Patent Description:
Some research improvements are proposed to improve the Uplink (UL) transmission efficiency and/or user Equipment (UE) power consumption, for example, specify support for transmission in preconfigured resources in idle and/or connected mode based on Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) waveform for UEs with a valid timing advance.

Currently, it has been considered removing the need for MESSAGE <NUM> and MESSAGE <NUM> in an access procedure by using a PUR (Preconfigured Uplink Resource). Specifically, the dedicated PUR (D-PUR) is defined as a Narrow Physical Uplink Shared Channel (NPUSCH) resource, which may be used by a single UE and is contention-free. It is decided that an evolved NodeB (eNB) may configure the dedicated PUR via Radio Resource Control (RRC) dedicated signalling and a periodic D-PUR with duration may be supported.

<NPL> discusses improving uplink transmission efficiency and/or UE power consumption by means of transmission in preconfigured resources.

<NPL>) discusses UL transmissions using preconfigured resources in idle and/or connected mode.

<NPL>) relates to considerations on DL aspects of D-PUR in idle mode.

<NPL>) relates to improved UL transmission efficiency and/or UE power consumption and specifying support for transmission in preconfigured resources in idle and/or connected mode based on SC-FDMA waveform for UEs with a valid timing advance.

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for the resource configuration for NB-IoT.

In a first aspect, there is provided a method for the resource configuration for NB-IoT. The method comprises determining, at a network device, that a Preconfigured Uplink Resource (PUR) is to be adjusted, based on data transmission from a terminal device to the network device; in response to determining that the PUR is to be adjusted, determining a set of resources to be allocated for further transmission from the terminal device to the network device based on a first Transport Block Size (TBS) associated with the further transmission; transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication indicating that the terminal device is to be transited from an idle mode to a connected mode via a Narrow Physical Downlink Control Channel scrambled with a Preconfigured Uplink Resource Radio Network Temporary Identity allocated for the terminal device; and in response to the terminal device re-establishing a connected mode connection with the network device based on the terminal device receiving the indication from the network device, the method further comprising: generating reconfiguration information of the PUR based on the set of the resources; and transmitting the reconfiguration information to the terminal device.

In a second aspect, there is provided a method for the resource configuration for NB-IoT. The method comprises receiving, at a terminal device, an indication from a network device, indicating that the terminal device is to be transited from an idle mode to a connected mode via a Narrow Physical Downlink Control Channel scrambled with a Preconfigured Uplink Resource Radio Network Temporary Identity, the Preconfigured Uplink Resource Radio Network Temporary Identity allocated for the terminal device; re-establishing a connected mode connection with the network device in response to receiving the indication from the network device; transmitting a request for reconfiguration information of a Preconfigured Uplink Resource to the network device via the re-established connected mode connection; receiving, at the terminal device, reconfiguration information of the Preconfigured Uplink Resource (PUR) from the network device, the PUR being used for transmission from the terminal device to the network device, the reconfiguration information being generated by the network device based on a set of resources to be allocated for further transmission from the terminal device to the network device, the set of resources being determined by the network device based on a first Transport Block Size (TBS) associated with the further transmission in response to determining that the PUR is to be adjusted; and performing the further transmission based on the reconfiguration information.

