Methods, devices, and computer storage media for communication

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, devices and computer storage media for communication. One method includes: transmitting, from a network device to a terminal device, a plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions for scheduling downlink transmissions, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicate a same counter downlink assignment indicator (DAI) value; performing, based on the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions, downlink transmissions from the network device to the terminal device; and receiving, from the terminal device, a feedback sequence for the downlink transmissions, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to a same feedback field in the feedback sequence. Embodiments of the present disclosure propose a way to indicate a DAI value for PDCCH repetition transmissions. A dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook can be obtained based on the DAI value without additional signaling overhead.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to methods, devices and computer storage media for communication. BACKGROUND

[0002] In 3GPP meeting RAN#86, enhancements to support of multi-transmission and reception point (multi-TRP) deployment have been discussed. For example, it has been proposed to use multi-TRP and / or multi-panel with Rel-16 reliability features as a baseline to identify and specify features for improving reliability and robustness of physical channels other than physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), e.g., physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and / or physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). It has also been proposed to identify and specify features for enabling inter-cell multi-TRP operation. It has also been proposed to evaluate and specify enhancements for simultaneous multi-TRP transmission with multi-panel reception.

[0003] In 3GPP meeting RAN1#98-99, it has been proposed to support PDCCH repetition to improve the reliability and robustness of PDCCH. That is, a downlink control information (DCI) can be repeatedly transmitted from a network device to a terminal device more than once, thereby improving the reliability and robustness of PDCCH. Typically, a DCI format has a downlink assignment indicator (DAI) field. The value indicated in the DAI field can determine the number and order of bits in a dynamic hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) codebook. The so-called HARQ-ACK codebook refers to a sequence of feedback generated for downlink transmissions scheduled by the DCI. However, if PDCCH repetition is enabled, there is no provision in the current 3GPP specification on how to design the value in the DAI field and how to design the HARQ-ACK codebook. SUMMARY

[0004] Generally stated, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, devices and computer storage media for communication.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method comprises: transmitting, from a network device to a terminal device, a plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions for scheduling downlink transmissions, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicates a same counter downlink assignment indicator (DAI) value; performing, based on the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions, a downlink transmission from the network device to the terminal device; and receiving, from the terminal device, a feedback sequence for the downlink transmission, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponds to a same feedback field in the feedback sequence.

[0006] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method comprises: receiving, at a terminal device from a network device, a plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions for scheduling downlink transmissions, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicates a same counter downlink assignment indicator (DAI) value; decoding, based on the plurality of PDCCH repetitions, a downlink transmission from the network device; and transmitting, based on the decoding of the downlink transmission, a feedback sequence to the network device, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponds to a same feedback field in the feedback sequence.

[0007] In a third aspect, a network device is provided. The network device comprises a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform the method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device comprises a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform the method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon is provided. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to the above first or second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product being stored on a computer readable medium and comprising machine executable instructions. The machine executable instructions, when executed, cause a machine to perform the method according to the above first or second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0011] It is to be understood that the Summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0012] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the disclosure will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 An example communication network in which embodiments of the disclosure can be implemented is illustrated;

[0014] Figure 2 A signalling diagram illustrating an example communication procedure in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure is shown;

[0015] Figures 3A-3B An example of an embodiment of the disclosure is shown;

[0016] Figures 4A-4C An example of an embodiment of the disclosure is shown;

[0017] Figure 5 An example of an embodiment of the disclosure is shown;

[0018] Figures 6A-6B An example of an embodiment of the disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figures 7A-7B An example of an embodiment of the disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 8 A flow diagram of an example method in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 9 A flow diagram of an example method in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure is shown; and

[0022] Figure 10 is a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the disclosure.

[0023] In all of the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The principles of the disclosure will now be described with reference to some embodiments. It should be understood that the embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and help the skilled person to understand and implement the disclosure, without implying any limitation to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from those described below.

[0025] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0026] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "includes" and its variants are to be read as open terms, meaning "includes, but is not limited to." The term "based on" is to be construed as "based at least in part on." The terms "some embodiments" and "embodiments" are to be interpreted as "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment" is to be interpreted as "at least one other embodiment." The terms "first," "second," etc. can refer to different or the same objects. Other explicit or implicit definitions can be included below.

[0027] In some examples, a value, process, or apparatus is referred to as "optimal", "minimum", "maximum", "least", "greatest", etc. It should be understood that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a choice can be made among many used functional alternatives, and that such a choice is not necessarily better, smaller, higher, or more preferred than other choices.

[0028] As described above, in the 3GPP meeting RAN1 #98-99, it has been proposed to support PDCCH repetition transmission to improve the reliability and robustness of PDCCH. That is, DCI can be repeatedly sent multiple times from a network device to a terminal device, thereby improving the reliability and robustness of PDCCH.

[0029] Generally, a DCI format has a DAI field. The DAI field can include 2 bits to indicate a counter DAI value and also include 2 bits to indicate a total DAI value. For example, if a dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook is configured, the DAI field can include only 2 bits to indicate a counter DAI value. For example, the DCI format can be DCI format 1_0. The counter DAI value in the DCI format indicates a cumulative number of {serving cell, PDCCH monitoring occasion} pairs for which PDSCH repetition transmission or a sounding reference signal (SRS) PDSCH release associated with the DCI format exists up to the current serving cell and the current PDCCH monitoring occasion, first appearing in ascending order of serving cell index and then in ascending order of PDCCH monitoring occasion index. For example, the counter DAI value can be any one of {1, 2, 3, 4}. The total DAI value in the DCI format indicates a total number of {serving cell, PDCCH monitoring occasion} pairs for which PDSCH repetition transmission or SRS PDSCH release associated with the DCI format exists up to the current PDCCH monitoring occasion and is updated with the PDCCH monitoring occasion. For example, the total DAI value can be any one of {1, 2, 3, 4}.

[0030] The total DAI value and the counter DAI value indicated in the DAI field of the DCI can determine the number and order of bits in the dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook. The so-called HARQ-ACK codebook refers to the feedback sequence generated for the downlink transmissions scheduled by the DCI. However, if PDCCH repetition transmission is enabled, there is no provision in the current 3GPP specification on how to design the values in the DAI field and how to design the HARQ-ACK codebook.

[0031] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution to the above problem and / or one or more other potential problems. The solution proposes a way to indicate the total DAI value and the counter DAI value in the DAI field for each PDCCH repetition transmission. The dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook can be obtained based on the total DAI value and the counter DAI value indicated in the DAI field without additional signaling overhead. In the following, the terms “PDCCH repetition transmission”, “repeated PDCCH” and “repeated PDCCH signal” can be used interchangeably. The terms “feedback sequence”, “feedback codebook”, “HARQ-ACK codebook” and “codebook” can be used interchangeably.

