Autonomous transmission of uplink control information

Abstract

Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, wireless devices and network nodes for unscheduled uplink access on an unlicensed cell. According to one aspect, an exemplary process includes a wireless device for autonomously transmitting uplink control information, UCI, together with autonomous uplink, UL, data transmission. The process includes mapping the UCI to time-frequency resources of the PUSCH and transmitting the PUSCH with the UCI to a base station without a dynamic uplink grant from the base station.

Claims

1. A method performed by a wireless device for autonomously transmitting an uplink control information, UCI, transmission together with an autonomous uplink, AUL, data transmission, the AUL data transmission being an unscheduled transmission, on a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, comprising a subframe of 14 OFDM symbols, each of the 14 OFDM symbols being numbered from symbol 0 to symbol 13, the 14 OFDM symbols being ordered in a time domain according to each symbol's number, beginning with symbol 0 and ending with symbol 13, the PUSCH supporting a shortened data transmission, the method comprising: mapping the UCI transmission to time-frequency resources of the PUSCH, the UCI transmission and the AUL data transmission being multiplexed on the subframe such that the UCI transmission is mapped on at least one symbol of the subframe according to one of: only from symbol 1 to symbol 12 of the subframe, the AUL data transmission being mapped on at least one of symbol 0 and symbol 13 of the subframe; and only from symbol 7 to symbol 12 of the subframe; and transmitting the PUSCH with the UCI transmission on an uplink transmission.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UCI transmission includes at least one of a starting position and an ending position of the PUSCH.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the UCI transmission indicates whether the PUSCH on one of a current subframe and a next subsequent subframe is shortened.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the UCI transmission includes at least one of: a listen-before-talk, LBT, priority class, a number of subframes reserved for uplink transmission a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, identification, a new data indicator, a redundancy version, a wireless device identifier, and a channel occupancy time, COT, indicator.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a beta offset value to account for different block error rate, BLER, targets and encoding schemes is configured in the wireless device to determine how many coded modulation symbols to use for carrying the UCI transmission in the PUSCH.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein one of: beta offset values are mapped by reusing a predetermined hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, acknowledgement, ACK, offset mapping table; and the beta offset value is fixed and predefined.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, if a shortened PUSCH is supported, the UCI transmission is mapped in a same manner that aperiodic channel state information, CSI, is mapped by starting from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index but not on a first or last symbol of the PUSCH.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the PUSCH further includes aperiodic channel state information, CSI.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a number of coded UCI symbols by one of calculation and reading from a look-up table based on a Modulation Coding Scheme, MCS, of the PUSCH.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising inserting one of zero and null symbols into coded UCI symbols to be mapped to the PUSCH.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein UCI transmission is transmitted on the PUSCH starting from the seventh symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH, wherein a bit in the UCI transmission indicates half subframe transmission for the PUSCH.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a number of coded UCI symbols according to: $Q^{\prime }=\min \left(.Math.\frac{\left(O+L\right).Math.M_{\mathrm{sc}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}\left(x\right)}.Math.N_{\mathrm{symb}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}\left(x\right)}.Math.{\beta }_{\mathrm{offset}}^{\mathrm{UCI}}}{\underset{r=0}{\overset{C^{\left(x\right)}-1}{.Math.}}{K}_r^{\left(x\right)}}.Math.,M_{\mathrm{sc}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}\left(x\right)}.Math.N_{\mathrm{symb}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}}\right)$ where O is a number of UCI bits, L is a number of CRC bits, β.sub.offset.sup.UCI is a UCI beta offset value, K.sub.r.sup.(x) is a number of bits for a code block r, C.sup.(x) is a number of code blocks, “x” in K.sub.r.sup.(x) represents a transport block index corresponding to a highest I.sub.MCS value, M.sub.SC.sup.PUSCH(x) is a scheduled bandwidth for the PUSCH transmission in the subframe for a transport block, and N.sub.symb.sup.PUSCH (x) is a number of SC-FDMA symbols in the subframe.

13. A wireless device for autonomously transmitting an uplink control information, UCI, transmission together with an autonomous uplink, AUL, data transmission, the AUL data transmission being an unscheduled transmission, on a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, comprising a subframe of 14 OFDM symbols, each of the 14 OFDM symbols being numbered from symbol 0 to symbol 13, the 14 OFDM symbols being ordered in a time domain according to each symbol's number, beginning with symbol 0 and ending with symbol 13, the PUSCH supporting a shortened data transmission, the wireless device comprising: processing circuitry configured to: map the UCI transmission to time-frequency resources of the PUSCH, the UCI transmission and the AUL data transmission being multiplexed on the subframe such that the UCI transmission is mapped on at least one symbol of the subframe according to one of: only from symbol 1 to symbol 12 of the subframe, the AUL data transmission being mapped on at least one of symbol 0 and symbol 13 of the subframe; and only from symbol 7 to symbol 12 of the subframe; and transmit the PUSCH with the UCI transmission on an uplink transmission.

14. The wireless device of claim 13, wherein the UCI transmission includes at least one of a starting and ending position of the PUSCH.

15. The wireless device of claim 13, wherein the UCI transmission indicates whether the PUSCH on one of a current subframe and a next subsequent subframe is shortened.

16. The wireless device of claim 13, wherein the UCI transmission includes at least one of: a listen-before-talk, LBT, priority class, a number of subframes reserved for uplink transmission a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, identification, a new data indicator, a redundancy version, a wireless device identifier, and a channel occupancy time, COT, indicator.

17. The wireless device of claim 13, wherein a beta offset value to account for different block error rate, BLER, targets and encoding schemes is configured in the wireless device to determine how many coded modulation symbols to use for carrying the UCI transmission in the PUSCH.

18. The wireless device of claim 17, wherein one of: beta offset values are mapped by reusing a predetermined hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, acknowledgement, ACK, offset mapping table; and the beta offset value is fixed and predefined.

19. The wireless device of claim 13, wherein, if a shortened PUSCH is supported, the UCI transmission is mapped in a same manner that aperiodic channel state information, CSI, is mapped by starting from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index but not on a first or last symbol of the PUSCH.

