CN112586069A

CN112586069A - Allocation of resources for non-scheduled transmissions to scheduled transmissions

Info

Publication number: CN112586069A
Application number: CN201880096444.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: C·罗萨; 陶涛
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Oyj; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2018-08-08
Filing date: 2018-08-08
Publication date: 2021-03-30
Also published as: WO2020029116A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for allocating resources for non-scheduled transmissions to scheduled transmissions. In an example embodiment, a first set of resources and a second set of resources are determined for one or more non-scheduled transmissions. The first set of resources corresponds to a first resource configuration and is associated with a first priority. The second set of resources corresponds to a second resource configuration and is associated with a second priority. The second resource configuration is different from the first resource configuration and the first priority is different from the second priority. At least one resource from one of the first set and the second set is allocated to scheduled transmissions based on the first priority and the second priority. In this way, resource allocation is more flexible and efficient.

Description

Allocation of resources for non-scheduled transmissions to scheduled transmissions

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications, and, in particular, to an apparatus, method, device, and computer-readable storage medium for allocating resources for non-scheduled transmissions to scheduled transmissions.

Background

Radio access in the unlicensed spectrum is granted in the New Radio (NR), which is referred to as NR-based access to the unlicensed spectrum (NR-U). The NR-U allows Uplink (UL) non-scheduled transmissions in the unlicensed spectrum, such as Random Access (RA) preambles and configured UL grant transmissions. UL unscheduled transmissions are subject to regulatory requirements in the unlicensed spectrum, including Listen Before Talk (LBT) based Clear Channel Assessment (CCA). For example, an LBT-based CCA is required before transmitting sporadic signals such as RA preamble and configured UL grant.

LBT failures may cause the delay of UL unscheduled transmissions to increase uncontrollably. Depending on the rate or probability of LBT failure, the NR node B (or gNB) may need to reserve additional resources for UL non-scheduled transmissions to maintain target performance requirements related to delay. A certain target delay may result in increased overhead. If the overhead becomes excessive and results in insufficient capacity at the gNB, the gNB may decide to cover the resources reserved for UL non-scheduled transmissions using Downlink (DL) or UL scheduled transmissions. If the gNB uses resources for the UL non-scheduled transmission to schedule the DL or UL transmission, the LBT procedure prior to the UL non-scheduled transmission may fail due to a collision with the DL or UL scheduled transmission. This may affect the delay performance of UL non-scheduled transmissions.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, examples of the disclosure provide devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for allocating resources for non-scheduled transmissions to scheduled transmissions.

In a first aspect, an apparatus is provided that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine a first set of resources and a second set of resources for one or more non-scheduled transmissions. The first set of resources corresponds to a first resource configuration and is associated with a first priority. The second set of resources corresponds to a second resource configuration and is associated with a second priority. The second resource configuration is different from the first resource configuration and the first priority is different from the second priority. The apparatus is also caused to allocate at least one resource from one of the first set and the second set to a scheduled transmission based on the first priority and the second priority.

In a second aspect, an apparatus is provided that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to determine whether one or more resources from the first set of resources are available for one or more transmission attempts for the non-scheduled transmission. The apparatus is also caused to perform one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission using resources selected from the second set of resources in response to determining that one or more resources from the first set of resources are unavailable for the one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission. The first set of resources corresponds to a first resource configuration and the second set of resources corresponds to a second resource configuration different from the first resource configuration.

In a third aspect, a method is provided. In the method, a first set of resources and a second set of resources are determined for one or more non-scheduled transmissions. The first set of resources corresponds to a first resource configuration and is associated with a first priority. The second set of resources corresponds to a second resource configuration and is associated with a second priority. The second resource configuration is different from the first resource configuration and the first priority is different from the second priority. At least one resource from one of the first set and the second set is allocated to scheduled transmissions based on the first priority and the second priority.

In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. In the method, it is determined whether one or more resources from a first set of resources are available for one or more transmission attempts for a non-scheduled transmission. In response to determining that one or more resources from the first set of resources are unavailable for one or more transmission attempts for the non-scheduled transmission, performing one or more transmission attempts for the non-scheduled transmission using resources selected from the second set of resources. The first set of resources corresponds to a first resource configuration and the second set of resources corresponds to a second resource configuration different from the first resource configuration.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for performing the steps of the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

In a sixth aspect, a computer readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon is provided. The computer program, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to perform the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

It should be understood that this summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description.

Drawings

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

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

fig. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of an example method according to further embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 illustrates example timing of operations for resource reallocation at a terminal device and a network device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 illustrates example timings of operations for resource reallocation at a terminal device and a network device, in accordance with further embodiments of the present disclosure; and

fig. 6 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers refer to the same or similar elements.

Detailed Description

The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to a few examples. It is to be understood that these matters are described for illustrative purposes only and to aid those skilled in the art in understanding and enabling the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure described herein may be implemented in various ways other than the following.

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

As used herein, the term "network device" refers to any suitable device on the network side of a communication network. The network device may comprise any suitable device in an access network of a communication network, including, for example, a Base Station (BS), a relay, an Access Point (AP), a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation NodeB (gnb), a remote radio module (RRU), a Radio Header (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a low power node (such as femto, pico, etc.). The network device may also comprise any suitable device in any other part of the communication network, such as a core network of the communication network.