[0032] Figure 1 An example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown. The network 100 includes a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 served by the network device 110. The network 100 can provide one or more serving cells to serve the terminal device 120. Carrier aggregation (CA) can be supported in the network 100, in which two or more CCs are aggregated in order to support wider bandwidth. For example, in Figure 1 In the example shown in FIG. 1, the network device 110 can provide multiple serving cells to the terminal device 120, including one primary cell (Pcell) 101 corresponding to a primary CC and at least one secondary cell (Scell) 102 corresponding to at least one secondary CC. It should be understood that the number of network devices, terminal devices and / or serving cells is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any limitation on the present disclosure. The network 100 can include any suitable number of network devices, terminal devices and / or serving cells suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device with wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to: user equipment (UE), personal computer, desktop computer, mobile phone, cellular phone, smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computer, tablet computer, wearable device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, Internet of Everything (IoE) device, machine-type communication (MTC) device, vehicular equipment for V2X communication (where X represents a pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure / network), or image capture device such as a digital camera, gaming device, music storage and playback device, or Internet tool that allows wireless or wired Internet access and browsing, etc. For ease of discussion, some embodiments will be described below using a UE as an example of terminal device 120.

[0034] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a device capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage that terminal devices can communicate with. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to: Node B (NodeB or NB), Evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), Next Generation Node B (gNB), Transmit Receive Point (TRP), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Radio Head (RH), Remote Radio Head (RRH), and low-power nodes such as femtonodes, piconodes, etc.

[0035] In one embodiment, terminal device 120 can be connected to a first network device and a second network device ( Figure 1 (Not shown in the diagram) Connection. One of the first network device and the second network device can be in the master node, and the other can be in the secondary node. The first network device and the second network device can use different Radio Access Technologies (RATs). In one embodiment, the first network device can be a first RAT device, and the second network device can be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device can be an eNB, and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information related to different RATs can be sent from at least one of the first network device and the second network device to the terminal device 120. In one embodiment, first information can be sent from the first network device to the terminal device 120, and second information can be sent directly or via the first network device from the second network device to the terminal device 120. In one embodiment, information related to the configuration of the terminal device configured by the second network device can be sent via the first network device from the second network device. Information related to the reconfiguration of the terminal device configured by the second network device can be sent directly or via the first network device from the second network device to the terminal device. Information can be transmitted in any of the following ways: Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), or Downlink Control Information (DCI).

[0036] In the communication network 100 as shown Figure 1 In the communication network 100 as shown

[0037] In some embodiments, for downlink transmission, the network device 110 can send control information to the terminal device 120 via a PDCCH and / or send data to the terminal device 120 via a PDSCH. In addition, the network device 110 can send one or more reference signals (RSs) to the terminal device 120. The RSs sent from the network device 110 to the terminal device 120 can also be referred to as “DL RSs”. Examples of the DL RSs can include, but are not limited to, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), a fine time and frequency tracking reference signal (TRS), etc.

[0038] In some embodiments, for uplink transmission, the terminal device 120 can send control information to the network device 110 via a PUCCH and / or send data to the network device 110 via a PUSCH. In addition, the terminal device 120 can send one or more RSs to the network device 110. The RSs sent from the terminal device 120 to the network device 110 can also be referred to as “UL RSs”. Examples of the UL RSs can include, but are not limited to, a DMRS, a CSI-RS, an SRS, a PTRS, a fine time and frequency TRS, etc.

[0039] The communication in the communication network 100 can comply with any suitable standard, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Machine Type Communication (MTC), etc. In addition, the communication can be performed according to any generation of communication protocol that is currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocol include, but are not limited to: first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocol.

[0040] The network device 110 (e.g., a gNB) can be equipped with one or more TRPs or antenna panels. As used herein, the term “TRP” refers to an antenna array (with one or more antenna elements) available to a network device at a particular geographic location. For example, a network device can be coupled with multiple TRPs in different geographic locations to achieve better coverage. The one or more TRPs can be included in the same serving cell or different serving cells.

[0041] It should be understood that a TRP can also be a panel, and a panel can also refer to an antenna array (with one or more antenna elements). Although some embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to, for example, multiple TRPs, these embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the present disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from those described below.

[0042] For example, as shown in Figure 1 , the network device 110 can communicate with the terminal device 120 via the TRPs 130-1 and 130-2. In the following, the TRP 130-1 can also be referred to as a first TRP, and the TRP 130-2 can also be referred to as a second TRP. The first TRP 130-1 and the second TRP 130-2 can be included in the same serving cell (e.g., the serving cells 101 and 102 as shown in Figure 1 , provided by the network device 110 or different serving cells. Although some embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to the first TRP 130-1 and the second TRP 130-2 within the same serving cell provided by the network device 110, these embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the present disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from those described below.

[0043] Figure 2 A signaling diagram illustrating an example communication procedure 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The procedure 200 involves the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 as shown in Figure 1 and / or Figure 1 B.

[0044] As shown in Figure 2As shown, the network device 110 can transmit (201) multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions for scheduling downlink transmissions (e.g., PDSCH transmissions related to the same data or the same transport block) to the terminal device 120. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions can share the same counter DAI value. The terminal device 120 can receive (201) the multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions from the network device 110. For example, the terminal device 120 can not receive any of the multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions or receive at least one of the multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions. The network device 110 can perform (202) downlink transmissions to the terminal device 120 based on the multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions. The terminal device 120 can decode (202) the downlink transmissions from the network device 110 and transmit (203) a feedback sequence for the downlink transmissions to the network device 110 based on the decoding of the downlink transmissions. In some embodiments, at least a portion of the multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions that share the same counter DAI value can correspond to the same feedback field (e.g., one bit or two bits) in the feedback sequence (i.e., HARQ-ACK codebook). For example, if the terminal device 120 successfully decodes at least one of the downlink transmissions scheduled by at least a portion of the multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions, the terminal device 120 can indicate an acknowledgement (ACK) in the feedback field. If the terminal device 120 does not successfully decode the downlink transmissions scheduled by at least a portion of the multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions, the terminal device 120 can indicate a negative acknowledgement (NACK) in the feedback field. The network device 110 can receive (203) the feedback sequence for the downlink transmissions from the terminal device 120.

[0045] In some embodiments, the network device 110 can indicate the same counter DAI value in the PDCCH repetition transmissions. This can implicitly indicate that the PDCCH repetition transmissions that share the same counter DAI value are used to schedule downlink transmissions related to the same data or the same TB. In some embodiments, if the terminal device 120 detects the same counter DAI value in different PDCCH signals, e.g., in different PDCCH signals received in the same or different PDCCH monitoring occasions, the terminal device 120 can determine that the PDCCH signals that share the same counter DAI value are PDCCH repetition transmissions for scheduling downlink transmissions related to the same data or the same TB. The terminal device 120 can also determine that the PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to the same feedback field (e.g., one bit or two bits) in the feedback sequence (e.g., HARQ-ACK codebook).

