Patent Description:
A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations (BSs), each simultaneously supporting communications for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).

To meet the growing demands for expanded mobile broadband connectivity, wireless communication technologies are advancing from the long term evolution (LTE) technology to a next generation new radio (NR) technology. For example, NR is designed to provide a lower latency, a higher bandwidth or a higher throughput, and a higher reliability than LTE. NR is designed to operate over a wide array of spectrum bands, for example, from low-frequency bands below about <NUM> gigahertz (GHz) and mid-frequency bands from about <NUM> to about <NUM>, to high-frequency bands such as millimeter wave (mmWave) bands. NR is also designed to operate across different spectrum types, from licensed spectrum to unlicensed and shared spectrum. Spectrum sharing enables operators to opportunistically aggregate spectrums to dynamically support high-bandwidth services. Spectrum sharing can extend the benefit of NR technologies to operating entities that may not have access to a licensed spectrum.

<CIT> relates to a situation where a scheduled PUSCH and/or PUCCH transmissions overlap in at least one slot (e.g., in a partially or fully overlapping set of slots and in a partially or fully overlapping set of OFDM symbols within a slot). Then, the UE determines to transmit UCI on the PUSCH (e.g., piggyback) and drop the scheduled PUCCH transmission, to transmit the UCI on the PUCCH and drop the scheduled PUSCH transmission, or to drop the UCI transmission for each of the first and second one or more slots. The determination may be based on a rule or set of rules, such as a priority level associated with the transmissions.

3GPP Tdoc R1- <NUM> relates to partially overlapped PUCCH and PUSCH. Without impacting the timeline of either PUSCH or PUCCH transmission, if PUCCH partially overlap with PUSCH, PUCCH should not be piggybacked on PUSCH. Instead, either PUCCH or PUSCH is dropped depends on a simple rule of "first come first service". In other words, if PUCCH starting symbol is earlier than PUSCH, transmit UCI in PUCCH and drop PUSCH; otherwise, transmit PUSCH and drop UCI and PUCCH.

Advantageous embodiments are subject to the dependent claims.

In the following, each of the described methods, apparatuses, systems, examples and aspects, which does not fully correspond to the invention as defined in the appended claims, is thus not according to the invention and is, as well as the whole following description, present for illustration purposes only or to highlight specific aspects or features of the appended claims.

Aspects of the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewing the following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring such concepts.

This disclosure relates generally to wireless communications systems, also referred to as wireless communications networks. In various embodiments, the techniques and apparatus may be used for wireless communication networks such as code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, <NUM>th Generation (<NUM>) or new radio (NR) networks, as well as other communications networks. As described herein, the terms "networks" and "systems" may be used interchangeably.

An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) <NUM>, IEEE <NUM>, IEEE <NUM>, flash-OFDM and the like. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project which was aimed at improving the UMTS mobile phone standard.

In particular, <NUM> networks contemplate diverse deployments, diverse spectrum, and diverse services and devices that may be implemented using an OFDM-based unified, air interface. To achieve these goals, further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are considered in addition to development of the new radio technology for <NUM> NR networks. The <NUM> NR will be capable of scaling to provide coverage (<NUM>) to a massive Internet of things (IoTs) with an Ultra-high density (e.g., ~<NUM> nodes/km<NUM>), ultra-low complexity (e.g., ~<NUM> of bits/sec), ultra-low energy (e.g., ~<NUM>+ years of battery life), and deep coverage with the capability to reach challenging locations; (<NUM>) including mission-critical control with strong security to safeguard sensitive personal, financial, or classified information, ultra-high reliability (e.g., ~<NUM>% reliability), ultra-low latency (e.g., ~ <NUM>), and users with wide ranges of mobility or lack thereof; and (<NUM>) with enhanced mobile broadband including extreme high capacity (e.g., ~ <NUM> Tbps/km<NUM>), extreme data rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rate, <NUM>+ Mbps user experienced rates), and deep awareness with advanced discovery and optimizations.

The <NUM> NR may be implemented to use optimized OFDM-based waveforms with scalable numerology and transmission time interval (TTI); having a common, flexible framework to efficiently multiplex services and features with a dynamic, low-latency time division duplex (TDD)/frequency division duplex (FDD) design; and with advanced wireless technologies, such as massive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO), robust millimeter wave (mmWave) transmissions, advanced channel coding, and device-centric mobility. Scalability of the numerology in <NUM> NR, with scaling of subcarrier spacing (SCS), may efficiently address operating diverse services across diverse spectrum and diverse deployments. For example, in various outdoor and macro coverage deployments of less than <NUM> FDD/TDD implementations, SCS may occur with <NUM>, for example over <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and the like bandwidth (BW). For other various outdoor and small cell coverage deployments of TDD greater than <NUM>, SCS may occur with <NUM> over <NUM>/<NUM> BW. For other various indoor wideband implementations, using a TDD over the unlicensed portion of the <NUM> band, the SCS may occur with <NUM> over a <NUM> BW. Finally, for various deployments transmitting with mmWave components at a TDD of <NUM>, the SCS may occur with <NUM> over a <NUM> BW.

<NUM> NR also contemplates a self-contained integrated subframe design with UL/downlink scheduling information, data, and acknowledgement in the same subframe. The self-contained integrated subframe supports communications in unlicensed or contention-based shared spectrum, adaptive UL/downlink that may be flexibly configured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between UL and downlink to meet the current traffic needs.

For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects or examples set forth herein. Furthermore, an aspect may include at least one element of a claim.

In an embodiment, the network <NUM> may operate over shared frequency bands or unlicensed frequency bands, for example, at about <NUM> gigahertz (GHz), sub-<NUM> or higher frequencies in the mmWav band. Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include DL transmissions and/or UL transmissions. A UL transmission (e.g., autonomous UL via a dynamic UL grant or scheduled UL transmission via a configured UL grant) in the licensed frequency band may occur under various circumstances. A grantless or grant-free uplink transmission is an unscheduled transmission, performed on the channel without an UL grant.

The present application describes mechanisms for transmission of uplink (UL) control information (UCI) when a PUCCH transmission in a time period overlaps with a configured grant resource. The UCI may include a configured grant UCI (CG-UCI) and/or normal UCI. The normal UCI may also be referred to as first UCI and may include an ACK/NACK, channel state information (CSI), and/or a scheduling request (SR). In some aspects, the UE may apply a set of priority rules of priority rules to determine whether to transmit the UCI in PUCCH or in the configured grant resource. The present application provides techniques for determining, based on the set of priority rules, whether to transmit the first UCI in the PUCCH transmission or to transmit the CG-UCI and the first UCI in the configured grant resource.

<FIG> illustrates a wireless communication network <NUM> according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The network <NUM> may be a <NUM> network. The network <NUM> includes a number of base stations (BSs) <NUM> (individually labeled as 105a, 105b, 105c, 105d, 105e, and 105f) and other network entities. A BS <NUM> may be a station that communicates with UEs <NUM> and may also be referred to as an evolved node B (eNB), a next generation eNB (gNB), an access point, and the like. Each BS <NUM> may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" can refer to this particular geographic coverage area of a BS <NUM> and/or a BS subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

The UEs <NUM> are dispersed throughout the wireless network <NUM>, and each UE <NUM> may be stationary or mobile. A UE <NUM> may also be referred to as a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, or the like. A UE <NUM> may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, or the like. In one aspect, a UE <NUM> may be a device that includes a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). In another aspect, a UE may be a device that does not include a UICC. In some aspects, the UEs <NUM> that do not include UICCs may also be referred to as IoT devices or internet of everything (IoE) devices. The UEs 115a-115d are examples of mobile smart phone-type devices accessing network <NUM>. A UE <NUM> may also be a machine specifically configured for connected communication, including machine type communication (MTC), enhanced MTC (eMTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and the like. The UEs 115e-<NUM> are examples of various machines configured for communication that access the network <NUM>. The UEs 115i-<NUM> are examples of vehicles equipped with wireless communication devices configured for communication that access the network <NUM>. A UE <NUM> may be able to communicate with any type of the BSs, whether macro BS, small cell, or the like. In <FIG>, a lightning bolt (e.g., communication links) indicates wireless transmissions between a UE <NUM> and a serving BS <NUM>, which is a BS designated to serve the UE <NUM> on the downlink (DL) and/or uplink (UL), desired transmission between BSs <NUM>, backhaul transmissions between BSs, or sidelink transmissions between UEs <NUM>.

