HARQ feedback when a user equipment is scheduled as part of a group

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) may transmit hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback when being part of a group of UEs. The UE receives a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with a group of UEs including the UE. The UE monitors a signal from one of a cell currently camped on by the UE or a cell currently connected to the UE, the signal scrambled by the RNTI and including control information. The UE transmits HARQ feedback to the one of the currently camped on cell or the currently connected cell, the HARQ feedback being associated with the signal, and upon receiving the signal, performs an operation in response to the control information.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The network may transmit downlink control information (DCI) to a user equipment (UE) to schedule subsequent uplink transmission or downlink reception. There may be multiple UEs camping on the same cell. Therefore, the cell may have to handle a lot of processing and signaling associated with DCI. In order to reduce latency and signaling overhead, group-based scheduling may be implemented by the network for a group of UEs. Summary of the invention

[0002] Some exemplary embodiments relate to a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method includes: receiving a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with a group of UEs, the group of UEs including the UE; monitoring a signal from one of a cell currently camped on by the UE or a cell currently connected to the UE, the signal being scrambled by the RNTI and including control information; transmitting a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback to the one of the currently camped on cell or the currently connected cell, the HARQ feedback being associated with the signal; and when the signal is received, performing an operation in response to the control information.

[0003] Other exemplary embodiments relate to a user equipment (UE) having a processor and a transceiver communicatively connected to the processor. The processor is configured to perform operations including: receiving a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with a group of UEs, the group of UEs including the UE; monitoring a signal from one of a cell currently camped on by the UE or a cell currently connected to the UE, the signal being scrambled by the RNTI and including control information; transmitting hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback to the currently camped cell or the currently connected cell, the HARQ feedback being associated with the signal; and performing operations in response to the control information when the signal is received.

[0004] Another exemplary embodiment relates to a baseband processor configured to perform operations. The operations include: receiving a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with a group of UEs, the group of UEs including the UE; monitoring a signal from one of a cell currently camped on by the UE or a cell currently connected to the UE, the signal being scrambled by the RNTI and including control information; transmitting hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback to the currently camped cell or the currently connected cell, the HARQ feedback being associated with the signal; and when the signal is received, performing operations in response to the control information. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] Figure 1 Exemplary network arrangements are shown according to various exemplary embodiments.

[0006] Figure 2 An exemplary UE according to various exemplary embodiments is shown.

[0007] Figure 3 Methods for group-based scheduling from the perspective of a single UE are shown according to various exemplary embodiments.

[0008] Figure 4 Included is a timing diagram showing how a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer may be affected by group-based scheduling.

[0009] Figure 5 A signaling diagram for group-based scheduling according to various exemplary embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and associated drawings, in which similar elements have the same figure numbers. The exemplary embodiments describe devices, systems, and methods for implementing group-based scheduling for multiple user equipment (UE). As will be described in more detail below, in a first aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to signaling downlink control information (DCI) to a group of UEs. In a second aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to the content of the DCI and the types of UE behaviors that may be triggered by the DCI. In a third aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback. The exemplary embodiments include UE and network mechanisms for handling situations related to group-based scheduling.

[0011] The exemplary embodiments are described with respect to UE. However, reference to UE is provided for illustration purposes only. The exemplary embodiments may be used with any electronic component that can establish a connection with a network and is configured with hardware, software and / or firmware for exchanging information and data with the network. Therefore, UE described herein is used to represent any electronic component.

[0012] The exemplary embodiments are also described with reference to the network being a fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) network and the corresponding cell being a next generation Node B (gNB). The 5G NR network may use DCI to implement group-based scheduling for multiple UEs. However, reference to the 5G NR network and gNB is provided for illustration purposes only. The exemplary embodiments may be used with any network and corresponding cell that supports signaling control information to a group of UEs.

[0013] The exemplary embodiment is further described with reference to DCI. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that DCI may refer to control information indicating that the UE will perform subsequent transmission and / or reception. To provide an example, the DCI may be transmitted to the UE by the cell currently occupied by the UE or the cell to which the UE is currently connected via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). In this example, the DCI may include scheduling information for downlink data to be received via a downlink data channel (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc.) or uplink data to be transmitted via an uplink data channel (e.g., a physical uplink shared channel (PDSCH)). In another example, the DCI may include scheduling information for other control information to be received by the UE (e.g., a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE)) or scheduling information for other control information to be transmitted by the UE (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)). Therefore, the UE may transmit and / or receive a signal in response to the DCI. The above examples are provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments in any way, and those skilled in the art will understand the scope of the term "DCI".

