HARQ-ACK reporting using PDSCH grouping

Abstract

A wireless device is configured to: receive downlink control information (DCI) from a network node; determine a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) group based on information in the received DCI; send a hybrid automatic repeat request confirmation (HARQ‑ACK) report to the network node based on the determined PDSCH group; and receive radio resource control (RRC) configuration information, wherein determining the PDSCH group includes: identifying a PDSCH group index within the DCI based on the received RRC configuration information, and the RRC configuration information includes an indication of whether a PDSCH grouping function is enabled for the wireless device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The disclosed subject matter relates generally to telecommunications. More specifically, certain embodiments relate to concepts such as wireless communications in unlicensed spectrum, 5G New Radio (NR), unlicensed NR (NR-U), hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) reporting, and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) grouping. Background Art

[0002] The above information disclosed in this "Background" section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

[0003] NR provides flexibility in HARQ feedback timing to account for dynamic time division duplexing (TDD), as well as the possibility of combining multiple HARQ feedbacks to achieve both low overhead and high reliability.

[0004] Figure 1 An example of HARQ feedback for dynamic TDD is shown, where data transmission is shown by the shaded box in the downlink (DL) and HARQ feedback is shown by the shaded box in the uplink (UL). The slot timing or offset (hereinafter referred to as "K1") between DL data transmission and acknowledgment is determined based on a 3-bit field in the downlink control information (DCI). Radio resource control (RRC) signaling configures a set of eight (8) values ​​to be indexed by K1 (the possible value range is {0,1,...,15}).

[0005] The HARQ codebook size in time (DL association set) is determined based on a configured set of HARQ-ACK timing K1, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring opportunities, and a semi-statically configured TDD mode. For each time slot, the user equipment (UE) can report a fixed-size HARQ feedback bitmap (7 bits in this example) according to its carrier aggregation (CA) and transport block / code block group (TB / CBG) configuration; unreceived TB / CBGs are set to NACK.

[0006] Dynamic HARQ codebook provides the possibility to dynamically determine a set of HARQ processes for which HARQ feedback should be reported. DCI typically includes: a downlink allocation indicator (DAI), which indicates the number of HARQ processes that should be reported; and PDSCH to HARQ-ACK timing, which specifies the time resources in which the network node (e.g. gNB) is expecting feedback.

[0007] The UE refers to the DAI value to calculate the dynamic codebook size. For each PDSCH transmission, the DAI value in the DCI is incremented. The DAI in the DL scheduling DCI is usually stepped by 1 compared to the immediately preceding DL scheduling DCI, if this is not the case, it indicates that the PDSCH transmission has been lost. The difference between the two DAI values ​​received at the UE in the current and earlier DCIs indicates how many PDSCH transmissions have been lost.

[0008] The DAI indicates the number of HARQ processes that should be reported. The DAI value in NR Release 15 is only 2 bits (representing 4 possible values ​​0, 1, 2, 3), so after reaching the highest DAI value (i.e., 3), the DAI wraps around and starts again from the minimum value. Figure 2 Examples of varying DAI values ​​are shown.

[0009] Transmissions on unlicensed bands are subject to a listen-before-talk (LBT) process, so there is uncertainty as to whether the transmission will go through, depending on the LBT results.

[0010] First, if the HARQ feedback transmission in the uplink control information (UCI) is subject to LBT, there is a risk that the UE fails to perform a transmission depending on the LBT result. Due to the one-to-one mapping between PDSCH in the time domain and the corresponding feedback, if the UE fails to send feedback at a predefined time position, the gNB will have to assume a negative acknowledgement (NACK) and retransmit all corresponding PDSCHs. The latter can be regarded as an inefficient use of the frequency band and also leads to unnecessary increase in channel contention.

[0011] Second, even if the UE successfully sends HARQ feedback, the gNB may not be able to detect it. From the gNB’s perspective, a failed LBT or a lost UCI transmission is indistinguishable. Due to the one-to-one mapping between PDSCH and the corresponding feedback in the time domain, if the gNB fails to detect the feedback at a pre-defined time position, the gNB will have to assume a NACK and retransmit all corresponding PDSCHs.

[0012] In view of these limitations, 3GPP agreed to support a mechanism that allows retransmission of HARQ feedback.

[0013] The second session of RAN1 96th meeting agreed to the following.

[0014] Further discussion on HARQ codebooks is limited to the following aspects:

[0015] ●For dynamic HARQ codebook:

[0016] - PDSCH grouping by explicitly signaling the group index in the DCI that schedules the PDSCH

[0017] - The gNB can request HARQ-ACK feedback in the same PUCCH for all PDSCHs in the same group

[0018] -Option 1:

[0019] ■ One PUCCH can carry HARQ-ACK feedback for one or more PDSCH groups

[0020] ■DCI can request HARQ-ACK feedback for one or more PDSCH groups

[0021] ■ One of the following two options is subject to further study

[0022] ● C-DAI / T-DAI can be accumulated across multiple PDSCH groups for which feedback is requested in the same PUCCH

[0023] ● Accumulate C-DAI / T-DAI only within one PDSCH group

[0024] ■ FFS: New ACK feedback group indicator for each PDSCH group

[0025] ■ Between the first HARQ-ACK feedback transmission and the HARQ-ACK feedback retransmission, the number of HARQ-ACK bits for one PDSCH group is constant, i.e., the PDSCH group cannot be enlarged after the first feedback transmission

[0026] - Option 2:

[0027] ■One PUCCH can carry HARQ-ACK feedback for a single PDSCH group

[0028] ●For further study: Feedback for more than one PDSCH group

[0029] ■DCI can request HARQ-ACK feedback for a single PDSCH group

[0030] ●For further study: Request for more than one PDSCH group

[0031] ■ Accumulate C-DAI / T-DAI in one PDSCH group

[0032] ■ Reset indicator signaling to send new HARQ-ACK feedback for PDSCH group

[0033] ■ The number of HARQ-ACK bits for one PDSCH group may not be constant between the first HARQ-ACK feedback transmission and the HARQ-ACK feedback retransmission

[0034] ● Semi-static codebook. This option is for further study.

[0035] If a request / trigger for one-shot group HARQ ACK feedback is introduced for all configured HARQ processes (at least for non-CBG HARQ), then one or more of the following candidates are selected:

[0036] Options:

[0037] ○ Carry the request in the UE-specific DCI that carries the PUSCH grant

[0038] ○ Carry the request in the UE-specific DCI that carries the PDSCH allocation

[0039] ○ Carry the request in the UE-specific DCI that does not schedule PDSCH or PUSCH

[0040] ○ Carry the request in the UE general DCI

[0041] ○ This request can be used for UEs configured with dynamic or semi-static HARQ codebooks Summary of the invention

[0042] In certain embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, PDSCH grouping and one-time triggering are configured and implemented for NR-U operation, or alternatively for operation in licensed spectrum and / or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum.

[0043] In a specific embodiment, a method of operating a wireless device includes: receiving downlink control information DCI from a network node; determining a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH group based on information in the received DCI; and sending a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment HARQ-ACK report to the network node based on the determined PDSCH group.

[0044] In a specific related embodiment, the method further includes: receiving radio resource control RRC configuration information for at least one PDSCH group, wherein determining the PDSCH group includes: identifying a PDSCH group index within the DCI based on the received RRC configuration information. In some such embodiments, the RRC configuration information includes at least one of the following: (a) an indication of whether a PDSCH grouping function is enabled for the wireless device, (b) a maximum number of PDSCH groups, (c) a maximum number of PDSCHs per PDSCH group, and (d) an indication of whether a reset indicator for signaling new HARQ-ACK feedback for the PDSCH group is enabled. In some other such embodiments, the DCI includes at least one of the following: (a) a PDSCH group index field, and (b) a reset or request indicator for signaling new HARQ-ACK feedback. The reset or request indicator may include, for example, a bitmap of PDSCH groups configured on a cell, wherein a corresponding bit is mapped to each of the PDSCH groups.