[0046] Figure 3A An example of this embodiment is shown. Figure 3A PDCCH signals 311, 312…315 are shown. Each PDCCH signal in PDCCH signals 311, 312…315 indicates a pair of counter DAI values ​​c and a total DAI value t, denoted as (c, t), where c and t are integers, such as 1 ≤ c ≤ 4 and 1 ≤ t ≤ 4. Figure 3A As shown, PDCCH signals 311 and 314 are transmitted via TRP 130-1 in serving cell 101. PDCCH signals 311 and 314 can be associated with a control resource set (CORESET) whose CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to 0, or with a CORESET that does not have a configured CORESETPoolIndex. PDCCH signal 312 is transmitted via TRP 130-2 in serving cell 101. PDCCH signal 312 can be associated with a CORESET whose CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to 1. PDCCH signal 313 is transmitted via TRP 130-1 in serving cell 102. PDCCH signal 313 can be associated with a CORESET whose CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to 0, or with a CORESET that does not have a configured CORESETPoolIndex. PDCCH signal 315 is transmitted via TRP 130-2 in serving cell 102. PDCCH signal 315 can be associated with a CORESET whose CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to 0, or with a CORESET that does not have a CORESETPoolIndex configured. For example, in Figure 3A In this context, PDCCH signals 311 and 314 are PDCCH repetitions that share the same counter DAI value and correspond to the same bits in the feedback sequence (e.g., the HARQ-ACK codebook).

[0047] In some embodiments, the counter DAI values and / or the total DAI values for the non-repeated PDCCH signals 312, 313, and 315 can be determined as per the legacy scheme. For example, the counter DAI value in the DCI format indicates the cumulative number of {serving cell, PDCCH monitoring occasion} pairs until the current PDCCH monitoring occasion for which PDSCH repetition or SRS PDSCH release associated with the DCI format occurs, first in ascending order of serving cell index, and then in ascending order of PDCCH monitoring occasion index. For another example, for an active downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP) of a serving cell, if a terminal device is provided with CORESETPoolIndex with a value of 0 for one or more first control resource sets (CORESETs) and with a value of 1 for one or more second CORESETs, and if the terminal device is provided with ACKNACKFeedbackMode equal to JointFeedback, the serving cell can be counted twice, where the first time corresponds to the first CORESET and the second time corresponds to the second CORESET. The total DAI value in the DCI format indicates the total number of {serving cell, PDCCH monitoring occasion} pairs until the current PDCCH monitoring occasion for which PDSCH repetition transmission or SRS PDSCH release associated with the DCI format exists, and is updated with the PDCCH monitoring occasion.

[0048] In some embodiments, the PDCCH monitoring occasions occupied by PDCCH repetition transmissions can be counted only once into the total DAI value. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, although a total of 5 PDCCH monitoring occasions are occupied by PDCCH signals, the maximum total DAI value is 4 instead of 5 because the 2 PDCCH monitoring occasions occupied by PDCCH repetition transmissions 311 and 314 are counted only once into the total DAI value. Figure 3A

[0049] In some embodiments, the total DAI field in the DCI format can include N t bits, where N t is a non-negative integer. For example, N t may be any one of {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. In some embodiments, the counter DAI field in the DCI format can include N c bits, where N c is a non-negative integer. For example, N c may be any one of {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. In some embodiments, there can be M t candidate / available values for the total DAI field, where M t is a non-negative integer. For example, M​t It can be any one of {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 24, 32}. In some embodiments, the counter DAI field can have M. c There are 10 candidate / available values, where M is the number of available values. c It is a non-negative integer. For example, M c It can be any one of {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 24, 32}. In some embodiments, the available values ​​for total DAI can be consecutive integers, which can be represented as {1, 2, 3…P}. t}, where P t It is a positive integer. For example, P t It can be any one of {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 24, 32}. In some embodiments, the available values ​​for the counter DAI can be consecutive integers, which can be represented as {1, 2, 3…P}. c}, where P c It is a positive integer. For example, P c It can be any one of {1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 24, 32}.

[0050] In some embodiments, a set of PDCCH monitoring opportunities in DCI format for scheduling PDSCH reception or semi-persistent probe reference signal (SPS) PDSCH release is defined as the union of PDCCH monitoring opportunities on the active DL BWP of the configured serving cell. In some embodiments, feedback for the HARQ-ACK codebook for PDSCH reception or SPS PDSCH release scheduled by the set of PDCCH monitoring opportunities is in the same time slot. In some embodiments, the counter DAI value of the PDCCH in the set of PDCCH monitoring opportunities (e.g., the counter DAI value can be represented as V) can be used for... c V c It is a positive integer, and 1 ≤ V c ≤P c Perform sequential accumulation or indexing. If the counter DAI value V c Reaching P c If so, it will be indexed starting from 1. In some embodiments, the total DAI value of the PDCCH in a set of PDCCH monitoring moments (e.g., the total DAI value can be represented as V) is used. t V t It is a positive integer, and 1 ≤ V t ≤P t ) are accumulated or indexed one by one. If the total DAI value V t Reaching P tIf it is the first PDCCH in a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions, it will be indexed starting from 1. The index of a PDCCH in a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions can be denoted as X, where X is a positive integer, e.g., 1≤X≤64. In some embodiments, the total DAI value for a PDCCH in a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions can be V t = (X - 1) mod P t + 1. In some embodiments, the counter DAI value for a PDCCH in a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions can be V c = (X - 1) mod P c + 1. In some embodiments, the counter DAI value can increase monotonically with PDCCH and can return to 1 after reaching the maximum value of counter DAI. In this way, a set of counter DAI values can be denoted as {1, 2, 3…Y c}, where Y c is a positive integer and 1≤Y c ≤P c and P c denotes the maximum value of counter DAI. For example, if the counter DAI value of the current PDCCH is V c , where Vc=P c , the counter DAI value of the next PDCCH will return to 1. The counter DAI values of the current PDCCH and the next PDCCH belong to two different sets. In some embodiments, the total DAI value can increase monotonically and can return to 1 after reaching the maximum value of total DAI. In this way, a set of total DAI values can be denoted as {1, 2, 3…Y t}, where Y t is a positive integer, 1≤Y t ≤P t , and P t denotes the maximum value of total DAI. For example, if the total DAI value of the current PDCCH is V t , where V t =P t , the total DAI value of the next PDCCH will return to 1. The total DAI values of the current PDCCH and the next PDCCH belong to two different sets.

[0051] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 can be configured / indicated with PDCCHs with F repetitions in a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions, where F is a positive integer and 1≤F≤32. For example, F can be one of {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 32}. In some embodiments, the F PDCCHs can be counted or accumulated only once for the counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value. In some embodiments, each of the F PDCCHs can be counted into the total DAI value. In some embodiments, the counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value can be determined based on PDCCHs scheduled for different data or TBs. In some embodiments, only the first or last candidate or potential PDCCH repetition transmission can be counted into the counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value. For other candidate or potential PDCCH repetition transmissions, the counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value can be the same as the value in the PDCCH in the previous and / or next PDCCH monitoring occasion.