The BSs <NUM> may also communicate with a core network. The core network may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. At least some of the BSs <NUM> (e.g., which may be an example of a gNB or an access node controller (ANC)) may interface with the core network through backhaul links (e.g., NG-C, NG-U, etc.) and may perform radio configuration and scheduling for communication with the UEs <NUM>. In various examples, the BSs <NUM> may communicate, either directly or indirectly (e.g., through core network), with each other over backhaul links (e.g., X1, X2, etc.), which may be wired or wireless communication links.

The network <NUM> may also support mission critical communications with ultra-reliable and redundant links for mission critical devices, such as the UE 115e, which may be a drone. Redundant communication links with the UE 115e may include links from the macro BSs 105d and 105e, as well as links from the small cell BS 105f. Other machine type devices, such as the UE 115f(e.g., a thermometer), the UE <NUM> (e.g., smart meter), and UE <NUM> (e.g., wearable device) may communicate through the network <NUM> either directly with BSs, such as the small cell BS 105f, and the macro BS 105e, or in multi-step-size configurations by communicating with another user device which relays its information to the network, such as the UE 115f communicating temperature measurement information to the smart meter, the UE <NUM>, which is then reported to the network through the small cell BS 105f. The network <NUM> may also provide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD/FDD communications, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications among the UEs 115i-<NUM>, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications between a UE 115i, 115j, or <NUM> and other UEs <NUM>, and/or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications between a UE 115i, 115j, or <NUM> and a BS <NUM>.

In some implementations, the network <NUM> utilizes OFDM-based waveforms for communications. An OFDM-based system may partition the system BW into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as subcarriers, tones, bins, or the like. Each subcarrier may be modulated with data. In some instances, the SCS between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system BW. The system BW may also be partitioned into subbands. In other instances, the SCS and/or the duration of TTIs may be scalable.

In some aspects, the BSs <NUM> can assign or schedule transmission resources (e.g., in the form of time-frequency resource blocks (RB)) for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions in the network <NUM>. DL refers to the transmission direction from a BS <NUM> to a UE <NUM>, whereas UL refers to the transmission direction from a UE <NUM> to a BS <NUM>. The communication can be in the form of radio frames. A radio frame may be divided into a plurality of subframes or slots, for example, about <NUM>. Each slot may be further divided into mini-slots. In a FDD mode, simultaneous UL and DL transmissions may occur in different frequency bands. For example, each subframe includes an UL subframe in an UL frequency band and a DL subframe in a DL frequency band. A subframe may also be referred to as a slot. In a TDD mode, UL and DL transmissions occur at different time periods using the same frequency band. For example, a subset of the subframes (e.g., DL subframes) in a radio frame may be used for DL transmissions and another subset of the subframes (e.g., UL subframes) in the radio frame may be used for UL transmissions.

The DL subframes and the UL subframes can be further divided into several regions. For example, each DL or UL subframe may have pre-defined regions for transmissions of reference signals, control information, and data. Reference signals are predetermined signals that facilitate the communications between the BSs <NUM> and the UEs <NUM>. For example, a reference signal can have a particular pilot pattern or structure, where pilot tones may span across an operational BW or frequency band, each positioned at a pre-defined time and a pre-defined frequency. For example, a BS <NUM> may transmit cell specific reference signals (CRSs) and/or channel state information - reference signals (CSI-RSs) to enable a UE <NUM> to estimate a DL channel. Similarly, a UE <NUM> may transmit sounding reference signals (SRSs) to enable a BS <NUM> to estimate an UL channel. Control information may include resource assignments and protocol controls. Data may include protocol data and/or operational data. In some aspects, the BSs <NUM> and the UEs <NUM> may communicate using self-contained subframes. A self-contained subframe may include a portion for DL communication and a portion for UL communication. A self-contained subframe can be DL-centric or UL-centric. A DL-centric subframe may include a longer duration for DL communication than for UL communication. An UL-centric subframe may include a longer duration for UL communication than for DL communication.

In some aspects, the network <NUM> may be an NR network deployed over a licensed spectrum. The BSs <NUM> can transmit synchronization signals (e.g., including a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)) in the network <NUM> to facilitate synchronization. The BSs <NUM> can broadcast system information associated with the network <NUM> (e.g., including a master information block (MIB), remaining system information (RMSI), and other system information (OSI)) to facilitate initial network access. In some instances, the BSs <NUM> may broadcast the PSS, the SSS, and/or the MIB in the form of synchronization signal block (SSBs) over a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) and may broadcast the RMSI and/or the OSI over a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

In some aspects, a UE <NUM> attempting to access the network <NUM> may perform an initial cell search by detecting a PSS from a BS <NUM>. The PSS may enable synchronization of period timing and may indicate a physical layer identity value. The UE <NUM> may then receive a SSS. The SSS may enable radio frame synchronization, and may provide a cell identity value, which may be combined with the physical layer identity value to identify the cell. The PSS and the SSS may be located in a central portion of a carrier or any suitable frequencies within the carrier.

After receiving the PSS and SSS, the UE <NUM> may receive a MIB, which may be transmitted in the physical broadcast channel (PBCH). The MIB may include system information for initial network access and scheduling information for RMSI and/or OSI. After decoding the MIB, the UE <NUM> may receive RMSI, OSI, and/or one or more system information blocks (SIBs). The RMSI and/or OSI may include radio resource control (RRC) information related to random access channel (RACH) procedures, paging, control resource set (CORESET) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, physical UL control channel (PUCCH), physical UL shared channel (PUSCH), power control, and SRS. In some aspects, SIB1 may contain cell access parameters and scheduling information for other SIBs.

After obtaining the MIB, the RMSI and/or the OSI, the UE <NUM> can perform a random access procedure to establish a connection with the BS <NUM>. After establishing a connection, the UE <NUM> and the BS <NUM> can enter a normal operation stage, where operational data may be exchanged. For example, the BS <NUM> may schedule the UE <NUM> for UL and/or DL communications. The BS <NUM> may transmit UL and/or DL scheduling grants to the UE <NUM> via a PDCCH. The scheduling grants may be transmitted in the form of DL control information (DCI). The BS <NUM> may transmit a DL communication signal (e.g., carrying data) to the UE <NUM> via a PDSCH according to a DL scheduling grant. The UE <NUM> may transmit an UL communication signal to the BS <NUM> via a PUSCH and/or PUCCH according to an UL scheduling grant.

In some aspects, the network <NUM> may operate over a system BW or a component carrier (CC) BW. The network <NUM> may partition the system BW into multiple BWPs (e.g., portions). A BS <NUM> may dynamically assign a UE <NUM> to operate over a certain BWP (e.g., a certain portion of the system BW). The assigned BWP may be referred to as the active BWP. The UE <NUM> may monitor the active BWP for signaling information from the BS <NUM>. The BS <NUM> may schedule the UE <NUM> for UL or DL communications in the active BWP. In some aspects, a BS <NUM> may assign a pair of BWPs within the CC to a UE <NUM> for UL and DL communications. For example, the BWP pair may include one BWP for UL communications and one BWP for DL communications.

In an embodiment, the network <NUM> may be an NR network deployed over a licensed or unlicensed spectrum. The network <NUM> may operate over a shared channel, which may include shared frequency bands or unlicensed frequency bands, for example, at about <NUM> gigahertz (GHz), sub-<NUM> or higher frequencies in the mmWav band. The network <NUM> may partition a frequency band into multiple channels, for example, each occupying about <NUM> megahertz (MHz). A wireless communication device may share resources in the shared communication medium and may employ a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure to reserve transmission opportunities (TXOPs) in the shared medium for communications. TXOPs may be non-continuous in time and may refer to an amount of time a station can send frames when it has won contention for the wireless medium. Each TXOP may include a plurality of slots and one or more medium sensing periods. A TXOP may also be referred to as channel occupancy time (COT).

