Method and apparatus for supporting different hybrid automatic repetition request modes for scanning multiple transport blocks in an internet of things system

Description

1 / 23 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING DIFFERENT HYBRID AUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST MODES FOR MULTIPLE SCHEDULING TRANSPORT BLOCKS IN AN INTERNET OF THINGS SYSTEM CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION(S)

[0001] This disclosure is part of a non-provisional application claiming the benefit of priority of PCT Application No. PCT / CN2023 / 085189, filed March 30, 2023, and PCT Application No. PCT / CN2023 / 100152, filed June 14, 2023. The contents of the aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. FIELD OF TECHNIQUE

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to mobile communications and, more particularly, to supporting different Hybrid Auto Repeat Request (HARQ) modes for multi-transport block (multi-TB) scaling in an Internet of Things (IoT) system. BACKGROUND

[0003] Unless otherwise indicated in this document, approaches described in this section are not prior art for the claims listed below and are not admitted as prior art by inclusion in this section.

[0004] For current network implementations, a base station (BS) is operable to provide radio coverage for a specific geographic area using a plurality of cells forming a radio access network. The BS can support the operations of the cell plurality, and each cell can be operable to provide services to at least one user equipment (UE) within its radio coverage. Specifically, each cell can provide services to serve one or more UEs within its radio coverage based on at least one downlink control information (DCI), where the radio coverage of one cell can overlap the radio coverage of another cell(s). In Internet of Things (IoT) scenarios, a cell can scale to multiple Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 23 / 55 2 / 23 Uplink / Downlink (UL / DL) resources (e.g., TBs) are transferred to an UE within its radio coverage area via a DCI to perform UL / DL transmissions, e.g., UL HARQ transmissions. HARQ is a mechanism to improve transmission reliability and robustness. With the HARQ mechanism, the UE needs to report HARQ feedback information for a corresponding DL transmission to the scheduling cell, so that the scheduling cell knows whether the DL transmission is successful and decides whether the next DL transmission will be a new transmission or a retransmission.

[0005] In version 17 of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the concept of different modes of HARQ operation, namely HARQ mode A and HARQ mode B, is introduced, where HARQ mode B is designed to improve throughput in scenarios with high transmission delay, such as non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). However, when applying HARQ modes A and B to IoT systems, details of HARQ operations in HARQ modes A and B are not yet fully discussed, and some problems need to be solved. For example, one problem concerns how to specify HARQ mode A / B for multi-TB scaling. Another problem concerns how to design the non-monitoring constraint of the narrowband physical downlink control channel (NPDCCH) for multi-TB scaling.

[0006] Therefore, there is a need to provide appropriate schemes to address these problems. SUMMARY

[0007] The following summary is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following summary is provided to introduce concepts, highlights, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious techniques described in this document. Selection implementations are further described in the detailed description below. Thus, the following summary is not intended to identify features. Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 24 / 55 3 / 23 essential to the subject matter claimed, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the subject matter claimed.

[0008] One objective of the present disclosure is to propose solutions or schemes that address the aforementioned problems relating to HARQ operations in HARQ A and B modes for scaling multiple TBs in IoT systems.

[0009] In one aspect, a method may involve an apparatus receiving a first configuration from a network node of a wireless network, wherein the first configuration indicates one or more first HARQ modes for a plurality of HARQ processes. The method may involve the apparatus receiving a DCI indicating a multiple TB scheduling using the network node's HARQ processes. The method may also involve the apparatus transmitting a HARQ UL for each of the HARQ processes using a corresponding TB of the TBs. The method may additionally involve the apparatus determining when to perform DCI monitoring after transmitting the HARQ UL corresponding to one of the last TBs according to the one or more first HARQ modes.

[0010] In one aspect, an apparatus may comprise a transceiver that, during operation, communicates wirelessly with a network node of a wireless network. The apparatus may also comprise a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver. The processor, during operation, may perform operations comprising receiving, through the transceiver, a first configuration from the network node, wherein the first configuration indicates one or more first HARQ modes for a plurality of HARQ processes. The processor may perform operations comprising receiving, through the transceiver, a DCI indicating a multi-TB scheduling using the HARQ processes of the network node. The processor may also perform operations comprising transmitting, through the transceiver, a HARQ UL for each of the HARQ processes using a corresponding TB of the TBs. The processor may further perform operations comprising determining Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 25 / 55 4 / 23 when performing DCI monitoring after UL HARQ transmission corresponding to one of the last TBs according to one or more of the first HARQ modes.