[0052] Figure 3B An example of such an embodiment is shown. Figure 3B PDCCH signals 311, 312,..., 315 are shown. Each of the PDCCH signals 311, 312,..., 315 indicates a pair of counter DAI value c and total DAI value t, denoted as (c, t), where c and t are integers, e.g., 1≤c≤4 and 1≤t≤4. As shown, PDCCH signals 311 and 314 are transmitted via TRP 130-1 in serving cell 101. PDCCH signals 311 and 314 transmitted via TRP 130-1 can be associated with a control resource set (CORESET) with a CORESETPoolIndex value configured as 0, or a CORESET without CORESETPoolIndex configured. PDCCH signal 312 is transmitted via TRP 130-2 in serving cell 101. PDCCH signal 312 can be associated with a CORESET with a CORESETPoolIndex value configured as 1. PDCCH signal 313 is transmitted via TRP 130-1 in serving cell 102. PDCCH signal 313 can be associated with a CORESET with a CORESETPoolIndex value configured as 0, or a CORESET without CORESETPoolIndex configured. PDCCH signal 315 is transmitted via TRP 130-2 in serving cell 102. PDCCH signal 315 can be associated with a CORESET with a CORESETPoolIndex value configured as 0, or a CORESET without CORESETPoolIndex configured. For example, in the example shown, the counter DAI value c and the total DAI value t can be determined based on the PDCCH signals 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, and 316. Figure 3B PDCCH signals 311 and 314 are transmitted via TRP 130-1 in serving cell 101. PDCCH signals 311 and 314 transmitted via TRP 130-1 can be associated with a control resource set (CORESET) with a CORESETPoolIndex value configured as 0, or a CORESET without CORESETPoolIndex configured. PDCCH signal 312 is transmitted via TRP 130-2 in serving cell 101. PDCCH signal 312 can be associated with a CORESET with a CORESETPoolIndex value configured as 1. PDCCH signal 313 is transmitted via TRP 130-1 in serving cell 102. PDCCH signal 313 can be associated with a CORESET with a CORESETPoolIndex value configured as 0, or a CORESET without CORESETPoolIndex configured. PDCCH signal 315 is transmitted via TRP 130-2 in serving cell 102. PDCCH signal 315 can be associated with a CORESET with a CORESETPoolIndex value configured as 0, or a CORESET without CORESETPoolIndex configured. For example, in the example shown, the counter DAI value c and the total DAI value t can be determined based on the PDCCH signals 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, and 316.Figure 3B In the middle, PDCCH signals 311 and 314 are PDCCH repetition transmissions. Thus, only PDCCH signal 311 is counted to the counter DAI value and the total DAI value, while the counter DAI value and the total DAI value for PDCCH signal 314 are the same as the values for PDCCH signal 313, which is the previous PDCCH in the previous PDCCH monitoring occasion.

[0053] In some embodiments, the network device 110 can transmit, to the terminal device 120, a configuration indicating whether a PDCCH signal sharing a same counter DAI value among different groups of total DAI values is repetition transmitted. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the network device 110 can transmit, to the terminal device 120, a configuration indicating at least one of the following: whether a PDCCH is repetition transmitted, time and / or frequency resources of candidate PDCCH repetition transmissions, duration of candidate PDCCH repetition transmissions, number of candidate PDCCH repetition transmissions, and respective indices of candidate PDCCH repetition transmissions. In some embodiments, the configuration can be transmitted to the terminal device 120 via explicit signaling or implicit signaling. The explicit signaling can include any one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and DCI. In some embodiments, the configuration can be implicitly indicated via DCI. For example, if PDCCH signals sharing a same counter DAI value among different groups of total DAI values indicate a same time and / or frequency resource allocation, or if PDCCH signals sharing a same counter DAI value among different groups of total DAI values have a same value in a field other than the DAI field, these PDCCH signals can be considered as PDCCH repetition transmissions. For example, the field other than the DAI field can include at least one of the following: a carrier indicator field, a bandwidth part indicator field, a frequency domain resource allocation field, a time domain resource allocation field, a physical resource block (PRB) bundling size indicator field, a rate matching indicator field, a virtual resource block (VRB) to PRB mapping field, a zero power (ZP) CSI-RS trigger field for transport block 1 and / or 2, a modulation and coding scheme and new data indicator and redundancy version field, a HARQ process number field, a transmit power control (TPC) command field for PUSCH and / or PUCCH, a PDSCH to HARQ feedback timing indicator field, an antenna port field, a transmission configuration indication (TCI) field, an SRS request field, a code block group (CBG) transmission information (CBGTI) field, a CBG flushing information (CBGFI) field, and a DMRS sequence initialization field.

[0054] In some embodiments, if the terminal device 120 is indicated that the PDCCH signals sharing the same counter DAI value among different groups of total DAI values are PDCCH repetition transmissions, the terminal device 120 can determine that the PDCCH signals sharing the same counter DAI value among different groups of total DAI values are PDCCH repetition transmissions, and these PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to the same feedback field (e.g., one bit or two bits) in the feedback sequence.

[0055] In some embodiments, if the terminal device 120 is indicated that a group of PDCCHs are repetition transmissions, it can be determined that the counter DAI values in the repetition transmitted PDCCHs are the same, and / or the total DAI values in the repetition transmitted PDCCHs are the same. In some embodiments, if the terminal device 120 is indicated that a group of PDCCHs are repetition transmissions, it can be determined that the counter DAI values within the same group of counter DAI values are the same for the repetition transmitted PDCCHs. In some embodiments, if the terminal device 120 is indicated that a group of PDCCHs are repetition transmissions, it can be determined that the total DAI values within the same group of total DAI values are the same for the repetition transmitted PDCCHs.

[0056] Figure 4A Examples of such embodiments are shown. Figure 4A PDCCH signals 411, 412...415 indicating a first group of total DAI values and PDCCH signals 421, 422...424 indicating a second group of total DAI values are shown. Each of the PDCCH signals 411, 412...415 and 421, 422...424 indicates a pair of counter DAI value c and total DAI value t, denoted as (c, t), where c and t are both integers, e.g., 1≤c≤4 and 1≤t≤4. As Figure 4AAs shown, PDCCH signals 411, 414, and 422 are transmitted via TRP 130-1 in serving cell 101. PDCCH signals 411, 414, and 422 can be associated with CORESETs for which the CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to be 0, or with CORESETs for which CORESETPoolIndex is not configured. PDCCH signals 412 and 423 are transmitted via TRP 130-2 in serving cell 101. PDCCH signals 412 and 423 can be associated with CORESETs for which the CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to be 1. PDCCH signals 413, 421, and 424 are transmitted via TRP 130-1 in serving cell 102. PDCCH signals 413, 421, and 424 can be associated with CORESETs for which the CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to be 0, or with CORESETs for which CORESETPoolIndex is not configured. PDCCH signal 415 is transmitted via TRP 130-2 in serving cell 102. PDCCH signal 415 can be associated with a CORESET for which the CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to be 0, or with a CORESET for which CORESETPoolIndex is not configured. PDCCH signals 411, 414, 421, and 423 are PDCCH repetition transmissions that share the same counter DAI value and correspond to the same bit in the feedback sequence (i.e., HARQ-ACK codebook). In some embodiments, the counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value for non-repetition transmitted PDCCH signals can be determined as the legacy scheme. In some embodiments, in each group of total DAI values, the PDCCH monitoring occasions occupied by PDCCH repetition transmissions can be counted only once into the total DAI value. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, in the first group of total DAI values, although a total of 5 PDCCH monitoring occasions are occupied, the maximum total DAI value is 4 instead of 5 because the 2 PDCCH monitoring occasions occupied by PDCCH repetition transmissions 411 and 414 are counted only once into the total DAI value. In the second group of total DAI values, although a total of 4 PDCCH monitoring occasions are occupied, the maximum total DAI value is 3 instead of 4 because the 2 PDCCH monitoring occasions occupied by PDCCH repetition transmissions 421 and 423 are counted only once into the total DAI value. Figure 4A As shown, with respect to the first group of total DAI values, although a total of 5 PDCCH monitoring occasions are occupied, the maximum total DAI value is 4 instead of 5 because the 2 PDCCH monitoring occasions occupied by PDCCH repetition transmissions 411 and 414 are counted only once into the total DAI value. With respect to the second group of total DAI values, although a total of 4 PDCCH monitoring occasions are occupied, the maximum total DAI value is 3 instead of 4 because the 2 PDCCH monitoring occasions occupied by PDCCH repetition transmissions 421 and 423 are counted only once into the total DAI value.