[0014] The network may transmit DCI intended to be received by a group of UEs. Throughout the specification, the term "group of UEs" may refer to a collection of two or more UEs associated with a common identifier. For example, as will be described in more detail below, a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) may be assigned to a group of UEs. During operation, the network may transmit a signal including DCI and scrambled by the RNTI to the group of UEs. Each UE in the group of UEs may monitor the DCI using the RNTI assigned to the group of UEs. Therefore, the network may provide scheduling information to the group of UEs. However, reference to the term "RNTI" is provided only for illustrative purposes, and exemplary embodiments may utilize any appropriate type of identifier to distinguish the group of UEs from other UEs.

[0015] Exemplary embodiments include techniques for implementing group-based scheduling. These techniques can reduce latency and / or signaling overhead associated with providing DCI to multiple UEs. In a first aspect, exemplary embodiments relate to signaling DCI to a group of UEs. In a second aspect, exemplary embodiments relate to the content of the DCI and the type of UE behavior that can be triggered by the DCI. In a third aspect, exemplary embodiments relate to HARQ feedback corresponding to the DCI. Exemplary embodiments include techniques that can be implemented on both the UE side and the network side. These exemplary techniques can be used with other currently implemented group-based scheduling techniques, future specific implementations of group-based scheduling techniques, or used independently of other group-based scheduling techniques.

[0016] Figure 1An exemplary network arrangement 100 according to various exemplary embodiments is shown. The exemplary network arrangement 100 includes UEs 110, 112. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the UEs 110, 112 may be any type of electronic component configured to communicate via a network, such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, desktop computer, smart phone, phablet, embedded device, wearable device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.

[0017] In this example, UE 110, 112 represents a group of UEs associated with a common identifier (e.g., RNTI). However, in actual network configurations, any number of UEs may be configured into any number of groups. Therefore, the example with two UEs 110, 112 is provided for illustration purposes only.

[0018] UE 110, 112 may be configured to communicate with one or more networks. In the example of network configuration 100, the network with which UE 110 may wirelessly communicate is a 5G NR radio access network (RAN) 120. However, it should be understood that UE 110 may also communicate with other types of networks (e.g., 5G cloud RAN, LTE RAN, traditional cellular network, WLAN, etc.), and UE 110 may also communicate with the network via a wired connection. With respect to the exemplary embodiment, UE 110 may establish a connection with 5G NR RAN 120. Therefore, UE 110 may have a 5G NR chipset to communicate with NR RAN 120.

[0019] The 5G NR RAN 120 may be part of a cellular network that may be deployed by a network operator, such as Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc. The 5G NR RAN 120 may include, for example, cells or base stations (Node B, eNodeB, HeNB, eNBS, gNB, gNodeB, macrocell base stations, microcell base stations, small cell base stations, femtocell base stations, etc.) configured to send and receive communication traffic from UEs equipped with appropriate cellular chipsets.

[0020] In the network arrangement 100, the 5G NR RAN 120 includes a cell 120A representing a gNB. However, an actual network arrangement may include any number of different types of cells deployed by any number of RANs. Therefore, for the purpose of illustration, only an example with a single cell 120A is provided.

[0021] The cell 120A may include one or more communication interfaces to exchange data and / or information with the UE, the corresponding RAN, the cellular core network 130, the Internet 140, etc. In addition, the cell 120A may include a processor configured to perform various operations. For example, the processor of the cell 120A may be configured to perform operations involving the following items: associating the RNTI with a group of UEs, scrambling the DCI using the RNTI, transmitting the DCI to the group of UEs, receiving HARQ feedback and the transmission / reception indicated in the DCI. However, the reference to the processor is for illustrative purposes only. The operation of the cell 120A may also be represented as an independent combined component of the cell 120A, or may be a modular component coupled to the cell 120A, for example, an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include an input circuit for receiving a signal and a processing circuit for processing a signal and other information. In addition, in some examples, the functionality of the processor is shared between two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an application processor. The exemplary implementation scheme may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of the cell.