20. The wireless device of claim 13, wherein the PUSCH further includes aperiodic channel state information, CSI.

21. The wireless device of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine a number of coded UCI symbols by one of calculation and reading from a look-up table based on a Modulation Coding Scheme, MCS, of the PUSCH.

22. The wireless device of claim 13, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to insert one of zero and null symbols into coded UCI symbols to be mapped to the PUSCH.

23. The wireless device of claim 13, wherein UCI transmission is transmitted on the PUSCH starting from a seventh symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH, wherein a bit in the UCI transmission indicates half subframe transmission for the PUSCH.

24. A method in a network node for receiving an uplink control information, UCI, transmission together with an autonomous uplink, AUL, data transmission, the AUL data transmission being an unscheduled transmission, the method comprising: receiving a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, signal, the PUSCH comprising a subframe of 14 OFDM symbols, each of the 14 OFDM symbols being numbered from symbol 0 to symbol 13, the 14 OFDM symbols being ordered in a time domain according to each symbol's number, beginning with symbol 0 and ending with symbol 13, the PUSCH supporting a shortened data transmission, the PUSCH having the UCI transmission and the AUL data transmission, the UCI and the AUL data transmission being multiplexed on the subframe such that the UCI transmission is mapped on at least one symbol of the subframe according to one of: only from symbol 1 to symbol 12 of the subframe, the AUL data transmission being mapped on at least one of symbol 0 and symbol 13 of the subframe; and only from symbol 7 to symbol 12 of the subframe, the UCI transmission indicating at least one of a starting position and an ending position of the PUSCH.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising requesting aperiodic channel state information, CSI, feedback, the aperiodic CSI feedback being requested when an ACK/NACK feedback message is sent.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising determining a number of coded UCI symbols according to: $Q^{\prime }=\min \left(.Math.\frac{\left(O+L\right).Math.M_{\mathrm{sc}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}\left(x\right)}.Math.N_{\mathrm{symb}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}\left(x\right)}.Math.{\beta }_{\mathrm{offset}}^{\mathrm{UCI}}}{\underset{r=0}{\overset{C^{\left(x\right)}-1}{.Math.}}{K}_r^{\left(x\right)}}.Math.,M_{\mathrm{sc}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}\left(x\right)}.Math.N_{\mathrm{symb}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}}\right)$ where O is a number of UCI bits, L is a number of CRC bits, β.sub.offset.sup.UCI is a UCI beta offset value, K.sub.r.sup.(x) is a number of bits for a code block r, C is a number of code blocks, “x” in K.sub.r.sup.(x) represents a transport block index corresponding to a highest I.sub.MCS value, M.sub.SC.sup.PUSCH(x) is a scheduled bandwidth for the PUSCH transmission in the subframe for a transport block, and N.sub.symb.sup.PUSCH (x) is a number of SC-FDMA symbols in the subframe.

27. A network node for receiving an uplink control information, UCI, transmission together with an autonomous uplink, AUL, data transmission, the AUL data transmission being an unscheduled transmission, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to: process a received physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, signal, the PUSCH comprising a subframe of 14 OFDM symbols, each of the 14 OFDM symbols being numbered from symbol 0 to symbol 13, the 14 OFDM symbols being ordered in a time domain according to each symbol's number, beginning with symbol 0 and ending with symbol 13, the PUSCH supporting a shortened data transmission, the PUSCH having the UCI transmission and the AUL data transmission, the UCI and the AUL data transmission being multiplexed on the subframe such that the UCI transmission is mapped on at least one symbol of the subframe according to one of: only from symbol 1 to symbol 12 of the subframe, the AUL data transmission being mapped on at least one of symbol 0 and symbol 13 of the subframe; and only from symbol 7 to symbol 12 of the subframe, the UCI transmission including at least one of a starting position and an ending position of the PUSCH.

28. The network node of claim 27, wherein the processor is further configured to request an aperiodic channel state information, CSI, feedback, the aperiodic CSI feedback being requested when an ACK/NACK feedback message is sent.

29. A computer storage device storing a computer program, comprising instructions, which when executed on a computer cause the computer to perform a method for autonomously transmitting an uplink control information, UCI, transmission together with autonomous uplink, AUL, data transmission, the AUL data transmission being an unscheduled transmission, on a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, comprising a subframe of 14 OFDM symbols, each of the 14 OFDM symbols being numbered from symbol 0 to symbol 13, the 14 OFDM symbols being ordered in a time domain according to each symbol's number, beginning with symbol 0 and ending with symbol 13, the PUSCH supporting a shortened data transmission, the method comprising: mapping the UCI transmission to time-frequency resources of the PUSCH, the UCI transmission and the AUL data transmission being multiplexed on the subframe such that the UCI transmission is mapped on at least one symbol of the subframe according to one of: only from symbol 1 to symbol 12 of the subframe, the AUL data transmission being mapped on at least one of symbol 0 and symbol 13 of the subframe; and only from symbol 7 to symbol 12 of the subframe; and transmitting the PUSCH with the UCI transmission on an uplink transmission.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) A more complete understanding of embodiments described herein, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is time frequency grid of downlink physical resources;

(3) FIG. 2 is an illustration of frame timing;

(4) FIG. 3 is an illustration of reference symbols;

(5) FIG. 4 is an uplink subframe;

(6) FIG. 5 is an illustration of listen before talk timing;

(7) FIG. 6 a diagram of a wireless device connected to a PCELL and an SCELL;

(8) FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system constructed according to principles set forth herein;

(9) FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a network node constructed in accordance with principles set forth herein;

(10) FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of a network node constructed in accordance with principles set forth herein;

(11) FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a wireless device constructed in accordance with principles set forth herein;

(12) FIG. 11 is block diagram of an alternative embodiment of a wireless device constructed in accordance with principles set forth herein;

(13) FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a network node for receiving uplink control information, UCI, autonomously transmitted by a wireless device in a licensed-assisted access, LAA, communication system;

(14) FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a network node for processing a PUSCH having UCI; and

(15) FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a wireless device for mapping the UCI to the PUSCH;