[0045] In a specific embodiment, a method of operating a wireless device includes: receiving DCI from a network node; determining a PDSCH group based on information in the received DCI; sending a HARQ-ACK report to the network node based on the determined PDSCH group; and receiving RRC configuration information, wherein determining the PDSCH group includes: identifying a PDSCH group index within the DCI based on the received RRC configuration information, and the RRC configuration information includes an indication of whether a PDSCH grouping function is enabled for the wireless device.

[0046] In certain related embodiments, determining the PDSCH group based on the information in the received DCI includes: identifying a HARQ process identifier in the DCI; and determining the PDSCH group based on the HARQ process identifier.

[0047] In certain related embodiments, determining the PDSCH group based on the HARQ process identifier includes associating the HARQ process identifier with the PDSCH group based on at least one bit in at least one or more predetermined positions in the HARQ process identifier.

[0048] In a specific related embodiment, the method also includes: determining whether to transmit a HARQ feedback indicator in a downlink data allocation DCI, the DCI including a PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator and a physical uplink control channel PUCCH resource indicator for a HARQ-ACK report; and in response to the determination, jointly encoding the HARQ feedback for the PDSCH group with the HARQ for the PDSCH being scheduled by the downlink data allocation DCI.

[0049] In some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a wireless device comprises processing circuitry and transceiver circuitry, which together are configured to perform the method as indicated above.

[0050] In some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a method of operating a wireless device includes: receiving a trigger for a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) report from a network node; and in response to the trigger, sending the HARQ-ACK report to the network node, wherein the HARQ-ACK report includes a new data indicator (NDI) value for a most recently received physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for each HARQ process to be reported, and corresponding HARQ feedback for the most recently received PDSCH.

[0051] In a particularly related embodiment, the wireless device sends the NDI and the HARQ feedback for the latest PDSCH for each HARQ process to be reported based on at least one of the following: (a) the wireless device receives a retransmission for the identified HARQ process and reports the HARQ feedback for the identified HARQ process after soft combining with the latest received PDSCH, (b) the wireless device misses the retransmission for the identified HARQ process and reports the HARQ feedback for the identified process based on the previously received PDSCH, (c) the wireless device receives a new PDSCH transmission for the identified HARQ process and reports the HARQ-ACK feedback for the identified process based on the new PDSCH transmission, and (d) the wireless device misses the new transmission for the identified HARQ process and reports the HARQ feedback for the identified process based on the previously received PDSCH.

[0052] In a particularly related embodiment, the trigger comprises information indicating a subset of configured HARQ processes to be reported in the HARQ-ACK report.

[0053] In a particularly related embodiment, the HARQ-ACK report includes 2*H HARQ-ACK bits for the HARQ process, and wherein the corresponding HARQ codebook corresponds to an H*2 array having entries (h, b), each entry corresponding to a HARQ process h and an NDI value b.

[0054] In certain related embodiments, the HARQ-ACK report includes the latest HARQ-ACK status for all configured HARQ processes to be reported.

[0055] In a specific related embodiment, the trigger for the HARQ-ACK report is included in a downlink data allocation DCI, the DCI including a PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator field and a physical uplink control channel PUCCH resource indicator field, the HARQ-ACK report is carried by a PUCCH resource in a time slot, wherein the PUCCH resource is indicated by the PUCCH resource indicator field in the DCI, and the time slot is determined by the PDSCH-HARQ timing indicator field in the DCI.

[0056] In a specific related embodiment, the HARQ-ACK report includes available HARQ-ACK information for all HARQ processes, and the available HARQ-ACK information includes PDSCH receptions that have not yet been reported, regardless of the PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator indicated in the DCI scheduling the HARQ process corresponding to the PDSCH reception.

[0057] In some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a wireless device comprises processing circuitry and transceiver circuitry, which together are configured to perform the method as indicated above.

[0058] In some embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, a computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on a processor of a wireless device, cause the wireless device to perform the method as indicated above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] The accompanying drawings illustrate selected embodiments of the disclosed subject matter. In the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals represent like features.

[0060] Figure 1 HARQ feedback for dynamic TDD is shown;

[0061] Figure 2 shows the changing DAI value;

[0062] Figure 3 illustrates a wireless network according to some embodiments;

[0063] Figure 4 illustrates a user equipment according to some embodiments;

[0064] Figure 5 illustrates a virtualized environment according to some embodiments;

[0065] Figure 6 illustrates a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network according to some embodiments;

[0066] Figure 7 illustrates a host computer communicating with a user device via a base station over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments;

[0067] Figure 8 A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments is shown;

[0068] Fig. 9 A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments is shown;

[0069] Fig.10 A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments is shown;

[0070] Fig.11 A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment according to some embodiments is shown;

[0071] Fig.12 A method according to some embodiments is shown;

[0072] Fig.13 Methods according to some embodiments are shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0073] Some embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided merely as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0074] Generally, unless different meanings are clearly given and / or different meanings are implied in the context of using the term, all terms used in this article will be interpreted according to their common meanings in the relevant technical field. Unless clearly stated, all references to one / an / the element, device, assembly, part, step, etc. should be publicly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of the element, device, assembly, part, step, etc. Unless a step is explicitly described as after or before another step and / or a step must be after or before another step implicitly, the steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed. Where appropriate, any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may be applicable to any other embodiment, and vice versa. Through this description, other purposes, features and advantages of the attached embodiments will be apparent.

[0075] Certain concepts may be described herein with reference to specific technical fields or standards and / or using language applicable to such fields or standards. For example, a specific embodiment may be described with reference to cells, subframes / time slots, channels, etc. as understood in the context of LTE, or with reference to beams, time slots / mini-time slots, channels, etc. as understood in the context of 3GPP NR. However, unless otherwise stated, the concepts described may be more generally applicable without limitation to any such fields, standards, languages, etc.

[0076] Figure 3 A wireless network according to some embodiments is shown. Although the subject matter described herein may be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are with respect to wireless networks such as Figure 3 For simplicity, Figure 3 The wireless network of only depicts network 106 ', network nodes 160 and 160b and wireless devices (WD) 110, 110b and 110c. In practice, the wireless network may also include any additional units suitable for supporting communication between WDs or between a WD and another communication device (e.g., a landline phone, a service provider, or any other network node or terminal device). In the components shown, network node 160 and WD 110 are depicted with additional details. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more WDs to facilitate WD access and / or use of services provided by the wireless network or services provided via the wireless network.

[0077] A wireless network may include and / or be connected to any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular and / or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, a wireless network may be configured to operate according to a specific standard or other type of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, specific embodiments of a wireless network may implement: communication standards such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards such as IEEE 802.11 standards; and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-wave, and / or ZigBee standards.

[0078] The network 106' may include one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTN), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks that enable communications between devices.

[0079] The network node 160 and the WD 110 include various components described in more detail below. These components work together to provide network node and / or wireless device functions, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via wired or wireless connections).

[0080] As used herein, a network node refers to a device that is capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a WD and / or with other network nodes or devices in a wireless network to enable and / or provide wireless access to a WD and / or perform other functions (e.g., management) in a wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, node Bs, evolved node Bs (eNBs), and NR node Bs (gNBs)). Base stations can be classified based on the amount of coverage provided by the base station (or in other words, their transmit power levels), and then they can also be referred to as femto base stations, micro base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station (e.g., a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU) (sometimes also referred to as a remote radio head (RRH))). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Other examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) devices such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSCs, MMEs), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs), and / or MDTs. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. However, more generally, a network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) that is capable of, configured, arranged, and / or operable to enable and / or provide access to a wireless network by a wireless device or to provide a certain service to a wireless device that has accessed a wireless network.