<FIG> illustrates a scheduling/configuration timeline <NUM> according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The scheduling/configuration timeline <NUM> may correspond to a scheduling/configuration timeline communicated between a BS <NUM> and a UE <NUM> of the network <NUM>. In <FIG>, the x-axis represents time in some constant units. <FIG> shows a frame structure <NUM> including a plurality of slots <NUM> in time. The slots <NUM> are indexed from S0 to S9. For example, a BS may communicate with a UE in units of slots <NUM>. The slots <NUM> may also be referred to as transmission time intervals (TTIs). Each slot <NUM> or TTI carry a medium access control (MAC) layer transport block. Each slot <NUM> may include a number of symbols in time and a number of frequency tones in frequency. Each slot <NUM> may include a DL control portion followed by at least one of a subsequent DL data portion, UL data portion, and/or a UL control portion. In the context of LTE, the DL control portion, the DL data portion, the UL data portion, and the UL control portion may be referred to as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), respectively.

The pattern-filled boxes represent transmissions of DL control information (DCI), DL data, UL control information (UCI), UL data, an ACK, and/or a NACK in corresponding slots <NUM>. While an entire slot <NUM> is pattern-filled, a transmission may occur only in a corresponding portion of the slot <NUM>. As shown, the BS transmits DCI <NUM> in the slot <NUM> indexed S0 (e.g., in a DL control portion of the slot <NUM>). The DCI <NUM> may indicate a UL grant for the UE. The UE transmits UCI <NUM> to the BS in the slot <NUM> indexed S6 (e.g., in a UL control portion of the slot <NUM>) based on the UL assignment. The slot <NUM> indexed S4 is a fourth slot from the slot <NUM> indexed S0. The UCI <NUM> is a scheduled UL, which is granted by a UL grant indicated in the DCI <NUM>.

Further, the BS transmits DCI <NUM> in the slot <NUM> indexed S3 (e.g., in a DL control portion of the slot <NUM>). The DCI <NUM> may indicate a DL grant for the UE in the same slot <NUM> indexed S3. Thus, the BS transmits a DL data signal <NUM> to the UE in the slot <NUM> indexed S3 (e.g., in a DL data portion of the slot <NUM>). The UE may receive the DCI <NUM> and receive the DL data signal <NUM> based on the DL grant. The DL data signal <NUM> is a scheduled DL, which is granted by a DL grant indicated in the DCI <NUM>.

After receiving the DL data signal <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may report a reception status of the DL data signal <NUM> to the BS by transmitting an acknowledgement (ACK)/negative-acknowledgement (NACK) signal <NUM>. The ACK/NACK signal <NUM> refers to a feedback signal carrying an ACK or a NACK. The feedback may be an acknowledgement (ACK) indicating that reception of the DL data by the UE is successful or may be a negative-acknowledgement (NACK) indicating that reception of the DL data by the UE is unsuccessful (e.g., including an error or failing an error correction). The UC may include CSI-part <NUM>, CSI-part <NUM>, and/or the ACK/NACK signal <NUM>. For example, the ACK/NACK signal <NUM> may be part of the UCI.

The ACK/NACK signal <NUM> may be associated with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process. In a HARQ process, a transmitting node may transmit various coded versions of information data to a receiving node. For example, the transmitting node may transmit a first coded version of information data to the receiving node. Upon receiving an NACK signal from the receiving node, the transmitting node may transmit a second coded version of the information data to the receiving node. The receiving node may combine the received first coded version and the received second coded version for error correction when both the received first coded version and the received second coded version are erroneous.

Transmission of data may be an autonomous (i.e., unscheduled) transmission or a scheduled transmission. As discussed above, the UE transmits the UCI <NUM> via a scheduled UL grant (e.g., transmission in PDCCH via DCI <NUM>). Additionally, the UE receives the DL data signal <NUM> via a scheduled grant (e.g., transmission in PDCCH via DCI indicated in the DCI <NUM>). A configured UL transmission is an unscheduled transmission, performed on the channel without a UL grant. A configured UL transmission may also be referred to as a grantless, grant-free, or autonomous transmission. In some examples, the UE may transmit a UL control information and/or UL data based on a configured grant. Additionally, configured-UL data may also be referred to as grantless UL data, grant-free UL data, unscheduled UL data, or autonomous UL (AUL) data. Additionally, a configured grant may also be referred to as a grant-free grant, unscheduled grant, or autonomous grant. The resources and other parameters used by the UE for a configured grant transmission may be provided by the BS in one or more of a RRC configuration or an activation DCI, without an explicit grant for each UE transmission.

To avoid collisions when communicating in a shared or an unlicensed spectrum, the UE may perform LBT to ensure that the shared channel is clear before transmitting a signal in the shared channel. In an example, if the channel is available (performance of the LBT results in a LBT pass), the UE may perform a UL transmission. If the channel is not available (performance of the LBT results in a LBT fail), the UE may back off and perform the LBT procedure again at a later point in time. Accordingly, based on the LBT, the UE may not be able to acquire a COT due to other nodes operating on the shared channel. The UE's ability to transmit on the UL transmission depends on whether the UE is able to gain access to the medium for transmission and/or reception of data. Rather than wait for a UL grant, the UE may desire to transmit a UL communication signal in a configured grant resource.

Additionally, to support more resource allocations in a network, transmissions may be scheduled based on a semi-persistent schedule (SPS). The BS may allocate one or more configured grant resources <NUM> in a frequency band (e.g., unlicensed frequency band or shared frequency band) for UL or DL transmission. In some examples, the configured grant resource <NUM> is based on a SPS. After a LBT results in a LBT pass, the BS may perform LBT and acquire a COT during which the BS transmits a SPS to a group of UEs. The BS may transmit to the UE, a configuration for a configured grant resource (e.g., configured grant resource <NUM>). The BS may transmit the SPS, for example, via a RRC configuration message. The RRC configuration message may configure the UE with semi-persistent resources for AUL transmissions. In some examples, the UE-specific RRC signaling configures and/or reconfigures the location of the PUSCH for UCI transmission. The SPS includes a plurality of resource allocations spaced apart in time. The plurality of resource allocations may be spaced apart in time in accordance with a time interval of, for example, about <NUM>. In this example, the plurality of resources is allocated every <NUM> for each UE in the group of UEs. A resource may be shared with the group of UEs, and a UE may contend for the resource. The SPS may indicate scheduling information using relative timing (e.g., an offset time period relative to a current time period in which the scheduling information is communicated).

In some examples, the UE transmits a UL communication signal <NUM> in the configured grant resource <NUM>, using a resource allocation specified in a SPS. The BS may receive the UL communication signal <NUM> in the configured grant resource <NUM>. The UL communication signal <NUM> may include UL control information (UCI), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a phase-tracking reference signal (PTRS) (not shown), and UL data, which may also be referred to as configured-UL data. The UCI may include, for example, normal UCI and/or configured grant UCI (CG-UCI) <NUM>. Although in <FIG>, the ACK/NACK signal <NUM> and the CG-UCI <NUM> is shown as being separate from the UL communication signal <NUM>, it should be understood that the ACK/NACK signal <NUM> and/or the CG-UCI <NUM> may be included in the UL communication signal <NUM>.

