WO2022082606A1

WO2022082606A1 - Methods and apparatuses for prioritization and multiplexing of uplink control information

Info

Publication number: WO2022082606A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/122850
Authority: WO
Inventors: Renato BARBOSA ABREU; Tao Tao; Matha DEGHEL; Zexian Li
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.; Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2020-10-22
Filing date: 2020-10-22
Publication date: 2022-04-28
Also published as: CN116508368A

Abstract

Disclosed are methods for prioritization and multiplexing of uplink control information. An example method may include: in a case where a first transmission occasion of a first uplink physical channel including first uplink control information and a second transmission occasion of a second uplink physical channel including second uplink control information overlap in time, selecting a subset of the first uplink control information, selecting an uplink physical channel to be transmitted among the first and second uplink physical channels, and multiplexing the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled. Related apparatuses and computer readable media are also disclosed.

Description

METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR PRIORITIZATION AND MULTIPLEXING OF UPLINK CONTROL INFORMATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments relate to methods and apparatuses for prioritization and multiplexing of uplink control information.

BACKGROUND

In a telecommunication system such as a new radio (NR or 5G) system, configured grant (CG) uplink control information (UCI) or CG-UCI, for example including hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number, redundancy version, new data indicator, and channel occupancy time (COT) sharing information, is included in a CG physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission or CG-PUSCH transmission in NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) , and may be used to overcome potential listen-before-talk (LBT) failures in the unlicensed spectrum, to reduce LBT delays, and so on.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect, disclosed is an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, where the at least one memory may include computer program code, and where the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: in a case where a first transmission occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second transmission occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlap in time, select a subset of the first uplink control information, select an uplink physical channel to be transmitted among the first and second uplink physical channels, and multiplex the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to receive configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the first uplink control information.

In some embodiments, the subset of the first uplink control information may comprise at least one of channel occupancy time sharing information and hybrid automatic repeat request process number.

In some embodiments, the subset of the first uplink control information may have higher transmission precedence among the first uplink control information.

In some embodiments, the subset of the first uplink control information may be selected further based on an available amount of the uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.

In some embodiments, the first uplink physical channel may be selected as the uplink physical channel to be transmitted.

In some embodiments, the first uplink physical channel may be selected as the uplink physical channel to be transmitted in at least one of: a case where the first and second uplink physical channels are configured on a substantially same listen-before-talk sub-band of an uplink bandwidth part; a case where the first and second uplink physical channels are configured on different listen-before-talk sub-bands of the uplink bandwidth part and a listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel is a favorable listen-before-talk; a case where there are more radio resources available for the first uplink physical channel than for the second uplink physical channel; and a case where the first uplink physical channel is pre-configured as the uplink physical channel to be transmitted.

In some embodiments, the second uplink physical channel may be selected as the uplink physical channel to be transmitted in at least one of: a case where the first uplink physical channel has a lower priority than the second uplink physical channel; a case where the first and second uplink physical channels are configured on different listen-before-talk sub-bands of the uplink bandwidth part and a listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel is a favorable listen-before-talk; a case where there are more radio resources available for the second uplink physical channel than for the first uplink physical channel; and a case where the second uplink physical channel is pre-configured as the uplink physical channel to be transmitted.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to determine the favorable listen-before-talk among the listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel and the listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel, based on at least one of: channel access priority classes, instantaneous outcomes, potential outcomes, and reliabilities of the listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel and the listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel.

In some embodiments, the multiplexing may comprise: encoding jointly the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information on the uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel; or encoding separately the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information on different parts of the uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to transmit the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information multiplexed on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to: in a case where the first transmission occasion and the second transmission occasion overlap in time and the multiplexing is disabled, transmit an uplink physical channel with a higher priority among the first and second uplink physical channels, or transmit the subset of the first uplink control information or the second uplink control information on the uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.

In some embodiments, the first uplink control information may comprise configured grant uplink control information associated with an unlicensed spectrum. In some embodiments, the first uplink physical channel may comprise a configured grant physical uplink shared channel. In some embodiments, the second uplink physical channel may comprise at least one of a physical uplink control channel and a physical uplink shared channel.

In a second aspect, disclosed is a method comprising: in a case where a first transmission occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second transmission occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlap in time, selecting a subset of the first uplink control information, selecting an uplink physical channel to be transmitted among the first and second uplink physical channels, and multiplexing the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the first uplink control information.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise determining the favorable listen-before-talk among the listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel and the listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel, based on at least one of: channel access priority classes, instantaneous outcomes, potential outcomes, and reliabilities of the listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel and the listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise transmitting the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information multiplexed on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise: in a case where the first transmission occasion and the second transmission occasion overlap in time and the multiplexing is disabled, transmitting an uplink physical channel with a higher priority among the first and second uplink physical channels, or transmitting the subset of the first uplink control information or the second uplink control information on the uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.

In a third aspect, disclosed is an apparatus comprising: in a case where a first transmission occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second transmission occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlap in time, means for selecting a subset of the first uplink control information, means for selecting an uplink physical channel to be transmitted among the first and second uplink physical channels, and means for multiplexing the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the first uplink control information.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for determining the favorable listen-before-talk among the listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel and the listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel, based on at least one of: channel access priority classes, instantaneous outcomes, potential outcomes, and reliabilities of the listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel and the listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information multiplexed on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise: in a case where the first transmission occasion and the second transmission occasion overlap in time and the multiplexing is disabled, means for transmitting an uplink physical channel with a higher priority among the first and second uplink physical channels, or means for transmitting the subset of the first uplink control information or the second uplink control information on the uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.

In a fourth aspect, a computer readable medium is disclosed. The computer readable medium may include instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to: in a case where a first transmission occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second transmission occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlap in time, select a subset of the first uplink control information, select an uplink physical channel to be transmitted among the first and second uplink physical channels, and multiplex the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.

In some embodiments, the instructions may further cause the apparatus to receive configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the first uplink control information.