As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to a device that is capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to communicate with a network device or another terminal device in a communication network. Communication may involve the transmission and/or reception of wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and/or other types of signals suitable for the transmission of information over the air. In some cases, the terminal device may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network side, the terminal device may transmit information to the network device on a predetermined schedule.

Examples of end devices include, but are not limited to, User Equipment (UE), such as a smart phone, a wireless-enabled tablet, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop installed device (LME), and/or a wireless Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). For purposes of discussion, some embodiments will be described with reference to a UE as an example of a terminal device, and the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" (UE) may be used interchangeably in the context of this disclosure.

As used herein, the term "unscheduled transmission" refers to any suitable transmission that does not require scheduling on the network side. As used herein, the term "scheduled transmission" refers to any suitable transmission under network-side scheduling. The non-scheduled or scheduled transmissions may include UL and/or DL transmissions between the network device and the terminal device, device-to-device (D2D) transmissions between different terminal devices, backhaul transmissions between the base station and the relay, and so on.

An example non-scheduled transmission relates to a transmission attempt on contention-based resources. In the context of the present disclosure, contention-based resources refer to a type of resource whose use is contention-based. For example, if a device such as a network device and a terminal device wants to use this type of resource, the device needs to compete with other devices. Transmission attempts on contention-based resources may be associated with RA preambles, configured uplink grants, and other similar "transmission modes".

As used herein, the term "transmission attempt" refers to a transmission that may fail due to resource occupancy, poor channel conditions, and the like. The transmission attempt may include one or more initial transmission attempts and/or one or more subsequent transmission attempts. For example, the transmission attempt may include first, second, and third attempts, etc. for the RA preamble, and the retransmission attempt may include second, third, and fourth attempts, etc. for the RA preamble.

For purposes of discussion, some embodiments are described by taking UL transmission of the RA preamble as an example implementation of non-scheduled transmission, such as the nth transmission attempt, provided that the previous n-1 attempts failed due to blocking of DL/UL scheduled transmissions and/or unsuccessful LBT procedures or due to detection errors (such as no response by the network device). Other non-scheduled UL transmissions are also possible, including, for example, UL transmissions with configured grants, such as autonomous/semi-persistent UL transmissions.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) a purely hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation in analog and/or digital circuitry only), and

(b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuitry and software/firmware, and (ii) a hardware processor with software (including a digital signal processor), any portion of software and memory that work together to cause an apparatus (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and

(c) hardware circuitry and/or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate (but may not exist when operation is not required).

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

The singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "includes" and variations thereof are to be understood as an open-ended term meaning "including, but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment". Other definitions (explicit and implicit) may be included below.

As described above, NR-U allows UL non-scheduled transmissions in the unlicensed spectrum. In the unlicensed spectrum, additional resources may be reserved for UL unscheduled transmissions to maintain the target delay due to listen-before-talk requirements. Meanwhile, in consideration of performance requirements related to capacity, reserved resources may be reallocated to DL or UL scheduled transmission to reduce waste of limited resources.

The inventors have found that such a reallocation of resources may in turn affect the delay performance of UL non-scheduled transmissions. The inventors have also found that when covering the resources reserved for UL non-scheduled transmissions with scheduled transmissions, there is no way to prioritize the delay performance over the capacity performance.

In the third generation partnership project (3GPP) for NR-U, specific mechanisms are proposed for the RA preamble and the configured UL grant. For example, a simplified LBT procedure (e.g., Cat-2 LBT) for RA preamble transmission is discussed. Further, mapping Random Access Channel (RACH) occasions to protected uplink access windows is discussed to provide reliable channel access protection for the RACH. However, there is no discussion as to how to provide robust channel access while trading off delay of the RA procedure against system capacity.

RA procedures in unlicensed spectrum have also been discussed in Long Term Evolution (LTE). Unlicensed ul (gul) operation and autonomous ul (aul) operation are introduced in the relevant specifications. For example, an evolved NodeB (or eNB) may cover Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) occasions as well as the GUL/AUL resources with scheduled transmissions. No emphasis has been placed on the delay performance of the RA procedure in LTE.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a scheme for conditionally allocating resources for non-scheduled transmissions, e.g., depending on the number of previous transmission attempts at the UE, to increase the flexibility of covering resources for non-scheduled transmissions with scheduled transmissions. According to this scheme, different sets of resources are configured for one or more non-scheduled transmissions. These resources may be located in unlicensed and/or licensed spectrum. Different sets of resources correspond to different configurations and are associated with different priorities. At least one resource in one of the sets of resources is allocated to a scheduled transmission based on the priority. For example, a resource with a lower priority in the set of resources may be allocated to a scheduled transmission. In this way, resource allocation is more flexible and efficient.

