WO2025119456A1

WO2025119456A1 - Multiplexing a physical uplink control channel (pucch)

Info

Publication number: WO2025119456A1
Application number: PCT/EP2023/084365
Authority: WO
Inventors: Magnus Hurd; Jing Rao; Anteneh Atumo GEBREMARIAM; Zhiming YIN; Hong Zhu; Songtao Li
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 2023-12-05
Filing date: 2023-12-05
Publication date: 2025-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 2026-06-05

Abstract

A method and network node for multiplexing a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) are disclosed. According to one aspect, a method in a network node includes scheduling a first wireless device (WD) for transmission of a first PUCCH transmission on a first set of resources on a first beam. The method also includes determining from a look- up table a second beam that does not interfere with the first beam. The method further includes scheduling a second WD for transmission of a second PUCCH transmission on the first set of resources on the determined second beam.

Description

MULTIPLEXING A PHYSICAL UPLINK CONTROL CHANNEL (PUCCH)

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to multiplexing a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

BACKGROUND

The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has developed and is developing standards for Fourth Generation (4G) (also referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and Fifth Generation (5G) (also referred to as New Radio (NR)) wireless communication systems. Such systems provide, among other features, broadband communication between network nodes, such as base stations, and mobile wireless devices (WD), as well as communication between network nodes and between WDs. The 3GPP is also developing standards for Sixth Generation (6G) wireless communication networks.

Wireless technology as introduced by 3GPP has been developed for higher frequencies, such as bands above 24 GHz (which is referred to as high-band) along with various bands at 6-10 GHz and 10-15 GHz. To cope with the coverage challenge at higher frequencies, more antenna elements are needed. In NR, massive antenna arrays have been introduced to achieve both increased coverage and increased level of throughput. These antenna arrays are sometimes referred to as Advanced Antenna Systems (AAS). In 3GPP, the AAS is referred to as a transmission and reception point (TRP) and is simply a collection of antenna elements, like a panel of elements. To reduce the cost of AAS, a component of analog beamforming is introduced as part of the base station. Also, at the WD, analog beamforming is expected at high-band: this means that the WD may only receive a transmission from one beam at a time since its spatial reception filter applies to all resource elements of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) symbol (per polarization).

Analog beamforming is an example of time-domain beamforming, meaning one formation of a beam applies to all frequency resources being part of a transmission from the base station. Hybrid beamforming based on different sub-arrays of antenna elements connected to separate radio frequency (RF) chains is another version of time-domain beamforming. Compared to strict digital beamforming, hybrid beamforming may be seen as the digital domain operating an array of subarrays of antennas as shown in the example of FIG. 1. The subarrays of antennas are subject to analog beamforming and act as physical antennas except that the beamforms of the subarrays may each be pointing into different directions given appropriate analog weights for a specific point in time. These subarrays are referred to herein as analog antenna subarrays. Note that if there were no analog beamforming applied this may be the same as pure digital beamforming.

Assuming one of the directions induced by analog beamforming in FIG. 1 there is an option of digital beamforming. The case of no analog beamforming may be viewed as being simply only one direction in FIG. 1 in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. The digital beamforming may be based on a Grid of Beams (GoB), both in horizontal and vertical dimensions. Seen from above, this may look like the example of FIG. 2, which shows a GoB covering the horizontal dimension, assuming one of the directions is induced by analog beamforming.

The base station may track the WD to select both a direction induced by analog beamforming and a digital beam in the GoB for transmission/reception to/from the WD. This is referred to as beam management. There are two ways to do this: (a) the WD measures channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) transmitted by the base station and reporting these measurements in a CSI report; (b) the base station measures Sounding Reference Signals (SRS) transmitted by the WD.

Compared to a full digital solution, hybrid beamforming reduces the need to transfer data between the RF front end and baseband. Another strategy to minimize data transfer between baseband and frontend is to limit number of layers allowed at a specific time occasion. A third strategy is to use a digital receiver receiving data from all the antenna subarrays (responsible for the analog beamforming) on a fraction of the resource elements in scope of the deployment; it may be that only a limited bandwidth is received over some symbols (typically enough symbols to capture a full slot). Such a digital receiver is here referred to as a Narrowband Receiver (NBR). Whereas this disregards some frequency-related information, it still allows the base station to spatially resolve the received signal from each and every antenna subarray (on a reduced bandwidth) assuming a certain direction induced by analog beamforming.