In some embodiments, the instructions may further cause the apparatus to determine the favorable listen-before-talk among the listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel and the listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel, based on at least one of: channel access priority classes, instantaneous outcomes, potential outcomes, and reliabilities of the listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel and the listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel.

In some embodiments, the instructions may further cause the apparatus to transmit the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information multiplexed on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.

In some embodiments, the instructions may further cause the apparatus to: in a case where the first transmission occasion and the second transmission occasion overlap in time and the multiplexing is disabled, transmit an uplink physical channel with a higher priority among the first and second uplink physical channels, or transmit the subset of the first uplink control information or the second uplink control information on the uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.

In a fifth aspect, disclosed is an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, where the at least one memory may include computer program code, and where the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: in a case where a first reception occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second reception occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlaps in time, receive a subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information multiplexed on uplink radio resources of the first or second uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.

In some embodiments, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to transmit configuration information associated with a selection of the subset of the first uplink control information.

In a sixth aspect, disclosed is a method comprising: in a case where a first reception occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second reception occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlaps in time, receiving a subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information multiplexed on uplink radio resources of the first or second uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise transmitting configuration information associated with a selection of the subset of the first uplink control information.

In a seventh aspect, disclosed is an apparatus comprising: in a case where a first reception occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second reception occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlaps in time, means for receiving a subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information multiplexed on uplink radio resources of the first or second uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting configuration information associated with a selection of the subset of the first uplink control information.

In an eighth aspect, a computer readable medium is disclosed. The computer readable medium may include instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to: in a case where a first reception occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second reception occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlaps in time, receive a subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information multiplexed on uplink radio resources of the first or second uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.

In some embodiments, the instructions may further cause the apparatus to transmit configuration information associated with a selection of the subset of the first uplink control information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of multiplexing in an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example of multiplexing in an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates another example of multiplexing in an embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of channel selection in an embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example of channel selection in an embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates another example of channel selection in an embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example procedure of UCI communication in an embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates another example method for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example apparatus for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example apparatus for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates another example method for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example apparatus for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example apparatus for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Different physical priority levels may be configured for different physical channels in a scenario such as ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) and industrial internet of things (IIOT) . For example, in a case where a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) with high priority and a CG-PUSCH with low priority overlap in time, the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI may be dropped. Thus, for example, impact of LBT delays may be increased due to lacking COT sharing information from user equipment (UE) at base station (BS) side, or the BS may be prevented from transmitting a grant for a retransmission without information on HARQ process. Further, for example, in a case where a PUCCH with low priority in a sub-band without or with less LBT issues (for example, within COT of the BS) and a CG-PUSCH with high priority in a sub-band more susceptible to LBT failures and where multiplexing between channels of different priorities is allowed, depending on whether multiplexing is configured, the UCI and the CG-UCI are multiplexed in the CG-PUSCH which may suffer a higher risk of failing LBT, or CG-PUSCH is skipped, both of which may be undesirable.

In one or more embodiments of this disclosure, the UE may be configured to select a (for example, strict) subset of CG-UCI in a case where a transmission occasion of a CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI overlaps (for example, at least partly) in time with a transmission occasion of a PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI, for example one or more of HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) , channel state information (CSI) , scheduling request (SR) , and so on. Then, in a case where multiplexing is enabled/allowed, the UE may multiplex at least the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI on uplink (UL) radio resources of an UL physical channel selected from the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI.

In different embodiments, the selected subset of the CG-UCI may include one or more information elements (or fields) in the CG-UCI, such as HARQ process number (HPN) and COT sharing information, which may facilitate subsequent operations in the BS such as providing timely grant for retransmission of specific HARQ process and/or may be used to facilitate sharing UE-initiated COT. Further, for example, respective information elements in the CG-UCI may be configured with corresponding transmission or selection precedence, and the selected subset of the CG-UCI may have higher transmission precedence than the other information elements of the CG-UCI. For example, information elements such as the COT sharing information and the HPN in the CG-UCI may be configured with higher precedence, where the COT sharing information may have higher precedence than the HPN, or vice versa, so that for example an information element with higher precedence such as the HPN and the COT sharing information may be selected for the subset preferentially, while the other information elements in the CG-UCI may be selected with less precedence or may be dropped.

In an embodiment, the UE may be configured to receive configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the CG-UCI from the BS, and may select the subset of the CG-UCI based on the received configuration information in a case where the transmission occasions of the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI (for example one or more of HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) overlap in time. In another embodiment, the UE may be configured to select the subset of the CG-UCI based on predetermined configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the CG-UCI, which may be negotiated and specified in advance for the UE and BS. For example, the configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the CG-UCI may include information such as which information element (s) are to be selected from the CG-UCI and how to select the subset of the CG-UCI in a case where the transmission occasions of the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI (for example one or more of HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) overlap in time.

In another embodiment, for example in a case of sidelink communication, the UE may be configured to receive configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the CG-UCI from one or more another UEs. In yet another embodiment, for example in a case of the sidelink communication, the UE may be configured to select the subset of the CG-UCI based on predetermined configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the CG-UCI, which may be negotiated and specified in advance for the UE and one or more another UEs involving the sidelink communication.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the multiplexing in an embodiment, where a CG-PUSCH 101 includes or carries CG-UCI and payload data 102, and a PUCCH 103 with a higher priority than the CG-PUSCH 101 includes or carries other UCI 104 (for example one or more of HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) .

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the transmission occasions of the CG-PUSCH 101 and the PUCCH 103 overlap in a time period 105, and as illustrated by the dotted arrow 106 in FIG. 1, the CG-PUSCH 101 is selected as an UL physical channel to be transmitted 107. Thus, in a case where the multiplexing is enabled, the UE may select a subset of the CG-UCI in the CG-PUSCH 101 and may multiplex the selected subset of the CG-UCI with the other UCI 104 in the PUCCH 103 for example on the radio resources of the selected UL physical channel 107. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the selected UL physical channel 107 after the multiplexing may include a part 108 corresponding to the selected subset of CG-UCI in the CG-PUSCH 101 before the multiplexing, and a part 109 corresponding to the other UCI 104 in the PUCCH 103 before the multiplexing.