Furthermore, the present disclosure of the present disclosure proposes a framework for providing sufficient opportunities for non-scheduled transmissions, e.g., in case the resources of the non-scheduled transmissions are allocated to scheduled DL/UL transmissions. In this framework, if one or more resources of a set of resources are not available for one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission, resources are selected from another set of resources to perform one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission attempts. Different resource sets correspond to different resource configurations. In this way, more transmission opportunities may be provided for unscheduled transmissions.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Environment 100, which is part of a communication network, includes terminal device 110 and network device 120. It should be understood that one terminal device and one network device are shown for illustrative purposes only, and do not set any limit on the scope of the present disclosure. Environment 100 may include any suitable number of terminal devices and network devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Terminal device 110 may communicate with network device 120, or with other terminal devices directly or via network device 120. Communications in environment 100 may follow any suitable communication standard or protocol, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), fifth generation (5G) NR, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, and employ any suitable communication technology including, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), Bluetooth, ZigBee, and Machine Type Communication (MTC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive Machine Type Communication (MTC), and ultra-reliable low delay communication (urrllc) technologies.

Unscheduled and scheduled transmissions between terminal device 110 and network device 120 are allowed in environment 100. For example, terminal device 110 may perform UL non-scheduled transmissions, such as transmission of a RA preamble and AUL transmission with configured UL grants. Network device 120 may schedule DL/UL transmissions. DL unscheduled transmissions from network device 120 to terminal device 110 are also possible in environment 100.

In various embodiments, at least two sets of resources are configured for one or more non-scheduled transmissions between terminal device 110 and network device 120. These resource sets correspond to different resource configurations and are associated with different priorities. At least one resource of one of the sets of resources is allocated to a scheduled DL/UL transmission based on the priority.

Fig. 2 is a flow diagram of an example method 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 200 may be implemented at network device 120 as shown in fig. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 200 will be described with reference to fig. 1.

At block 205, two sets of resources are determined for one or more non-scheduled transmissions. In some cases, at least one of the non-scheduled transmissions may relate to a transmission attempt on a contention-based resource.

For purposes of discussion, these two sets of resources are referred to as a first set of resources and a second set of resources, respectively. It should be understood that the two sets are discussed for illustrative purposes only. Any suitable number of resource sets may be configured for one or more unscheduled transmissions depending on system deployment and actual requirements.

In some embodiments, the first set of resources and the second set of resources may be configured by network device 120 for two sets of transmission attempts, respectively, for non-scheduled transmissions. For example, a first set of resources may be used for one or more initial transmission attempts for a non-scheduled transmission, and a second set of resources may be used for one or more subsequent transmission attempts for the non-scheduled transmission.

For example, a first set of resources is configured for a first transmission attempt (or initial attempt) of the RA preamble, and a second set of resources is configured for a retransmission attempt (or subsequent attempt due to failure of one or more previous attempts) of the RA preamble. The first and second sets of resources may also be configured for two different sets of transmission attempts related to configured UL grant transmissions or another type of transmission on the UL contention-based resources.

In some embodiments, the first set of resources and the second set of resources may be configured by other network elements besides network device 120. Network device 120 may determine the configuration of the first set of resources and the second set of resources as needed.

The first set of resources and the second set of resources may include any suitable resources in unlicensed and/or licensed spectrum. In some embodiments, the resources may comprise contention-based resources.

The first set of resources and the second set of resources correspond to different resource configurations, referred to as a first resource configuration and a second resource configuration, respectively. The resource configuration may relate to the time domain and/or the frequency domain. For example, the resource configuration may indicate a duration, period, time offset, etc. in the time domain and/or may indicate a frequency band, frequency interval, etc. in the frequency domain. The first and second configurations may be distinguished from each other in any suitable manner. For example, in embodiments where the first configuration and the second configuration indicate a duration, a period, and a time offset for the respective set of resources, the first configuration and the second configuration may indicate the same duration and offset, but different periods.

The mapping between the resource configuration and the set of transmission attempts may be predefined (or fixed) or dynamically adapted. The resource configuration may be indicated to terminal device 110 using common signaling, such as System Information Blocks (SIBs), or dedicated signaling, such as Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. The multiple resource configurations may be signaled to terminal device 110 individually or jointly.

Alternatively or additionally, network device 120 may transmit an indication of a rule associated with using the first resource configuration and the second resource configuration to terminal device 110. The indication may also be signaled using general signaling such as SIBs or dedicated signaling such as RRC signaling.

The first and second sets of resources are associated with different priorities (referred to as first and second priorities, respectively) for allocation to transmissions to be scheduled. In some embodiments, the first priority and the second priority may be determined based on performance requirements in order to balance different requirements related to performance and improve overall system performance. The performance requirements include any suitable performance indicator for unscheduled transmissions and/or scheduled transmissions. The performance requirements considered may depend on the network implementation-specific criteria.

In some cases, the performance requirements may be related to latency or capacity. For example, if latency performance is an optimization goal, the first priority and the second priority may be determined based on a latency of non-scheduled and/or scheduled transmissions. The first priority and the second priority may be determined based on a capacity of the non-scheduled transmission and/or the scheduled transmission if capacity performance is an optimization goal. In this way, a trade-off between delay performance and system capacity performance may be provided.

