Apparatus and method for transmitting uplink control information through a physical uplink control channel

1. A method for transmitting uplink control information through a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) by a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising:

configuring serving cells for the UE, the serving cells comprising at least six serving cells configurable for the UE;

receiving PUCCH format configuration information for transmitting uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells, the PUCCH format configuration information comprising configuration information of PUCCH format 4 indicated by a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message;

determining a total number of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) bits, scheduling request (SR) bits, and periodic Channel State Information (CSI) bits to be transmitted in a subframe;

selecting, at least based on the determined total number, a PUCCH format to transmit at least one of HARQ-ACK, SR, and periodic CSI in the subframe, the selected PUCCH format being one of PUCCH formats comprising the PUCCH format 4 and PUCCH format 3, wherein the selecting the PUCCH format comprises:

determining that simultaneousAckNackAndCQI-Format4-r13 is set true and determining that the total number of HARQ-ACK bits, SR bits, and periodic CSI bits to be transmitted in the subframe is less than or equal to a threshold value; and

determining to use the PUCCH format 4 without dropping the periodic CSI; and

transmitting the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells in the subframe using the selected PUCCH format, the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells comprising the at least one of HARQ-ACK, SR, and periodic CSI,

wherein selecting of the PUCCH format comprises:

determining whether the total number of HARQ-ACK bits, SR bits, and periodic CSI bits to be transmitted in a subframe is greater than 22; and

selecting the PUCCH format 4 when the determined total number is greater than 22.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining resource sets of the PUCCH format 3 and the PUCCH format 4; and

determining a resource of the selected PUCCH format indicated by a value of Transmission Power Control (TPC) field in downlink control information (DCI) of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the HARQ-ACK, the SR, and the periodic CSI are multiplexed and transmitted in the subframe.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells is transmitted in the subframe through a primary serving cell (PCell) or a PUCCH serving cell.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

configuring the PUCCH serving cell among secondary serving cells (SCells),

wherein the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells is transmitted in the subframe through the PUCCH serving cell.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving configuration information of the PUCCH serving cell through an RRC signaling.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a priority for the periodic CSI based on at least one of a PUCCH report type, a process ID, a CSI subframe index, a serving cell index, and a serving cell group; and

dropping at least one periodic CSI based on the determined priority for the periodic CSI when the total number of HARQ-ACK bits, SR bits, and periodic CSI bits to be transmitted in the subframe is greater than the threshold value.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting one HARQ-ACK multiplexed with one periodic CSI report in a subframe using PUCCH format 2/2a/2b if simultaneousAckNackAndCQI-Format4-r13 is set TRUE and if the one HARQ-ACK correspond to a PDSCH transmission or Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)/Enhanced PDCCH indicating downlink Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS) release on a primary serving cell.

9. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a User Equipment (UE) to:

configure serving cells for the UE, the serving cells comprising at least six serving cells configurable for the UE;

receive PUCCH format configuration information for transmitting uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells, the PUCCH format configuration information comprising configuration information of PUCCH format 4 indicated by a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message;

determine a total number of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) bits, scheduling request (SR) bits, and periodic Channel State Information (CSI) bits to be transmitted in a subframe;

select, at least based on the determined total number, a PUCCH format to transmit at least one of HARQ-ACK, SR, and periodic CSI in the subframe, the selected PUCCH format being one of PUCCH formats comprising the PUCCH format 4 and PUCCH format 3, wherein the selecting the PUCCH format comprises:

determining that simultaneousAckNackAndCQI-Format4-r13 is set true and determining that the total number of HARQ-ACK bits, SR bits, and periodic CSI bits to be transmitted in the subframe is less than or equal to a threshold value; and

determining to use the PUCCH format 4 without dropping the periodic CSI; and

transmit the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells in the subframe using the selected PUCCH format, the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells comprising the at least one of HARQ-ACK, SR, and periodic CSI,

wherein selecting of the PUCCH format comprises:

determining whether the total number of HARQ-ACK bits, SR bits, and periodic CSI bits to be transmitted in a subframe is greater than 22; and

selecting the PUCCH format 4 when the determined total number is greater than 22.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to:

determine resource sets of the PUCCH format 3 and the PUCCH format 4; and

determine a resource of the selected PUCCH format indicated by a value of Transmission Power Control (TPC) field in downlink control information (DCI) of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to multiplex the HARQ-ACK, the SR, and the periodic CSI such that the HARQ-ACK, the SR, and the periodic CSI are transmitted in the subframe.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to transmit the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells in the subframe through a primary serving cell (PCell) or a PUCCH serving cell.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the UE to:

configure the PUCCH serving cell among secondary serving cells (SCells); and

transmit the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells in the subframe through the PUCCH serving cell.

14. A User Equipment (UE) to transmit uplink control information through a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), the UE comprising:

a transceiver; and

a processor operationally coupled to the transceiver and configured to:

configure serving cells for the UE, the serving cells comprising at least six serving cells configurable for the UE;

identify PUCCH format configuration information for transmitting uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells, the PUCCH format configuration information comprising configuration information of PUCCH format 4 indicated by a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message;

determine a total number of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) bits, scheduling request (SR) bits, and periodic Channel State Information (CSI) bits to be transmitted in a subframe;

select, at least based on the determined total number, a PUCCH format to transmit at least one of HARQ-ACK, SR, and periodic CSI in the subframe, the selected PUCCH format being one of PUCCH formats comprising the PUCCH format 4 and PUCCH format 3, wherein the selecting the PUCCH format comprises:

determining that simultaneousAckNackAndCQI-Format4-r13 is set true and determining that the total number of HARQ-ACK bits, SR bits, and periodic CSI bits to be transmitted in the subframe is less than or equal to a threshold value; and

determining to use the PUCCH format 4 without dropping the periodic CSI; and

control the transceiver to transmit the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells in the subframe using the selected PUCCH format, the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells comprising the at least one of HARQ-ACK, SR, and periodic CSI,

wherein selecting of the PUCCH format comprises:

determining whether the total number of HARQ-ACK bits, SR bits, and periodic CSI bits to be transmitted in a subframe is greater than 22; and

selecting the PUCCH format 4 when the determined total number is greater than 22.

15. The UE of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine resource sets of the PUCCH format 3 and the PUCCH format 4; and

determine a resource of the selected PUCCH format indicated by a value of Transmission Power Control (TPC) field in downlink control information (DCI) of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

16. The UE of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to multiplex the HARQ-ACK, the SR, and the periodic CSI such that the HARQ-ACK, the SR, and the periodic CSI are transmitted in the subframe.

17. The UE of claim 14 , wherein the transceiver transmits the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells in the subframe through a primary serving cell (PCell) or a PUCCH serving cell.

18. The UE of claim 17 , wherein the processor is further configured to configure the PUCCH serving cell among secondary serving cells (SCells), and

wherein the transceiver transmits the uplink control information associated with the configured serving cells in the subframe through the PUCCH serving cell.