In the example as illustrated in FIG. 1, the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI 104 may be encoded separately so that the part 108 is before the part 109. In another example, the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI 104 may be encoded separately so that the part 108 is after the part 109. In yet another example, the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI 104 may be encoded jointly. For example, the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI 104 may be mixed together in a predetermined order or manner, and then are encoded as a whole.

Then, the UE may transmit, to the BS, the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI 104 multiplexed on the uplink radio resources of the selected UL physical channel 107, so that, for example, the UE COT sharing may be enabled even when the CG-PUSCH 101 is of lower priority, HARQ delays may be reduced, and so on.

Further, in the example as illustrated in FIG. 1, there might be still available uplink radio resources of the selected UL physical channel 107 remained after multiplexing the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI 104 on the selected UL physical channel 107. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 1, at least a part 110 of the payload data in the CG-PUSCH 101 may be transmitted via the remaining UL radio resourced of the selected UL physical channel 107 after the multiplexing.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example of the multiplexing in an embodiment, where a CG-PUSCH 201 includes or carries CG-UCI and payload data 202, and a PUCCH 203 with a higher priority than the CG-PUSCH 201 includes or carries other UCI 204 (for example one or more of HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) .

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the transmission occasions of the CG-PUSCH 201 and the PUCCH 203 overlap in a time period 205, and as illustrated by the dotted arrow 206 in FIG. 2, the CG-PUSCH 201 is selected as an UL physical channel to be transmitted 207. Thus, similar to the example as illustrated in FIG. 1, in a case where the multiplexing is enabled, the UE may select a subset of the CG-UCI in the CG-PUSCH 201 and may multiplex the selected subset of the CG-UCI with the other UCI 204 in the PUCCH 203 for example on the radio resources of the selected UL physical channel 207.

Similar to the example as illustrated in FIG. 1, in the example as illustrated in FIG. 2, the selected UL physical channel 207 after the multiplexing may include a part 208 corresponding to the selected subset of CG-UCI in the CG-PUSCH 201 before the multiplexing, and a part 209 corresponding to the other UCI 204 in the PUCCH 203 before the multiplexing. In different examples, the selected subset of the CG-UCI in the CG-PUSCH 201 and the other UCI 204 in the PUCCH 203 may be encoded in any suitable manner, such as a joint encoding manner and a separate encoding manner.

Then, the UE may transmit, to the BS, the selected subset of the CG-UCI in the CG-PUSCH 201 and the other UCI 204 multiplexed on the uplink radio resources of the selected UL physical channel 207, so that, for example, the UE COT sharing may be transmitted/signaled to the BS even when the CG-PUSCH 201 is of lower priority.

In the example as illustrated in FIG. 2, there are no enough available uplink radio resources of the selected UL physical channel 207 remained after multiplexing the selected subset of the CG-UCI in the CG-PUSCH 201 and the other UCI 204 on the selected UL physical channel 207. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the payload data in the CG-PUSCH 201 may be dropped.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrates examples where the CG-PUSCH including CG-UCI has a lower priority than the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including other UCI. In another example, for example in a case where the priority of the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI is equal to or higher than the priority of the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI, the whole CG-UCI may be multiplexed with whole or part of the other UCI in the PUCCH (or PUSCH) .

FIG. 3 illustrates yet another example of the multiplexing in an embodiment, where a CG-PUSCH 301 includes or carries CG-UCI and payload data 302, and a PUCCH 303 with a lower priority than the CG PUSCH 301 includes or carries other UCI 304 (for example one or more of HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) .

Further, in the example as illustrated in FIG. 3, the CG-PUSCH 301 and the PUCCH 303 are configured on different LBT sub-bands of an UL bandwidth part (BWP) . For example, the CG-PUSCH 301 and the PUCCH 303 are located in different portions of the UL BWP. For example, for a UL wideband BWP of 40 MHz, the CG-PUSCH 301 is on a first 20 MHz part and the PUCCH 303 is on a second 20 MHz part, where each of the 20 MHz parts may be an LBT sub-band. In an unlicensed operation, the LBT on each sub-band may be performed independently, so that they may have different LBT types (or categories) , and may result in different outcomes.

In the example as illustrated in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the LBT associated with the PUCCH 303 is more favorable than the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH 301. In an embodiment, the more favorable LBT may be determined based on types (or categories) of LBTs associated with respective channels. For example, a CAT 1 LBT, a CAT 2 LBT, and a CAT 4 LBT may be in an order from being more favorable to being less favorable. For example, the type of the LBT associated with the PUCCH 303 is CAT 1 where, for example, the occasion is in BS COT with gap below 16 us and no LBT is required, and the type of the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH 301 is CAT 2 where, for example, the occasion is in BS COT with gap below 25 us and single shot LBT is required. In another example, the type of the LBT associated with the PUCCH 303 is CAT 2, and the type of the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH 301 is CAT 4 where, for example, the UE needs to acquire COT and LBT with random backoff may be required. In yet another example, the UE prepares a transmission for respective LBT sub-bands, and determines, for example based on potential outcomes of respective LBTs, that the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH 301 may suffer more LBT failures than the LBT associated with the PUCCH 303, and the LBT associated with the PUCCH 303 may be more reliable and more favorable than the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH 301. In yet another embodiment, the favorable LBT among the LBT associated with the PUCCH 303 and the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH 301 may be also determined based on one or more other aspects such as channel access priority classes and instantaneous outcomes of the LBT associated with the PUCCH 303 and the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH 301.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the transmission occasions of the CG-PUSCH 301 and the PUCCH 303 overlap in a time period 305, and and as illustrated by the dotted arrow 306 in FIG. 3, the PUCCH 303 associated with the more favorable LBT is selected as an UL physical channel to be transmitted 307. Thus, in a case where the multiplexing is enabled, the UE may select a subset of the CG-UCI in the CG-PUSCH 301 and may multiplex the selected subset of the CG-UCI with the other UCI 304 in the PUCCH 302, for example on the radio resources of the selected UL physical channel 307.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the selected UL physical channel 307 after the multiplexing may include a part 308 corresponding to the selected subset of CG-UCI in the CG-PUSCH 301 before the multiplexing, and a part 309 corresponding to the other UCI 304 in the PUCCH 303 before the multiplexing.

