Patent ID: 12200689

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The technology and examples of implementations and/or embodiments in this disclosure can be used to improve performance in wireless communication systems. The term “exemplary” is used to mean “an example of” and unless otherwise stated, does not imply an ideal or preferred example, implementation, or embodiment. Section headers are used in the present disclosure to facilitate understanding and do not limit the disclosed technology in the sections only to the corresponding section. Please note that the implementations may, however, be embodied in a variety of different forms and, therefore, the covered or claimed subject matter is intended to be construed as not being limited to any of the embodiments to be set forth below. Please also note that the implementations may be embodied as methods, devices, components, or systems. Accordingly, embodiments of this disclosure may, for example, take the form of hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof.

Throughout the disclosure and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings suggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning. Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment/implementation” or “in some embodiments/implementations” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment/implementation and the phrase “in another embodiment/implementation” or “in other embodiments/implementations” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment/implementation. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matter includes combinations of exemplary embodiments/implementations in whole or in part.

In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage in context. For example, terms, such as “and”, “or”, or “and/or,” as used herein may include a variety of meanings that may depend at least in part upon the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” if used to associate a list, such as A, B or C, is intended to mean 1) A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense; and 2) A, B or C, here used in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” or “at least one” as used herein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may be used to describe combinations of features, structures or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a”, “an”, or “the”, again, may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a plural usage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term “based on” or “determined by” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey an exclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for existence of additional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, depending at least in part on context.

The present disclosure describes methods and apparatus for scheduling transmission of control information. The present disclosure addressed the issues with a scheduling conflict related to a shared channel, when the shared channel is scheduled to transmit the control information. The methods and devices described in the present disclosure may facilitate the transmission of the control information, so that the effect upon the transmission of the control information from cancellation or re-schedule of the shared channel is greatly reduced. The methods and devices described in the present disclosure may also help reducing the un-necessary re-transmission in the shared channel. The methods and devices described in the present disclosure may improves the overall efficiency of wireless communication systems.

In wireless communication systems, a wireless network node may wirelessly communicate with one or more user equipment (UE). In one implementation, the wireless network node may be a base station, including but not limited to, a 5G base station (gNB). In another implementation, the UE may be a wireless terminal, including but not limited to a mobile phone terminal, a tablet computer, and a smart electronics or appliance including an air conditioner, a television, a refrigerator, an oven and the like.

FIG.1shows a wireless communication system100including a wireless network node110and one or more UE (120,130, and140). The number of UE in the wireless communication system100may be smaller or much larger than three, for example, 100, 1000, 10000, or 100000.

The UE120may wirelessly communicate with the first wireless network node110via a first channel122including a plurality of radio channels during a certain period of time. Likewise, the second UE130may wirelessly communicate with the wireless network node110via a second channel132including a plurality of radio channels during a certain period of time, and the third UE140may wirelessly communicate with the wireless network node110via a third channel142including a plurality of radio channels during a certain period of time.

In one implementation, the first channel122and the second channel132may entirely or partially overlap in radio frequency domain. In another implementation, the first channel122and the second channel may entirely or partially overlap in time domain.

In wireless communication systems, a UE may send control information to a wireless network node in a control channel, which may be normally designated for transmitting the control information. The control channel may overlap with a shared channel in time domain. In response to the situation where the control channel overlaps with the shared channel in time domain, the wireless network node may resolve this overlapping issue by scheduling a portion of the shared channel to transmit the control information. Thus, the UE may send the control information to the wireless network node via the shared channel, minimizing the situation in which the UE transmit information via both the control channel and the shared channel at the same time. The shared channel may be shared by the control information with other information that is scheduled to transmit on the shared channel.

In one implementation, the UE may normally use a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) to transmit uplink control information (UCI) to the wireless network node. The wireless network node may schedule a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) for the UE to transmit other information. When the PUCCH overlaps with the PUSCH in time domain, a portion of the PUSCH will be used to carry UCI according to a predefined rule, and the PUCCH may be canceled or removed. The predefined rule can include a rule to be specified in the specification or decided by the wireless network node and indicated to the UE. Thus, the UE may send the control information to the wireless network node via the shared channel and minimize the situation in which the UE transmit information via both the control channel and the shared channel at the same time. The UCI may include one of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledge feedback information, scheduling request information, channel state information (CSI) and the like.

In another implementation, UCI and PUSCH may be coded independently. After UCI is coded, the coded UCI may be mapped to the shared channel according to a pre-determined protocol.

The present disclosure describes solutions to resolve a scheduling conflict to the shared channel that is scheduled for the UE to transmit control information.FIG.2shows a scheduling conflict200in a shared channel222that is scheduled for a first UE220to transmit control information229.FIG.2further shows timing diagram of the operation of various steps inFIG.3.