[0057] Alternatively, in some embodiments, PDCCH signals across different groups of total DAI values can have independent counter DAI values. That is, the terminal device 120 can determine that PDCCH signals sharing the same counter DAI value in the same group of total DAI values are PDCCH repetition transmissions, and these PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to the same feedback field (e.g., one bit or two bits) in the feedback sequence (e.g., HARQ-ACK codebook). The terminal device 120 can consider that two PDCCH signals sharing the same counter DAI value across two groups (with different total DAI values) are not PDCCH repetition transmissions, and they correspond to different feedback fields in the feedback sequence (e.g., HARQ-ACK codebook).

[0058] Figure 4B An example of such an embodiment is shown. Similar to Figure 4A , Figure 4B PDCCH signals 411, 412...415 indicating a first group of total DAI values and PDCCH signals 421, 422...424 indicating a second group of total DAI values are shown. Unlike Figure 4A , the counter DAI values for PDCCH signals 411, 412...415 are independent of the counter DAI values for PDCCH signals 421, 422...424. As Figure 4B shown, PDCCH signals 411 and 414 corresponding to the first group of total DAI values are PDCCH repetition transmissions, which share the same counter DAI value and correspond to one bit or two bits in the feedback sequence (i.e., HARQ-ACK codebook). PDCCH signals 421 and 423 are PDCCH repetition transmissions, which share the same counter DAI value and correspond to another bit in the feedback sequence (i.e., HARQ-ACK codebook). The counter DAI values and / or total DAI values for PDCCH signals that are not repetition transmissions can be determined as the conventional scheme, which will not be repeated here.

[0059] As described above, in the conventional scheme, the total DAI value is represented in 2 bits. That is, the total DAI value can be any one of {1, 2, 3, 4}. In some embodiments, more bits (e.g., 3 or 4 bits) can be used to indicate the total DAI value in the DAI field. For example, if 3 bits are used to indicate the total DAI value, the maximum total DAI value can be up to A3. For example, the total DAI value can be {1, 2, 3, 4…A3}, where A3 is a positive integer, and 4 < A3≤ 8. If 4 bits are used to indicate the total DAI value, the maximum total DAI value can be up to A4. For example, the total DAI value can be {1, 2, 3, 4…A4}, where A4 is a positive integer, and 8≤ A3≤ 16. In some embodiments, the total DAI values for PDCCHs in a group of PDCCH monitoring occasions can be monotonically increasing, or can be included in a single group of total DAI values. In this way, the multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions sent from the network device 110 to the terminal device 120 can correspond to a single group of total DAI values. That is, the multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions can respectively indicate different total DAI values.

[0060] Figure 4C An example of such an embodiment is shown. As in the conventional scheme, Figure 4A and Figure 4B In the Figure 4C , the PDCCH signals 411, 412…415 and 421, 422…424 correspond to a single group of total DAI values. For example, the PDCCH signals 411, 414, 421 and 423 are PDCCH repetition transmissions, which correspond to the same bit in the feedback sequence (i.e., HARQ-ACK codebook). Some PDCCH repetition transmissions can share the same counter DAI value. For example, the PDCCH repetition transmissions 411 and 414 share a first counter DAI value (i.e., 1), while the PDCCH repetition transmissions 421 and 423 share a second counter DAI value (i.e., 2). The counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value for PDCCH signals that are not repetition transmissions can be determined as in the conventional scheme, which will not be repeated here.

[0061] In some embodiments, the number and order of bits of the feedback sequence (i.e., HARQ-ACK codebook) can be determined based on the counter DAI values and / or the total DAI values indicated in the respective DAI fields of the PDCCH signals. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 can be configured / indicated with F number of PDCCH repetitions, where F is a positive integer and 1 < F < 32. For example, F can be one of {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 32}. For example, the F number of PDCCH repetitions for scheduling downlink transmissions are related to the same data or the same TB. There can be one HARQ-ACK feedback field (e.g., one bit or two bits) for each downlink transmission (e.g., PDSCH transmission) that is encoded or located in the feedback sequence or HARQ-ACK codebook. For example, there can be an index or location of the HARQ-ACK feedback field in the feedback sequence and / or codebook. Further, there can be G number of PDCCH repetitions (where G is a positive integer and 1 < G < F) within the F number of PDCCH repetitions. In some embodiments, the HARQ-ACK feedback fields for the downlink transmissions scheduled by the G number of PDCCH repetitions can be the same. For example, there can be only one HARQ-ACK feedback field for the downlink transmissions scheduled by the G number of PDCCH repetitions. For another example, the index and / or location of the HARQ-ACK feedback fields in the feedback sequence for the downlink transmissions scheduled by the G number of PDCCH repetitions can be the same. In some embodiments, if the terminal device 120 detects the same counter DAI values in different PDCCH signals (e.g., received in the same or different PDCCH monitoring occasions), the terminal device 120 can determine that the PDCCH signals sharing the same counter DAI values are PDCCH repetitions for scheduling downlink transmissions related to the same data or the same TB, and the PDCCH repetitions correspond to the same feedback field (e.g., one bit or two bits) in the feedback sequence (i.e., HARQ-ACK codebook).

[0062] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 can be configured / indicated with F number of PDCCH repetitions, where F is a positive integer and 1 < F < 32. For example, F can be one of {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 32}. There can be G number of PDCCH repetitions (where G is a positive integer and 1 < G < F) within the F number of PDCCH repetitions. The counter DAI values and / or the total DAI values in the G number of PDCCH repetitions are the same if the time and / or frequency resources for the G number of PDCCH repetitions are multiplexed in the frequency domain or based on frequency division multiplexing (FDM), or if the starting time of the search space sets for the G number of PDCCH repetitions are the same.