Whatever version of beamforming deployed, a WD may provide hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) in response to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission. The WD may transmit an acknowledgement (ACK) if it may successfully decode the PDSCH; the WD may transmit a non-acknowledgement (NACK) if it failed to decode the PDSCH as scheduled by the associated PDCCH. The HARQ feedback generally requires a small amount of air interface resources. In some cases, several WDs have been scheduled for PDSCH. Accordingly, the base station then expects several WDs to send HARQ feedback on the uplink around the same time, in fact even at the same time.

Another aspect of PUCCH is the option to indicate a lack of uplink resources by transmitting a Scheduling Request (SR). The WD may transmit this request whenever it has uplink data to transmit but no resources to transmit on, as described in 3GPP Technical Standards (TS) 38.211 V18.0.0 (Release 18), 38.213 V18.0.0 (Release 18) and 38.321 V17.6.0 (Release 17). Typically, each user admitted may be assigned a specific resource for transmitting such a scheduling request. Without this resource, the WD may resort to random access whenever it needs uplink resources (and is not granted any). Whereas it is possible to append SR onto HARQ ACK/NACK feedback, the network cannot assume this opportunity being frequent enough to properly serve the WDs. Therefore, dedicated SR resources may be defined for instance on PUCCH format 0 resources. It is noted that the term “user” as used herein refers to a WD such as a UE. In other words, the term “user” is used interchangeably with WD and/or UE. Each WD is configured with a Resource Block (RB) and a so-called initial cyclic shift (see initialCyclicShift in 3GPP TS 38.331 V17.6.0 (Release 17)). Up to 12 WDs may share a resource block (RB), given they are assigned different cyclic shifts (since there are only up to 12 cyclic shifts). The cyclic shift is a way to share a range of subcarriers: a sequence of complex phases are applied to the subcarriers (as a function of subcarrier index); each WD may have different sequences (loosely referred to as different cyclic shifts) to share the frequency resources.

For both HARQ feedback and SR, format 0 PUCCH may be used. In both cases, the resource configured for a WD is specified by RB, symbol and an initial cyclic shift (as given by the radio resource control (RRC) parameter initialCyclicShift, see 3GPP TS 38.331). For HARQ feedback, it is little different since one may represent the feedback using the cyclic shift. So first, a WD is assigned an initialCyclicShift as for SR described above: second, there is an additional cyclic shift depending on the HARQ feedback (ACK or NACK) “added” to the initial cyclic shift resulting in a net cyclic shift, as described in 3GPP TS 38.213. Typically, different WDs are assigned initialCyclicShift such that net cyclic shifts are not mixed up between different WDs. This means that only a subset of the initialCyclicShifts may be used for HARQ feedback. For example, denote the 12 cyclic shifts Ci (where i=0, 1, 11) allowed for initialCyclicShifts. For a specific WD (assigned initial cyclic shift to Ci) that is expected to feedback on one transport block, the WD may use ci for NACK and Ci+6 for ACK. Five other users may be assigned Ci+1, Ci+2, Ci+3, Ci+4, Ci+5 as initialCyclicShift. These users may use the cyclic shifts Ci+l/ci+7, Ci+2/ci+8, Ci+3/ci+9, Ci+4/ci+10, Ci+5/ci+l 1 for NACK/ACK, respectively. In other words, the users report on separate resources regardless of whether they report ACK or NACK. If two transport blocks are to be acknowledged, each WD needs 4 of the 12 cyclic shifts to code the combinations {0,0}, {0,1}, {1,0}, {1,1}, where the first entry is feedback for one transport block (on one carrier) and the second entry is feedback for other transport block (on other carrier). To have the feedback on separate resources, in this case, only three WDs may be scheduled PUCCH on the same RB. If the WD may multiplex SR, then there may be another cyclic shift for the two-transport-block case. Altogether, 8 of the allowed 12 shifts are consumed. No other WD may transmit PUCCH on such RB. See FIG. 3.

