HARQ-ack transmission

Abstract

An example method includes receiving scheduling information for a plurality of downlink transmissions. The method further includes mapping a subset of the plurality of downlink transmissions to each of the plurality of time slots based on the scheduling information. The method also includes sending, in each of the plurality of slots, an acknowledgement message to the network device for the subset of downlink transmissions mapped to the slot. In some examples, the acknowledgement message for each slot includes a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement value (or negative acknowledgement value) for a subset of downlink transmissions mapped to that slot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to digital wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] Mobile telecommunication technologies are driving the world towards an increasingly interconnected and networked society. Compared to existing wireless networks, next-generation systems and wireless communication technologies will need to support a wider range of use case features and provide more complex and sophisticated access requirements and flexibility.

[0003] Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a wireless communication standard developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for mobile devices and data terminals. LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) is a wireless communication standard that enhances the LTE standard. The fifth-generation wireless system, known as 5G, goes a step further than the LTE and LTE-A wireless standards and is committed to supporting higher data rates, a large number of connections, ultra-low latency, high reliability, and other emerging business requirements. Summary of the invention

[0004] Techniques for providing hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback in multiple time slots are disclosed herein. In some examples, HARQ feedback for multiple downlink transmissions scheduled by downlink control information (DCI) is transmitted in multiple uplink time slots.

[0005] In one exemplary aspect, a method for wireless communication is described. The method includes receiving scheduling information for a plurality of downlink transmissions from a network device. The method also includes mapping a subset of the plurality of downlink transmissions to each of a plurality of time slots based on the scheduling information. The method also includes sending, in each of the plurality of time slots, to the network device an acknowledgment message for the subset of downlink transmissions mapped to the time slot.

[0006] In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of time slots precedes a time slot of a minimum time offset after the plurality of downlink transmissions ends. In some embodiments, the plurality of time slots follows a time slot of a minimum time offset after the plurality of downlink transmissions begins.

[0007] In some embodiments, the method further comprises identifying the plurality of time slots to which the subset of downlink transmissions is mapped. The plurality of time slots are identified for transmission of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment message in response to the subset of mapped downlink transmissions.

[0008] In some embodiments, mapping the subset to each time slot is performed in response to receiving an instruction from a network device to transmit an acknowledgment message in a plurality of time slots. In some embodiments, mapping the subset to each time slot is performed in response to not receiving an acknowledgment timing parameter after the end of the plurality of downlink transmissions, the acknowledgment timing parameter indicating a given time offset for transmitting an acknowledgment message for the plurality of downlink transmissions. In some embodiments, mapping the subset to each time slot is performed in response to determining that there are one or more time slots between a time slot in which the scheduling information is received and a last time slot indicated by the acknowledgment timing parameter.

[0009] In some embodiments, each subset is determined to include downlink transmissions, each downlink transmission occurring at least a minimum delay before a time slot mapped for transmitting the acknowledgment message for the subset. In some embodiments, the minimum delay is indicated by received radio resource control (RRC) signaling or by the scheduling information.

[0010] In some embodiments, a subset of downlink transmissions is mapped to the plurality of time slots based on identifying the plurality of time slots as a first time slot and a second time slot, and mapping the first subset to the first time slot and mapping the second subset to the second time slot based on assigning each downlink transmission in the plurality of downlink transmissions to one of the first time slot or the second time slot. The second time slot is indicated by the scheduling information, and the first time slot is the last time slot before the second time slot. In some embodiments, each downlink transmission is assigned to one of the first time slot or the second time slot based on whether the downlink transmission occurs at least a minimum delay before the first time slot or the second time slot.

[0011] In some embodiments, the subset is mapped to each time slot of the plurality of time slots based on an indication of two or more specific time slots that divide the plurality of downlink transmissions into a subset.

[0012] In some embodiments, mapping the subset to each time slot includes: identifying N downlink transmissions scheduled as consecutive time slots; mapping a first subset including the first N-1 downlink transmissions to a first time slot; and mapping a second subset including the Nth downlink transmission to a second time slot.

[0013] In some embodiments, the number of downlink transmissions in the subset mapped to each of the plurality of time slots is less than a threshold number. In some embodiments, the threshold number is less than or equal to half of the total number of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

[0014] In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining whether each of the plurality of downlink transmissions is correctly received; and for each downlink transmission belonging to the subset mapped to a given time slot, generating an acknowledgement value (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement value (NACK) in the acknowledgement message according to whether the downlink transmission is correctly received. In some embodiments, the method further comprises sending the acknowledgement message at a time slot not indicated by a value of a PDSCH to HARQ feedback timing indicator.

[0015] In some embodiments, the plurality of downlink transmissions include one or more candidate physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) receptions or one or more semi-persistently scheduled (SPS) PDSCH releases.