[0011] It is worth noting that, although the description provided in this document may be in the context of certain radio access technologies, networks and network topologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE, Advanced LTE Pro, Fifth Generation (5G), New Radio (NR), Internet of Things (IoT) and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), in addition to 5G (B5G) and sixth generation (6G), the proposed concepts and schemes and any variations / derivatives thereof may be implemented in, for and by other types of radio access technologies, networks and network topologies. Thus, the scope of this disclosure is not limited to the examples described in this document. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings are included to provide further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated into this document and constitute a part of the present disclosure. The drawings illustrate implementations of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. It is noted that the drawings are not necessarily to scale as some components may be shown out of proportion to the actual implementation size in order to clearly illustrate the concept of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIGURE 1 is a diagram representing an example scenario of a communication environment in which various solutions and schemes according to the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0014] FIGURE 2 is a diagram representing an example scenario of HARQ mode A and HARQ mode B operations for scaling multiple TBs according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIGURE 3 is a block diagram of an example communication system according to an implementation of the present Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 26 / 55 5 / 23 revelation.

[0016] FIGURE 4 is a flowchart of an example process according to an implementation of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED IMPLEMENTATIONS

[0017] Detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed materials are disclosed in this document. However, it should be understood that the embodiments and implementations disclosed are only illustrative of the claimed materials, which may be embodied in various forms. The present disclosure, however, may be embodied in many different forms and should not be interpreted as limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations set forth in this document. In particular, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided so that the description of the present disclosure may be thorough and complete and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the following description, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments and implementations presented. Overview

[0018] Implementations according to the present disclosure relate to various techniques, methods, schemes, and / or solutions concerning supporting different HARQ modes for scaling multiple TBs in an IoT system. According to the present disclosure, various possible solutions can be implemented separately or in combination. That is, although these possible solutions may be described separately below, two or more of these possible solutions may be implemented in combination with one another.

[0019] The HARQ mechanism is mainly used for scheduling management, such as the initial transmission and retransmission of information. In scenarios with relatively small transmission delay, such as the TN system, use HARQ feedback for DL ​​HARQ and retransmission for UL HARQ after the network receives it. Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 27 / 55 6 / 23 HARQ information has many advantages such as increasing transmission reliability. On the other hand, in scenarios with large transmission delay, such as the NTN system, disabling HARQ feedback or blind retransmission to UL HARQ can reduce UE power consumption and reduce transmission delay. Furthermore, disabling HARQ feedback for a DL transmission can improve UL throughput in large round-trip time (RTT) scenarios since more resources would be available in UL, and blind retransmission to UL HARQ can improve DL throughput in large RTT scenarios since more resources would be available in DL. Therefore, considering IoT scenarios (e.g., IoT NTN), the present disclosure proposes schemes to support HARQ operations in HARQ mode A and HARQ mode for multi-TB scaling in an IoT system, to mitigate HARQ stalling and reduce UE power consumption.

[0020] FIGURE 1 illustrates an example scenario 100 of a communication environment in which various solutions and schemes according to the present disclosure can be implemented. Scenario 100 involves a UE 110 communicating wirelessly with a network 120 (e.g., a wireless network including an NTN and a TN) via a terrestrial network node 125 (e.g., an evolved B Node (eNB), a Next Generation B Node (gNB), or a transmit / receive point (TRP)) and / or a non-terrestrial network node 128 (e.g., a satellite). For example, terrestrial network node 125 and / or non-terrestrial network node 128 can form an NTN server cell for wireless communication with UE 110. In some implementations, UE 110 may be an IoT device such as an NB-IoT UE or an eMTC UE (e.g., a low-complexity (BL) reduced-bandwidth UE or a coverage enhancement (CE) UE).In such a communication environment, UE 110, network 120, terrestrial network node 125, and non-terrestrial network node 128 can implement various schemes related to supporting different HARQ modes for scaling multiple TBs in an IoT system according to the present. Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 28 / 55 7 / 23 revelation, as described below. It is worth noting that, although the various proposed schemes may be described individually or separately below, in real implementations some or all of the proposed schemes may be used or implemented together in another way. Certainly, each of the proposed schemes can be used or implemented individually or separately in another way.

[0021] In the present disclosure, NTN relates to a network that uses radio frequency (RF) and information processing capabilities carried on satellites in high, medium, and low orbits or other high-altitude communication platforms to provide communication services to UEs. Depending on the payload capacity on the satellite, there are two typical scenarios: transparent payload and regenerative payload. In transparent payload mode, the satellite does not process the signal and waveform in the communication service, but instead functions only as an RF amplifier to forward data. In regenerative payload mode, the satellite, in addition to RF amplification, also has modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, switching, routing, and other processing capabilities.