For example, in an embodiment in which a first set of resources is configured for transmission attempts of RA preambles and a second set of resources is configured for retransmission attempts of RA preambles, a first priority of the first set of resources for transmission attempts may be determined to be lower than a second priority of the second set of resources for retransmission attempts if latency performance is considered. This is because the retransmission attempt has experienced a delay due to one or more failed previous attempts of the RA preamble. In consideration of capacity performance, if it is assumed that the probability of LBT failure is relatively low and thus only few UEs may need retransmission attempts, the first priority of the first set of resources for transmission attempts may be determined to be higher than the second priority of the second set of resources for retransmission attempts.

At block 210, at least one resource in one of the first set of resources and the second set of resources is allocated to a scheduled transmission based on the first priority and the second priority. For example, if the first priority is lower than the second priority, one or more resources may be selected from the first set of resources and allocated to scheduled transmissions. Otherwise, one or more resources in the second set of resources may be allocated to the scheduled transmission. The resources may be selected based on any suitable rule, and the scope of the present disclosure is not to be limited in this respect.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, if network device 120 needs to cover resources of non-scheduled transmissions with one or more UL or DL scheduled transmissions, network device 120 may decide which resources reserved for non-scheduled transmissions will be allocated to scheduled transmissions according to performance specific criteria. Such resource allocation is more flexible and efficient.

If the first set of resources is allocated to scheduled transmissions, these resources will not be available for non-scheduled transmissions. Likewise, if the LBT procedure fails, the first set of resources will not be available. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if it is determined that one or more resources of the first set of resources are not available for non-scheduled transmission, the non-scheduled transmission may be performed using resources of the second set of resources.

In this way, several sets of resources with different resource configurations may be used for non-scheduled transmissions. For example, one set of resources is used for one or more initial transmission attempts for non-scheduled transmissions, while another set of resources is used for one or more subsequent transmission attempts for non-scheduled transmissions. In this way, more transmission opportunities may be provided for unscheduled transmissions. Embodiments of this aspect are discussed below with reference to fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a flow diagram of an example method 300 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the case where the non-scheduled transmission is in the UL, the method 300 may be implemented at the terminal device 110 as shown in fig. 1. If the non-scheduled transmission is in the DL, the method 300 may be implemented at the network device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 300 will be described with reference to fig. 1.

At block 305, it is determined whether one or more resources in a set of resources (e.g., a first set of resources) are available for one or more transmission attempts for a non-scheduled transmission. In some embodiments, the set of resources may be specifically configured for one or more transmission attempts for non-scheduled transmissions. For example, in embodiments in which the first set of resources is configured for transmission attempts of RA preambles, if the terminal device 110 wants to initiate a transmission attempt of a RA preamble, the terminal device 110 may determine the availability of one or more resources of the first set of resources for the transmission attempt. The determination may be based on an LBT procedure.

If one or more resources of the first set of resources are not available, at block 310, a non-scheduled transmission is performed using a resource selected from another set of resources (e.g., a second set of resources). Another set of resources may be configured for non-scheduled transmissions or other transmission attempts for other non-scheduled transmissions. In some embodiments, a first set of resources may be allocated for any transmission attempt (or one or more initial transmission attempts) of a non-scheduled transmission, while a second set of resources is allocated for any retransmission attempt (or one or more subsequent transmission attempts) of the non-scheduled transmission.

For example, in an embodiment in which a first set of resources is configured for transmission attempts of RA preambles and a second set of resources is configured for retransmission attempts of RA preambles, after terminal device 110 determines availability of one or more resources of the first set of resources for transmission attempts, terminal device 110 may attempt to initiate transmission attempts of RA preambles using resources in the second set of resources.

In this way, for example, when the use of a dedicated resource configuration is prevented by a DL/UL scheduled transmission or an unsuccessful LBT procedure, the terminal device 110 may use another resource configuration for the transmission attempt of the RA preamble. Resources corresponding to the resource configuration may be skipped if it is detected that the DL/UL scheduled transmission is to be transmitted in the resources.

It should be appreciated that the first set of resources and/or the second set of resources may or may not be specifically configured for non-scheduled transmissions in advance. It should also be appreciated that more sets of resources may be selected for non-scheduled transmissions depending on the corresponding different priorities.

Terminal device 110 may be signaled at least two resource configurations using general (e.g., SIB) or dedicated (e.g., RRC) signaling. The resource configuration may include slot duration, period, and offset in the time domain. The resource configuration may also include the difference between this configuration and its intersection with other timing configurations of the same duration and offset but with higher periodicity.

The rules for mapping non-scheduled transmission attempts to specific resource configurations may be fixed in the specification or signaled to the UE. The different resource configurations may be signaled separately or jointly.

Alternatively or additionally, terminal device 110 may receive an indication of a transmission attempt associated with the first configuration and the second configuration from network device 120. The indication may also be signaled using general signaling such as SIBs or dedicated signaling such as RRC signaling.

In this way, more transmission opportunities may be provided for non-scheduled transmissions. In this way, non-scheduled transmissions may have an opportunity to be performed using resources configured for other non-scheduled transmissions, even when the resources configured for non-scheduled transmissions are occupied by another non-scheduled transmission of another device or by a scheduled transmission. In addition, the gNB may be provided with knowledge as to whether certain resources are being used for retransmission attempts.