The present disclosure describes a method for wireless communication300, as shown in the logic flow ofFIG.3. The method300may include step310: receiving, by a wireless network node, a first scheduling request for a radio channel to transmit a first set of information; step320: scheduling, by the wireless network node, a first radio channel during a first time slot as a first shared channel for transmitting the first set of information in response to the first scheduling request, the first shared channel being shared by control information and the first set of information; step330: detecting, by the wireless network node, a conflict related to the first shared channel; and step340: resolving, by the wireless network node, the conflict related to the first shared channel.

The operation of various steps inFIG.3is described in more detail below by referring to the timing diagram ofFIG.2.

In step310, the wireless network node may receive a first scheduling request for a radio channel to transmit a first set of information.

Referring toFIG.2, the first UE220may send the first scheduling request (SR1,221) to the wireless network node210. The SR1may include a request for a radio channel to transmit a first set of information.

In step320ofFIG.3, the wireless network node may schedule a first radio channel during a first time slot as a first shared channel for transmitting the first set of information in response to the first scheduling request, the first shared channel being shared by control information and the first set of information.

Referring toFIG.2, in response to the SR1, the wireless network node may create a first uplink grant (UL grant1,211) to schedule the first shared channel222for the first UE to transmit the first set of information. The first shared channel222may be a PUSCH and may include a first radio channel during a first time slot. The first shared channel222may be shared by control information229and the first set of information.

In step330ofFIG.3, the wireless network node may detect a conflict related to the first shared channel. In one implementation as shown inFIG.2, a second UE230may send a second scheduling request (SR2,235) to the wireless network node210. The SR2may include a request for a radio channel to transmit a second set of information. The wireless network node210may create a second uplink grant (UL grant2,215) to schedule a second channel236for the second UE to transmit the second set of information as early as possible in time domain. Thus, the wireless network node210may cancel all or a portion of the first shared channel223and schedule the recourse for the second UE to transmit the second set of information. For example, the second set of information may have a higher priority than the first set of information; the second UE may have a higher priority than the first UE; and/or that the second set of information may include information requiring low latency and/or high reliability. Therefore, the wireless network node210detect this conflict related to the first shared channel.

Thus, as shown inFIG.2, the wireless network node210may cancel the portion223of the first shared channel that was scheduled for the first UE, and schedule the second channel236. For example, the cancellation may be indicated to start at time T after UL grant2215, and the second channel236may also be scheduled to start at time T after UL grant2215.

Referring toFIG.2, in response to the cancellation of all or a portion of the first shared channel222, the wireless network node210may create another UL grant216to schedule a re-scheduled first shared channel224for the first UE to transmit the first set of information. The UL grant216may include a same HARQ process identification (ID) as the UL grant1211and a new data indicator (NDI). The wireless network node may invert the NDI of the UL grant216, indicating this uplink grant is corresponding to a scheduling request that had been previously scheduled. The re-scheduled first shared channel224and the first shared channel222may include same radio channels or different radio channels. The re-scheduled first shared channel224and the first shared channel222may include same or different durations in time domain, corresponding to all of the first shared channel222or only a canceled portion of the first shared channel.

Not limited to the situation shown inFIG.2, the wireless network node210may detect a conflict related to the first shared channel, and thus may cancel and/or re-schedule the first shared channel due to many other reasons. For one example, the reasons may include a reason that the first shared channel may have a scheduling conflict with a frame structure configuration.

In another implementation, the reasons may include a constraint of power of the UE. For example, the UE may have a limitation on the total power consumption rate so that the UE may not transmit the first set of information with the first shared channel at the scheduled time slot. For another example, the UE may be configured to be in a low power state and thus, the transmission of the first set of information may be delayed or canceled.

In step340ofFIG.3, the wireless network node may resolve the conflict related to the first shared channel. Below, the present disclosure describes several example embodiments for resolving the scheduling conflict to the shared channel that is scheduled for the UE to transmit control information.

First Embodiment

The present disclosure describes one embodiment400inFIG.4to resolve a scheduling conflict to a first shared channel that carries control information of a first UE. In this embodiment, the wireless network node may cancel the first shared channel, schedule a second shared channel for the first UE to transmit the control information.

As shown inFIG.4, the method400for wireless communication includes step410: canceling, by the wireless network node, the first shared channel scheduled for the first scheduling request; and step420: scheduling, by the wireless network node, a second radio channel at a second time slot as a second shared channel for transmitting the first set of information and the control information.