[0022] In general, an IoT system is primarily divided into NB-IoT and eMTC based on differences in bandwidth and system coverage. Typically, the bandwidth used in NB-IoT is around 200 kilohertz (kHz) and supports low-traffic data transmission at a rate below 100 kilobits per second (kbps). Conversely, eMTC technology typically utilizes a bandwidth of 1.4 megahertz (MHz) and the maximum data transmission rate is 1 megabit per second (Mbps). For eMTC, different TBs corresponding to different HARQ process numbers can be scaled by a DCI. For NB-IoT, multiple TBs (i.e., two TBs) can be scaled together by a DCI without a HARQ process number field in the DCI, where ID of Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 29 / 55 8 / 23 HARQ process ID 0 should be assumed for the first TB and HARQ process ID 1 should be assumed for the second TB.

[0023] In a first proposed scheme according to the present disclosure, a configuration indicating HARQ mode(s) of HARQ processes for multi-TB scheduling is provided to the UE via radio resource control (RRC) signaling or a DCI field. For combined indication, only one HARQ mode (i.e., HARQ mode A or HARQ mode B) is indicated in the configuration for all scheduled TBs. For example, the HARQ mode for all TBs may be based on the HARQ mode configuration of HARQ process ID 0 associated with the multiple scheduled TBs. That is, if the configuration indicates HARQ mode A, then blind multi-TB retransmission is disabled; or if the configuration indicates HARQ mode B, then blind multi-TB retransmission is enabled. For separate indication, a respective HARQ mode (i.e., HARQ mode A or HARQ mode B) is indicated by the HARQ process of the multiple staggered TBs.For example, if a HARQ mode specified in the configuration is HARQ mode A, then blind multi-TB retransmission is disabled; or if a HARQ mode specified in the configuration is HARQ mode B, then blind multi-TB retransmission is enabled; or blind multi-TB retransmission can be disabled only for HARQ processes with HARQ mode A.

[0024] Specifically, when blind multi-TB retransmission is disabled, the IoT network performs the next DCI transmission only when the UL HARQ triggered by the last DCI (e.g., a DCI for multi-TB scaling) is received, and the UE only needs to perform DCI monitoring (e.g., monitor NPDCCH if the UE is an NB-IoT UE or monitor PDCCH if the UE is an eMTC UE) when the UE RTT to BS of the UL HARQ has elapsed. When blind multi-TB retransmission is enabled, the IoT network performs the next DCI transmission without waiting for the UL HARQ of the last DCI, and the UE performs DCI monitoring without waiting. Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 30 / 55 9 / 23 The UE RTT for BS of the UL HARQ runs. That is, after transmitting the UL HARQ for each HARQ process of the multiple staggered TBs, the UE determines when to perform DCI monitoring according to the HARQ mode(s) indicated by the received configuration.

[0025] In some implementations, the configuration may include one or more bits, each of which indicates a respective mode of the HARQ modes for the HARQ processes of the multiple scheduled TBs. In one example, for combined indication, a dedicated 1-bit RRC parameter can be configured to indicate HARQ A / B mode for all TBs (this dedicated RRC parameter can be updated by a Media Access Control (MAC) element), or a new 1-bit DCI field (e.g., a “multi-TB HARQ mode” field) can be added to indicate HARQ A / B mode for all TBs (e.g., '0' indicates HARQ A mode for all TBs, and '1' indicates HARQ B mode for all TBs) (this field is only present if the UE is configured with the npusch-MultiTB-Config top-layer parameter set to “enabled”), or a legacy DCI field (e.g.,The "Number of repetitions" field can be reinterpreted to indicate HARQ A / B mode for all TBs (for example, if the value of this field is above a threshold X, HARQ B mode is indicated; otherwise, HARQ A mode is indicated, where threshold X can be predefined or configured via RRC or MAC CE signaling). In another example, for separate indication, a dedicated two-bit RRC parameter can be configured to indicate HARQ modes for different HARQ processes (for example, '00' indicates HARQ A mode for two TBs, '01' indicates HARQ A mode for the first TB and HARQ B mode for the second TB, '10' indicates HARQ B mode for the first TB and HARQ A mode for the second TB, and '11' indicates HARQ B mode for two TBs) (this dedicated RRC parameter can be updated by a MAC CE), or a new 2-bit DCI field (for example, the “multi-TBs HARQ mode” field) may, Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 31 / 55 10 / 23 can be added to indicate HARQ modes for different HARQ processes (this field is only present if the UE is configured with the top-layer parameter npusch-MultiTB-Config set to enabled), or a legacy DCI field (e.g., the Number of Repetitions field) can be reinterpreted for the NB-IoT scenario to indicate the HARQ A / B mode for the second TB (e.g., the HARQ mode for the first TB is based on the HARQ A / B mode of the multi-TB HARQ process per RRC; if the value of this legacy field is above a threshold X, HARQ mode B is indicated for the second TB; otherwise, HARQ mode A is indicated for the second TB, where threshold X can be predefined or configured via RRC or MAC CE signaling).