Essentially, the twelve cyclic shifts are organized into different exclusive subsets (subsets that are orthogonal to each other) and each WD is assigned a certain subset. Then WDs with different subsets may be scheduled concurrently without interference.

A solution based on purely analog beamforming operates with one beam direction at a time. The base station may only be able to serve HARQ feedback and scheduling requests from WDs within the coverage of that beam direction.

A solution based on frequency-domain digital beamforming may combine all the data streams (one from each antenna element) after the point of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) as seen from uplink perspective. The beamforming assigns weights per resource element and antenna element. This solution may receive PUCCH from several directions concurrently. However, in the case of many antenna elements (which is typical at higher frequencies), it may be costly for the system to manage all these data streams from the antenna elements of the radio frontend all the way beyond the point of the Inverse fast Fourier transform FFT (IFFT) and the FFT.

A solution based on time-domain digital beamforming applies beam weights before the point of FFT (as seen from uplink perspective). One set of beam weights corresponds to one beam in a GoB. If only a few beams are allowed (out of the beams shown in FIG. 2), only PUCCH from a small number of beams may be served. If a large number of beams are used, this solution may be subject to drawbacks that are the same as for the previous solution: it may be costly for the system to manage all the data of each beam. Adding an analog frontend (with subarrays inducing a step of analog beamforming) may also present similar challenges.

A solution based on an NBR receiving on a limited bandwidth may reduce the amount of data managed by the system. However, the number of resources representing PUCCH that may fit the limited bandwidth is likewise limited. This poses two problems. First, the number of PUCCH resources supporting HARQ feedback for concurrent PDSCH transmissions (related to different users) is limited. Second, each user may be configured with an SR resource to avoid random access whenever it has data in its buffer and it is not granted uplink resources. In other words, not only is the amount of resources limited, the need to have resources for HARQ feedback is in conflict with the need to have resources for SR.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments advantageously provide methods and network nodes for multiplexing a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

Some embodiments enable PUCCH configured for different users on the same frequency -time resources to be transmitted concurrently, to increase utilization of the limited beam, frequency or time resources (as for example, NBR resources). The concurrent transmissions may be allowed by the scheduler whenever the PUCCH for different users are separated in space. Receiving PUCCH on NBR enables the concurrent transmissions to be resolved.

According to one aspect, a network node configured to communicate with a wireless device, WD, is provided. The network node is configured to: schedule a first WD for transmission of a first physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, transmission on a first set of resources on a first beam; determine from a look-up table a second beam that does not interfere with the first beam; and schedule a second WD for transmission of a second PUCCH transmission on the first set of resources on the determined second beam.

According to another aspect, a method in a network node configured to communicate with a wireless device, WD, is provided. The method includes: scheduling a first WD for transmission of a first PUCCH transmission on a first set of resources on a first beam; determining from a look-up table a second beam that does not interfere with the first beam; and scheduling a second WD for transmission of a second PUCCH transmission on the first set of resources on the determined second beam. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, 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:

FIG. 1 illustrates hybrid beamforming;

FIG. 2 illustrates a grid of beams (GoB) in a horizontal plane;

FIG. 3 illustrates a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) format 0 configuration;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example network architecture illustrating a communication system connected via an intermediate network to a host computer according to the principles in the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating via a network node with a wireless device over an at least partially wireless connection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for executing a client application at a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data at a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data from the wireless device at a host computer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data at a host computer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node for multiplexing a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 11 illustrates concurrent PUCCH transmissions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before describing in detail example embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to multiplexing a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments 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. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.

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.

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.

In some embodiments described herein, the term “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and/or wireless connections.

The term “network node” used herein may be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multistandard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE), integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, anode external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), etc. The network node may also comprise test equipment. The term “radio node” used herein may be used to also denote a wireless device (WD) such as a wireless device (WD) or a radio network node.