The normal UCI may include a HARQ ACK/NACK signal, channel state information (CSI), and/or a scheduling request (SR). The HARQ ACK/NACK may also be referred to as a HARQ-ACK or an ACK/NACK (e.g., ACK/NAK signal <NUM>). Additionally, the CSI may include a CSI-part <NUM> and a CSI-part <NUM>. The CSI-part <NUM> can include information related to wideband channel quality indicator (CQI), subband differential CQI, and/or precoding matrix indicator (PMI), determined based on a reference signal (e.g., a CSI-RS) in a DL communication. The CSI-part <NUM> can include information related to CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), rank indicator (RI), layer indicator (LI), determined based on a reference signal (e.g., a CSI-RS) in a DL communication. Each of the normal UCI (e.g. ACK/NACK, CSI-part1, CSI-part2) may be coded independently. The CG-UCI <NUM> is related to the configured grant and indicates information associated with the normal UCI (e.g., ACK/NACK, the CSI, and the SR) and/or the configured-UL data (e.g., UL data signal <NUM>).

The DMRS may include pilot symbols distributed across the frequency channel to enable the UE or the BS to perform channel estimation and demodulation for the decoding. The pilot symbols may be generated from a predetermined sequence with a certain pattern, and the remaining symbols may carry UL data. The system can beamform the DMRS, keep it within a scheduled resource, and/or transmit the DMRS only when necessary in either a DL or a UL channel. For example, the DMRS allows a receiver to determine a channel estimate for the frequency channel, where the channel estimate may be used to recover the UL data. Additionally, the PTRS tracks phase of the Local Oscillator at the transmitter and the receiver and accordingly, minimizes the effect of the oscillator phase noise on system performance.

<FIG> illustrates a configured grant resource <NUM> according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The configured grant resource <NUM> may be communicated between a BS <NUM> and a UE <NUM> of the network <NUM> and may correspond to the configured grant resource <NUM> in <FIG>. The configured grant resource <NUM> includes a configured grant UCI (CG-UCI) resource <NUM> and a configured grant PUSCH (CG-PUSCH) resource <NUM>. Referring to the discussion related to <FIG>, the UE may transmit at least some parts of the normal UCI and the CG-UCI <NUM> in the CG-UCI resource <NUM> may transmit the configured-UL data in the CG-PUSCH resource <NUM>. For example, the UE may transmit a UL communication signal including the CG-UCI <NUM> multiplexed with at least some parts of the normal UCI and the configured-UL data.

The configured grant resource may be referred to as a time-frequency resource, which is explained in greater detail in <FIG> is a timing diagram illustrating a transmission frame structure <NUM> according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The transmission frame structure <NUM> may be employed by BSs such as the BSs <NUM> and UEs such as the UEs <NUM> in a network such as the network <NUM> for communications. In particular, the BS may communicate with the UE using time-frequency resources configured as shown in the transmission frame structure <NUM>. In <FIG>, the x-axes represent time in some arbitrary units and the y-axes represent frequency in some arbitrary units. The transmission frame structure <NUM> includes a radio frame <NUM>. The duration of the radio frame <NUM> may vary depending on the embodiments. In an example, the radio frame <NUM> may have a duration of about ten milliseconds. The radio frame <NUM> includes M number of slots <NUM>, where M may be any suitable positive integer. In an example, M may be about <NUM>.

Each slot <NUM> includes a number of subcarriers <NUM> in frequency and a number of symbols <NUM> in time. The number of subcarriers <NUM> and/or the number of symbols <NUM> in a slot <NUM> may vary depending on the embodiments, for example, based on the channel bandwidth, the subcarrier spacing (SCS), and/or the cyclic prefix (CP) mode. One subcarrier <NUM> in frequency and one symbol <NUM> in time forms one resource element (RE) <NUM> for transmission. Multiple REs <NUM> may be correspond to the configured grant resource <NUM> in <FIG>.

A BS (e.g., BS <NUM> in <FIG>) may schedule a UE (e.g., UE <NUM> in <FIG>) for UL and/or DL communications at a time-granularity of slots <NUM> or mini-slots <NUM>. Each slot <NUM> may be time-partitioned into K number of mini-slots <NUM>. Each mini-slot <NUM> may include one or more symbols <NUM>. The mini-slots <NUM> in a slot <NUM> may have variable lengths. For example, when a slot <NUM> includes N number of symbols <NUM>, a mini-slot <NUM> may have a length between one symbol <NUM> and (N-<NUM>) symbols <NUM>. In some embodiments, a mini-slot <NUM> may have a length of about two symbols <NUM>, about four symbols <NUM>, or about seven symbols <NUM>. The BS may configure certain time-frequency resources (e.g., a set of REs <NUM>) within a slot <NUM> for DL control channel monitoring and the resources may be repeated at some intervals (e.g., every <NUM>). The BS may indicate UL and/or DL scheduling grants in the DL control channel.

Referring back to <FIG>, if the PUCCH transmission does not overlap in a time period with the configured grant resource <NUM>, the UE may transmit the UCI <NUM> and the ACK/NACK <NUM> in the PUCCH. If the PUCCH transmission overlaps in a time period with the configured grant resource <NUM>, however, the UE determines whether to transmit a UL communication signal (e.g., CSI part <NUM>, CSI part <NUM>, ACK/NACK) in the PUCCH or the PUSCH and further determine the components to include in the UL communication signal. In <FIG>, the PUCCH transmission overlaps in a time period with the configured grant resource <NUM>. The claimed embodiment provides techniques for handling this overlap in time between the PUCCH transmission and the configured grant resource. In some aspects, the UE transmits the UL communication signal <NUM> in PUSCH or the in the configured grant resource, the UL communication signal <NUM> including the CG-UCI <NUM> multiplexed along with at least parts of the UCI <NUM> and the configured-UL data. In some aspects, the UE transmits the UCI <NUM> in PUCCH.

As discussed, the UCI <NUM> may include three UCI parts (e.g., CSI-part <NUM>, CSI-part <NUM>, and ACK/NACK). With the CG-UCI <NUM>, the number of UCI parts may be four. The UE may have difficulty multiplexing more than three UCI parts. Additionally, with more UCI parts, the total number of REs occupied by the UCIs may increase. Accordingly, if the number of UCI parts for transmission exceeds a first threshold (e.g., three parts) or the total number of REs occupied by the UCIs exceeds a second threshold, the UE determines, based on a set of priority rules, which UCI part(s) to remove and/or which UCI part(s) to include in the UL transmission. The UE determines, based on the set of priority rules, whether to transmit the UL communication signal <NUM> in PUCCH or in PUSCH.

The UE determines that a PUCCH transmission in a time period overlaps with a configured grant resource. If the UE desires to transmit a CG-PUSCH and associated CG-UCI, the PUCCH transmission includes first UCI including a first number of parts based on a set of priority rules. The UE determines whether to transmit only the first UCI in a PUCCH resource associated with the PUCCH transmission or to remove at least one part included in the first number of parts and transmit the remaining parts of the first UCI multiplexed with the CG-PUSCH and associated CG-UCI in the configured grant resource. The UE transmits UL communication signal in accordance with the determination of whether to transmit the first UCI in the PUCCH resource or to remove at least one part included in the first number of parts and transmit the remaining parts with the CG-PUSCH and associated CG-UCI in the configured grant resource.

<FIG> is a block diagram of a UE <NUM> according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The UE <NUM> may be a UE <NUM> discussed above in <FIG>. As shown, the UE <NUM> may include a processor <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, an overlap module <NUM>, a transmission module <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM> including a modem subsystem <NUM> and a radio frequency (RF) unit <NUM>, and one or more antennas <NUM>. These elements may be in direct or indirect communication with each other, for example via one or more buses.

The memory <NUM> may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of the processor <NUM>), random access memory (RAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid state memory device, hard disk drives, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or a combination of different types of memory. In an aspect, the memory <NUM> includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory <NUM> may store, or have recorded thereon, instructions <NUM>. The instructions <NUM> may include instructions that, when executed by the processor <NUM>, cause the processor <NUM> to perform the operations described herein with reference to the Ues <NUM> in connection with aspects of the present disclosure, for example, aspects of <FIG> and <FIG>. Instructions <NUM> may also be referred to as program code. The program code may be for causing a wireless communication device to perform these operations, for example by causing one or more processors (such as processor <NUM>) to control or command the wireless communication device to do so. The terms "instructions" and "code" should be interpreted broadly to include any type of computer-readable statement(s). For example, the terms "instructions" and "code" may refer to one or more programs, routines, sub-routines, functions, procedures, etc. "Instructions" and "code" may include a single computer-readable statement or many computer-readable statements.