In a third aspect, there is provided a network device comprising means to perform the steps of the method according to the first aspect. The network device comprises means for determining that a Preconfigured Uplink Resource (PUR) is to be adjusted, based on data transmission from a terminal device to the network device; means for, in response to determining that the PUR is to be adjusted, determining a set of resources to be allocated for further transmission from the terminal device to the network device based on a first Transport Block Size (TBS) associated with the further transmission; means for transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication indicating that the terminal device is to be transited from an idle mode to a connected mode via a Narrow Physical Downlink Control Channel scrambled with a Preconfigured Uplink Resource Radio Network Temporary Identity allocated for the terminal device; and in response to the terminal device re-establishing a connected mode connection with the network device based on the terminal device receiving the indication from the network device, the network device further comprising: means for generating reconfiguration information of the PUR based on the set of the resources; and means for transmitting the reconfiguration information to the terminal device.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a terminal device comprising means to perform the steps of the method according to the second aspect. The terminal device comprises means for receiving, from a network device, an indication indicating that the terminal device is to be transited from an idle mode to a connected mode via a Narrow Physical Downlink Control Channel scrambled with a Preconfigured Uplink Resource Radio Network Temporary Identity, the Preconfigured Uplink Resource Radio Network Temporary Identity allocated for the terminal device; means for re-establishing a connected mode connection with the network device in response to receiving the indication from the network device; means for transmitting a request for reconfiguration information of a Preconfigured Uplink Resource to the network device via the re-established connected mode connection; means for receiving reconfiguration information of the Preconfigured Uplink Resource (PUR) from the network device, the PUR being used for transmission from the terminal device to the network device, the reconfiguration information being generated by the network device based on a set of resources to be allocated for further transmission from the terminal device to the network device, the set of resources being determined by the network device based on a first Transport Block Size (TBS) associated with the further transmission in response to determining that the PUR is to be adjusted; and means for performing the further transmission based on the reconfiguration information.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon which, when executed by at least one processor of a device, causes the device to carry out the method according to any of the first and second aspects.

As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that follows any suitable communication standards or protocols such as long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and <NUM> NR, and employs any suitable communication technologies, including, for example, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), OFDM, time division multiplexing (TDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), Bluetooth, ZigBee, machine type communication (MTC), eMBB, mMTC and uRLLC technologies. For the purpose of discussion, in some embodiments, the LTE network, the LTE-A network, the <NUM> NR network or any combination thereof is taken as an example of the communication network.

As used herein, the term "network device" refers to any suitable device at a network side of a communication network. The network device may include any suitable device in an access network of the communication network, for example, including a base station (BS), a relay, an access point (AP), a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a gigabit NodeB (gNB), a Remote Radio Module (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and the like. For the purpose of discussion, in some embodiments, the eNB is taken as an example of the network device.

The network device may also include any suitable device in a core network, for example, including multi-standard radio (MSR) radio equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs) and MMEs, Operation and Management (O&M) nodes, Operation Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organization Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes, such as Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs), and/or Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs).

As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to a device capable of, configured for, arranged for, and/or operable for communications with a network device or a further terminal device in a communication network. The communications may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information over air. In some embodiments, the terminal device may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the terminal device may transmit information to the network device on predetermined schedules, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network side.

Examples of the terminal device include, but are not limited to, user equipment (UE) such as smart phones, wireless-enabled tablet computers, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), and/or wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE). For the purpose of discussion, in the following, some embodiments will be described with reference to UEs as examples of the terminal devices, and the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" (UE) may be used interchangeably in the context of the present disclosure.

As used herein, the term "cell" refers to an area covered by radio signals transmitted by a network device. The terminal device within the cell may be served by the network device and access the communication network via the network device.

<FIG> illustrates a communication network <NUM> in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication network <NUM> may comply with any suitable protocol or standard that already exists or will be developed in the future. In some embodiments, the communication network <NUM> may be the LTE (or LTE-A) network, the NR network or combination thereof.

The communication network <NUM> comprises a network device <NUM>. The network device <NUM> serves a terminal device <NUM> in a cell <NUM>. It is to be understood that the numbers of network devices and terminal devices are shown only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitation. The communication network <NUM> may include any suitable numbers of network devices and terminal devices. The communication between the network device <NUM> and the terminal device <NUM> may utilize any suitable technology that already exists or will be developed in the future.

Currently, it has been considered removing the need for MESSAGE <NUM> and MESSAGE <NUM> in an accesses procedure by using a PUR (Preconfigured Uplink Resource). A dedicated PUR (D-PUR) is defined as a Narrow Physical Uplink Shared Channel (NPUSCH) resource and may be allocated for a specific UE to avoid the contention. It has been decided that the eNB may configure the dedicated PUR via RRC signalling and a periodic D-PUR with duration may be supported.

Compared to the scheduling-based resource allocation, the D-PUR is a reserved way without accurate buffer size exchange. The FFS is method for the eNB to obtain information used to help configuring the dedicated preconfigured uplink resource to the UE. The improper resource allocation method will result in resource waste.