In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The WD herein may be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another WD over radio signals, such as wireless device (WD). The WD may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) WD, machine type WD or WD capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and/or low-complexity WD, a sensor equipped with WD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Narrowband loT (NB-IOT) device, etc.

Also, in some embodiments the generic term “radio network node” is used. It may be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), IAB node, relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).

Note that although terminology from one particular wireless system, such as, for example, 3GPP LTE and/or New Radio (NR), may be used in this disclosure, this may not be seen as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementioned system. Other wireless systems, including without limitation Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure. Note further, that functions described herein as being performed by a wireless device or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of wireless devices and/or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network node and wireless device described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, may be distributed among several physical devices.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein may be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Some embodiments provide multiplexing a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). Some embodiments provide better utilization of limited resources to provide more opportunities for scheduling HARQ feedback for different users concurrently, thus improving the downlink cell throughput or capacity when there are several users in the system. Compared with known arrangements, some embodiments provide better utilization of limited amount of resources to provide higher capacity of users (more users may be assigned SR resources within the scope of NBR), thus improving the uplink cell throughput or capacity when there are several users, i.e., WDs, in the system. Also, latency may be improved since the base station does not need to wait for a suitable PUCCH that long in a loaded system.

Returning now to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in FIG. 4 a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to an embodiment, such as a 3 GPP-type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and/or NR (5G), which comprises an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14. The access network 12 comprises a plurality of network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (referred to collectively as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (referred to collectively as coverage areas 18). Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20. A first wireless device (WD) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding network node 16a. A second WD 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16b. While a plurality of WDs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as wireless devices 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole WD is in the coverage area or where a sole WD is connecting to the corresponding network node 16. Note that although only two WDs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more WDs 22 and network nodes 16.

Also, it is contemplated that a WD 22 may be in simultaneous communication and/or configured to separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16. For example, a WD 22 may have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR. As an example, WD 22 may be in communication with an eNB for LTE/E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR/NG-RAN.

The communication system 10 may itself be connected to a host computer 24, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud- implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 24 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The connections 26, 28 between the communication system 10 and the host computer 24 may extend directly from the core network 14 to the host computer 24 or may extend via an optional intermediate network 30. The intermediate network 30 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network. The intermediate network 30, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet. In some embodiments, the intermediate network 30 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system of FIG. 4 as a whole enables connectivity between one of the connected WDs 22a, 22b and the host computer 24. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection. The host computer 24 and the connected WDs 22a, 22b are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection, using the access network 12, the core network 14, any intermediate network 30 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection may be transparent in the sense that at least some of the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, a network node 16 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from a host computer 24 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected WD 22a. Similarly, the network node 16 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the WD 22a towards the host computer 24.

A network node 16 is configured to include a scheduling unit 32 which is configured to schedule a first WD 22 for transmission of a first PUCCH transmission on a first set of resources on a first beam and scheduling a second WD for transmission of a second PUCCH transmission on the first set of resources on the determined second beam.

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the WD 22, network node 16 and host computer 24 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 5. In a communication system 10, a host computer 24 comprises hardware (HW) 38 including a communication interface 40 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 10. The host computer 24 further comprises processing circuitry 42, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. The processing circuitry 42 may include a processor 44 and memory 46. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the 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) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 44 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 46, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile 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).

Processing circuitry 42 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by host computer 24. Processor 44 corresponds to one or more processors 44 for performing host computer 24 functions described herein. The host computer 24 includes memory 46 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 48 and/or the host application 50 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42, causes the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42 to perform the processes described herein with respect to host computer 24. The instructions may be software associated with the host computer 24.

The software 48 may be executable by the processing circuitry 42. The software 48 includes a host application 50. The host application 50 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a WD 22 connecting via an OTT connection 52 terminating at the WD 22 and the host computer 24. In providing the service to the remote user, the host application 50 may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 52. The “user data” may be data and information described herein as implementing the described functionality. In one embodiment, the host computer 24 may be configured for providing control and functionality to a service provider and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The processing circuitry 42 of the host computer 24 may enable the host computer 24 to observe, monitor, control, transmit to and/or receive from the network node 16 and or the wireless device 22.