The overlap module <NUM> and/or the transmission module <NUM> may be implemented via hardware, software, or combinations thereof. The overlap module <NUM> and/or the transmission module <NUM> may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and/or instructions <NUM> stored in the memory <NUM> and executed by the processor <NUM>. In some instances, the overlap module <NUM> and/or the transmission module <NUM> can be integrated within the modem subsystem <NUM>. The overlap module <NUM> and/or transmission module <NUM> can be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within the modem subsystem <NUM>. The overlap module <NUM> and/or the transmission module <NUM> may be used for various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, aspects of <FIG> and <FIG>.

In some aspects, the overlap module <NUM> may be configured to determine that a PUCCH transmission in a time period overlaps with a configured grant resource, the PUCCH transmission including first UCI including a first number of parts, the configured grant resource including a CG-UCI resource and a CG-PUSCH resource. The overlap module <NUM> may be configured to determine, based on a set of priority rules, whether to transmit the first UCI in the PUCCH transmission or to remove at least one part included in the first number of parts. The transmission module <NUM> may be configured to transmit an UL communication signal in accordance with the determining whether to transmit the first UCI in the PUCCH or to remove at least one part included in the first number of parts.

As shown, the transceiver <NUM> may include the modem subsystem <NUM> and the RF unit <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> can be configured to communicate bi-directionally with other devices, such as the BSs <NUM> or BS <NUM>. The modem subsystem <NUM> may be configured to modulate and/or encode the data from the memory <NUM>, the overlap module <NUM>, and/or transmission module <NUM> according to a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), e.g., a low-density parity check (LDPC) coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc. The RF unit <NUM> may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog to digital conversion or digital to analog conversion, etc.) modulated/encoded data from the modem subsystem <NUM> (on outbound transmissions) or of transmissions originating from another source such as a UE <NUM> or a BS <NUM>. The RF unit <NUM> may be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with the digital beamforming. Although shown as integrated together in transceiver <NUM>, the modem subsystem <NUM> and the RF unit <NUM> may be separate devices that are coupled together at the UE <NUM> to enable the UE <NUM> to communicate with other devices.

The RF unit <NUM> may provide the modulated and/or processed data, e.g. data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one or more data packets and other information), to the antennas <NUM> for transmission to one or more other devices. The antennas <NUM> may further receive data messages transmitted from other devices. The antennas <NUM> may provide the received data messages for processing and/or demodulation at the transceiver <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> may provide the demodulated and decoded data (e.g., configured grant resource, PUCCH transmission, first UCI, CG-UCI, CG-PUSCH) to the overlap module <NUM> and/or the transmission module <NUM> for processing. The antennas <NUM> may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs to sustain multiple transmission links. The RF unit <NUM> may configure the antennas <NUM>.

The antenna(s) <NUM> may correspond to the antenna element(s) or port(s) discussed in the present disclosure. In some aspects, the transceiver <NUM> is configured to transmit an UL communication, by coordinating with the overlap module <NUM> and/or the transmission module <NUM>. In some aspects, the UE <NUM> can include multiple transceivers <NUM> implementing different radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., NR and LTE). In an aspect, the UE <NUM> can include a single transceiver <NUM> implementing multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In an aspect, the transceiver <NUM> can include various components, where different combinations of components can implement different RATs.

<FIG> is a block diagram of a BS <NUM> according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The BS <NUM> may be a BS <NUM> as discussed above in <FIG>. As shown, the BS <NUM> may include a processor <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, a communication module <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM> including a modem subsystem <NUM> and a RF unit <NUM>, and one or more antennas <NUM>. These elements may be in direct or indirect communication with each other, for example via one or more buses.

In some aspects, the memory <NUM> may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The instructions <NUM> may include instructions that, when executed by the processor <NUM>, cause the processor <NUM> to perform operations described herein, for example, aspects of <FIG> and <FIG>.

The communication module <NUM> may be implemented via hardware, software, or combinations thereof. The communication module <NUM> may be implemented as a processor, circuit, and/or instructions <NUM> stored in the memory <NUM> and executed by the processor <NUM>. In some instances, the communication module <NUM> can be integrated within the modem subsystem <NUM>. The communication module <NUM> can be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within the modem subsystem <NUM>. The communication module <NUM> may be used for various aspects of the present disclosure, for example, aspects of <FIG> and <FIG>.

In some aspects, the communication module <NUM> may be configured to allocate one or more configured grant resources in a frequency band (e.g., unlicensed frequency band or shared frequency band) for UL or DL transmission. In some aspects, the communication module <NUM> may be configured to transmit DCI indicating an UL grant or a DL grant to the UE. In some aspects, the communication module <NUM> may be configured to receive a UL communication (e.g., UL communication signal <NUM>) in PUCCH or in a configured grant resource from the UE.

As shown, the transceiver <NUM> may include the modem subsystem <NUM> and the RF unit <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> can be configured to communicate bi-directionally with other devices, such as the Ues <NUM> and/or <NUM> and/or another core network element. The modem subsystem <NUM> may be configured to modulate and/or encode data according to a MCS, e.g., a LDPC coding scheme, a turbo coding scheme, a convolutional coding scheme, a digital beamforming scheme, etc. The RF unit <NUM> may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog to digital conversion or digital to analog conversion, etc.) modulated/encoded data (e.g., grants, resource allocations) from the modem subsystem <NUM> (on outbound transmissions) or of transmissions originating from another source such as a UE <NUM> and/or UE <NUM>. The RF unit <NUM> may be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with the digital beamforming. Although shown as integrated together in transceiver <NUM>, the modem subsystem <NUM> and/or the RF unit <NUM> may be separate devices that are coupled together at the BS <NUM> to enable the BS <NUM> to communicate with other devices.

The RF unit <NUM> may provide the modulated and/or processed data, e.g. data packets (or, more generally, data messages that may contain one or more data packets and other information), to the antennas <NUM> for transmission to one or more other devices. This may include, for example, transmission of information to complete attachment to a network and communication with a camped UE <NUM> or <NUM> according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The antennas <NUM> may further receive data messages transmitted from other devices and provide the received data messages for processing and/or demodulation at the transceiver <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> may provide the demodulated and decoded data (e.g., UL communication signal) to the communication module <NUM> for processing. The antennas <NUM> may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs in order to sustain multiple transmission links.

In an example, the transceiver <NUM> is configured to receive an UL communication signal and transmit a DL communication signal, by coordinating with the communication module <NUM>. In some aspects, the BS <NUM> can include multiple transceivers <NUM> implementing different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In an aspect, the BS <NUM> can include a single transceiver <NUM> implementing multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In an aspect, the transceiver <NUM> can include various components, where different combinations of components can implement different RATs.

<FIG> is a flow diagram of a communication method <NUM> according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. Blocks of the method <NUM> can be executed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuit, and/or other suitable component) of a wireless communication device, such as the Ues <NUM> and <NUM>. In some examples, UE <NUM> and the UE <NUM> may utilize one or more components, such as the processor <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, the overlap module <NUM>, the transmission module <NUM>, the transceiver <NUM>, and/or the antennas <NUM> to execute the blocks of method <NUM>. The method <NUM> may employ similar mechanisms as in the scheduling/configuration timeline <NUM> in <FIG>, configured grant resource in <FIG>, the transmission frame structure <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication method <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication method <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication scheme <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication scheme <NUM> in <FIG> and/or the communication method <NUM> in <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes determining, by a UE, that a PUCCH transmission in a time period overlaps with a configured grant resource, the PUCCH transmission including first UCI including a first number of parts, and the configured grant resource being associated with a CG-UCI and configured-UL data. The first UCI may include, for example, HARQ ACK/NACK, CSI-part <NUM>, and/or CSI-part <NUM>.