[0022] The UE 110, 112 may be connected to the 5G NR-RAN 120 via the cell 120A. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any association process may be performed for the UE 110, 112 to connect to the 5G NR-RAN 120. For example, as described above, the 5G NR-RAN 120 may be associated with a particular cellular provider, where the UE 110 and / or its user has protocol and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card). Upon detecting the presence of the 5G NR-RAN 120, the UE 110 may transmit corresponding credential information in order to associate with the 5G NR-RAN 120. More specifically, the UE 110 may be associated with a particular cell (e.g., cell 120A). However, as described above, reference to the 5G NR-RAN 120 is for illustrative purposes, and any suitable type of RAN may be used.

[0023] In addition to the 5G NR RAN 120, the network arrangement 100 also includes a cellular core network 130, the Internet 140, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) 150, and a network service backbone 160. The cellular core network 130 can be viewed as an interconnected collection of components that manage the operation and traffic of the cellular network. The cellular core network 130 also manages the traffic flowing between the cellular network and the Internet 140. The IMS 150 can generally be described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UE 110 using the IP protocol. The IMS 150 can communicate with the cellular core network 130 and the Internet 140 to provide multimedia services to the UE 110. The network service backbone 160 communicates directly or indirectly with the Internet 140 and the cellular core network 130. The network service backbone 160 can generally be described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a set of services that can be used to extend the functionality of the UE 110 to communicate with various networks.

[0024] Figure 2 An exemplary UE 110 is shown according to various exemplary embodiments. Figure 1 100 is used to describe the UE 110. The UE 110 may include a processor 205, a memory arrangement 210, a display device 215, an input / output (I / O) device 220, a transceiver 225, and other components 230. The other components 235 may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a power source, a data acquisition device, a port for electrically connecting the UE 110 to other electronic devices, etc. Figure 2 The UE 110 shown in FIG. 1 may also represent the UE 112 .

[0025] Processor 205 may be configured to execute multiple engines of UE 110. For example, the engines may include group-based scheduling engine 235. Group-based scheduling engine 235 may perform operations involving identifying RNTIs associated with a group of UEs including UE 110, and using the RNTIs to receive DCI transmitted to the group of UEs.

[0026] The above-described engine as an application (e.g., program) executed by the processor 205 is merely exemplary. The functions associated with the engine may also be represented as an independent combined component of the UE 110, or may be a modular component coupled to the UE 110, for example, an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, an integrated circuit may include an input circuit for receiving a signal and a processing circuit for processing the signal and other information. The engine may also be embodied as an application or multiple separate applications. In addition, in some UEs, the functionality described for the processor 205 is shared between two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an application processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of the UE.

[0027] The memory arrangement 210 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE 110. The display device 215 may be a hardware component configured to display data to a user, and the I / O device 220 may be a hardware component that enables a user to perform input. The display device 215 and the I / O device 220 may be separate components or may be integrated together (such as a touch screen). The transceiver 225 may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the 5G NR-RAN 120, LTE-RAN (not shown in the figure), traditional RAN (not shown in the figure), WLAN (not shown in the figure), etc. Therefore, the transceiver 225 can operate on multiple different frequencies or channels (e.g., a set of continuous frequencies).

[0028] Figure 3 A method 300 for group-based scheduling from the perspective of a single UE 110 is shown in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. Figure 1 The network layout of 100 and Figure 2 The method 300 is described with reference to the UE 110 of FIG.

[0029] Initially, consider an exemplary scenario in which UE 110 camps on cell 120A. In 305, UE 110 receives RNTIs associated with a group of UEs.

[0030] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are various different types of RNTIs. In this example, the RNTI can be used to distinguish a group of UEs from other UEs connected to the same cell. In some embodiments, the RNTI can be an RNTI implemented for group-based scheduling. Throughout the specification, this type of RNTI may be referred to as "GC-RNTI". In other embodiments, a slot format indicator RNTI (SFI-RNTI) can be used for group-based scheduling. Typically, the SFI-RNTI can be used to notify slot format information through the PDCCH. Therefore, in some exemplary embodiments, the SFI-RNTI can be used for group-based scheduling in an unconventional manner. However, any reference to a specific type of RNTI for group-based scheduling is provided only for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiment can be applied to an RNTI configured specifically for group-based scheduling, any type of existing RNTI used for group-based scheduling in an unconventional manner, or any other appropriate type of identifier. Therefore, the RNTI as described herein is used to represent any appropriate type of identifier for a group of UEs.