[0026] In some implementations, the DCI solution for indicating HARQ A / B mode can be enabled via UE-specific RRC signaling based on UE capability. DCI-based indication can be divided into two types, namely direct DCI indication and DCI override indication. Direct DCI indication is supported in the case where only the DCI solution for carrying the HARQ mode setting is configured and RRC signaling for carrying the HARQ mode setting is not configured. DCI override indication is supported when both DCI solution and RRC signaling for carrying the HARQ mode setting are configured, such that the HARQ mode setting carried in the DCI overrides the HARQ mode setting carried in the RRC signaling. That is, before the DCI carrying the HARQ mode setting is received, the UE can apply the HARQ mode setting carried in the RRC signaling.Later, when the DCI carrying the HARQ mode configuration is received, the UE can apply the ported HARQ mode configuration to the DCI.

[0027] In a second proposed scheme according to the present disclosure, the restriction of non-monitoring of DCI (e.g., monitoring of NPDCCH / PDCCH) for multiple TB scaling Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 32 / 55 11 / 23 is determined based on the HARQ mode(s) indication for the multiple staggered TBs. The non-monitoring DCI restriction concerns when to perform DCI monitoring after the transmission of the HARQ UL corresponding to the last TB. Through this restriction, the UE does not perform DCI monitoring in a time period subsequent to the transmission of the HARQ UL corresponding to the last TB, and performs DCI monitoring only when the time period has elapsed. In particular, the time period is defined based on the HARQ mode(s) indication.

[0028] In some implementations, the time period can be set to an RTT between the UE and the BS or set to Kmac+3 on an event where at least one of the HARQ modes indicates HARQ mode A, where Kmac is a network-provided scheduling offset if DL and UL frame timing is not aligned in gNB. For example, (i) if the UE is in an NTN server cell, and (ii) if the corresponding NPUSCH transmission is scheduled by NPDCCH with DCI format N0 with configuration where the top-layer parameter npusch-MultiTB-Config and multiple TBs are scheduled in the corresponding DCI, and (iii) if at least one TB of the multiple scheduled TBs is configured with HARQ mode A, the UE is not expected to receive an NPDCCH with DCI format N0 / N1 in any downlink subframe that overlaps the uplink subframe n+1 to the subframe n+RTTu£B, where RTT^18= pisoÇ^^·) + Kmace Tf = subframe duration (1 ms).

[0029] In some implementations, the time period can be set to a Type B half-duplex guard period (e.g., 1 millisecond (ms)) on an event where at least one of the HARQ modes indicates HARQ mode B. For example, (i) if the UE is in an NTN server cell, and (ii) if the corresponding NPUSCH transmission is scheduled by NPDCCH with DCI N0 format with configuration where the npusch-MultiTB-Config top-layer parameter and multiple TBs are scheduled in DCI Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 33 / 55 12 / 23 corresponding, and (iii) if at least one TB of the multiple staggered TBs is configured with HARQ B mode, the UE is not required to receive transmissions in the Type B half-duplex guard periods (1 ms) for frequency division duplexing (FDD).

[0030] FIGURE 2 is a diagram representing an example scenario 200 of HARQ mode A and HARQ mode B operations for multi-TB scaling according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Scenario 200 involves a UE 210 (e.g., an NB-IoT UE, or an eMTC UE) and a network node 220 (e.g., an eNB / gNB / TRP) implementing proposed schemes relating to supporting different HARQ modes for multi-TB scaling in an IoT system according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIGURE 2, from the UE's perspective, a DCI (e.g., DCI format N0) indicating multi-TB scaling using multiple HARQ processes (each TB corresponds to one HARQ process) is received, and then the UL HARQ for each HARQ process (i.e., for each TB) is transmitted. After that, based on the UL HARQs, network node 220 can determine whether the next DCI transmission will be a new transmission or a retransmission.In HARQ B mode operation, after the UL HARQ transmission to the last TB, the UE does not perform DCI monitoring only for a short period of time (i.e., the Type B half-duplex guard period (1 ms)), and then starts the drx-InactivityTimer to count the duration during which the UE monitors the NPDCCH / PDCCH for DCI reception. In HARQ A mode operation, after the UL HARQ transmission to the last TB, the UE starts the UL HARQ RTT Timer to count the UE-to-BS RTT (from the UL HARQ) during which the UE does not perform DCI monitoring, and then starts the drx-InactivityTimer to count the duration during which the UE monitors the NPDCCH / PDCCH for DCI reception. Illustrative Implementations

[0031] FIGURE 3 illustrates an example communication system 300 having an example communication device 310 and a device Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 34 / 55 Example network 320, 13 / 23, according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Each of the communication device 310 and the network device 320 can perform various functions to implement schemes, techniques, processes, and methods described in this document relating to supporting different HARQ modes for scaling multiple TBs in an IoT system, including the scenarios / schemes described above as well as process 400 described below.