(16) FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a wireless device for autonomously transmitting uplink control information, UCI, in a licensed-assisted access, LAA, communication system;

(17) FIG. 16 is an embodiment of mapping UCI and DMRS on time frequency resources;

(18) FIG. 17 is another embodiment of mapping UCI starting on symbol 1 and DMRS on time frequency resources;

(19) FIG. 18 is another embodiment of mapping UCI ending on symbol 12 and DMRS on time frequency resources;

(20) FIG. 19 is another embodiment of mapping UCI starting on symbol 1 and ending on symbol 12 and DMRS on time frequency resources;

(21) FIG. 20 is another embodiment of mapping UCI and DMRS on time frequency resources where UCI is not encoded on the last OFDM symbol;

(22) FIG. 21 is still another embodiment of mapping UCI and DMRS on time frequency resources where UCI is not encoded on the first OFDM symbol;

(23) FIG. 22 is yet another embodiment of mapping UCI and DMRS on time frequency resources where UCI is not encoded on the first or last OFDM symbol;

(24) FIG. 23 is another embodiment of mapping UCI and DMRS on time frequency resources where UCI is encoded in the latter half of the subframe;

(25) FIG. 24 is another embodiment of mapping UCI and DMRS on time frequency resources where no information is encoded in the first half of the subframe;

(26) FIG. 25 is another embodiment of mapping UCI and DMRS on time frequency resources where no information is encoded in the first half of the subframe and no UCI is encoded in the last symbol of the subframe;

(27) FIG. 26 is another embodiment of mapping UCI and DMRS on time frequency resources where no data is encoded in the first half of the subframe and the last symbol of the subframe; and

(28) FIG. 27 is another embodiment of mapping UCI and DMRS on time frequency resources along with channel state information.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(29) Before describing in detail exemplary embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to uplink control signaling for unscheduled uplink access on an unlicensed cell. Accordingly, the apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

(30) As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

(31) In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.

(32) Some embodiments can be implemented in multiple devices and network nodes able to perform scheduling and exchange information. The devices are capable of direct communication between devices (e.g., device to device communication). The network node herein can be the serving network node of the device or any network node with which the device can establish or maintain a communication link and/or receive information (e.g. via a broadcast channel).

(33) The embodiments use a generic term ‘network node’ that may be any kind of network node. Examples are eNode B (eNB), gNB, Node B, Base Station, wireless access point (AP), base station controller, radio network controller, relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), transmission points, transmission nodes, RRU, RRH, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node, MME etc.

(34) Although terminology from 3GPP LTE-A (or E-UTRAN) has been used in this disclosure to exemplify the embodiments, this should not be viewed as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementioned system. Other wireless systems, including LTE, WCDMA, UTRA FDD, UTRA TDD, GSM/GERAN/EDGE and 5G New Radio (NR) may also benefit from exploiting the concepts covered within this disclosure.

(35) Some of the problems associated with unscheduled uplink access on an unlicensed cell are addressed by embodiments disclosed herein. Transmitting uplink control information, UCI, autonomously in a licensed-assisted access, LAA, MulteFire or NR unlicensed (NR-U) access, said transmissions being without an UL grant from a base station enables the wireless device to transmit effectively and efficiently with an increased reception success and improved coexistence with other unlicensed wireless devices.

(36) Returning to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in FIG. 7 a block diagram of a wireless communication system 10 constructed according to principles set forth herein. The wireless communication network 10 includes a cloud 12 which may include the Internet and/or the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Cloud 12 may also serve as a backhaul network of the wireless communication network 10. The wireless communication network 10 includes one or more network nodes such as network nodes 14A and 14B, which may communicate directly via an X2 interface in LTE embodiments, and are referred to collectively as network nodes 14. It is contemplated that other interface types can be used for communication between network nodes 14 for other communication protocols such as New Radio (NR). The network nodes 14 may serve wireless devices 16A and 16B, referred to collectively herein as wireless devices 16. Note that, although only two wireless devices 16 and two network nodes 14 are shown for convenience, the wireless communication network 10 may typically include many more wireless devices (WDs) 16 and network nodes 14. Further, in some embodiments, wireless devices 16 may communicate directly using what is sometimes referred to as a side link connection.

(37) The term “wireless device” or mobile terminal used herein may refer to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node 14 and/or with another wireless device 16 in a cellular or mobile communication system 10. Examples of a wireless device 16 are user equipment (UE), target device, device to device (D2D) wireless device, machine type wireless device or wireless device capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, PDA, tablet, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongle, etc.

(38) The term “network node” used herein may refer to any kind of radio base station in a radio network which may further comprise any base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), NR gNodeB, NR gNB, Node B, multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), etc.

(39) Although embodiments are described herein with reference to certain functions being performed by network node 14, it is understood that the functions can be performed in other network nodes and elements. It is also understood that the functions of the network node 14 can be distributed across network cloud 12 so that other nodes can perform one or more functions or even parts of functions described herein.

(40) As shown in FIG. 7, the network node 14 includes a PUSCH processor 18 configured to process a received physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, signal, the PUSCH having the UCI, the UCI including at least one of a starting and ending position of the PUSCH, the processing including performing decoding to detect at least one of: at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI ends; and at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI begins. In some embodiments the detection is performed by blind decoding. In other embodiments the UCI has a fixed starting and ending position, and it indicates the starting and ending position of the PUSCH so the gNB does not need to guess the position of PUSCH or UCI.

(41) Also as shown in FIG. 7, the wireless device 16 includes a PUSCH configuration module 20 configured to include in the UCI, at least one of a starting and ending position of a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH; and map the UCI to time-frequency resources of the PUSCH.

(42) FIG. 8 is block diagram of a network node 14 constructed in accordance with principles set forth herein. The network node 14 includes processing circuitry 22. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry may include a memory 24 and processor 26, the memory 24 containing instructions which, when executed by the processor 26, configure processor 26 to perform the one or more functions described herein. In addition to a traditional processor and memory, processing circuitry 22 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry).