[0081] exist Figure 3 In the embodiment, the network node 160 includes a processing circuit 170, a device readable medium 180, an interface 190, an auxiliary device 184, a power supply 186, a power supply circuit 187, and an antenna 162. Figure 3The network node 160 shown in the example wireless network of can represent a device including the combination of hardware components shown, but other embodiments can include network nodes with different combinations of components. It should be understood that the network node includes any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. In addition, although the components of the network node 160 are depicted as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in reality, the network node may include multiple different physical components that make up a single shown component (for example, the device readable medium 180 may include multiple separate hard drives and multiple RAM modules).

[0082] Similarly, the network node 160 may include multiple physically separated components (e.g., a Node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which may have its own corresponding components. In some cases where the network node 160 includes multiple separate components (e.g., a BTS and a BSC component), one or more separate components may be shared between multiple network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple Node Bs. In such a scenario, in some cases, each unique Node B and RNC pair may be considered as a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 160 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such an embodiment, some components may be replicated (e.g., separate device-readable media 180 for different RATs), while some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 162 may be shared by the RAT). The network node 160 may also include multiple groups of various example components for different wireless technologies (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies) integrated into the network node 160. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within the network node 160.

[0083] The processing circuit 170 is configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., a specific obtaining operation) described herein as provided by the network node. These operations performed by the processing circuit 170 may include: processing information obtained by the processing circuit 170, for example, by converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information; and making a determination as a result of the processing.

[0084] The processing circuit 170 may include a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide network node 160 functionality, either alone or in combination with other network node 160 components (e.g., device readable medium 180). For example, the processing circuit 170 may execute instructions stored in the device readable medium 180 or in a memory within the processing circuit 170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 170 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

[0085] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 170 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (e.g., a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuitry 172 and baseband processing circuitry 174 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0086] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be performed by processing circuit 170 executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 180 or a memory within processing circuit 170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by processing circuit 170 without the need to execute instructions stored on a separate or separate device-readable medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of these embodiments, processing circuit 170 can be configured to perform the described functions regardless of whether instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functions are not limited to processing circuit 170 or other components of network node 160, but are enjoyed by network node 160 as a whole and / or by end users and wireless networks in general.

[0087] Device-readable medium 180 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including, but not limited to, permanent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disk (CD), or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory, device-readable and / or computer-executable storage device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuit 170. Device-readable medium 180 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc.), and / or other instructions that are executable by processing circuit 170 and utilized by network node 160. Device-readable medium 180 may be used to store any computations performed by processing circuit 170 and / or any data received via interface 190. In some embodiments, processing circuit 170 and device-readable medium 180 may be considered integrated.

[0088] Interface 190 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network node 160, network 106' and / or WD 110, 110b, 110c. As shown, interface 190 includes port / terminal 194 to send and receive data from network 106 to network 106', for example, via wired connection. Interface 190 also includes radio front-end circuit 192 that can be coupled to antenna 162 or as a part of antenna 162 in a specific embodiment. Radio front-end circuit 192 includes filter 198 and amplifier 196. Radio front-end circuit 192 can be connected to antenna 162 and processing circuit 170. Radio front-end circuit 192 can be configured to adjust the signal transmitted between antenna 162 and processing circuit 170. Radio front-end circuit 192 can receive digital data that will be sent to other network nodes or WDs via wireless connection. Radio front-end circuit 192 can use a combination of filter 198 and / or amplifier 196 to convert digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 162. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 162 may collect the radio signal, which may then be converted to digital data by radio front end circuit 192. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit 170. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0089] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 160 may not include a separate radio front end circuit 192, but rather, the processing circuit 170 may include the radio front end circuit and may be connected to the antenna 162 without the separate radio front end circuit 192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or a portion of the RF transceiver circuit 172 may be considered part of the interface 190. In other embodiments, the interface 190 may include one or more ports or terminals 194, the radio front end circuit 192, and the RF transceiver circuit 172 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the interface 190 may communicate with the baseband processing circuit 174, which is part of the digital unit (not shown).

[0090] Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals 165. Antenna 162 may be coupled to radio front-end circuit 192 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly sending and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may include one or more omnidirectional, sector or flat panel antennas operable to send / receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. Omnidirectional antennas may be used to send / receive radio signals in any direction, sector antennas may be used to send / receive radio signals from devices within a specific area, and flat panel antennas may be line of sight antennas for sending / receiving radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some cases, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In a particular embodiment, antenna 162 may be separated from network node 160 and may be connected to network node 160 via an interface or port.

[0091] Antenna 162, interface 190 and / or processing circuit 170 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain obtaining operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from a WD, another network node and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 162, interface 190 and / or processing circuit 170 may be configured to perform any sending operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal may be sent to a WD, another network node and / or any other network device.

[0092] The power circuit 187 may include or be coupled to a power management circuit and is configured to provide power to the components of the network node 160 for performing the functions described herein. The power circuit 187 may receive power from the power supply 186. The power supply 186 and / or the power circuit 187 may be configured to provide power to the various components of the network node 160 in a form suitable for the various components (e.g., at the voltage and current level required by each corresponding component). The power supply 186 may be included in the power circuit 187 and / or the network node 160 or outside it. For example, the network node 160 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power outlet) via an input circuit or interface (e.g., a cable), whereby the external power source provides power to the power circuit 187. As another example, the power supply 186 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to the power circuit 187 or integrated therein. If the external power supply fails, the battery can provide backup power. Other types of power supplies, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

[0093] Alternative embodiments of network node 160 may include Figure 3 Additional components beyond those shown, which may be responsible for providing specific aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 160 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into the network node 160 and to allow information to be output from the network node 160. This may allow a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for the network node 160.

[0094] As used herein, wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise specified, the term WD may be used interchangeably with user equipment (UE) in this article. Wireless communication may involve the use of electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information through the air to send and / or receive wireless signals. In some embodiments, WD may be configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, WD may be designed to send information to the network in a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the network. Examples of WD include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop computer built-in devices (LEEs), laptop computer installation devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless user premises equipment (CPEs), vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, etc. WD can support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and in this case can be referred to as a D2D communication device. As another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, WD can represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and sends the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another WD and / or network node. In this case, WD can be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which can be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, WD can be a UE that implements the 3GPP narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or household or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearable devices (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other cases, WD can represent a vehicle or other device that can monitor and / or report its operating status or other functions associated with its operation. WD as described above can represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device can be referred to as a wireless terminal. Furthermore, the WD as described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

[0095] As shown, WD 110 includes antenna 111, interface 114, processing circuit 120, device readable medium 130, user interface device 132, auxiliary device 134, power supply 136 and power supply circuit 137. WD 110 can include multiple groups of one or more of the components shown for different wireless technologies supported by WD 110 (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, Wi-Fi, WiMAX or Bluetooth wireless technology, to name a few). These wireless technologies can be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets as other components in WD 110.

[0096] Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals, and is connected to interface 114. In a specific alternative embodiment, antenna 111 may be separated from WD 110 and may be connected to WD 110 via an interface or port. Antenna 111, interface 114 and / or processing circuit 120 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operation described herein as being performed by WD. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from a network node and / or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front-end circuitry and / or antenna 111 may be considered as an interface.

