Methods, communications devices, and network infrastructure equipment

1 . A method of operating a communications device to receive data from a wireless communications network, the method comprising

receiving a plurality of downlink transmissions in physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH, resources of a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communications network, each of the plurality of downlink transmissions being a transmission of a data unit according to a different Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, process, one or more of the downlink transmissions being in pre-configured communications resources of the PDSCH,

determining a HARQ acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement, HARQ-ACK, for each of the plurality of received downlink transmissions in accordance with whether the data unit for the HARQ process was correctly received or not,

identifying for each of the HARQ-ACKs one of a plurality of different physical layer priorities for transmitting the HARQ-ACK,

identifying target uplink communications resource, in which one or more of the HARQ-ACKs can be transmitted for one of the plurality of the downlink transmissions as a first transmission of the HARQ-ACK for the received downlink transmission in the target uplink communications resource,

determining whether the HARQ-ACK for one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions can be multiplexed with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission for the received downlink transmission into the target uplink communications resource as uplink control information, and

transmitting the uplink control information in the target uplink communications resource comprising a plurality of the HARQ-ACK for a plurality of the downlink transmissions, including the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, multiplexed together in the target uplink communications resource, wherein the determining whether the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions can be multiplexed with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission is based on a combination of the identified uplink physical layer priority for transmitting the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions and the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, and a multiplex, Mux, indicator for one or both of the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the uplink control information and each of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

2 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the physical layer priority of the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission in the target uplink communications resource is different to the physical layer priority of one or more of the HARQ-ACKs for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions, which are multiplexed into the uplink control information and transmitted in the target uplink communications resource.

3 . A method according to claim 2 , wherein the determining whether the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions can be multiplexed with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, comprises

identifying that the Mux indicator is enabled for the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, and

multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions in the target uplink communications resource as uplink control information with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, the physical layer priority of the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, being different to the physical layer priority of the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions.

4 . A method according to claim 3 , wherein the identifying that the Mux indicator is enabled for the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, comprises

identifying that the physical layer priority of the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, is high and interpreting the high physical layer priority as the Mux indicator for the target uplink communications resource as being enabled.

5 . A method according to claim 3 , wherein the identifying that the Mux indicator is enabled for the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, comprises

identifying that the physical layer priority of the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, is high and the Mux indicator for the target uplink communications resource as being enabled.

6 . A method according to claim 2 , wherein the determining whether the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions can be multiplexed with the HARQ-ACK as a first transmission of the HARQ-ACK comprises

identifying a last of the downlink transmissions in the shared downlink physical resources to be transmitted,

determining that the HARQ-ACK for the downlink transmission which can be transmitted as a first transmission of the HARQ-ACK, is associated with the last of the downlink transmissions in the shared downlink physical resources, and

multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of downlink transmissions into the uplink control information transmitted in the identified uplink resources depending on the Mux indicator of the HARQ-ACK for the last downlink transmission.

7 . A method according to claim 6 , wherein the multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of downlink transmissions into the uplink control information transmitted in the identified uplink resources, comprises

identifying that the Mux indicator is enabled for transmitting the HARQ-ACK for the last downlink transmission, and

if the Mux indicator is enabled, multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of downlink transmissions into the uplink control information transmitted in the identified uplink resources with different or the same physical layer priority is independent of whether the Mux indicator for the one or more other downlink transmissions is enabled or disabled.

8 . A method according to claim 6 , wherein the multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of downlink transmissions into the uplink control information transmitted in the identified uplink resources comprises

identifying that the Mux indicator is disabled for transmitting the HARQ-ACK for the last downlink transmission, and

if the Mux indicator is disabled, multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of downlink transmissions into the uplink control information transmitted in the identified uplink resources when the physical layer priority is the same as that of the HARQ-ACK for the last downlink transmission independent of whether the Mux indicator for the one or more other downlink transmissions is enabled or disabled.

9 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining whether the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions can be multiplexed with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, comprises

identifying that the Mux indicator is enabled for the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the uplink control information, and

multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions, if the Mux indicator is enabled.

10 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining whether the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions can be multiplexed with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, comprises

identifying that the Mux indicator is enabled for the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the uplink control information, and

multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions, if the Mux indicator is enabled, and not multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions if the Mux indicator is disabled independent of the physical layer priority.

11 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining whether the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions can be multiplexed with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, comprises

identifying that the Mux indicator is enabled for the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the uplink control information and the identified physical layer priority indicates a high priority, and

multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for a plurality of the other downlink transmissions, if the identified physical layer priority indicates a high priority for one or more the plurality of downlink transmissions and the Mux indicator is enabled for all of the plurality of the other downlink transmissions.

12 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining whether the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions can be multiplexed with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, comprises

if the Mux indicator is enabled for the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions in the target uplink communications resource as uplink control information with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, or

if the Mux indicator is disabled for the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission and the physical layer priority of the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission in the target uplink communications resource is the same as the physical layer priority of the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions,

multiplexing the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions in the target uplink communications resource as uplink control information with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission.