(43) Processing circuitry 22 may include and/or be connected to and/or be configured for accessing (e.g., writing to and/or reading from) memory 24, which may include any kind of volatile and/or non-volatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). Such memory 24 may be configured to store code executable by control circuitry and/or other data, e.g., data pertaining to communication, e.g., configuration and/or address data of nodes, etc. Processing circuitry 22 may be configured to control any of the methods described herein and/or to cause such methods to be performed, e.g., by processor 26. Corresponding instructions may be stored in the memory 24, which may be readable and/or readably connected to the processing circuitry 22. In other words, processing circuitry 22 may include a controller, which may comprise a microprocessor and/or microcontroller and/or FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) device and/or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) device. It may be considered that processing circuitry 22 includes or may be connected or connectable to memory, which may be configured to be accessible for reading and/or writing by the controller and/or processing circuitry 22.

(44) The memory 24 is configured to store UCI 30 received from a wireless device 16. The processor 26 is configured to implement a PUSCH processor 18 to process a received physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, signal, the PUSCH having the UCI, the UCI including at least one of a starting and ending position of the PUSCH, the processing including performing decoding to detect at least one of: at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI ends; and at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI begins. A transceiver 28 is configured to receive the PUSCH from a wireless device 16. In some embodiments the detection is performed by blind decoding. In other embodiments the UCI has a fixed starting and ending position, and it indicates the starting and ending position of the PUSCH so the gNB does not need to guess the position of PUSCH or UCI.

(45) FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of a network node 14 constructed in accordance with principles set forth herein. A memory module 25 stores the UCI 30. A PUSCH processor module 19 may be software that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to process a received physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, signal. The transceiver module 29 is configured to receive the PUSCH from a wireless device 16.

(46) FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a wireless device 16 constructed in accordance with principles set forth herein. The wireless device 16 includes processing circuitry 42. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry may include a memory 44 and processor 46, the memory 44 containing instructions which, when executed by the processor 46, configure processor 46 to perform the one or more functions described herein. In addition to a traditional processor and memory, processing circuitry 42 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry).

(47) Processing circuitry 42 may include and/or be connected to and/or be configured for accessing (e.g., writing to and/or reading from) memory 44, which may include any kind of volatile and/or non-volatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). Such memory 44 may be configured to store code executable by control circuitry and/or other data, e.g., data pertaining to communication, e.g., configuration and/or address data of nodes, etc. Processing circuitry 42 may be configured to control any of the methods described herein and/or to cause such methods to be performed, e.g., by processor 46. Corresponding instructions may be stored in the memory 44, which may be readable and/or readably connected to the processing circuitry 42. In other words, processing circuitry 42 may include a controller, which may comprise a microprocessor and/or microcontroller and/or FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) device and/or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) device. It may be considered that processing circuitry 42 includes or may be connected or connectable to memory, which may be configured to be accessible for reading and/or writing by the controller and/or processing circuitry 42.

(48) The memory 44 is configured to store UCI 50 to be transmitted to a network node 14. The processor 46 is configured to implement a PUSCH configuration unit 20 configured to include in the UCI, at least one of a starting and ending position of a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH; and map the UCI to time-frequency resources of the PUSCH. The transceiver 48 transmits the PUSCH to the network node 14.

(49) FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of a wireless device 16 constructed in accordance with principles set forth herein. The memory module 45 is configured to store UCI 50. The PUSCH configuration module 21 may include software that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to include in the UCI, at least one of a starting and ending position of a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH; and map the UCI to time-frequency resources of the PUSCH. The transceiver 49 transmits the PUSCH to the network node 14.

(50) FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a network node 14 for receiving uplink control information, UCI, autonomously transmitted by a wireless device in a licensed-assisted access, LAA, communication system. The process includes receiving, via transceiver 28, a PUSCH signal having a UCI, the UCI indicating at least one of a starting and ending position of the PUSCH (block S100). The process also includes performing, via processor 18, decoding to detect at least one of at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI ends and at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI begins (S102). In some embodiments the detection is performed by blind decoding. In other embodiments the UCI has a fixed starting and ending position, and it indicates the starting and ending position of the PUSCH so the gNB does not need to guess the position of PUSCH or UCI.

(51) FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a network node 14 for processing a PUSCH having UCI. The process includes processing via PUSCH processor unit 18, a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, signal, the PUSCH having the UCI, the UCI indicating at least one of a starting and ending position of the PUSCH (block 104). The process also includes performing, via the PUSCH processor unit 18, decoding to detect at least one of: at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI ends; and at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI begins (block 106). In some embodiments the detection is performed by blind decoding. In other embodiments the UCI has a fixed starting and ending position, and it indicates the starting and ending position of the PUSCH so the gNB does not need to guess the position of PUSCH or UCI.

(52) FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a wireless device for mapping the UCI to the PUSCH. The process includes including, via processor 46, in the UCI at least one of a starting and ending position of the PUSCH (block S108). The process also includes mapping, via PUSCH configuration unit 20, the UCI to time-frequency resources of the PUSCH (block S110)

(53) FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an exemplary process in a wireless device 16 for autonomously transmitting uplink control information, UCI, in a licensed-assisted access, LAA, communication system. The process includes mapping, via the PUSCH configuration unit 20, the UCI to time frequency resources of the PUSCH (block S112). The process also includes transmitting the PUSCH with the UCI on an uplink transmission, the uplink transmission being without a dynamic uplink grant from the base station (block S114). Note that a semi-persistent grant can be overridden by a dynamic grant. Therefore a semi-persistent grant does not exclude dynamic grants but it is, itself a non-dynamic grant.

(54) Having described the general process flow of arrangements of the disclosure and having provided examples of hardware and software arrangements for implementing the processes and functions of the disclosure, the sections below provide details and examples of arrangements for unscheduled uplink access on an unlicensed wireless communication network cell.