[0032] The 310 communication device may be a part of an electronic device, which may be an EU such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, the 310 communication device may be implemented in a smartphone, a smartwatch, a personal digital assistant, an electronic control unit (ECU) in a vehicle, a digital camera, or a computing device such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a notebook computer. The 310 communication device may also be a part of a machine-type device, which may be an IoT, NB-IoT, eMTC, IIoT EU such as a fixed or stationary device, a residential device, a roadside unit (RSU), a wired communication device, or a computing device.For example, the 310 communication device can be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. Alternatively, the 310 communication device can be implemented in the form of one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips such as, for example, and without limitation, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors. The 310 communication device may include at least some of these components shown in FIGURE 3, such as a 312 processor, for example. The 310 communication device may... Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 35 / 55 14 / 23 additionally include one or more other components not relevant to the proposed scheme of the present disclosure (for example, internal power supply, display device and / or user interface device), and thus such components of the communication apparatus 310 are not shown in FIGURE 3 nor described below for simplicity and brevity.

[0033] The network device 320 may be a part of an electronic device, which may be a network node such as a satellite, a BS, a small cell, a router, or a gateway of an IoT network. For example, the network device 320 may be implemented in a satellite or in an eNB / gNB / TRP in a 4G / 5G, NR, IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT network. Alternatively, the network device 320 may be implemented in the form of one or more IC chips such as, for example, and without limitation, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more RISC or CISC processors. The network device 320 may include at least some of these components shown in FIGURE 3, such as a processor 322, for example.The network apparatus 320 may additionally include one or more other components not relevant to the proposed scheme of the present disclosure (for example, internal power supply, display device and / or user interface device), and thus such components of the network apparatus 320 are not shown in FIGURE 3 nor described below for simplicity and brevity.

[0034] In one aspect, each of the 312 processor and the 322 processor may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, although the singular term “a processor” is used in this document to refer to the 312 processor and the 322 processor, each of the 312 processor and the 322 processor may include multiple processors in some implementations and a single processor in other implementations according to the present disclosure. In another aspect, Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 36 / 55 15 / 23 Each of the 312 processor and the 322 processor may be implemented in the form of hardware (and optionally firmware) with electronic components including, for example, and without limitation, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more resistors with memory and / or one or more varactors that are configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes in accordance with the present disclosure.In other words, in at least some implementations, each of the 312 processor and the 322 processor is a special-purpose machine designed, arranged, and configured specifically to perform specific tasks, including supporting different HARQ modes for multi-TB scaling, in a device (e.g., as represented by the 310 communication appliance) and a network node (e.g., as represented by the 320 network appliance) according to various implementations of the present disclosure.

[0035] In some implementations, the communication device 310 may also include a transceiver 316 coupled to processor 312 and capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, the transceiver 316 may be capable of wirelessly communicating with different types of UEs and / or wireless networks of different radio access technologies (RATs). In some implementations, the transceiver 316 may be equipped with a plurality of antenna ports (not shown), such as, for example, four antenna ports. That is, the transceiver 316 may be equipped with multiple transmitting antennas and multiple receiving antennas for multi-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communications. In some implementations, the network device 320 may also include a transceiver 326 coupled to processor 322. The transceiver 326 may include a transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data.In some implementations, the 326 transceiver may be able to communicate wirelessly with different types of UEs from different RATs. In some. Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 37 / 55 In implementations 16 / 23, the 326 transceiver can be equipped with a plurality of antenna ports (not shown), such as, for example, four antenna ports. That is, the 326 transceiver can be equipped with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for MIMO wireless communications.

[0036] In some implementations, the communication device 310 may additionally include a memory 314 coupled to the processor 312 and capable of being accessed by the processor 312 and storing data therein. In some implementations, the network device 320 may additionally include a memory 324 coupled to the processor 322 and capable of being accessed by the processor 322 and storing data therein. Each of the memory 314 and the memory 324 may include a type of random access memory (RAM) such as dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), thyristor RAM (T-RAM) and / or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM). Alternatively, or additionally, each of memory 314 and memory 324 may include a type of read-only memory (ROM) such as mask ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) and / or electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM).Alternatively, or additionally, each of the 314 and 324 memory modules may include a type of non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) such as flash memory, solid-state memory, ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), and / or phase-change memory.