[0016] In another exemplary aspect, another method for wireless communication is described. The method includes sending scheduling information for a plurality of downlink transmissions to a wireless communication device. The method also includes receiving, from the wireless communication device and in each of a plurality of time slots, an acknowledgment message for a subset of the downlink transmissions, the subset of the downlink transmissions being mapped to the time slot.

[0017] In some embodiments, at least one time slot of the plurality of time slots in which the acknowledgement message is received precedes a time slot that is a minimum time offset after an end of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

[0018] In some embodiments, the plurality of time slots follows a time slot that is a minimum time offset after the start of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

[0019] In some embodiments, the method further comprises sending instructions to the wireless communication device to transmit an acknowledgement message in the plurality of time slots.

[0020] In some embodiments, the method further comprises sending an indication to the wireless communication device to divide the plurality of downlink transmissions into subsets of two or more specific time slots.

[0021] In some embodiments, the method further comprises sending an indication of a number of the plurality of downlink transmissions to the wireless communication device to include in the subset mapped to each time slot.

[0022] In some embodiments, the method further comprises constraining a number of downlink transmissions for the subset mapped to each time slot to be less than or equal to half of a total number of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

[0023] In some embodiments, the method further comprises decoding the acknowledgement message received in a given time slot to determine whether each downlink transmission in the subset of downlink transmissions was correctly received by the wireless communication device.

[0024] In some embodiments, the confirmation message is decoded based on the confirmation message including a HABQ-ACK value or a HARQ-NACK value indicating whether each downlink transmission was correctly received by the wireless communication device.

[0025] In some embodiments, the method further comprises scheduling retransmissions of specific downlink transmissions indicated with a HARQ-NACK value in the acknowledgment message.

[0026] In some embodiments, the plurality of downlink transmissions include one or more candidate physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) receptions or one or more semi-persistently scheduled (SPS) PDSCH releases.

[0027] In another exemplary aspect, the above method is embodied in the form of processor executable code and stored in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The code included in the computer readable storage medium, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method described in this patent document.

[0028] In yet another exemplary embodiment, a device configured or operable to perform the above method is disclosed.

[0029] The above and other aspects and implementations thereof are described in more detail in the drawings, the description and the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 HARQ feedback information provided for multiple downlink transmissions in one uplink timeslot is shown.

[0031] Figure 2 HARQ feedback information provided for multiple downlink transmissions in multiple uplink time slots is shown.

[0032] Figure 3 An example is shown where HARQ feedback information may be provided in multiple uplink time slots for multiple downlink transmissions scheduled by a DCI.

[0033] Figure 4 An example is shown where HARQ feedback information is provided in advance in order to improve retransmission of partial downlink transmissions.

[0034] Figure 5 An example is shown where multiple downlink transmissions are grouped to report HARQ feedback in multiple time slots.

[0035] Figure 6 A use case scenario of carrier aggregation is shown, where HARQ feedback information can be provided in multiple uplink time slots.

[0036] Figure 7 An exemplary use case scenario is shown where HARQ feedback information is reported in an uplink timeslot that is not indicated by a feedback timing indicator.

[0037] Figure 8 An example flow diagram is shown for providing HARQ feedback information in multiple uplink time slots.

[0038] Fig. 9 An example flow chart is shown for obtaining HARQ feedback information in multiple uplink time slots.

[0039] Fig.10 A block diagram of an example hardware platform is shown, which may be part of a network device or a communication device.

[0040] Fig.11 An example of wireless communication based on some embodiments of the disclosed technology is shown, including a base station (BS) and a user equipment (UE). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The example titles of the following sections are used to facilitate understanding of the disclosed subject matter and do not limit the scope of the claimed subject matter in any way. Therefore, one or more features of one example section can be combined with one or more features of another example section. In addition, for the purpose of clear explanation, 5G terminology is used herein, but the technology disclosed herein is not limited to 5G technology, but can also be used in wireless systems that implement other protocols.

[0042] Extended reality (XR) generally refers to a combination of real and virtual environments, including augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), or virtual reality (VR). XR technology combines the real world with virtual information generated by digital devices. In this way, XR enables users to have an immersive experience in a mixed reality-virtual environment. To support high-quality XR services, the network requires relatively high data rates and low latency.

[0043] Therefore, techniques to improve system capacity have been considered. For example, scheduling multiple transport blocks (TBs) with a single downlink control information (DCI) can save the overhead of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), thereby improving network capacity, assuming that the downlink (DL) flow is pseudo-periodic and the packet size is large (e.g., several time slots are scheduled for one packet transmission).