[0097] As shown, the interface 114 includes a radio front-end circuit 112 and an antenna 111. The radio front-end circuit 112 includes one or more filters 118 and an amplifier 116. The radio front-end circuit 112 is connected to the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120 and is configured to adjust the signal transmitted between the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120. The radio front-end circuit 112 may be coupled to the antenna 111 or as part of the antenna 111. In some embodiments, the WD 110 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 112; instead, the processing circuit 120 may include a radio front-end circuit and may be connected to the antenna 111. Similarly, in some embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuit 122 may be considered as part of the interface 114. The radio front-end circuit 112 may receive digital data sent to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 112 may use a combination of filters 118 and / or amplifiers 116 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 111 may collect radio signals, which may then be converted into digital data by radio front end circuit 112. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit 120. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0098] The processing circuit 120 may include a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or a combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide WD 110 functionality alone or in combination with other WD 110 components (e.g., device readable medium 130). Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, the processing circuit 120 may execute instructions stored in the device readable medium 130 or in a memory within the processing circuit 120 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0099] As shown, the processing circuit 120 includes one or more of the RF transceiver circuit 122, the baseband processing circuit 124, and the application processing circuit 126. In other embodiments, the processing circuit may include different components and / or different combinations of components. In a specific embodiment, the processing circuit 120 of the WD 110 may include a SOC. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuit 122, the baseband processing circuit 124, and the application processing circuit 126 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In an alternative embodiment, part or all of the baseband processing circuit 124 and the application processing circuit 126 may be combined into one chip or chipset, and the RF transceiver circuit 122 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In other alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuit 122 and the baseband processing circuit 124 may be on the same chip or chipset, and the application processing circuit 126 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In other alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuit 122, the baseband processing circuit 124, and the application processing circuit 126 may be combined in the same chip or chipset. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 122 may be part of interface 114. RF transceiver circuitry 122 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 120.

[0100] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein as being performed by the WD may be provided by a processing circuit 120 executing instructions stored on a device-readable medium 130 (which may be a computer-readable storage medium in certain embodiments). In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by the processing circuit 120 without the need to execute instructions stored on a separate or separate device-readable medium, such as in a hardwired manner. In any of these specific embodiments, the processing circuit 120 can be configured to perform the described functions, regardless of whether instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functions are not limited to the processing circuit 120 or other components of the WD 110, but are enjoyed by the WD 110 as a whole and / or generally by end users and wireless networks.

[0101] Processing circuit 120 may be configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., a specific acquisition operation) described herein as being performed by WD. Such operations performed by processing circuit 120 may include: processing information obtained by processing circuit 120, for example, by converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with information stored by WD 110, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information; and making a determination as a result of the processing.

[0102] Device-readable medium 130 is operable to store computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc.), and / or other instructions executable by processing circuit 120. Device-readable medium 130 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable storage device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuit 120. In some embodiments, processing circuit 120 and device-readable medium 130 may be considered integrated.

[0103] The user interface device 132 can provide a component that allows a human user to interact with the WD 110. This interaction can have a variety of forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The user interface device 132 can be operable to generate output to the user and allow the user to provide input to the WD 110. The type of interaction can vary according to the type of user interface device 132 installed in the WD 110. For example, if the WD 110 is a smart phone, the interaction can be via a touch screen; if the WD 110 is a smart meter, the interaction can be through a screen that provides usage (such as the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alarm (such as if smoke is detected). The user interface device 132 may include input interfaces, devices and circuits and output interfaces, devices and circuits. The user interface device 132 is configured to allow information to be input to the WD 110, and is connected to the processing circuit 120 to allow the processing circuit 120 to process the input information. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity sensor or other sensor, a key / button, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port or other input circuits. The user interface device 132 is also configured to allow information to be output from the WD 110, and to allow the processing circuit 120 to output information from the WD 110. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, a vibration circuit, a USB port, a headphone jack, or other output circuits. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits of the user interface device 132, the WD 110 can communicate with an end user and / or a wireless network and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

[0104] Auxiliary device 134 is operable to provide more specific functions that may not normally be performed by a WD. This may include specialized sensors for measuring for various purposes, interfaces for other communication types such as wired communications, etc. The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary device 134 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0105] In some embodiments, power supply 136 can take the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power supplies can also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., a power outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. WD 110 may also include a power circuit 137 for delivering power from power supply 136 to various parts of WD 110, which require power from power supply 136 to perform any function described or indicated herein. In a specific embodiment, power circuit 137 may include a power management circuit. Power circuit 137 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source. In this case, WD 110 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power outlet) via an input circuit or interface (e.g., a power cord). In a specific embodiment, power circuit 137 may also be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power supply 136. This can be used, for example, to charge power supply 136. Power circuit 137 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification of power from power supply 136 to make the power suitable for the corresponding components of WD 110 to which the power is provided.

[0106] Figure 4 One embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein is shown. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated equipment. Rather, a UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but may not be, or may not initially be, associated with a particular human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 200 may be any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. As Figure 4 As shown, UE 200 is an example of a WD that is configured to communicate according to one or more communication standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE, and / or 5G standards. As previously mentioned, the terms WD and UE may be used interchangeably. Therefore, although Figure 4 It is UE, but the components discussed in this article are also applicable to WD and vice versa.

[0107] exist Figure 4In the embodiment, UE 200 includes processing circuit 201, which is operatively coupled to input / output interface 205, radio frequency (RF) interface 209, network connection interface 211, memory 215 (including random access memory (RAM) 217, read-only memory (ROM) 219, and storage medium 221, etc.), communication subsystem 231, power supply 233 and / or any other components or any combination thereof. Storage medium 221 includes operating system 223, application 225 and data 227. In other embodiments, storage medium 221 may include other similar types of information. A particular UE may utilize Figure 4 All components shown may be used, or only a subset of these components may be used. The level of integration between components may vary from one UE to another. In addition, a particular UE may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0108] exist Figure 4 In the embodiment of the present invention, the processing circuit 201 can be configured to process computer instructions and data. The processing circuit 201 can be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute machine instructions stored as a machine-readable computer program in a memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic and appropriate firmware; one or more stored programs, general-purpose processors (e.g., microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs)) and appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 201 may include two central processing units (CPUs). The data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0109] In the depicted embodiment, the input / output interface 205 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or an input and output device. The UE 200 may be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 205. The output device may use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to the UE 200 or to provide output from the UE 200. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. The UE 200 may be configured to use an input device via the input / output interface 205 to allow a user to capture information into the UE 200. The input device may include a touch-sensitive display or a presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a steering wheel, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from the user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device can be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

[0110] exist Figure 4 In the embodiment of the present invention, the RF interface 209 can be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as transmitters, receivers and antennas. The network connection interface 211 can be configured to provide a communication interface to the network 243a. The network 243a can include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network or any combination thereof. For example, the network 243a can include a Wi-Fi network. The network connection interface 211 can be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface, which is used to communicate with one or more other devices through a communication network according to one or more communication protocols (such as Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, or Ethernet, etc.). The network connection interface 211 can implement receiver and transmitter functions suitable for communication network links (such as optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions can share circuit components, software or firmware, or can be implemented separately in particular.

[0111] RAM 217 may be configured to be connected to processing circuit 201 via bus 202 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as operating systems, applications, and device drivers. ROM 219 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuit 201. For example, ROM 219 may be configured to store unchanged low-level system code or data for basic system functions (e.g., basic input and output (I / O), startup, reception of keystrokes stored in non-volatile memory from a keyboard). Storage medium 221 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, floppy disk, hard disk, removable cassette, or flash drive. In one example, storage medium 221 may be configured to include operating system 223, application 225 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine, or another application, and data file 227. The storage medium 221 may store any one of various operating systems or a combination of operating systems for use by the UE 200 .