It should be understood that the selection of the second set of resources due to the unavailability of the first set of resources is discussed above for illustrative purposes only. In some embodiments, the second set of resources may be selected first for non-scheduled transmissions. The first set of resources is used to perform the non-scheduled transmission if one or more resources of the second set of resources are not available.

It should also be understood that all operations and features related to the method 200 described above with reference to fig. 1 and 2 are equally applicable to the method 300 and have similar effects. Details will be omitted for the sake of simplicity.

Fig. 4 illustrates example timing 400 of operations for resource reallocation at a terminal device and a network device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In this example, network device 120 is implemented by a gNB, and terminal device 110 is implemented by a UE. The non-scheduled transmission is related to a transmission attempt of the RA preamble.

For transmission attempt of RA preamble and retransmission attempt of RA preamble, two resource configurations are predefined in the time domain, referred to as RACH timing configuration #1 and RACH timing configuration #2, respectively. RACH timing configuration #1 may be used for any initial transmission attempt, while RACH timing configuration #2 may be used for a retransmission attempt if a transmission attempt in RACH timing configuration #1 fails due to LBT failure.

For RACH timing configuration #1 and RACH timing configuration #2, the period, time offset and duration may be determined so that target delay performance may be guaranteed under certain load conditions (e.g., according to the probability of collisions and LBT failures). RACH timing configurations #1 and #2 may be indicated to the UE by the gNB via system information.

It should be understood that UL transmissions with configured grants (e.g., autonomous/semi-persistent UL transmissions) are also possible. The resource configuration (e.g., timing configuration) may be signaled to terminal device 110 using RRC signaling.

As shown in fig. 4, a set of time resources 405-1, 405-2, 405-3, and 405-4 (collectively referred to as the first set of time resources 405) corresponds to RACH timing configuration # 1. A set of time resources 410-1 through 410-8 (collectively referred to as a second set of time resources 410) corresponds to RACH timing configuration # 2.

In response to a successful LBT at time 415, the UE initiates a transmission attempt of the RA preamble using time resource 405-1 of the first set of time resources 405 at time 420. The gNB detects the RA preamble at time resource 405-1. In this example, a new unscheduled UL transmission may be triggered at time 425.

At time 430, the gNB needs to schedule one or more DL transmissions using time resources of one of the first set of time resources 405 and the second set of time resources 410 for the following reasons: data with low delay requirements arrives in a buffer at the gNB, DL capacity is temporarily insufficient due to excessive overhead of RACH resources, and so on. The gNB may also schedule one or more UL transmissions.

In this example, the gNB determines priorities associated with the first set of time resources 405 and the second set of time resources 410 based on the delay performance. Since the retransmission attempt of the RA preamble has experienced a delay due to one or more failed previous attempts, the priority associated with the first set of time resources 405 is determined to be lower. Then, the gNB decides to schedule one or more DL transmissions in RACH timing configuration # 1.

As shown in fig. 4, time resource 405-3 is selected to perform DL scheduled transmission. At the same time, the UE wants to use the same time resource 405-3 for a transmission attempt of another RA preamble. LBT fails at time 435 due to being occupied by a scheduled DL transmission. The UE thus determines that time resources 405-3 of the first set of time resources 405 are not available for transmission attempts.

The UE then selects a second set of time resources 410 to initiate a transmission attempt. As shown, after a successful LBT at time 440, the UE initiates a transmission attempt using time resources 410-5 of the second set of time resources 410. The gNB detects the RA preamble at time resource 410-5.

Fig. 5 illustrates example timings 500 for operations for resource reallocation at a terminal device and a network device, according to further embodiments of the present disclosure.

In this example, the priority of the first set of time resources 405 and the second set of time resources 410 is determined based on capacity performance rather than delay performance under the assumption that the LBT failure probability is relatively low and thus only few UEs will attempt to transmit the RA preamble using RACH timing configuration #2, as compared to the example shown in fig. 4.

In this case, the priority associated with the first set of time resources 405 is determined to be higher to minimize the collision probability of transmission attempts. Then, the gNB decides to schedule one or more DL transmissions in RACH timing configuration #2 associated with the second set of time resources 405 with lower priority. As shown in fig. 5, DL scheduled transmissions are performed using time resources 410-5 of a second set of time resources 410.

As shown in fig. 5, the UE wants to use time resources 405-3 of the first set of time resources 405 for transmission attempts of the RA preamble. However, LBT fails at time 435 due to, for example, collision of attempts from other UEs. Thus, the UE determines that time resource 405-3 is not available for transmission attempts. The UE then selects a second set of time resources 410 to initiate a transmission attempt.

As shown, the UE first selects time resource 410-5 of the second set of time resources 410 and determines that time resource 410-5 is unavailable in response to LBT failing at time 440. The UE then selects time resources 410-6 of the second set of time resources 410. After LBT succeeds at time 445, the RA preamble is transmitted using time resource 410-6. The gNB detects the RA preamble at time resource 410-6.