At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes determining, by the UE, whether the first number exceeds a first threshold or whether a second number of resource elements (REs) occupied by the first UCI and the CG-UCI exceeds a second threshold. The second number can also be determined as the number of coded modulation symbols per layer occupied by the first UCI and the second UCI. The first threshold may be, for example, three UCI parts and correspond to a capability of the UE in multiplexing UCI parts. The second threshold may be, for example, a fraction of the total number of REs in the configured grant resource excluding the REs used to transmit reference signals (e.g. a DMRS), where the fraction may be configured by a higher layer radio resource configuration message. In some cases, the fraction may be equal to or less than one.

If the UE determines that the first number does not exceed the first threshold or that the second number of REs occupied by the first UCI and the CG-UCI does not exceed the second threshold, the method <NUM> proceeds to block <NUM>. At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes transmitting, by the UE, a first UL communication signal in the configured grant resource, the first UL communication signal including the CG-UCI multiplexed with the first UCI and the configured-UL data.

If the UE determines that the first number exceeds the first threshold or that the second number exceeds the second threshold, the method <NUM> proceeds to block <NUM>. At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes if the first UCI includes a CSI-part <NUM>, removing, by the UE, the CSI-part <NUM> from the first UCI and updating, by the UE, the first and second numbers in accordance with the removal of the CSI-part <NUM>. For example, if the UE removes the CSI-part <NUM>, the first number will be reduced by one and the second number will be reduced by the number of REs occupied by the CSI-part <NUM>.

At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes determining, by the UE, whether the updated first number exceeds the first threshold or whether the updated second number exceeds the second threshold. If the UE determines that the updated first number does not exceed the first threshold and that the updated second number does not exceed the second threshold, the method <NUM> may proceed to the block <NUM>. At this point, the UE may transmit a first UL communication signal in the configured grant resource, the first UL communication signal including the CG-UCI multiplexed with the first UCI and the configured-UL data, where the first UCI does not include the CSI-part <NUM>. Additionally, the CG-UCI may include information on the first UCI. For example, the CG-UCI may specify which UCI parts are included in and/or which UCI parts are excluded from the first UL communication signal.

At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes determining, by the UE, whether the updated first number exceeds the first threshold or whether the updated second number exceeds the second threshold. If the UE determines that the updated first number does not exceed the first threshold and that the updated second number does not exceed the second threshold, the method <NUM> may proceed to the block <NUM>. At this point, the UE may transmit a first UL communication signal in the configured grant resource, the first UL communication signal including the CG-UCI multiplexed with the first UCI and the configured-UL data, where the first UCI does not include the CSI-part <NUM>. Additionally, the CG-UCI may include information on the first UCI. For example, the CG-UCI may specify which UCI parts are included in and/or excluded from the first UL communication signal.

If the UE determines that the first number exceeds the first threshold or that the second number exceeds the second threshold, the method <NUM> proceeds to block <NUM>. At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes determining, by the UE, to not transmit the CG-UCI and the configured-UL data in the configured grant resource. At block <NUM>, the UE transmits a second UL communication signal in the PUCCH, the second UL communication signal including the first UCI including the original first number of parts. For example, the first UCI transmitted in the second UL communication signal is the original first UCI at block <NUM>, without any of the parts of the first UCI having been removed for the UL transmission. If the UE executes the block <NUM>, the UE may determine to not transmit a UL transmission using the configured grant resource.

As described above, the first UCI may initially include a number of parts, such as a CG-UCI, a CSI-part <NUM>, a CSI-part <NUM>, and/or a ACK/NACK (e.g., HARQ-ACK/NACK), and the method <NUM> may involve removing one or more of these parts based on the type of part itself. For instance, block <NUM> involves removing CSI-part <NUM>, if present, and block <NUM> involves removing CSI-part <NUM>, if present. In other words, the UE may determine to remove the configured-UL data or a part of the first UCI based on the types of parts included in the first UCI, in accordance with the method <NUM>. As an illustrative example, if the first UCI includes a HARQ-ACK and the REs occupied by the HARQ-ACK, CG-UCI, and CG-PUSCH exceed the second threshold at block <NUM>, the UE may determine to not transmit the CG-UCI and the configured-UL data at block <NUM>, and the UE may determine to transmit the first UCI via the second communication signal in PUCCH at block <NUM>. If the first UCI lacks a HARQ-ACK and the REs occupied by the first UCI, CG-UCI, and CG-PUSCH exceed the second threshold (e.g., at blocks <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or <NUM>), the UE may determine to drop one or more parts of the first UCI, such as CSI-part <NUM> and/or CSI-part <NUM>, to satisfy the threshold (e.g., at blocks <NUM> and/or <NUM>) and may then transmit the first UCI via the first communication signal in the configured grant resource at block <NUM>.

As illustrated, the method <NUM> includes a number of enumerated blocks, but aspects of the method <NUM> may include additional blocks before, after, and in between the enumerated blocks. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated blocks may be omitted or performed in a different order. For example, although the block <NUM> is executed before the block <NUM>, in other instances, the block <NUM> may be executed before the block <NUM>. In another example, rather than execute the block <NUM>, the UE may transmit a second UL communication signal using CG-PUSCH resources, the second UL communication signal including the first UCI including the original first number of parts.

In some aspects, the CSI-part <NUM> may include a plurality of subparts including a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), a rank indicator (RI), and/or layer indicator (LI). For example, the UE may remove subparts from the CSI-part <NUM> one-by-one rather than removing the CSI-part <NUM> as a whole. <FIG> is a flow diagram of a communication method <NUM> for removing subparts of the CSI-part <NUM> according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. Blocks of the method <NUM> can be executed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuit, and/or other suitable component) of a wireless communication device, such as the Ues <NUM> and <NUM>. In some examples, UE <NUM> and the UE <NUM> may utilize one or more components, such as the processor <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, the overlap module <NUM>, the transmission module <NUM>, the transceiver <NUM>, and/or the antennas <NUM> to execute the blocks of method <NUM>. The method <NUM> may employ similar mechanisms as in the scheduling/configuration timeline <NUM> in <FIG>, configured grant resource in <FIG>, the transmission frame structure <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication method <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication method <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication scheme <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication scheme <NUM> in <FIG> and/or the communication method <NUM> in <FIG>. As illustrated, the method <NUM> includes a number of enumerated blocks, but aspects of the method <NUM> may include additional blocks before, after, and in between the enumerated blocks. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated blocks may be omitted or performed in a different order.

Blocks <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> in <FIG> correspond to block <NUM> in <FIG>. For example, if the UE executes the block <NUM> in <FIG>, the UE may proceed to block <NUM> in <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes removing, by the UE, a first subpart of the CSI-part <NUM> from the first UCI. At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes after the UE removes the first subpart from the CSI-part <NUM>, updating, by the UE, the first and second numbers in accordance with the removal of the first subpart. For example, if the UE removes the first subpart, the second number will be reduced by the number of REs occupied by the first subpart. The first subpart may be, for example, a CRI, a RI, or a LI.

At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes determining, by the UE, whether the updated first number exceeds the first threshold or whether the updated second number exceeds the second threshold. If the UE determines that the updated first number does not exceed the first threshold and that the updated second number does not exceed the second threshold, the method <NUM> proceeds to block <NUM> in <FIG>. For example, the UE may leave the remaining subparts of the CSI-part <NUM> in the first UCI and proceed to block <NUM>. At this point, the first UL communication signal in the configured grant resource may include the CG-UCI multiplexed with the first UCI and the configured-UL data, where the first UCI does not include any of the removed subparts of the CSI-part <NUM>, but may include other subparts of the CSI-part <NUM>. Additionally, the CG-UCI may include information on the first UCI. For example, the CG-UCI may specify which UCI parts and/or subparts are included in and/or excluded from the first UL communication signal.