The communication system 10 further includes a network node 16 provided in a communication system 10 and including hardware 58 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 24 and with the WD 22. The hardware 58 may include a communication interface 60 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 10, as well as a radio interface 62 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 64 with a WD 22 located in a coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The radio interface 62 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. The communication interface 60 may be configured to facilitate a connection 66 to the host computer 24. The connection 66 may be direct or it may pass through a core network 14 of the communication system 10 and/or through one or more intermediate networks 30 outside the communication system 10.

In the embodiment shown, the hardware 58 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may include a processor 70 and a memory 72. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 68 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) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 70 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 72, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile 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). Thus, the network node 16 further has software 74 stored internally in, for example, memory 72, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection. The software 74 may be executable by the processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16. Processor 70 corresponds to one or more processors 70 for performing network node 16 functions described herein. The memory 72 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 74 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68, causes the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16. For example, processing circuitry 68 of the network node 16 may include a scheduling unit 32 which is configured to schedule a first WD 22 for transmission of a first PUCCH transmission on a first set of resources on a first beam and scheduling a second WD for transmission of a second PUCCH transmission on the first set of resources on the determined second beam.

The communication system 10 further includes the WD 22 already referred to. The WD 22 may have hardware 80 that may include a radio interface 82 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 64 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the WD 22 is currently located. The radio interface 82 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers.

The hardware 80 of the WD 22 further includes processing circuitry 84. The processing circuitry 84 may include a processor 86 and memory 88. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 84 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) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 86 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 88, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile 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).

Thus, the WD 22 may further comprise software 90, which is stored in, for example, memory 88 at the WD 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the WD 22. The software 90 may be executable by the processing circuitry 84. The software 90 may include a client application 92. The client application 92 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the WD 22, with the support of the host computer 24. In the host computer 24, an executing host application 50 may communicate with the executing client application 92 via the OTT connection 52 terminating at the WD 22 and the host computer 24. In providing the service to the user, the client application 92 may receive request data from the host application 50 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 52 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 92 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

The processing circuitry 84 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by WD 22. The processor 86 corresponds to one or more processors 86 for performing WD 22 functions described herein. The WD 22 includes memory 88 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 90 and/or the client application 92 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84, causes the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84 to perform the processes described herein with respect to WD 22.

In some embodiments, the inner workings of the network node 16, WD 22, and host computer 24 may be as shown in FIG. 5 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 4.

In FIG. 5, the OTT connection 52 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer 24 and the wireless device 22 via the network node 16, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from the WD 22 or from the service provider operating the host computer 24, or both. While the OTT connection 52 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

The wireless connection 64 between the WD 22 and the network node 16 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the WD 22 using the OTT connection 52, in which the wireless connection 64 may form the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc.

In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 between the host computer 24 and WD 22, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 may be implemented in the software 48 of the host computer 24 or in the software 90 of the WD 22, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 52 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 48, 90 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 52 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the network node 16, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the network node 16. Some such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary WD signaling facilitating the host computer’s 24 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. In some embodiments, the measurements may be implemented in that the software 48, 90 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 52 while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

Thus, in some embodiments, the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 configured to provide user data and a communication interface 40 that is configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to the WD 22. In some embodiments, the cellular network also includes the network node 16 with a radio interface 62. In some embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to, and/or the network node’s 16 processing circuitry 68 is configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for preparing/initiating/maintaining/supporting/ending a transmission to the WD 22, and/or preparing/terminating/maintaining/supporting/ ending in receipt of a transmission from the WD 22. In some embodiments, the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 and a communication interface 40 that is configured to a communication interface 40 configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a WD 22 to a network node 16. In some embodiments, the WD 22 is configured to, and/or comprises a radio interface 82 and/or processing circuitry 84 configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for preparing/initiating/maintaining/supporting/ending a transmission to the network node 16, and/or preparing/terminating/maintaining/supporting/ending in receipt of a transmission from the network node 16.