[0044] For hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) of multiple downlink transmissions scheduled by DCI, in the prior art, a network device or wireless communication node (e.g., gNodeB, base station) provides a HARQ feedback timing indicator. For example, the HARQ feedback timing indicator is a bit field representing a K1 value, which represents the time interval between the last scheduled downlink transmission and the uplink (UL) time slot for HARQ reporting or feedback.

[0045] Figure 1 An example of transmitting a HARQ report or feedback in a UL time slot after the last scheduled downlink (DL) transmission is shown. Figure 1 As shown, the DCI in slot 0 schedules eight downlink transmissions, the last of which is scheduled in DL slot 10. HARQ acknowledgements (HARQ-ACK) or negative acknowledgements (HARQ-NACK) for these downlink transmissions are transmitted in UL slot 14 after the last downlink transmission in slot 10. For example, based on a K1 value of 4, the HARQ feedback is transmitted in UL slot 14.

[0046] Since HARQ feedback is not transmitted to the network device or wireless communication node until some time after the last scheduled downlink transmission, retransmissions by the network device may be delayed. Figure 1 In the example shown, even if the retransmission is a repeat of the DL transmission in time slot 2, the earliest that the retransmission can be scheduled is in downlink time slot 15. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the delay problem caused by the existing HARQ feedback technology. This delay further leads to a decrease in downlink performance and capacity.

[0047] The embodiments described herein provide a technical solution to solve the problem of delay in HARQ reporting in uplink time slots when DCI schedules multiple downlink transmissions, such as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In some embodiments, HARQ-ACK (or HARQ-NACK) is reported in multiple time slots according to the corresponding group of scheduled downlink transmissions. Therefore, the delay of HARQ-ACK for a group of PDSCHs can be reduced. If the receiver fails to correctly detect some DL transmissions, these transmissions can be retransmitted earlier, thereby increasing the capacity of DL transmissions.

[0048] Exemplary Embodiment 1

[0049] According to an exemplary embodiment, for multiple DL transmissions (e.g., PDSCH) scheduled by DCI, HARQ feedback is sent by a DL receiver such as a wireless communication device or user equipment (UE) in multiple UL time slots. In some examples, the UL time slot for HARQ feedback is between the respective DL time slots scheduled for multiple DL transmissions.

[0050] In particular, embodiments described herein relate to the timing of HARQ feedback (eg, HARQ-ACK and HARQ-NACK).

[0051] Use case 1-1: In some embodiments, the UE is indicated that it should transmit HARQ feedback in multiple time slots.

[0052] In some embodiments, the UE is instructed to provide HARQ feedback in multiple time slots via one or more bits in downlink control information (DCI) that schedules downlink transmissions and is received by the UE. For example, one bit in the DCI indicates that the UE enables multi-slot HARQ feedback instead of single-slot HARQ feedback. For example, multiple bits (e.g., three) are used to indicate a timing indicator for PDSCH to HARQ.

[0053] In some embodiments, the UE is instructed to provide multi-slot HARQ feedback via radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or the like.

[0054] Figure 2 An example of multi-slot HARQ feedback or transmitting HARQ-ACK (or NACK) in multiple time slots is provided. In the example shown, the time division duplex (TDD) configuration is DDDSU, where "D" represents a downlink time slot, "U" represents an uplink time slot, and "S" represents a flexible time slot that can be a downlink time slot or an uplink time slot.

[0055] exist Figure 2 In the uplink slot 9, HARQ feedback for downlink transmissions (e.g., PDSCH reception, PDSCH release) in slots 0, 1, 2, 3, and 5 is transmitted in uplink slot 9. HARQ feedback for downlink transmissions in slots 6, 7, and 10 is transmitted in uplink slot 14.

[0056] Exemplary embodiments include other UE behaviors in addition to being indicated as enabling multi-slot HARQ feedback. In some embodiments, the UE determines a set of candidate PDSCH reception or SPS PDSCH release opportunities. In some embodiments, the UE generates ACK or NACK for these opportunities and generates a HARQ-ACK codebook containing feedback information. In some embodiments, the UE transmits the codebook to a base station (e.g., gNodeB) in the uplink time slot indicated by the DCI (e.g., via a PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator). The embodiments described herein may refer to PDSCH reception or PDSCH release for clarity; however, it should be understood that the embodiments are applicable to various other downlink transmissions and their HARQ feedback.

[0057] Use case 1-1 (A): For one DCI scheduling N PDSCHs (when N is very small, for example, N=4), the UE is indicated that HARQ-ACK should be transmitted in multiple time slots. Figure 3 An example of scheduling DCI in slot 0 is shown, where PDSCH reception occurs in slots 0, 1, 2, and 3 (e.g., N=4). In some embodiments, HARQ-ACK for PDSCH reception in slots 0, 1, and 2 may be transmitted in uplink slot 4, while HARQ-ACK for PDSCH reception in slot 3 may be transmitted in slot 9. In this way, if transport blocks transmitted in downlink slots 0, 1, and 2 are not correctly detected, the retransmission opportunities for these transport blocks are increased. Therefore, exemplary embodiments provide advantages in terms of capacity performance.