[0112] The storage medium 221 may be configured to include multiple physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drive, an internal hard drive, a Blu-ray optical drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory (e.g., a user identity module or a removable user identity (SIM / RUIM) module), other memory, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 221 may allow the UE 200 to access computer executable instructions, applications, etc. stored on a temporary or non-temporary storage medium to unload data or upload data. An article of manufacture such as utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in the storage medium 221, which may include a device-readable medium.

[0113] exist Figure 4In the embodiment of the present invention, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to communicate with the network 243b using the communication subsystem 231. The network 243a and the network 243b may be the same network or different networks. The communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with the network 243b. For example, the communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device (e.g., another WD, UE or base station of a radio access network (RAN)) capable of wireless communication according to one or more communication protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.2, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc.). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 233 and / or a receiver 235 to respectively implement a transmitter or receiver function (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.) suitable for a RAN link. In addition, the transmitter 233 and the receiver 235 of each transceiver may share circuit components, software or firmware, or may be implemented separately instead.

[0114] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 231 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication (GPS) such as using a global positioning system to determine the location, another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 231 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. The network 243b may include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 243b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a near-field network. The power supply 213 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 200.

[0115] The features, benefits and / or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 200, or may be divided among multiple components of UE 200. In addition, the features, benefits and / or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include any component described herein. In addition, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to communicate with any such component on the bus 202. In another example, any such component may be represented by a program instruction stored in a memory, which performs the corresponding function described herein when executed by the processing circuit 201. In another example, the function of any such component may be divided between the processing circuit 201 and the communication subsystem 231. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, while the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0116] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment 500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device, which may include a virtualized hardware platform, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device) or a component thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functions are implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers executed on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0117] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components performed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 500 hosted by one or more hardware nodes 330. Furthermore, in embodiments where the virtual nodes are not radio access nodes or do not require radio connectivity (e.g., core network nodes), the network nodes may be fully virtualized.

[0118] These functions may be implemented by one or more applications 320 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) operable to implement certain features, functions, and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein. The applications 320 run in a virtualized environment 500, which provides hardware 330 including processing circuitry 360 and memory 390-1. The memory 390-1 contains instructions 395 executable by the processing circuitry 360, whereby the applications 320 are operable to provide one or more features, benefits, and / or functions disclosed herein.

[0119] The virtualization environment 500 includes a general or special network hardware device 330, which includes a set of one or more processors or processing circuits 360, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuit including digital or analog hardware components or special processors. Each hardware device may include a memory 390-1, which may be a non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 395 or software executed by the processing circuit 360. Each hardware device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 370 (also known as network interface cards), which include physical network interfaces 380. Each hardware device may also include a non-transitory persistent machine-readable storage medium 390-2 in which software 395 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuit 360 are stored. The software 395 may include any type of software including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 350 (also known as hypervisors), software for executing virtual machines 340, and software that allows them to perform functions, features, and / or benefits related to some embodiments described herein.

[0120] The virtual machine 340 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual network or interface, and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 350 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of instances of the virtual device 320 may be implemented on one or more virtual machines 340 and may be implemented in different ways.

[0121] During operation, processing circuitry 360 executes software 395 to instantiate a hypervisor or virtualization layer 350, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 350 may present to virtual machines 340 a virtual operating platform that appears to be networked hardware.

[0122] like Figure 5 As shown, hardware 330 can be an independent network node with common or specific components. Hardware 330 can include antenna 3225, and some functions can be implemented via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 330 can be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., such as in a data center or customer premises equipment (CPE)), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed by management and orchestration (MANO) 3100, which, among other items, oversees the life cycle management of application 320.

[0123] In some contexts, virtualization of hardware is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage devices that can be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0124] In the context of NFV, a virtual machine 340 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs a program as if the program were executed on a physical, non-virtual machine. Each virtual machine 340 and the portion of the hardware 330 that executes the virtual machine (hardware dedicated to the virtual machine and / or hardware shared by the virtual machine with other virtual machines 340) form a separate virtual network element (VNE).

[0125] Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function (VNF) is responsible for handling specific network functions running in one or more virtual machines 340 on top of the hardware networking infrastructure 330 and corresponds to Figure 8 Application 320.

[0126] In some embodiments, one or more radio units 3200, each including one or more transmitters 3220 and one or more receivers 3210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 3225. The radio units 3200 may communicate directly with the hardware nodes 330 via one or more appropriate network interfaces, and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or base station.

[0127] In some embodiments, some signaling may be implemented using a control system 3230 , which may alternatively be used for communications between the hardware node 330 and the radio unit 3200 .

[0128] Figure 6 A telecommunications network is shown connected to a host computer via an intermediary network in accordance with some embodiments.

[0129] refer to Figure 6According to an embodiment, the communication system 600 includes a telecommunication network 410 such as a 3GPP type cellular network, which includes an access network 411 such as a radio access network and a core network 414. The access network 411 includes a plurality of base stations 412a, 412b, 412c (e.g., NB, eNB, gNB) or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 413a, 413b, 413c. Each base station 412a, 412b, 412c may be connected to the core network 414 via a wired or wireless connection 415. A first UE 491 located in the coverage area 413c is configured to be wirelessly connected to or paged by the corresponding base station 412c. A second UE 492 in the coverage area 413a may be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 412a. Although multiple UEs 491, 492 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where a single UE is in the coverage area or a single UE is connected to the corresponding base station 412.

[0130] The telecommunications network 410 itself is connected to a host computer 430, which may be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a stand-alone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 430 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The connections 421 and 422 between the telecommunications network 410 and the host computer 430 may extend directly from the core network 414 to the host computer 430, or may be via an optional intermediate network 420. The intermediate network 420 may be one of a public, private, or managed network, or a combination of more than one thereof; the intermediate network 420 (if any) may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 420 may include two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0131] Overall, Figure 6The communication system of the present invention implements connectivity between the connected UE 491, 492 and the host computer 430. The connectivity can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 450. The host computer 430 and the connected UE 491, 492 are configured to use the access network 411, the core network 414, any intermediate network 420 and possible other infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries to transmit data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 450. Because the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 450 passes do not know the routes of uplink and downlink communications, the OTT connection 450 can be transparent. For example, the base station 412 may not be informed or need not be informed of the past routes of incoming downlink communications with data originating from the host computer 430 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 491. Similarly, the base station 412 does not need to know the future routes of outgoing uplink communications from the UE 491 to the host computer 430.

[0132] Figure 7 A host computer is shown communicating with a user device via a base station over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.

[0133] Now refer to Figure 7 5. The example implementation of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the previous paragraph according to the embodiment is described. In the communication system 700, the host computer 510 includes hardware 515, which includes a communication interface 516 configured to establish and maintain a wired or wireless connection with different communication devices of the communication system 700. The host computer 510 also includes a processing circuit 518, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuit 518 may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these items (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The host computer 510 also includes software 511, which is stored in the host computer 510 or can be accessed by the host computer 510 and can be executed by the processing circuit 518. The software 511 includes a host application 512. The host application 512 is operable to provide services to remote users of UE 530 such as those connected via an OTT connection 550 terminated at the UE 530 and the host computer 510. When providing services to remote users, the host application 512 may provide user data sent using the OTT connection 550 .