(55) UCI Parameters

(56) If a wireless device is transmitting autonomous UL, the wireless device should at least include at least some of the following parameters in an UL control information (UCI) signal in the uplink transmission for every PUSCH transmission:

(57) LBT priority class (2 bits);

(58) Number of subframes reserved for UL (2 bits);

(59) PUSCH starting position, which indicates the PUSCH starting symbol. In one embodiment, the PUSCH always starts at a subframe boundary, i.e., symbol 0 and hence, this signaling in UCI is not needed. In another embodiment, the first PUSCH subframe in a transmission burst can start at symbol 0 or 1 according to network node signaling for the purpose of UL LBT. One bit is included in the UCI to indicate whether the PUSCH for this subframe starts at symbol 0 or symbol 1;

(60) PUSCH ending position: in one example, this bit indicates if the PUSCH on the current subframe is shortened or not, i.e., PUSCH ends at symbol 12 or 13. In another example, the PUSCH ending position indicates if PUSCH on a next subframe is shortened.

(61) UCI Channel Coding and Modulation

(62) New UCI is denoted as o.sub.0, o.sub.1, o.sub.2, . . . , o.sub.O-1, where O is the number of UCI bits. New UCI is input to a CRC attachment for robustness. In one example, 8-bit CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) is appended and scrambled with the shortened wireless device C-RNTI (8 bits) to identify the transmitting wireless device. In another example, a 16-bit CRC is appended and scrambled with the 16-bit wireless device C-RNTI to identify the transmitting wireless device.

(63) Tail-biting Convolutional code (TBCC) is applied as a coding scheme for a new UCI. In one example, the modulation order of the UCI is the same as PUSCH data. In another example, quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) may always be applied for UCI modulation.

(64) A beta offset is used to account for different block error rate (BLER) targets and encoding schemes of UCI and PUSCH data. In one example, a radio resource control (RRC)-configured beta offset, e.g., a 4-bit beta offset, is used and the mapping of offset values and index reuses an existing HARQ-ACK offset mapping table. In another example, a fixed/predefined beta offset is used.

(65) The number of coded modulation symbols is determined at least by the size of the new UCI, the effective coding rate of the PUSCH and the beta offset to account for a specified performance difference between the PUSCH and the new UCI. The effective coding rate of the PUSCH can be determined by the MCS of the PUSCH. Alternatively, the effective coding rate of the PUSCH can be determined by the ratio of the transport block size and the number of coded PUSCH bits.

(66) According to a first embodiment, the number of coded UCI symbols per layer is calculated as

(67) $Q^{\prime }=\min \left(.Math.\frac{\left(O+L\right).Math.M_{\mathrm{sc}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}\left(x\right)}.Math.N_{\mathrm{symb}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}\left(x\right)}.Math.{\beta }_{\mathrm{offset}}^{\mathrm{UCI}}}{\underset{r=0}{\overset{C^{\left(x\right)}-1}{.Math.}}{K}_r^{\left(x\right)}}.Math.,M_{\mathrm{sc}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}\left(x\right)}.Math.N_{\mathrm{symb}}^{\mathrm{PUSCH}}\right)$

(68) where

(69) O is the number of UCI bits,

(70) L is the number of CRC bits, and

(71) β.sub.offset.sup.UCI is the configured or predefined UCI beta offset.

(72) K.sub.r.sup.(x) is the number of bits for code block number r, and C.sup.(x) is the number of code blocks. The variable “x” in K.sub.r.sup.(x) represents the transport block index corresponding to the highest I.sub.MCS value.

(73) M.sub.sc.sup.PUSCH(x) is the scheduled bandwidth for PUSCH transmission in the current sub-frame for the transport block.

(74) N.sub.symb.sup.PUSCH (x) is the number of SC-FDMA symbols in the current PUSCH transmission sub-frame used for UCI transmission. In one example, N.sub.symb.sup.PUSCH (x) is 12. In another example, N.sub.symb.sup.PUSCH(x) depends on the configured PUSCH starting and ending positions. The value of N.sub.symb.sup.PUSCH (x) for different configurations are illustrated in Table 1.

(75) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Value of N.sub.symb.sup.PUSCH(x) OS PUSCH starting PUSCH ending OS {0} {0, 1} {13} 12 11 {12, 13} 11 10

(76) The modulation coded symbols of UCI per layer q.sub.0, q.sub.1, q.sub.2, q.sub.3, . . . q.sub.{dot over (Q)} are then input to UCI resource element (RE) mapping.

(77) According to a second embodiment, the number of coded UCI symbols is read from a look-up table based on at least the MCS of the PUSCH. This embodiment is particularly advantageous when the size of the new UCI is known. This size is either defined in the specifications or is fixed based on higher-layer configuration by the network node 14.

(78) As a further simplification, a look-up table can be defined to map several MCS values to the same number of coded UCI symbols.

(79) Furthermore, the number of coded UCI symbols can be configured by the network node via higher layer signaling. The same number of coded UCI symbols is then used by the wireless device 16 for all autonomous UL transmissions.

(80) UCI RE Mapping

(81) Case 1: Same as A-CSI

(82) In a first embodiment, UCI is mapped on time-frequency resources in a similar way as traditional aperiodic channel state information (CSI) on the PUSCH starting from the lowest physical resource block (PRB) index of the allocated PUSCH transmission, as shown in FIG. 16.

(83) Case 2 PUSCH Starting on Symbol 0 or 1

(84) In a second embodiment, if the PUSCH transmission starting on symbol 0 and 1 is supported, the UCI is placed on the PUSCH starting from the lowest PRB index of the allocated PUSCH transmission in frequency and starting from symbol 1 in time, as shown in FIG. 17. The same UCI mapping is applied for all autonomous UL PUSCH. In this case, PUSCH starting position for each subframe is indicated in the corresponding UCI.

(85) Alternatively, below UCI RE mapping only applies for the first subframe in a UL burst, if PUSCH transmission starting on symbol 0 and 1 is supported. In the latter case, the network node 14 has to do blind decoding to detect whether UCI starts at symbol 0 or 1 for each subframe. After correctly detecting UCI, the network node 14 becomes aware of the PUSCH starting position that follows the same starting position as UCI.