[0058] Use Case 1-1(B): In some embodiments, the UE may be indicated that HARQ-ACK should be transmitted in multiple time slots in different TDD configurations. Figure 4 An example of TDD configured as DDDUU is shown. Figure 4 In the example TDD configuration shown, the UL time slots are more (compared to Figure 3 1, and thus, there are fewer retransmission opportunities for the PDSCH. Therefore, the embodiments described herein for improving HARQ feedback provide an advantage because the HARQ-ACK is reported in a timely manner and the DL time slots can be used to the fullest extent. For example, the HARQ-ACK for time slots 0, 1, and 2 is reported in uplink time slot 4, which occurs before the remaining scheduled downlink transmissions in time slots 5 and 6.

[0059] Use case 1-1(C), in some embodiments, different slot format indicator (SFI) configurations provide flexible UL-DL symbol / slot configurations. For example, the SFI-index field value in DCI format 2_0 indicates to the UE the slot format of each slot in multiple slots of each DL bandwidth part (BWP) or each UL BWP starting from the slot in which the UE detects DCI format 2_0. In this use case, if there are additional UL slots or symbols in the duration between the scheduled PDSCH and the uniquely indicated UL slot for HARQ-ACK feedback, it is possible to report HARQ-ACK for part of the PDSCH (e.g., the first group of PDSCH) in advance.

[0060] Use case 1-2: In some embodiments, the UE does not expect to receive a timing indicator from PDSCH to HARQ, or the UE fails to receive a timing indicator from PDSCH to HARQ. Then, assuming that the last DL time slot n has been indicated, the UL time slot with the minimum time interval (e.g., the time interval is greater than 1 time slot) with the last DL time slot n can be selected as the UL time slot for HARQ-ACK reporting.

[0061] Use Case 1-3: In some embodiments, the UE is implicitly indicated that the HARQ-ACK should be transmitted on multiple time slots. In some embodiments, this implicit indication is based on whether two conditions are met. The first condition is whether there is a UL time slot x between the scheduling DCI and the UL time slot indicated by the PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator. The second condition is whether the time interval between the scheduling DCI and the UL time slot x is equal to or greater than a minimum time interval, for example, a value of 1 time slot.

[0062] Exemplary Embodiment 2

[0063] The embodiments described herein relate to how to group PDSCH candidates.The embodiments described herein are also directed to grouping multiple DL transmissions (eg, PDSCH) for multi-slot HARQ feedback.

[0064] Method 1: In some embodiments, the scheduled downlink time slots are classified into groups or subsets based on minimum processing delay. In some embodiments, the minimum processing delay is configured by RRC signaling. In some embodiments, the minimum processing delay is indicated by DCI.

[0065] In some embodiments, the UL time slot is determined based on the time interval of the minimum processing delay for reporting HARQ-ACK to multiple PDSCHs. For example, if the time interval between the last PDSCH of the first group and the first UL time slot is equal to or greater than the minimum time interval (e.g., a value of 1 time slot), a first group of PDSCHs is determined for the first UL time slot. Then, using similar rules, subsequent PDSCH groups can be determined for subsequent UL time slots.

[0066] In some embodiments, the HARQ-ACK for the last group or subset of PDSCHs is transmitted in the time slot indicated by the PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator.

[0067] Method 2: In some embodiments, the scheduled downlink time slots are divided into two groups or subsets.

[0068] In some embodiments, the UE determines UL time slot y via the PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator. The UE determines the last UL time slot x before UL time slot y as another UL time slot for reporting HARQ-ACK to PDSCH reception or PDSCH release.

[0069] Figure 5 An example of feature grouping based on classifying scheduled downlink time slots into two groups is shown. For example, UL time slot y (e.g., time slot 14) is determined by the timing indicator of PDSCH to HARQ, and another UL time slot x (e.g., time slot 9) is determined. A series of DL time slots belongs to the first group, such as Figure 5 The first group of PDSCHs is composed of time slots 0, 1, 2, 3, and 5. The last DL time slot of the first group is greater than or equal to N time slots away from UL time slot x, which is determined for HARQ-ACK feedback of the first group of PDSCH transmissions. For example, time slot 5 is 4 time slots away from time slot 9, that is, N=4. In another use case, N=2, and the first group of PDSCHs includes time slots 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7.