Although FIGS. 4 and 5 show various “units” such as scheduling unit 32 as being within a respective processor, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in a corresponding memory within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software within the processing circuitry.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIGS. 4 and 5, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIG. 5. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (Block S100). In an optional substep of the first step, the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as, for example, the host application 50 (Block S102). In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (Block SI 04). In an optional third step, the network node 16 transmits to the WD 22 the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer 24 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (Block SI 06). In an optional fourth step, the WD 22 executes a client application, such as, for example, the client application 92, associated with the host application 50 executed by the host computer 24 (Block S108).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 4, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (Block SI 10). In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as, for example, the host application 50. In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (Block SI 12). The transmission may pass via the network node 16, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional third step, the WD 22 receives the user data carried in the transmission (Block SI 14).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 4, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. In an optional first step of the method, the WD 22 receives input data provided by the host computer 24 (Block SI 16). In an optional substep of the first step, the WD 22 executes the client application 92, which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer 24 (Block SI 18). Additionally or alternatively, in an optional second step, the WD 22 provides user data (Block S120). In an optional substep of the second step, the WD provides the user data by executing a client application, such as, for example, client application 92 (Block SI 22). In providing the user data, the executed client application 92 may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the WD 22 may initiate, in an optional third substep, transmission of the user data to the host computer 24 (Block SI 24). In a fourth step of the method, the host computer 24 receives the user data transmitted from the WD 22, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (Block SI 26).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 4, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. In an optional first step of the method, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 16 receives user data from the WD 22 (Block S128). In an optional second step, the network node 16 initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer 24 (Block SI 30). In a third step, the host computer 24 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the network node 16 (Block SI 32).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node 16 for multiplexing a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 68 (including the scheduling unit 32), processor 70, radio interface 62 and/or communication interface 60. Network node 16 such as via processing circuitry 68 and/or processor 70 and/or radio interface 62 and/or communication interface 60 is configured to schedule a first WD 22 for transmission of a first PUCCH transmission on a first set of resources on a first beam (Block SI 34). The process includes determining from a look-up table a second beam that does not interfere with the first beam (Block SI 36). The process includes scheduling a second WD 22 for transmission of a second PUCCH transmission on the first set of resources on the determined second beam (Block S138).

According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the first set of resources include at least one of resource blocks, symbols and cyclic shift. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving the first PUCCH transmission on the first beam on the first set of resources and receiving the second PUCCH transmission on the second beam on the first set of resources. In some embodiments, the first and second PUCCH transmissions are received by a narrow band receiver. In some embodiments, the first PUCCH transmission is a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback, transmission and the second PUCCH transmission is a scheduling request, SR. In some embodiments, the first PUCCH transmission is a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback, transmission and the second PUCCH transmission is a HARQ feedback transmission. In some embodiments, the method includes determining a plurality of non-interfering beams for scheduling PUCCH transmissions on the first set of resources. In some embodiments, the method includes determining interfering beams based at least in part on narrow beam sidelobes between two beams. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving from the first WD 22 a scheduling request when determining the second beam. In some embodiments, the method includes assuming that the first PUCCH transmission and the second PUCCH transmission have a same net cyclic shift.

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 multiplexing a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

In order to accommodate all users served by the base station, each WD 22 may have at least one PUCCH resource (in order to allow HARQ feedback). The configuration of PUCCH for several WDs 22 on the same air interface resources, in the sense that they are configured same values for all of RB, symbol and cyclic shift (initial CyclicShift, see 3GPP TS 38.331), does not mean they are in fact transmitted concurrently. If several PDSCH for different WDs 22 are to be scheduled, it may happen that some of the WDs 22 have PUCCH configured with a same RB/symbol/cyclic shift. A legacy millimeter wave (MMW) network node 16 may schedule only one of these WDs 22 such that only one PUCCH transmission is transmitted.

In some embodiments, PUCCH is scheduled concurrently for more than one of the WDs 22 with PUCCH configured on the same resources as defined by RB/symbol/cyclic shift. In some embodiments, HARQ feedback is transmitted at the same time for several WDs 22. In some embodiments, at least one HARQ feedback is transmitted at the same time as a resource configured for SR (for other WDs 22).