[0063] Figure 5 An example of such an embodiment is shown. Figure 5 PDCCH signals 511, 512,... 515 and a feedback sequence 520 (i.e., a HARQ-ACK codebook) generated for PDSCH transmissions scheduled by PDCCH signals 511, 512,... 515 are shown. As Figure 5 As shown, each of PDCCH signals 511, 512,... 515 indicates a pair of counter DAI value c and total DAI value t, denoted as (c, t), where c and t are both integers, 1 < c < 4 and 1 < t < 4. PDCCH signals 511 and 514 are transmitted via TRP 130-1 in serving cell 101. PDCCH signals 511 and 514 can be associated with a control resource set (CORESET) configured with a value of 0 for CORESETPoolIndex, or associated with a CORESET without CORESETPoolIndex configured. PDCCH signal 512 is transmitted via TRP 130-2 in serving cell 101. PDCCH signal 512 can be associated with a CORESET configured with a value of 1 for CORESETPoolIndex. PDCCH signal 513 is transmitted via TRP 130-1 in serving cell 102. PDCCH signal 513 can be associated with a CORESET configured with a value of 0 for CORESETPoolIndex, or associated with a CORESET without CORESETPoolIndex configured. PDCCH signal 515 is transmitted via TRP 130-2 in serving cell 102. PDCCH signal 515 can be associated with a CORESET configured with a value of 0 for CORESETPoolIndex, or associated with a CORESET without CORESETPoolIndex configured. PDCCH signals 512 and 514 are PDCCH repetition transmissions, which share the same counter DAI value. The counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value for a PDCCH signal that is not a repetition transmission can be determined as a legacy scheme. The number and order of bits of feedback sequence 520 can be determined based on the counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value indicated in the respective PDCCH signals 511, 512,... 515. As Figure 5As shown, the feedback sequence 520 includes four feedback fields 521, 522, 523, and 524. For example, each feedback field includes one bit or two bits. The PDCCH signal 511 corresponds to the feedback field 521. That is, if the terminal device 120 successfully decodes the PDSCH transmission scheduled by the PDCCH signal 511, the terminal device can indicate ACK in the feedback field 521; otherwise, the terminal device can indicate NACK in the feedback field 521. The PDCCH repetition transmissions 512 and 514 correspond to the feedback field 522. That is, if at least one of the PDSCH transmissions scheduled by the PDCCH repetition transmissions 512 and 514 is successfully decoded by the terminal device 120, the terminal device can indicate ACK in the feedback field 522. If the terminal device 120 does not successfully decode the PDSCH transmissions scheduled by the PDCCH repetition transmissions 512 and 514, the terminal device can indicate NACK in the feedback field 522. Similarly, the PDCCH signal 513 corresponds to the feedback field 523, and the PDCCH signal 515 corresponds to the feedback field 524.

[0064] In some embodiments, the number and order of bits of the feedback sequence (i.e., HARQ-ACK codebook) can be determined based on the counter DAI values and / or the total DAI values indicated in the respective DAI fields of the PDCCH signals. In some embodiments, if the terminal device 120 detects the same counter DAI value in different PDCCH signals (e.g., received in the same or different PDCCH monitoring occasions), the terminal device 120 can determine that the PDCCH signals sharing the same counter DAI value are PDCCH repetition transmissions for scheduling downlink transmissions involving the same data or the same TB, and the PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to the same feedback field (e.g., one bit or two bits) in the feedback sequence. The feedback field corresponding to the PDSCH or SPS release scheduled by the PDCCH repetition transmissions can be located at a fixed position in the feedback sequence. In some embodiments, if the terminal device 120 detects PDCCH signals sharing the same counter DAI value between different groups of total DAI values (e.g., a first group of total DAI values and a second group of total DAI values), the terminal device 120 can determine that the PDCCH signals are PDCCH repetition transmissions, and the PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to the same feedback field (e.g., one bit or two bits) in the feedback sequence. The position of the feedback field corresponding to the PDSCH or SPS PDSCH release scheduled by the PDCCH repetition transmissions in the feedback sequence can be associated with the first group of total DAI values or the second group of total DAI values or the last group of total DAI values.

[0065] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 can be configured / indicated to have at least one of: a starting position, an ending position, a duration / range, a periodicity, an offset in time domain and / or frequency domain, and / or a respective index of a set of PDCCH candidates / potential repetition transmissions. For example, the starting or ending position can indicate at least one of a symbol index, a slot index, a subframe index, and / or a frame index. In some embodiments, the position of the feedback field in the feedback sequence corresponding to the PDSCH or SPS release scheduled by the PDCCH repetition transmissions can be associated with the counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value in the first PDCCH repetition transmission, and / or can be associated with the counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value in the last PDCCH repetition transmission.

[0066] Figure 6A and Figure 6B An example of such an embodiment is shown. Figure 6A and Figure 6B PDCCH signals 611, 612,..., 615 indicating a first set of total DAI values and PDCCH signals 621, 622,..., 624 indicating a second set of total DAI values are shown. Each of the PDCCH signals 611, 612,..., 615 and 621, 622,..., 624 indicates a pair of counter DAI value c and total DAI value t, denoted as (c, t), where c and t are both integers, e.g., 1 < c < 4 and 1 < t < 4. The PDCCH signals 611, 614, and 622 are transmitted via TRP 130-1 in the serving cell 101. The PDCCH signals 611, 614, and 622 can be associated with a CORESET for which the CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to be 0, or a CORESET for which the CORESETPoolIndex is not configured. The PDCCH signals 612 and 623 are transmitted via TRP 130-2 in the serving cell 101. The PDCCH signals 612 and 623 can be associated with a CORESET for which the CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to be 1. The PDCCH signals 613, 621, and 624 are transmitted via TRP 130-1 in the serving cell 102. The PDCCH signals 613, 621, and 624 can be associated with a CORESET for which the CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to be 0, or a CORESET for which the CORESETPoolIndex is not configured. The PDCCH signal 615 is transmitted via TRP 130-2 in the serving cell 102. The PDCCH signal 615 can be associated with a CORESET for which the CORESETPoolIndex value is configured to be 0, or a CORESET for which the CORESETPoolIndex is not configured. Figure 6A and Figure 6BA feedback sequence 630 (i.e., HARQ-ACK codebook) generated for PDSCH transmissions scheduled by the PDCCH signals is also shown. For example, the feedback sequence 630 includes 4 feedback fields 631, 632, 633, and 634. The PDCCH signals 611, 614, 621, and 623 are PDCCH repetition transmissions that share the same counter DAI value and correspond to the same feedback field in the feedback sequence (i.e., HARQ-ACK codebook). In some embodiments, the feedback fields corresponding to PDSCHs or SPS releases scheduled by the PDCCH repetition transmissions 611, 614, 621, and 623 can be associated with the first set of total DAI values and depend on the counter DAI value indicated in the PDCCH repetition transmission 611, as shown by the feedback field 631 in Figure 6A . Alternatively, in other embodiments, the feedback fields corresponding to PDSCHs or SPS releases scheduled by the PDCCH repetition transmissions 611, 614, 621, and 623 can be associated with the second set of total DAI values and depend on the counter DAI value indicated in the PDCCH repetition transmission 623, as shown by the feedback field 633 in Figure 6B .

[0067] In some embodiments, if PDCCH repetition transmissions are enabled, the counter DAI values and / or total DAI values for PDCCH repetition transmissions can be determined separately from the PDCCH signals that are not repetition transmissions. For example, the counter DAI values and / or total DAI values for the PDCCH signals that are not repetition transmissions can be determined as the legacy scheme, which will not be repeated here. Regarding the PDCCH repetition transmissions, the DAI field can be omitted or ignored. Figure 7A An example of such an embodiment is shown. As shown in Figure 7A , the DAI field in the PDCCH repetition transmissions can be omitted or ignored, denoted as (-, -). The counter DAI values and / or total DAI values for the PDCCH signals that are not repetition transmissions can be determined as the legacy scheme.

