and the further UCI, receiving the UCI and the further UCI both being multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

[0147] In some example embodiments, a maximum number of UCIs that are allowed to be multiplexed on the first PUSCH is indicated by the information, or is predefined or preconfigured.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI and that the first PUSCH is overlapped with multiple PUCCHs that are intended to carry multiple UCIs respectively; and means for based on determining a number of the multiple UCIs being larger than the maximum number, receiving, from the terminal device, the maximum number of UCIs among the multiple UCIs, wherein one or more UCIs other than the maximum number of UCIs are dropped.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is not capable of carrying the UCI, performing least one of the following: receiving the PUCCH carrying the UCI without receiving the first PUSCH, receiving the first PUSCH without receiving the PUCCH, or receiving the PUCCH carrying the UCI and the first PUSCH in parallel.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the information is transmitted to the terminal device, or is preconfigured or predefined.

[0151] FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device 700 that is suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be provided to implement the communication device, for example the terminal device 120, or the network device 110 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processor 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processor 710.

[0152] The communication module 740 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 740 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements.

[0153] The processor 710 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 700 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0154] The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 724, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

[0155] A computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions that areexecuted by the associated processor 710. The program 730 may be stored in the ROM 724. The processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 730 into the RAM 722.

[0156] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 730 so that the device 700 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIGS. 2-6. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 722 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any types of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like.

[0158] FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a computer readable medium 800 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The computer readable medium 800 has the program 730 stored thereon. It is noted that although the computer readable medium 800 is depicted in form of CD or DVD in FIG. 8, the computer readable medium 800 may be in any other form suitable for carry or hold the program 730.

[0159] Generally, 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 which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0160] 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 those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out themethod as described above with reference to any of FIGS. 2-6. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0161] Program code for carrying out 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, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0162] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0163] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but 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 the computer readable storage medium would 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. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0164] Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not beunderstood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present 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 separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0165] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in 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

CLAIMS:

1. A terminal device comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device at least to: obtain information indicating whether a first physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) is capable of carrying uplink control information (UCI) in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) that is intended to carry the UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, transmit, to a network device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

2. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the information is included in at least one of the following: a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or first downlink control information (DCI) which schedules or corresponds to the first PUSCH, a further PDCCH or a further DCI which schedules or is associated with the PUCCH, a configuration or a configured grant (CG) configuration associated with the first PUSCH, or a further configuration associated with the first PDCCH or the further PDCCH.

3. The terminal device of any of claims 1-2, wherein the information is configured or provided per cell, per cell group, per bandwidth part (BWP), per BWP group, or per UCI type.

4. The terminal device of any of claims 1-3, wherein the information is included in a DCI scheduling one or multiple PUSCHs which are associated with one or multiple cells or one or multiple carriers.

5. The terminal device of any of claims 1-4, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the terminal device to: determine that the PUCCH is overlapped with both the first PUSCH and a secondPUSCH; and based on determining that both the first PUSCH and the second PUSCH are capable of carrying the UCI, transmit the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on at least one of the following: the first PUSCH is earlier than the second PUSCH, a first DCI scheduling the first PUSCH is received later than a second DO scheduling the second PUSCH, a first index of a first cell is smaller than a second index of a second cell, wherein the first PUSCH is on the first cell and the second PUSCH is on the second cell, a first index of a first carrier is smaller than a second index of a second carrier, wherein the first PUSCH is on the first carrier and the second PUSCH is on the second carrier, or the first PUSCH is a dynamically scheduled PUSCH and the second PUSCH is a CG PUSCH.

6. The terminal device of any of claims 1-4, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the terminal device to: determine that the PUCCH is overlapped with both the first PUSCH and a third PUSCH; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI and the third PUSCH is not capable of carrying the UCI, transmit the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

7. The terminal device of any of claims 1-6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the terminal device to: determine that the first PUSCH is overlapped with both the PUCCH being intended to carry the UCI and a further PUCCH being intended to carry a further UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying both the UCI and the further UCI, transmit the UCI and the further UCI both being multiplexed on the first PUSCH.

8. The terminal device of any of claims 1-7, wherein a maximum number of UCIs that are allowed to be multiplexed on the first PUSCH is indicated by the information, or is predefined or preconfigured.

9. The terminal device of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the terminal device to: determine that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI and that the first PUSCH is overlapped with multiple PUCCHs that are intended to carry multiple UCIs respectively; and based on determining a number of the multiple UCIs being larger than the maximum number, determine the maximum number of UCIs among the multiple UCIs; and transmit, to the network device, the maximum number of UCIs being multiplexed on the first PUSCH, wherein one or more UCIs other than the maximum number of UCIs are dropped.

10. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the terminal device to: based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is not capable of carrying the UCI, perform at least one of the following: transmitting the PUCCH carrying the UCI and dropping the first PUSCH, transmitting the first PUSCH and dropping the PUCCH, or transmitting the PUCCH carrying the UCI and the first PUSCH in parallel.

11. The terminal device of any of claims 1-10, wherein the information is received from the network device, or is preconfigured or predefined.

12. A network device comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device at least to: transmit, to a terminal device, information indicating whether a first physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) is capable of carrying uplink control information (UCI) in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) that is intended to carry the UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, receive, from the terminal device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

13. A method comprising: obtaining, at a terminal device, information indicating whether a first physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) is capable of carrying uplink control information (UCI) in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) that is intended to carry the UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, transmitting, by the terminal device and to a network device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

14. A method comprising: transmitting, by a network device and to a terminal device, information indicating whether a first physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) is capable of carrying uplink control information (UCI) in case the first PUSCH is overlapped with a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) that is intended to carry the UCI; and based on determining that the first PUSCH is overlapped with the PUCCH and that the first PUSCH is capable of carrying the UCI, receiving, at the network device and from the terminal device, the UCI being multiplexed on the first PUSCH based on the information.

15. A non- transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the method of claim 13 or 14.

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