If the UE determines that the updated first number exceeds the first threshold or that the updated second number exceeds the second threshold, the method <NUM> proceeds to block <NUM>. At block, the method <NUM> includes determining, by the UE, whether the CSI-part <NUM> includes another subpart. If so, the method <NUM> proceeds to the block <NUM>, in which the UE removes another subpart of the CSI-part <NUM> from the first UCI. If not, the method <NUM> proceeds to block <NUM> in <FIG>.

In some aspects, the CSI-part <NUM> may include a plurality of subparts including a wideband channel quality indicator (CQI), subband differential CQI, and/or precoding matrix indicator (PMI). For example, the UE may remove subparts from the CSI-part <NUM> one-by-one rather than removing the CSI-part <NUM> as a whole. <FIG> is a flow diagram of a communication method <NUM> for removing subparts of the CSI-part <NUM> according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. Blocks of the method <NUM> can be executed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuit, and/or other suitable component) of a wireless communication device, such as the Ues <NUM> and <NUM>. In some examples, UE <NUM> and the UE <NUM> may utilize one or more components, such as the processor <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, the overlap module <NUM>, the transmission module <NUM>, the transceiver <NUM>, and/or the antennas <NUM> to execute the blocks of method <NUM>. The method <NUM> may employ similar mechanisms as in the scheduling/configuration timeline <NUM> in <FIG>, configured grant resource in <FIG>, the transmission frame structure <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication method <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication method <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication scheme <NUM> in <FIG>, the communication scheme <NUM> in <FIG> and/or the communication method <NUM> in <FIG>. As illustrated, the method <NUM> includes a number of enumerated blocks, but aspects of the method <NUM> may include additional blocks before, after, and in between the enumerated blocks. In some aspects, one or more of the enumerated blocks may be omitted or performed in a different order.

At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes removing, by the UE, a second subpart of the CSI-part <NUM> from the first UCI. At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes after the UE removes the second subpart of the CSI-part <NUM> from the first UCI, updating, by the UE, the first and second numbers in accordance with the removal of the second subpart. For example, if the UE removes the second subpart, the second number will be reduced by the number of REs occupied by the second subpart. The second subpart may be, for example, a wideband CQI, subband differential CQI, or a PMI.

If the UE determines that the updated first number exceeds the first threshold or that the updated second number exceeds the second threshold, the method <NUM> proceeds to block <NUM>. At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes determining, by the UE, whether the CSI-part <NUM> includes another subpart. If so, the method <NUM> proceeds to the block <NUM>, in which the UE removes another subpart of the CSI-part <NUM> from the first UCI. If not, the method <NUM> proceeds to block <NUM> in <FIG>.

As illustrated and described above with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, the UE may remove subparts from CSI-part <NUM> and/or CSI-part <NUM>, which may include respective content (e.g., a CRI, a RI, a LI, a wideband CQI, a subband differential CQI, or a PMI). As further described portions of the methods <NUM> and <NUM> may correspond to portions of method <NUM> or <FIG>, and each of the illustrated methods <NUM> and <NUM> involve determining whether to transmit the first UL communication signal in the configured grant resource based on the updated first and second numbers (e.g., at block <NUM> and block <NUM>, respectively). Thus, the UE may determine to transmit or remove the configured-UL data or a part of the first UCI based on subparts (e.g., content) included in the first UCI, as described above.

<FIG> illustrates a communication scheme <NUM> for transmitting first UCI in PUCCH according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communication scheme <NUM> may be employed by Ues such as the Ues <NUM> and/or BSs such as BSs <NUM> in a network such as the network <NUM>. In <FIG>, the x-axis represents time in some constant units.

In <FIG>, the BS transmits DCI <NUM> indicating a UL grant and a DL grant for the UE and transmits DL data <NUM>. The UE may monitor for DCI and receive and decode the DCI <NUM>. The UE receives the DL data <NUM> based on the DL grant indicated in the DCI <NUM> and is scheduled for a UL transmission indicated by a scheduled uplink (SUL) <NUM>. After completing the DL transmission (e.g., DL data <NUM>), the BS may monitor for a UL transmission. An LBT gap <NUM> may be between an end of transmission of the DL data <NUM> and a start of the SUL <NUM>. For example, the UE may perform an LBT during the LBT gap <NUM> due to the link switching from DL to UL. The UE may transmit UCI and/or UL data via the SUL <NUM> based on a successful LBT. The UE may transmit a UL communication signal in PUCCH <NUM>. UL communication signal may include a CSI-part <NUM><NUM>, a CSI-part <NUM><NUM>, a DMRS <NUM>, and an ACK/NACK <NUM>. The ACK/NACK <NUM> may be feedback for the DL data <NUM>. In some aspects, the UE may transmit the UL communication signal in PUCCH <NUM> in response to executing the block <NUM> in <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates a communication scheme <NUM> for multiplexing CG-UCI with first UCI and configured-UL data in the configured grant resource according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The communication scheme <NUM> may be employed by Ues such as the Ues <NUM> and/or BSs such as BSs <NUM> in a network such as the network <NUM>. In <FIG>, the x-axis represents time in some constant units.

In <FIG>, the BS transmits DCI <NUM> indicating a DL grant for the UE and transmits DL data <NUM>. The UE may monitor for DCI and receive and decode the DCI <NUM>. The UE receives the DL data <NUM> based on the DL grant indicated in the DCI <NUM>. After completing the DL transmission (e.g., DL data <NUM>), the BS may monitor for a UL transmission.

The UE may receive a configuration for a configured grant resource from the BS. In an example, the UE receives a RRC configuration message with semi-persistent resources for one or more configured-grant UL resources. An LBT gap <NUM> may be between an end of transmission of the DL data <NUM> and a start of the configured grant resource <NUM>. For example, the UE may perform an LBT during the LBT gap <NUM> due to the link switching from DL to UL. The UE may transmit UCI and/or UL data using the configured grant resource <NUM>. Based on a successful LBT, the UE may transmit a UL communication signal in the configured grant resource <NUM>, the UL communication signal including a CG-UCI <NUM> multiplexed with first UCI and configured-UL data <NUM>. In some aspects, the UE may transmit the UL communication signal in the configured grant resource <NUM> in response to executing the block <NUM> in <FIG>. The first UCI may include, for example, at most two of a CSI-part <NUM>, CSI-part <NUM>, and an ACK/NACK. In some aspects, the UE may transmit the UL communication signal in PUCCH <NUM> in response to executing the block <NUM> in <FIG>. For example, the UE may remove the CSI-part <NUM> (as shown in block <NUM> in <FIG>) and transmit a UL communication signal in the configured grant resource <NUM>, the UL communication signal including a CG-UCI <NUM> multiplexed with CSI-part <NUM><NUM>, an ACK/NACK <NUM>, and configured-UL data <NUM>. In another example, the UE may remove the CSI-part <NUM> (as shown in block <NUM> in <FIG>) and the CSI-part <NUM> (as show in block <NUM> in <FIG>) and transmit a UL communication signal in the configured grant resource <NUM>, the UL communication signal including a CG-UCI <NUM> multiplexed with the ACK/NACK <NUM> and the configured-UL data <NUM>.