(86) Case 3: Shortened PUSCH

(87) In a third embodiment, if PUSCH transmission always starts from a subframe boundary and a shortened PUSCH is supported (i.e., ends on symbol 12 or 13), the UCI is mapped on time-frequency resources in a similar way as traditional aperiodic CSI on PUSCH starting from the lowest PRB index of the allocated PUSCH transmission, but not on the last symbol, as shown in FIG. 18. The same UCI mapping is applied for all autonomous UL PUSCH. In this case, the PUSCH ending position for each subframe is indicated in the corresponding UCI. Or, alternatively, this mapping is only applied in the subframe where the PUSCH is shortened. The network node 14 may have to perform blind decoding to detect whether UCI ends at symbol 12 or 13 for each subframe. After correctly detecting UCI, the network node 14 becomes aware of the PUSCH ending position that follows the same ending position as UCI.

(88) Case 4: PUSCH Starting on Symbol 0 or 1 and Shortened PUSCH

(89) In a fourth embodiment, if PUSCH transmission starting on symbol 0 and 1 is supported and shortened PUSCH is supported (i.e., ends on symbol 12 or 13), UCI is mapped on time-frequency resources in a similar way as traditional aperiodic CSI on PUSCH starting from lowest PRB index of allocated PUSCH transmission, but not on the first and last symbol, as shown in FIG. 19.

(90) The same UCI mapping is applied for all autonomous UL PUSCH. In this case, the PUSCH starting and ending position for each subframe is indicated in the corresponding UCI. Or, alternatively, this mapping is only applied in the subframe where the PUSCH starts on symbol 1 and is shortened. The network node 14 may perform blind decoding to detect whether UCI:

(91) starts at symbol 0 and finishes at symbol 13;

(92) starts at symbol 0 and finishes at symbol 12;

(93) starts at symbol 1 and finishes at symbol 13;

(94) starts at symbol 1 and finishes at symbol 12.

(95) After correctly detecting the UCI, the network node 14 becomes aware of the PUSCH ending position that follows the same ending position as the UCI.

(96) Null/Zero Symbol Insertion

(97) In some embodiments described above, additional changes to the channel interleaver are needed to be able to write data symbols into the resource elements left unused by the UCI in the first and/or last OFDM symbols (e.g., the top 3 resource elements in the last OFDM symbol as illustrated for embodiment 3).

(98) Such changes to the channel interleaver may be undesirable since the low-level (possibly hardware) implementation in the wireless device 16 needs to be modified accordingly. To avoid this, a fifth embodiment is proposed that insert zero or null symbols into the coded UCI symbols such that the resource elements in the last OFDM symbol of the coded UCI region do not carry UCI or data. This is illustrated in the following in FIG. 20.

(99) In one non-limiting implementation of this embodiment, the number of zero or null symbols to be inserted into the coded UCI symbols is given by:
Θ=└Q′/11┘

(100) where Q′ is the number of coded UCI symbols as determined in the above embodiments and └x┘ is the floor function that returns an integer no greater than x. With this embodiment, the same channel interleaving procedure in the current specifications can be reused by treating Q′+Θ as the total length of the coded UCI symbols.

(101) The teaching of the fifth embodiment can also be applied to the second and fourth embodiment as illustrated in FIGS. 21 and 22.

(102) The teaching of the fifth embodiment can also be applied to the fourth embodiment where the codec UCI symbols are present only in the second slot. In this sixth embodiment, the number of zero or null symbols to be inserted into the coded UCI symbols is given by Θ=└Q′/5┘. See FIG. 23.

(103) Half Subframe Transmission on PUSCH

(104) This section includes methods and embodiments for new UCI on the PUSCH with half subframe transmission. Half subframe transmission may be applied for better channel access on unlicensed bands. Two schemes may be applied: Rate matching: the wireless device 16 performs rate matching if it succeeds LBT at 2.sup.nd slot; Puncturing: the wireless device 16 discards the 1.sup.st slot transmission if it succeeds LBT at 2.sup.nd slot

(105) In a first embodiment, if rate matching is applied, the first subframe in a UL burst is a half subframe transmission, and UCI mapping is illustrated as follows. The latter subframes are treated as a full subframe transmission. One bit is included in the UCI to indicate whether the PUSCH for this subframe starts at symbol 0 or symbol 7. The network node 14 performs blind decoding whether the current subframe is a full subframe transmission or half subframe transmission. One bit can be added in the UCI to indicate whether the next subframe is a full subframe transmission or half subframe transmission to avoid network node 14 blind decoding on every subframe. See FIGS. 24-26.

(106) In a second embodiment, if puncturing is applied, the wireless device 16 transmits UCI the same way as if it were a full subframe transmission, except that the wireless device 16 discards the PUSCH data and UCI mapped on the 1.sup.st slot. Note that a shortened transmission time interval (sTTI) may be implemented in which case half subframe transmission on the PUSCH may be altered such that the starting symbol may be other than the seventh symbol. Also, full or half subframe transmission on the PUSCH may be altered such that the ending symbol may be other than the twelfth or thirteenth symbol.

(107) In a third embodiment, if puncturing is applied, the UCI is only mapped on the 2.sup.nd slot for the first subframe in an UL burst. The network node 14 performs blind decoding on whether the current subframe is a full subframe transmission or half subframe transmission.

(108) UCI and Aperiodic CSI (A-CSI) on PUSCH

(109) Since autonomous UL transmissions are initiated by the wireless device 16, such PUSCH transmissions will not carry aperiodic CSI feedback since such feedback is triggered by a network node 14 request.

(110) To enhance the performance of the LAA system supporting autonomous UL access, additional embodiments are provided to enable aperiodic CSI feedbacks. In some embodiments, the network node 14 can request an aperiodic CSI feedback when it provides ACK/NACK feedback to the autonomous UL transmissions from the wireless device 16. This can be implemented as one bit in the DCI containing said ACK/NACK feedback.

(111) In some embodiments, the wireless device 16 indicates whether aperiodic CSI feedback is included in the new UCI for autonomous UL access. The reason such indication may be desirable is because the network node 14 may miss the subframe containing such feedback due to interference, in which case the network node 14 will think the next successfully received subframe should contain the aperiodic CSI feedback. When such error happens, the UL transmission may fail.

