Patent Description:
All references to alan/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Mobile broadband will continue to drive the demands for higher overall traffic capacity and higher achievable end-user data rates in the wireless access network. Several scenarios in the future will require data rates of up to <NUM> Gbps in local areas. These demands for very high system capacity and very high end-user date rates can be met by networks with distances between access nodes ranging from a few meters in indoor deployments up to roughly <NUM> in outdoor deployments, i.e., with an infrastructure density considerably higher than the densest networks of today. The wide transmission bandwidths needed to provide data rates up to <NUM> Gbps and above can likely only be obtained from spectrum allocations in the millimeter-wave band. High-gain beamforming, typically realized with array antennas, can be used to mitigate the increased pathloss at higher frequencies. Such networks are referred to as new radio (NR) systems in the following.

NR supports a diverse set of use cases and a diverse set of deployment scenarios. The later includes deployment at both low frequencies (<NUM> of MHz), and very high frequencies (mm waves in the tens of GHz). Two operation frequency ranges are defined in NR Rel-<NUM>: frequency range one (FR1) from <NUM> to <NUM> and frequency range two (FR2) from <NUM> to <NUM>.

NR may also support operation from <NUM> to <NUM>, which may require changes to NR using existing downlink/uplink NR waveform. For example, changes may include modifications of applicable numerology including subcarrier spacing, channel bandwidth (BW) (including maximum BW), and their impact to FR2 physical layer design to support system functionality considering practical radio frequency (RF) impairments. Modification may include changes to physical signal/channels and channel access mechanism, considering potential interference to/from other nodes, assuming beam-based operation, to comply with the regulatory requirements applicable to unlicensed spectrum for frequencies between <NUM> and <NUM>. Potential interference impact, if identified, may require interference mitigation solutions as part of channel access mechanism.

Similar to long term evolution (LTE), NR uses OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) in the downlink (i.e., from a network node, gNB, eNB, or base station, to a user equipment or UE). The basic NR physical resource over an antenna port can thus be seen as a time-frequency grid as illustrated in <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates the NR physical resource grid. The horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents frequency. A resource block (RB) in a <NUM>-symbol slot is shown. A resource block corresponds to <NUM> contiguous subcarriers in the frequency domain. Resource blocks are numbered in the frequency domain, starting with <NUM> from one end of the system bandwidth. Each resource element corresponds to one OFDM subcarrier during one OFDM symbol interval.

Different subcarrier spacing values are supported in NR. The supported subcarrier spacing values (also referred to as different numerologies) are given by Δf=(<NUM>×<NUM>^µ) kHz where µ ∈ (<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>). Δf=<NUM> is the basic (or reference) subcarrier spacing that is also used in LTE.

In the time domain, downlink and uplink transmissions in NR are organized into equally-sized subframes of <NUM> each, similar to LTE. A subframe is further divided into multiple slots of equal duration. The slot length for subcarrier spacing Δ=(<NUM>×<NUM>^µ) kHz is <NUM>/<NUM>^µ ms. There is only one slot per subframe for Δf=<NUM> and a slot consists of <NUM> OFDM symbols.

Downlink transmissions are dynamically scheduled, i.e., in each slot the gNB transmits downlink control information (DCI) about which UE data is to be transmitted to and which resource blocks in the current downlink slot the data is transmitted on. The control information is typically transmitted in the first one or two OFDM symbols in each slot in NR. The control information is carried on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and data is carried on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). A UE first detects and decodes PDCCH and if a PDCCH is decoded successfully, it then decodes the corresponding PDSCH based on the downlink assignment provided by decoded control information in the PDCCH.

In addition to PDCCH and PDSCH, there are also other channels and reference signals transmitted in the downlink, including synchronization signal block (SSB), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), etc..

Uplink data transmissions, carried on physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), can also be dynamically scheduled by the gNB by transmitting DCI. The DCI (which is transmitted in the downlink region) indicates a scheduling time offset so that the PUSCH is transmitted in a slot in the uplink region.

As the operating frequency of wireless networks increases and moves to millimeter-wave territory, data transmission between nodes suffers from high propagation loss, which is proportional to the square of the carrier frequency. Moreover, a millimeter-wave signal also suffers from high oxygen absorption, high penetration loss and a variety of blockage problems.

On the other hand, with the wavelength as small as less than a centimeter, it becomes possible to pack a large amount (tens, hundreds or even thousands) of antenna elements into a single antenna array with a compact formfactor, which can be widely adopted in a network equipment and a user device. Such antenna arrays/panels can generate narrow beams with high beam forming gain to compensate for the high path loss in mm-wave communications, as well as providing highly directional transmission and reception pattern.