When HARQ feedback is transmitted at the same time for several WDs 22, the WDs 22 scheduled for concurrent PUCCH may be spatially separated. FIG. 11 illustrates how two WDs 22 far apart may be scheduled for PUCCH concurrently (on shared resources). Beam management keeps track what narrow beam applies to respective WD 22.

Therefore, there is a “forbidden” set of narrow beams for which reception of another signal may result in interference to the beam scheduled to receive a PUCCH transmission. If other transmissions were scheduled on this forbidden set, interference may reduce the quality of the transmission for user A, e.g., WD 22a. A way to determine the forbidden set may be based on narrow beam sidelobes for narrow beams close to the scheduled beam. Generally, the interference between two beams is caused by the sidelobes of the beams. With large antenna arrays, the network node 16 may create very narrow beams which have rapidly decreasing sidelobes. In other words, with narrow beams, the interference situation improves, and the 'forbidden set' becomes smaller. Moreover, the network node 16 may pre-calculate which beams belong to the 'forbidden set' to a specific beam. This means for every narrow beam, there may be an entry in a look-up forbidden beam/higher interference beam table that may be used for PUCCH scheduling (or PDSCH).

When at least one HARQ feedback is transmitted at the same time as a resource configured for SR, one or many PUCCH transmissions configured for HARQ feedback on the same resource as an SR (same RB/symbol/cyclic shift but for another user), are scheduled. This works if the user configured for the SR on this resource (considering RB/symbol/cyclic shift) is on a beam that is different than beams related to the PUCCH transmissions for HARQ feedback. In other words, the beams of the potential PUCCH transmissions for HARQ feedback may not be located in the forbidden set for the beam applied for SR. Note that the actual transmission of SR by the WD may not happen. The user might only transmit when it needs uplink resources, which is not always the case when the SR occasion appears. A reasonable policy by the network node 16 is to assume that the user transmits the SR. If beam management cannot accurately beam track the user with the SR opportunity, the SR transmission may end up in the forbidden region of the scheduled HARQ transmissions. This is a general challenge when doing spatial division multiplexing (SDM) for any kind of scheduling of resources for different concurrent beams.

In some embodiments, WDs 22 share resources for SR. In this case, the transmitted SRs from the different users sharing RB/symbol/cyclic shift are exactly the same signal. Effectively this comes out as a multipath transmission where a transmission from one WD 22 represents a subset of paths in the multipath transmission. In fact, multi-path transmission appears as so-called single-network transmissions (in uplink). In this case there is no interference. This is not the case for the cases described above, since the HARQ feedback transmissions are different from user to user depending on whether it is ACK or NACK that is transmitted.

As explained above, the WDs 22 need to have allocated initialCyclicShifts such that there are no resource conflicts when scheduling PUCCH for different users. Using NBR may remove such resource conflicts since various PUCCH transmissions are resolved by NBR. In other words, there may be no restrictions for scheduling PUCCH with same initialCyclicShift or initialCyclicShift resulting overlapping resources being used for HARQ feedback as long as the transmissions may be spatially resolved as described above. As a result, more WDs 22 may be scheduled regardless initialCyclicShift. This increases cell throughput.

Thus, some embodiments, a network node 16 configured to communicate with a wireless device, WD 22 is provided. The network node 16 is configured to: schedule a first WD (22) for transmission of a first physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, transmission on a first set of resources on a first beam; determine from a look-up table a second beam that does not interfere with the first beam; and schedule a second WD (22) for transmission of a second PUCCH transmission on the first set of resources on the determined second beam.

