Method of supporting industrial internet of things (iiot) with configured uplink grants on a shared spectrum

Abstract

To transmit industrial Internet of Things (HOT) data on a communication channel, a user device receives (402), from a base station, one or more configured uplink grants for transmitting data in an unlicensed spectrum, prioritizes (404) one of the one or more configured uplink grants, and generates (406) a data packet for the prioritized configured uplink grant. Additionally, the UE performs (408) a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure with the base station. In response to determining the LBT procedure has failed, the UE identifies (416) another configured grant opportunity to transmit the data packet, and transmits (418), to the base station, a first transmission for the data packet via the other configured grant opportunity.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 - 11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . A method for communicating in an unlicensed spectrum by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:
 receiving, by the UE from a base station, a first configured uplink grant configuration for transmitting data in an unlicensed spectrum and a second configured uplink grant configuration for transmitting data in the unlicensed spectrum;   generating, by the UE, a data packet for the first configured uplink grant configuration using a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), transmission scheme;   performing, by the UE for the first configured uplink grant configuration, a first listen-before-talk (LBT), procedure; and   in response to determining that the first LBT procedure has failed:
 identifying, by the UE, an opportunity to transmit the data packet using the second configured uplink grant configuration; 
 performing, by the UE for the second configured uplink grant configuration, a second LBT procedure; and 
 in response to determining that the second LBT procedure has been successful, transmitting, by the UE to the base station, the data packet using a second HARQ transmission scheme different from the first HARQ transmission scheme via the opportunity in a HARQ retransmission. 
   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 prioritizing, by the UE, the first configured uplink grant configuration over the second configured uplink grant configuration.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 deprioritizing, by the UE, the first configured uplink grant configuration in response to determining the LBT procedure has failed.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 configuring, by the UE, a retransmission counter; and   retransmitting, by the UE to the base station, the data packet in response to determining that a number of retransmissions is less than or equal to the retransmission counter.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 determining, by the UE, that the UE is configured to use a configured grant retransmission timer;   starting, by the UE, the configured grant retransmission timer; and   resetting, by the UE, the retransmission counter when the configured grant retransmission timer expires.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 determining, by the UE, that the UE is configured to perform retransmission in an unlicensed spectrum.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein determining whether the UE is configured to perform retransmission in an unlicensed spectrum includes at least one of:
 determining, by the UE, that the UE is configured to use a configured grant retransmission timer; or   receiving, by the UE from the base station, an indication in a message or control element to perform retransmission in the unlicensed spectrum.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein at least one of:
 a size of the second configured uplink grant configuration matches a size of a protocol data unit (PDU), associated with a media access control (MAC), layer for the data packet;   logical channels including the MAC PDU are allowed to use the second configured uplink grant configuration; or   logical channels including the MAC PDU are allowed to use a configured grant type for the second configured uplink grant configuration.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 adjusting, by the UE, a process for transmitting the MAC PDU to the base station from the first HARQ transmission scheme to the second HARQ transmission scheme.   
     
     
         21 . A user device comprising processing hardware configured to:
 receive, by the user device from a base station, a first configured uplink grant configuration for transmitting data in an unlicensed spectrum and a second configured uplink grant configuration for transmitting data in the unlicensed spectrum;   generate, by the user device, a data packet for the first configured uplink grant configuration using a first hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), transmission scheme;   perform, by the user device for the first configured uplink grant configuration, a first listen-before-talk (LBT), procedure; and   in response to the user device determining that the first LBT procedure has failed:   identify, by the user device, an opportunity to transmit the data packet using the second configured uplink grant configuration;   perform, by the user device for the second configured uplink grant configuration, a second LBT procedure; and   in response to determining that the second LBT procedure has been successful, transmitting, by the user device to the base station, the data packet using a second HARQ transmission scheme different from the first HARQ transmission scheme via the opportunity in a HARQ retransmission.   
     
     
         22 . The user device of  claim 21 , wherein the processing hardware is further configured to:
 prioritize, by the user device, the first configured uplink grant configuration over the second configured uplink grant configuration.   
     
     
         23 . The user device of  claim 22 , wherein the processing hardware is further configured to:
 deprioritize, by the user device, the first configured uplink grant configuration in response to determining the LBT procedure has failed.   
     
     
         24 . The user device of  claim 21 , wherein the processing hardware is further configured to:
 configure, by the user device, a retransmission counter; and   retransmit, by the user device to the base station, the data packet in response to determining that a number of retransmissions is less than or equal to the retransmission counter.   
     
     
         25 . The user device of  claim 24 , wherein the processing hardware is further configured to:
 determine, by the user device, that the user device is configured to use a configured grant retransmission timer;   start, by the user device, the configured grant retransmission timer; and   reset, by the user device, the retransmission counter when the configured grant retransmission timer expires.   
     
     
         26 . The user device of  claim 21 , wherein the processing hardware is further configured to:
 determine, by the user device, that the user device is configured to perform retransmission in an unlicensed spectrum.   
     
     
         27 . The user device of  claim 26 , wherein the user device determines whether the user device is configured to perform retransmission in an unlicensed spectrum by performing at least one of:
 determining, by the user device, that the user device is configured to use a configured grant retransmission timer; or   receiving, by the user device from the base station, an indication in a message or control element to perform retransmission in the unlicensed spectrum.   
     
     
         28 . The user device of  claim 21 , wherein at least one of:
 a size of the second configured uplink grant configuration matches a size of a protocol data unit (PDU), associated with a media access control (MAC), layer for the data packet;   logical channels including the MAC PDU are allowed to use the second configured uplink grant configuration; or   logical channels including the MAC PDU are allowed to use a configured grant type for the second configured uplink grant configuration.   
     
     
         29 . The user device of  claim 28 , wherein the processing hardware is further configured to:
 adjust, by the user device, a process for transmitting the MAC PDU to the base station from the first HARQ transmission scheme to the second HARQ transmission scheme.