Furthermore, when the eNB allocates one D-PUR for a UE. The D-PUR information may be stored in both the eNB and the UE. It is not discussed yet on how to create and maintain the information.

An approach proposed that the PUR may reuse the same max Transport Block Size (TBS) and same UL TBS table specified for Early Data Transmission (EDT) in Random Access (RA) procedure.

A further approach proposed that the PUR TBS is limited to the max TBS supported by the UE category. There is no accurate TBS allocation step for EDT and the performance relies on the blind decoding of the eNB. EDT is a kind of one chance transmission, if reusing the EDT way for D-PUR, it is not efficient especially for periodic services.

A yet approach proposed to add data volume size into the Subscription Based UE Differentiation Information from the MME to the eNB to help it to determine the TBS. It is not flexible to obtain the data volume size as part of the subscription data, which may only work when the MCS is fixed for the UE and known by the eNB.

Further, since the UE applying D-PUR is in idle mode, the D-PUR information may not be stored in the eNB as UE context. There is no solution on D-PUR information storage yet.

Therefore, embodiments of the present disclosure proposed a method of resource configuration for NB-IoT. The procedure of the resource configuration may involve an initial phase (i.e. configuring phase) and an adjusting phase (i.e. reconfiguring phase). Both eNB and UE may trigger the procedure of the resource configuration.

Principle and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to <FIG>, which shows process <NUM> according to example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG>. The process <NUM> may involve the resource configuration for NB-IoT.

As shown in <FIG>, the network device <NUM> may determine which cell may support PUR. In some embodiments, the EDT capable cells may be considered as candidate cells for PUR, for example, the cell <NUM> shown in <FIG>. Then the network device may generate a PUR indication in the EDT TBS parameters to show whether those EDT TBS parameters may be used by the terminal device <NUM>, which is served by the cell <NUM>.

The network device <NUM> may further transmit a D-PUR indication in the System Information Block (SIB) <NUM> to inform the terminal device <NUM> that the cell <NUM> may support D-PUR to reuse the TBS information of EDT.

Then the network device <NUM> may determine the configuration of the PUR. In some embodiments, the configuration of the PUR may be determined by the network device <NUM> based on the Coverage Extension Level (CEL) of the terminal device <NUM> detected by itself. As another option, the terminal device <NUM> may request the configuration of the PUR based on the data volume size to be transmitted to the network device <NUM> and the Coverage Extension Level (CEL) of the terminal device <NUM>. With reference to the actions <NUM> to <NUM>, both cases for the initial phase (i.e. configuring phase) may be explained in detail.

If the initial phase is triggered by the terminal device <NUM>. The terminal device <NUM> may determine <NUM> an expected TBS based on the Coverage Extension Level (CEL) and the data volume size from higher layer. The expected TBS as used herein may indicate a required size for transmitting the data from the terminal device <NUM>.

In this case, the terminal device <NUM> may determine different expected TBSs and periodicity details based on the multiple D-PUR services from network device <NUM>. In addition to the D-PUR service flows, the terminal device <NUM> may also indicate service which requires PUR whose traffic pattern is not deterministic with the possible TBS size.

The terminal device <NUM> may transmit <NUM> the request for the configuration of PUR to the network device <NUM>. This request may comprise the expect TBS and may be transmitted via RRC signalling. If the network device <NUM> receives the request, the network device <NUM> may determine the the configuration of the PUR based on the initial TBS and channel state between the terminal device and the network device, for example, the CEL. Such configuration of the PUR may be considered as dedicated PUR (D-PUR), which means the configuration of PUR may be used only for a specific terminal device, for example, the terminal device <NUM>.

In some embodiments, an identifier of the service is encapsulated in the NAS message in the RRC signalling for D-PUR request.

In some embodiments, the configuration at least comprising a configured TBS for the uplink transmission, a set of resources to be allocated for the uplink transmission and a PUR Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI). The PUR RNTI may be allocated to the terminal device <NUM> to indicate that the terminal device to monitor the NPDCCH scrambled by the PUR RNTI to determine if it needs to perform mode transition for receiving the reconfiguration.