In some embodiments, the first set of resources include at least one of resource blocks, symbols and cyclic shift. In some embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to receive the first PUCCH transmission on the first beam on the first set of resources and receive the second PUCCH transmission on the second beam on the first set of resources. In some embodiments, the first and second PUCCH transmissions are received by a narrow band receiver. In some embodiments, the first PUCCH transmission is a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback, transmission. In some embodiments, first PUCCH transmission is a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback, transmission and the second PUCCH transmission is a HARQ feedback transmission. In some embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to determine a plurality of non-interfering beams for scheduling PUCCH transmissions on the first set of resources. In some embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to determine interfering beams based at least in part on narrow beam sidelobes between two beams. In some embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to assume that the first WD is to transmit a scheduling request when determining the second beam. In some embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to assume that the first PUCCH transmission and the second PUCCH transmission have a same net cyclic shift.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and/or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. 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.” Any process, step, action and/or functionality described herein may be performed by, and/or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and/or firmware and/or hardware. 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 may 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.

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, may 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.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that may 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.

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.

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.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Python, 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).

Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it may be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments may 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.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it may 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.

Claims

Claims:

1. A network node (16) configured to communicate with a wireless device, WD (22), the network node (16) configured to: schedule a first WD (22) for transmission of a first physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, transmission on a first set of resources on a first beam; determine from a look-up table a second beam that does not interfere with the first beam; and schedule a second WD (22) for transmission of a second PUCCH transmission on the first set of resources on the determined second beam.

2. The network node (16) of Claim 1, wherein the first set of resources include at least one of resource blocks, symbols and cyclic shift.

3. The network node (16) of any of Claims 1 and 2, wherein the network node (16) is configured to receive the first PUCCH transmission on the first beam on the first set of resources and receive a second PUCCH transmission on the second beam on the first set of resources.

4. The network node (16) of Claim 3, wherein the first and second PUCCH transmissions are received by a narrow band receiver.

5. The network node (16) of any of Claims 1-4, wherein the first PUCCH transmission is a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback, transmission.

6. The network node (16) of any of Claims 1-5, the first PUCCH transmission is a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback, transmission and the second PUCCH transmission is a HARQ feedback transmission.

7. The network node (16) of any of Claims 1-6, wherein the network node (16) is configured to determine a plurality of non-interfering beams for scheduling PUCCH transmissions on the first set of resources.

8. The network node (16) of any of Claims 1-7, wherein the network node (16) is configured to determine interfering beams based at least in part on narrow beam side lobes between two beams.

9. The network node (16) of any of Claims 1-8, wherein the network node (16) is configured to receive from the first WD (22) a scheduling request when determining the second beam.

10. The network node (16) of any of Claims 1-9, wherein the network node (16) is configured to assume that the first PUCCH transmission and the second PUCCH transmission have a same net cyclic shift.

11. A method in a network node (16) configured to communicate with a wireless device, WD (22), the method comprising: scheduling (SI 34) a first WD (22) for transmission of a first PUCCH transmission on a first set of resources on a first beam; determining (SI 36) from a look-up table a second beam that does not interfere with the first beam; and scheduling (S138) a second WD (22) for transmission of a second PUCCH transmission on the first set of resources on the determined second beam.

12. The method of Claim 11, wherein the first set of resources include at least one of resource blocks, symbols and cyclic shift.

13. The method of any of Claims 11 and 12, further comprising receiving the first PUCCH transmission on the first beam on the first set of resources and receiving the second PUCCH transmission on the second beam on the first set of resources.

14. The method of Claim 13, wherein the first and second PUCCH transmissions are received by a narrow band receiver.

15. The method of any of Claims 11-14, wherein the first PUCCH transmission is a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback, transmission.

16. The method of any of Claims 11-15, wherein the first PUCCH transmission is a hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback, transmission and the second PUCCH transmission is a HARQ feedback transmission.

17. The method of any of Claims 11-16, further comprising determining a plurality of non-interfering beams for scheduling PUCCH transmissions on the first set of resources.

18. The method of any of Claims 11-17, further comprising determining interfering beams based at least in part on narrow beam sidelobes between two beams.

19. The method of any of Claims 11-18, further comprising receiving from the first WD (22) a scheduling request when determining the second beam.

20. The method of any of Claims 11-19, further comprising assuming that the first PUCCH transmission and the second PUCCH transmission have a same net cyclic shift.