13 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission of the HARQ-ACK is a physical uplink control channel, PUCCH, and the method comprises

identifying that the Mux indicator is enabled for the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, and

identifying that the physical layer priority of the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission is low, and

identifying that the physical layer priority of the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions is high priority, and

if the Mux indicator is enabled and the physical layer priority is low for transmitting the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission and the physical layer priority is high for transmitting the HARQ-ACK for the one or more other downlink transmissions, selecting a physical uplink control channel resource set for transmitting high priority HARQ-ACKs.

14 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission of the HARQ-ACK, is a HARQ-ACK for a dynamic grant for the resources of the downlink shared channel indicated by downlink control information, and the one or more other downlink transmissions for which the HARQ-ACK multiplexed into the target uplink communications resource are semi-persistent scheduled downlink resources.

15 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission of the HARQ-ACK and the one or more other downlink transmissions for which the HARQ-ACK multiplexed into the target uplink communications resource are semi-persistent scheduled downlink resources.

16 . A method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining, whether the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions can be multiplexed with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission of the HARQ-ACK, includes

identifying, for each of the one or more others of the plurality of downlink transmissions, initial uplink communications resource of the wireless access interface for transmitting the HARQ-ACK for the downlink transmission,

determining that the HARQ-ACK for each of the one or more other downlink transmissions cannot be transmitted in the initial uplink communications resource and must be deferred, and

for each HARQ-ACK for the one or more other downlink transmissions which must be deferred, determining whether the HARQ-ACK can be multiplexed in the uplink communications resource with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission for the HARQ-ACK.

17 . A method according to claim 16 , wherein the plurality of downlink transmissions in physical downlink shared channel resources of the wireless access interface are pre-configured downlink shared channel resources by the wireless communications network, and the identifying, for each of the one or more others of the plurality of downlink transmissions, the initial uplink communications resource of the wireless access interface for transmitting the HARQ-ACK for the downlink transmission comprises identifying uplink communications resource as a configured time offset with respect to the pre-configured downlink shared channel resource, and the determining that the HARQ-ACK for each of the one or more other downlink transmissions cannot be transmitted in the initial uplink communications resource and must be deferred comprises identifying that the initial uplink communications resource for transmitting the HARQ-ACK includes communications resource which cannot be used.

18 . A method according to claim 17 , wherein the communications resource for receiving the downlink transmissions in the downlink shared channel resource is on the same frequency channel as the initial uplink communications resource of the wireless access interface, the wireless access interface being time division duplex, and the identifying that the initial uplink communications resource for transmitting the HARQ-ACK for the one or more other downlink transmissions includes communications resource which cannot be used comprises identifying that the communications resource is invalid or allocated for downlink resources.

19 . A communications device for receiving data from a wireless communications network, the communications device comprising controller circuitry and transceiver circuitry configured such that the communications device is operable to:

receive a plurality of downlink transmissions in physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH, resources of a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communications network, each of the plurality of downlink transmissions being a transmission of a data unit according to a different Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, process, one or more of the downlink transmissions being in pre-configured communications resources of the PDSCH,

determine a HARQ acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement, HARQ-ACK, for each of the plurality of received downlink transmissions in accordance with whether the data unit for the HARQ process was correctly received or not,

identify for each of the HARQ-ACKs one of a plurality of different physical layer priorities for transmitting the HARQ-ACK,

identify target uplink communications resource, in which one or more of the HARQ-ACKs can be transmitted for one of the plurality of the downlink transmissions as a first transmission of the HARQ-ACK for the received downlink transmission in the target uplink communications resource,

determine whether the HARQ-ACK for one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions can be multiplexed with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission for the received downlink transmission into the target uplink communications resource as uplink control information, and

transmit the uplink control information in the target uplink communications resource comprising a plurality of the HARQ-ACK for a plurality of the downlink transmissions, including the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, multiplexed together in the target uplink communications resource, wherein the communications device is configured to determine whether the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions can be multiplexed with the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission based on a combination of the identified uplink physical layer priority for transmitting the HARQ-ACK for the one or more others of the plurality of the downlink transmissions and the HARQ-ACK being transmitted as a first transmission, and a multiplex, Mux, indicator for one or both of the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the uplink control information and each of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

20 . Network infrastructure equipment for transmitting data to a communications device in a wireless communications network, the network infrastructure equipment comprising controller circuitry and transceiver circuitry configured such that the network infrastructure equipment is operable to:

transmit to the communications device a plurality of downlink transmissions in physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH, resources of a wireless access interface provided by the wireless communications network, each of the plurality of downlink transmissions being a transmission of a data unit according to a different Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, HARQ, process, one or more of the downlink transmissions being in pre-configured communications resources of the PDSCH, and

receive uplink control information from the communications device in a target uplink communications resource comprising a plurality of HARQ-ACK for a plurality of the downlink transmissions, including a HARQ-ACK being transmitted by the communications device as a first transmission, multiplexed together in the target uplink communications resource, wherein whether the HARQ-ACK being transmitted by the communications device as a first transmission and the other HARQ-ACK for the plurality of the downlink transmissions are multiplexed together is based on a combination of an uplink physical layer priority for the HARQ-ACK and a multiplex, Mux, indicator for one or both of the target uplink communications resource for transmitting the uplink control information and each of the plurality of downlink transmissions.