The network device <NUM> may transmit <NUM> the configuration of the PUR to the terminal device <NUM> and create <NUM> the D-PUR context accordingly. Correspondingly, the terminal device <NUM> may also create <NUM> the D-PUR context after receiving the configuration of the PUR. In some embodiments, the context may comprise the identity of the terminal device, the identity of the service, the allocated resources, TBS and the repetition number for the transmission.

Alternatively, if the initial phase is triggered by the network device <NUM>, the network device <NUM> may assign resources to each of the service flow with resource allocation configuration along with a configured TBS for the service having fixed traffic pattern and determine the the configuration of the PUR based on the allocated resources. Such allocated resource may be considered as a common PUR.

In some embodiments, for the service which requires uplink transmission whose timing is not deterministic, the network device <NUM> may assign the resources with the maximum TBS and also smaller TBS supported in these common resources. The network device <NUM> may also use the EDT TBS as the configured TBS to be used for this common PUR.

Similarly, for this case, the network device <NUM> may transmit <NUM> the configuration of the PUR to the terminal device <NUM> and create <NUM> the D-PUR context accordingly. Correspondingly, the terminal device <NUM> may also create <NUM> the D-PUR context after receiving the configuration of the PUR. In some embodiments, the context may comprise the identifier of the terminal device, the identifier of the service, the allocated resources, TBS and the repetition number for the transmission.

In this way, both the terminal device <NUM> and the network device <NUM> may trigger the procedure of the configuration. Furthermore, the D-PUR information may be stored in both the terminal device <NUM> and the network device <NUM> in terms of D-PUR context.

In some embodiments, the terminal device <NUM> may intend to adjust the configuration of the PUR if the service data volume or channel conditions need to be changed. According to the claimed invention, the network device <NUM> triggers the PUR reconfiguration (i.e. an adjusting phase) if the network device <NUM> detects the terminal device <NUM> request more resources or improper TBS than it actually needs.

For the case that the network device <NUM> triggers the PUR reconfiguration, the terminal device <NUM> performs <NUM> uplink data transmission. Based on the data transmission, the network device <NUM> determines <NUM> whether that the configuration of PUR is to be adjusted.

In some embodiments, the network device <NUM> may determine the TBS for the data transmission and compare the TBS with the configured TBS indicated in the configuration of the PUR. If the TBS is less than the configured TBS, it means that the configured TBS may not be used efficiently by the terminal device <NUM>. That is, the configuration of PUR needs to be adjusted and the network device <NUM> may reconfigure the PUR.

The network device <NUM> determines a set of resources for the further transmission. For example, the network device <NUM> may determine the set of resources for the further transmission based on the TBS, the Coverage Extension Level (CEL) and the repetition number for the further transmission.

Then the network device <NUM> transmits <NUM> an indication indicating that the terminal device <NUM> to transit to a connected mode via a Narrow Physical Downlink Control Channel (NPDCCH) scrambled with the PUR RNTI allocated to the terminal device <NUM> in an initial phase. The allocated PUR RNTI may cause the terminal device <NUM> to monitor the NPDCCH after performing <NUM> uplink data transmission.

If the terminal device <NUM> receives the indication for the mode transition in the NPDCCH, the terminal device <NUM> may re-establish the RRC connection with the network device to receive the reconfiguration. Then the terminal device <NUM> transmits <NUM> a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR to the network device <NUM> via the re-established RRC connection. The network device <NUM> may generate the reconfiguration information of the PUR based on the set of the resources allocated for the further transmission and transmit <NUM> the reconfiguration information to the terminal device <NUM>. For example, the reconfiguration information may indicate the set of resources, the TBS and the repetition number for the subsequent transmission. Then the network device <NUM> may update <NUM> the D-PUR context.

The terminal device may determine <NUM> a new TBS based on the reconfiguration information and also update <NUM> the D-PUR context.

Alternatively, the terminal device <NUM> may trigger the PUR reconfiguration if the service data volume or channel conditions need to be changed. The terminal device <NUM> may determine <NUM> an expected TBS for the further transmission.