The set of priority rules for removing the configured-UL data or the first UCI discussed above are not intended to be a conclusive list of priority rules. In some aspects, the UE may apply additional or different priority rules from that discussed above (e.g., based on PUCCH format or CG-PUSCH traffic priority). Additionally, it should be understood that any of the priority rules discussed in the present disclosure may be used in combination with each other. In some aspects, if the PUCCH transmission in a time period overlaps with a configured grant resource, the UE may determine to remove the configured-UL data if a PUCCH format implements a multiplexing format with other UEs. In this example, the UE may determine to not transmit the configured-UL data so that other Ues transmitting PUCCH will not be blocked. In another example, aperiodic CSI may have a higher priority than periodic CSI. Aperiodic CSI may have a higher priority than periodic CSI because the aperiodic CSI is dynamically triggered. In this example, if the PUCCH transmission in a time period overlaps with a configured grant resource and the number of UCIs (e.g., CG-UCI, CSI-part <NUM>, CSI-part <NUM>, and/or ACK/NACK) exceeds three, the UE may determine to remove the CSI-part <NUM> if the CSI is periodic and may determine to remove the configured-UL data if the CSI is aperiodic. In this way, the UE may determine whether to transmit the first UCI in a PUCCH resource or to remove a part included in the first UCI based on determining whether the first UCI is associated with an aperiodic trigger (e.g., a dynamic trigger). In another example, if the PUCCH transmission in a time period overlaps with a configured grant resource and the number of UCIs (e.g., CG-UCI, CSI-part <NUM>, CSI-part <NUM>, and/or ACK/NACK) exceeds three, the UE may determine to remove CSI-part <NUM> or the configured-UL data depending on whether the CSI included in the first UCI is CSI-part <NUM> or CSI-part <NUM>. In other words, the UE may determine whether to transmit the first UCI in a PUCCH resource or to remove a part included in the first UCI based on the type of parts included in the first UCI. In another example, if the PUCCH transmission in a time period overlaps with a configured grant resource and the number of UCIs (e.g., CG-UCI, CSI-part <NUM>, CSI-part <NUM>, and/or ACK/NACK) exceeds three, the UE may determine to remove the configured-UL data or parts of the first UCI (e.g. CSI-part <NUM>) based on a traffic priority of PUSCH. For example, if PUSCH has high priority traffic (e.g., URLLC), the UE may determine to remove the CSI-part <NUM>. If PUSCH does not have high priority traffic, the UE may determine to remove the configured-UL data.

As discussed, the first UCI and the CG-UCI may occupy a second number of REs. Additionally, the UE may determine whether the second number of REs occupied by the first UCI and the CG-UCI exceeds a second threshold. If the second number exceeds the second threshold, the UE may perform one or more actions (e.g., block <NUM> or block <NUM> in <FIG>, block <NUM> and block <NUM> in <FIG>, or block <NUM> and block <NUM> in <FIG>) to reduce the number of REs occupied by the first UCI and the CG-UCI. The UE may determine whether the second number exceeds the second threshold using a variety of techniques.

In some aspects, the UE determines whether a total number of REs occupied by the first UCI and the CG-UCI is greater than a configured scale multiplied by a total number of REs available for PUSCH/UCI transmission in all the symbols of the PUSCH. The total number of REs occupied by the first UCI and the CG-UCI may also be referred to as the number of coded modulation symbols per layer for the transmission of the UCIs (the first UCI and the CG-UCI). The UE may apply the following equation (<NUM>): <MAT>.

where the left-hand side of the equation represents the total number of REs occupied by the first UCI and the CG-UCI (or the number of coded modulation symbols per layer for the transmission of the first UCI and the CG-UCI, and the right-hand side of the equation represents the second threshold. The UE adjusts the second number of REs on the left-hand side until the second number is less than the second threshold. For example, the UE may continually remove parts of the first UCI (e.g., CSI-part <NUM> or CSI-part <NUM> or any of their subparts) to reduce the second number of REs occupied by the first UCI and the CG-UCI until the second number does not exceed the second threshold.

On the left-hand side of equation (<NUM>), the O'ACK+CG-UCI may represent the number of REs occupied by the HARQ ACK/NACK and the CG-UCI, the O'CSI-part <NUM> may represent the number of REs occupied by the CSI-part <NUM>, and the O'CSI-part <NUM> may represent the number of REs occupied by the CSI-part <NUM>.

On the right-hand side of equation, α is configured by a higher layer parameter called scaling and is a number that is less than one. Additionally, <MAT> represents the sum of the total number of REs available in the PUSCH (e.g., across all the symbols of the PUSCH) for the UCI transmission not including the REs containing reference signals (e.g., DMRS). For example, the sum starts from l<NUM>, which represents the first non-DMRS symbol. If the symbol is DMRS, then no REs for that symbol are available. The UE may accumulate the number of REs occupied by each symbol starting from l<NUM> over all the symbols of the PUSCH. Additionally, <MAT> represents the number of subcarriers for the UCI transmission (e.g., transmission of the first UCI and the CG-UCI).

In some aspects, the UE may map the UCIs (first UCI and CG-UCI) to the configured grant resource, and determine whether a code rate for the CG-PUSCH for a given MCS (ModIn order and transport block (TB) size) with the remaining REs exceeds the second threshold. The UE may determine the second threshold in this case as the code rate that requires T dB higher SNR (e.g., <NUM> dB) for the same performance (as for the original lower code rate when there is no first UCI to multiplex), where T is a number greater than zero. As the number of REs occupied by the first UCI increases, the number of REs available for the CG-PUSCH is reduced, causing an increase in the code rate for rate matching and hence degrading the performance or requiring a higher SNR for the same performance. Thus, by limiting the code rate to not go beyond the second threshold, the UE may reduce performance degradation of the CG-PUSCH performance by multiplexing the first number of parts of the first UCI.

<FIG> is a flow diagram of a communication method <NUM> according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure. Aspects of the method <NUM> can be executed by a wireless communication device, such as the Ues <NUM> and/or <NUM> utilizing one or more components, such as the processor <NUM>, the memory <NUM>, the overlap module <NUM>, the transmission module <NUM>, the transceiver <NUM>, the modem <NUM>, the one or more antennas <NUM>, and various combinations thereof. As illustrated, the method <NUM> includes a number of enumerated blocks, but the method <NUM> may include additional blocks before, after, and in between the enumerated blocks. For example, in some instances one or more aspects of methods <NUM>, <NUM>, and/or <NUM> may be implemented as part of method <NUM>. In some instances, one or more of the enumerated blocks may be omitted or performed in a different order.

At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes determining, by a UE, that a PUCCH transmission in a time period overlaps with a configured grant resource, the PUCCH transmission including first UCI including a first number of parts, and the configured grant resource including a CG-UCI resource and a CG-PUSCH resource. The UE may desire to transmit a CG-PUSCH and associated CG-UCI.

At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes determining, by the UE, whether to transmit the first UCI in a PUCCH resource associated with the PUCCH transmission or to remove at least one part included in the first number of parts based on a set of priority rules. In some aspects, the UE may determine whether to transmit only the first UCI in a PUCCH resource or to remove at least one part included in the first number of parts and transmit the remaining parts of the first UCI multiplexed with the CG-PUSCH and associated CG-UCI in the configured grant resource. The UE may remove at least one part included in the first number of parts based on a set of priority rules by, for example, removing the CSI-part <NUM> and the CSI-part <NUM> in that order.

At block <NUM>, the method <NUM> includes transmitting, by the UE, a UL communication signal in accordance with the determining whether to transmit the first UCI in the PUCCH resource or to remove at least one part included in the first number of parts. In some aspects, the UE may transmit a UL communication signal in accordance with the determination of whether to transmit the first UCI in the PUCCH resource or to remove at least one part included in the first number of parts and transmit the remaining parts with the CG-PUSCH and associated CG-UCI in the configured grant resource.

Claim 1:
A method of wireless communication, comprising:
determining (<NUM><NUM>), by a user equipment, UE, that a physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, transmission in a time period overlaps with a configured grant resource,
the PUCCH transmission including first UL control information, UCI, including a first number of parts, and
the configured grant resource including a configured grant UCI, CG-UCI, resource and a configured grant physical uplink shared channel, CG-PUSCH, resource;
determining (<NUM>), by the UE, whether a second number of resource elements, REs, occupied by the first UCI and CG-UCI exceeds a threshold;
determining (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>), by the UE, whether to transmit the first UCI in a PUCCH resource associated with the PUCCH transmission or to remove at least one part included in the first number of parts based on a set of priority rules,
wherein the determining to remove the at least one part is in response to the determination of whether the second number of REs exceeds the threshold; and
transmitting (<NUM>; <NUM>), by the UE, an uplink, UL, communication signal in accordance with the determining whether to transmit the first UCI in the PUCCH resource or to remove at least one part included in the first number of parts.