Hybrid automatic repeat request feedback in a network

Abstract

In communication between a user equipment (UE) and a network node, the UE can receive, from the network node, a grant of uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each UL SCH resource can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types, and each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback state and a HARQ retransmission state. In response to one or more UL SCH resources being determined available based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with the one or more of the UL SCH resources, the UE can transmit a control message on the one or more UL SCH resources.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 059,132, filed July 30, 2020, entitled “HYBRID AUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST FEEDBACK IN NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORK,” and U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 17 / 389,059, filed July 29, 2021, entitled “HYBRID AUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST FEEDBACK IN NETWORK,” both of which have been assigned to the assignee of this application and are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] The various aspects described in this article generally relate to wireless communication, and more specifically to Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) in networks. Background Technology

[0004] Wireless communication systems have been developed in various generations, including first-generation analog radiotelephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital radiotelephone service (including temporary 2.5G and 2.75G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, wireless services with internet capabilities, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax). Currently, many different types of wireless communication systems are in use, including cellular and Personal Communication Services (PCS) systems. Known examples of cellular systems include cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone Systems (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), and TDMA-based Global System for Mobile Access (GSM) variants.

[0005] The fifth-generation (5G) mobile standard demands higher data transmission speeds, a greater number of connections, better coverage, and other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGC), the 5G standard is designed to deliver tens of megabits per second (Mbps) of data to each of tens of thousands of users, with 1 gigabit per second (Gbps) delivered to dozens of workers on an office floor. To support large-scale sensor deployments, it is expected to support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections. Therefore, one objective is to significantly improve the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications. Another objective is to enhance signaling efficiency and significantly reduce latency. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This summary identifies features of some example aspects and is not an exclusive or exhaustive description of the subject matter. Features or aspects are included in or omitted from this summary not to imply that they are of little, no, or decreasing importance. Additional features and aspects are described in the detailed description, and will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description and figures.

[0007] Aspects are disclosed for a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method can include receiving, from a network node, a grant of uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each UL SCH resource can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The method can also include transmitting, on one or more of the UL SCH resources, a control message in response to determining that the one or more UL SCH resources are available based on the HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with the one or more of the UL SCH resources. The control message can be a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0008] Aspects are disclosed for a user equipment (UE). The UE can include means for receiving, from a network node, a grant of uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each UL SCH resource can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The UE can also include means for transmitting, on one or more of the UL SCH resources, a control message in response to determining that the one or more UL SCH resources are available based on the HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with the one or more of the UL SCH resources. The control message can be a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0009] Aspects are disclosed for a user equipment (UE). The UE can include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The memory and the at least one processor can be configured to receive, from a network node, a grant of uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the UL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each of the HARQ processes can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each of the HARQ process types can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The memory and the at least one processor can be further configured to transmit, in response to determining that one or more of the UL SCH resources are available based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with the one or more of the UL SCH resources, a control message on the one or more of the UL SCH resources. The control message can be a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0010] Aspects are disclosed for a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a user equipment (UE). The computer-executable instructions can include one or more instructions causing the UE to receive, from a network node, a grant of uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the UL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each of the HARQ processes can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each of the HARQ process types can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The computer-executable instructions can further include one or more instructions causing the UE to transmit, in response to determining that one or more of the UL SCH resources are available based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with the one or more of the UL SCH resources, a control message on the one or more of the UL SCH resources. The control message can be a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0011] Aspects are disclosed directed to methods performed by a network node. The method can include transmitting a control message on one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources when the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available for the control message based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with one or more of the DL SCH resources. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The control message can be a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission.

[0012] Aspects are disclosed directed to a network node. The network node can include means for transmitting a control message on one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources when the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available for the control message based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with one or more of the DL SCH resources. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The control message can be a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission.

[0013] Aspects are disclosed directed also to a network node. The network node can include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The memory and the at least one processor can be configured to transmit a control message on one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources when the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available for the control message based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with the one or more of the DL SCH resources. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The control message can be a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission.

[0014] Aspects are disclosed directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a network node. The computer-executable instructions can include one or more instructions that cause the network node to transmit a control message on one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources when the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available for the control message based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with the one or more of the DL SCH resources. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The control message can be a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE). The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission.

[0015] Aspects are disclosed for a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method can include receiving, from a network node, a grant of shared channel (SCH) resources. The SCH resources can include uplink (UL) SCH resources or downlink (DL) SCH resources or both. Each of the SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The method can also include transmitting, on one or more of the UL SCH resources, a UL message in response to determining, based on the HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with the one or more of the UL SCH resources, that the one or more of the UL SCH resources are available. The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process can be the second HARQ process type.

[0016] Aspects are disclosed for a user equipment (UE). The UE can include means for receiving a grant of shared channel (SCH) resources from a network node. The SCH resources can include uplink (UL) SCH resources or downlink (DL) SCH resources or both. Each of the SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The UE can also include means for transmitting a UL message on one or more of the UL SCH resources in response to determining that the one or more UL SCH resources are available based on the HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with the one or more of the UL SCH resources. The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process can be the second HARQ process type.

[0017] Aspects are disclosed for a user equipment (UE). The UE can include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The memory and the at least one processor can be configured to receive, from a network node, a grant of shared channel (SCH) resources. The SCH resources can include uplink (UL) SCH resources or downlink (DL) SCH resources or both. Each of the SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The memory and the at least one processor can be further configured to transmit, responsive to determining, based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with one or more of the UL SCH resources, that the one or more of the UL SCH resources are available, a UL message on the one or more of the UL SCH resources. The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process can be the second HARQ process type.

[0018] Aspects are disclosed for a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a user equipment (UE). The computer-executable instructions can include one or more instructions that cause the UE to receive, from a network node, a grant of shared channel (SCH) resources. The SCH resources can include uplink (UL) SCH resources or downlink (DL) SCH resources or both. Each of the SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The computer-executable instructions can further include one or more instructions that cause the UE to transmit, responsive to determining a HARQ process type based on a HARQ process associated with one or more of the UL SCH resources, that one or more of the UL SCH resources are available, a UL message on the one or more of the UL SCH resources. The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process can be the second HARQ process type.

[0019] Aspects are disclosed for a method performed by a network node. The method can include transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of shared channel (SCH) resources. The SCH resources can include uplink (UL) SCH resources or downlink (DL) SCH resources or both. Each of the SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The method can also include receiving a UL message on one or more of the UL SCH resources. The method can also include transmitting, to the UE, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) when the UL message is correctly received and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback. The method can also include transmitting, to the UE, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) when the UL message is incorrectly received and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback. The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process can be the second HARQ process type.

[0020] Aspects are disclosed for a network node. The network node can include means for transmitting a grant of shared channel (SCH) resources to a user equipment (UE). The SCH resources can include uplink (UL) SCH resources or downlink (DL) SCH resources or both. Each of the SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The network node can also include means for receiving a UL message on one or more of the UL SCH resources. The network node can also include means for transmitting a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) to the UE when the UL message is correctly received and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback. The network node can also include means for transmitting a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the UE when the UL message is incorrectly received and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback. The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process can be the second HARQ process type.

[0021] Aspects are disclosed directed also to a network node. The network node can include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The memory and the at least one processor can be configured to transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of shared channel (SCH) resources. The SCH resources can include uplink (UL) SCH resources or downlink (DL) SCH resources or both. Each of the SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The memory and the at least one processor can be further configured to receive a UL message on one or more of the UL SCH resources. The memory and the at least one processor can be further configured to transmit, to the UE, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) when the UL message is correctly received and when a HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback. The memory and the at least one processor can be further configured to transmit, to the UE, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) when the UL message is incorrectly received and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback. The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and enable HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable HARQ feedback and disable HARQ retransmission. The HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process can be the second HARQ process type.

[0022] Aspects are disclosed for a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a network node. The computer-executable instructions can include one or more instructions that cause the network node to transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of shared channel (SCH) resources. The SCH resources can include uplink (UL) SCH resources or downlink (DL) SCH resources or both. Each of the SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types. Each HARQ process type can be based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status. The computer-executable instructions can also include one or more instructions that cause the network node to receive a UL message on one or more of the UL SCH resources. The computer-executable instructions can also include one or more instructions that cause the network node to transmit, to the UE, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) when the UL message is correctly received and a HARQ feedback is enabled for a HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources. The computer-executable instructions can also include one or more instructions that cause the network node to transmit, to the UE, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) when the UL message is incorrectly received and a HARQ feedback is enabled for a HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources. The plurality of HARQ process types can include a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type can enable the HARQ feedback and enable the HARQ retransmission. The second HARQ process type can enable the HARQ feedback and disable the HARQ retransmission. The third HARQ process type can disable the HARQ feedback and enable the HARQ retransmission. The fourth HARQ process type can disable the HARQ feedback and disable the HARQ retransmission. The HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process can be the second HARQ process type.

[0023] Aspects are disclosed for a method performed by a user equipment. The method can include receiving, from a network node, a grant of one or more uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more UL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The method can also include determining whether one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available for transmitting a message based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with each granted UL SCH resource. The message can be a signaling message. The method can also include transmitting the message on the one or more granted UL SCH resources when the one or more granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available.

[0024] Aspects are disclosed for a user equipment. The user equipment can include means for receiving, from a network node, a grant of one or more uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more UL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The user equipment can also include means for determining whether one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available for transmitting a message based on a HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with each granted UL SCH resource. The message can be a signaling message. The user equipment can also include means for transmitting the message on one or more of the granted UL SCH resources when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available.

[0025] Aspects are disclosed for a user equipment. The user equipment can include means for receiving, from a network node, a grant of one or more uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more UL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The user equipment can also include means for determining whether one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available for transmitting a message based on a HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with each granted UL SCH resource. The message can be a signaling message. The user equipment can also include means for transmitting the message on one or more of the granted UL SCH resources when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available.

[0026] Aspects are disclosed for a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a user equipment (UE). The computer-executable instructions can include one or more instructions causing the UE to receive, from a network node, a grant of one or more uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more UL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The computer-executable instructions can further include one or more instructions causing the UE to determine, based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with each granted UL SCH resource, whether one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available for transmitting a message. The message can be a signaling message. The computer-executable instructions can further include one or more instructions causing the UE to transmit the message on one or more of the granted UL SCH resources when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available.

[0027] Aspects are disclosed for a method performed by a network node. The method can include transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of one or more uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more UL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The method can further include determining whether a message from the UE carried on the one or more UL SCH resources is received correctly. The message can be a signaling message. The method can further include transmitting, to the UE, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) when the message is received correctly and when a HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback. The method can further include transmitting, to the UE, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) when the message is received incorrectly and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback.

[0028] Aspects are disclosed directed to a network node. The network node can include means for transmitting a grant of one or more uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources to a user equipment (UE). Each of the one or more UL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The network node can also include means for determining whether a message from the UE carried on the one or more UL SCH resources is received correctly. The message can be a signaling message. The network node can also include means for transmitting a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) to the UE when the message is received correctly and when a HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback. The network node can also include means for transmitting a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the UE when the message is received incorrectly and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback.

[0029] Aspects are disclosed directed to a network node. The network node can include means for transmitting a grant of one or more uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources to a user equipment (UE). Each of the one or more UL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The network node can also include means for determining whether a message from the UE carried on the one or more UL SCH resources is received correctly. The message can be a signaling message. The network node can also include means for transmitting a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) to the UE when the message is received correctly and when a HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback. The network node can also include means for transmitting a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the UE when the message is received incorrectly and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback.

[0030] Aspects are disclosed for a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a network node. The computer-executable instructions can include one or more instructions to cause the network node to transmit, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of one or more uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more UL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The computer-executable instructions can further include one or more instructions to cause the network node to determine whether a message from the UE carried on the one or more UL SCH resources is received correctly. The message can be a signaling message. The computer-executable instructions can further include one or more instructions to cause the network node to transmit, to the UE, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) when the message is received correctly and when HARQ feedback is enabled for the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources. The computer-executable instructions can further include one or more instructions to cause the network node to transmit, to the UE, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) when the message is received incorrectly and when HARQ feedback is enabled for the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources.

[0031] Aspects are disclosed for a method performed by a network node. The method can include transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more DL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The method can further include determining whether one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are available for transmitting a message based on a HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with each granted DL SCH resource. The message can be a signaling message. The method can further include transmitting the message on the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources when the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are determined to be available.

[0032] Aspects are disclosed directed to a network node. The network node can include means for transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more DL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The network node can also include means for determining whether one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are available for transmitting a message based on a HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with each granted DL SCH resource. The message can be a signaling message. The network node can also include means for transmitting the message on one or more of the granted DL SCH resources when the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are determined to be available.

[0033] Aspects are disclosed directed to a network node. The network node can include means for transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more DL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The network node can also include means for determining whether one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are available for transmitting a message based on a HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with each granted DL SCH resource. The message can be a signaling message. The network node can also include means for transmitting the message on one or more of the granted DL SCH resources when the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are determined to be available.

[0034] Aspects are disclosed directed to a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a network node. The computer-executable instructions can include one or more instructions that cause the UE to transmit, from the network node, a grant of one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more DL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The computer-executable instructions can further include one or more instructions that cause the UE to determine, based on a HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with each granted DL SCH resource, whether one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are available for transmitting a message. The message can be a signaling message. The computer-executable instructions can further include one or more instructions that cause the network node to transmit the message on one or more of the granted DL SCH resources when the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are determined to be available.

[0035] Aspects are disclosed directed to a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method can include receiving, from a network node, a grant of one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more DL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The method can further include determining whether a message from the network node carried on the one or more DL SCH resources is received correctly. The message can be a signaling message. The method can further include transmitting, to the network node, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) when the message is received correctly and when a HARQ feedback is enabled for the HARQ process associated with the one or more DL SCH resources. The method can further include transmitting, to the network node, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) when the message is received incorrectly and when the HARQ feedback is enabled for the HARQ process associated with the one or more DL SCH resources.

[0036] Aspects are disclosed for a user equipment (UE). The UE can include means for receiving, from a network node, a grant of one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more DL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The UE can also include means for determining whether a message from the network node carried on the one or more DL SCH resources is received correctly. The message can be a signaling message. The UE can also include means for transmitting, to the network node, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) when the message is received correctly and when a HARQ feedback is enabled for the HARQ process associated with the one or more DL SCH resources. The UE can also include means for transmitting, to the network node, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) when the message is received incorrectly and when a HARQ feedback is enabled for the HARQ process associated with the one or more DL SCH resources.

[0037] Aspects are also disclosed for a user equipment (UE). The UE can include a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The memory and the at least one processor can be configured to receive, from a network node, a grant of one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more DL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The memory and the at least one processor can also be configured to determine whether a message from the network node carried on the one or more DL SCH resources is received correctly. The message can be a signaling message. The memory and the at least one processor can also be configured to transmit, to the network node, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) when the message is received correctly and when a HARQ feedback is enabled for the HARQ process associated with the one or more DL SCH resources. The memory and the at least one processor can also be configured to transmit, to the network node, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) when the message is received incorrectly and when a HARQ feedback is enabled for the HARQ process associated with the one or more DL SCH resources.

[0038] Non-transitory computer-readable media for aspects directed to storing computer-executable instructions for a user equipment (UE) are disclosed. The computer-executable instructions can include one or more instructions that cause the UE to receive, from a network node, a grant of one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources. Each of the one or more DL SCH resources can be associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality of HARQ process types. The computer-executable instructions can also include one or more instructions that cause the UE to determine whether a message from the network node carried on the one or more DL SCH resources was received correctly. The message can be a signaling message. The computer-executable instructions can also include one or more instructions that cause the UE to transmit, to the network node, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) when the message is received correctly and when HARQ feedback is enabled for the HARQ process associated with the one or more DL SCH resources. The computer-executable instructions can also include one or more instructions that cause the UE to transmit, to the network node, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) when the message is received incorrectly and when HARQ feedback is enabled for the HARQ process associated with the one or more DL SCH resources.

[0039] Other objects and advantages associated with aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0040] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of examples of one or more aspects of the disclosed subject matter and are provided solely for illustration of the examples and not limitation thereof:

[0041] Figure 1 An example wireless communication system, in accordance with various aspects, is shown.

[0042] Figure 2 An example network node in communication with an example user equipment, in accordance with various aspects, is shown.

[0043] Figure 3 Example signaling between a network node and a user equipment, in accordance with various aspects, is shown.

[0044] Figure 4 A flow diagram of an example method performed by a user equipment, in accordance with various aspects, is shown.

[0045] Figure 5 A flow diagram of an example process performed by a network node, in accordance with various aspects, is shown.

[0046] Figure 6 And Figure 7 A flow diagram of an example method performed by a user equipment, in accordance with various aspects, is shown.

[0047] Figure 8 a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process performed by a network node, in accordance with various aspects;

[0048] Figure 9 a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method performed by a user equipment, in accordance with various aspects;

[0049] Figure 10 a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process performed by a network node, in accordance with various aspects;

[0050] Figure 11 a simplified block diagram of an example user equipment, in accordance with various aspects; and

[0051] Figure 12 a simplified block diagram of a network node, in accordance with various aspects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] Various aspects described herein generally relate to hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback in networks with large propagation delays. An example of a network with large propagation delays is a non-terrestrial network (NTN). Examples of NTNs include networks based on satellites, balloons, aerial vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, etc., which can be classified as high altitude platform stations (HAPS) and satellites. In one or more aspects, a satellite-based NTN can include one or more low earth orbit (LEO) and / or one or more medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites. In terrestrial networks (e.g., 5G NR, LTE, etc.), HARQ feedback enables reliable transmission of data between a base station (e.g., gNB, eNB, etc.) and a user equipment (UE).

[0053] However, in some networks, due to the distances involved between network nodes and user equipment (e.g., between a satellite and a UE), there can be large propagation delays. To avoid stalling of HARQ processes, in one or more examples, HARQ feedback can be disabled. When HARQ feedback is disabled, the reliability of transmission / reception of messages can be lower than when HARQ feedback is enabled. For many types of messages, the reduced reliability can still be sufficient.

[0054] But other types of messages can require higher message delivery reliability. For example, media access control (MAC) control element (CE) messages and radio resource control (RRC) messages can require high reliability. For these types of messages, the benefit of the increased reliability provided by enabling feedback is worth the cost of the stalling that can potentially occur.

[0055] Accordingly, one or more techniques are presented to enable the use of appropriate HARQ procedures for transmitting messages (e.g., MAC CEs, RRC messages) that require a certain level of reliability. That is, techniques are presented that enable the selective use of different HARQ procedures for transmitting messages. In particular, messages that can be considered important can be transmitted with enabled HARQ feedback and / or retransmission. One technical effect of the presented techniques (there can be several technical effects) is the ability to avoid stalling when possible, and still ensure sufficient reliability when necessary.

[0056] In one or more aspects, a network node (UE) can transmit (receive) grants of one or more shared channel resources (uplink and / or downlink resources) associated with various repetition request types of multiple repetition request procedures (e.g., HARQ procedures). The repetition request types can be based on feedback (e.g., whether feedback is enabled / disabled), retransmission (e.g., whether retransmission is enabled / disabled), and / or the like. A transmitter (UE / network node) can transmit a control message (e.g., RRC message, MAC CE) to a receiver (network node / UE) on granted (uplink / downlink) shared channel resources that are considered available. For example, if the control message requires a high reliability of delivery, the available shared channel resources can be those associated with repetition request types that enable feedback and / or retransmission. By enabling feedback, the receiver can be able to inform whether the control message was received correctly. By enabling retransmission, the transmitter can be able to retransmit the control message in the event of a previous transmission failure. On the other hand, if the control message delivery is not important, any granted shared channel resources (including those that disable feedback and / or retransmission) can be considered available. In this way, the delivery reliability requirements of the control message can be provided with the appropriate matching channel resources.

[0057] These and other aspects are provided in the following description and related drawings. Alternative implementations can be devised without departing from the scope of the disclosed subject matter. Additionally, well-known elements can not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the disclosed aspects.

[0058] The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that all aspects include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0059] The terminology used herein describes specific aspects only and should not be interpreted as limiting any aspects disclosed herein. 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. Those skilled in the art will further understand that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and / or "including," as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0060] Further, various aspects can be described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the various aspects described herein can be implemented using specific circuitry (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Additionally, these sequence of actions described herein can be considered to be embodied entirely within any form of non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon corresponding

[0061] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE), "user terminal" (UT), and "base station" are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, such UEs, which can be used interchangeably with UTs, can be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, tracking device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate on a wireless communication network. A UE / UT can be mobile or can (for example, at certain times) be stationary and can communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the interchangeable terms "UE" and "UT" can also be referred to as "access terminal" or "AT," "client device," "wireless device," "subscriber device," "subscriber terminal," "subscriber station," "mobile terminal," "mobile station," or variations thereof. Generally, UEs are able to communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network the UEs can be connected to one or more external networks such as the Internet and / or to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UEs, such as over wired access networks, WiFi networks (e.g., based on Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc.), etc.

[0062] A base station can operate according to one of a number of RATs in communication with UEs depending on the network in which the base station is deployed and can be alternatively referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), a general Node B (gNode B, gNB), etc. In addition, in some systems the base station can provide pure edge node signaling functions, while in other systems it can provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0063] A UE can be embodied by any of a number of types of devices including but not limited to a printed circuit (PC) card, a compact flash device, an external or internal modem, a wireless or wireline phone, a smart phone, a tablet, a tracking device, an asset tag, etc. A communication link through which the UE can send signals to a RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which a RAN can send signals to a UE is called a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0064] The term "UE" is generally used in the context of terrestrial networks, and the term "UT" is generally used in the context of satellite-based networks. However, as noted above, these terms can be used interchangeably in the following description.

[0065] As mentioned above, in networks that can have potentially large propagation delays between a transmitter and a receiver, such as in NTNs, HARQ feedback can be disabled to avoid stalling of the HARQ process. As also mentioned above, some messaging can require a degree of reliability that a HARQ process with feedback disabled would not be able to provide. To address this issue, it is proposed that messages requiring high reliability can be transmitted using a suitable HARQ process.

[0066] According to various aspects, Figure 1 An example wireless communication system 100 is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100, which can also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WW AN), can include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 can include macro cell base stations (high power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low power cellular base stations). In an aspect, the macro cell base station can include eNBs and / or ng-eNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network), or gNBs (where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to a NR network), or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations can include femto cells, pico cells, micro cells, and the like.

[0067] The base stations 102 can collectively form a RAN and interface with a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC)) through backhaul links 122 (e.g., SI, X2, Xn, etc. interfaces), and with one or more location servers 172 (which can be part of core network 170 or can be external to core network 170) through core network 170. In addition to other functions, the base stations 102 can perform functions such as

[0068] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each of base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographical coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by base station 102 in each coverage area 110. A “cell” is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., on a certain frequency resource, referred to as a carrier frequency, component carrier, carrier, frequency band, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., Physical Cell Identifier (PCI), Virtual Cell Identifier (VCI), Cell Global Identifier (CGI)) used to distinguish cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types that can provide access for different types of UEs (e.g., Machine Type Communication (MTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), or others). Because a cell is supported by a specific base station, the term “cell” can refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station that supports it, depending on the context. Additionally, because the TRP is typically the physical transmission point of a cell, the terms “cell” and “TRP” can be used interchangeably. In some cases, the term "cell" can also refer to the geographic coverage area of ​​a base station (e.g., a sector), provided that the carrier frequency can be detected and used for communication within a portion of the geographic coverage area 110.

[0069] While the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macro cell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in handover areas), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may substantially overlap with the larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' may have a coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the coverage areas 110 of one or more macro cell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell base stations and macro cell base stations can be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a Home eNB (HeNB) that can provide service to a restricted group called a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG).

[0070] The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (also known as reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (also known as forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. The communication link 120 may use MIMO antenna techniques, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may use one or more carrier frequencies. Carrier allocation may be asymmetric with respect to the downlink and uplink (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to the downlink than to the uplink).

[0071] The wireless communications system 100 can further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 in communication with WLAN stations (STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in an unlicensed frequency spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz). When communicating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the WLAN STAs 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 can perform clear channel assessment (CCA) or listen before talk (LBT) procedures prior to communicating in order to determine whether the channel is available.

[0072] The small cell base stations 102' can operate in a licensed frequency spectrum and / or an unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, the small cell base stations 102' can employ LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base stations 102' employing LTE / 5G in an unlicensed frequency spectrum can improve coverage and / or increase capacity of the access network. NR in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, License Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0073] The wireless communications system 100 can further include millimeter wave (mmW) base stations 180 that can operate in mmW frequencies in communication with UEs 182. The electromagnetic spectrum is often subdivided based on frequency / wavelength into various classes, bands, channels, and so forth. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz - 7. 125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz - 52.6 GHz). Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with respect to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz - 300 GHz) which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band.

[0074] With the above in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be appreciated that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like, if used herein, can broadly represent frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be appreciated that the term “millimeter wave” or the like, if used herein, can broadly represent frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, or can be within the EHF band.

[0075] Communications using mmW radio frequency spectrum band has high path loss and a relatively short range. Thus, mmW base stations 180 and UEs 182 can utilize beamforming (transmit and / or receive) over mmW communication links 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Further, it will be appreciated that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 can also transmit using mmW or near mmW and beamforming. Thus, it will be appreciated that the foregoing is merely an example and should not be construed as limiting various aspects disclosed herein.

[0076] Transmit beamforming is a technique for focusing the RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omni-directionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., UE) is located (relative to the transmitting network node) and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal for the receiving device. To change the direction of the RF signal on transmission, the network node is able to control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of the one or more transmitters that are broadcasting the RF signal. For example, the network node can use an array of antennas (referred to as a “phased array” or “antenna array”), which creates a beam of RF waves that can be “steered” to point in different directions without moving the physical antenna. Specifically, the RF current from the transmitter is fed to the individual antennas with the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the separate antennas add together to increase the radiation in a desired direction, while cancelling to suppress radiation in undesired directions.

[0077] The transmit beams can be quasi-collocated, meaning that they appear to have the same parameters to a receiver (e.g., a UE), regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network node themselves are physically collocated. In NR, there are four types of quasi-collocation (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about a second reference RF signal on a second beam can be derived from information about a source reference RF signal on a source beam. Thus, if the source reference RF signal is QCL Type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL Type D, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the spatial receive parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0078] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify an RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver can increase a gain setting and / or adjust a phase setting of an antenna array in a particular direction to amplify (e.g., increase a gain level of) an RF signal received from that direction. Thus, when a receiver is said to beamform in a certain direction, this means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or that the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), etc.) of the RF signal received from that direction.

[0079] The receive beams can be spatially related. Spatially related means that the parameters for the transmit beam for the second reference signal can be derived from information about the receive beam for the first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a particular receive beam to receive one or more reference downlink reference signals (e.g., positioning reference signals (PRSs), tracking reference signals (TRSs), phase tracking reference signals (PTRSs), cell-specific reference signals (CRSs), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs), primary synchronization signals (PSSs), secondary synchronization signals (SSSs), synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), etc.) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam for transmitting one or more uplink reference signals (e.g., uplink positioning reference signals (UL-PRSs), sounding reference signals (SRSs), demodulation reference signals (DMRSs), PTRSs, etc.) to the base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0080] Note that a “downlink” beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming a downlink beam to transmit a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if a UE is forming a downlink beam, it is a receive beam for receiving a downlink reference signal. Similarly, an “uplink” beam can be a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming it. For example, if a base station is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0081] 5G supports multi-carrier operation, such as carrier aggregation. In a multi-carrier system, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell" and the rest of the carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates a RRC connection reestablishment procedure. The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels, and can be (but is not necessarily) the carrier in the licensed frequency. The secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured once the RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier, and that can be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, the secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier can contain only necessary signaling information and signals, e.g., there can be no UE-specific signaling information and signals in the secondary carrier, because the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE- specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carriers. The network is able to change the primary carriers of any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on the different carriers. Because a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or an SCell) corresponds to a carrier frequency / component carrier on which a certain base station is communicating, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," "carrier frequency," and the like can be used interchangeably.

[0082] For example, still referring to Figure 1 , one of the frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 can be the anchor carrier (or "PCell"), while other frequencies utilized by the macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 can be secondary carriers ("SCells"). The simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables the UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a doubling of the data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to the data rate obtained through a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0083] The wireless communications system 100 can also include UE 164, which can be in communication with macro cell base station 102 through the communication link 120 and / or mmW base station 180 through the mmW communication link 184. For example, macro cell base station 102 can support PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and mmW base station 180 can support one or more SCells for UE 164. In an aspect, UE 164 can include a HARQ component 166, which can enable UE 164 to perform the UE HARQ operations described herein. Similarly, base station 102 can include a HARQ component 166, which can enable base station 102 to perform the base station HARQ operations described herein. Note that although Figure 1 only UE 164 and one base station 102 are shown as including a HARQ component 166 in Figure 1 any of the UEs and base stations can include a HARQ component 166.

[0084] The wireless communications system 100 can also include one or more UEs, such as UE 190, that can connect indirectly to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. In Figure 1 the example of FIG. 18, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 with one of the UEs 104 connecting to one of the base stations 102 (e.g., UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity through D2D P2P link 192) and a D2D P2P link 194 with WLAN STA 152 connecting to WLAN AP 150 (UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity through D2D P2P link 194). In an example, D2D P2P links 192 and 194 can be supported through any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, etc.

[0085] 5G uses RF signals at mmW frequencies for wireless communications between network nodes, such as base stations, UEs, vehicles, factory automation machines, etc. However, mmW RF signals can also be used for other purposes, such as weapon systems (e.g., as short-range fire control radars in tanks and airplanes), security screening systems (e.g., in scanners that detect weapons and other dangerous objects carried under clothing), medicine (e.g., to treat diseases by altering cell growth), etc. In addition, mmW RF signals can be used for environmental sensing, such as object detection and motion sensing.

[0086] ​RF signals at mmW frequencies can provide high bandwidth and large aperture to extract accurate range, Doppler, and angle information for environmental sensing. Using mmW RF signals for environmental sensing can provide such features in a compact form factor, e.g., a small sensing component that can be conveniently fitted into a handheld device. Such a sensing component (e.g., a chip) can be a digital signal processor (DSP), a system on chip (SoC), or other processing component that can be integrated into another device (host device), such as a UE, a base station, an IoT device, a factory automation machine, etc. In an aspect, the sensing component can be or can be incorporated into a modem for wireless communication, such as a 5G modem, a 60 GHz WLAN modem, etc. A device containing the sensing component can be referred to as a host device, an environmental sensing device, a sensing device, etc.

[0087] According to various aspects, Figure 2 An example network node 210 (e.g., a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node) is shown in communication with an example UE 250. Internet Protocol (IP) packets can be provided to a controller / processor 275. The controller / processor 275 can implement functionality for a radio resource

[0088] The transmit (TX) processor 216 and the receive (RX) processor 270 can implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes a physical (PHY) layer, can include error detection on the transport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 216 can handle mapping to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to a orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 274 can be used to determine the coding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate can be derived from a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 250. Each spatial stream can then be provided to one or more different antennas 220 via a separate transmitter 218a. Each transmitter 218a can modulate a RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0089] At the UE 250, each receiver 254a can receive a signal through its respective antenna 252. Each receiver 254a can recover information modulated onto an RF carrier and can provide the information to the RX processor 256. The TX processor 268 and the RX processor 256 can implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 256 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for the UE 250. If multiple spatial streams are destined for the UE 250, they can be combined by the RX processor 256 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor 256 can then convert the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal can comprise a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, can be recovered and demodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted by the network node 210. These soft decisions can be based on channel estimates computed by the channel estimator 258. The soft decisions can be decoded and de-interleaved to recover the data and control signals that were originally transmitted by the network node 210 on the physical channel. The data and control signals can then be provided to the controller / processor 259, which implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

[0090] The controller / processor 259 is able to access information from the memory 260 and / or storage, in order to facilitate the techniques described herein. The memory 260 and / or the storage can be a non-transitory computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 259 can provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The controller / processor 259 can also be responsible for error detection.

[0091] Similar to the functionality described in connection with the transmission by the network node 210, the controller / processor 259 can provide RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition, RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, and security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transmission channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0092] Channel estimates derived by the channel estimator 258 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the network node 210 can be used by the TX processor 268 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 268 can be provided to different antenna 252 via separate transmitters 254b. Each transmitter 254b can modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0093] The UL transmission can be processed at the network node 210 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 250. Each receiver 218b can receive information from its respective antenna 220. Each receiver 218b can recover information modulated onto an RF carrier and can provide the information to a RX processor 270.

[0094] The controller / processor 275 is able to access information from the memory 276 using a data bus. The memory 276 can be referred to as a computer- readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 275 can provide demultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 250. IP packets from the controller / processor 275 can be provided to the core network. The controller / processor 275 can also be responsible for error detection.

[0095] At the UE 250, the transmitter 254b and the receiver 254a can be collectively referred to as a transceiver 254. In the network node 210, the transmitter 218a and the receiver 218b can be collectively referred to as a transceiver 218.

[0096] The network node 210 and the UE 250 can be configured to implement the proposed preamble format allocation method. In the method, the network node 210 (e.g., gNB, cell) can allocate a plurality of PRACH preamble formats, and transmit or broadcast the allocated preamble formats in one or more SSBs. The SSBs can be broadcasted periodically. The UE can receive the allocated preamble formats in the one or more SSBs. To perform initial access, the UE can select a preamble format from the plurality of allocated preamble formats based on one or more metrics (e.g., RSRP, SNR, SINR, BER, etc.), and transmit the preamble accordingly.

[0097] As mentioned, disabling HARQ feedback can avoid stalling of the HARQ process, but can also result in not being able to meet some more stringent reliability requirements. To address these issues, a device such as a UE or network node can support multiple HARQ processes, and the HARQ processes can be configured with different combinations of HARQ parameters.

[0098] That is, the UE can support N HARQ processes (e.g., 16), i.e., the UE can support N HARQ buffers. Each HARQ process can be identified with a HARQ process ID, e.g., 0...N-1. M of the N HARQ processes can have HARQ feedback disabled, where M > 0. In an aspect, the value of M can be fixed (e.g., to 1 or 0). Although there is no HARQ feedback, HARQ retransmissions can occur. For example, the transmitter can blindly retransmit the data a certain number of times.

[0099] A HARQ-less process can also be defined. In this process, HARQ feedback is disabled and no HARQ retransmission is considered. This is a one-shot transmission. When transmitting using a HARQ-less process, reliability can be achieved through higher layer transmission. In this aspect, HARQ can be a physical layer process.

[0100] In an aspect, another HARQ process type can be defined. In this aspect, HARQ feedback can be enabled and HARQ retransmission can be disabled. For uplink (UL) HARQ processes, the UE can only expect positive HARQ feedback (i.e., ACK) feedback in the downlink. For downlink (DL) HARQ processes, the UE can only send positive HARQ feedback in the uplink.

[0101] HARQ feedback can be dynamically enabled or disabled by, for example, a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) to be used, a HARQ process ID, rate matching / resource indicator, etc. The higher layer can be made aware of the HARQ feedback to decide whether to initiate retransmission. For example, a mapping of logical channel ID and HARQ process can be defined, and the radio link control (RLC) layer can decide retransmission based on the HARQ feedback.

[0102] In an aspect, each HARQ process can be defined as a particular HARQ process type, which can be defined based on HARQ feedback (whether HARQ feedback is enabled or disabled) and based on HARQ retransmission (whether HARQ retransmission is enabled or disabled). Note that in the uplink, the UE can be indicated of a decoding result, e.g., whether the network node has correctly decoded the uplink transmission (e.g., control message) from the UE. In one aspect, such indication of the decoding result can be considered as HARQ feedback. In an aspect, in the uplink (e.g., for UL SCH), the control signal or message indicating the feedback status and scheduling information can be the same, as both can be from network to UE. But in the downlink (e.g., for DL SCH), the feedback status is from UE to network, and the control signal / message is from network to UE. It should be appreciated that the various HARQ process types can be indicated in one or more bits in one or more control messages between the network node and the user equipment. For ease of reference, the following HARQ transmission types can be defined:

[0103] • first HARQ process type - HARQ feedback enabled, HARQ retransmission enabled;

[0104] • second HARQ process type - HARQ feedback enabled, HARQ retransmission disabled;

[0105] • third HARQ process type - HARQ feedback disabled, HARQ retransmission enabled;

[0106] • fourth HARQ process type - HARQ feedback disabled, HARQ retransmission disabled (e.g., no HARQ type).

[0107] In a UE that supports multiple HARQ processes, each HARQ process n (n = 0...N1) can be configured as one of four HARQ process types. This configuration can be set within the UE, e.g., as a default value, such as in a factory setting. Alternatively or additionally, the network can configure one or more of the HARQ processes (e.g., through a downlink control information (DCI) message, an RRC message, etc.). In an aspect, for at least one HARQ process, the network configuration of the HARQ process can override any previous configuration of the at least one HARQ process.

[0108] During operation, a network node (e.g., an NTN node) can grant UL shared channel (SCH) resources to a UE, and the UL SCH resources can be associated with various HARQ processes. That is, the UL SCH resources can be associated with various HARQ process IDs. If the UE has an uplink message to send, it can determine whether UL SCH resources are available to send the message. If there are available resources, the UE can send the message on the UL SCH resources deemed available. On the other hand, if no such resources are available, the UE can send a scheduling request (SR) to request an UL grant associated with the desired HARQ process.

[0109] The availability of the resources can be determined based on the HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with the UL SCH resources. For example, if the message is such that delivery to the network is very important, the UE can search for UL SCH resources for which both HARQ feedback and retransmission are enabled (i.e., the first HARQ process type). At the opposite end of the spectrum, if the message is not important at all, a HARQ process of any HARQ process type - including a HARQ process for which both HARQ feedback and retransmission are disabled (i.e., the fourth HARQ process type) - can be sufficient. Of course, there can be messages in between the two extremes (e.g., the second and third HARQ process types).

[0110] Generally, signaling messages are given higher priority than user plane messages. In other words, it can be important that signaling messages be delivered at a certain increased level of reliability relative to user plane messages. Examples of such messages include RRC and MAC CE messages. In one or more aspects, the UE can enable such messages to be sent using appropriate HARQ processes.

[0111] RRC messages sent over a signaling radio bearer (SRB) have higher priority than data sent over a data radio bearer (DRB). Here are some (not necessarily exhaustive) options that can use HARQ processes to send RRC messages. Which HARQ process types of HARQ processes are deemed available can depend on which RRC option is implemented:

[0112] 1. RRC messages in SRB can use only HARQ processes that enable both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission. In other words, only HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type can be considered available.

[0113] 2. RRC messages in SRB1 / SRB2 / SRB3 or RRC messages in dedicated control channel (DCCH) can use only HARQ processes that enable both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission (first HARQ process type available). All other RRC messages (e.g., RRC messages in common control channel (CCCH) or CCCH1 or RRC messages in other SRBs (e.g., SRB0)) can use any available HARQ process (first, second, third, and / or fourth HARQ process type available) at transmission.

[0114] 3. RRC messages (e.g., in SRB) can use any HARQ process, but HARQ feedback is considered enabled and HARQ retransmission is considered disabled (second HARQ process type available):

[0115] • In case of SRB0, HARQ feedback (PHY layer) can be provided to the RRC layer for possible retransmission from RRC. When a random access channel (RACH) procedure is used, the random access can be resumed with Msg1 or MsgA with a preamble.

[0116] • During random access, an exception can be made so that MsgA or Msg3 can support physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) retransmission.

[0117] • In case of SRB1, SRB2, or SRB3, RLC can be indicated with HARQ feedback for possible retransmission.

[0118] MAC CE messages can be sent without any uplink data based on the HARQ process. The following are some (not necessarily exhaustive) options that MAC CE messages can be sent using HARQ processes. Which HARQ process types of HARQ processes are considered available can depend on which MAC CE option is implemented:

[0119] 1. MAC CE messages can use only HARQ processes that enable both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission (first HARQ process type available):

[0120] • In such cases, the logical channel prioritization can not include the MAC CE for disabling the HARQ process for HARQ feedback / transmission, i.e., can not include the MAC CE for the fourth HARQ process type for the HARQ process.

[0121] 2. When the MAC CE is sent together with data, the MAC CE can use the same HARQ process used by any data in the logical channel:

[0122] • In such cases, if the MAC CE triggers an SR, the SR can indicate the requested HARQ process for the MAC CE. This means that the SR or SR configuration can be selected at the MAC layer such that the UE requests the HARQ process type expected by the MAC CE.

[0123] 3. Rules can be defined for which MAC CE uses which HARQ process. That is, rules can define that different MAC CEs can use different HARQ process types (first, second, third, and / or fourth HARQ process type). Some (not necessarily exhaustive) rules are as follows:

[0124] • When the UE has UL SCH resources, some MAC CEs with higher priority than UL data (e.g., buffer status report (BSR) MAC CE, power headroom report (PHR) MAC CE, etc.) can only use HARQ processes with HARQ feedback enabled and / or HARQ retransmission enabled (first, second, and / or third HARQ process type available).

[0125] • MAC CEs that start a retransmission timer after transmission can use any HARQ process (first, second, third, and / or fourth HARQ process type available) or a HARQ process with HARQ feedback and / or retransmission disabled (first, second, and / or third HARQ process type available). As an illustration, a BSR MAC CE can have higher priority than UL data but typically triggers a periodic BSR when the BSR retransmission timer expires. In such cases, the BSR MAC CE can use any HARQ process.

[0126] • Static and / or semi-static rules can be defined for each MAC CE. For DL MAC CEs, HARQ feedback and retransmission can be enabled (first HARQ process type available). For UL, some MAC CEs (e.g., cell RNTI (CRNTI) MAC CE) can be configured to use a HARQ process with HARQ feedback and / or retransmission enabled (first, second, and / or third HARQ process type available).

[0127] In one example, the “static” rules can be similar to a default or factory- setting configuration of the rules, and the “semi-static” rules can be similar to a configuration of the rules provided by the network, e.g., through DCI, RRC, etc. In an aspect, for one or more of the HARQ process rules, the semi-static configuration of the rules can override a previous configuration of the rules.

[0128] Figure 3 Example signaling between a network node and a user equipment is shown. In brief, a network node can send a HARQ-related configuration message (details below) to a UE, and the UE can apply the HARQ-related configuration. When the UE has an uplink message (including a signaling message) to send, the UE can send a scheduling request (SR) to the network node. In response, the network node can grant the UE an UL SCH resource. The UE can send the signaling message or any message that requires high reliability to the network node. If HARQ feedback is enabled, the network node can send an ACK or a NACK depending on whether it received the message correctly or incorrectly. If HARQ retransmission is enabled, the UE can retransmit the message in case of receiving a NACK feedback. Regarding Figure 4 and Figure 5 Details are provided.

[0129] Figure 4 An example method 400 performed by a UE, such as UE 210, is shown. At block 410, the UE can apply a HARQ-related configuration received from a network node (e.g., satellite 110, coordinator 180, NTN 210). The HARQ-related configuration can be received through a DCI and / or RRC message.

[0130] It is noted that the UE can also support multiple HARQ processes (e.g., 16 HARQ processes). Thus, in an aspect, the HARQ-related configuration can include a HARQ process type configuration for one or more of the multiple HARQ processes. For example, different HARQ processes can have different combinations of enabling / disabling HARQ feedback and enabling / disabling HARQ retransmission, i.e., some HARQ processes can be configured as a first HARQ process type, and other HARQ processes can be configured as a second HARQ process type, etc.

[0131] In another aspect, a configuration for mapping of RRC messages and corresponding available UL SCH resources can be defined. That is, for one or more RRC messages, the HARQ-related configuration can include a configuration of how the UE should determine available UL SCH resources based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with the UL SCH resources. For example, in one option (RRC Option 1 above), only HARQ processes of a first HARQ process type can be considered available. RRC Options 2 and 3 above and other options can be defined for RRC messages.

[0132] In another aspect, a configuration for mapping of RRC messages and corresponding available UL SCH resources can be defined. That is, for one or more RRC messages, the HARQ-related configuration can include a configuration of how the UE should determine available UL SCH resources based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with the UL SCH resources. For example, in one option (RRC Option 1 above), only HARQ processes of a first HARQ process type can be considered available. RRC Options 2 and 3 above and other options can be defined for RRC messages.

[0133] Note that block 410 is dashed to indicate that it is optional. That is, the UE can be statically configured with the HARQ-related configuration. If and when the UE receives the HARQ-related configuration, the statically configured HARQ-related configuration can be overridden. Further, if block 410 is performed, the UE does not have to receive all of the HARQ-related configuration. For example, the received HARQ-related configuration can specify a HARQ process type for a certain HARQ process, but not for other HARQ processes.

[0134] At block 420, the UE can receive, from the network node, a grant of one or more UL SCH resources. Each granted UL SCH resource can be associated with a HARQ process, which can be one of a plurality (e.g., 16) of HARQ processes supported by the UE. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality (e.g., 4) of HARQ process types. For example, each HARQ process can be a first, second, third, or fourth HARQ process type.

[0135] The above indicates that the HARQ process type of a HARQ process can be statically and / or semi-statically configured. But in another aspect, the HARQ process type can be dynamically configured, e.g., in a DCI message. For example, any one or more of a used radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), HARQ process ID, rate matching / resource indicator can indicate the HARQ process type.

[0136] At block 430, the UE can determine whether one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available for transmitting a message based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with each granted UL SCH resource. In other words, at block 430, the UE can determine whether any (i.e., some or all) of the granted UL SCH resources are available. The message can be a signaling message such as an RRC or MAC CE message.

[0137] In one RRC option (e.g., RRC Option 1), the message can be an RRC message for transmission over any SRB (e.g., SRB0, SRB1, SRB2, SRB3). In this option, the UE can determine that one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available when each of the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type (i.e., a HARQ process that enables both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission).

[0138] In another RRC option (e.g., RRC Option 2), the message can be an RRC message that can be for transmission over SRB1, SRB2, or SRB3, or can be in a DCCH. For such RRC messages, the UE can determine that one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available when each of the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type (i.e., a HARQ process that enables both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission). For other RRC messages, i.e., RRC messages in CCCH, CCCH1, or SRB0, the UE can determine that one or more of the UL SCH resources are available regardless of the HARQ process type of the associated HARQ process. That is, any available UL SCH resource can be considered available.

[0139] In another RRC option (e.g., RRC Option 3), the message can be an RRC message in, for example, any SRB. For such RRC messages, the UE can determine that one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available when each of the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of a second HARQ process type (i.e., a HARQ process that enables HARQ feedback and disables HARQ retransmission).

[0140] In this further RRC option, HARQ feedback can be provided to the RRC layer if the message is an RRC message in SRB0. Based on the HARQ feedback (e.g., NACK), retransmission can occur at the RRC layer. When a random access channel (RACH) procedure is used, the random access can be restarted with Msgl or MsgA with a preamble. During random access, an exception can be made so that MsgA or Msg3 can support physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) retransmission. If the message is an RRC message in SRB1, SRB2, or SRB3, the RLC layer can be indicated with HARQ feedback for possible retransmission.

[0141] In one MAC CE option (e.g., MAC CE option 1), the UE can determine one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available when each of the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type (i.e., a HARQ process that enables both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission). The MAC CE message can be transmitted without any UL data on the available UL SCH resources. For example, the UL data can require a HARQ process of another type (e.g., second, third, or fourth). In an aspect, if it is determined that there is no available UL SCH resource for the MAC CE, the UL data can be transmitted only on one or more of the UL SCH resources.

[0142] In another MAC CE option (e.g., MAC CE option 2), the MAC CE message can be transmitted with UL data. In this MAC CE option, the UE can determine whether one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available based on a HARQ process type requirement of the UL data.

[0143] In an aspect, an SR or SR configuration can be selected at the MAC layer of the UE. The SR or SR configuration can indicate a HARQ process requirement for the MAC CE message.

[0144] In a further MAC CE option (e.g., MAC CE option 3), a rule can be applied to determine availability of the UL SCH resources. The rule can be configured statically (e.g., factory set) or semi-statically (e.g., RRC message).

[0145] One rule can be such that the UE can determine that any one or more of the available granted UL SCH resources are available when the MAC CE message has a higher priority than the UL data. That is, regardless of the HARQ process type of the associated HARQ process, one or more of the granted UL SCH resources can be considered available. BSR MAC CE and PHR MAC CE messages can be examples of such messages.

[0146] Another rule can be such that the UE can determine that one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available when the MAC CE message is a message in which a MAC CE retransmission timer is started after its transmission, regardless of the HARQ process type of the associated HARQ process, i.e., any one or more of the available granted UL SCH resources can be considered available.

[0147] There can also be one or more HARQ-MAC CE matching rules, where each matching rule specifies a mapping of a MAC CE type to acceptable HARQ process types. The acceptable HARQ process types can be any combination of the first, second, third, and fourth HARQ process types. In this case, the UE can determine the MAC CE type of the MAC CE message. Then, the UE can determine that one or more of the UL SCH resources are available when each of the one or more granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of a HARQ process type included in the acceptable HARQ process types corresponding to the MAC CE type of the MAC CE message.

[0148] At block 440, when one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available (branch from block 430), the UE can transmit the message (RRC or MAC CE message) on the available UL SCH resource, i.e., on the one or more granted UL SCH resources determined to be available.

[0149] At block 450, the UE can retransmit the message when receiving a NACK feedback from the network. In one aspect, the retransmission can occur if HARQ retransmission is enabled.

[0150] In another aspect, feedback can be provided to a higher layer, such as an RRC or RLC layer, upon receiving a NACK HARQ feedback, even when HARQ retransmission is disabled. For example, when a PHY layer of a UE informs an RRC layer that a NACK feedback corresponding to an RRC message is received, the RRC layer can retransmit the message. The PHY layer can also inform the RRC layer that no feedback is received within a HARQ timeout period. In this instance, the RRC layer can also retransmit the message. The RLC layer can similarly behave when informed of a HARQ NACK feedback and / or a HARQ timeout occurrence.

[0151] Block 450 is dashed to indicate that retransmission can not occur every time upon receiving a NACK feedback. For example, HARQ retransmission can be disabled, and a higher layer can not be configured to retransmit upon being informed of a NACK feedback and / or a HARQ timeout occurrence. As another example, the HARQ process type can be a fourth HARQ process type, i.e., no HARQ process type.

[0152] At block 460, when it is determined that one or more UL SCH resources are not available (NO branch from block 430), i.e., when no granted UL SCH resources are available for transmitting the message, the UE can transmit a scheduling request (SR) to the network node for an UL SCH resource associated with a HARQ process of the appropriate HARQ process type. In one aspect, when the message is a MAC CE message, recall from above that the MAC layer can select an SR or SR configuration that indicates the HARQ process requirement for the MAC CE. At block 460, the selected SR or SR configuration can be transmitted.

[0153] Figure 5 An exemplary method 500 performed by a network node, such as network node 210, is shown. In an aspect, the network node performing method 500 can be a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node, such as a satellite.

[0154] At block 510, the network node can transmit a HARQ-related configuration to a UE (e.g., UE 130, 210). Details of the HARQ-related configuration are discussed above with respect to block 410 of method 400. Note that block 510 is dashed to indicate that it is optional. That is, the network node can or can not transmit a HARQ-related configuration. Moreover, when block 510 is performed, the network node does not have to transmit all of the HARQ-related configurations. Figure 4

[0155] At block 520, the network node can receive a scheduling request (SR) for an UL SCH resource from the UE. In an aspect, the SR can indicate a HARQ process requirement for the UL SCH resource.

[0156] ​In response, at block 530, the network node can transmit a grant of UL SCH resources to the UE. Each granted UL SCH resource can be associated with a HARQ process, which can be one of a plurality (e.g., 16) of HARQ processes supported by the UE and also supported by the network node. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality (e.g., 4) of HARQ process types. The UL SCH resources can be granted taking into account the HARQ process requirement included in the SR request. That is, the UL SCH resources can be associated with the requested HARQ process type of HARQ process, if possible.

[0157] Recall that the HARQ process type of a HARQ process can be statically and / or semi-statically configured. Also recall that the HARQ process type can be dynamically configured. For example, the network node can transmit a DCI message to dynamically configure the HARQ process type. For example, any one or more of a used radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), HARQ process ID, rate matching / resource indicator can be included in the DCI to indicate the HARQ process type.

[0158] At block 540, when the network node receives a message from the UE on one or more of the granted UL SCH resources, the network node can determine whether the message was received correctly. The message can be a signaling message, such as a RRC or MAC CE message.

[0159] At block 550, if the message is received correctly (branch from block 540), then the network node can transmit an acknowledgement (ACK) to the user equipment if the granted UL SCH resource carrying the message is associated with a HARQ process for which HARQ feedback is enabled. In other words, the ACK can be transmitted if the associated HARQ process is of the first HARQ process type or the second HARQ process type.

[0160] On the other hand, at block 560, if the message is not received correctly (NO branch from block 540), then the network node can transmit a negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the user equipment if the granted UL SCH resource carrying the message is associated with a HARQ process for which HARQ feedback is enabled.

[0161] Returning to block 550, note that in an aspect, when the network node receives the message correctly, it can then proceed to transmit a new UL grant to the user equipment. In this case, transmitting anything other than a NACK to the user equipment can be considered transmitting an ACK.

[0162] Figure 6Another example method 600 performed by a UE, such as UE 210, is shown. In an aspect, method 600 can be viewed as a version of method 400 Figure 4 In method 600, a control message (e.g., RRC message, MAC CE, etc.) can be transmitted. In an aspect, the control message can be a message that includes data for establishing and / or maintaining communication between the UE and the network. A control message transmitted from the UE to the network node can be referred to as an UL control message, and a control message transmitted from the network node to the UE can be referred to as a DL control message.

[0163] At block 610, the UE can apply a HARQ-related configuration received from a network node (e.g., satellite 110, coordinator 180, NTN 210). The HARQ-related configuration can be received through a DCI and / or RRC message. Details of the HARQ-related configuration are discussed above with respect to block 410 of method 400. Figure 4

[0164] Again, block 610 is indicated as optional. That is, the UE can be statically configured with the HARQ-related configuration. If and when the UE receives the HARQ-related configuration, the statically configured HARQ-related configuration can be overridden. Moreover, if block 610 is performed, the UE does not have to receive all of the HARQ-related configuration.

[0165] At block 620, the UE can receive a grant of one or more UL SCH resources from the network node. Alternatively or additionally, the UE can receive a grant of one or more DL SCH resources from the network node. Each granted SCH (UL or DL) resource can be associated with a HARQ process, which can be one of a plurality (e.g., 16) of HARQ processes supported by the UE. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality (e.g., 4) of HARQ process types. The HARQ process types can be defined based on whether HARQ feedback is enabled or disabled and whether HARQ retransmission is enabled or disabled. For example, each HARQ process can be a first, second, third, or fourth HARQ process type as described above.

[0166] The HARQ process type of a HARQ process can be statically and / or semi-statically configured. Alternatively or additionally, the HARQ process type can be dynamically configured, e.g., in a DCI message. For example, any one or more of a used radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), HARQ process ID, rate matching / resource indicator can indicate the HARQ process type.

[0167] ​At block 630, the UE can determine whether one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available for transmitting a control message (e.g., RRC message, MAC CE, etc.) based on the HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with the one or more granted UL SCH resources. In other words, at block 630, the UE can determine whether any (i.e., some or all) of the granted UL SCH resources are available.

[0168] When the control message is an RRC message, different options for determining whether one or more granted UL SCH resources are available are discussed above with respect to block 430. For example, in a first RRC option (e.g., RRC option 1), the control message (i.e., RRC message) can be considered important such that only the most reliable transmission is used. In this option, the UE can determine that one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available when the one or more granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process that enables both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission (i.e., is a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type).

[0169] In a second RRC option (e.g., RRC option 2), some RRC messages can be considered important enough to utilize the most reliable transmission, while other RRC messages can use any UL SCH resource. In one aspect, RRC messages for SRB1, SRB2, or SRB3 or that can be transmitted in a DCCH can be considered important enough. For such RRC messages, the UE can determine that one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available when the one or more granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type. On the other hand, for other RRC messages (e.g., RRC messages in CCCH, CCCH1, or SRB0), the UE can determine that one or more UL SCH resources are available regardless of the HARQ process type of the associated HARQ process. That is, any available UL SCH resource can be considered available.

[0170] In a third RRC option (e.g., RRC option 3), the control message can be relied upon to be retransmitted by higher layers (e.g., RRC, RLC, MAC, etc.) instead of using PHY layer HARQ retransmission. In this instance, the UE can determine that one or more of the granted resources are available if the one or more granted resources are associated with a HARQ process that enables HARQ feedback and disables HARQ retransmission (i.e., is associated with a HARQ process of the second HARQ process type).

[0171] In this third RRC option, HARQ feedback can be provided to the RRC layer if the RRC message is in SRBO. Based on the HARQ feedback (e.g., NACK), a retransmission can occur at the RRC layer. When a random access channel (RACH) procedure is used, the random access can be restarted with Msgl or MsgA with a preamble. During random access, an exception can be made so that MsgA or Msg3 can support physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) retransmission. If the message is an RRC message in SRB1, SRB2, or SRB3, the RLC layer can be indicated with HARQ feedback for possible retransmission.

[0172] When the control message is a MAC CE, various options are also available, which are also discussed above with respect to block 430. For example, in a first MAC CE option (e.g., MAC CE option 1), the MAC CE can be considered important so that the most reliable transmission is used. In this first MAC CE option, the UE can determine that one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available when the one or more granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type (i.e., a HARQ process that enables both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission). The MAC CE message can be transmitted without any UL data being transmitted on the available UL SCH resources. For example, the UL data can require a HARQ process of another type (e.g., second, third, or fourth). In an aspect, if it is determined that there are no available UL SCH resources for the MAC CE, the UL data can be transmitted on the one or more UL SCH resources only.

[0173] In a second MAC CE option (e.g., MAC CE option 2), the MAC CE message can be transmitted with UL data. In this MAC CE option, the UE can determine whether one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available based on the HARQ process type requirement of the UL data. The SR or SR configuration can be selected at the MAC layer of the UE. The SR or SR configuration can indicate the HARQ process requirement for the MAC CE message.

[0174] In a third MAC CE option (e.g., MAC CE option 3), various rules can be applied to determine the availability of the UL SCH resources. The rules can be configured statically (e.g., factory set) or semi-statically (e.g., RRC message).

[0175] One rule can be such that when the MAC CE message has a higher priority than UL data, the UE can determine that any one or more of the available granted UL SCH resources are available. That is, regardless of the HARQ process type of the associated HARQ process, one or more of the granted UL SCH resources can be considered available. BSR MAC CE and PHR MAC CE messages can be examples of such messages.

[0176] Another rule can be such that when the MAC CE message is one in which a MAC CE retransmission timer is started after its transmission, the UE can determine that one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available regardless of the HARQ process type of the associated HARQ process, i.e., any one or more of the available granted UL SCH resources can be considered available.

[0177] There can also be one or more HARQ-MAC CE matching rules, where each matching rule specifies a mapping of a MAC CE type to acceptable HARQ process types. The acceptable HARQ process types can be any combination of the first, second, third, and fourth HARQ process types. In this case, the UE can determine the MAC CE type of the MAC CE message. Then, when each of the one or more granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of a HARQ process type included in the acceptable HARQ process types corresponding to the MAC CE type of the MAC CE message, the UE can determine that the one or more UL SCH resources are available.

[0178] At block 640, when the one or more granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available (branch from block 630), the UE can transmit the control message (RRC message or MAC CE) on the available UL SCH resource, i.e., on the one or more granted UL SCH resources determined to be available.

[0179] At block 650, when a NACK feedback is received from the network, the UE can retransmit the message. In one aspect, the retransmission can occur if HARQ retransmission is enabled. Figure 7 An example flow diagram implementing block 650 is shown. Figure 7 A way to retransmit an RRC message when a HARQ NACK is received from the network (at the PHY layer) is shown. In this case, the original one or more granted UL SCH resources can be associated with a HARQ process of the second HARQ process type, i.e., HARQ feedback is enabled and HARQ retransmission is disabled. The retransmission can occur at a higher layer, e.g., RRC or RLC layer.

[0180] At block 710, the UE can retransmit the RRC message at the RRC layer when the PHY layer of the UE informs the RRC layer of receiving a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) corresponding to the earlier transmitted RRC message. Alternatively or additionally, the UE can retransmit at the RRC layer if a HARQ timeout occurs after transmitting the RRC message on the one or more granted UL SCH resources. In an aspect, such RRC message can be an SRB0 RRC message.

[0181] Alternatively or additionally, at block 720, the UE can retransmit the RRC message at the radio link control (RLC) layer when the PHY layer of the UE informs the RLC layer of receiving a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) corresponding to the earlier transmitted RRC message. Alternatively or additionally, the UE can retransmit at the RLC layer if a HARQ timeout occurs after transmitting the RRC message on the one or more granted UL SCH resources. In an aspect, such RRC message can be an SRB1 / SRB2 / SRB3 RRC message. Note that, Figure 7 This can also apply to blocks 450 and 950 (discussed further below).

[0182] Referring back to Figure 6 At block 660, when it is determined that the one or more UL SCH resources are not unavailable (NO branch from block 630), i.e., when no granted UL SCH resources are available for transmitting the control message, the UE can transmit a scheduling request (SR) to the network node for UL SCH resources associated with a HARQ process of an appropriate HARQ process type. That is, the SR can indicate one or more HARQ process type requirements of the control message.

[0183] Figure 8 An exemplary method 800 performed by a network node, such as network node 210, is shown. In an aspect, the network node performing method 800 can be a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node, such as a satellite. Method 800 can be viewed as a network node counterpart to method 600.

[0184] At block 810, the network node can transmit a HARQ-related configuration to a UE (e.g., UE 130, 210). Details of the HARQ-related configuration are discussed above with respect to Figure 6 block 610. Note that block 810 is dashed to indicate that it is optional.

[0185] At block 820, the network node can receive a scheduling request (SR) from the UE for UL SCH resources. In an aspect, the SR can indicate a HARQ process requirement for the UL SCH resources.

[0186] In response, at block 830, the network node can transmit a grant of UL SCH resources to the UE. Alternatively or additionally, the network node can transmit a grant of one or more DL SCH resources to the UE. Each granted SCH (UL or DL) resource can be associated with a HARQ process, which can be one of a plurality (e.g., 16) of HARQ processes supported by the UE and also supported by the network node. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality (e.g., 4) of HARQ process types, where each HARQ process type can be enabled or disabled based on whether HARQ feedback is enabled or disabled and whether HARQ retransmission is enabled or disabled. For example, each HARQ process can be a first, second, third, or fourth HARQ process type as described above. The UL SCH resources can be granted taking into account the HARQ process requirement included in the SR request. Details of the granted UL SCH resources are discussed above with respect to block 620 of FIG. 6. Figure 6

[0187] At block 840, when the network node receives a control message (e.g., RRC message, MAC CE) from the UE on one or more granted UL SCH resources, the network node can determine whether the control message was received correctly.

[0188] In block 850, if the control message was received correctly (branch from block 840), then the network node can transmit a positive HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) to the user equipment if the granted UL SCH resource carrying the control message is associated with a HARQ process for which HARQ feedback is enabled. In other words, the ACK can be transmitted if the associated HARQ process is a first HARQ process type or a second HARQ process type.

[0189] On the other hand, in block 860, if the control message was not received correctly (NO branch from block 840), then the network node can transmit a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the user equipment if the granted UL SCH resource carrying the message is associated with a HARQ process for which HARQ feedback is enabled.

[0190] Figure 9 Another example method 900 performed by a UE, such as UE 210, is shown. In an aspect, method 900 can be viewed as a counterpart to method 800 of FIG. 8. Figure 4 ​a version of the method 400. In the method 900, it is assumed that the HARQ process types include at least a second HARQ process type, i.e., HARQ feedback enabled and HARQ retransmission disabled. Further, messages can be transmitted in general. The transmitted messages can include control messages and / or user data messages. For the sake of clarity, messages transmitted from a UE to a network node can be referred to as UL messages, and messages transmitted from a network node to a UE can be referred to as DL messages.

[0191] At block 910, the UE can apply a HARQ-related configuration received from a network node (e.g., satellite 110, coordinator 180, NTN 210). The HARQ-related configuration can be received through a DCI and / or an RRC message. Details of the HARQ-related configuration are discussed above with respect to blocks 410 and 610 of methods 400 and 600, respectively. Figure 4 and Figure 6 Details of the HARQ-related configuration are discussed above with respect to blocks 410 and 610 of methods 400 and 600, respectively. Note that block 810 can be optional.

[0192] At block 920, the UE can receive, from the network node, a grant of one or more UL SCH resources. Each granted UL SCH resource can be associated with a HARQ process, which can be one of a plurality (e.g., 16) of HARQ processes supported by the UE. Each HARQ process can be one of a plurality (e.g., 4) of HARQ process types. The HARQ process types can be defined based on whether HARQ feedback is enabled or disabled and whether HARQ retransmission is enabled or disabled. At least one of the HARQ process types can be the second HARQ process type. Details of the HARQ process types are discussed above with respect to block 620.

[0193] Blocks 930, 940, 950, and 960 are similar to blocks 630, 640, 650, and 660. Therefore, for the sake of brevity, the description of 930, 940, 950, and 960 is not repeated. However, it should be noted that blocks 930, 940, 950, and 960 are generally applicable to UL messages, which can include UL control and / or UL user data messages.

[0194] Figure 10 An exemplary method 1000 performed by a network node, such as network node 210, is shown. In an aspect, the network node performing method 1000 can be a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node, such as a satellite. Method 1000 can be viewed as a network node counterpart to method 900. In an aspect, it can be assumed that the HARQ process types include at least a second HARQ process type in method 1000. Further, UL messages (e.g., UL control messages and / or UL user data messages) can be received in general.

[0195] At block 1010, the network node can transmit a HARQ-related configuration to a UE (e.g., UE 130, 210). Details of the HARQ-related configuration are discussed above with respect to blocks 610 and 810 of FIGS. 6 and 8. Again, block 1010 can be optional. Figure 6 and Figure 8 Details of the HARQ-related configuration are discussed above with respect to blocks 610 and 810 of FIGS. 6 and 8. Again, block 1010 can be optional.

[0196] At block 1020, the network node can receive, from the UE, a scheduling request (SR) for UL SCH resources. In an aspect, the SR can indicate a HARQ process requirement for the UL SCH resources.

[0197] In response, at block 1030, the network node can transmit, to the UE, a grant of UL SCH resources. Each granted UL SCH resource can be associated with a HARQ process, which can be one of a plurality (e.g., 16) of HARQ processes supported by the UE and also supported by the network node. Each HARQ process can be one of a number (e.g., 4) of HARQ process types, where each HARQ process type can be enabled or disabled based on HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission. At least one HARQ process type can be a second HARQ process type. Details of the HARQ process types are discussed above with respect to blocks 620 and 820.

[0198] Blocks 1040, 1050, and 1060 are similar to blocks 840, 850, and 860. Therefore, for the sake of brevity, the description of 1040, 1050, and 1060 is not repeated. But again, it should be noted that blocks 1040, 1050, and 1060 are generally applicable to UL messages.

[0199] Note that, Figures 4-10 HARQ processes are described in the context of uplink communications from a UE to a network node. Although not specifically illustrated, HARQ processes can also apply to downlink communications from a network node to a UE. In this context, resources of a downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) can be associated with HARQ processes of different HARQ process types. In the DL SCH context, Figures 4-10 The roles of the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 8 can be reversed with slight modifications.

[0200] Figure 11 FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart representing a series of interrelated functional modules of a method for implementing a HARQ process in the context of uplink communications from a UE to a network node in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure. Figure 4 , 6An example apparatus 1100 for the methods 400, 600, and 900 of Figures 4, 6, and 9, respectively. In the illustrated example, the apparatus 1100 can include a module 1110 for applying a HARQ-related configuration received from a network node, a module 1120 for receiving a grant of SCH resources (UL and / or DL SCH resources) from the network node, a module 1130 for determining whether one or more of the granted SCH resources are available for transmitting a message, a module 1140 for transmitting the message on one or more of the granted UL SCH resources when there are available UL SCH resources, a module 1150 for retransmitting the message when a NACK feedback is received from the network node, and a module 1160 for transmitting a scheduling request to the network node.

[0201] Figure 12 An example apparatus 1200 for implementing the methods 500, 800, and 1000 of Figures 5, 8, and 10, respectively, according to an aspect of the disclosure, shown as a series of interrelated functional modules. In the illustrated example, the apparatus 1200 can include a module 1210 for transmitting a HARQ-related configuration to a user equipment, a module 1220 for receiving a scheduling request from the user equipment for SCH resources (UL and / or DL SCH resources), a module 1230 for transmitting a grant of the SCH resources to the user equipment, a module 1240 for determining whether a message carried on one or more UL SCH resources from the user equipment is received correctly, a module 1250 for transmitting a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) to the UE when the message is received correctly and when a HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback, and a module 1260 for transmitting a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the UE when the message is not received correctly and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback. Figure 5 8 An example apparatus 1200 for implementing the methods 500, 800, and 1000 of Figures 5, 8, and 10, respectively, according to an aspect of the disclosure, shown as a series of interrelated functional modules. In the illustrated example, the apparatus 1200 can include a module 1210 for transmitting a HARQ-related configuration to a user equipment, a module 1220 for receiving a scheduling request from the user equipment for SCH resources (UL and / or DL SCH resources), a module 1230 for transmitting a grant of the SCH resources to the user equipment, a module 1240 for determining whether a message carried on one or more UL SCH resources from the user equipment is received correctly, a module 1250 for transmitting a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) to the UE when the message is received correctly and when a HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback, and a module 1260 for transmitting a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the UE when the message is not received correctly and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback.

[0202] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0203] ​Clause 1 : A method of a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a network node, a grant of one or more uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources, each of the one or more UL SCH resources being associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, each HARQ process being one of a plurality of HARQ process types; determining, based on a HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with each granted UL SCH resource, whether one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available for transmitting a message, the message being a signaling message; and transmitting the message on the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available.

[0204] Clause 2: The method of clause 1, wherein the network node is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node.

[0205] Clause 3: The method of any of clauses 1-2, wherein the HARQ process type of each HARQ process is one of: a first HARQ process type in which both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission are enabled, a second HARQ process type in which HARQ feedback is enabled and HARQ retransmission is disabled, a third HARQ process type in which HARQ feedback is disabled and HARQ retransmission is enabled, or a fourth HARQ process type in which both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission are disabled.

[0206] Clause 4: The method of clause 3, wherein, for each of the one or more UL SCH resources, the HARQ process type is determined based on any one or more of a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) to be used, a HARQ process ID, or a rate matching / resource indicator to be used.

[0207] Clause 5: The method of any of clauses 1-4, wherein the signaling message is a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0208] Clause 6: The method of clause 5, wherein the RRC message is for transmission over any of the signaling radio bearers (SRBs), and wherein the one or more granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type.

[0209] Clause 7: The method of clause 5, wherein the RRC message is for transmission over any of signaling radio bearers 1 (SRB1), SRB2, and SRB3 or in a dedicated control channel (DCCH), and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type.

[0210] Clause 8: The method of clause 7, wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the RRC message is for transmission other than over any of signaling radio bearers 1 (SRB1), SRB2, and SRB3 or in a channel other than a (DCCH).

[0211] Clause 9: The method of clause 5, wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of a second HARQ process type.

[0212] Clause 10: The method of clause 9, further comprising retransmitting, at a RRC layer of the UE, the RRC message when a PHY layer of the UE informs the RRC layer of a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) corresponding to the RRC message or a HARQ timeout occurs after transmitting the RRC message on the one or more available UL SCH resources.

[0213] Clause 11: The method of any of clauses 1-4, wherein the signaling message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) message.

[0214] Clause 12: The method of clause 11, wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type.

[0215] Clause 13: The method of clause 12, wherein no UL data is transmitted on the one or more UL SCH resources when transmitting the message.

[0216] Clause 14: The method of clause 11, wherein whether the one or more UL SCH resources are available is determined based on a HARQ process type requirement of UL data to be transmitted with the MAC CE message.

[0217] Clause 15: The method of any of clauses 11-14, wherein the MAC layer of the UE selects a scheduling request (SR) or SR configuration, the SR or the SR configuration indicating the one or more HARQ process types requirements for the MAC CE message.

[0218] Clause 16: The method of any of clauses 11-15, wherein when the MAC CE message has a higher priority than UL data, the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of any HARQ process type.

[0219] Clause 17: The method of any of clauses 11-15, wherein when the MAC CE message is a message in which a MAC CE retransmission timer is started after its transmission, the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of any HARQ process type.

[0220] Clause 18: The method of any of clauses 11-15, wherein the UE is configured with one or more HARQ-MAC CE matching rules, each HARQ-MAC CE rule mapping a MAC CE type with acceptable HARQ process types, the acceptable HARQ process types comprising any combination of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of a HARQ process type included in the acceptable HARQ process types corresponding to the MAC CE type of the MAC CE message.

[0221] Clause 19: The method of clause 18, wherein the HARQ-MAC CE matching rules are configured statically and / or semi-statically in the UE.

[0222] Clause 20: The method of any of clauses 1-19, further comprising sending a scheduling request (SR) for UL SCH resources to a network node when it is determined that there are no available UL SCH resources, the SR indicating the one or more HARQ process types requirements.

[0223] Clause 21 : A method of a network node, comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of one or more uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources, each of the one or more UL SCH resources being associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, each HARQ process being one of a plurality of HARQ process types; determining whether a message from the UE carried on the one or more UL SCH resources is received correctly, the message being a signaling message; transmitting, to the UE, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) when the message is received correctly and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback; and transmitting, to the UE, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) when the message is not received correctly and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback.

[0224] Clause 22: The method of clause 21, wherein the network node is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node.

[0225] Clause 23: The method of any of clauses 21 -22, wherein the HARQ process type of each HARQ process is one of: a first HARQ process type in which both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission are enabled, a second HARQ process type in which HARQ feedback is enabled and HARQ retransmission is disabled, a third HARQ process type in which HARQ feedback is disabled and HARQ retransmission is enabled, or a fourth HARQ process type in which both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission are disabled.

[0226] Clause 24: The method of any of clauses 21 -23, further comprising: receiving, from the UE, a scheduling request (SR) for the UL SCH resources, wherein the SR indicates one or more HARQ process type requirements, and the granted UL SCH resources include one or more UL SCH resources associated with the requested HARQ process type requirements.

[0227] Clause 25: The method of any of clauses 21 -24, wherein, for each of the one or more UL SCH resources, the HARQ process type is determined based on any one or more of a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) to be used, a HARQ process ID, or a rate matching / resource indicator.

[0228] Clause 26: The method of any of clauses 21 -25, wherein the signaling message is a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0229] Clause 27: The method of any of clauses 21-25, wherein the signaling message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) message.

[0230] Clause 28: A user equipment comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of clauses 1-20.

[0231] Clause 29: A network node comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of clauses 21-27.

[0232] Clause 30: A user equipment comprising a processor and memory coupled with the processor, the processor and memory being configured to perform a method of any of clauses 1-20.

[0233] Clause 31: A network node comprising a processor and memory coupled with the processor, the processor and memory being configured to perform a method of any of clauses 21-27.

[0234] Clause 32: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a user equipment, the user equipment comprising a processor, memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user equipment to perform a method of any of clauses 1-20.

[0235] Clause 33: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a network node, the network node comprising a processor, memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the network node to perform a method of any of clauses 21-27.

[0236] Clause 34: A method of a network node, comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources, each of the one or more DL SCH resources being associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, each HARQ process being one of a plurality of HARQ process types; determining, based on a HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with each granted DL SCH resource, whether one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are available for transmitting a message, the message being a signaling message; and transmitting the message on the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources when the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are determined to be available.

[0237] Clause 35: The method of clause 34, wherein the network node is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node.

[0238] Clause 36: The method of any of clauses 34-35, wherein the HARQ process type for each HARQ process is one of: a first HARQ process type in which both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission are enabled, a second HARQ process type in which HARQ feedback is enabled and HARQ retransmission is disabled, a third HARQ process type in which HARQ feedback is disabled and HARQ retransmission is enabled, or a fourth HARQ process type in which both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission are disabled.

[0239] Clause 37: The method of clause 36, wherein, for each of the one or more granted DL SCH resources, the HARQ process type is determined based on any one or more of a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) to be used, a HARQ process ID, or a rate matching / resource indicator to be used.

[0240] Clause 38: The method of any of clauses 34-37, wherein the signaling message is a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0241] Clause 39: The method of clause 38, wherein the RRC message is for transmission over any of the signaling radio bearers (SRBs), and wherein the one or more granted DL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more granted DL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type.

[0242] Clause 40: The method of clause 38, wherein the RRC message is for transmission over any of signaling radio bearer 1 (SRB1), SRB2, and SRB3, or in a dedicated control channel (DCCH), and wherein the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more granted DL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type.

[0243] Clause 41: The method of clause 40, wherein the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are determined to be available when the RRC message is for transmission other than over any of signaling radio bearer 1 (SRB1), SRB2, and SRB3, or in a channel other than the (DCCH).

[0244] Clause 42: The method of clause 38, wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of the second HARQ process type.

[0245] Clause 43: The method of clause 42, further comprising retransmitting, at the RRC layer of the network node, the RRC message when the PHY layer of the network node informs the RRC layer of a reception of a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) corresponding to the RRC message or a HARQ timeout occurs after transmitting the RRC message on the one or more available DL SCH resources.

[0246] Clause 44: The method of any of clauses 34-37, wherein the signaling message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) message.

[0247] Clause 45: The method of clause 44, wherein the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type.

[0248] Clause 46: The method of clause 45, wherein no UL data is transmitted on the one or more DL SCH resources when transmitting the message.

[0249] Clause 47: The method of clause 44, wherein the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available based on a HARQ process type requirement of DL data when the DL data is to be transmitted with the MAC CE message.

[0250] Clause 48: The method of any of clauses 44-47, wherein the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of any HARQ process type when the MAC CE message has a higher priority than the DL data.

[0251] Clause 49: The method of any of clauses 44-47, wherein the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are determined to be available when each of the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of any HARQ process type when the MAC CE message is a message in which a MAC CE retransmission timer is started.

[0252] Clause 50: The method of any of clauses 44-47, wherein the network node is configured with one or more HARQ-MAC CE matching rules, each HARQ-MAC CE rule maps a MAC CE type to acceptable HARQ process types including any combination of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, the third HARQ process type, and the fourth HARQ process type, and wherein the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources are determined to be usable when each of the one or more of the granted DL SCH resources is associated with a HARQ process of the HARQ process types included in the acceptable HARQ process types for the MAC CE type of the MAC CE message.

[0253] Clause 51: The method of clause 50, wherein the HARQ-MAC CE matching rules are statically and / or semi-statically configured in the network node.

[0254] Clause 52: A method of a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a network node, a grant of one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources, each of the one or more DL SCH resources being associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, each HARQ process being one of a plurality of HARQ process types; determining whether a message from the network node carried on the one or more DL SCH resources is received correctly, the message being a signaling message; transmitting, to the network node, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) when the message is received correctly and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more DL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback; and transmitting, to the network node, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) when the message is received incorrectly and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more DL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback.

[0255] Clause 53: The method of clause 52, wherein the network node is a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node.

[0256] Clause 54: The method of any of clauses 52-53, wherein the HARQ process type of each HARQ process is one of: a first HARQ process type in which both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission are enabled, a second HARQ process type in which HARQ feedback is enabled and HARQ retransmission is disabled, a third HARQ process type in which HARQ feedback is disabled and HARQ retransmission is enabled, or a fourth HARQ process type in which both HARQ feedback and HARQ retransmission are disabled.

[0257] Clause 55: The method of any of clauses 52-54, wherein, for each of the one or more DL SCH resources, a HARQ process type is determined based on any one or more of a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) to be used, a HARQ process ID, or a rate matching / resource indicator to be used.

[0258] Clause 56: The method of any of clauses 52-55, wherein the signaling message is a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0259] Clause 57: The method of any of clauses 52-55, wherein the signaling message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) message.

[0260] Clause 58: A network node comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of clauses 34-51.

[0261] Clause 59: A user equipment comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of clauses 52-57.

[0262] Clause 60: A network node comprising a processor and memory coupled with the processor, the processor and memory being configured to perform a method of any of clauses 34-51.

[0263] Clause 61: A user equipment comprising a processor and memory coupled with the processor, the processor and memory being configured to perform a method of any of clauses 52-57.

[0264] Clause 62: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a network node, the network node comprising a processor, memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the network node to perform a method of any of clauses 34-51.

[0265] Clause 63: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a user equipment, the user equipment comprising a processor, memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user equipment to perform a method of any of clauses 52-57.

[0266] Clause 64: A method of a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a network node, a grant of uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources, each of the granted UL SCH resources being associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, each HARQ process being one of a plurality of HARQ process types, each HARQ process type being based on whether HARQ feedback is enabled or disabled and whether HARQ retransmission is enabled or disabled; and in response to determining, based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with one or more of the granted UL SCH resources, that the one or more granted UL SCH resources are available, transmitting a control message on the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources, the control message being a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0267] Clause 65: The method of clause 64, wherein the plurality of HARQ process types includes a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type, the first HARQ process type enabling HARQ feedback and enabling HARQ retransmission, the second HARQ process type enabling HARQ feedback and disabling HARQ retransmission, the third HARQ process type disabling HARQ feedback and enabling HARQ retransmission, and the fourth HARQ process type disabling HARQ feedback and disabling HARQ retransmission.

[0268] Clause 66: The method of clause 65, wherein the control message is a RRC message, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type.

[0269] Clause 67: The method of clause 65, wherein the control message is a RRC message for transmission over any of signaling radio bearers 1 (SRB1), SRB2, and SRB3, or in a dedicated control channel (DCCH), and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type.

[0270] Clause 68: The method of clause 67, wherein the RRC message is for transmission other than over any of SRB1, SRB2, and SRB3, or in a channel other than (DCCH), and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of any of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, the third HARQ process type, or the fourth HARQ process type.

[0271] Clause 69: The method of clause 65, wherein the control message is an RRC message, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of the second HARQ process type.

[0272] Clause 70: The method of clause 69, retransmitting, at a RRC layer of the UE, the RRC message when a PHY layer of the UE informs the RRC layer of a reception of a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) corresponding to the RRC message or a HARQ timeout occurs after transmitting the RRC message on the one or more granted UL SCH resources, and retransmitting, at a radio link control (RLC) layer of the UE, the RRC message when a PHY layer of the UE informs the RLC layer of a reception of a NACK corresponding to the RRC message or a HARQ timeout occurs after transmitting the RRC message on the one or more granted UL SCH resources.

[0273] Clause 71: The method of clause 70, wherein the RRC layer retransmits the RRC message when the RRC message is for transmission over signaling radio bearer 0 (SRB0), and wherein the RLC layer retransmits the RRC message when the RRC message is for transmission over SRB1, SRB2, or SRB3.

[0274] Clause 72: The method of any of clauses 64-71, wherein the control message is a MAC CE, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type.

[0275] Clause 73: The method of any of clauses 64-71, wherein the control message is a MAC CE, and UL data is to be transmitted with the MAC CE, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available based on a HARQ process type requirement of the UL data.

[0276] Clause 74: The method of any of clauses 64-71, wherein the control message is a MAC CE with a higher priority than the UL data, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, or the third HARQ process type.

[0277] Clause 75: The method of any of clauses 64-71, wherein the control message is a MAC CE in which a MAC CE retransmission timer is started after transmission thereof, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of any of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, the third HARQ process type, or the fourth HARQ process type.

[0278] Clause 76: The method of any of clauses 64-71, wherein the control message is a MAC CE, wherein the UE is configured with one or more HARQ-MAC CE matching rules, each HARQ-MAC CE rule mapping a MAC CE type with acceptable HARQ process types including any combination of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, the third HARQ process type, and the fourth HARQ process type, each HARQ-MAC CE matching rule being statically or semi-statically configured in the UE, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of a HARQ process type included in the acceptable HARQ process types corresponding to the MAC CE type of the MAC CE.

[0279] Clause 77: The method of any of clauses 64-76, when the one or more UL SCH resources are not determined to be available, transmitting a scheduling request (SR) for UL SCH resources to the network node, the SR indicating one or more HARQ process type requirements of the control message.

[0280] Clause 78: A user equipment comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of clauses 64-77.

[0281] Clause 79: A user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, the processor and the memory configured to perform a method of any of clauses 64-77.

[0282] Clause 80: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a user equipment, the user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user equipment to perform the method of any of clauses 64-77.

[0283] Clause 81: A method of a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a network node, a grant of uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources, each of the granted UL SCH resources being associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, each HARQ process being one of a plurality of HARQ process types, each HARQ process type being based on whether HARQ feedback is enabled or disabled and whether HARQ retransmission is enabled or disabled, at least one HARQ process type enabling HARQ feedback and disabling HARQ retransmission; and transmitting, responsive to determining that one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are available based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources, a control message on the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources.

[0284] Clause 82: The method of clause 81, wherein the plurality of HARQ process types comprises a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type, the first HARQ process type enabling HARQ feedback and enabling HARQ retransmission, the second HARQ process type being the at least one HARQ process type, the third HARQ process type disabling HARQ feedback and enabling HARQ retransmission, and the fourth HARQ process type disabling HARQ feedback and disabling HARQ retransmission.

[0285] Clause 83: The method of clause 82, wherein the control message is a radio resource control (RRC) message, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type.

[0286] Clause 84: The method of clause 82, wherein the control message is a radio resource control (RRC) message for transmission over any of signaling radio bearer 1 (SRB1), SRB2, and SRB3, or in a dedicated control channel (DCCH), and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type.

[0287] Clause 85: The method of clause 84, wherein the RRC message is for transmission other than through any of SRB1, SRB2, and SRB3, or in a channel other than (DCCH), and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of any of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type.

[0288] Clause 86: The method of clause 82, wherein the control message is a radio resource control (RRC) message, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of the second HARQ process type.

[0289] Clause 87: The method of clause 86, retransmitting the RRC message at a RRC layer of the UE when a PHY layer of the UE informs the RRC layer of a reception of a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) corresponding to the RRC message or a HARQ timeout occurs after transmitting the RRC message on the one or more granted UL SCH resources, and retransmitting the RRC message at a radio link control (RLC) layer of the UE when a PHY layer of the UE informs the RLC layer of the reception of the NACK corresponding to the RRC message or the HARQ timeout occurs after transmitting the RRC message on the one or more granted UL SCH resources.

[0290] Clause 88: The method of clause 87, wherein the RRC layer retransmits the RRC message when the RRC message is for transmission through a signaling radio bearer 0 (SRB0), and wherein the RLC layer retransmits the RRC message when the RRC message is for transmission through SRB1, SRB2, or SRB3.

[0291] Clause 89: The method of any of clauses 81-87, wherein the control message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type.

[0292] Clause 90: The method of any of clauses 81-87, wherein the control message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and the UL data is to be transmitted with the MAC CE, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available based on a HARQ process type requirement of the UL data.

[0293] Clause 91: The method of any of clauses 81-87, wherein the control message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) having a higher priority than the UL data, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, or the third HARQ process type.

[0294] Clause 92: The method of any of clauses 81-87, wherein the control message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), wherein a MAC CE retransmission timer is started after its transmission, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of any of the first, second, third, or fourth HARQ process types.

[0295] Clause 93: The method of any of clauses 81-87, wherein the control message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), wherein the UE is configured with one or more HARQ-MAC CE matching rules, each HARQ-MAC CE rule mapping a MAC CE type with acceptable HARQ process types including any combination of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, the third HARQ process type, and the fourth HARQ process type, each HARQ-MAC CE matching rule being statically or semi-statically configured in the UE, and wherein the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are determined to be available when the one or more of the granted UL SCH resources are associated with a HARQ process of a HARQ process type included in the acceptable HARQ process types corresponding to the MAC CE type of the MAC CE.

[0296] Clause 94: The method of any of clauses 81-93, when the one or more UL SCH resources are not determined to be available, transmitting a scheduling request (SR) for UL SCH resources to the network node, the SR indicating one or more HARQ process type requirements of the control message.

[0297] Clause 95: A user equipment comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of clauses 81-94.

[0298] Clause 96: A user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, the processor and the memory configured to perform a method of any of clauses 81-94.

[0299] Clause 97: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a user equipment, the user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user equipment to perform a method of any of clauses 81-94.

[0300] Clause 98: A method of a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a network node, a grant of uplink (UL) shared channel (SCH) resources, each UL SCH resource being associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, each HARQ process being at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types, each HARQ process type being based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status; and in response to determining, based on the HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with one or more of the UL SCH resources, that the one or more of the UL SCH resources are available, transmitting a control message on the one or more of the UL SCH resources, the control message being a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0301] Clause 99: The method of clause 94, wherein the plurality of HARQ process types comprises a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type, the first HARQ process type enabling the HARQ feedback status and enabling the HARQ retransmission status, the second HARQ process type enabling the HARQ feedback status and disabling the HARQ retransmission status, the third HARQ process type disabling the HARQ feedback status and disabling the HARQ retransmission status.

[0302] Clause 100: The method of clause 99, wherein the control message is a RRC message, and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type.

[0303] Clause 101 : The method of clause 99, wherein the control message is an RRC message for transmission over signaling radio bearer 1 (SRB1), SRB2, or SRB3, or in a dedicated control channel (DCCH), and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type.

[0304] Clause 102: The method of clause 99, wherein the control message is an RRC message for transmission other than over SRB1, SRB2, or SRB3, or in a channel other than a dedicated control channel (DCCH), and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type.

[0305] Clause 103: The method of clause 102, wherein the method further comprises retransmitting, at a radio resource control (RRC) layer of the UE, the RRC message in response to a physical (PHY) layer of the UE informing the RRC layer of receiving a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) corresponding to the RRC message or a HARQ timeout occurring after transmitting the RRC message on the one or more UL SCH resources; or retransmitting, at a radio link control (RLC) layer of the UE, the RRC message in response to a PHY layer of the UE informing the RLC layer of receiving a NACK corresponding to the RRC message or a HARQ timeout occurring after transmitting the RRC message on the one or more UL SCH resources.

[0306] Clause 104: The method of clause 99, wherein the control message is a MAC CE, and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type.

[0307] Clause 105: The method of clause 99, wherein the control message is a MAC CE, and it is determined that UL data is to be transmitted with the MAC CE, and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available based on a HARQ process type requirement of the UL data.

[0308] Clause 106: The method of clause 99, wherein the control message is a MAC CE, and a priority of the MAC CE is higher than a priority of the UL data, and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a third HARQ process type.

[0309] Clause 107: The method of clause 99, wherein the control message is a MAC CE, and a MAC CE retransmission timer or a MAC CE prohibit timer is started after a transmission of the MAC CE, and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a first, a second, a third, or a fourth HARQ process type.

[0310] Clause 108: The method of clause 99, wherein the control message is a MAC CE, wherein the UE is configured with one or more HARQ-MAC CE matching rules, each HARQ-MAC CE matching rule mapping a MAC CE type with acceptable HARQ process types, the acceptable HARQ process types comprising one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type, each HARQ-MAC CE matching rule being statically or semi-statically configured in the UE, and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a HARQ process type included in the acceptable HARQ process types corresponding to the MAC CE type of the MAC CE.

[0311] Clause 109: The method of any of clauses 99-108, further comprising: in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources not being determined to be available, transmitting, to the network node, a scheduling request (SR) for the UL SCH resources, the SR indicating the one or more HARQ process type requirements of the control message.

[0312] Clause 110: The method of any of clauses 99-109, further comprising: receiving, from the network node, a message on one or more downlink (DL) SCH resources, the message being a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), wherein the one or more of the DL SCH resources are determined to be associated with a HARQ process that enables the HARQ feedback state and enables the HARQ retransmission state.

[0313] Clause 111: A user equipment comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of clauses 98-110.

[0314] Clause 112: A user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, the processor and the memory configured to perform a method of any of clauses 98-110.

[0315] Clause 113: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a user equipment, the user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user equipment to perform a method of any of clauses 98-110.

[0316] Clause 114: A method of a network node comprising: transmitting a control message on one or more downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources in response to determining that the one or more DL SCH resources are available for the control message based on a HARQ process type of one or more HARQ processes associated with the one or more DL SCH resources, each HARQ process being at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types, each HARQ process type being based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status, the control message being a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0317] Clause 115: The method of clause 114, wherein the plurality of HARQ process types comprises a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type, the first HARQ process type enabling the HARQ feedback status and enabling the HARQ retransmission status, the second HARQ process type enabling the HARQ feedback status and disabling the HARQ retransmission status, the third HARQ process type disabling the HARQ feedback status and enabling the HARQ retransmission status, and the fourth HARQ process type disabling the HARQ feedback status and disabling the HARQ retransmission status.

[0318] Clause 116: The method of clause 115, wherein the one or more of the DL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the DL SCH resources being associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type or the second HARQ process type.

[0319] Clause 117: The method of clause 115, wherein the control message is a MAC CE, and wherein the one or more of the DL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the DL SCH resources being associated with one or more HARQ processes of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type.

[0320] Clause 118: A network node comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of clauses 114-117.

[0321] Clause 119: A network node comprising a processor, memory coupled with the processor, the processor and memory configured to perform a method of any of clauses 114-117.

[0322] Clause 120: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a network node comprising a processor, memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause a user equipment to perform a method of any of clauses 114-117.

[0323] Clause 121: A method of a user equipment (UE) comprising: receiving, from a network node, a grant of shared channel (SCH) resources, the SCH resources comprising uplink (UL) SCH resources or downlink (DL) SCH resources or both, each SCH resource being associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, each HARQ process being at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types, each HARQ process type being based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status; and in response to determining that one or more of the UL SCH resources are available based on the HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with the one or more of the UL SCH resources, transmitting a UL message on the one or more of the UL SCH resources, and wherein the HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process enables the HARQ feedback status and disables the HARQ retransmission.

[0324] Clause 122: The method of clause 121, wherein the plurality of HARQ process types comprises a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type, the first HARQ process type enabling the HARQ feedback status and enabling the HARQ retransmission status, the second HARQ process type enabling the HARQ feedback status and disabling the HARQ retransmission status, the third HARQ process type disabling the HARQ feedback status and disabling the HARQ retransmission status, and wherein the HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process is the second HARQ process type.

[0325] Clause 123: The method of clause 122, wherein the UL message is a radio resource control (RRC) message, and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type or a second HARQ process type.

[0326] Clause 124: The method of clause 122, wherein the UL message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type.

[0327] Clause 125: The method of clause 122, wherein the UL message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and UL data is to be transmitted with the MAC CE, and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available based on a HARQ process type requirement of the UL data, or wherein the UL message is a MAC CE, and a priority of the MAC CE is higher than a priority of the UL data. And the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a third HARQ process type.

[0328] Clause 126: The method of clause 122, wherein the UL message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and a MAC CE retransmission timer or a MAC CE prohibit timer is started after a transmission of the MAC CE, and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of any of a first, a second, a third, or a fourth HARQ process type.

[0329] Clause 127: The method of clause 122, wherein the UL message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), wherein the UE is configured with one or more HARQ-MAC CE matching rules, each HARQ-MAC CE matching rule mapping a MAC CE type to acceptable HARQ process types, the acceptable HARQ process types including any combination of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, the third HARQ process type, and the fourth HARQ process type, each HARQ-MAC CE matching rule being statically or semi-statically configured in the UE, and wherein the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with HARQ processes of the acceptable HARQ process types corresponding to the MAC CE type of the UL MAC CE.

[0330] Clause 128: The method of any of clauses 121-127, further comprising: receiving a DL message on the one or more of the DL SCH resources in response to the one or more of the DL SCH resources being determined based on HARQ process types of HARQ processes associated with the one or more of the DL SCH resources, at least one HARQ process associated with the one or more of the DL SCH resources enabling HARQ feedback and disabling HARQ retransmission.

[0331] Clause 129: The method of clause 128, wherein the DL message is a radio resource control (RRC) message and the one or more of the DL SCH resources are determined in response to the one or more of the DL SCH resources being associated with HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type or the second HARQ process type, or wherein the DL message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) and the one or more of the DL SCH resources are determined in response to the one or more of the DL SCH resources being associated with HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, the third HARQ process type, or the fourth HARQ process type.

[0332] Clause 130: The method of any of clauses 121-129, further comprising: transmitting, to the network node, a scheduling request (SR) for SCH resources in response to the one or more SCH resources not being determined to be available, the SR indicating one or more HARQ process type requirements of the UL message.

[0333] Clause 131: A user equipment comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of clauses 121-130.

[0334] Clause 132: A user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, the processor and the memory configured to perform the method of any of clauses 121-130.

[0335] Clause 133: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a user equipment, the user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user equipment to perform the method of any of clauses 121-130.

[0336] Clause 134: A method of a network node comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of shared channel (SCH) resources, the SCH resources comprising uplink (UL) SCH resources or downlink (DL) SCH resources or both, each SCH resource associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, each HARQ process being at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types, each HARQ process type based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status; receiving an UL message on one or more of the UL SCH resources; in response to the UL message being correctly received and when the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enables HARQ feedback, transmitting a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) to the UE; and in response to the UL message being incorrectly received and the HARQ process associated with the one or more UL SCH resources enabling HARQ feedback, transmitting a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the UE, wherein the HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process enables the HARQ feedback status and disables the HARQ retransmission.

[0337] Clause 135: The method of clause 134, wherein the plurality of HARQ process types comprises a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, a third HARQ process type, and a fourth HARQ process type, the first HARQ process type enabling the HARQ feedback status and enabling the HARQ retransmission status, the second HARQ process type enabling the HARQ feedback status and disabling the HARQ retransmission status, the third HARQ process type disabling the HARQ feedback status and disabling the HARQ retransmission status, and wherein the HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process is the second HARQ process type.

[0338] Clause 136: The method of clause 135, wherein the UL message is a radio resource control (RRC) message and the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type or a second HARQ process type, or wherein the UL message is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) and the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of the first HARQ process type, or wherein the UL message is a MAC CE and UL data is to be transmitted with the MAC CE and the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available based on a HARQ process type requirement of the UL data, or wherein the UL message is a MAC CE with a higher priority than the UL data and the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a first, second, or third HARQ process type, or wherein the UL message is a MAC CE in which a MAC CE retransmission timer or a MAC CE prohibit timer is started after transmission of the MAC CE and the one or more of the UL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the UL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of any of a first, second, third, or fourth HARQ process type.

[0339] Clause 137: The method of any of clauses 134-136, further comprising transmitting a DL message on the one or more of the DL SCH resources in response to determining the one or more of the DL SCH resources to be available based on a HARQ process type of a HARQ process associated with the one or more of the DL SCH resources, the HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process associated with the one or more of the DL SCH resources being the second HARQ process type.

[0340] Clause 138: The method of clause 137, wherein the DL message is a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and the one or more of the DL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the DL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of a first HARQ process type or a second HARQ process type, or wherein the DL message is a MAC CE, and the one or more of the DL SCH resources are determined to be available in response to the one or more of the DL SCH resources being associated with a HARQ process of any of a first, second, third, or fourth HARQ process type.

[0341] Clause 139: The method of any of clauses 134-138, further comprising receiving, from the UE, a scheduling request (SR) for UL SCH resources, wherein the SR indicates one or more HARQ process type requirements, and the SCH resources include one or more SCH resources associated with HARQ processes of the requested HARQ process type requirements.

[0342] Clause 140: A network node comprising at least one means for performing a method of any of clauses 134-139.

[0343] Clause 141: A network node comprising a processor, memory coupled with the processor, the processor and memory configured to perform a method of any of clauses 134-139.

[0344] Clause 142: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a network node, the network node comprising a processor, memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user equipment to perform a method of any of clauses 134-139.

[0345] Clause 143: A method of a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a network node, a grant of downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources, each of the DL SCH resources being associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, each HARQ process being at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types, each HARQ process type being based on a HARQ feedback status and a HARQ retransmission status; receiving, on the one or more of the DL SCH resources, a DL message in response to determining, based on the HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with the one or more of the UL SCH resources, that the one or more of the DL SCH resources are available; transmitting, to the network node, a HARQ positive acknowledgement (ACK) in response to the DL message being correctly received and the HARQ process associated with the one or more of the DL SCH resources enabling HARQ feedback; and transmitting, to the network node, a HARQ negative acknowledgement (NACK) in response to the DL message being incorrectly received and the HARQ process associated with the one or more of the UL SCH resources enabling HARQ feedback, wherein the DL message is a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0346] Clause 144: A user equipment comprising at least one means for performing a method recited in clause 143.

[0347] Clause 145: A user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, the processor and the memory configured to perform a method recited in clause 143.

[0348] Clause 146: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a user equipment, the user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user equipment to perform a method recited in clause 143.

[0349] Clause 147: A method of a network node, comprising: transmitting, to a user equipment (UE), a grant of downlink (DL) shared channel (SCH) resources, each of the DL SCH resources being associated with one of a plurality of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, each HARQ process being at least one of a plurality of HARQ process types, each HARQ process type being based on a HARQ feedback state and a HARQ retransmission state; transmitting, on the one or more of the DL SCH resources, a DL message in response to determining, based on the HARQ process type of the HARQ process associated with the one or more of the UL SCH resources, that the one or more of the DL SCH resources are available, wherein the DL message is a radio resource control (RRC) message or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0350] Clause 148: A network node comprising at least one means for performing a method recited in clause 147.

[0351] Clause 149: A network node comprising a processor, memory coupled with the processor, the processor and memory configured to perform a method recited in clause 147.

[0352] Clause 150: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a network node, the network node comprising a processor, memory coupled with the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the network node to perform a method recited in clause 147.

[0353] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that can be referenced throughout the above description can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0354] Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the various aspects described herein.

[0355] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or other such configuration).

[0356] The methods, sequences, and / or algorithms described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in software with associated firmware, or in a combination of the two. A software module can reside in Random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of non-transitory computer-readable medium known in the art. An exemplary non-transitory computer-readable medium can be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the non-transitory computer-readable medium. In the alternative, the non-transitory computer-readable medium can be integral to the processor. The processor and the non-transitory computer-readable medium can reside in an ASIC. The ASIC can reside in a user device (e.g., a UE) or a base station. In the alternative, the processor and the non-transitory computer-readable medium can be discrete components in a user device or base station.

[0357] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described herein can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media can include storage media and / or communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. The term disk and disc (which can be used interchangeably herein) includes compact disks (CDs), laser disks, optical disks, digital video disk (DVD), floppy disks, and blu-ray disks, which are typically magnetic and / or optical and used for the storage of data.

[0358] While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative aspects, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. In addition, any one or more of the aspects described herein can be implemented in any combination of hardware and / or software. Moreover, any method described herein can be implemented as a computer program, as a stand-alone software application, as a software application in combination with another software application, or as a software application in combination with another software application and / or hardware. Furthermore, the foregoing description is for the purpose of illustration only. The aspects described herein are not required, unless clearly indicated otherwise by the claim or claims.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising: One or more memory units; as well as One or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: Authorization is received from a network node for uplink UL shared channel (SCH) resources, wherein each of the UL SCH resources is associated with one of one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes, wherein each HARQ process is at least one of one or more HARQ process types, and wherein each HARQ process type is based on HARQ feedback state and HARQ retransmission state; and When the availability of the one or more UL SCH resources is determined based on at least one HARQ process type of the one or more HARQ processes associated with the one or more UL SCH resources, a control message is sent on the one or more UL SCH resources, wherein the control message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE).

2. The UE as described in claim 1, wherein, The one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type, and wherein, The first HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state. The second HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, or The fourth HARQ process type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state.

3. The UE as described in claim 2, in, The control message is the RRC message, and Specifically, when the one or more UL SCH resources are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available.

4. The UE as described in claim 2, in, The control message is the RRC message used for transmission via signaling radio bearer 1 (SRB1), signaling radio bearer 2 (SRB2), or signaling radio bearer 3 (SRB3), or is located in the dedicated control channel DCCH, and Specifically, when the one or more UL SCH resources are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available.

5. The UE as described in claim 2, in, The control message is the RRC message transmitted other than via signaling radio bearer 1 (SRB1), signaling radio bearer 2 (SRB2), or signaling radio bearer 3 (SRB3), or in a channel other than the dedicated control channel DCCH, and Specifically, the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, or the fourth HARQ process type.

6. The UE as described in claim 5, wherein, The one or more processors are further configured to: When the UE's physical PHY layer notifies the RRC layer that it has received a HARQ negative acknowledgment (NACK) corresponding to the RRC message, or when a HARQ timeout occurs after the RRC message has been sent on one or more UL SCH resources, the RRC message is retransmitted at the UE's RRC layer; or When the PHY layer of the UE notifies the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer of receiving the NACK corresponding to the RRC message, or when the HARQ timeout occurs after the RRC message has been sent on one or more UL SCH resources, the RLC layer of the UE retransmits the RRC message.

7. The UE as described in claim 2, in, The control message is the MAC CE, and Specifically, when the one or more UL SCH resources are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available.

8. The UE as described in claim 2, in, The control message is the MAC CE and determines that UL data will be sent along with the MAC CE. Specifically, based on the HARQ process type requirements of the UL data, one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available.

9. The UE as described in claim 2, in, The control message is the MAC CE, and the MAC CE has a higher priority than the UL data. Specifically, the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, or the fourth HARQ process type.

10. The UE as described in claim 2, in, The control message is the MAC CE, wherein the MAC CE retransmission timer or the MAC CE disable timer is started after the MAC CE transmission, and Specifically, the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, or the fourth HARQ process type.

11. The UE as described in claim 2, in, The control message is the MAC CE, wherein the UE is configured with one or more HARQ-MAC CE matching rules, wherein each HARQ-MAC CE matching rule maps a MAC CE type to an acceptable HARQ procedure type, the acceptable HARQ procedure type including one or more of the first HARQ procedure type, the second HARQ procedure type, or the fourth HARQ procedure type, and wherein each HARQ-MAC CE matching rule is configured statically or semi-statically in the UE. Specifically, the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of an acceptable HARQ process type included in the MAC CE type corresponding to the MAC CE.

12. The UE as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The one or more processors are further configured to: When one or more UL SCH resources are not determined to be available, a scheduling request (SR) for the UL SCH resources is sent to the network node, wherein the SR indicates one or more HARQ procedure type requirements of the control message.

13. The UE as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The one or more processors are further configured to: Messages are received from the network node on one or more downlink DL SCH resources, wherein the messages are RRC messages or MAC CEs, and wherein the one or more DL SCH resources are identified as being associated with one or more HARQ procedures having an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state.

14. The UE as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The one or more HARQ process types include a third HARQ process type, which has a disabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state.

15. A network node, comprising: One or more memory units; as well as One or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: When it is determined that one or more DL SCH resources are available for control messages based on the HARQ procedure type of one or more HARQ procedures associated with one or more downlink DL shared channel SCH resources, the control message is transmitted on the one or more DL SCH resources, wherein each HARQ procedure is at least one of one or more HARQ procedure types, and wherein each HARQ procedure type is based on HARQ feedback state and HARQ retransmission state, and the control message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE). Wherein, the one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type, and The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state; the second HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state; or the fourth HARQ process type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state.

16. The network node as described in claim 15, wherein, The one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type or the second HARQ procedure type.

17. The network node as described in claim 15, in, The control message is the MAC CE, and wherein the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type, the second HARQ procedure type, or the fourth HARQ procedure type.

18. The network node as described in claim 15, wherein, The one or more HARQ process types include a third HARQ process type, which has a disabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state.

19. A user equipment (UE), comprising: One or more memory units; as well as One or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: Grants are received from network nodes for Shared Channel (SCH) resources, including uplink UL SCH resources or downlink DL SCH resources, or both, wherein each of the SCH resources is associated with one of one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) procedures, wherein each HARQ procedure is at least one of one or more HARQ procedure types, and wherein each HARQ procedure type is based on HARQ feedback status and HARQ retransmission status; and When it is determined that one or more UL SCH resources are available based on at least one HARQ process type of one or more HARQ processes associated with the one or more UL SCH resources, a UL message is sent on the one or more UL SCH resources. The one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state. The second HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, or The fourth HARQ process type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, and wherein at least one HARQ process has a HARQ process type that is the second HARQ process type.

20. The UE as claimed in claim 19, in, The UL message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, and Specifically, the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type or the second HARQ process type.

21. The UE as described in claim 19, in, The UL message is a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), and wherein the one or more ULSCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type.

22. The UE as described in claim 19, in, The UL message is a Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), and UL data will be sent along with the MAC CE. The one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available based on the HARQ process type requirements of the UL data, or... The UL message is the MAC CE and the MAC CE has a higher priority than the UL data. The one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type or the second HARQ process type.

23. The UE as described in claim 19, in, The UL message is a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE). The MAC CE retransmission timer or MAC CE disable timer is started after the MAC CE transmission, and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, or the fourth HARQ process type.

24. The UE as described in claim 19, in, The UL message is a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE). The UE is configured with one or more HARQ-MAC CE matching rules, wherein each HARQ-MAC CE matching rule maps a MAC CE type to an acceptable HARQ procedure type, the acceptable HARQ procedure type including a first HARQ procedure type, a second HARQ procedure type, or a fourth HARQ procedure type, and wherein each HARQ-MAC CE matching rule is configured statically or semi-statically in the UE, and wherein the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the acceptable HARQ procedure type corresponding to the MAC CE type of the UL MAC CE.

25. The UE as claimed in claim 19, wherein, The one or more processors are further configured to: When the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available based on the HARQ procedure type of the one or more HARQ procedures associated with the one or more DL SCH resources, DL messages are received on the one or more DL SCH resources, wherein at least one HARQ procedure associated with the one or more DL SCH resources has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state.

26. The UE as claimed in claim 25, in, The DL message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, and the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type or the second HARQ procedure type. The DL message is a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), and the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type, the second HARQ procedure type, or the fourth HARQ procedure type.

27. The UE as claimed in claim 19, wherein, The one or more processors are further configured to: when the one or more UL SCH resources are not determined to be available, send a scheduling request (SR) for the UL SCH resources to the network node, wherein the SR indicates one or more HARQ procedure type requirements for the UL message.

28. The UE as claimed in claim 19, wherein, The one or more HARQ process types include a third HARQ process type, which has a disabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state.

29. A network node, comprising: One or more memory units; as well as One or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: Authorization of shared channel (SCH) resources is sent to the user equipment (UE), the SCH resources including uplink UL SCH resources or downlink DL SCH resources or both, wherein each of the SCH resources is associated with one of one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, wherein each HARQ process is at least one of one or more HARQ process types, and wherein each HARQ process type is based on HARQ feedback state and HARQ retransmission state. Receive UL messages on one or more UL SCH resources; When the UL message is correctly received and when the HARQ procedure associated with the one or more UL SCH resources has an enabled HARQ feedback state, a HARQ positive ACK is sent to the UE; and When the UL message is not received correctly and the HARQ procedure associated with the one or more UL SCH resources has an enabled HARQ feedback state, a HARQ negative acknowledgment (NACK) is sent to the UE. The one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state. The second HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, or The fourth HARQ procedure type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, and Wherein, at least one HARQ procedure has a HARQ procedure type that is the second HARQ procedure type.

30. The network node as described in claim 29, in, The UL message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type or the second HARQ procedure type. The UL message is a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type. Wherein, the UL message is the MAC CE and UL data will be sent together with the MAC CE, and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available based on the HARQ process type requirements of the UL data, or Wherein, the UL message is the MAC CE and has a higher priority than the UL data, and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type or the second HARQ process type, or The UL message is the MAC CE, wherein the MAC CE retransmission timer or the MAC CE disable timer is started after the transmission of the MAC CE, and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type, the second HARQ procedure type, or the fourth HARQ procedure type.

31. The network node as described in claim 29, wherein, The one or more processors are configured to: When it is determined that the one or more DL SCH resources are available based on the at least one HARQ process type of the one or more HARQ processes associated with the one or more DL SCH resources, a DL message is sent on the one or more DL SCH resources, wherein the HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process associated with the one or more DL SCH resources is the second HARQ process type.

32. The network node as described in claim 31, in, The DL message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), and the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type or the second HARQ procedure type. The DL message is the MAC CE, and the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type, the second HARQ procedure type, or the fourth HARQ procedure type.

33. The network node as described in claim 29, wherein, The one or more processors are further configured to: The UE receives a scheduling request SR for the UL SCH resource, wherein the SR indicates one or more HARQ procedure type requirements, and the SCH resource includes one or more SCH resources of HARQ procedures associated with the requested HARQ procedure type requirements.

34. The network node as described in claim 29, wherein, The one or more HARQ process types include a third HARQ process type, which has a disabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state.

35. A method for a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Authorization is received from a network node for uplink UL shared channel (SCH) resources, wherein each of the UL SCH resources is associated with one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes, wherein each HARQ process is at least one of one or more HARQ process types, and wherein each HARQ process type is based on HARQ feedback state and HARQ retransmission state; and When the availability of the one or more UL SCH resources is determined based on at least one HARQ process type of the one or more HARQ processes associated with the one or more UL SCH resources, a control message is sent on the one or more UL SCH resources, wherein the control message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE).

36. The method of claim 35, wherein, The one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type, and wherein, The first HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state. The second HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, or The fourth HARQ process type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state.

37. The method of claim 36, in, The control message is the RRC message, and Specifically, when the one or more UL SCH resources are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available.

38. The method of claim 36, in, The control message is the RRC message transmitted other than via signaling radio bearer 1 (SRB1), signaling radio bearer 2 (SRB2), or signaling radio bearer 3 (SRB3), or in a channel other than the dedicated control channel DCCH, and Specifically, the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, or the fourth HARQ process type.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein, The control message is the MAC CE, and wherein the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type.

40. The method of claim 36, wherein, The control message is the MAC CE and the MAC CE has a higher priority than the UL data, and wherein the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, or the fourth HARQ process type.

41. The method of claim 35, wherein, The one or more HARQ process types include a third HARQ process type, which has a disabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state.

42. A method for a network node, the method comprising: When it is determined that one or more DL SCH resources are available for control messages based on the HARQ procedure type of one or more HARQ procedures associated with one or more downlink DL shared channel SCH resources, the control message is transmitted on the one or more DL SCH resources, wherein each HARQ procedure is at least one of one or more HARQ procedure types, and wherein each HARQ procedure type is based on HARQ feedback state and HARQ retransmission state, and the control message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE). Wherein, the one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type, and The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state; the second HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state; or the fourth HARQ process type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein, The one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type or the second HARQ procedure type.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein, The one or more HARQ process types include a third HARQ process type, which has a disabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state.

45. A method for a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Grants are received from network nodes for Shared Channel (SCH) resources, including uplink UL SCH resources or downlink DL SCH resources, or both, wherein each of the SCH resources is associated with one of one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) procedures, wherein each HARQ procedure is at least one of one or more HARQ procedure types, and wherein each HARQ procedure type is based on HARQ feedback status and HARQ retransmission status; and When it is determined that one or more UL SCH resources are available based on at least one HARQ process type of one or more HARQ processes associated with the one or more UL SCH resources, a UL message is sent on the one or more UL SCH resources. The one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state. The second HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, or The fourth HARQ process type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, and wherein at least one HARQ process has a HARQ process type that is the second HARQ process type.

46. ​​The method of claim 45, wherein, The UL message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, and wherein the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type or the second HARQ process type.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein, The UL message is a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), and wherein the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type.

48. The method of claim 45, in, The UL message is a Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE), and UL data will be sent along with the MAC CE. The one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available based on the HARQ process type requirements of the UL data, or... The UL message is the MAC CE and the MAC CE has a higher priority than the UL data. The one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type or the second HARQ process type.

49. The method of claim 45, in, The UL message is a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE). The MAC CE retransmission timer or MAC CE disable timer is started after the MAC CE transmission, and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type, the second HARQ process type, or the fourth HARQ process type.

50. The method of claim 45, wherein, The one or more HARQ process types include a third HARQ process type, which has a disabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state.

51. A method for a network node, the method comprising: Authorization of shared channel (SCH) resources is sent to the user equipment (UE), the SCH resources including uplink UL SCH resources or downlink DL SCH resources or both, wherein each of the SCH resources is associated with one of one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, wherein each HARQ process is at least one of one or more HARQ process types, and wherein each HARQ process type is based on HARQ feedback state and HARQ retransmission state. Receive UL messages on one or more UL SCH resources; When the UL message is correctly received and when the HARQ procedure associated with the one or more UL SCH resources has an enabled HARQ feedback state, a HARQ positive ACK is sent to the UE; and When the UL message is not received correctly and the HARQ procedure associated with the one or more UL SCH resources has an enabled HARQ feedback state, a HARQ negative acknowledgment (NACK) is sent to the UE. The one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state. The second HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, or The fourth HARQ procedure type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, and Wherein, at least one HARQ procedure has a HARQ procedure type that is the second HARQ procedure type.

52. The method as described in claim 51, in, The UL message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type or the second HARQ procedure type. The UL message is a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type. Wherein, the UL message is the MAC CE and UL data will be sent together with the MAC CE, and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available based on the HARQ process type requirements of the UL data, or Wherein, the UL message is the MAC CE and has a higher priority than the UL data, and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ processes of the first HARQ process type or the second HARQ process type, or The UL message is the MAC CE, wherein the MAC CE retransmission timer or the MAC CE disable timer is started after the transmission of the MAC CE, and the one or more UL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type, the second HARQ procedure type, or the fourth HARQ procedure type.

53. The method of claim 51, further comprising: When it is determined that the one or more DLSCH resources are available based on the at least one HARQ process type of the one or more HARQ processes associated with the one or more DLSCH resources, a DL message is sent on the one or more DLSCH resources, wherein the HARQ process type of the at least one HARQ process associated with the one or more DLSCH resources is the second HARQ process type.

54. The method as described in claim 53, in, The DL message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), and the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type or the second HARQ procedure type. The DL message is the MAC CE, and the one or more DL SCH resources are determined to be available when they are associated with one or more HARQ procedures of the first HARQ procedure type, the second HARQ procedure type, or the fourth HARQ procedure type.

55. The method of claim 51, wherein, The one or more HARQ process types include a third HARQ process type, which has a disabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state.

56. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a user equipment (UE), the computer-executable instructions comprising one or more instructions that cause the UE to: The authorization to receive uplink UL shared channel (SCH) resources from the network node is obtained, whereby... Each of the UL SCH resources is associated with one of one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes, wherein each HARQ process is at least one of one or more HARQ process types, and wherein each HARQ process type is based on HARQ feedback status and HARQ retransmission status; and When the availability of the one or more UL SCH resources is determined based on at least one HARQ process type of the one or more HARQ processes associated with the one or more UL SCH resources, a control message is sent on the one or more UL SCH resources, wherein the control message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE).

57. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a user equipment (UE), the computer-executable instructions comprising one or more instructions that cause the UE to perform the method as described in any one of claims 36-41.

58. An apparatus for performing wireless communication at a user equipment, the apparatus comprising: Components for receiving authorization of uplink UL shared channel (SCH) resources from network nodes, wherein each of the UL SCH resources is associated with one of one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes, wherein each HARQ process is at least one of one or more HARQ process types, and wherein each HARQ process type is based on HARQ feedback state and HARQ retransmission state; and A component for sending a control message on one or more UL SCH resources when it is determined that the one or more UL SCH resources are available based on at least one HARQ process type of the one or more HARQ processes associated with the one or more UL SCH resources, wherein the control message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE).

59. An apparatus for performing wireless communication at a user equipment, the apparatus comprising components for performing the method as described in any one of claims 36-41.

60. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a user equipment (UE), the computer-executable instructions comprising one or more instructions that cause the UE to: The network node receives an authorization for shared channel (SCH) resources, which include uplink UL SCH resources or downlink DL SCH resources, or both. Each of the SCH resources is associated with one of one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes, wherein each HARQ process is at least one of one or more HARQ process types, and wherein each HARQ process type is based on HARQ feedback status and HARQ retransmission status; and When it is determined that one or more UL SCH resources are available based on at least one HARQ process type of one or more HARQ processes associated with the one or more UL SCH resources, a UL message is sent on the one or more UL SCH resources. The one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state. The second HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, or The fourth HARQ process type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, and wherein at least one HARQ process has a HARQ process type that is the second HARQ process type.

61. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a user equipment (UE), the computer-executable instructions comprising one or more instructions that cause the UE to perform the method as described in any one of claims 46-50.

62. An apparatus for performing wireless communication at a user equipment, the apparatus comprising: A component for receiving authorization of shared channel (SCH) resources from a network node, the SCH resources including uplink ULSCH resources or downlink DL SCH resources or both, wherein each of the SCH resources is associated with one of one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes, wherein each HARQ process is at least one of one or more HARQ process types, and wherein each HARQ process type is based on HARQ feedback state and HARQ retransmission state; and A component for sending a UL message on one or more UL SCH resources when it is determined that the one or more UL SCH resources are available based on at least one HARQ process type of the one or more HARQ processes associated with the one or more UL SCH resources. The one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state. The second HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, or The fourth HARQ process type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, and wherein at least one HARQ process has a HARQ process type that is the second HARQ process type.

63. An apparatus for performing wireless communication at a user equipment, the apparatus comprising components for performing the method as described in any one of claims 46-50.

64. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a network node, the computer-executable instructions comprising one or more instructions that cause the network node to: When it is determined that one or more DL SCH resources are available for control messages based on the HARQ procedure type of one or more HARQ procedures associated with one or more downlink DL shared channel SCH resources, the control message is transmitted on the one or more DL SCH resources, wherein, Each HARQ procedure is at least one of one or more HARQ procedure types, and wherein each HARQ procedure type is based on HARQ feedback state and HARQ retransmission state, and the control message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE). Wherein, the one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type, and The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state; the second HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state; or the fourth HARQ process type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state.

65. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a network node, the computer-executable instructions comprising one or more instructions that cause the network node to perform the method as described in any one of claims 43-44.

66. An apparatus for performing wireless communication at a network node, the apparatus comprising: A component for transmitting a control message on one or more DL SCH resources when it is determined that the one or more DL SCH resources are available for control messages based on the HARQ procedure type of one or more HARQ procedures associated with one or more downlink DL shared channel SCH resources, wherein each HARQ procedure is at least one of one or more HARQ procedure types, and wherein each HARQ procedure type is based on HARQ feedback state and HARQ retransmission state, and the control message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message or a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (CE). Wherein, the one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type, and The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state; the second HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state; or the fourth HARQ process type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state.

67. An apparatus for performing wireless communication at a network node, the apparatus comprising components for performing the method as described in any one of claims 43-44.

68. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a network node, the computer-executable instructions comprising one or more instructions that cause the network node to: Authorization of shared channel (SCH) resources is sent to the user equipment (UE), wherein the SCH resources include uplink UL SCH resources or downlink DL SCH resources or both, wherein, Each of the SCH resources is associated with one of one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) processes, wherein each HARQ process is at least one of one or more HARQ process types, and wherein each HARQ process type is based on HARQ feedback status and HARQ retransmission status. Receive UL messages on one or more UL SCH resources; When the UL message is correctly received and when the HARQ procedure associated with the one or more UL SCH resources has an enabled HARQ feedback state, a HARQ positive ACK is sent to the UE; and When the UL message is incorrectly received and when the HARQ procedure associated with the one or more UL SCH resources has an enabled HARQ feedback state, a HARQ negative acknowledgment (NACK) is sent to the UE. The one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state. The second HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, or The fourth HARQ procedure type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, and Wherein, at least one HARQ procedure has a HARQ procedure type that is the second HARQ procedure type.

69. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for a network node, the computer-executable instructions comprising one or more instructions that cause the network node to perform the method as described in any one of claims 52-55.

70. An apparatus for performing wireless communication at a network node, the apparatus comprising: A component for authorizing shared channel (SCH) resources to a user equipment (UE), the SCH resources including uplink ULSCH resources or downlink DL SCH resources or both, wherein each of the SCH resources is associated with one or more Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) procedures, wherein each HARQ procedure is at least one of one or more HARQ procedure types, and wherein each HARQ procedure type is based on HARQ feedback state and HARQ retransmission state. Components for receiving UL messages on one or more UL SCH resources; A component for sending a HARQ positive acknowledgment (ACK) to the UE when the UL message is correctly received and when the HARQ procedure associated with the one or more UL SCH resources has an enabled HARQ feedback state; and A component for sending a HARQ negative acknowledgment (NACK) to the UE when the UL message is incorrectly received and when the HARQ procedure associated with the one or more UL SCH resources has an enabled HARQ feedback state. The one or more HARQ process types include one or more of a first HARQ process type, a second HARQ process type, or a fourth HARQ process type. The first HARQ process type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and an enabled HARQ retransmission state. The second HARQ procedure type has an enabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, or The fourth HARQ procedure type has a disabled HARQ feedback state and a disabled HARQ retransmission state, and Wherein, at least one HARQ procedure has a HARQ procedure type that is the second HARQ procedure type.

71. An apparatus for performing wireless communication at a network node, the apparatus comprising components for performing the method as described in any one of claims 52-55.

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