Then the terminal device <NUM> may transmit <NUM> a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR to the network device <NUM> via a RRC signaling. The request may indicate the expected TBS. The network device <NUM> may obtain the expected TBS from the request and determine the set of resources based on the expected TBS. The network device <NUM> may generate the reconfiguration information of the PUR based on the set of the resources allocated for the subsequent transmission, the expected TBS and the repetition number for the subsequent transmission. Then the network device <NUM> transmit <NUM> the reconfiguration information to the terminal device <NUM>. Then the network device <NUM> may update <NUM> the D-PUR context. The terminal device <NUM> may also update <NUM> the D-PUR context based the received reconfiguration information.

In this way, both the terminal device <NUM> and the network device <NUM> may initiate the reconfiguration procedure, so that the PUR and TBS per service may be configured more efficiently and flexibility compared to the EDT.

Alternatively, the network device <NUM> may also modify the TBS or resources for common PUR. For this purpose, the network device <NUM> may initiate paging towards the terminal device <NUM> mapped to these resources to initiate the network triggered reconfiguration.

More details of the example embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> shows a flowchart of an example method <NUM> for random access procedure according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method <NUM> can be implemented at the network device <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. For the purpose of discussion, the method <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the network device <NUM> determines whether a Preconfigured Uplink Resource (PUR) for transmission from a terminal device to the network device is to be adjusted.

In some example embodiments, the network device <NUM> may determine the TBS based on the transmission received from the terminal device and may determine whether the TBS is less than a configured TBS, the configured TBS being predetermined for the transmission by the network device. If the network device <NUM> determines the TBS is less than a configured TBS, the network device <NUM> may determine that the PUR is to be adjusted.

In some example embodiments, if the network device <NUM> receives a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR from the terminal device, the network device <NUM> may determine that the PUR is to be adjusted.

At <NUM>, if the network device <NUM> determines that the PUR is to be adjusted, the network device <NUM> determines a set of resources to be allocated for further transmission from the terminal device to the network device based on a Transport Block Size (TBS) associated with the further transmission.

In some example embodiments, the network device <NUM> may determine the TBS and a Coverage Extension Level (CEL) and determine the repetition number for the further transmission based on the TBS and the CEL. The network device <NUM> may further determine the set of resources based on the TBS and the repetition number.

In some example embodiments, the network device <NUM> may transmit, to the terminal device, an indication indicating that the terminal device is to be transited from an idle mode to a connected mode via a Narrow Physical Downlink Control Channel (NPDCCH) scrambled with a PUR Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) allocated for the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the network device <NUM> may obtain an expected TBS from a request for the reconfiguration information from the terminal device and determine the set of resources based on the expected TBS.

At <NUM>, the network device <NUM> generates reconfiguration information of the PUR based on the set of the resources.

At <NUM>, the network device <NUM> transmits the reconfiguration information to the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, if the network device <NUM> receives a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR from the terminal device, the network device <NUM> may generate the reconfiguration information indicating the set of resources, the TBS and the repetition number for the further transmission and transmit the reconfiguration information to the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, if the network device <NUM> receives a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR from the terminal device, the network device <NUM> may generate the reconfiguration information indicating the set of resources, the TBS and the repetition number for the further transmission and transmit the reconfiguration information to the terminal device. The set of resources may be determined based on an expected TBS indicated by the request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR.

Furthermore, in some example embodiments, the network device <NUM> may determine a configuration of the PUR for the transmission and transmit the configuration of the PUR to the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, if the network device <NUM> receives a request for the configuration from the terminal device, the network device <NUM> may obtain an initial TBS for the transmission from the request, the initial TBS being determined by the terminal device and determine the configuration of the PUR based on the initial TBS and Coverage Extension Level (CEL), the configuration at least comprising a configured TBS for the transmission, a set of resources to be allocated for the transmission and a PUR Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) allocated for the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the network device <NUM> may determine a configured TBS for the transmission and a set of resources to be allocated for the transmission, and determine the configuration of the PUR based on the configured TBS.

In some example embodiments, the network device <NUM> may obtain a reference TBS from an Early Data Transmission (EDT) and determine the configure TBS based on the reference TBS.