[0031] In this example, the RNTI may be provided to UE 110 via a radio resource control (RRC) signal. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to providing the RNTI via RRC signaling. For example, the RNTI may be pre-configured at UE 110 or selected from a set of pre-configured values, derived by UE 110 using a specific algorithm, transmitted to UE 110 via a third party, or provided to UE 110 in any other suitable manner.

[0032] At 310, UE 110 monitors the PDCCH for the DCI. This may include UE 110 utilizing an active mode of data exchange processing during certain time instances to receive signals over the air, process the received signals, and determine whether the received signals include the DCI for UE 110. Furthermore, UE 110 may be configured to monitor the PDCCH according to a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, according to scheduling, in response to a predetermined condition, or on any other suitable basis.

[0033] The exemplary concepts described herein may be used to provide various different types of control information to the group of UEs. The following configurations are provided as examples of different types of content that may be scheduled by a DCI scrambled using an RNTI associated with the group of UEs. In a first configuration, the RNTI associated with the group of UEs may be used only for scheduling the reception of a MAC CE. In a second configuration, the RNTI associated with the group of UEs may be used to schedule the reception of a MAC CE and / or the reception of a downlink channel (e.g., PDDCH, PUSCH, etc.). In a third configuration, the RNTI associated with the group of UEs may be used to schedule the reception of a MAC CE, the reception of a downlink channel, and / or the transmission of an uplink signaling (e.g., SRS). In a further configuration, the RNTI associated with the group of UEs may be used to schedule the reception of a MAC CE, the reception of a downlink channel, and / or the transmission of an uplink channel (e.g., PUSCH, etc.). However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to any of the above exemplary configurations. The exemplary concepts described herein may be applicable to any type of control information to be transmitted to a group of UEs.

[0034] In 315, UE 110 receives DCI transmitted to the group of UEs. For example, cell 120A may transmit a signal including DCI and scrambled by an RNTI associated with the group of UEs. In this example, the monitoring in 310 may include determining whether the signal can be decoded using the RNTI received in 305. Since the group of UEs knows the RNTI used to scramble the DCI, each UE in the group of UEs is able to decode the scrambled signal. Therefore, from the perspective of cell 120A, transmitting DCI to the group of UEs may include transmitting a signal scrambled by an RNTI associated with the group of UEs. From the perspective of UE 110, receiving DCI transmitted to the group of UEs may include successfully decoding the signal using the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. However, scrambling and decoding operations are beyond the exemplary embodiment. On the network side, any appropriate type of scrambling or similar mechanism may be used. On the UE side, any appropriate type of decoding or similar mechanism may be used.

[0035] For the PDCCH monitoring occasion or any other time window during which the UE 110 is configured to monitor control information, the UE 110 is not expected to decode each signal. For example, in some embodiments, the UE 110 may be expected to decode at most one scheduling (e.g., downlink scheduling or uplink scheduling) through the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. In other embodiments, the UE may be expected to decode at most one downlink scheduling and one uplink scheduling through the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. On the network side, information about what the UE 110 is expected to decode may be used to improve signaling efficiency and / or reduce signaling overhead. For example, this type of information may provide a basis for the number of signals transmitted to the UE 110 in the group of UEs. On the UE 110 side, information about what the UE 110 is expected to decode may be used to improve power consumption. For example, this information may be used to start a power saving mode for data exchange processing.

[0036] Although not shown in method 300, UE 110 may be configured to provide HARQ feedback in response to the DCI received in 315. Figure 5 A specific example of implementing HARQ feedback for group-based scheduling is described with reference to a signaling diagram 500 .

[0037] In 320, UE 110 may perform an operation in response to the DCI. For example, the DCI may schedule data reception via a downlink data channel or data transmission via an uplink data channel. In another example, the DCI may schedule reception of a MAC CE. In another example, the DCI may schedule transmission of an SRS. In another example, the DCI may be used to activate or deactivate a feature or mechanism (e.g., SPS PDSCH, configuration grant PUSCH, etc.).

[0038] In another example, an inactivity timer for DRX operation may be controlled based on receipt of a DCI scrambled by an RNTI associated with the group of UEs. Figure 4 A timing diagram 400 is included that illustrates how the DRX inactivity timer can be controlled by group-based scheduling. However, the following examples are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments in any way. Rather, the examples shown in the timing diagram 400 are provided only to illustrate different ways in which the DRX inactivity timer can be controlled by a signal scrambled with a group of RNTIs.