In the example as illustrated in FIG. 3, the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI 304 in the PUCCH 303 may be encoded separately so that the part 308 is before the part 309. In another example, the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI 304 in the PUCCH 303 may be encoded separately so that the part 308 is after the part 309. In yet another example, the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI 304 in the PUCCH 303 may be encoded jointly. For example, the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI 304 in the PUCCH 303 may be mixed together in a predetermined order or manner, and then are encoded as a whole.

Thus, the UE may transmit, to the BS, the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the other UCI 304 multiplexed on the uplink radio resources of the selected UL physical channel 307 associated with a more reliable and favorable LBT, so that, for example, the UE COT sharing may be enabled even when the CG-PUSCH 301 is of lower priority, HARQ delays may be reduced, and so on.

Further, depending on the available amount of UL radio resources of the selected UL physical channel to be transmitted 307, the UE may drop a part of the other UCI 304 of the PUCCH 303, such as low priority HARQ ACK bits in the PUCCH 303, for example in a case where the UL radio resources of the selected UL physical channel 307 are insufficient for a reliable transmission of the selected subset of the CG-UCI and the complete UCI 304 in the PUCCH 303.

In the examples as illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the CG-PUSCH is selected as the UL physical channel to be transmitted for the multiplexing, and the in the example as illustrated in FIG. 3, the PUCCH is selected as the UL physical channel to be transmitted for the multiplexing. FIG. 4 illustrates another example of selecting the UL physical channel to be transmitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the UE may be configured to select the UL physical channel to be transmitted based on the priorities of the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI (for example one or more of HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) . For example, in a case where the priority of the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI is determined in an operation 401 to be higher than or equal to the priority of the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI (for example one or more of HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) (returning “Yes” by the operation 401) , the CG-PUSCH may be selected in an operation 402 as the UL physical channel to be transmitted; otherwise, either the CG-PUSCH or the PUCCH (or PUSCH) may be selected in an operation 403 as the UL physical channel to be transmitted. For example, in the operation 403, CG-PUSCH may be selected in a case where the amount of the radio resources of the CG-PUSCH is more than that of the PUCCH (or PUSCH) , or otherwise the PUCCH (or PUSCH) may be selected. Further, in a case where the multiplexing is enabled, after the

operation

402 or 403, a subset of the CG-UCI may be multiplexed with at least a part of the UCI in the PUCCH (or PUSCH) on the selected UL physical channel to be transmitted which is selected in the

operation

402 or 403.

FIG. 5 illustrates another example of selecting the UL physical channel to be transmitted, where LBTs associated with the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI and PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the the other UCI (for example, one or more of HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) are also considered.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the UE may be configured to check in an operation 501 whether the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI (for example one or more of HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) are configured on the same LBT sub-band of an UL BWP, for example based on whether the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH and the LBT associated with the PUCCH (or PUSCH) are of the same LBT type or may have potentially different LBT outcomes, and so on.

In a case of the operation 501 returns “Yes” , the CG-PUSCH may be selected in an operation 502 as the UL physical channel to be transmitted; otherwise, the UE may be configured to determine which LBT is more favorable among the LBT associated with the PUCCH (or PUSCH) and the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH, for example based on one or more of: channel access priority classes, instantaneous outcomes, potential outcomes, and reliabilities of the LBT associated with the PUCCH (or PUSCH) and the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH, which have been described above with reference to the examples as illustrated in FIG. 3. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, an operation 503 may be performed to determine whether the LBT associated with the PUCCH (or PUSCH) is more favorable, for example based on one or more of channel access priority classes, instantaneous outcomes, potential outcomes, and reliabilities of the LBT associated with the PUCCH (or PUSCH) and the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH. In a case where the operation 503 returns “No” , the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH is more favorable, and the operation 502 may be proceeded to select the CG-PUSCH as the UL physical channel to be transmitted; otherwise, the LBT associated with the PUCCH (or PUSCH) is more favorable, the PUCCH (or PUSCH) may be selected in an operation 504 as the UL physical channel to be transmitted.

Further, in a case where the multiplexing is enabled, after the

operation

502 or 504, a subset of the CG-UCI may be multiplexed with at least a part of the UCI in the PUCCH (or PUSCH) on the selected UL physical channel to be transmitted which is selected in the

operation

502 or 504.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of channel selection based on physical priorities of CG-PUSCH and PUCCH (or PUSCH) , and FIG. 5 illustrates another example of channel selection based on LBTs associated with respective channels. It is appreciated that this disclosure is not limited to any of the above examples. In another embodiment, the selection of the UL physical channel to be transmitted may be selected based on both physical priorities of CG-PUSCH and PUCCH (or PUSCH) and LBTs associated with respective channels. In another embodiment, the UL physical channel to be transmitted may be selected from the CG-PUSCH and PUCCH (or PUSCH) based on the amount of the radio resources of respective channels and/or pre-configurations. For example, the CG-PUSCH may be selected as the UL physical channel to the transmitted in a case where there are more radio resources available for the CG-PUSCH than for the PUCCH (or PUSCH) and/or the CG-PUSCH is pre-configured as the UL physical channel to the transmitted. In another example, the PUCCH (or PUSCH) may be selected as the UL physical channel to the transmitted in a case where there are more radio resources for the PUCCH (or PUSCH) than for the CG-PUSCH and/or the PUCCH (or PUSCH) is pre-configured as the UL physical channel to the transmitted.

In another embodiment, in a case where the transmission occasions of the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI (for example, HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) overlap in time but the multiplexing is disabled or is not configured, the UE may be configured to select and transmit the UL physical channel with a higher priority among the CG-PUSCH and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) .

In another embodiment, in a case where the transmission occasions of the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI (for example, HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) overlap in time but the multiplexing is disabled or is not configured, the UE may be configured to select the UL physical channel to be transmitted among the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI (for example, HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) for example based on at least one of the priorities and LBTs associated with the CG-PUSCH and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) . Then, the UE may transmit at least a selected subset of the CG-UCI or at least a part of the information in the PUCCH (or PUSCH) via the UL radio resources of the selected UL physical cannel, for example based on the priorities of the CG-PUSCH and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) .

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the UE may be configured to perform an operation 601 to check whether the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI (for example, HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) are configured on the same LBT sub-band of an UL BWP, for example in a similar manner of the above operation 501 or based on the determination of the operation 501. In a case of the operation 601 returns “Yes” , an operation 602 may be performed to check whether the priority of the CG-PUSCH is equal to or larger than the priority of the PUCCH (or PUSCH) , which may be similar to the operation 401 as illustrated in FIG. 4. In a case where the operation 602 returns “Yes” , the CG-PUSCH may be selected in an operation 603 as the UL physical channel to be transmitted; otherwise, the PUCCH (or PUSCH) may be selected in an operation 604 as the UL physical channel to be transmitted. Then, in an operation 605, the selected UL physical channel may be transmitted.

In a case of the operation 601 returns “No” , the UE may be configured to determine which LBT is more favorable among the LBT associated with the PUCCH (or PUSCH) and the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH, for example based on one or more of: channel access priority classes, instantaneous outcomes, potential outcomes, and reliabilities of the LBT associated with the PUCCH (or PUSCH) and the LBT associated with the CG-PUSCH, which have been described above with reference to the examples as illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 5.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, an operation 606 may be performed to determine whether the LBT associated with the PUCCH (or PUSCH) is more favorable, which may be similar to the operation 503. In a case where the operation 606 returns “Yes” , the PUCCH (or PUSCH) may be selected in an operation 607 as the UL physical channel to be transmitted; otherwise, the CG-PUSCH may be selected in an operation 608 as the UL physical channel to be transmitted.

Further, an operation 609 may be proceeded to check whether the priority of the CG-PUSCH is equal to or larger than the priority of the PUCCH (or PUSCH) . In a case where the operation 609 returns “No” , at least a part of UCI included in the PUCCH (or PUSCH) may be transmitted in an operation 610 via the UL physical channel selected in the

operation

607 or 608; otherwise, at least the selected subset of CG-UCI may be transmitted in an operation 611 via the UL physical channel selected in the

operation

607 or 608.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example procedure of UCI communication between a UE 701 and a BS 702 in an embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the UE 701 may receive configuration information 703 associated with a subset of the CG-UCI to be selected in a case 704 where a transmission occasion of CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI and a transmission occasion of a PUCCH (or PUSCH) including other UCI (for example, HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on) overlap in time.

For example, the configuration information 703 may include indications on one or more information elements to be selected from the CG-UCI, selection or transmission precedence of respective CG-UCI elements, and so on. Then, the UE 701 may select a subset of the CG-UCI in an operation 705 based on the received configuration information 703.

In addition, in an operation 706, the UE 701 may select the CG-PUSCH including the CG-UCI or the PUCCH (or PUSCH) including the other UCI as the UL physical channel to be transmitted. Examples of the operation 706 may include, but are not limited to, the examples as illustrated in FIG. 4, FIG. 5, or FIG. 6.

Further, in a case 707 where multiplexing is enabled or configured, the UE 701 may encode the selected subset of the CG-UCI with the other UCI either jointly or separately and multiplex them on the selected UL physical channel in an operation 708, and may transmit the multiplexed information 709 to the BS 702 via the selected UL physical channel. Examples of the operation 708 may include, but are not limited to, the examples as illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5.

Further, in a case 710 where the multiplexing is disabled or not configured, the UE 701 may transmit the prioritized information 711 via the selected UL physical channel, examples of which may include, but are not limited to, the

example operations

605, 610 and 611 as illustrated in FIG. 6.

Through the example procedure as illustrated in FIG. 7, the UE 701 may transmit, to the BS 702, the selected subset of the CG-UCI in the CG-PUSCH and the other UCI in the PUCCH (or PUSCH) multiplexed on the uplink radio resources of the selected UL physical channel, so that, for example, the UE COT sharing may be enabled even when the CG-PUSCH is of lower priority, HARQ delays may be reduced, and so on.

It is appreciated that this disclosure is not limited to the above examples. For example, although FIG. 7 illustrates that the UE 701 receives configuration information 703 from the BS 702, in another embodiment, the configuration information 703 may be predetermined, which for example may be negotiated in advance for the UE 701 and the BS 702. Further, although the configuration information 703 in the above examples are related to the selection of a subset of the CG-UCI, in another embodiment, the configuration information 703 may be also associated with a selection of a subset of the UCI included in PUCCH or PUSCH. In yet another embodiment, the BS 702 in FIG. 7 may be replaced by another UE which is expecting to perform a sidelink communication with the UE 701.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example method 800 for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment, which may include

operations

801, 802, 803, 804, and 805, and which may be performed in a UE.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the example method 800 may include an operation 801 of determining whether a first transmission occasion of a first UL physical channel comprising first UCI and a second transmission occasion of a second UCI physical channel comprising second UCI overlap in time.

In an embodiment, the first UL physical channel may be the CG-PUSCH, the first UCI may be the CG-UCI, the second UL physical channel may be the PUCCH (or PUSCH) , and the second UCI may be the other UCI included or carried by the PUCCH (or PUSCH) , for example one or more of HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on. In another embodiment, the first UL physical channel may be the PUCCH (or PUSCH) , the first UCI may be the other UCI included or carried by the PUCCH (or PUSCH) , for example one or more of HARQ ACK, CSI, SR, and so on, the second UL physical channel may be the CG-PUSCH, and the second UCI may be the CG-UCI. In yet another embodiment, the first and second UL physical channels may include any other suitable UL physical channels, and the first and second UCI may include any suitable UCI which may be included or carried by the first and second UL physical channels, respectively.

In a case where the first transmission occasion of the first UL physical channel and the second transmission occasion of the second UL physical channel overlap in time (the operation 801 returns “Yes” ) , the example method 800 may proceed to the operation 802 to select a subset of the first UCI.

In some embodiments, the selected subset of the first UCI may include at least one of COT sharing information and HPN. For example, the selected subset of the first UCI may have higher transmission or selection precedence among the first UCI.

In an embodiment, the example method 800 may further include an operation of receiving configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the first UCI, for example from a BS or another UE in a case of sidelink communication, based on which the UE may perform the operation 802. In another embodiment, the subset of the first UCI may be selected based on predetermined configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the first UCI, which for example may be negotiated and specified in advance for both UE and BS. For example, the configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the first UCI may include information such as which information elements are to be selected from the first UCI, how to select the subset of the first UCI (for example, the configuration information may include information on the transmission precedence or selection precedence of respective information elements of the first UCI, so that those information elements with higher transmission precedence may be selected into the subset) , and so on.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 8, in the operation 803, UL physical channel to be transmitted may be selected among the first and second UL physical channels. Examples of the the operation 803 may include, but are not limited to, the examples as illustrated in FIG. 4 to FIG. 6.

In some embodiments, the first UL physical channel may be selected as the UL physical channel to be transmitted, which for example are also illustrated by the operations 402 and 403 (the case of selecting CG-PUSCH) in FIG. 4, or by the operation 502 in a case where the CG-PUSCH and PUCCH (or PUSCH) are configured on the same LBT sub-band.

In some embodiments, which are also illustrated in FIG. 4 to FIG 6, the first UL physical channel may be selected as the UL physical channel to be transmitted in at least one of: a case where the first and second UL physical channels are configured on a substantially same LBT sub-band of an UL BWP; a case where the first and second UL physical channels are configured on different LBT sub-bands of the UL BWP and a LBT associated with the first UL physical channel is a favorable LBT; a case where there are more radio resources available for the first UL physical channel than for the second UL physical channel; and a case where the first UL physical channel is pre-configured as the UL physical channel to be transmitted.

In some embodiments, which are also illustrated in FIG. 4 to FIG 6, the second UL physical channel may be selected as the UL physical channel to be transmitted in at least one of: a case where the first UL physical channel has a lower priority than the second UL physical channel; a case where the first and second UL physical channels are configured on different LBT sub-bands of the UL BWP and a LBT associated with the second UL physical channel is a favorable LBT; a case where there are more radio resources available for the second UL physical channel than for the first UL physical channel; and a case where the second UL physical channel is pre-configured as the uplink UL channel to be transmitted.

For example, the favorable LBT among the listen-before-talk associated with the first UL physical channel and the LBT associated with the second UL physical channel may be determined based on at least one of: channel access priority classes, instantaneous outcomes, potential outcomes, and reliabilities of the LBT associated with the first UL physical channel and the LBT associated with the second UL physical channel. For example, the LBT of CAT 1 may be more favorable than the LBT of CAT 2, the LBT of CAT 2 may be more favorable than the LBT of CAT 4, and so on.

In some embodiments, the operation 802 may also depend on the selected UL physical channel in the operation 803. For example, the selection of the subset of the first UCI may be further based on an available amount of the UL radio resources of the selected UL physical channel.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the operation 804 may be performed to check whether multiplexing is enabled. In some embodiments, the UE may determine an enablement of the multiplexing in response to receiving configuration information associated with the multiplexing, which for example may include information such as an indication of the enablement of the multiplexing and encoding manner used in the multiplexing. In another embodiment, the UE may determine the enablement or disablement of the multiplexing based on an indication or a flag specified via another procedure and/or signaling.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, the example method 800 may proceed to the operation 805 in a case where the multiplexing is enabled (the operation 804 returns “Yes” ) , to multiplex the subset of the first UCI selected in the operation 802 with the second UCI on the UL physical channel selected in the operation 803.

In some embodiments, the operation 805 may include encoding jointly the subset of the first UCI and the second UCI on the UL radio resources of the selected UL physical channel. In some embodiments, the operation 805 may include encoding separately the subset of the first UCI and the second UCI on the UL radio resources of the selected UL physical channel.

In some embodiments, the example method 800 may further include an operation of transmitting the subset of the first UCI and the second UCI multiplexed on UL radio resources of the selected UL physical channel. In some embodiments, the example method 800 may further include an operation of transmitting at least a part of remaining UL information comprised in the first UL physical channel via remaining UL radio resources of the selected UL physical channel after the multiplexing, or dropping at least the part of the remaining UL information.

Thus, through the example method 800, the UE may transmit, to the BS, the selected subset of the first UCI and the second UCI multiplexed on the uplink radio resources of the selected UL physical channel, so that, for example, the UE COT sharing may be enabled even when the first UL physical channel is of lower priority, HARQ delays may be reduced, and so on.

In another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 9, in a case where the first transmission occasion and the second transmission occasion overlap in time and the multiplexing is disabled (the operation 804 returns “No” ) , the example method 800 may proceed to an operation 901 to transmit at least a part of information included in the UL physical channel with higher priority among the first UL physical channel and the second UL physical channel, on the UL physical channel selected in the operation 803.

Examples of the

operations

803 and 901 in this case may include, but are not limited to, the example as illustrated in FIG. 6. For example, in the operation 901, the UL physical channel with a higher priority among the first and second UL physical channels may be transmitted. In another example, the subset of the first UCI or the second UCI on the uplink radio resources of the selected UL physical channel may be transmitted.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example apparatus 1000 for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment, which may be at least a part of a UE, for example the UE 701 as illustrated in FIG. 7.

As shown in FIG. 10, the example apparatus 1000 may include at least one processor 1001 and at least one memory 1002 that may include computer program code 1003. The at least one memory 1002 and the computer program code 1003 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 1001, cause the apparatus 1000 at least to perform at least the operations of the example method 800 described above.

In various embodiments, the at least one processor 1001 in the example apparatus 1000 may include, but not limited to, at least one hardware processor, including at least one microprocessor such as a central processing unit (CPU) , a portion of at least one hardware processor, and any other suitable dedicated processor such as those developed based on for example Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) . Further, the at least one processor 1001 may also include at least one other circuitry or element not shown in FIG. 10.

In various embodiments, the at least one memory 1002 in the example apparatus 1000 may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, but not limited to, for example, a random-access memory (RAM) , a cache, and so on. The non-volatile memory may include, but not limited to, for example, a read only memory (ROM) , a hard disk, a flash memory, and so on. Further, the at least memory 1002 may include, but are not limited to, an electric, a magnetic, an optical, an electromagnetic, an infrared, or a semiconductor system, apparatus, or device or any combination of the above.

Further, in various embodiments, the example apparatus 1000 may also include at least one other circuitry, element, and interface, for example at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like.

In various embodiments, the circuitries, parts, elements, and interfaces in the example apparatus 1000, including the at least one processor 1001 and the at least one memory 1002, may be coupled together via any suitable connections including, but not limited to, buses, crossbars, wiring and/or wireless lines, in any suitable ways, for example electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, and the like.

FIG. 11 illustrates another example apparatus 1100 for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment, which may be at least a part of a UE, for example the UE 701 as illustrated in FIG. 7.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the example apparatus 1100 may include means 1101 for performing the operation 802, means 1102 for performing the operation 803, and means 1103 for performing the operation 805, for example in a case where the first transmission occasion of the first UL physical channel comprising first UCI and the second transmission occasion of the second UCI physical channel comprising second UCI overlap in time. In one or more another embodiment, at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like may also be included in the example apparatus 1100. In some embodiments, examples of means in the apparatus 1100 may include circuitries. In some embodiments, examples of means may also include software modules and any other suitable function entities. In some embodiments, one or more additional means may be included in the apparatus 1100 for performing one or more additional operations of the example method 800, for example means for performing the operation 901.

The term “circuitry” throughout this disclosure may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) ; (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) ; and (c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) , that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. This definition of circuitry applies to one or all uses of this term in this disclosure, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this disclosure, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example method 1200 for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment, which may be performed in a BS or another UE (for example in a case of sidelink communication) to cooperate with the example method 800.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the example method 1200 may include an operation 1201 of receiving information on the first UL physical channel or the second UL physical channel. For example, in a case where a first reception occasion of the first UL physical channel including first UCI and a second reception occasion of the second UL physical channel including second UCI overlaps in time and multiplexing is enabled, the information received in the operation 1201 may include a subset of the first UCI and the second UCI multiplexed on UL radio resources of the first or second UL physical channel, which for example may be multiplexed and transmitted by the UE based on the example method 800.

There may be cases where the BS does not know actually which one of the first and second UL physical channels is to be used by the UE to transmit the information. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the example method 1200 may also include an operation 1202 for monitoring the both UL physical channels. For example, the BS may attempt to decode on both UL physical channels in the operation 1202.

In some embodiments, the example method 1200 may further include an operation of transmit configuration information associated with a selection of the subset of the first UCI. For example, the configuration information may be transmitted via a broadcast downlink channel, or via a downlink channel to one or more UEs. In some embodiments, the subset of the first UCI may include at least one of COT sharing information and HPN. In some embodiments, the subset of the first UCI has higher transmission precedence among the first UCI.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example apparatus 1300 for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment, which may be at least a part of a BS (for example the BS 702 as illustrated in FIG. 7) or at least a part of another UE (for example in a case of sidelink communication) .

As shown in FIG. 13, the example apparatus 1300 may include at least one processor 1301 and at least one memory 1302 that may include computer program code 1303. The at least one memory 1302 and the computer program code 1303 may be configured to, with the at least one processor 1301, cause the apparatus 1300 at least to perform at least the operations of the example method 1200 described above.

In various embodiments, the at least one processor 1301 in the example apparatus 1300 may include, but not limited to, at least one hardware processor, including at least one microprocessor such as a CPU, a portion of at least one hardware processor, and any other suitable dedicated processor such as those developed based on for example FPGA and ASIC. Further, the at least one processor 1301 may also include at least one other circuitry or element not shown in FIG. 13.

In various embodiments, the at least one memory 1302 in the example apparatus 1300 may include at least one storage medium in various forms, such as a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, but not limited to, for example, a RAM, a cache, and so on. The non-volatile memory may include, but not limited to, for example, a ROM, a hard disk, a flash memory, and so on. Further, the at least memory 1302 may include, but are not limited to, an electric, a magnetic, an optical, an electromagnetic, an infrared, or a semiconductor system, apparatus, or device or any combination of the above.

Further, in various embodiments, the example apparatus 1300 may also include at least one other circuitry, element, and interface, for example at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like.

In various embodiments, the circuitries, parts, elements, and interfaces in the example apparatus 1300, including the at least one processor 1301 and the at least one memory 1302, may be coupled together via any suitable connections including, but not limited to, buses, crossbars, wiring and/or wireless lines, in any suitable ways, for example electrically, magnetically, optically, electromagnetically, and the like.

FIG. 14 illustrates another example apparatus 1400 for prioritization and multiplexing of UCI in an embodiment, which may be at least a part of a BS (for example the BS 702 as illustrated in FIG. 7) or at least a part of another UE (for example in a case of sidelink communication) .

As illustrated in FIG. 14, the example apparatus 1400 may include means 1401 for performing the operation 1201. In one or more another embodiment, at least one I/O interface, at least one antenna element, and the like may also be included in the example apparatus 1400. In some embodiments, examples of means in the apparatus 1400 may include circuitries. In some embodiments, examples of means may also include software modules and any other suitable function entities. In some embodiments, one or more additional means may be included in the apparatus 1400 for performing one or more additional operations of the example method 1200, for example means 1402 for performing the operation 1202.

Another example embodiment may relate to computer program codes or instructions which may cause an apparatus to perform at least respective methods described above. Another example embodiment may be related to a computer readable medium having such computer program codes or instructions stored thereon. In some embodiments, such a computer readable medium may include at least one storage medium in various forms such as a volatile memory and/or a non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, but not limited to, for example, a RAM, a cache, and so on. The non-volatile memory may include, but not limited to, a ROM, a hard disk, a flash memory, and so on. The non-volatile memory may also include, but are not limited to, an electric, a magnetic, an optical, an electromagnetic, an infrared, or a semiconductor system, apparatus, or device or any combination of the above.

It is appreciated that the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to the above examples. For example, the operations as illustrated in the above examples may be performed in another order. For example, the operation 803 may be performed before the operation 802. Further, the conditions to be check in the above examples may be changed to another one or more equivalent conditions. For example, the operation 501 may be amended into checking whether the CG-PUSCH and the PUCCH (or PUSCH) are configured on different LBT sub-bands, and the subsequent operations may be adjusted or amended accordingly.

Further, it is appreciated that the modifiers such as “first” and “second” are intended to distinguish different elements, operations, information, and so on, rather than emphasizing importance or orders.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise, ” “comprising, ” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to. ” The word “coupled” , as generally used herein, refers to two or more elements that may be either directly connected, or connected by way of one or more intermediate elements. Likewise, the word “connected” , as generally used herein, refers to two or more elements that may be either directly connected, or connected by way of one or more intermediate elements. Additionally, the words “herein, ” “above, ” “below, ” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.

Moreover, conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can, ” “could, ” “might, ” “may, ” “e.g., ” “for example, ” “such as” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

While some embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the apparatus, methods, and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. For example, while blocks are presented in a given arrangement, alternative embodiments may perform similar functionalities with different components and/or circuit topologies, and some blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. At least one of these blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. The order of these blocks may also be changed. Any suitable combination of the elements and acts of the some embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the disclosure.

Claims

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 being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

in a case where a first transmission occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second transmission occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlap in time,

select a subset of the first uplink control information,

select an uplink physical channel to be transmitted among the first and second uplink physical channels, and

multiplex the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.
The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

receive configuration information associated with the selection of the subset of the first uplink control information.
The apparatus of claim 1 or 2 wherein the subset of the first uplink control information comprises at least one of channel occupancy time sharing information and hybrid automatic repeat request process number.
The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the subset of the first uplink control information has higher transmission precedence among the first uplink control information.
The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 4 wherein the subset of the first uplink control information is selected further based on an available amount of the uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.
The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the first uplink physical channel is selected as the uplink physical channel to be transmitted.
The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the first uplink physical channel is selected as the uplink physical channel to be transmitted in at least one of:

a case where the first and second uplink physical channels are configured on a substantially same listen-before-talk sub-band of an uplink bandwidth part;

a case where the first and second uplink physical channels are configured on different listen-before-talk sub-bands of the uplink bandwidth part and a listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel is a favorable listen-before-talk;

a case where there are more radio resources available for the first uplink physical channel than for the second uplink physical channel; and

a case where the first uplink physical channel is pre-configured as the uplink physical channel to be transmitted.
The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 5 wherein the second uplink physical channel is selected as the uplink physical channel to be transmitted in at least one of:

a case where the first uplink physical channel has a lower priority than the second uplink physical channel;

a case where the first and second uplink physical channels are configured on different listen-before-talk sub-bands of the uplink bandwidth part and a listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel is a favorable listen-before-talk;

a case where there are more radio resources available for the second uplink physical channel than for the first uplink physical channel; and

a case where the second uplink physical channel is pre-configured as the uplink physical channel to be transmitted.
The apparatus of claim 7 or 8 wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

determine the favorable listen-before-talk among the listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel and the listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel, based on at least one of: channel access priority classes, instantaneous outcomes, potential outcomes, and reliabilities of the listen-before-talk associated with the first uplink physical channel and the listen-before-talk associated with the second uplink physical channel.
The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 9 wherein the multiplexing comprises:

encoding jointly the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information on the uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel; or

encoding separately the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information on different parts of the uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.
The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 10 wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

transmit the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information multiplexed on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.
The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 11 wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

in a case where the first transmission occasion and the second transmission occasion overlap in time and the multiplexing is disabled,

transmit an uplink physical channel with a higher priority among the first and second uplink physical channels, or

transmit the subset of the first uplink control information or the second uplink control information on the uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel.
The apparatus of any of claims 1 to 12 wherein the first uplink control information comprises configured grant uplink control information associated with an unlicensed spectrum, the first uplink physical channel comprises a configured grant physical uplink shared channel, and the second uplink physical channel comprises at least one of a physical uplink control channel and a physical uplink shared channel.
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 being configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

in a case where a first reception occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second reception occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlaps in time,

receive a subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information multiplexed on uplink radio resources of the first or second uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.
The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, further cause the apparatus to:

transmit configuration information associated with a selection of the subset of the first uplink control information.
The apparatus of claim 14 or 15 wherein the subset of the first uplink control information comprises at least one of channel occupancy time sharing information and hybrid automatic repeat request process number.
The apparatus of any of claims 14 to 16 wherein the subset of the first uplink control information has higher transmission precedence among the first uplink control information.
The apparatus of any of claims 14 to 17 wherein the first uplink control information comprises configured grant uplink control information associated with an unlicensed spectrum, the first uplink physical channel comprises a configured grant physical uplink shared channel, and the second uplink physical channel comprises at least one of a physical uplink control channel and a physical uplink shared channel.
A method comprising:

in a case where a first transmission occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second transmission occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlap in time,

selecting a subset of the first uplink control information,

selecting an uplink physical channel to be transmitted among the first and second uplink physical channels, and

multiplexing the subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information on uplink radio resources of the selected uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.
A method comprising:

in a case where a first reception occasion of a first uplink physical channel comprising first uplink control information and a second reception occasion of a second uplink physical channel comprising second uplink control information overlaps in time,

receiving a subset of the first uplink control information and the second uplink control information multiplexed on uplink radio resources of the first or second uplink physical channel in a case where multiplexing is enabled.