<FIG> shows a flowchart of an example method <NUM> for random access procedure according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method <NUM> can be implemented at the terminal device <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. For the purpose of discussion, the method <NUM> will be described with reference to <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the terminal device <NUM> receives reconfiguration information of a Preconfigured Uplink Resource (PUR) from a network device, the PUR is used for transmission from a terminal device to the network device, the reconfiguration information is generated by the network device based on a set of resources to be allocated for further transmission from the terminal device to the network device, the set of resources being determined by the network device based on a Transport Block Size (TBS) associated with the further transmission in response to determining that the PUR is to be adjusted.

At <NUM>, the terminal device <NUM> performs the further transmission based on the reconfiguration information.

In some example embodiments, the terminal device <NUM> may receive from the network device, an indication indicating that the terminal device is to be transited from an idle mode to a connected mode via a Narrow Physical Downlink Control Channel scrambled with a PUR Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) allocated for the terminal device. The terminal device <NUM> may transmit a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR to the network device via a high layer signaling re-established based on the indication.

In some example embodiments, if a data volume of the further transmission or a Coverage Extension Level (CEL) is to be changed, the terminal device <NUM> may determine an expected TBS for the further transmission and transmits a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR to the network device, the request indicating the expected TBS.

In some example embodiments, if the terminal device <NUM> receives, from the network device, a System Information Block (SIB) indicating that the PUR is available in a cell served by the network device, the terminal device <NUM> may determine an initial TBS for the transmission based on a data volume for the transmission and a Coverage Extension Level (CEL). The terminal device <NUM> may transmit a request for the configuration of the PUR to the network device, the request indicating the initial TBS and the CEL and receive the configuration of the PUR from the network device, the configuration of the PUR being determined by the network device based on the initial TBS and the CEL.

In some example embodiments, the terminal device <NUM> may receive a configuration of the PUR from the network device, the configuration of the PUR being determined by the network device based on a configured TBS of the transmission.

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

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining, at a network device, whether a Preconfigured Uplink Resource (PUR) for transmission from a terminal device to the network device is to be adjusted; means for in response to determining that the PUR is to be adjusted, determining a set of resources to be allocated for further transmission from the terminal device to the network device based on a Transport Block Size (TBS) associated with the further transmission; means for generating reconfiguration information of the PUR based on the set of the resources; and means for transmitting the reconfiguration information to the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining whether that the PUR is to be adjusted comprises means for determining the TBS based on the transmission received from the terminal device; means for determining whether the TBS being less than a configured TBS, the configured TBS being predetermined for the transmission by the network device; and means for in response to determining that the TBS being less than with configured TBS, determining that the PUR is to be adjusted.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining whether that the PUR is to be adjusted comprise means for in response to receiving, from the terminal device, a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR, determining that the PUR is to be adjusted.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the set of resources comprises means for determining the TBS and a Coverage Extension Level (CEL); means for determining the repetition number for the further transmission based on the TBS and the CEL; and means for determining the set of resources based on the TBS and the repetition number.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the set of resources further comprising means for transmitting, to the terminal device, an indication indicating that the terminal device is to be transited from an idle mode to a connected mode via a Narrow Physical Downlink Control Channel (NPDCCH) scrambled with a PUR Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) allocated for the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the set of resources comprises means for obtaining an expected TBS from a request for the reconfiguration information from the terminal device; and means for determining the set of resources based on the expected TBS.

In some example embodiments, the means for transmitting the reconfiguration information comprises means for in response to receiving a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR from the terminal device, generating the reconfiguration information indicating the set of resources, the TBS and the repetition number for the further transmission; and means for transmitting the reconfiguration information to the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the means for transmitting the reconfiguration information comprises means for in response to receiving a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR from the terminal device, generating the reconfiguration information indicating the set of resources, the TBS and the repetition number for the further transmission, the set of resources being determined based on an expected TBS indicated by the request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR; and means for transmitting the reconfiguration information to the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for determining a configuration of the PUR for the transmission; and means for transmitting the configuration of the PUR to the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the configuration comprises means for in response to receiving a request for the configuration from the terminal device, obtaining an initial TBS for the transmission from the request, the initial TBS being determined by the terminal device; and means for determining the configuration of the PUR based on the initial TBS and a Coverage Extension Level (CEL), the configuration at least comprising a configured TBS for the transmission, a set of resources to be allocated for the transmission and a PUR Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) allocated for the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the configuration comprises means for determining a configured TBS for the transmission and a set of resources to be allocated for the transmission; and means for determining the configuration of the PUR based on the configured TBS.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the configured TBS comprises means for obtaining a reference TBS from an Early Data Transmission (EDT); and means for determining the configure TBS based on the reference TBS.