The operation of various steps inFIG.4is described in more detail below by referring to the timing diagram ofFIG.5.

In step410ofFIG.4, the wireless network node may cancel the first shared channel scheduled for the first scheduling request.

InFIG.5, the wireless network node has scheduled the first shared channel510for the first UE to transmit the first set of information and the control information512. The first shared channel510may include a first radio channel among a plurality of radio channels530during a first time slot541among a plurality of time slots540. The first shared channel510may include a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The control information512may include uplink control information (UCI).

The wireless network node may cancel the first shared channel to free up the resource related to the first radio channel during the first time slot, thus resolving the conflict related to the first shared channel.

In step420ofFIG.4, the wireless network node may schedule a second radio channel at a second time slot as a second shared channel520for transmitting the first set of information and the control information512, as shown inFIG.5. The position of control information in the second shared channel520may be determined based on a pre-determined protocol, for example, resource elements (REs) mapped by UCI can be calculated basing on the indication of the last downlink control information (DCI) of the first UE.

The second time slot may be no earlier than the first time slot. For example, in one implementation, the second time slot may be a later time542than the first time slot, as shown inFIG.5; and in another implementation, the second time slot may be the same slot as the first time slot (not shown).

The second radio channel may be a same or different radio channel compared to the first time slot, i.e. the second radio channel and the first radio channel occupies a same or different frequency resource. For example, in one implementation, the second radio channel may be a different radio channel compared with the first radio channel, as shown inFIG.5; and in another implementation, the second radio channel may be the same radio channel as the first radio channel (not shown).

Second Embodiment

The present disclosure describes another embodiment600inFIG.6to resolve a scheduling conflict to a first shared channel that carries the control information of a first UE. In this embodiment, the wireless network node may cancel the first shared channel, determine whether a control channel is available for transmitting the control information, and in response to the determination that the control channel is available, schedule the control channel for transmitting the control information.

As shown inFIG.6, the method600for wireless communication includes step610: canceling, by the wireless network node, the first shared channel scheduled for the first scheduling request; step620: scheduling, by the wireless network node, a second radio channel at a second time slot as a second shared channel for transmitting the first set of information; step630: determining, by the wireless network node, whether a control channel during the first time slot is available for transmitting the control information; and step640: in response to the determination that the control channel during the first time slot is available for transmitting the control information, receiving, by the wireless network node, the control information in the control channel during the first time slot.

The operation of various steps inFIG.6is described in more detail below by referring to the timing diagram ofFIG.7.

In step610ofFIG.6, the wireless network node may cancel the first shared channel. InFIG.7, the wireless network node has scheduled the first shared channel710for the first UE to transmit the first set of information and the control information712. The first shared channel710may include a first radio channel among a plurality of radio channels730during a first time slot741among a plurality of time slots740. The first shared channel710may include a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The control information712may include uplink control information (UCI). The wireless network node may cancel the first shared channel710to free up the resource related to the first radio channel during the first time slot, thus resolving the conflict related to the first shared channel.

In step620ofFIG.6, the wireless network node may schedule a second radio channel at a second time slot as a second shared channel720for transmitting the first set of information, as shown inFIG.7. This step is optional in the embodiment. The wireless network node may determine not to transmit the first set of information, so that the wireless network node do not need to schedule the second shared channel720for transmitting the first set of information. The second shared channel720and the first shared channel may include same or different radio channels, and/or may include same or different time slots.

In step630ofFIG.6, the wireless network node may determine whether a control channel760during the first time slot is available for transmitting the control information. The control channel may include a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). This step may further include determining, by the wireless network node, whether resource for the control channel during the first time slot scheduled for other transmission; and in response to the determination that resource for the control channel during the first time slot is not scheduled for other transmission, determining, by the wireless network node, that the control channel during the first time slot is available for transmitting the control information.

In step640ofFIG.6, in response to the determination that the control channel during the first time slot is available for transmitting the control information, the wireless network node may receive the control information in the control channel during the first time slot.

Third Embodiment

The present disclosure describes another embodiment800inFIG.8to resolve a scheduling conflict to a first shared channel that carries control information of a first UE. In this embodiment, the control information may have a higher priority so that the wireless network node may cancel the first shared channel but still maintain a portion of first radio channel during the first time slot for transmitting the control information. In another implementation, the control information may share the first radio channel during the first time slot with a second UE or a second set of information.

As shown inFIG.8, the method800for wireless communication includes step810: canceling, by the wireless network node, the first shared channel scheduled for the first scheduling request; step820: scheduling, by the wireless network node, a second radio channel during a second time slot as a second shared channel for transmitting the first set of information; and step830: receiving, by the wireless network node, the control information in the first radio channel during the first time slot.