The above examples in fig. 4 and 5 provide flexibility to prioritize between delay performance and capacity performance when covering resources of non-scheduled transmissions with one or more DL (or UL) scheduled transmissions. If the gNB decides to cover the resources of the transmission attempt of the RA preamble (as shown in the example in fig. 4), the transmission attempt of the RA preamble may be affected in terms of capacity performance, but with less impact on delay performance. If the gNB decides to cover the resources of the retransmission attempt (e.g., second transmission attempt, third transmission attempt, etc.) of the RA preamble (as shown in the example in fig. 5), the capacity performance impact on the transmission attempt of the UE is reduced, and thus the collision probability may be reduced. In this way, the gNB may select whether to cover the first, second, or third attempt of the RA preamble.

In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing methods 200 and/or 300 may include means for performing the respective steps of methods 200 and/or 300. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in circuitry or a software component.

In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 200 comprises: means for determining a first set of resources and a second set of resources for one or more non-scheduled transmissions, the first set of resources corresponding to a first resource configuration and associated with a first priority and the second set of resources corresponding to a second resource configuration and associated with a second priority, the second resource configuration being different from the first resource configuration and the first priority being different from the second priority; and means for allocating at least one resource from one of the first set and the second set to a scheduled transmission based on the first priority and the second priority.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting at least one of: an indication of a first resource configuration and a second resource configuration to the terminal device, and an indication of a rule associated with using the first resource configuration and the second resource configuration.

In some embodiments, at least one of the first resource configuration and the second resource configuration may indicate at least one of a duration, a period, a time offset, and a frequency of the non-scheduled transmission.

In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more non-scheduled transmissions may relate to a transmission attempt on a contention-based resource.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for determining the first priority and the second priority based on the performance requirements.

In some embodiments, the performance requirement may relate to a delay or a capacity of at least one of the one or more non-scheduled transmissions and the scheduled transmission.

In some embodiments, the first set of resources may be used for one or more initial transmission attempts for non-scheduled transmissions and the second set of resources may be used for one or more subsequent transmission attempts for non-scheduled transmissions.

In some embodiments, the means for determining the first priority and the second priority may comprise: means for determining that the first priority is lower than the second priority if the performance requirement relates to a delay of one or more initial transmission attempts and one or more subsequent transmission attempts; and means for determining that the first priority is higher than the second priority if the performance requirement relates to a capacity of the one or more initial transmission attempts and the one or more subsequent transmission attempts.

In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 300 comprises: means for determining whether one or more resources from a first set of resources are available for one or more transmission attempts for a non-scheduled transmission; and means for performing one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission using resources selected from a second set of resources in response to determining that one or more resources from the first set of resources are unavailable for the one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission, wherein the first set of resources corresponds to a first resource configuration and the second set of resources corresponds to a second resource configuration different from the first resource configuration.

In some embodiments, the means for performing one or more transmission attempts for the non-scheduled transmission may comprise: means for determining whether resources from a second set of resources are available for one or more transmission attempts for the non-scheduled transmission; and means for performing one or more transmission attempts for the non-scheduled transmission using the available resources.

In some embodiments, the determination may be based on a listen-before-talk procedure.

In some embodiments, the one or more transmission attempts for the non-scheduled transmission may comprise a transmission attempt on a contention-based resource.

In some embodiments, the first set of resources and the second set of resources may be configured for at least one non-scheduled transmission, and at least one of the first resource configuration and the second resource configuration may indicate at least one of a duration, a period, a time offset, and a frequency of the at least one non-scheduled transmission.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for receiving, from the network device, at least one of: an indication of the first configuration and the second configuration, and an indication of a transmission attempt associated with the first configuration and the second configuration.

In some embodiments, the first set of resources may be configured for transmission attempts of the random access preamble and the second set of resources may be configured for retransmission attempts of the random access preamble.

Fig. 6 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 600 may be implemented at or as at least a portion of terminal device 110 or network device 120 as shown in fig. 1.

As shown, the device 600 includes a processor 610, a memory 620 coupled to the processor 610, a communication module 630 coupled to the processor 610, and a communication interface (not shown) coupled to the communication module 630. The memory 620 stores at least a program 640. The communication module 630 is used for bidirectional communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication.

The program 640 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 610, enable the device 600 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, to perform the

methods

200 and 300 discussed above with reference to fig. 1-5. Embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 610 of the device 600, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 610 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 620 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. Although only one memory 620 is shown in device 600, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in device 600. The processor 610 may be of any type suitable to the local technology network and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. Device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent from a clock synchronized to the main processor.

All operations and features described above with respect to terminal device 110 and network device 120 with respect to fig. 1-5 are equally applicable to device 600 and have similar effects. Details will be omitted for the sake of simplicity.

In general, the various embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product comprises computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that execute in the device on the target real or virtual processor to perform the

methods

200 and 300 described above with reference to fig. 1-5. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed facility, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Program code for performing the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram to be performed. The program code may execute entirely on the machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

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

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Also, while the above discussion contains several specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Various embodiments of the techniques have been described. In addition to or instead of the above, the following examples are described. Features described in any of the examples below may be used with any of the other examples described herein.

By the proposed invention:

-the network configuring at least two timing configurations to the UE for non-scheduled UL transmissions.