[0134] The communication system 700 also includes a base station 520 provided in the telecommunication system, and the base station 520 includes hardware 525 that enables it to communicate with the host computer 510 and the UE 530. The hardware 525 may include a communication interface 526 for establishing and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with different communication devices of the communication system 700, and a communication interface 526 for establishing and maintaining a connection with a network located in a coverage area ( Figure 7 The communication interface 526 may be configured to facilitate a connection 560 with the host computer 510. The connection 560 may be direct, or the connection 560 may be through a core network (eg, a wireless network) of the telecommunications system. Figure 7 520) and / or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 525 of the base station 520 also includes processing circuitry 528, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these items (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The base station 520 also has software 521 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0135] The communication system 700 also includes the UE 530 already mentioned. The hardware 535 of the UE 530 may include a radio interface 537, which is configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 570 with a base station serving the coverage area where the UE 530 is currently located. The hardware 535 of the UE 530 also includes a processing circuit 538, which may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these items (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The UE 530 also includes software 531 stored in the UE 530 or accessible by the UE 530 and executable by the processing circuit 538. The software 531 includes a client application 532. The client application 532 is operable to provide services to human or non-human users via the UE 530 with the support of the host computer 510. In the host computer 510, the executing host application 512 can communicate with the executing client application 532 via an OTT connection 550 terminated at the UE 530 and the host computer 510. In providing services to users, client application 532 may receive request data from host application 512 and provide user data in response to the request data. OTT connection 550 may transmit both request data and user data. Client application 532 may interact with a user to generate user data provided by the user.

[0136] Notice, Figure 7 The host computer 510, base station 520 and UE 530 shown can be respectively Figure 6The host computer 430, one of the base stations 412a, 412b, 412c and one of the UEs 491, 492 may be similar or identical. That is, the internal working principles of these entities may be as follows: Figure 7 As shown, and independently, the surrounding network topology can be Figure 6 The surrounding network topology.

[0137] exist Figure 7 In the figure, the OTT connection 550 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate the communication between the host computer 510 and the UE 530 via the base station 520, without explicit reference to any intermediate devices and the precise routing of the messages via these devices. The network infrastructure can determine the routing, and the network infrastructure can be configured to hide the routing from the UE 530 or from the service provider operating the host computer 510, or both. When the OTT connection 550 is active, the network infrastructure can further make a decision according to which the network infrastructure dynamically changes the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or reconfiguration of the network).

[0138] The wireless connection 570 between the UE 530 and the base station 520 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improves the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 530 using the OTT connection 550 (where the wireless connection 570 forms the last segment).

[0139] The measurement process may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, delays, and other factors on which one or more embodiments are improved. In response to changes in the measurement results, there may also be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 550 between the host computer 510 and the UE 530. The measurement process and / or network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 550 may be implemented in the software 511 and hardware 515 of the host computer 510 or in the software 531 and hardware 535 of the UE 530, or in both. In an embodiment, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed in a communication device through which the OTT connection 550 passes or associated with such a communication device; the sensor may participate in the measurement process by providing the value of the monitored quantity of the above example or providing the value of other physical quantities from which the software 511, 531 can calculate or estimate the monitored quantity. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 550 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routes, etc. The reconfiguration does not need to affect the base station 520, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 520. Such processes and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates host computer 510 measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be achieved because software 511 and 531 causes the OTT connection 550 to be used to send messages, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, during its monitoring of propagation time, errors, etc.

[0140] Figure 8 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Figure 6 and Figure 7 For the sake of brevity, this section only includes the host computer, base station and UE described in Figure 8 In step 610, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 611 of step 610 (which may be optional), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 620, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE carrying the user data. In step 630 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the base station sends the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer to the UE. In step 640 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0141] Fig. 9 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Figure 6 and Figure 7For simplicity of this disclosure, this section only includes Fig. 9 . In step 710 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 720, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the transmission may be through a base station. In step 730 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0142] Fig.10 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Figure 6 and Figure 7 For simplicity of this disclosure, this section only includes Fig.10 . In step 810 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 820, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 821 (which may be optional) of step 820, the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 811 (which may be optional) of step 810, the UE executes a client application, which provides user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer. When providing user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner of providing user data, the UE initiates transmission of user data to the host computer in sub-step 830 (which may be optional). In step 840 of the method, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the host computer receives user data sent from the UE.

[0143] Fig.11 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Figure 6 and Figure 7 For simplicity of this disclosure, this section only includes Fig.11 In step 910 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step 920 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 930 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0144] Fig.12A method 1200 in a wireless device according to some embodiments is shown.

[0145] refer to Fig.12 The method includes: receiving downlink control information (DCI) from a network node (S1205); determining a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) group based on information in the received DCI (S1210); and sending a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) report to the network node based on the determined PDSCH group (S1215).

[0146] In a specific relevant embodiment, corresponding operations may be performed in a network node (e.g., a gNB), such as allocating or determining a PDSCH group, sending a DCI, and correspondingly receiving and processing a HARQ-ACK report.

[0147] Fig.13 A method 1300 in a wireless device according to some other embodiments is shown.

[0148] refer to Fig.13 The method includes: receiving a trigger for a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) report from a network node (S1305); and in response to the trigger, sending a HARQ-ACK report to the network node, wherein the HARQ-ACK report includes a new data indicator (NDI) value for a most recently received physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and HARQ feedback for the most recently received PDSCH (S1310).

[0149] In certain relevant embodiments, corresponding operations may be performed in a network node (e.g., a gNB), such as allocating or determining a PDSCH group, sending a trigger, and correspondingly receiving and processing a HARQ-ACK report.

[0150] In the following description, specific embodiments are described for PDSCH groups or PDSCH grouping functions. In general, a PDSCH group is a group of PDSCHs for which HARQ feedback is sent in some joint form (usually in the same PUCCH resource or time slot). Similarly, PDSCH grouping is any process or operation that results in the allocation or identification of multiple PDSCHs for different PDSCH groups. For example, PDSCH grouping can be performed by signaling that allocates or identifies different PDSCHs for the same or different PDSCH groups. Such signaling may include, for example, a DCI that schedules or otherwise identifies a PUSCH and allocates and / or identifies PUCCH resources to carry HARQ feedback for PUSCH. The same DCI may also associate PUSCH with a PDSCH group, or a PUSCH may become part of a PDSCH group by being allocated to the same PUCCH resource as other PUSCHs. HARQ feedback for a PDSCH group may be sent to a network node as a bit group or a bit set, wherein different bits in the group or set correspond to HARQ feedback for different PUSCHs. The group or set of bits may be referred to as a HARQ codebook. The use of PDSCH grouping can provide certain potential benefits, such as allowing a wireless device or network node to perform certain actions for the entire group, such as requesting feedback or performing some analysis for the entire group. The use of PDSCH grouping can also improve the efficiency of network performance. For example, if two PDSCH groups are determined, the UE may start sending HARQ-ACK reports to the gNB when the UE has received the first PDSCH group transmission from the gNB, without waiting for the second PDSCH group transmission to be received.

[0151] In general, the described embodiments may be performed in whole or in part in licensed or unlicensed spectrum. For example, any control and / or data signaling described may be performed in uplink licensed or unlicensed spectrum, and uplink and / or downlink signaling may be performed in uplink licensed or unlicensed spectrum. For example, certain embodiments may be implemented in a standalone NR-U system in which communications are performed without access to licensed spectrum.

[0152] In certain embodiments, the explicit PDSCH grouping functionality is enabled or disabled via RRC. In such embodiments, the presence or absence of the PDSCH group index field in the DCI may depend on the RRC configuration. The RRC configuration may indicate, for example, one or more of the following:

[0153] -Whether the PDSCH grouping function is enabled

[0154] - Maximum number of PDSCH groups

[0155] - Maximum number of PDSCH per group

[0156] - Signaling whether the reset indicator for new HARQ-ACK feedback for the PDSCH group is enabled

[0157] If PDSCH grouping is enabled via RRC, the DCI may include one or more of the following:

[0158] ○PDSCH group index field: x bits, where x=ceil[log2(maximum number of PDSCH groups)].