As a consequence, directional transmission and reception are the distinguishing characteristics for wireless networks in mm-wave bands. In addition, a transmitter/receiver can typically only transmit/receive in one or perhaps a few directions at any given time.

NR supports two types of configured grant (CG) uplink transmission schemes, referred as CG Type1 and CG Type2 in the standard. The major difference between the two types of CG transmission is that for CG Type1, an uplink grant is provided by radio resource control (RRC) configuration and activated automatically, while in the case of CG Type2, the uplink grant is provided and activated via L1 signaling, i.e., by an uplink DCI with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by cell specific radio network temporary identifier (CS-RNTI).

In both cases, the spatial relation used for PUSCH transmission with configured grant is indicated by the uplink grant, either provided by the RRC configuration or by an uplink DCI. The uplink grant contains an srs-Resourcelndicator field, pointing to one of the sounding reference signal (SRS) resources in the SRS resource configuration, which can be configured in-turn with a spatial relation to a downlink reference signal (SSB or CSI-RS) or another SRS resource.

With the SRS resource indicator in the uplink grant and the RRC SRS resource configuration, PUSCH with configured grant is supposed to be transmitted with the same precoder or beamforming weights as the one used for the transmission of the reference SRS.

In NR, configured scheduling is used to allocate semi-static periodic assignments or grants for a UE. For uplink, there are two types of configured scheduling schemes: Type <NUM> and Type <NUM>. For Type <NUM>, configured grants are configured via RRC signaling only. For Type <NUM>, similar configuration procedure as semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) uplink in LTE was defined, i.e., some parameters are preconfigured via RRC signaling and some physical layer parameters are configured via medium access control (MAC) scheduling procedure. The detailed procedures can be found in 3GPP TS <NUM> clause <NUM>.

Like for SPS in LTE, the CG periodicity is RRC configured, and this is specified in the ConfiguredGrantConfig IE. Different periodicity values are supported in NR depending on the subcarrier spacing (SCS). For example, for <NUM> and <NUM> SCS, the following periodicities are supported, expressed in a number of OFDM symbols. <NUM> SCS supports <NUM>, <NUM>, and n*<NUM> OFDM symbols where n ∈ {<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>}. <NUM> SCS supports <NUM>, <NUM>, and n*<NUM> OFDM symbols where n ∈ {<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>}.

For Type1 configured grants, in addition to the periodicity, the time domain allocation of PUSCH is configured purely via RRC signalling. The parameter timeDomainOffset provides a slot offset with respect to system frame number (SFN) <NUM>. The parameter timeDomainAllocation provides an index into a table of <NUM> possible combinations of PUSCH mapping type (TypeA or TypeB), start symbol S for the mapping (S = OFDM symbol <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> within a slot), and length L of the mapping (L = <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> OFDM symbols).

For Type2 configured grants, the periodicity is configured by RRC in the same way as for Type <NUM>, but the slot offset is dynamically indicated and is given by the slot in which the UE receives the DCI that activates the Type2 configured grant. In contrast to Type1, the time domain allocation of PUSCH is indicated dynamically by DCI via the time domain resource assignment field in the same way as for scheduled (non-CG) PUSCH. The DCI field indexes a table of start symbol and length (SLIV) values. The detailed configuration details of the RRC spec (i.e., 3GPP TS <NUM>) for configured grant is illustrated as below.

Compared to configured scheduling in NR Rel-<NUM>, a UE can trigger a retransmission autonomously using a configured grant for a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process configured with autonomous uplink (AUL) when the CG retransmission timer is expired while the UE has not received HARQ feedback for the HARQ process. A timer "CG retransmission timer (CGRT)" is defined accordingly. This timer is configured by the RRC parameter cg-RetransmissionTimer in the ConfiguredGrantConfig. The CGRT is started for a HARQ process configured with AUL upon the data transmission using a configured grant, and a retransmission using another configured grant is triggered when the CGRT expires.

With this added functionality, it is beneficial for the UE to avoid the HARQ process to be stalled in case the gNB has missed the HARQ transmission initiated by the UE. However, an issue is observed that a UE may just continuously initiate autonomous HARQ retransmissions for a HARQ process for a very long time. However, the gNB may not successfully receive the transport block (TB) either due to bad radio channel quality or the channel is seldom obtained due to listen-before-talk (LBT) failures. This is undesirable because the packet may become too old and any retransmission attempt further congests the channel and further affects the latency of other packets in the uplink buffer. The radio link control (RLC) layer at the UE may sooner or later trigger RLC retransmissions for a RLC protocol data unit (PDU) that is still under retransmissions in the HARQ. The retransmitted RLC PDU occupies a different HARQ process. In this case, the UE maintains two HARQ processes in transmission for the same RLC PDU. The RLC receiver at the gNB may receive two RLC PDU duplicates. This may create trouble if a wraparound of the RLC sequence number occurs. The second received RLC PDU may be treated as a new data and forwarded upward, when instead the PDU should be dropped.