The operation of various steps inFIG.8is described in more detail below by referring to the timing diagram ofFIG.9.

In step810ofFIG.8, the wireless network node may cancel the first shared channel scheduled for transmitting the first set of information. InFIG.9, the wireless network node has scheduled the first shared channel910for the first UE to transmit the first set of information and the control information912. The first shared channel910may include a first radio channel among a plurality of radio channels930during a first time slot941among a plurality of time slots940. The first shared channel910may include a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The control information912may include uplink control information (UCI). The wireless network node may cancel a portion of the first shared channel910for transmitting the first set of information to free up the resource related to the canceled portion of the first radio channel during the first time slot to resolve the conflict related to the first shared channel. The wireless network node may determine to keep the schedule of a portion of the first radio channel during the first time slot for transmitting the control information for various reasons, for example, the control information including information with high priority.

In step820ofFIG.8, the wireless network node may schedule a second radio channel during a second time slot as a second shared channel920for transmitting the first set of information, as shown inFIG.9. This step may be optional in the embodiment. The wireless network node may determine not to transmit the first set of information, so that the wireless network node do not need to schedule the second shared channel920for transmitting the first set of information. The second shared channel920and the first shared channel may include the same or different radio channels, and/or may include the same or different time slots.

In step830ofFIG.8, the wireless network node may receive the control information in the first radio channel during the first time slot. In one implementation, the wireless network node may schedule a new channel960including the first radio channel during the first time slot for transmitting the control information912and other set of information.

Fourth Embodiment

The present disclosure describes another embodiment1000inFIG.10to resolve a scheduling conflict to a first shared channel that carries control information of a first UE. In this embodiment, the wireless network node may cancel the first shared channel for transmitting the first set of information and control information, and optionally, may schedule a second shared channel for transmitting the first set of information. For example, the control information may not be transmitted from the first UE to the wireless network node.

As shown inFIG.10, the method1000for wireless communication includes step1010: canceling, by the wireless network node, the first shared channel scheduled for the first scheduling request; and step1020: scheduling, by the wireless network node, a second radio channel during a second time slot as a second shared channel for transmitting the first set of information.

The operation of various steps inFIG.10is described in more detail below by referring to the timing diagram ofFIG.11.

In step1010ofFIG.10, the wireless network node may cancel the first shared channel scheduled for the first scheduling request. InFIG.11, the wireless network node has scheduled the first shared channel1110for the first UE to transmit the first set of information and the control information1112. The first shared channel1110may include a first radio channel among a plurality of radio channels1130during a first time slot1141among a plurality of time slots1140. The first shared channel1110may include a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The control information1112may include uplink control information (UCI). The wireless network node may determine not to schedule for transmitting the control information, so that the wireless network node may cancel the first shared channel1110to free up the resource related to the first radio channel during the first time slot to resolve the conflict related to the first shared channel.

In step1020ofFIG.10, the wireless network node may schedule a second radio channel during a second time slot as a second shared channel for transmitting the first set of information. This step may be optional in the embodiment. In one implementation, the wireless network node may determine not to transmit the first set of information, so that the wireless network node do not need to schedule the second shared channel1120for transmitting the first set of information. In another implementation, the second shared channel1120and the first shared channel1110may include the same or different radio channels, and/or may include the same or different time slots.

Fifth Embodiment

The present disclosure describes another embodiment1200inFIG.12to resolve a scheduling conflict to a first shared channel that carries control information of a first. In this embodiment, the wireless network node may cancel a portion of the first shared channel to resolve the conflict related to the first shared channel. Thus, the non-canceled portion of the first shared channel can be used for transmitting the control information.

As shown inFIG.12, the method1200for wireless communication includes step1210: canceling, by the wireless network node, a portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot in response to resolving the conflict related to the first shared channel; and step1220: receiving, by the wireless network node, the control information in the non-canceled portion of first shared channel during the first time slot.

The operation of various steps inFIG.12is described in more detail below by referring to the timing diagram ofFIG.13.

In step1210ofFIG.12, the wireless network node may cancel a portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot in response to resolving the conflict related to the first shared channel. InFIG.13, the wireless network node has scheduled the first shared channel1310for the first UE to transmit the first set of information and the control information1312. The first shared channel1310may include a first radio channel among a plurality of radio channels1330during a first time slot1341among a plurality of time slots1340. The first shared channel1310may include a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The control information1312may include uplink control information (UCI). The wireless network node may determine to cancel a portion1315of the first shared channel to resolve the conflict related to the first shared channel. For example, the wireless network node may cancel resource elements (RE) #3-7 as shown inFIG.13.