[0159] ○ Signaling a reset or request indicator for new HARQ-ACK feedback. Use one of the following options

[0160] - A bitmap of PDSCH groups configured on the cell, where a corresponding bit is mapped to each group. Number of bits = maximum number of PDSCH groups.

[0161] ■For example,

[0162] • The bit corresponding to a specific HARQ process group is set to a specific value (0 or 1) to indicate to the UE to retransmit / reset the HARQ feedback for the associated group. The bitmap may also contain PDSCH groups configured on multiple DL cells.

[0163] • The bit corresponding to a specific HARQ process group is set to toggle to indicate to the UE that the HARQ feedback for the associated group has been correctly received. The bitmap may also contain PDSCH groups configured on multiple DL cells.

[0164] - The bits corresponding to the PDSCH group indicated in the DCI.

[0165] If the maximum number of PDSCH groups is set to 1, the PDSCH Group Index field may be omitted or not indicated in the DCI.The Reset / Request Indicator field typically comprises a single bit.

[0166] In a specific embodiment, the number of HARQ feedback groups is configured via high-level signaling (e.g., RRC layer configuration). In some of these embodiments, the size of each HARQ feedback group is fixed via high-level signaling. A potential benefit of this grouping is a fixed group size. If the UE previously missed one or more scheduled PDCCHs, the HARQ-ACK feedback group size according to this teaching will not be affected or will not be miscalculated. Similarly, in some of these embodiments, no additional group index is added to the DCI.

[0167] In some embodiments, the group is determined by a prefix of the HARQ process ID that is already present in the current DCI. As an example, if the UE is configured by the network to use two HARQ-ACK feedback groups, the HARQ process whose first bit of the ID is 0 belongs to HARQ-ACK feedback group 0, and the HARQ process whose first bit of the ID is 1 belongs to HARQ-ACK feedback group 1. More specifically, if there are 16 HARQ processes, HARQ-ACK feedback group 0 includes HARQ processes #0, #1, ..., #7, and HARQ-ACK feedback group 1 includes HARQ processes #8, #9, ..., #15. As another example, if the UE is configured by the network to use four HARQ-ACK feedback groups, the HARQ processes are divided into four HARQ-ACK feedback groups based on the first two bits in the HARQ process ID.

[0168] In some other embodiments, the group is determined by the suffix of the HARQ process ID already present in the current DCI. That is, the grouping of the HARQ processes is based on the last few bits of the HARQ process ID.

[0169] In other embodiments, the high-level signaling directly lists the HARQ process ID for each HARQ-ACK feedback group. For example, the high-level signaling can configure three HARQ-ACK feedback groups as follows: Group 0 includes five HARQ processes with IDs #0, #1, ..., #4; Group 1 includes five HARQ processes with IDs #5, #6, ..., #9; Group 2 includes six HARQ processes with IDs #10, #11, ..., #15.

[0170] High-level signaling may also configure HARQ-ACK feedback groups with different numbers of HARQ processes in different groups, e.g., group 0 is configured to include HARQ processes 0, 1, and 2, and group 1 is configured to include HARQ processes 3 and 4, or group 0 is configured to include HARQ processes 0, 1, and 2, and group 1 is configured to include HARQ processes 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. In the event that the number of HARQ processes is not divisible by the number of HARQ-ACK feedback groups, a process rule may be specified to indicate the default number of HARQ processes in each HARQ-ACK feedback group. For example, as a first step, the size of all HARQ-ACK feedback groups is set to nrofHARQ-Processes / / nrOfHARQ-ACK-feedbackGroups, where “ / / ” indicates integer division (equivalently expressed as “floor(nrofHARQ-Processes / nrOfHARQ-ACK-feedbackGroups)”). Then, in the second step, the sizes of HARQ-ACK feedback groups 0, 1, 2, etc. are sequentially increased by 1 until the sum of the sizes of the HARQ-ACK feedback groups is equal to the number of HARQ processes.

[0171] In certain alternative embodiments, in response to a HARQ feedback request, the UE generates and reports HARQ feedback for a specified PDSCH group.

[0172] If a HARQ feedback indicator is transmitted in a DL data allocation DCI, which includes a PDSCH-to-HARQ timing indicator and a PUCCH resource indicator for HARQ feedback transmission for the PDSCH being scheduled, the requested HARQ feedback for the specified PDSCH group can be jointly encoded with the HARQ feedback for the new PDSCH being scheduled and sent with the specified timing and PUCCH resources.

[0173] If the HARQ feedback indicator is transmitted in a UL data grant DCI that schedules a PUSCH to be sent in the near future, the requested HARQ feedback for the specified PDSCH group may be multiplexed with UL shared channel (UL-SCH) data and sent in the PUSCH transmission with the aid of UCI on the PUSCH.

[0174] If the HARQ feedback indicator is transmitted in a DCI that does not schedule any PDSCH or PUSCH transmission, the timing and resources for requesting HARQ feedback transmission are expected to be included in the DCI, and the requested HARQ feedback should be sent with this timing and resources.

[0175] The following description provides a specific embodiment in which a HARQ-ACK report is generated in response to a one-time trigger. In the following description, the term "all processes" or "each process" refers to a specific HARQ process requested by the network to the UE. For example, in the case where a specific HARQ-ACK feedback group is not configured, "all processes" refers to all available HARQ processes. Alternatively, in the case where the network requests at least one HARQ-ACK feedback group, "all processes" refers to all HARQ processes belonging to the at least one HARQ-ACK feedback group.

[0176] In some embodiments, in response to the UE receiving a trigger for a HARQ-ACK report, for each HARQ process to be reported, the UE reports the corresponding latest NDI value for the latest received PDSCH for the HARQ process and the corresponding HARQ-ACK for the received PDSCH.

[0177] In some embodiments, when the UE reports the latest NDI and HARQ-ACK for a HARQ process ID, HARQ-ACK reporting may be performed as follows.

[0178] ● If the UE receives a retransmission for HARQ process h, it will

[0179] ○ Report HARQ-ACK for process h after soft combining with the latest PDSCH

[0180] ● If the UE misses a retransmission of HARQ process h, it will

[0181] ○ Report HARQ-ACK for process h based on previously received PDSCH

[0182] ● If the UE receives a new transmission from HARQ process h, it will

[0183] ○ Report HARQ-ACK for process h based on this PDSCH

[0184] ● If the UE misses a new transmission from HARQ process h, it will

[0185] ○ Report HARQ-ACK for process h based on previously received PDSCH

[0186] If the NDI value matches the last sent value, the gNB assumes that the reported HARQ-ACK feedback correctly corresponds to process h. Otherwise, the gNB discards the reported HARQ-ACK feedback and assumes that the HARQ-ACK for process h is a NACK.

[0187] In a particular embodiment, the trigger indicates a subset of HARQ processes to be reported.The report for any HARQ process in the set includes the corresponding latest NDI value for the latest received PDSCH for that HARQ process and the corresponding HARQ-ACK for the received PDSCH.

[0188] In some embodiments, when the UE reports the latest NDI and HARQ-ACK for a HARQ process ID, HARQ-ACK reporting may be performed as follows.

[0189] If the NDI value matches the last received value, the UE reports:

[0190] ● If the UE receives a retransmission for HARQ process h, it will

[0191] - Report HARQ-ACK for process h after soft combining with PDSCH scheduled with the same NDI value

[0192] ● If the UE misses a retransmission of HARQ process h, it will

[0193] - Report HARQ-ACK for process h based on previously received PDSCH

[0194] ● If the UE receives a new transmission from HARQ process h, it will

[0195] -Report HARQ-ACK for process h based on this PDSCH

[0196] ● If the UE misses a new transmission from HARQ process h, it will

[0197] ○ Report HARQ-ACK for process h based on previously received PDSCH

[0198] If the NDI value does not match the most recently received value, the UE discards outstanding HARQ-ACKs for process h (if any) and sends a NACK.