Therefore, it is necessary to introduce a maximum limit on AUL retransmissions of a HARQ process triggered by a UE. To address this issue, a timer is configured to indicate the maximum amount of time for the UE to complete transmission of an HARQ process, i.e., when the timer expires the UE should flush the HARQ buffer for this HARQ process and transmit new data associated to it. An existing timer configuredGrantTimer (CGT) may be used for this purpose. If both CGT and CG retransmission timer (CGRT) are configured for a HARQ process, both timers can be operated in parallel. In this way, the UE can perform HARQ retransmission using CG resources for a HARQ process while CGT is running for the process. The value of CGT should be longer than that of CG retransmission timer. The HARQ buffer is flushed at expiry of CGT. An example of the procedure is illustrated in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a timing diagram illustrating control of the maximum number of AUL retransmissions using CGT. At time t0 the UE performs the initial transmission of a transport block with a configured grant resource and starts both the CGT and CGRT timers. The HARQ buffers may be flushed after the expiration of the CGT interval.

A UE can be provided with multiple active configured grants for a given bandwidth part (BWP) in a serving cell. The use of multiple configured grants enhances reliability and reduces latency of critical services. In addition, applying multiple configured grants enables the UE to switch to slot-based transmissions after initiating the COT (channel occupancy time) to minimize demodulation reference signal (DMRS) and uplink control information (UCI) overhead in unlicensed spectrum.

For each CG configuration, there are a number of HARQ processes in the HARQ process pool assigned. There is also a separate CGT timer and CGRT setting associated with each CG configuration. It is allowed to share HARQ processes between CG configurations, which can give better configuration flexibility. In addition, if each CG configuration has separate associated HARQ processes, the HARQ process space may become limited for the UE.

Because a logical channel (LCH) can be mapped to multiple CG configurations, the UE can transmit the data of the LCH using multiple active CG resources at the same time. For a TB which was transmitted using a CG resource, it is allowed to use any CG resource among the set of CG resources mapped to the LCH which comes earliest in the time to perform retransmission, this can reduce the latency. In addition, the selected resource shall provide the same size as the same initial TB to avoid rate-matching on the TB. In addition, the UE shall stick to the same HARQ process for transmission/retransmission of a TB.

The CGT timer for a HARQ process shall be only started when the TB using this HARQ process is initially transmitted. The value of the CGT timer is set according to the CG configuration/resource which is used for the initial transmission. In parallel, the CGRT shall be started/restarted and set to the timer value which is used for every transmission/retransmission attempt. If the initial transmission of a TB uses the resource in CG configuration <NUM>, the CGRT is started using the timer value configured in CG configuration <NUM>. The next retransmission of the TB is performed with the resource in CG configuration <NUM>. The CGRT need to be restarted and set to the timer value configured in CG configuration <NUM>.

The HARQ process number field in the uplink DCI (e.g., format <NUM>-<NUM> or format <NUM>-<NUM>) scrambled by CS-RNTI is used to indicate which configuration is to be activated and which configuration(s) is/are to be released. In the DCI, new data indicator (NDI) in the received HARQ information is <NUM>.

Upon reception of a activation/reactivation/deactivation command, the UE provides a confirmation MAC control element (CE) to the gNB. The MAC CE contains a bitmap of CG configurations. In the bitmap field, each bit corresponds to a specific CG configuration (i.e., the bit position corresponds to the CG index).

Repetition of a TB is also supported in NR, and the same resource configuration is used for K repetitions for a TB including the initial transmission. The higher layer configured parameters repK and repK-RV define the K repetitions to be applied to the transmitted transport block, and the redundancy version (RV) pattern to be applied to the repetitions. For the nth transmission occasion among K repetitions, n=<NUM>, <NUM>,. , K, it is associated with (mod(n-<NUM>,<NUM>)+<NUM>)th value in the configured RV sequence. The initial transmission of a transport block may start at the first transmission occasion of the K repetitions if the configured RV sequence is {<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>}, any of the transmission occasions of the K repetitions that are associated with RV=<NUM> if the configured RV sequence is {<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>}, or any of the transmission occasions of the K repetitions if the configured RV sequence is {<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>}, except the last transmission occasion when K=<NUM>.

For any RV sequence, the repetitions shall be terminated after transmitting K repetitions, or at the last transmission occasion among the K repetitions within the period P, or when an uplink grant for scheduling the same TB is received within the period P, whichever is reached first. The UE is not expected to be configured with the time duration for the transmission of K repetitions larger than the time duration derived by the periodicity P.

For both Type <NUM> and Type <NUM> PUSCH transmissions with a configured grant, when the UE is configured with repK > <NUM>, the UE shall repeat the TB across the repK consecutive slots applying the same symbol allocation in each slot. If the UE procedure for determining slot configuration, as defined in subclause <NUM> of TS <NUM>, determines symbols of a slot allocated for PUSCH as downlink symbols, the transmission on that slot is omitted for multi-slot PUSCH transmission.

There currently exist certain challenges. For example, beamforming is expected to be widely applied for <NUM> NR operation in mm-wave bands for both transmission and reception. For uplink transmission, a spatial relation needs to be established and understood by both the UE and base station (e.g., gNB) before transmission in the uplink is conducted. A spatial relation is defined between an uplink channel/reference signal (PUSCH, PUCCH, SRS, etc.) and either a downlink reference signal (CSI-RS, synchronization symbol (SS)/physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block) or another uplink reference signal (RS). If uplink channel/signal A is spatially related to reference signal B, it means the UE should beamform A in the same way as it received/transmitted B. By establishing a spatial relation, the UE gets to know in which direction to beamform its transmission signal towards the targeted gNB, and the gNB also understands how to tune its RX beam towards the UE.

Uplink beam misalignment between gNB and UE may occur. This means that the UE is configured with a configured grant that is not valid for the current beam so the gNB will not listen to the transmission (grant) occasion and the beam direction. The gNB with analog beamforming capability can only listen to uplink transmission in one direction (per antenna panel) at a time. To solve this, the gNB can periodically sweep through all beams in the cell for periodic uplink transmission in relevant transmission occasions.

Periodic uplink transmission resources for multiple UEs can be configured in same OFDM symbol(s) by means of frequency or code multiplexing to improve resource efficiency. gNB with analog beamforming capability should multiplex periodic uplink transmission resources in the same time occasion only for UEs located in the same beam coverage area, so that the gNB can receive the periodic uplink transmissions from the UEs with the same RX beam. In other words, if there are simultaneous uplink transmissions by UEs from different directions, it would be difficult for the gNB to decode all directions due to the analog beamforming capability limitation. For configured grant based uplink transmission, a UE will not receive acknowledgement for its uplink transmissions, because the gNB may not listen to the direction at which the UE has performed transmissions. An example is illustrated in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a network diagram illustrating a UE moving across beams and attempting to transmit using configured grants. When UE1 is moving around in the cell across different beam coverage areas, the gNB needs to frequently re-configure periodic uplink transmission resources for the UEs by dedicated signaling (i.e., RRC, MAC CE or DCI). However, an accurate beam alignment requires not only that the UE needs to provide CSI report in time, but also requires the gNB to send the signaling in time. This is not always feasible especially when the UE moves fast and/or there is high signaling load in the cell, see for example at t=t2, the UE has already moved to the next beam (e.g., SSB3) and the gNB may not be able to decode the data (because the antenna gain on SSB2 is too bad). Another example is shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a network diagram illustrating two UEs sharing the same time domain resources while transmitting to the gNB on different beams. When the above cases happen, the probability of the uplink transmission not being heard by the gNB can be very high. As a consequence, the uplink transmission suffers from low reliability or high transmission latency (due to excessive re-transmissions). Therefore, for NR operation in mm-wave bands, the existing configured grant based framework is not efficient or reliable in terms of uplink beam alignment.

<NPL>, discusses beam failure detection and beam failure recovery mechanisms in New Radio.

<CIT> discloses methods for identifying a user equipment beam index in a base station.

Based on the description above, certain challenges currently exist with scheduling for beam based transmission. Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, to overcome the problem with uplink beam misalignment between the gNB and user equipment (UE) described above, particular embodiments assign preconfigured resources used for scheduling occasions (SOs) which are mapped to a specific beam (SSB). For the scenario with many beams in a cell and moving UEs, this reduces the uplink beam misalignment and reduces the delay for uplink data transmission. An example is illustrated in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a network diagram illustrating a UE using preconfigured resources, according to particular embodiments. As illustrated, UE1 can use preconfigured resources (i.e., reserved physical resource blocks (PRBs)) for scheduling occasions for each beam (SSB) without any signaling required. The SOs are shared by all UEs in the cell (contention based) and are used for scheduling request (SR)/buffer status report (BSR) and/or small data.

In <FIG>, UE1 is initially configured with CG which maps to SSB1. As the UE starts to move, gNb will not be able to hear the UE if it uses its CG resource, so instead it uses a shared CG which maps to the direction of the UE. The mapping of SOs to different beams ensures that the gNb will be listening/receiving in the right direction when a specific SO is used.

According to some embodiments, a method performed by a wireless device comprises the steps as defined by appended claim <NUM>.

According to some embodiments, a wireless device comprises processing circuitry operable to perform any of the wireless device methods described above.

According to some embodiments, a method performed by a network node the steps as defined by appended claim <NUM>.

According to some embodiments, a network node comprises processing circuitry operable to perform any of the network node methods described above.

Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, some embodiments reduce the impact of uplink beam failure or beam misalignment on beam management. Some embodiments reduce the occurrence of mis-triggering of beam failures. Some embodiments reduce the delay for uplink data transmission and/or increase reliability of uplink transmissions.

As described above, certain challenges currently exist with scheduling for beam based transmission. Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, to overcome the problem with uplink beam misalignment between the gNB and UE described above, particular embodiments assign preconfigured resources used for scheduling occasions (SOs) which are mapped to a specific beam (SSB).

Particular embodiments are described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The embodiments described herein are applicable to both licensed and unlicensed operations. The term "BWP segment" is used herein to represent a segment of a bandwidth part (BWP), which is a set of consecutive PRBs. A BWP may be composed of multiple BWP segments. The other similar terms such as "channel" or "subband" are equally applicable here. The embodiments described herein are not limited by the terms.

In a first group of embodiments, a set of configured resources are configured for a BWP segment/BWP/cell/carrier/cell(carrier) group. The resources are shared by all UEs served in the same BWP segment/BWP/carrier/cell(carrier) group. The resources are signaled to UEs via at least one of system information, dedicated RRC signaling, MAC CE, DCI, or any other suitable signaling.

The set of resources may be configured in a specific region (e.g., spanning in specific time positions and/or specific frequency positions). As a non-limiting example, the region is referred to as initial region.

In some embodiments, the initial region is divided into many scheduling occasions (SOs). A SO is an area specified in time and frequency domain that is available for the reception of scheduling information such as BSR and UE identifier and possibly small amount of data from a UE. In an example, an SO spans y PRBs/sub carriers in frequency and z OFDM symbols in time.

SOs are associated with SSBs and/or CSI-RSs. Therefore, a mapping relation is defined/configured between SOs and SSBs or CSI-RSs. Alternatively, SOs are associated with spatial relations. The purpose of the mapping/association is to define the direction the gNb is listening/receiving for the SO. Therefore, a mapping relation is defined/configured between SOs and spatial relations.

As a non-limiting example, the overall mapping logic is described as follows. First, in increasing order of frequency resource indexes for frequency multiplexed SOs. Second, in increasing order of time resource indexes for time multiplexed SOs within a scheduling slot (i.e., assuming a scheduling slot contains multiple SO occasions in time). Third, in increasing order of indexes for scheduling slots.

A scheduling slot is configured in the time domain to contain multiple SO occasions in time. A scheduling slot may be equal to a normal slot, or X OFDM symbols in time.

A UE supporting uplink transmission based on configured resources can use selected configured resources to perform uplink transmissions.

An example of the resource region for SOs is illustrated in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a time-frequency diagram illustrating an example of an initial region containing SOs. The horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents frequency.

The initial region is configured to contain a fixed number of SOs in frequency. In addition, SOs may have the same or different time durations. SOs may be consecutively or non-consecutively distributed in frequency and in time. The mapping relation between SOs and SSBs or CSI-RSs can be one to one, one to many or many to one.

In a second group of embodiments, the UE continuously measures downlink radio quality such as RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, RSSI, channel occupancy, LBT/CCA failure statistics (such as failure counter, or failure ratio) etc. of the reference SSBs or CSI-RSs. Based on the measurement result, the UE may choose one or multiple configured resources associated with the preferred SSBs or CSI-RSs for PUSCH transmission, while ignoring the configured resources associated with other SSBs or CSI-RSs.

The UE may apply at least one of the following options to select the preferred SSBs or CSI-RSs. In one option, at least one threshold in terms of the above mentioned quantities such as received power (i.e., L1-RSRP), RSRQ, SINR, RSSI, channel occupancy, LBT/CCA failure statistics (such as failure counter, or failure ratio) etc. is used by the UE to select the preferred SSB or CSI-RS. In a first step, the UE first selects the ones which have measured quality above the configured threshold. In a second step, the UE may select any one from the ones selected from the first step. Alternatively, the UE selects strongest one from the set selected from the first step.