[0039] The timing diagram 400 shows a first DRX inactivity timer 410 and a second DRX inactivity timer 450. In this example, the first UE 110 is equipped with the first DRX inactivity timer 410. The first UE 110 is configured to reset the DRX inactivity timer in response to receiving a signal including control information and scrambled by an RNTI associated with the group of UEs. The second UE 112 is equipped with the second DRX inactivity timer 450. The second UE 112 is not configured to reset the DRX inactivity timer in response to receiving a signal including control information and scrambled by an RNTI associated with the group of UEs.

[0040] In 402, the first UE 110 and the second UE 112 each receive a signal including scheduling information for subsequent transmission or reception. The signal in 402 is not scrambled with the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. In accordance with the DRX inactivity timer operation, in response to the signal received in 402, the DRX inactivity timer 410 and the DRX inactivity timer 450 are both reset.

[0041] In 404, the first UE 110 and the second UE 112 both receive a signal including scheduling information for subsequent transmission or reception. The signal in 404 is scrambled with the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. Here, only the first UE 110 resets the DRX inactivity timer in response to the signal received in 404. Therefore, in some embodiments, the DRX inactivity timer may be reset after decoding the PDCCH scrambled by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs and identifying that subsequent transmission or reception is to be performed (e.g., DRX inactivity timer 410). In other embodiments, the DRX inactivity timer may not be reset after decoding the PDCCH scrambled by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs and identifying that subsequent transmission or reception is to be performed (e.g., DRX inactivity timer 450).

[0042] Figure 5 A signaling diagram 500 for group-based scheduling according to various exemplary embodiments is shown. Figure 1 Network layout 100, Figure 2UE 110 and Figure 3 The method 300 is described in a signaling diagram 500 .

[0043] Signaling diagram 500 includes UE 110, UE 112, and cell 120A. Initially, consider a scenario where UE 110 camps on cell 120A and UE 112 also camps on cell 120A.

[0044] In 505a, UE 110 and cell 120A engage in an RRC signaling exchange. During the signaling exchange in 505a, UE 110 may receive an indication of an RNTI (e.g., GC-RNTI, SFI-RNTI, etc.) associated with a group of UEs including UE 110. UE 110 may also receive other configuration information related to group-based scheduling during the signaling exchange in 505a. For example, UE 110 may receive parameters of a DRX cycle, an indication of a content type that may be scrambled by the RNTI, a slot offset for an SRS, and parameters for HARQ feedback related to group-based scheduling.

[0045] In 505b, UE 112 and cell 120A also participate in an RRC signaling exchange. The signaling exchange of 505b is substantially similar to the signaling exchange 505a. At this point, UE 110 and UE 112 each have independent and different connections to the network via cell 120A. In this example, UE 110 and UE 112 are both associated with the same RNTI and corresponding group of UEs.

[0046] During operation, the cell 120A and / or the network may determine that one or more UEs will be associated with each other in any appropriate manner for group-based scheduling. That is, the cell 120A and / or the network may assign an RNTI associated with a group of UEs to the UE 110 based on any appropriate factors or conditions. From the perspective of the network, in some embodiments, the group can be continuously modified by adding or removing UEs from the group of UEs. In addition, there may be a scenario in which the cell 120A and / or the network configures a group of UEs but only performs group-based scheduling when certain predetermined conditions exist. The above examples are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments in any way. The manner in which the network configures a group of UEs or determines when to implement group-based scheduling is beyond the scope of the exemplary embodiments. The exemplary embodiments may be applied to a group of UEs configured in any appropriate manner and to group-based scheduling performed for any appropriate reason.

[0047] In 510a, UE 110 monitors the PDCCH for DCI. For example, during the RRC signaling exchange in 505a, the network may configure UE 110 with one or more monitoring opportunities during which UE 110 will monitor control information using the active mode of the data exchange process. Similarly, in 510b, UE 112 monitors the PDCCH for DCI.

[0048] The cell 120A transmits a signal to the set of UEs at 515. The signal may include control information and may be scrambled using the RNTI associated with the set of UEs.

[0049] In some embodiments, group-based scheduling may be used for SP-SRS activation and deactivation. For example, the control information transmitted in 515 may schedule the reception of a MAC CE configured for SP-SRS activation or deactivation. In response to a subsequently received MAC CE, the group of UEs may activate or deactivate the set of SP-SRS resources indicated in the MAC CE.

[0050] In some embodiments, group-based scheduling may be used for aperiodic SRS (AP-SRS) transmission triggering. For example, an SRS request may be triggered by DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2, and 2_3. This type of DCI may be scrambled by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs and transmitted during 515. The UEs 110, 112 may decode the DCI during their respective monitoring opportunities shown in 510a, 510b. In response, the UEs 110, 112 may be triggered to transmit a corresponding set of AP-SRS resources based on the SRS request.

[0051] The SP-SRS resource set slot offset may also be indicated in the DCI. For example, a predetermined value or indicator may be included in a slot offset field in the DCI. In response to identifying the predetermined value or indicator, the UE 110 may use a slot offset previously configured by RRC signaling. In another example, the slot offset may be explicitly indicated in the DCI. In another example, the slot offset may be derived based at least in part on the DCI.

[0052] In some embodiments, group-based scheduling can be used to configure grant PUSCH activation or deactivation. Similarly, group-based scheduling can be used for SPS PDSCH activation or deactivation. Unlike the above-mentioned MAC CE activation / deactivation, in this example, the PDCCH itself can be configured to trigger configuration grant PUSCH and / or SPS PDSCH activation / deactivation.

[0053] To support group-based configuration granting of PUSCH and / or SPS PDSCH, the following configuration may be implemented. Traditionally, this type of control information may be provided to the UE via a configuration scheduling RNTI (CS-RNTI). Specific examples of aspects including utilizing GC-RNTI and / or CS-RNTI are provided below.

[0054] The first configuration includes implementing a new group-based RNTI for configuring grant PUSCH and / or SPS PDSCH activation / deactivation. Throughout the specification, this RNTI may be referred to as "CS-GC-RNTI". Thus, during the RRC signaling exchange in 505a, 505b, UE 110, 112 may receive one or more RNTIs, such as GC-RNTI, CS-RNTI and / or CS-GC-RNTI.

[0055] The second configuration includes combining the CS-RNTI and the GC-RNTI to have an equivalent RNTI of GC-RNTI+CS-RNTI, where (+) represents modulo 2 addition. Thus, during the RRC signaling exchange in 505a, 505b, the UE 110, 112 may receive multiple RNTIs, such as a GC-RNTI and a CS-RNTI. The UE 110, 112 may then use these two RNTIs to decode the indication of configuration grant PUSCH and / or SPS PDSCH activation / deactivation on the PDCCH.

[0056] The third configuration includes using the CS-RNTI to scramble the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) portion of the DCI and using the GC-RNTI to scramble the payload portion of the DCI (or vice versa). Therefore, during the RRC signaling exchange in 505a, 505b, the UE 110, 112 may receive multiple RNTIs, such as the GC-RNTI and the CS-RNTI. The UE 110, 112 may then use these two RNTIs to decode the configuration grant PUSCH and / or SPS PDSCH activation / deactivation indication on the PDCCH.

[0057] The fourth configuration includes using GC-RNTI as an explicit payload of the DCI. Therefore, during the RRC signaling exchange in 505a, 505b, the UE 110, 112 may receive multiple RNTIs, such as GC-RNTI and CS-RNTI. The UE 110, 112 may then use the CS-RNTI to decode the indication of the configuration grant PUSCH and / or SPS PDSCH activation / deactivation on the PDCCH. The payload of the GC-RNTI may then indicate to the UE 110, 112 that the indication is for group-based scheduling. This may indicate to the UE 110, 112 that it is operating according to group-based scheduling parameters.

[0058] As described above, the signal transmitted in 515 can be used to schedule the reception of MAC CE. Therefore, group-based scheduling can be used to support various functions that can be used via the use of MAC CE. For example, group-based scheduling can be used to transmit a MAC CE to the group of UEs, and the MAC CE is configured to change the PDCCH beam of all UEs in the group of UEs. In another example, group-based scheduling can be used to transmit a MAC CE to the group of UEs, and the MAC CE is configured to change the PDSCH transmission configuration indicator (TCI) table of all UEs in the group of UEs. In another example, group-based scheduling can be used to transmit a MAC CE to the group of UEs, and the MAC CE will activate the semi-persistent (SP) zero power (ZP) channel state information (CSI) reference signal (RS) (SP-ZP-CSI-RS) of all UEs in the group of UEs. In another example, group-based scheduling can be used to transmit a MAC CE to the group of UEs, and the MAC CE will activate the SP non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS (SP-NZP-CSI-RS) of all UEs in the group of UEs. In another example, group-based scheduling may be used to transmit a MAC CE to the group of UEs, the MAC CE being configured to change the PUCCH beam of all UEs in the group of UEs.

[0059] In some embodiments, the DCI transmitted in 515 may be configured to trigger a sleep mode, or may be used to schedule the receipt of an indication that triggers a sleep mode. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that a sleep mode relates to a UE power saving mode for data exchange processing with respect to one or more secondary cells (SCells). Thus, group-based scheduling may be used to request that UEs in the group of UEs operate in a sleep mode with respect to one or more indicated cells.

[0060] In 520a, UE 110 may transmit HARQ feedback to cell 120A. HARQ feedback may be incorporated into group-based scheduling in any of a variety of different ways. A specific example of implementing HARQ feedback for group-based scheduling will be provided below.

[0061] In some embodiments, HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) feedback is not required. In other embodiments, HARQ ACK feedback may be implemented only for certain types of control information. For example, UE 110 may transmit HARQ ACK feedback in response to receiving a configuration grant PUSCH activation / deactivation, receiving an SPS PDSCH activation / deactivation, and / or receiving a MAC CE.

[0062] In another embodiment, parameters for HARQ ACK feedback may be provided during RRC signaling. These parameters may indicate whether HARQ ACK feedback is to be provided and / or conditions that may trigger HARQ ACK feedback. For example, the network may selectively implement HARQ ACK feedback under certain conditions, and choose not to implement HARQ ACK feedback under other conditions. In another embodiment, RRC signaling may be used to implement HARQ ACK feedback only for a subset of UEs in the group of UEs. An example of this embodiment is shown in signaling diagram 500. Here, UE 110 is included in a subset of UEs in the group of UEs, and therefore, UE 110 provides HARQ ACK feedback in 520a. UE 112 is not included in the subset of UEs, and therefore, despite successfully receiving the signal transmitted in 515, UE 112 does not provide HARQ ACK feedback.

[0063] In some embodiments, all UEs included in the group of UEs may provide HARQ ACK feedback. In other embodiments, as described above, only a subset of UEs in the group of UEs may be configured to provide HARQ ACK feedback. The subset may be determined by the UE based on criteria such as, but not limited to, downlink reference signal received power (RSRP), downlink reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a parameter indicating a distance relative to a currently camped or connected cell, a priority order, and the like.

[0064] In some embodiments, only negative acknowledgement (NAK) will be provided as feedback, only ACK will be provided as feedback, or both ACK and NACK will be provided as feedback.

[0065] In 525a, UE 110 performs operations in response to the DCI. For example, UE 110 may perform transmission and / or reception according to the scheduling control information. Although shown outside the monitoring opportunity 510a in signaling diagram 500, the exemplary embodiment is not limited to this type of scenario. In actual operation scenarios, the operations in 525a may be performed at any time after receiving the control information.

[0066] In 525b, UE 112 performs operations in response to the DCI. The operations performed in 525b may be substantially similar to the operations performed in 525b. For example, if the DCI in 515 is for SP-SRS activation, UE 110, 112 may transmit SRS in 525a, 525b. If the DCI in 515 is for SP-SRS deactivation, UE 110, 112 may deactivate the operating mode related to providing SP-SRS in 525a, 525b. In another example, if the DCI in 515 is for AP-SRS transmission, UE 110, 112 may transmit SRS in 525a, 525b. In another example, if the DCI in 515 schedules the reception of a MAC CE, UE 110, 112 may receive the corresponding MAC CE in 525a, 525b.

[0067] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the exemplary embodiments described above may be implemented with any suitable software configuration or hardware configuration or combination thereof. Exemplary hardware platforms for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, Intel x86-based platforms with compatible operating systems, Windows OS, Mac platforms and MAC OS, mobile devices with operating systems such as iOS, Android, etc. The exemplary embodiments of the above methods may be embodied as a program comprising lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, which, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

[0068] Although this patent application describes various combinations of various embodiments each having different features, those skilled in the art will understand that any feature of an embodiment may be combined with features of other embodiments in any manner not publicly denied or with features that are not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation or function of the device of the embodiments disclosed in the present invention.