[0068] In some embodiments, if PDCCH repetition transmissions are enabled, the counter DAI values and / or total DAI values for PDCCH repetition transmissions can be determined separately from the PDCCH signals that are not repetition transmissions. For example, the counter DAI values and / or total DAI values for the PDCCH signals that are not repetition transmissions can be determined as the legacy scheme, which will not be repeated here. Regarding the PDCCH repetition transmissions, the DAI field can be reused to indicate other information. Figure 7B An example of such an embodiment is shown. As shown in Figure 7BAs shown, the DAI field in one of the PDCCH repetition transmissions can be reused to indicate the index of the PDCCH repetition transmission within the PDCCH repetition transmission and / or the total number of PDCCH repetition transmissions. The counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value for the PDCCH signal of the non-repetition transmission can be determined as the legacy scheme.

[0069] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 can be configured / indicated with a set of PDCCH repetition transmissions. There can be a parameter associated with and / or indicated in the PDCCH repetition transmissions. For example, the parameter can be used to indicate the order and / or position of the feedback fields (e.g., one bit or two bits) in the feedback sequence (i.e., HARQ-ACK codebook). The feedback fields include HARQ-ACK feedback for PDSCH or SPS PDSCH release scheduled by the PDCCH repetition transmissions. The parameter can be configured / indicated via any of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and DCI, for example. In some embodiments, the parameter can be combined with the counter DAI value and / or the total DAI value to indicate the order and / or position of the feedback fields in the feedback sequence. For example, the order and / or position of the feedback fields in the feedback sequence can be the same for PDSCH or SPS PDSCH release scheduled by the PDCCH repetition transmissions.

[0070] Figure 8 A flowchart of an example method 800 is shown, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 800 can be performed at a network device 110 as shown, for example. Figure 1 and / or Figure 2 The method 800 can include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the blocks shown can be omitted, and the scope of the disclosure is not limited in these respects.

[0071] At block 810, the network device 110 transmits, to the terminal device 120, a plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions for scheduling downlink transmissions, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicate a same counter DAI value.

[0072] At block 820, the network device 110 performs, based on the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions, downlink transmissions from the network device 110 to the terminal device 120.

[0073] At block 830, the network device 110 receives, from the terminal device 120, a feedback sequence for the downlink transmissions, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to a same feedback field in the feedback sequence.

[0074] In some embodiments, the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions can include a first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a first group of total DAI values and a second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a second group of total DAI values, the second group of total DAI values being independent of the first group of total DAI values. The network device 110 can transmit, to the terminal device 120, the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating a same counter DAI value.

[0075] In some embodiments, the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions can correspond to a first feedback field in a feedback sequence. In response to receiving the feedback sequence from the terminal device 120, the network device 110 can determine, from the first feedback field, a decoding result for at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions.

[0076] In some embodiments, the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions can include a first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a first group of total DAI values and a second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a second group of total DAI values, the second group of total DAI values being independent of the first group of total DAI values. The network device 110 can transmit, to the terminal device 120, the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating a first counter DAI value and the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating a second counter DAI value, the second counter DAI value being independent of the first counter DAI value.

[0077] In some embodiments, the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions can correspond to a first feedback field in a feedback sequence, and the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions can correspond to a second feedback field in the feedback sequence different from the first feedback field. In response to receiving the feedback sequence from the terminal device 120, the network device 110 can determine, from the first feedback field, a first result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions; and determine, from the second feedback field, a second result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions.

[0078] In some embodiments, the network device 110 can transmit, to the terminal device 120, a plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions respectively indicating different total DAI values.

[0079] In some embodiments, the PDCCH repetition transmissions of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions can include a first field for indicating a counter DAI value and a second field for indicating a total DAI value. The network device 110 can generate the PDCCH repetition transmissions by indicating an index of the PDCCH repetition transmission within the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions in the first field and indicating a number of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions in the second field; and transmit, to the terminal device 120, the PDCCH repetition transmissions.

[0080] In some embodiments, before transmitting the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions, the network device 110 can transmit, to the terminal device 120, a configuration indicating whether a PDCCH signal sharing a same counter DAI value among different groups of total DAI values is repeated.

[0081] Figure 9 A flowchart of an example method 900 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The method 900 can be performed at the terminal device 120 as shown in Figure 1 and / or Figure 2 It should be understood that the method 900 can include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the blocks shown can be omitted, and the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0082] At block 910, the terminal device 120 receives, from the network device 110, a plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions for scheduling a downlink transmission, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicate a same counter DAI value.

[0083] At block 920, the terminal device 120 decodes the downlink transmission from the network device 110 based on the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions.

[0084] At block 930, the terminal device 120 transmits, to the network device 110, a feedback sequence based on the decoding of the downlink transmission, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to a same feedback field in the feedback sequence.

[0085] In some embodiments, the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions can include a first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a first group of total DAI values and a second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a second group of total DAI values, the second group of total DAI values being independent of the first group of total DAI values. The terminal device 120 can receive, from the network device 110, the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating a same counter DAI value.

[0086] In some embodiments, the network device 110 can determine, according to the feedback sequence and based on the same counter DAI value, a first feedback field corresponding to the first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions; indicate, in the first feedback field, a result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions; and transmit, to the network device 110, the feedback sequence indicating the result.

[0087] In some embodiments, the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions can include a first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a first set of total DAI values and a second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a second set of total DAI values, the second set of total DAI values being independent of the first set of total DAI values. The terminal device 120 can receive, from the network device 110, the first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating the first counter DAI value and the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating the second counter DAI value, the second counter DAI value being independent of the first counter DAI value.

[0088] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 can determine, according to the feedback sequence and based on the first counter DAI value, a first feedback field corresponding to the first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions, and determine, according to the feedback sequence and based on the second counter DAI value, a second feedback field corresponding to the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions, wherein the first feedback field is different from the second feedback field. The terminal device 120 can indicate, in the first feedback field, a first result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions, and indicate, in the second feedback field, a second result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions, and transmit, to the network device, the feedback sequence indicating the first result and the second result.

[0089] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 can receive a plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions respectively indicating different total DAI values.

[0090] In some embodiments, a PDCCH repetition transmission of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions can include a first field for indicating a counter DAI value and a second field for indicating a total DAI value. In response to receiving the PDCCH repetition transmission from the network device 110, the terminal device 120 can determine, from the first field of the received PDCCH repetition transmission, an index of the PDCCH repetition transmission within the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions, and determine, from the second field of the received PDCCH repetition transmission, a number of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions.

[0091] In some embodiments, before receiving the multiple PDCCH repetition transmissions, the terminal device 120 can receive a configuration from the network device 110, the configuration indicating whether a PDCCH signal sharing a same counter DAI value among different groups of total DAI values is repeated.