In one option, the UE selects only the SSB or CSI-RS with strongest radio quality. If there is no SSB or CSI-RS with the measured quality meeting the threshold, UE selects any SSB or CSI-RS.

In one option, the UE may select the SSB or CSI-RS based on more than one measurement quantities. The UE may select SSBs or CSI-RSs if all measurement quantities have met the thresholds. Alternatively, the UE first selects a set of SSBs or the CSI-RSs with strongest measurements in terms of a first measurement quantity. Second, the UE selects the SSBs or the CSI-RSs with strongest measurements in terms of a second measurement quantity within the set.

After selection of the preferred SSBs or CSI-RSs, the UE selects the corresponding configured resources to transmit the PUSCH. To avoid potential collision between different UEs, the UE may randomly select the resource from the set of resources which are associated with the selected preferred SSBs or CSI-RSs.

In a third group of embodiments, in the set of configured resources configured for a BWP segment/BWP/cell/carrier/cell(carrier) group, the UE selects resources to directly perform its initial uplink transmissions (e.g., the first N transmissions, N may be configured) without sending a SR or BSR to request those resources.

Because the resources may be shared by multiple UEs, the UE may experience collision that leads to transmission failure. The initial transmissions are mainly designed for at least one of the following purposes.

One purpose is to enable a UE to send its information of buffer status or scheduling request reliably and quickly. The BSR may be sent if UEs buffer status is above a threshold or if the size of the CG is small. Another purpose is to enable a UE to send small data directly using selected configured resources without asking for resource allocation.

Therefore, the initial region may be configured to contain a small portion of resource regions. In addition, the data volume by the initial transmissions may be sufficiently small.

In the initial transmissions, the transmitting UE may indicate its identity to the gNB. Therefore, for every initial transmission, an UCI can be multiplexed into the PUSCH. At least one of the below information may be indicated in the UCI, for example, UE ID, HARQ process ID, RV value, and/or MCS.

The UE may also indicate its identity in the payload (PUSCH). The UE may also include a BSR MAC CE in the transmission regardless if there is a corresponding BSR event triggered, to inform the gNB of its current buffer status.

In a fourth group of embodiments, upon reception of the initial transmission from a UE, the gNB first decodes the UE ID and therefore knows who is transmitting. Based on reception of the BSR, the gNB can also learn buffer status of the UE. Thereafter, the gNB can do a finer scheduling to the UE, providing the UE with dynamic grants or configured grants. Upon reception of those grants, the UE stops to transmit using resources selected from the initial region, instead, UE uses those grants to further transmit data. If the reception of the initial transmission contains a BSR, the gNB can also update its buffer status of the UE.

<FIG> is a network diagram illustrating an example of the initial transmission procedure for a UE. As UE1 moves from SSB1 to SSB2 and SSB3, UE1 selects a suitable beam and an associated SO for an initial transmission using the selected beam.

In a fifth group of embodiments, the UE may experience collision during initial transmissions. To increase the transmission reliability, the UE may be configured with autonomous retransmissions/repetitions for the initial transmissions. The UE is allowed to initiate autonomous retransmissions for a TB, using the same or different resources. For a TB, the autonomous retransmissions may be up to a configured number or a configured time period. The retransmissions may be consecutively or separated distributed in time.

When the initial transmission is successfully received by the gNB, it will provide an acknowledgement carrying the identified UE Id associated with the reception. The UE stops autonomous retransmission when an acknowledgement is received.

In an example, UE ID is C-RNTI of the UE. In this case, the gNB may reply with a DCI addressed to UE's C-RNTI for acknowledgement.

In a sixth group of embodiments, upon reception of the initial transmission, the gNB performs scheduling to the UE. The corresponding resource assignment may be located in a different resource region from the initial region. For every subsequent transmission using these resources, the UE can skip the UCI in the PUSCH.

In a seventh group of embodiments, when the gNB receives the initial transmission from a UE, the gNB reconfigures the UE with a new CG which matches the SSB/CSI-RS indicated by the SO used for the initial transmission. As an alternative, it reconfigures the UE with a new CG when the UE has performed a specified number of transmissions on the shared resource indicating the same SSB/CSI-RS.

<FIG> illustrates an example wireless network, according to certain embodiments.

These components work together to provide network node and/or wireless device functionality, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network.

Interface <NUM> is used in the wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between network node <NUM>, network <NUM>, and/or WDs <NUM>.

As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise noted, the term WD may be used interchangeably herein with user equipment (UE). Communicating wirelessly may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air.

In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a WD may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network.

Examples of a WD include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, a mobile phone, a cell phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a desktop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless cameras, a gaming console or device, a music storage device, a playback appliance, a wearable terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a tablet, a laptop, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a smart device, a wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE). a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, etc. A WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) and may in this case be referred to as a D2D communication device.

As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another WD and/or a network node. The WD may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one example, the WD may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances (e.g. refrigerators, televisions, etc.) personal wearables (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.).

In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. A WD as described above may represent the endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, a WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

Radio front end circuitry <NUM> is connected to antenna <NUM> and processing circuitry <NUM> and is configured to condition signals communicated between antenna <NUM> and processing circuitry <NUM>.

The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry <NUM> alone or to other components of WD <NUM><NUM>, but are enjoyed by WD <NUM>, and/or by end users and the wireless network generally.

In some embodiments, processing circuitry <NUM> and device readable medium <NUM> may be integrated.

User interface equipment <NUM> is configured to allow input of information into WD <NUM> and is connected to processing circuitry <NUM> to allow processing circuitry <NUM> to process the input information. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits, of user interface equipment <NUM>, WD <NUM> may communicate with end users and/or the wireless network and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any appropriate type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in relation to a wireless network, such as the example wireless network illustrated in <FIG>. For simplicity, the wireless network of <FIG> only depicts network <NUM>, network nodes <NUM> and 160b, and WDs <NUM>, 110b, and 110c. In practice, a wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable to support communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device, such as a landline telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node <NUM> and wireless device (WD) <NUM> are depicted with additional detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices' access to and/or use of the services provided by, or via, the wireless network.

<FIG> illustrates an example user equipment, according to certain embodiments.

Certain UEs may use all the components shown in <FIG>, or only a subset of the components.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating an example method in a wireless device, according to certain embodiments. In particular embodiments, one or more steps of <FIG> may be performed by wireless device <NUM> described with respect to <FIG>.

The method may begin at step <NUM>, where the wireless device (e.g., wireless device <NUM>) obtains an indication of an initial resource region. The initial resource region comprises time frequency resources. The time frequency resources are divided into a plurality of SOs and each of the plurality of SOs is associated with an uplink beam. The SOs may be used by the wireless device for uplink transmission.

At step <NUM>, the wireless device determines the wireless device has moved out of coverage of a first beam and that uplink resources associated with the first beam should no longer be used. For example, the wireless device may have been using a configured grant on a first beam. When the wireless device moves out of coverage of the first beam, the wireless device can no longer use the configured grant. The wireless device needs to find a new beam.

At step <NUM>, the wireless device selects a second beam for uplink transmission. In some embodiments, selecting the second beam comprises selecting a beam based on downlink radio quality of a plurality of beams.

At step <NUM>, the wireless device selects a SO associated with the second beam from the initial resource region. In some embodiments, a beam may be associated with more than one SO. The wireless device may randomly select one of two or more SOs associated with the second beam. The random selection may reduce the chances of two wireless devices using the same beam selecting the same SO.

At step <NUM>, the wireless device transmits an initial transmission of uplink data in the selected SO using the second beam. In particular embodiments, the uplink data includes at least one of a wireless device identifier, HARQ process identifier, redundancy value, and MCS. The uplink data may include a BSR.

A particular advantage is that the wireless device can quickly transmit small amounts of uplink data when transitioning to a new beam. If the wireless device has more uplink data to transmit, the method continues to step <NUM>.

In response to transmitting the initial transmission, at step <NUM> the wireless device may receive a scheduling grant from the network node. The scheduling grant comprises an indication of time frequency resources not included in the initial resource region. For example, the wireless device may be provided with a configured or dynamic grant for transmitting the remaining or future uplink data. At step <NUM>, the wireless device transmits uplink data in the time frequency resources indicated in the scheduling grant.

Each time the wireless device moves out of the coverage of a beam, the wireless device may repeat some or all of steps <NUM>-<NUM> as needed.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to method <NUM> of <FIG>. Additionally, one or more steps in the method of <FIG> may be performed in parallel or in any suitable order.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating an example method in a network node, according to certain embodiments. In particular embodiments, one or more steps of <FIG> may be performed by network node <NUM> described with respect to <FIG>.

The method may begin at step <NUM>, where the network node (e.g., network node <NUM>) obtains an indication of an initial resource region. The initial resource region comprises time frequency resources. The time frequency resources are divided into a plurality of SOs and each of the plurality of SOs is associated with an uplink beam. The SOs may be used by the wireless device for uplink transmission.

At step <NUM>, the network node transmits the indication of the initial resource region to one or more wireless devices. When a wireless device moves to a new beam, the wireless device may select one of the SOs associated with the beam for uplink transmission.

At step <NUM>, the network node receives an initial transmission of uplink data from a wireless device in a first SO of the plurality of SOs. In particular embodiments, the uplink data includes at least one of a wireless device identifier, HARQ process identifier, redundancy value, and MCS. The uplink data may include a BSR.

At step <NUM>, the network node determines an uplink beam used by the wireless device for the initial uplink transmission based on the beam associated with the first SO.

If the wireless has or will have more uplink data to transmit, the method continues to step <NUM>, where the network node transmits a scheduling grant to the wireless device. The scheduling grant comprises an indication of time frequency resources not included in the initial resource region.

As wireless devices move within the cell, some or all of steps <NUM>-<NUM> may be repeated as needed.

<FIG> illustrates a schematic block diagram of two apparatuses in a wireless network (for example, the wireless network illustrated in <FIG>). The apparatuses include a wireless device and a network node (e.g., wireless device <NUM> and network node <NUM> illustrated in <FIG>). Apparatuses <NUM> and <NUM> are operable to carry out the example methods described with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, respectively, and possibly any other processes or methods disclosed herein. It is also to be understood that the methods of <FIG> and <FIG> are not necessarily carried out solely by apparatuses <NUM> and/or <NUM>. At least some operations of the methods can be performed by one or more other entities.

Virtual apparatuses <NUM> and <NUM> may comprise processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments.

In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause receiving module <NUM>, determining module <NUM>, transmitting module <NUM>, and any other suitable units of apparatus <NUM> to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Similarly, the processing circuitry described above may be used to cause receiving module <NUM>, determining module <NUM>, transmitting module <NUM>, and any other suitable units of apparatus <NUM> to perform corresponding functions according one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in <FIG>, apparatus <NUM> includes receiving module <NUM> configured to receive an indication of an initial resource region according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein. Determining module <NUM> is configured to determine a beam and scheduling occasion according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein. Transmitting module <NUM> is configured to transmit uplink data, according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein.

As illustrated in <FIG>, apparatus <NUM> includes receiving module <NUM> configured to receive uplink data according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein. Determining module <NUM> is configured to determine beams associated with a scheduling occasion according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein. Transmitting module <NUM> is configured to transmit an indication of an initial resource region and scheduling grants, according to any of the embodiments and examples described herein.

NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

Still in the context of NFV, Virtual Network Function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions that nm in one or more virtual machines <NUM> on top of hardware networking infrastructure <NUM> and corresponds to application <NUM> in <FIG>.

Host computer <NUM> may be under the ownership or control of a service provider or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.

<FIG> illustrates an example host computer communicating via a base station with a user equipment over a partially wireless connection, according to certain embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to <FIG>.

Connection <NUM> may be direct, or it may pass through a core network (not shown in <FIG>) of the telecommunication system and/or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunication system.

While OTT connection <NUM> is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., based on load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

Wireless connection <NUM> between UE <NUM> and base station <NUM> is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE <NUM> using OTT connection <NUM>, in which wireless connection <NUM> forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the signaling overhead and reduce latency, which may provide faster internet access for users.

A measurement procedure may be provided for monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which OTT connection <NUM> passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software <NUM>, <NUM> may compute or estimate the monitored quantities.

Additionally, or alternatively, in step <NUM>, the UE provides user data.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems and apparatuses disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the invention. The components of the systems and apparatuses may be integrated or separated. Moreover, the operations of the systems and apparatuses may be performed by more, fewer, or other components. Additionally, operations of the systems and apparatuses may be performed using any suitable logic comprising software, hardware, and/or other logic. As used in this document, "each" refers to each member of a set or each member of a subset of a set.

Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the invention. The methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order.

The foregoing description sets forth numerous specific details. It is understood, however, that embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the understanding of this description. Those of ordinary skill in the art, with the included descriptions, will be able to implement appropriate functionality without undue experimentation.

Although this disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodiments, alterations and permutations of the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above description of the embodiments does not constrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of this disclosure, as defined by the claims below.

Claim 1:
A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising:
obtaining (<NUM>) an indication of an initial resource region, the initial resource region comprising time frequency resources, wherein the time frequency resources are divided into a plurality of scheduling occasions, SOs, and each of the plurality of SOs is associated with an uplink beam;
determining (<NUM>) the wireless device has moved out of coverage of a first beam and that uplink resources associated with the first beam should no longer be used;
selecting (<NUM>) a second beam for uplink transmission;
selecting (<NUM>) a SO associated with the second beam from the initial resource region; and
transmitting (<NUM>) an initial transmission of uplink data in the selected SO using the second beam, wherein the uplink data includes at least one of a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, process identifier, redundancy value, modulation and coding scheme, MCS, information, Buffer Status Report, BSR, and a Scheduling Request, SR.