-nth transmission attempt to be used by the UE for non-scheduled UL transmission per timing configuration, provided that the previous n-1 attempts failed due to scheduled DL/UL transmission and/or LBT failure.

Each timing configuration may be used for one or more transmission attempts.

Each timing configuration may comprise a different priority.

-when the use of a timing configuration with a higher priority is prevented by a scheduled DL/UL transmission or an unsuccessful LBT, the UE will make a transmission attempt of a non-scheduled UL transmission using a timing configuration of a lower priority.

-resources indicated via the timing configuration may be skipped if it is detected that scheduled DL/UL transmissions are to be transmitted in the same resource.

Signaling to the UE at least two timing configurations for transmission on non-scheduled UL resources using common (e.g. SIB) or dedicated (e.g. RRC) signaling.

The timing configuration may comprise a slot duration, a period and an offset. The timing configuration may also include the difference between the timing configuration and its intersection with a second timing configuration of the same duration and offset but with a higher periodicity.

The rules for mapping transmission attempts to specific timing configurations are fixed in the specification or signaled to the UE using common (e.g. SIB) or dedicated (e.g. RRC) signaling.

The different timing configurations may be transmitted separately or jointly.

Examples of non-scheduled UL transmissions in-NR-U are the RA preamble and configured UL grant (the latter is similar to semi-persistent scheduling in LTE).

When the gNB needs to "cover" non-scheduled UL resources with one or more scheduled UL or DL transmissions, it can accordingly decide which timing configuration to adopt depending on the particular criteria the gNB implements.

An exemplary description of the present invention is provided assuming two timing configurations for transmission of RA preambles (i.e., two RACH timing configurations configured to the UE via system information). However, the idea also applies in case the timing configuration is used for UL transmissions with configured grants (i.e. autonomous/semi-persistent UL transmissions) and signaled to the UE using RRC signaling.

The period, offset and duration of the timing configuration are such that they can guarantee the target delay performance (in terms of collision and LBT failure probability) under specific load conditions.

In an exemplary embodiment, the first timing configuration (RACH timing configuration #1) may only be used for the first transmission attempt of the RA preamble, while the second timing configuration (RACH timing configuration #2) may only be used for continuous attempted transmissions if the first attempt fails due to unsuccessful LBT.

At some time during system operation, the gNB needs to schedule one or more DL transmissions using the time and frequency resources configured for transmission of the RA preamble. This may be due to a number of reasons (to which the scope of the invention is not limited), such as: data with low delay requirements arrives at the gNB buffer, DL capacity is temporarily insufficient due to excessive overhead of RACH resources, and so on.

In one implementation of the proposed idea, the gNB decides to schedule one or more DL transmissions corresponding to RACH timing configuration #1 without affecting the transmission of the RA preamble that has experienced a delay due to one or more failed transmission attempts. This example implementation is shown in fig. 4.

In another implementation, the gNB may decide to schedule one or more DL transmissions corresponding to RACH timing configuration #2 to minimize the collision probability (assuming that the LBT failure probability is relatively low, so only few UEs will attempt to transmit the RA preamble using RACH timing configuration # 2.

In another possible implementation, the gNB may decide to schedule one or more UL transmissions using the time and frequency resources configured for transmission of the RA preamble.

In an embodiment of the proposed invention, RACH timing configuration #1 may be used for any transmission attempt, while RACH timing configuration #2 may only be used for retransmission attempts if the first transmission attempt in RACH timing configuration #1 fails due to LBT failure.

A major advantage of the proposed invention is that it provides flexibility for the gNB to prioritize between delay and capacity when it needs to cover resources configured for UL non-scheduled transmissions with one or more DL (or UL) scheduled transmissions.

If the gNB decides to cover the resources allocated to the first transmission attempt of the non-scheduled UL transmission (as shown in the example in fig. 4), the probability of collision with the non-scheduled transmission may be high (i.e., the impact on capacity is large). On the other hand, the affected unscheduled transmissions will be at their first transmission attempt (i.e., less impact on delay).

Conversely, if the gNB decides to cover the resources allocated to the second, third, etc. transmission attempt of the non-scheduled UL transmission (as shown in the example in fig. 5), the likelihood of collision with the non-scheduled transmission may be lower (i.e., the impact on capacity is reduced). On the other hand, the affected unscheduled transmission will be at its second, third, etc. transmission attempt (i.e., potentially more impact on latency).

Without the proposed invention, the gNB does not know whether it covers the first, second, third attempts of non-scheduled UL transmission.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

determining a first set of resources and a second set of resources for one or more non-scheduled transmissions, the first set of resources corresponding to a first resource configuration and associated with a first priority and the second set of resources corresponding to a second resource configuration and associated with a second priority, the second resource configuration being different from the first resource configuration and the first priority being different from the second priority; and

allocating at least one resource from one of the first set and the second set to a scheduled transmission based on the first priority and the second priority.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

transmitting at least one of: an indication of the first resource configuration and the second resource configuration to a terminal device, and an indication of a rule associated with using the first resource configuration and the second resource configuration.

3. The apparatus according to any of claims 1-2, wherein at least one of the first resource configuration and the second resource configuration indicates at least one of a duration, a period, a time offset, and a frequency of the non-scheduled transmission.