[0199] The UE reports 2*H HARQ-ACK bits for H HARQ processes. The codebook comprises an Hx2 array, where an entry (h, b) corresponds to a HARQ process h and an NDI value b, where h=0, 1, ..., H-1, and b=0,1.

[0200] ● For HARQ process h with NDI value b in the last received scheduling PDCCH, UE

[0201] ● Report the HARQ-ACK for process h in entry (h,b);

[0202] ●And set entry (h,1-b) to NACK.

[0203] In a particular alternative embodiment, after correctly receiving feedback in response to a one-time trigger, the network node (e.g., gNB) updates the reset or request indicator for all reported PDSCH groups.

[0204] In addition to counting the PDSCHs of the groups that were not reported due to feedback timing that did not meet the required processing time, the DAI values ​​for the PDSCH groups (with reports received for their corresponding HARQ process IDs) are also reset to corresponding initial values.

[0205] In certain alternative embodiments, the timing and resources for one-time reporting have specific characteristics as described below.As long as the processing time requirements are met, the UE may include the latest HARQ-ACK status for all received HARQ processes, regardless of the PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator indicated in the PDSCH scheduling grant.

[0206] Subject to the processing time requirement being met, the timing indication (t1) in the one-shot trigger overrides the timing (t2) indicated in the PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator of the DCI scheduling the PDSCH, provided that the absolute timing corresponding to t2 is greater than the absolute timing corresponding to t1.

[0207] A one-time trigger may be included in a DL grant, for example in DCI format 1_0 or 1_1. In this case, the one-time report is carried by a PUCCH resource in a timeslot. Similar to Release 15, the timeslot for the transmission of the PUCCH carrying the report is determined by the PDSCH to HARQ Timing Indicator field in the DCI. Similar to Release 15, in one example, the size of the report (i.e., the number of NDI and HARQ-ACK bits) determines the PUCCH resource set, and the PUCCH resource indicator field in the DCI determines the PUCCH resources in the set to be used for the transmission. In another example, the UE may be configured with PUCCH resources for one-time reporting by higher layers.

[0208] A one-time trigger may be included in the UL grant, for example in DCI format 0_0 or 0_1. In one example, for PUSCH with UL-SCH, a multiplexing process similar to that used for HARQ-ACK on PUSCH in Release 15 is used to multiplex the reports with the UL-SCH on PUSCH. In the case of PUSCH without UL-SCH (with or without CSI), the reports are treated as HARQ-ACK UCI and multiplexed on PUSCH, where in the absence of CSI, only the reports containing the HARQ-ACK information are sent on PUSCH, thereby following the mapping rules for HARQ-ACK transmission on PUSCH.

[0209] In certain alternative embodiments, the following concepts may be applied to encode a one-time trigger for all HARQ processes or a subset of HARQ processes in a fallback DCI format.

[0210] In an alternative, DCI format 1_0 is used to schedule PDSCH and to send user plane data scrambled by C-RNTI or CS-RNTI or MCS-C-RNTI. In this embodiment, a one-time trigger for all HARQ processes or a subset of HARQ processes is included in DCI format 1_0 without increasing the size of DCI format 1_0. To achieve this, the UL / SUL indicator is used to indicate the one-time trigger, because the need to use the UL / SUL indicator is not envisioned in many scenarios where the one-time trigger will be useful. When the UE receives the configuration for the cell, the higher layer configures the UE with this bit in ServingCellConfig as a one-time trigger.

[0211] In another alternative, one of the reserved bits in DCI format 1_0 is used to indicate a one-time trigger.

[0212] In yet another alternative, DCI format 1_0 is used to signal a one-time trigger by setting some fields to special values ​​(ie, validation bits).DCI format 1_0 is used to trigger a one-time trigger feedback without scheduling a PDSCH.

[0213] In the above embodiments, certain communications may be performed partially or entirely in unlicensed spectrum.

[0214] Although the disclosed subject matter is provided above with reference to various embodiments, it will be understood that various changes in form and details may be made to the described embodiments without departing from the overall scope of the disclosed subject matter.

Claims

1. A method of operating a wireless device, comprising: Receiving (S1205) downlink control information DCI from a network node; Based on the information in the received DCI, determining (S1210) a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH group; Based on the determined PDSCH group, sending (S1215) a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement HARQ-ACK report to the network node; as well as Radio resource control (RRC) configuration information is received, wherein determining the PDSCH group comprises identifying a PDSCH group index within the DCI based on the received RRC configuration information, the RRC configuration information comprising an indication of whether a PDSCH grouping function is enabled for the wireless device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The DCI includes at least one of: (a) a PDSCH group index field, and (b) a reset or request indicator for signaling new HARQ-ACK feedback.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The reset or request indicator comprises a bitmap of PDSCH groups configured on a cell, wherein a corresponding bit is mapped to each of the PDSCH groups.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining the PDSCH group based on the information in the received DCI includes: identifying a HARQ process identifier in the DCI; and determining the PDSCH group based on the HARQ process identifier.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: Determining the PDSCH group based on the HARQ process identifier includes associating the HARQ process identifier with the PDSCH group based on at least one bit in at least one or more predetermined positions in the HARQ process identifier.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Determine whether to transmit a HARQ feedback indicator in downlink control information DCI, wherein the DCI includes a PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator and a physical uplink control channel PUCCH resource indicator for HARQ-ACK reporting; and in response to the determination, jointly encode the HARQ feedback for the PDSCH group with the HARQ for the PDSCH being scheduled by the downlink data allocation DCI.

7. A wireless device (110, 110b, 110c), comprising a processing circuit (120) and a transceiver circuit (122), which are collectively configured to: receiving downlink control information DCI from a network node; Determine a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) group based on information in the received DCI; Based on the determined PDSCH group, sending a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement HARQ-ACK report to the network node; and Receive radio resource control (RRC) configuration information, wherein: Determining the PDSCH group includes identifying a PDSCH group index within the DCI based on received RRC configuration information, the RRC configuration information including an indication of whether a PDSCH grouping function is enabled for the wireless device.

8. The wireless device according to claim 7, wherein: The DCI includes at least one of: (a) a PDSCH group index field, and (b) a reset or request indicator for signaling new HARQ-ACK feedback.

9. The wireless device according to claim 8, wherein: The reset or request indicator comprises a bitmap of PDSCH groups configured on a cell, wherein a corresponding bit is mapped to each of the PDSCH groups.

10. The wireless device of claim 7, wherein: The processing circuit and the transceiver circuit are configured to determine the PDSCH group based on the information in the received DCI, including: the processing circuit and the transceiver circuit are configured to identify a HARQ process identifier in the DCI; and determine the PDSCH group based on the HARQ process identifier.

11. The wireless device of claim 10, wherein: The processing circuit and transceiver circuit are configured to determine the PDSCH group based on the HARQ process identifier, including: the processing circuit and transceiver circuit are configured to associate the HARQ process identifier with the PDSCH group based on at least one bit in at least one or more predetermined positions in the HARQ process identifier.

12. A wireless device according to claim 7, wherein the processing circuit and the transceiver circuit are configured to determine whether to transmit a HARQ feedback indicator in downlink control information DCI, the DCI including a PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator and a physical uplink control channel PUCCH resource indicator for a HARQ-ACK report; and in response to the determination, jointly encode the HARQ feedback for the PDSCH group with the HARQ for the PDSCH being scheduled by the downlink data allocation DCI.

13. A computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed on a processor (120) of a wireless device (110, 110b, 110c), cause the wireless device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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