[0037] Each of the communication device 310 and the network device 320 can be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other using various schemes proposed in accordance with the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes and without limitation, a description of the capabilities of the communication device 310, such as an IoT UE (e.g., an NB-IoT UE or an eMTC UE), and of the network device 320, such as a network node (e.g., satellite or BS), is provided below.

[0038] According to some schemes of the present revelation, the Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 38 / 55 Processor 312 can receive, via transceiver 316, a first configuration from network appliance 320, wherein the first configuration indicates one or more first HARQ modes for a plurality of HARQ processes. Also, processor 312 can receive, via transceiver 316, a first DCI indicating a multi-TB scheduling using the HARQ processes of network appliance 320. Then, processor 312 can transmit, via transceiver 316, a HARQ UL for each of the HARQ processes using a corresponding TB of the TBs. After that, processor 312 can determine when to perform DCI monitoring after transmitting the HARQ UL corresponding to one of the last TBs according to the one or more first HARQ modes.

[0039] In some implementations, one or more first HARQ modes may include a single HARQ mode for all HARQ processes, and the first setting may include a bit corresponding to the single HARQ mode.

[0040] In some implementations, the first one or more HARQ modes may include a plurality of HARQ modes, each of which is associated with a respective process of the HARQ processes, and the first configuration may include a plurality of bits corresponding to the plurality of HARQ modes.

[0041] In some implementations, the initial configuration may be received via an RRC signal or a DCI field.

[0042] In some implementations, DCI monitoring may include monitoring an NPDCCH or a PDCCH.

[0043] In some implementations, each of the first one or more modes of HARQ may indicate HARQ mode A or HARQ mode B.

[0044] In some implementations, the initial configuration may be received via an RRC signal, and the determination of when to perform DCI monitoring after the UL HARQ transmission corresponds to the last of the TBs according to one or more Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 39 / 55 18 / 23 first HARQ modes can be performed in an event where a second configuration indicating one or more second HARQ modes for the HARQ processes is not received. Additionally, processor 312 can receive, via transceiver 316, another DCI including the second configuration of network appliance 320, and determine when to perform DCI monitoring after transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to the last of the TBs according to the one or more second HARQ modes, in an event where both the first configuration and the second configuration are received.

[0045] In some implementations, the time period may be set to an RTT between communication device 310 and network device 320 or set to a sum of a scaling offset and 3 in an event where at least one of the first HARQ modes indicates HARQ mode A.

[0046] In some implementations, the time period can be set to a Type B half-duplex guard period on an event where at least one of the first HARQ modes indicates HARQ mode B. Illustrative Processes

[0047] FIGURE 4 illustrates an example process 400 according to an implementation of the present disclosure. Process 400 may be an example implementation of the scenarios / schemes mentioned above, either partially or completely, with respect to supporting different HARQ modes for scaling multiple TBs in an IoT system. Process 400 may represent an implementation aspect of communication device features 310. Process 400 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 410 to 440. Although illustrated as distinct blocks, several blocks of process 400 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Furthermore, the blocks of process 400 may be executed in the order shown in FIGURE 4 or, alternatively, in a different order. The process Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pages 40 / 55 19 / 23 Process 400 can be implemented by communication device 310 or by any suitable UE or machine-type devices. For illustrative purposes only and without limitation, process 400 is described below in the context of communication device 310. Process 400 can start in block 410.

[0048] In 410, process 400 may involve processor 312 of communication device 310 receiving, via transceiver 316, a first configuration of a network node (e.g., from network device 320) from a wireless network (e.g., from an IoT network (NTN)), wherein the first configuration indicates one or more first HARQ modes for a plurality of HARQ processes. Process 400 may proceed from 410 to 420.

[0049] In 420, process 400 may involve processor 312 receiving, via transceiver 316, an initial DCI indicating a multi-TB scheduling using the network node's HARQ processes. Process 400 may proceed from 420 to 430.

[0050] In 430, process 400 may involve processor 312 transmitting, via transceiver 316, a HARQ UL to each of the HARQ processes using a corresponding TB from the TBs. Process 400 may proceed from 430 to 440.

[0051] In 440, process 400 may involve processor 312 determining when to perform DCI monitoring after transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to one of the last TBs according to one or more first HARQ modes.

[0052] In some implementations, one or more of the first HARQ modes may include a single HARQ mode for all HARQ processes, and the first setting may include a bit corresponding to the single HARQ mode.

[0053] In some implementations, the first one or more HARQ modes may include a plurality of HARQ modes, each of which is associated with a respective process of the HARQ processes, and the first configuration may include a plurality of bits corresponding to the plurality of HARQ modes. Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 41 / 55 20 / 23

[0054] In some implementations, the initial configuration may be received via an RRC signal or a DCI field.

[0055] In some implementations, DCI monitoring may include monitoring an NPDCCH or a PDCCH.

[0056] In some implementations, each of the first one or more modes of HARQ may indicate HARQ mode A or HARQ mode B.

[0057] In some implementations, the first configuration may be received via an RRC signal, and the determination of when to perform DCI monitoring after the transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to the last of the TBs according to one or more first HARQ modes may be performed in an event where a second configuration indicating one or more second HARQ modes for the HARQ processes is not received. Furthermore, process 400 may additionally involve processor 312 receiving, via transceiver 316, another DCI including the second network node configuration, and determining when to perform DCI monitoring after the transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to the last of the TBs according to one or more second HARQ modes, in an event where both the first and second configurations are received.

[0058] In some implementations, the time period can be set to an RTT between the communication device 310 and the network node or set to a sum of a scaling offset and 3 in an event where at least one of the first HARQ modes indicates HARQ mode A.

[0059] In some implementations, the time period can be set to a Type B half-duplex guard period on an event where at least one of the first HARQ modes indicates HARQ mode B. Additional Notes

[0060] The material described in this document sometimes illustrates Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 42 / 55 21 / 23 different components contained within or connected to other different components. It is to be understood that such represented architectures are only examples, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented that achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively associated in such a way that the desired functionality is achieved. Consequently, any two components in this document combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as associated with each other in such a way that the desired functionality is achieved, independent of architectures or intermediate components.Similarly, any two components thus associated can also be seen as being operationally connected, or operationally coupled, to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being thus associated can also be seen as being operationally coupled to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operationally coupleable components include, but are not limited to, physically compatible and / or physically interacting components and / or wirelessly interacting and / or logically interacting components.

[0061] Furthermore, with regard to the substantial use of any plural and / or singular terms in this document, those skilled in the art may translate from plural to singular and / or from singular to plural as appropriate for the context and / or application. The various permutations from singular to plural may be expressly set forth in this document for the sake of clarity.

[0062] Furthermore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that, in general, terms used in this document, and especially in the appended claims, for example, in the bodies of the appended claims, are generally intended as open terms, by Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 43 / 55 22 / 23 For example, the term "including" should be interpreted as "including, but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes, but is not limited to," etc. It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such claim will be explicitly stated in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation, such claim is not present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain use of the introductory expressions "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations.However, the use of such expressions should not be interpreted as indicating that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite article “a” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to implementations containing only such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory expressions “a or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an,” for example, “a and / or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “a or more”; the same remains true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations.Furthermore, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly reported, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted as meaning at least the reported number, for example, the simple recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations. Additionally, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense that a person skilled in the art would understand the convention, for example, “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include, but is not limited to, systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B jointly, A. Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 44 / 55 23 / 23 and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B and C together, etc. In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense that a person skilled in the art would understand the convention, for example, “a system having at least one of A, B or C” would include, but is not limited to, systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B and C together, etc. It will be further understood by those skilled in the art that virtually any disjunctive word and / or expression presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims or drawings, should be understood as considering the possibilities of including one of the terms, one or the other of the terms or both terms. For example, the expression “A or B” will be understood as including the possibilities of “A or “B” or “A and B.”

[0063] From the foregoing, it will be understood that various implementations of the present disclosure are described in this document for illustrative purposes, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Therefore, the various implementations disclosed in this document are not intended to be a limitation, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims. Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 45 / 55

Claims

1 / 5 CLAIMS 1. A method, characterized in that it comprises: receiving, by a processor of an apparatus, a first configuration of a network node of a wireless network, wherein the first configuration indicates one or more first modes of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for a plurality of HARQ processes; receiving, by the processor, a downlink control information (DCI) indicating a multiple transport block (TB) scheduling using the network node's HARQ processes; transmitting, by the processor, an uplink HARQ (UL) to each of the HARQ processes using a corresponding TB of the TBs; and determining, by the processor, when to perform DCI monitoring after the transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to one of the last TBs according to one or more first modes of HARQ.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that one or more first HARQ modes comprise a single HARQ mode for all HARQ processes, and the first setting comprises a bit corresponding to the single HARQ mode.

3. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that one or more first HARQ modes comprise a plurality of HARQ modes, each of which is associated with a respective process of the HARQ processes, and the first configuration comprises a plurality of bits corresponding to the plurality of HARQ modes.

4. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first configuration is received by means of a radio resource control (RRC) signal or a DCI field.

5. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that DCI monitoring comprises monitoring a narrowband physical downlink control channel (NPDCCH) or a PDCCH.

6. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the first one or more modes of HARQ indicates either mode A or mode B.

7. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first configuration is received by means of an RRC signal, and the determination of when to perform DCI monitoring after the transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to the last of the TBs according to one or more first HARQ modes is performed in an event where a second configuration indicating one or more second HARQ modes for the HARQ processes is not received, and wherein the method further comprises: receiving, by the processor, another DCI comprising the second configuration of the network node; and determining, by the processor, when to perform DCI monitoring after the transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to the last of the TBs according to one or more second HARQ modes, in an event where both the first configuration and the second configuration are received.

8. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the determination of when to perform DCI monitoring after transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to the last of the TBs according to one or more of the first HARQ modes comprises: determining not to perform DCI monitoring in a time period subsequent to the transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to the last of the TBs, wherein the time period is defined based on one or more of the first HARQ modes; and determining to perform DCI monitoring when the time period has elapsed.

9. Method, according to claim 8, characterized in that the time period is defined for a round-trip time (RTT) between the device and the network node or is defined for a sum of a scaling offset and 3 in an event where Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 47 / 55 3 / 5 at least one of the first HARQ modes indicates HARQ mode A.

10. Method, according to claim 8, characterized in that the time period is defined for a Type B half-duplex guard period in an event where at least one of the first HARQ modes indicates HARQ mode B.

11. Apparatus, characterized in that it comprises: a transceiver that, during operation, communicates wirelessly with a network node of a wireless network; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver such that, during operation, the processor performs operations comprising: receiving, through the transceiver, a first configuration from the network node, wherein the first configuration indicates one or more first modes of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) for a plurality of HARQ processes; receiving, through the transceiver, a downlink control information (DCI) indicating a multiple transport block (TB) scheduling using the network node's HARQ processes; transmitting, through the transceiver, an uplink HARQ (UL) for each of the HARQ processes using a corresponding TB of the TBs;and determine when to perform DCI monitoring after transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to one of the last TBs according to one or more of the first HARQ modes.

12. Apparatus, according to claim 11, characterized in that the first one or more HARQ modes comprise a single HARQ mode for all HARQ processes, and the first configuration comprises a bit corresponding to the single HARQ mode.

13. Apparatus, according to claim 11, characterized in that one or more first HARQ modes comprise a plurality of HARQ modes, each of which is associated with a respective process of the HARQ processes, and the first configuration comprises a plurality of bits corresponding to the plurality of HARQ modes.

14. Device according to claim 11, characterized in that the first configuration is received by means of a radio resource control (RRC) signal or a DCI field.

15. Apparatus, according to claim 11, characterized in that DCI monitoring comprises monitoring a narrowband physical downlink control channel (NPDCCH) or a PDCCH.

16. Device according to claim 11, characterized in that each of the first one or more HARQ modes indicates HARQ mode A or HARQ mode B.

17. Apparatus, according to claim 11, characterized in that the first configuration is received by means of an RRC signal, and the determination of when to perform DCI monitoring after the transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to the last of the TBs according to one or more first HARQ modes is performed in an event where a second configuration indicating one or more second HARQ modes for the HARQ processes is not received, and wherein, during operation, the processor additionally performs operations comprising: receiving, by means of the transceiver, another DCI comprising the second configuration of the network node; and determining when to perform DCI monitoring after the transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to the last of the TBs according to one or more second HARQ modes, in an event where both the first configuration and the second configuration are received.

18. Device according to claim 11, characterized in that the determination of when to perform DCI monitoring after transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to the last of the TBs according to one or more of the first HARQ modes comprises: Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 49 / 55 5 / 5 determining not to perform DCI monitoring in a time period subsequent to the transmission of the UL HARQ corresponding to the last of the TBs, wherein the time period is defined based on one or more of the first HARQ modes; and determining to perform DCI monitoring when the time period has elapsed.

19. Device according to claim 18, characterized in that the time period is defined for a round-trip time (RTT) between the device and the network node or is defined for a sum of a scaling offset and 3 in an event where at least one of the first HARQ modes indicates HARQ mode A.

20. Device according to claim 18, characterized in that the time period is defined for a Type B half-duplex guard period in an event where at least one of the first HARQ modes indicates HARQ mode B. Petition 870250088415, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, pp. 50 / 55

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