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

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, at a terminal device, reconfiguration information of Preconfigured Uplink Resource (PUR) from a network device, the PUR being used for transmission from a terminal device to the network device, the reconfiguration information being generated by the network device based on a set of resources to be allocated for further transmission from the terminal device to the network device, the set of resources being determined by the network device based on a Transport Block Size (TBS) associated with the further transmission in response to determining that the PUR is to be adjusted; and means for performing the further transmission based on the reconfiguration information.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving, from the network device, an indication indicating that the terminal device is to be transited from an idle mode to a connected mode via a Narrow Physical Downlink Control Channel scrambled with a PUR Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI) allocated for the terminal device and means for transmitting a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR to the network device via a high layer signaling re-established based on the indication.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for in response to a data volume of the further transmission or a Coverage Extension Level (CEL) being to be changed, determining an expected TBS for the further transmission; and transmitting a request for the reconfiguration information of the PUR to the network device, the request indicating the expected TBS.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for in response to receiving, from the network device, a System Information Block (SIB) indicating that the PUR is available in a cell served by the network device, determining an initial TBS for the transmission based on a data volume for the transmission and a Coverage Extension Level (CEL); means for transmitting a request for the configuration of the PUR to the network device, the request indicating the initial TBS and the CEL and means for receiving the configuration of the PUR from the network device, the configuration of the PUR being determined by the network device based on the initial TBS and the CEL.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving a configuration of the PUR from the network device, the configuration of the PUR being determined by the network device based on a configured TBS of the transmission.

<FIG> is a simplified block diagram of a device <NUM> that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device <NUM> may be provided to implement the terminal device <NUM> or the network device <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. As shown, the device <NUM> includes one or more processors <NUM>, one or more memories <NUM> coupled to the processor <NUM>, and one or more transmitters and/or receivers (TX/RX) <NUM> coupled to the processor <NUM>.

The TX/RX <NUM> is for bidirectional communications. The TX/RX <NUM> has at least one antenna to facilitate communication.

The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program <NUM> so that the device <NUM> may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to <FIG>.

Generally, various example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. For example, in some embodiments, various examples of the present disclosure (e.g., a method, apparatus or device) may be partly or fully implemented on the computer readable medium. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representation, it will be appreciated that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods 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.

The units included in the apparatuses and/or devices of the present disclosure may be implemented in various manners, including software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, one or more units may be implemented using software and/or firmware, for example, machine-executable instructions stored on the storage medium. In addition to or instead of machine-executable instructions, parts or all of the units in the apparatuses and/or devices may be implemented, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and the like.

As examples, embodiments of the present disclosure may be described in the context of the computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor. 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.

These program codes may be provided to a processor 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.

In the context of the present disclosure, a computer readable medium may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer readable medium may be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. The 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 machine 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.

Claim 1:
A method, comprising:
determining (<NUM>), at a network device, that a Preconfigured Uplink Resource is to be adjusted, based on data transmission from a terminal device to the network device;
in response to determining that the Preconfigured Uplink Resource is to be adjusted, determining (<NUM>) a set of resources to be allocated for further transmission from the terminal device to the network device based on a first Transport Block Size associated with the further transmission;
transmitting (<NUM>), to the terminal device, an indication indicating that the terminal device is to be transited from an idle mode to a connected mode via a Narrow Physical Downlink Control Channel scrambled with a Preconfigured Uplink Resource Radio Network Temporary Identity allocated for the terminal device; and
in response to the terminal device re-establishing a connected mode connection with the network device based on the terminal device receiving the indication from the network device, the method further comprising:
generating (<NUM>) reconfiguration information of the Preconfigured Uplink Resource based on the set of the resources; and
transmitting (<NUM>) the reconfiguration information to the terminal device.