[0069] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0070] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is intended to cover modifications and variations of the present disclosure, provided that these modifications and variations are within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: At the user equipment UE: receiving a radio network temporary identifier RNTI associated with a group of UEs, the group of UEs including the UE; processing a signal from one of a cell currently camped by the UE or a cell to which the UE is currently connected, wherein the signal is scrambled by the RNTI and includes control information; processing a radio resource control (RRC) signal from the currently camped cell or the currently connected cell, wherein the RRC signal comprises an indication of at least one of the group of UEs configured to transmit hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback for group-based scheduling; transmitting HARQ feedback to the one of the currently camped cell or the currently connected cell, the HARQ feedback being associated with the signal; and An operation is performed in response to the control information included in the signal descrambled by the RNTI.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal corresponds to one of: i) configuration grant physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) activation, ii) configuration grant PUSCH deactivation, iii) semi-persistent scheduling physical downlink shared channel (SPS-PDSCH) activation, and iv) SPS-PDSCH deactivation. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the UE is configured to transmit HARQ feedback for group-based scheduling based on the RRC signal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein performing the operations comprises receiving a Medium Access Control Element (MACCE), and wherein the HARQ feedback indicates reception of the MAC CE by the UE.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The HARQ feedback is determined to be transmitted based on identifying a predetermined condition associated with at least one of i) downlink measurement data corresponding to the currently connected cell, ii) a distance relative to the currently connected cell, and iii) a priority order. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the RNTI is a Slot Format Indication RNTI (SFI-RNTI).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal is further scrambled by a configured scheduling RNTI, i.e., CS-RNTI.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: The signal is decoded using the RNTI and the CS-RNTI.

9. A user equipment UE, comprising: A processor configured to perform operations comprising: receiving a radio network temporary identifier RNTI associated with a group of UEs, the group of UEs including the UE; processing a signal from one of a cell currently camped by the UE or a cell to which the UE is currently connected, wherein the signal is scrambled by the RNTI and includes control information; processing a radio resource control (RRC) signal from the currently camped cell or the currently connected cell, wherein the RRC signal comprises an indication of at least one of the group of UEs configured to transmit hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback for group-based scheduling; transmitting HARQ feedback to the currently camped cell or the currently connected cell, the HARQ feedback being associated with the signal; and performing an operation in response to the control information included in the signal; and A transceiver is communicatively connected to the processor.

10. The UE of claim 9, wherein the signal corresponds to one of: i) configuration grant physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) activation, ii) configuration grant PUSCH deactivation, iii) semi-persistent scheduling physical downlink shared channel (SPS-PDSCH) activation, and iv) SPS-PDSCH deactivation.

11. The UE of claim 9, wherein the UE is configured to transmit HARQ feedback for group-based scheduling based on an RRC signal received from the currently connected cell.

12. The UE according to claim 9, further comprising: The HARQ feedback is determined to be transmitted based on identifying a predetermined condition associated with at least one of i) downlink measurement data corresponding to the currently connected cell, ii) a distance relative to the currently connected cell, and iii) a priority order.

13. The UE of claim 9, wherein the signal is further scrambled by a configured scheduling RNTI, ie, CS-RNTI.

14. The UE according to claim 13, further comprising: The signal is decoded using the RNTI and the CS-RNTI.

15. A computer program product comprising computer instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: receiving a radio network temporary identifier RNTI associated with a group of user equipment UEs, the group of UEs including the identified UE; processing a signal from one of a cell currently camped by the UE or a cell to which the UE is currently connected, wherein the signal is scrambled by the RNTI and includes control information; processing a radio resource control (RRC) signal from the currently camped cell or the currently connected cell, wherein the RRC signal comprises an indication of at least one of the group of UEs configured to transmit hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback for group-based scheduling; generating HARQ feedback in response to the RRC signal for transmission to the currently occupied cell or the currently connected cell; and When the signal is received, an operation is performed in response to the control information.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the signal corresponds to one of: i) configuration grant physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) activation, ii) configuration grant PUSCH deactivation, iii) semi-persistent scheduling physical downlink shared channel (SPS-PDSCH) activation, and iv) SPS-PDSCH deactivation.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the identified UE is configured to transmit HARQ feedback for group-based scheduling based on an RRC signal received from the currently connected cell.

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