In one implementation, the control information1312may still be transmitted via an un-cancelled portion1317of the first shared channel, so that in step1220, the wireless network node may receive the control information in the non-canceled portion of first shared channel during the first time slot.

As shown inFIG.12, the method1200may further include step1230: determining, by the wireless network node, whether the canceled portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot overlaps with at least a portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot scheduled for transmitting the control information; step1240: in response to the determination that the canceled portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot does not overlap with at least a portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot scheduled for transmitting the control information, maintaining, by the wireless network node, the portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot scheduled for transmitting the control information; and step1250: in response to the determination that the canceled portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot overlaps with at least a portion of the first time slot scheduled for transmitting the control information, recalculating, by the wireless network node, resource for transmitting the control information within a non-canceled portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot, receiving, by the wireless network node, the control information in the recalculated resource.

In step1230ofFIG.12, the wireless network node may determine whether the canceled portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot overlaps with at least a portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot scheduled for transmitting the control information. For example as shown inFIG.13, the cancelled portion of the first shared channel may include RE #3-7, and the control information may be originally scheduled at RE #7-9. Therefore, the wireless network node may determine that the canceled portion of the first shared channel overlaps with the control information, and then the method may proceed to step1250. For another example (not shown), a cancelled portion of the first shared channel may include RE #3-7, and the control information may be originally scheduled at RE #10-12. Therefore, the wireless network node may determine that the canceled portion of the first shared channel does not overlap with the control information, and then the wireless network may perform step1240.

In step1240ofFIG.12, in response to the determination that the canceled portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot does not overlap with at least a portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot scheduled for transmitting the control information, the wireless network node may maintain the portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot scheduled for transmitting the control information. For example (not shown), a cancelled portion of the first shared channel may include RE #3-7, and the control information may be originally scheduled at RE #10-12. Therefore, the wireless network node may maintain the control information at RE #10-12. In another implementation, the wireless network node may recalculate the location for the control information based on a pre-determined protocol.

In step1250ofFIG.12, in response to the determination that the canceled portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot overlaps with at least a portion of the first time slot scheduled for transmitting the control information, the wireless network node may recalculate resource for transmitting the control information within a non-canceled portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot, and receiving, by the wireless network node, the control information in the recalculated resource. For example as shown inFIG.13, the cancelled portion of the first shared channel may include RE #3-7, and the control information may be originally scheduled at RE #7-9. Therefore, the wireless network node may recalculate based on a pre-determined protocol and determine the location for the control information, for example, the wireless network node may determine RE #10-12 for the control information as shown inFIG.13.

In another implementation, step1250may further include determining, by the wireless network node, whether available resource of the first shared channel during the first time slot after the non-canceled portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot is scheduled for transmitting the control information is larger than a per-determined threshold; and in response to the determination that the available resource of the first shared channel during the first time slot after the non-canceled portion of the first shared channel during the first time slot is scheduled for transmitting the control information is larger than the per-determined threshold, scheduling, by the wireless network node, the available resource of the first shared channel during the first time slot for transmitting at least a portion of the first set of information. After the control information uses a portion of the non-cancelled portion1317of the first shared channel, available resource of the first shared channel is larger than a pre-determined threshold, or the code rate for transmitting the first set of information in available resource is smaller than a pre-determined threshold, then the wireless network node may schedule the available resource for transmitting a portion of the first set of information or other information. For example as shown inFIG.13, the available resource may include RE #1-2, RE #8-9, and RE #13-14. For one example, the pre-determined threshold of code rate may be 2. The wireless network node may calculate the code rate for transmitting the first set of information in available resource, if the code rate is smaller than the pre-determined threshold and schedule the available resource for transmitting information. Otherwise, if the code rate is larger than the pre-determined threshold and the available resource may not be used for transmitting information.

The present disclosure describes methods, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for scheduling transmission of control information. The present disclosure addressed the issues with a scheduling conflict related to a shared channel, which is scheduled for transmitting the control information. The methods, devices, and computer-readable medium described in the present disclosure may facilitate the transmission of the control information, so that the effect from cancellation or re-schedule of the shared channel upon the transmission of the control information is greatly reduced. The methods, devices, and computer-readable medium described in the present disclosure may also reduce the un-necessary re-transmission of the shared channel due to the scheduling of the control information. The methods, devices, and computer-readable medium described in the present disclosure may improves the overall efficiency of the wireless communication systems.

Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present solution should be or are included in any single implementation thereof. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present solution. Thus, discussions of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout the specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages and characteristics of the present solution may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One of ordinary skill in the relevant art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the present solution can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the present solution.