[0070] In some embodiments, the N1 constraint may be configured by RRC configuration. For example, the number of PDSCHs in each group is not greater than N1. In some instances, N1 = max_scheduling_PDSCHs / 2, or N1 is half of the total number of scheduled PDSCHs. In this way, the size of the type 1 codebook may be reduced.

[0071] In some embodiments, the UE determines another UL time slot (eg, time slot x) via an indication of an offset from UL time slot y. In some examples, the value of the offset may be between 1 and 8 time slots.

[0072] Method 3: In some embodiments, an indication of a downlink timeslot group is provided.

[0073] In some embodiments, the UE is indicated as a starting time slot x and an ending time slot y. Using the starting and ending time slots, if the ending time slot y is the same as the UL time slot indicated via the PDSCH to HARQ timing indicator, the scheduled PDSCH can be divided into two groups. Otherwise, the scheduled PDSCH can be divided into three groups. In some embodiments, more than two time slots x and y can be indicated to divide the scheduled PDSCH into more than three groups.

[0074] Method 4: In some embodiments, some downlink transmissions are scheduled for consecutive time slots. If N consecutive PDSCHs are scheduled / transmitted, the first N-1 PDSCHs are the first subset and the Nth PDSCH is the second subset. Thus, for example, the first N-1 PDSCHs are acknowledged in the first uplink time slot and the Nth PDSCH is acknowledged in the second uplink time slot.

[0075] Exemplary Embodiment 3

[0076] In particular, the embodiments described herein are directed to optimization and improvement of the codebook structure for reporting HARQ feedback.

[0077] Use case 3-1: Type 1 codebook.

[0078] In some embodiments, for a first set of PDSCH receptions, a first codebook is transmitted in a first UL slot x, and for a second set of PDSCH receptions, a second codebook is transmitted in a second UL slot y.

[0079] In some embodiments, the size of the type 1 HARQ-ACK codebook may be dynamic and may be indicated by dynamic signaling. In one embodiment, the UE is indicated the size of the HARQ-ACK codebook corresponding to a set of PDSCHs. For example, a 2-bit indication in the DCI indicates the size of the HARQ-ACK codebook that will transmit feedback to the first set of PDSCHs.

[0080] Use Case 3-1(A): In some embodiments, for carrier aggregation case, multi-slot HARQ feedback is enabled. Figure 6 An example of a carrier aggregation case in which multi-slot HARQ feedback is used is shown. In the example shown, one DCI schedules three PDSCHs for carrier 0, one DCI schedules eight PDSCHs for carrier 1, and for carrier 2, one DCI schedules 2 PDSCHs and another DCI schedules three PDSCHs.

[0081] In some embodiments, the UE reports a HARQ-ACK value if the DL slot is correctly received and a HARQ-NACK value if the DL slot is not correctly received. The HARQ-ACK and HARQ-NACK values ​​are for the HARQ-ACK information bits in the HARQ-ACK codebook that the UE transmits in the slots not indicated by the value of the PDSCH to HARQ Feedback Timing Indicator field in the corresponding DCI format.

[0082] Therefore, in Figure 6In the example shown, downlink slots 0, 1, and 2 of carrier 1 may be acknowledged in uplink slot 4, with the ACK / NACK value depending on whether the PDSCH / SPS release was correctly received. In some embodiments, the subset of downlink transmissions mapped to uplink slots for acknowledgement includes downlink transmissions of one or more different carriers.

[0083] Use case 3-2: Type 2 codebook,

[0084] In some embodiments, for carrier aggregation cases, a downlink allocation index (DAI) counter is used. The UE may determine whether the DCI is misdetected based on the indicated DAI from the base station (e.g., gNodeB). The UE may generate HARQ-ACK information bits in the HARQ-ACK codebook based on whether the PDSCH / SPS release is correctly received. Figure 7 In the example shown, although the PDSCH to HARQ Feedback Timing Indicator field indicates that HARQ-ACK is reported in time slot 14, the UE still generates HARQ-ACK information bits for PDSCH reception in time slots 0, 1, 2, and 3 to report in time slot 4. Therefore, in order to improve network performance, HARQ confirmation information is provided in advance. In some embodiments, the DAI counter is used to map a subset of downlink transmissions to uplink time slots for confirmation.

[0085] Example Operation and Implementation

[0086] As described herein, embodiments provide enhanced HARQ-ACK techniques and mechanisms. Exemplary embodiments provide various technical advantages. For example, a base station can receive HARQ-ACK information (e.g., ACK or NACK feedback) in a timely manner, so that the base station has enough time to schedule retransmissions and perform link adaptation. Otherwise, if HARQ-ACK information is not provided in advance in multiple time slots, the base station will not be able to schedule retransmissions before the end of multiple PDSCH transmissions (e.g., up to eight PDSCH transmissions). In addition, the embodiments described herein do not increase the overhead of HARQ-ACK reporting.

[0087] Figure 8 An exemplary flow chart of a method for providing HARQ feedback in multiple time slots is shown. In some examples, performing the operations in the flow chart can implement early retransmission of part of the downlink transmission, thereby improving network performance and capacity. In some examples, Figure 8 The method shown may be performed by a wireless communication device, a user equipment (UE), a terminal, etc. In some embodiments, the multiple downlink transmissions include one or more candidate physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) receptions or one or more semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH releases.

[0088] Operation 802 includes receiving scheduling information for multiple incoming (e.g., downlink) transmissions. The scheduling information is received from a network device (e.g., a gNodeB, a base station). In some embodiments, the scheduling information is downlink control information (DCI) that schedules multiple PDSCH receptions and / or SPS PDSCH releases.

[0089] Operation 804 includes mapping a subset of incoming (e.g., downlink) transmissions to each of a plurality of time slots based on the scheduling information. For example, the plurality of time slots are uplink time slots interspersed between downlink time slots indicated in the scheduling information. For example, at least one of the plurality of time slots occurs before a last incoming transmission. In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of time slots is located before a time slot that is a minimum time offset after the end of the plurality of downlink transmissions. In some embodiments, the plurality of time slots is located after a time slot that is a minimum time offset after the start of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

[0090] In some embodiments, operation 804 further includes identifying a plurality of time slots to which the downlink transmission subset is mapped. The time slots are identified for transmission of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment message in response to the mapped downlink transmission subset.

[0091] In some embodiments, mapping the subset to each time slot is performed in response to receiving an instruction from a network device to transmit an acknowledgment message in a plurality of time slots. In some embodiments, mapping the subset to each time slot is performed in response to not receiving an acknowledgment timing parameter after the end of the plurality of downlink transmissions, the acknowledgment timing parameter indicating a given time offset for transmitting one acknowledgment message for the plurality of downlink transmissions. In some embodiments, mapping the subset to each time slot is performed in response to determining that there are one or more time slots between a time slot in which the scheduling information is received and a last time slot indicated by the acknowledgment timing parameter.

[0092] In some embodiments, each subset is determined to include downlink transmissions, each downlink transmission occurring at least a minimum delay before a time slot mapped for transmitting an acknowledgement message for the subset. In some embodiments, the minimum delay is indicated by received radio resource control (RRC) signaling or by scheduling information.

[0093] In some embodiments, a subset of downlink transmissions is mapped to the plurality of time slots based on identifying the plurality of time slots as a first time slot and a second time slot, and mapping the first subset to the first time slot and mapping the second subset to the second time slot based on assigning each of the plurality of downlink transmissions to one of the first time slot or the second time slot. The second time slot is indicated by scheduling information, and the first time slot is the last time slot before the second time slot. In some embodiments, each downlink transmission is assigned to one of the first time slot or the second time slot based on whether the downlink transmission occurs at least a minimum delay before the first time slot or the second time slot.

[0094] In some embodiments, the subset is mapped to each time slot of the plurality of time slots based on an indication of two or more specific time slots that divide the plurality of downlink transmissions into the subset.

[0095] In some embodiments, operation 804 includes: identifying N downlink transmissions scheduled as consecutive time slots; mapping a first subset including the first N-1 downlink transmissions to a first time slot; and mapping a second subset including the Nth downlink transmission to a second time slot.

[0096] In some embodiments, the number of downlink transmissions in the subset mapped to each of the plurality of time slots is less than a threshold number. In some embodiments, the threshold number is less than or equal to half of the total number of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

[0097] Operation 806 includes sending, in each of the plurality of time slots, an acknowledgment message for the subset of downlink transmissions mapped to the time slot. The acknowledgment message in each time slot is sent to the network device.

[0098] In some embodiments, the example method includes determining whether each of the plurality of downlink transmissions is correctly received; and for each downlink transmission belonging to a subset mapped to a given time slot, generating an acknowledgement value (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement value (NACK) in an acknowledgement message, depending on whether the downlink transmission is correctly received. In some embodiments, operation 806 includes sending an acknowledgement message at a time slot not indicated by a value of a PDSCH to HARQ feedback timing indicator.

[0099] Fig. 9 An exemplary flow chart of a method for obtaining HARQ feedback in multiple time slots is shown. In some examples, the operations of the flow chart can be performed to enable earlier retransmission of a portion of a downlink transmission, thereby improving network performance and capacity. In some examples, Figure 8 The method shown in can be executed by a network device, a base station, a wireless communication node, etc.

[0100] Operation 902 includes sending scheduling information for a plurality of outgoing (e.g., downlink) transmissions. The scheduling information is sent to a wireless communication device. In some embodiments, the plurality of downlink transmissions include one or more candidate physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) receptions or one or more semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) PDSCH releases.

[0101] Operation 904 includes receiving, in each of the plurality of time slots, an acknowledgment message for a subset of outgoing transmissions mapped to the time slot. In some embodiments, the mapping of the subset to the time slot is determined based on scheduling information. In some embodiments, the mapping of the subset to the time slot is determined by the wireless communication device. In some embodiments, at least one of the plurality of time slots in which the acknowledgment message is received is before a time slot that is a minimum time offset after the end of the plurality of downlink transmissions. In some embodiments, the plurality of time slots is after a time slot that is a minimum time offset after the start of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

[0102] In some embodiments, the example method includes sending instructions to the wireless communication device to transmit the acknowledgement message in a plurality of time slots.

[0103] In some embodiments, the example method includes sending an indication to the wireless communication device to divide the plurality of downlink transmissions into subsets of two or more specific time slots.

[0104] In some embodiments, the example method includes sending an indication of a number of the plurality of downlink transmissions to the wireless communication device to include in the subset mapped to each time slot.

[0105] In some embodiments, the example method includes constraining a number of downlink transmissions for the subset mapped to each time slot to be less than or equal to half of a total number of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

[0106] In some embodiments, the example method includes decoding an acknowledgment message received in a given time slot to determine whether each downlink transmission in a subset of downlink transmissions was correctly received by the wireless communication device. In some embodiments, the acknowledgment message is decoded based on the acknowledgment message including a HABQ-ACK value or a HARQ-NACK value indicating whether each downlink transmission was correctly received by the wireless communication device.

[0107] In some embodiments, the example method includes scheduling a retransmission of a particular downlink transmission indicated with a HARQ-NACK value in an acknowledgment message.

[0108] Fig.10An exemplary block diagram of a hardware platform 1000 that may be part of a network device (e.g., a base station) or a communication device (e.g., a user equipment (UE)) is shown. The hardware platform 1000 includes at least one processor 1010 and a memory 1005 having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed by the processor 1010, cause the hardware platform 1000 to perform Figures 1 to 9 The operations described in the various embodiments described in and in this patent document. Transmitter 1015 transmits or sends information or data to another device. For example, a network device transmitter can send a message to a user device, and receiver 1020 receives information or data transmitted or sent by another device. For example, a user device can receive a message from a network device.

[0109] The above-described embodiments may be applied to wireless communications. Fig.11 An example of a wireless communication system (e.g., a 5G or NR cellular network) including a base station 1120 and one or more user equipment (UE) 111, 113, 1112, and 1113 is shown. In some embodiments, the UE uses a communication link to the network (sometimes referred to as an uplink direction, as shown by dashed arrows 1131, 1132, 1133) to access the BS (e.g., the network), and then enables subsequent communication from the BS to the UE (e.g., shown in the direction from the network to the UE, sometimes referred to as a downlink direction, as shown by arrows 1141, 1142, 1143). In some embodiments, the BS sends information to the UE (sometimes referred to as a downlink direction, as shown by arrows 1141, 1142, 1143), and then enables subsequent communication from the UE to the BS (e.g., shown in the direction from the UE to the BS, sometimes referred to as an uplink direction, as shown by dashed arrows 1131, 1132, 1133). The UE may be, for example, a smart phone, a tablet, a mobile computer, a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.

[0110]

[0026] The term "exemplary" is used herein to mean "example" and is not meant to imply an ideal or preferred embodiment unless otherwise specified.

[0111] Some embodiments described herein are described in the general context of a method or process, which in one embodiment may be implemented by a computer program product embodied in a computer-readable medium, the computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions, such as program code, executed by a computer in a networked environment. Computer-readable media may include removable and non-removable storage devices, including but not limited to read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD), etc. Therefore, computer-readable media may include non-transitory storage media. Typically, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Instructions, related data structures, and program modules executable by a computer or processor are examples of program code that perform the method steps disclosed herein. A specific sequence of such executable instructions or related data structures is an example of corresponding operations that perform the functions described in these steps or processes.

[0112] Some disclosed embodiments may be implemented as devices or modules using hardware circuits, software, or a combination thereof. For example, a hardware circuit implementation may include, for example, discrete analog and / or digital components integrated as a part of a printed circuit board. Alternatively or additionally, the disclosed components or modules may be implemented as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and / or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) devices. Some embodiments may additionally or alternatively include a digital signal processor (DSP), which is a dedicated microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the operational needs of digital signal processing associated with the disclosed functions of the present application. Similarly, various components or subcomponents within each module may be implemented with software, hardware, or firmware. The connection between the modules and / or components within the modules may be provided using any of the connection methods and media known in the art, including but not limited to communication using appropriate protocols over the Internet, wired, or wireless networks.