(112) Since the new UCI provides vital information to the correct reception of the autonomous UL transmission, it is desirable for the network node 14 to be able to read the UCI unambiguously. Therefore, the coded symbols of the new UCI may be placed before the coded symbols of the aperiodic CSI. This teaching can be applied and combined with any of the above embodiments. For instance, in the case where a shortened UL subframe is supported, the new UCI (possibly with inserted zero/null symbols), aperiodic CSI and data symbols are written in sequence starting from lowest PRB index of allocated PUSCH transmission in frequency and in predefined symbols in time. This is illustrated in FIG. 27.

(113) According to one aspect, a method performed by a wireless device 16 for autonomously transmitting uplink control information (UCI) together with autonomous uplink, AUL, data transmission. The method includes mapping the UCI to time-frequency resources of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) (block S112). The method also includes transmitting the PUSCH with the UCI on an uplink transmission, the uplink transmission being without a dynamic uplink grant from a base station (block S114).

(114) According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the UCI includes at least one of a starting and ending position of a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH. In some embodiments, the UCI indicates whether the PUSCH on one of a current subframe and a next subsequent subframe is shortened. In some embodiments, the UCI includes at least one of a listen-before-talk, LBT, priority class, a number of subframes reserved for uplink transmission a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, identification, a new data indicator, a redundancy version, a wireless device identifier, and a channel occupancy time, COT, indicator. In some embodiments, if the UCI is transmitted on the PUSCH, the UCI and the AUL data transmission are multiplexed such that the UCI is mapped from symbol 1 to symbol 12 of a subframe. In some embodiments, a beta offset value to account for different block error rate, BLER, targets and encoding schemes is configured in the wireless device 16 to determine how many coded modulation symbols to use for carrying the UCI in the PUSCH. In some embodiments, beta offset values are mapped by reusing a predetermined hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, acknowledgement, ACK, offset mapping table. In some embodiments, the beta offset value is fixed and predefined. In some embodiments, the UCI is mapped to the PUSCH starting from a first symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the UCI is mapped to the PUSCH starting from a second symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, if a shortened PUSCH is supported, the UCI is mapped in a same manner that aperiodic channel state information, CSI, is mapped by starting from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index but not on a first or last symbol of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the PUSCH further includes aperiodic channel state information, CSI. In some embodiments, the method further includes determining a number of coded UCI symbols by one of calculation and reading from a look-up table based on a Modulation Coding Scheme, MCS, of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the method further includes inserting one of zero and null symbols into coded UCI symbols to be mapped to the PUSCH. In some embodiments, UCI is transmitted on PUSCH starting from a seventh symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH, wherein a bit in the UCI indicates half subframe transmission for the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the uplink transmission is without an uplink grant from the base station.

(115) According to another aspect, a wireless device 16, wireless device, for autonomously transmitting uplink control information (UCI) together with autonomous uplink (AUL) data transmission is provided. The wireless device 16 includes processing circuitry 42 configured to map the UCI to time-frequency resources of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and transmit the PUSCH with the UCI on an uplink transmission, the uplink transmission being without a dynamic uplink grant from a base station.

(116) According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the UCI includes at least one of a starting and ending position of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In some embodiments, the UCI indicates whether the PUSCH on one of a current subframe and a next subsequent subframe is shortened. In some embodiments, the UCI includes at least one of a listen-before-talk, LBT, priority class, a number of subframes reserved for uplink transmission a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, identification, a new data indicator, a redundancy version, a wireless device identifier, and a channel occupancy time, COT, indicator. In some embodiments, if the UCI is transmitted on the PUSCH, the UCI and the AUL data transmission are multiplexed such that the UCI is mapped from symbol 1 to symbol 12 of a subframe. In some embodiments, a beta offset value to account for different block error rate, BLER, targets and encoding schemes is configured in the wireless device 16 to determine how many coded modulation symbols to use for carrying the UCI in the PUSCH. In some embodiments, beta offset values are mapped by reusing a predetermined hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, acknowledgement, ACK, offset mapping table. In some embodiments, the beta offset value is fixed and predefined. In some embodiments, the UCI is mapped to the PUSCH starting from a first symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the UCI is mapped to the PUSCH starting from a second symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, if a shortened PUSCH is supported, the UCI is mapped in a same manner that aperiodic channel state information, CSI, is mapped by starting from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index but not on a first or last symbol of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the PUSCH further includes aperiodic channel state information, CSI. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 42 is further configured to determine a number of coded UCI symbols by one of calculation and reading from a look-up table based on a Modulation Coding Scheme, MCS, of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 42 is further configured to insert one of zero and null symbols into coded UCI symbols to be mapped to the PUSCH. In some embodiments, UCI is transmitted on the PUSCH starting from a seventh symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH, wherein a bit in the UCI indicates half subframe transmission for the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the uplink transmission is without an uplink grant from the base station.

(117) According to yet another aspect, a method in a network node 14 for receiving uplink control information (UCI) together with autonomous uplink (UL) data transmission is provided. The method includes receiving a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) signal, the PUSCH having the UCI, the UCI indicating at least one of a starting and ending position of the PUSCH (block S100). The method further includes performing blind decoding to detect at least one of: a symbol at which the PUSCH the UCI ends; and a symbol at which the PUSCH the UCI begins (block S102).

(118) According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the blind decoding determines whether the UCI begins at one of symbol 0 and symbol 1 of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the blind decoding determines whether the UCI ends at one of symbol 12 and symbol 13 of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the method further includes requesting aperiodic channel state information, CSI, feedback, the aperiodic CSI feedback being requested when an ACK/NACK feedback message is sent.

(119) According to yet another aspect a network node 14 for receiving uplink control information (UCI) together with autonomous uplink (UL) data transmission, is provided. The network node 14 includes processing circuitry 22 including a memory and a processor. The memory is configured to store the UCI. The processor is configured to process a received physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) signal, the PUSCH having the UCI, the UCI including at least one of a starting and ending position of the PUSCH, the processing including performing blind decoding to detect at least one of: at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI ends; and at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI begins.

(120) According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the blind decoding determines whether the UCI begins at one of symbol 0 and symbol 1 of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the blind decoding determines whether the UCI ends at one of symbol 12 and symbol 13 of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to request an aperiodic channel state information, CSI, feedback, the aperiodic CSI feedback being requested when an ACK/NACK feedback message is sent.