4. The apparatus of any of claims 1-3, wherein at least one of the one or more non-scheduled transmissions relates to a transmission attempt on a contention-based resource.

5. The apparatus of any of claims 1-4, wherein the apparatus is further caused to:

determining the first priority and the second priority based on performance requirements.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the performance requirement relates to a delay or a capacity of at least one of the one or more non-scheduled transmissions and the scheduled transmission.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first set of resources is used for one or more initial transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission and the second set of resources is used for one or more subsequent transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the apparatus is further caused to determine the first priority and the second priority as follows:

determining that the first priority is lower than the second priority if the performance requirement relates to delays of the one or more initial transmission attempts and the one or more subsequent transmission attempts; and

determining that the first priority is higher than the second priority if the performance requirement relates to a capacity of the one or more initial transmission attempts and the one or more subsequent transmission attempts.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

determining whether one or more resources from a first set of resources are available for one or more transmission attempts for a non-scheduled transmission; and

in response to determining that the one or more resources from the first set of resources are unavailable for the one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission, performing the one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission using resources selected from a second set of resources,

wherein the first set of resources corresponds to a first resource configuration and the second set of resources corresponds to a second resource configuration different from the first resource configuration.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the apparatus is caused to perform the one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission by:

determining whether resources from the second set of resources are available for the one or more transmission attempts for the non-scheduled transmission, and

performing the one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission using available resources.

11. The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 10, wherein the determination is based on a listen before talk process.

12. The apparatus of any of claims 9-10, wherein the first set of resources is used for one or more initial transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission and the second set of resources is used for one or more subsequent transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission.

13. The apparatus of any of claims 9-10, wherein the one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission comprise transmission attempts on contention-based resources.

14. The apparatus according to any of claims 9 to 10, wherein the first and second sets of resources are configured for at least one non-scheduled transmission, and at least one of the first and second resource configurations indicates at least one of a duration, a period, a time offset, and a frequency of the at least one non-scheduled transmission.

15. The device of any of claims 9 to 14, wherein the device is further configured to receive, from a network device, at least one of: an indication of the first configuration and the second configuration, and an indication of a transmission attempt associated with the first configuration and the second configuration.

16. The apparatus according to any of claims 9 to 10, wherein resources from the first set are configured for transmission attempts of a random access preamble and resources from the second set are configured for retransmission attempts of the random access preamble.

17. A method, comprising:

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

19. The method according to any of claims 17 to 18, wherein at least one of the first resource configuration and the second resource configuration indicates at least one of a duration, a period, a time offset and a frequency of the non-scheduled transmission.

20. The method of any of claims 17-19, wherein at least one of the one or more non-scheduled transmissions relates to a transmission attempt on a contention-based resource.

21. The method of any of claims 17 to 20, further comprising:

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the performance requirement relates to a delay or a capacity of at least one of the one or more non-scheduled transmissions and the scheduled transmission.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the first set of resources is used for one or more initial transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission and the second set of resources is used for one or more subsequent transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein determining the first priority and the second priority comprises:

25. A method, comprising:

determining whether one or more resources from the first set of resources are available for one or more transmission attempts for the non-scheduled transmission; and

26. The method of claim 25, wherein performing the one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission comprises:

27. A method according to any of claims 25 to 26, wherein the determination is based on a listen before talk process.

28. The apparatus of any of claims 25-26, wherein the first set of resources is used for one or more initial transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission and the second set of resources is used for one or more subsequent transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission.

29. The method of any of claims 25-26, wherein the one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission comprise transmission attempts on contention-based resources.

30. The method of any of claims 25 to 29, wherein the first and second sets of resources are configured for at least one non-scheduled transmission, and at least one of the first and second resource configurations indicates at least one of a duration, a period, a time offset, and a frequency of the at least one non-scheduled transmission.

31. The method of any of claims 25 to 30, further comprising:

receiving, from a network device, at least one of: an indication of the first configuration and the second configuration, and an indication of a transmission attempt associated with the first configuration and the second configuration.

32. The method according to any of claims 25 to 26, wherein resources from the first set are configured for transmission attempts of a random access preamble and resources from the second set are configured for retransmission attempts of the random access preamble.

33. An apparatus, comprising:

means for determining a first set of resources and a second set of resources for one or more non-scheduled transmissions, the first set of resources corresponding to a first resource configuration and associated with a first priority and the second set of resources corresponding to a second resource configuration and associated with a second priority, the second resource configuration being different from the first resource configuration and the first priority being different from the second priority; and

means for allocating at least one resource from one of the first set and the second set to a scheduled transmission based on the first priority and the second priority.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the means comprises:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause execution of the apparatus.

35. An apparatus, comprising:

means for determining whether one or more resources from a first set of resources are available for one or more transmission attempts for a non-scheduled transmission; and

means for performing the one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission using resources selected from a second set of resources in response to determining that the one or more resources from the first set of resources are unavailable for the one or more transmission attempts of the non-scheduled transmission,

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the means comprises:

at least one processor; and

37. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to:

38. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to: