Methods, terminal device and network node for uplink transmission

Abstract

Methods, a terminal device and a network node for uplink transmission, in which the terminal device transmits a transport block (TB) to a network node with a first configured grant. The terminal device retransmits the TB to the network node autonomously with a second configured grant.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method in a terminal device comprising:
 transmitting ( 102 ) a transport block, TB, to a network node with a first configured grant; and   retransmitting ( 104 ) the TB to the network node autonomously with a second configured grant.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the autonomous retransmission of the TB stops when a timer whose timer value equals a predetermined maximum time period expires. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1  or  2 , wherein the second configured grant belongs to a first configured grant configuration; and
 wherein the method further comprises: retransmitting ( 414 ) the TB to the network node autonomously with a third configured grant belonging to a second configured grant configuration. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1  or  2 , wherein the second configured grant belongs to a first configured grant configuration; and
 wherein the method further comprises: retransmitting ( 414 ) the TB to the network node autonomously with a third configured grant belonging to the first configured grant configuration. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 3  or  4 , wherein the first configured grant belongs to the first or second configured grant configuration. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 3  or  4 , wherein the first configured grant belongs to a third configured grant configuration. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to any of  claims 1  to  6 , wherein the TB is transmitted with a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, process. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to any of  claims 1  to  7 , wherein the autonomous retransmission of the TB is performed one or more times with the same HARQ process. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to any of  claims 2  to  8 , wherein the timer is started at a time point related to the transmission of the TB. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to any of  claims 2  to  9 , wherein the timer is stopped when the terminal device receives an acknowledgement for the TB. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to any of  claims 3  to  10 , wherein a size of the TB is determined based on the first, second or third configured grant configuration. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to any of  claims 3  to  11 , wherein the first, second or third configured grant configuration is received from the network node. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to any of  claims 1  to  12 , wherein the TB is retransmitted autonomously with the second configured grant when the terminal device determines that an autonomous retransmission with the second configured grant is allowed. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to any of  claims 7  to  13 , wherein the autonomous retransmission of the TB is performed multiple times; and
 wherein a first part of the multiple autonomous retransmissions is performed with the same HARQ process and a second part of the multiple autonomous retransmissions is performed with another HARQ process. 
 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the another HARQ process is used when the terminal device has not received any HARQ feedback for the TB after a predetermined number of transmission attempts or a predetermined time period. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to any of  claims 1  to  15 , wherein the second configured grant belongs to a first configured grant configuration; and
 wherein the method further comprises: retransmitting ( 414 ) the TB to the network node autonomously with the second and third configured grants. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method according to any of  claims 1  to  16 , wherein the autonomous retransmission of the TB stops when a predetermined maximum number of transmission attempts is reached or a predetermined maximum time period has elapsed. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the predetermined maximum number of transmission attempts or the predetermined maximum time period is based on a latency requirement of related service data or related one or more logical channels. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 17  or  18 , further comprising:
 when the terminal device has not received an acknowledgement for the TB after the predetermined maximum number of transmission attempts is reached or the predetermined maximum time period has elapsed, transmitting ( 206 ) a failure report for the TB to the network node. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method according to any of  claims 17  to  19 , wherein the transmission attempts contain one or more transmission attempts missed due to listen before talk, LBT, failure; or
 wherein the predetermined maximum time period contain time elapsed for one or more LBT operations. 
 
     
     
         21 . The method according to any of  claims 17  to  20 , wherein when the predetermined maximum number of transmission attempts is to be reached or the predetermined maximum time period is to elapse, the autonomous retransmission of the TB is performed proactively. 
     
     
         22 . The method according to  claim 21 , wherein the autonomous retransmission of the TB is performed proactively by:
 performing the autonomous retransmission of the TB without waiting a feedback for the TB or without waiting an expiration of a configured grant retransmission timer; and   wherein the expiration of the configured grant retransmission timer is used to trigger an autonomous retransmission using a configured grant.   
     
     
         23 . The method according to any of  claims 2  to  22 , wherein the timer is stopped when the terminal device receives a dynamic grant for retransmission of the TB. 
     
     
         24 . The method according to  claim 23 , wherein the timer is started when one of following events occurs:
 a media access control, MAC, protocol data unit, PDU, corresponding to the TB has been generated;   a first LBT operation is started for a first transmission attempt of the TB; and   a first potential transmission opportunity for the TB occurs.   
     
     
         25 . The method according to any of  claims 2  to  24 , wherein a configured grant timer is reused as the timer. 
     
     
         26 . The method according to any of  claims 1  to  25 , further comprising:
 indicating ( 308 ), to the network node, a number of transmission attempts for the TB or delay experienced for the transmissions of the TB. 
 
     
     
         27 . The method according to  claim 26 , wherein the number of the transmission attempts or the experienced delay is indicated by one or more of:
 redundant version of the TB;   uplink control information, UCI;   radio resource control, RRC, signaling;   MAC control element, CE; and   Layer 1 or Layer 2 signaling.   
     
     
         28 . The method according to  claim 26  or  27 , further comprising:
 receiving ( 310 ) a signaling indicating termination of retransmissions for the TB. 
 
     
     
         29 . The method according to  claim 28 , further comprising:
 in response to the signaling, triggering ( 312 ) upper layer retransmissions of the data corresponding to the TB.   
     
     
         30 . A method in a network node comprising:
 receiving ( 502 ), from a terminal device, information related to one or more autonomous uplink retransmissions of a transport block, TB, with one or more configured grants; and   determining ( 504 ) a scheduling policy or a scheduling decision for the TB based on the information.   
     
     
         31 . The method according to  claim 30 , further comprising:
 transmitting one or more configured grant configurations to the terminal device.   
     
     
         32 . The method according to  claim 30  or  31 , wherein the scheduling policy is determined to ensure the retransmissions from the terminal device to be completed within a predetermined maximum time period. 
     
     
         33 . The method according to  claim 30  or  31 , wherein the scheduling decision indicates termination of retransmissions for the TB. 
     
     
         34 . The method according to any of  claims 30  to  33 , further comprising:
 sending ( 506 ) a signaling indicating the scheduling decision to the terminal device. 
 
     
     
         35 . The method according to  claim 34 , wherein the signaling is sent as one or more of:
 a Layer 1/Layer 2 signaling;   a MAC CE; and   an RRC signaling.   
     
     
         36 . The method according to any of  claims 30  to  35 , wherein the information comprises one or more of:
 a number of transmission attempts for the TB or delay experienced for the transmissions of the TB; 
 a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, process identifier for the TB; and 
 a failure indication that the TB is not to be retransmitted autonomously from the terminal device. 
 
     
     
         37 . The method according to any of  claims 30  to  36 , wherein the scheduling policy comprises one or more of:
 scheduling priority for the TB; 
 parameters for physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, carrying an uplink grant for retransmission of the TB; 
 physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, duration length for the TB; 
 transmission power parameters for the TB; and 
 PUSCH preparation delay for the TB. 
 
     
     
         38 . The method according to any of  claims 30  to  37 , further comprising:
 transmitting ( 501 ), to a terminal device, information indicating a predetermined maximum number of transmission attempts or a predetermined maximum time period; and 
 wherein the autonomous retransmission of a TB stops when the predetermined maximum number of transmission attempts is reached or the predetermined maximum time period has elapsed. 
 
     
     
         39 . The method according to  claim 38 , wherein the predetermined maximum number of transmission attempts or the predetermined maximum time period is based on a latency requirement of related service data or related one or more logical channels. 
     
     
         40 . A terminal device ( 600 ) comprising:
 at least one processor ( 610 ); and   at least one memory ( 620 ), the at least one memory ( 620 ) containing instructions executable by the at least one processor ( 610 ), whereby the terminal device ( 600 ) is operative to:   transmit a transport block, TB, to a network node with a first configured grant; and   retransmit the TB to the network node autonomously with a second configured grant.   
     
     
         41 . The terminal device ( 600 ) according to  claim 40 , wherein the terminal device ( 600 ) is operative to perform the method according to any of  claims 2  to  29 . 
     
     
         42 . A network node ( 600 ) comprising:
 at least one processor ( 610 ); and   at least one memory ( 620 ), the at least one memory ( 620 ) containing instructions executable by the at least one processor ( 610 ), whereby the network node ( 600 ) is operative to:   receive, from a terminal device, information related to one or more autonomous uplink retransmissions of a transport block, TB, with one or more configured grants; and   determine a scheduling policy or a scheduling decision for the TB based on the information.   
     
     
         43 . The network node ( 600 ) according to  claim 42 , wherein the network node ( 600 ) is operative to perform the method according to any of  claims 31  to  39 . 
     
     
         44 . A method implemented in a communication system including a network node and a terminal device, comprising:
 at the terminal device, transmitting ( 102 ) a transport block, TB, to the network node with a first configured grant;   at the terminal device, retransmitting ( 104 ) the TB to the network node autonomously with a second configured grant;   at the network node, receiving ( 502 ), from the terminal device, information related to one or more autonomous uplink retransmissions of the TB with one or more configured grants; and   at the network node, determine ( 504 ) a scheduling policy or a scheduling decision for the TB based on the information.   
     
     
         45 . A communication system comprising:
 a terminal device configured to transmit a transport block, TB, to the network node with a first configured grant, and retransmit the TB to the network node autonomously with a second configured grant; and   a network node configured to receive, from the terminal device, information related to one or more autonomous uplink retransmissions of the TB with one or more configured grants, and determine a scheduling policy or a scheduling decision for the TB based on the information.   
     
     
         46 . A computer readable storage medium comprising instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any of  claims 1  to  39 .