[0092] Figure 10 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1000 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1000 can be viewed as a further example implementation of the network device 110, the terminal device 120, or the TRP 130 as shown in Figure 1 and / or Figure 2 . Thus, the device 1000 can be implemented at, or as part of, the network device 110, the terminal device 120, or the TRP 130 as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 . The device 1000 can be implemented at, or as part of, the network device 110, the terminal device 120, or the TRP 130 as shown in

[0093] As shown, the device 1000 includes a processor 1010, a memory 1020 coupled to the processor 1010, a suitable transceiver (TX) and receiver (RX) 1040 coupled to the processor 1010, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1040. The memory 1010 stores at least a portion of a program 1030. The TX / RX 1040 is for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 1040 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although in practice a node referred to in this application can have several antennas. The communication interface can represent any interface needed for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between eNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a mobility management entity (MME) / serving gateway (S-GW) and an eNB, an Un interface for communication between an eNB and a relay node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between an eNB and a terminal device.

[0094] The program 1030 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1010, enable the device 1000 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to the Figures 1-9 Embodiments herein can be implemented by computer software stored in the memory 1020 and executable by the processor 1010 of the device 1000, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1010 can be configured to implement various embodiments of the present application. Further, the combination of the processor 1010 and the memory 1020 can form a processing unit 1050 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0095] The memory 1020 can be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as nonvolatile computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 1020 is shown in the device 1000, there can be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 1000. The processor 1010 can be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and can include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multi-core processor architectures, as non-limiting examples. The device 1000 can have multiple processors such as a special purpose integrated circuit chip that is time-synchronous to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0096] In general, the various embodiments of the disclosure can be implemented in hardware or special-purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while other aspects can be implemented in firmware or software which can be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, Although aspects of embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein can be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0097] The disclosure also provides at least one computer program product which is tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes instructions that are executable by a device, such as those included in program modules, on a target real or virtual processor to execute a process or method as described above with reference to Figure 8 and / or Figure 9 The program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that implement particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine executable instructions for the program modules can be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0098] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, causes the machine to implement the functions / acts specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program code can be stored in a machine-readable medium temporarily, permanently, as a whole, partially, or in any suitable combination thereof, which is either in the machine or in a remote computer or server.

[0099] The program code can be embodied on a machine readable medium, which can be any tangible media that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium can be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. Machine readable storage medium can include, but are not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0100] Moreover, while operations can be described as following a specific sequence, this should not be understood as requiring that the operations be performed in the order as shown or that all of the illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous. Likewise, while particular implementation details have been included for the purpose of illustration, this should not be understood as a limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. Rather, certain features that are well known in the art are not described in detail in order to avoid obscuring aspects of the present disclosure. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0101] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject of the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising: transmitting, from a network device to a terminal device, a plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions for scheduling downlink transmissions, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicate a same counter downlink assignment indicator (DAI) value for scheduling downlink transmissions related to a same data or a same TB; performing the downlink transmissions from the network device to the terminal device based on the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions; and receiving, from the terminal device, a feedback sequence for the downlink transmissions, wherein the at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to a same feedback field in the feedback sequence.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions includes a first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a first group of total DAI values and a second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a second group of total DAI values that are independent of the first group of total DAI values, and transmitting the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions comprises: transmitting, to the terminal device, the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating a same counter DAI value.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to a first feedback field in the feedback sequence, and the method further comprises: in response to receiving the feedback sequence from the terminal device, determining, from the first feedback field, a result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions includes a first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a first group of total DAI values and a second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a second group of total DAI values that are independent of the first group of total DAI values, and transmitting the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions comprises: transmitting, to the terminal device, the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating a first counter DAI value and the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating a second counter DAI value that is independent of the first counter DAI value.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to a first feedback field in the feedback sequence, and the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to a second feedback field in the feedback sequence that is different from the first feedback field, and the method further comprises: in response to receiving the feedback sequence from the terminal device, determining, from the first feedback field, a first result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the first group of PDCCH repetition transmissions; and determining, from the second feedback field, a second result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the second group of PDCCH repetition transmissions. determining, from the second feedback field, a second result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions comprises: transmitting, to the terminal device, the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating different total DAI values.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a PDCCH repetition transmission of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions includes a first field for indicating a counter DAI value and a second field for indicating a total DAI value, and transmitting the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions comprises: generating the PDCCH repetition transmission by indicating, in the first field, an index of the PDCCH repetition transmission within the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions, and indicating, in the second field, a number of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions; and transmitting, to the terminal device, the PDCCH repetition transmission.

8. The method of any one of claims 2-5, further comprising: transmitting, to the terminal device, a configuration indicating whether PDCCH signals sharing a same counter DAI value among different groups of total DAI values are repeated.

9. A communication method comprising: receiving, at a terminal device from a network device, a plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions for scheduling downlink transmissions, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicate a same counter downlink assignment indicator (DAI) value for scheduling downlink transmissions related to a same data or a same TB; decoding the downlink transmissions from the network device based on the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions; and transmitting, to the network device, a feedback sequence based on the decoding of the downlink transmissions, wherein the at least a portion of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions correspond to a same feedback field in the feedback sequence.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions include a first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a first set of total DAI values and a second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a second set of total DAI values, the second set of total DAI values being independent of the first set of total DAI values, and receiving the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions comprises: receiving, from the network device, the first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating a same counter DAI value.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein transmitting the feedback sequence to the network device comprises: determining, from the feedback sequence, a first feedback field corresponding to the first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions based on the same counter DAI value. indicating a result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions and the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions in the first feedback field; and transmitting, to the network device, the feedback sequence indicating the result.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions includes a first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a first set of total DAI values and a second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions corresponding to a second set of total DAI values independent of the first set of total DAI values, and receiving the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions includes: receiving, from the network device, the first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating a first counter DAI value and the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating a second counter DAI value independent of the first counter DAI value.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein transmitting, to the network device, the feedback sequence includes: determining, from the feedback sequence, a first feedback field corresponding to the first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions based on the first counter DAI value; determining, from the feedback sequence, a second feedback field corresponding to the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions based on the second counter DAI value, wherein the first feedback field is different from the second feedback field; indicating, in the first feedback field, a first result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the first set of PDCCH repetition transmissions and indicating, in the second feedback field, a second result of decoding at least one downlink transmission scheduled by the second set of PDCCH repetition transmissions; and transmitting, to the network device, the feedback sequence indicating the first result and the second result.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions includes: receiving the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions indicating different total DAI values.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein a PDCCH repetition transmission of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions includes a first field for indicating a counter DAI value and a second field for indicating a total DAI value, and the method further includes: in response to receiving the PDCCH repetition transmission from the network device, determining, from the first field of the received PDCCH repetition transmission, an index of the PDCCH repetition transmission within the plurality of PDCCH repetitions; and determining, from the second field of the received PDCCH repetition transmission, a number of the plurality of PDCCH repetition transmissions.

16. The method of any one of claims 9-13, further comprising: receiving, from the network device, a configuration indicating whether a PDCCH signal sharing a same counter DAI value among different sets of total DAI values is repeated.

17. A network device, comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform the method of any of claims 1-8.

18. A terminal device comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to perform the method of any of claims 9-16.

19. A computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method of any of claims 1-8.

20. A computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions that, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method of any of claims 9-16.

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