Some Additional Embodiments

(121) Thus, in some embodiments, a method in a wireless device 16 for autonomously transmitting uplink control information (UCI) 50 together with autonomous uplink (UL) data transmission is provided. The method includes including in the UCI 50, at least one of a starting and ending position of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); and mapping the UCI 50 to time-frequency resources of the PUSCH.

(122) In some embodiments, the UCI 50 is mapped to the PUSCH starting from a first symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the UCI 50 is mapped to the PUSCH starting from a second symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the UCI 50 is mapped to a shortened PUSCH. In some embodiments, the method further includes determining a number of coded UCI symbols by calculation or reading from a look-up table based on at least a Modulation Coding Scheme, MCS, of the PUSCH, or by higher layer configuration from a network node 14. In some embodiments, the method further includes comprising inserting one of zero and null symbols into coded UCI symbols to be mapped to the PUSCH. In some embodiments, UCI is transmitted on PUSCH starting from the seventh symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH, and a bit in the UCI indicates half subframe transmission for the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the method further comprises indicating whether an aperiodic channel state information, CSI, feedback is included in the UCI.

(123) In some embodiments, a wireless device 16 for autonomously transmitting uplink control (UCI) 50 together with autonomous uplink (UL) data transmission is provided. The wireless device 16 includes processing circuitry 42 including a memory 44 and a processor 46. The memory 44 is configured to store UCI 50. The processor 46 is configured to include in the UCI 50, at least one of a starting and ending position of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); and map the UCI 50 to time-frequency resources of the PUSCH.

(124) In some embodiments, the UCI 50 is mapped to the PUSCH starting from a first symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the UCI 50 is mapped to the PUSCH starting from a second symbol in time of the PUSCH and from a lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the UCI 50 is mapped to a shortened PUSCH. In some embodiments, the processor 46 is further configured to determine a number of coded UCI symbols by calculation or reading from a look-up table based on at least a Modulation Coding Scheme, MCS, of the PUSCH, or by higher layer configuration from a network node 14. In some embodiments, the processor 46 is further configured to insert one of zero and null symbols into coded UCI symbols to be mapped to the PUSCH. In some embodiments, UCI is transmitted on PUSCH starting from the seventh symbol in time of the PUSCH and from the lowest physical resource block, PRB, index in frequency of the PUSCH, and a bit in the UCI indicates half subframe transmission for the PUSCH.

(125) In some embodiments, a wireless device 16 for autonomously transmitting uplink control information (UCI) 50 together with autonomous uplink (UL) data transmission is provided. The wireless device 16 includes a memory module 45 configured to store UCI. The wireless device 16 also includes a PUSCH configuration module 21 configured to: include in the UCI 50, at least one of a starting and ending position of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); and map the UCI 50 to time-frequency resources of the PUSCH.

(126) In some embodiments, a method in a network node 14 for receiving uplink control information, UCI, 30, together with autonomous uplink, UL, data transmission is provided. The method includes receiving a physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, signal, the PUSCH having the UCI 30, the UCI 30 indicating at least one of a starting and ending position of the PUSCH. The method also includes performing blind decoding to detect at least one of: at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI ends; and at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI begins.

(127) In some embodiments, the blind decoding determines whether the UCI 30 begins at one of symbol 0 and symbol 1 of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the blind decoding determines whether the UCI 30 ends at one of symbol 12 and symbol 13 of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the method further includes requesting an aperiodic channel state information, CSI, feedback, the aperiodic CSI feedback being requested when an ACK/NACK feedback is sent.

(128) In some embodiments, a network node 14 for receiving uplink control information (UCI) together with autonomous uplink (UL) data transmission is provided. The network node 14 includes processing circuitry 22 including a memory 24 and a processor 26. The memory 24 is configured to store the UCI 30. The processor 26 is configured to: process a received physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) signal, the PUSCH having the UCI 30, the UCI 30 including at least one of a starting and ending position of the PUSCH, the processing including performing blind decoding to detect at least one of: at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI ends; and at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI begins.

(129) In some embodiments, the blind decoding determines whether the UCI begins at one of symbol 0 and symbol 1 of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the blind decoding determines whether the UCI ends at one of symbol 12 and symbol 13 of the PUSCH. In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to request an aperiodic channel state information, CSI, feedback, the aperiodic CSI feedback being requested when an ACK/NACK feedback is sent.

(130) In some embodiments, a network node 14 for receiving uplink control information (UCI) 30 together with autonomous uplink (AUL) data transmission is provided. The network node 14 includes a memory module 25 configured to store the UCI 30. The network node 14 also includes a PUSCH processing module 19 configured to: process a received physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) signal, the PUSCH having the UCI 30, the UCI 30 including at least one of a starting and ending position of the PUSCH, the processing including performing blind decoding to detect at least one of: at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI 30 ends; and at what symbol of the PUSCH the UCI 30 begins.

Abbreviations

(131) BSR Buffer Status Request

(132) CC Component Carrier

(133) CCA Clear Channel Assessment

(134) CQI Channel Quality Information

(135) CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check

(136) DCI Downlink Control Information

(137) DL Downlink

(138) DMTC DRS Measurement Timing Configuration

(139) DRS Discovery Reference Signal

(140) eNB evolved NodeB, base station

(141) UE User Equipment

(142) UL Uplink

(143) LAA Licensed-Assisted Access

(144) SCell Secondary Cell

(145) STA Station

(146) LBT Listen-before-talk

(147) LTE-U LTE in Unlicensed Spectrum

(148) PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

(149) PMI Precoding Matrix Indicator

(150) PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

(151) RAT Radio Access Technology

(152) RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier

(153) TXOP Transmission Opportunity

(154) UL Uplink

(155) As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, and/or computer program product. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

(156) Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer (to thereby create a special purpose computer), special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

(157) These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

(158) The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

(159) It is to be understood that the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

(160) Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object-oriented programming language such as Java® or C++. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

(161) Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and/or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

(162) It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present embodiments are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope of the following claims.