[0113] Although this document contains many details, these details should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the claimed or potentially claimed invention, but rather as descriptions of features specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in this document in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments. In addition, although features may be described above as working in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from the claimed combination may be deleted from the combination in some cases, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or a variation of the sub-combination. Similarly, although operations are depicted in a particular order in the accompanying drawings, this should not be understood as requiring that the operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or that all the operations shown be performed to achieve the desired result.

[0114] Only a few implementations and examples are described, and other implementations, enhancements, and variations may be made based on what is described and illustrated in this disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by the wireless communication device from the network device, scheduling information for a plurality of downlink transmissions; mapping a subset of the plurality of downlink transmissions to each time slot of a plurality of time slots based on the scheduling information; as well as In each time slot of the plurality of time slots, an acknowledgement message is sent to the network device for a subset of the downlink transmissions mapped to the time slot.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: At least one time slot of the plurality of time slots is before a time slot of a minimum time offset after the plurality of downlink transmissions are finished.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of time slots are subsequent to a time slot of a minimum time offset after the plurality of downlink transmissions start.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The plurality of time slots to which a subset of downlink transmissions are mapped are identified, wherein the plurality of time slots are identified for transmission of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment messages in response to the mapped subset of downlink transmissions.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Mapping the subset to each time slot is performed in response to receiving an instruction from the network device to transmit an acknowledgement message in a plurality of time slots.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Mapping the subset to each time slot is performed in response to not receiving an acknowledgment timing parameter after the end of the plurality of downlink transmissions, the acknowledgment timing parameter indicating a given time offset for transmitting one acknowledgment message for the plurality of downlink transmissions.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Mapping the subset to each time slot is performed in response to determining that one or more time slots exist between a time slot in which the scheduling information is received and a last time slot indicated by an acknowledgement timing parameter.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Each subset is determined to include downlink transmissions, each downlink transmission occurring at least a minimum delay before a time slot mapped for transmission of the acknowledgement message for the subset.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The minimum delay is indicated by received radio resource control (RRC) signaling or by the scheduling information.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: A subset of downlink transmissions is mapped to the plurality of time slots based on the following steps: identifying the plurality of time slots as a first time slot and a second time slot, wherein the second time slot is indicated by the scheduling information, and wherein the first time slot is the last time slot before the second time slot; and A first subset is mapped to the first time slot and a second subset is mapped to the second time slot based on assigning each downlink transmission of the plurality of downlink transmissions to one of the first time slot or the second time slot.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Each downlink transmission is assigned to one of the first time slot or the second time slot based on whether the downlink transmission occurs at least a minimum delay before the first time slot or the second time slot.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Based on an indication of dividing the plurality of downlink transmissions into two or more specific time slots of a subset, the subset is mapped to each time slot of the plurality of time slots.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Mapping the subset to each time slot comprises: identifying N downlink transmissions scheduled as consecutive time slots; mapping a first subset including first N-1 downlink transmissions to a first time slot; and A second subset including the Nth downlink transmission is mapped to a second time slot.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The number of downlink transmissions in the subset mapped to each of the plurality of time slots is less than a threshold number.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein: The threshold number is less than or equal to half of a total number of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining whether each of the plurality of downlink transmissions was correctly received; as well as For each downlink transmission belonging to the subset mapped to a given time slot, an acknowledgement value (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement value (NACK) is generated in the acknowledgement message, depending on whether the downlink transmission is correctly received.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: The acknowledgement message is sent at a time slot not indicated by a value of the PDSCH to HARQ feedback timing indicator.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of downlink transmissions include one or more candidate physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) receptions or one or more semi-persistently scheduled (SPS) PDSCH releases.

19. A method for wireless communication, comprising: Sending, by a network device, scheduling information for a plurality of downlink transmissions to a wireless communication device; as well as An acknowledgement message is received from the wireless communication device and in each of a plurality of time slots for a subset of the downlink transmissions, the subset of downlink transmissions being mapped to the time slots.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein: At least one time slot among the plurality of time slots in which the confirmation message is received is before a time slot that is a minimum time offset after the plurality of downlink transmissions are ended.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The plurality of time slots are subsequent to a time slot that is a minimum time offset after the plurality of downlink transmissions start.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising: Instructions are sent to the wireless communication device to transmit an acknowledgement message in the plurality of time slots.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising: An indication is sent to the wireless communication device to divide the plurality of downlink transmissions into a subset of two or more specific time slots.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising: An indication of a number of the plurality of downlink transmissions is sent to the wireless communication device for inclusion in the subset mapped to each time slot.

25. The method of claim 19, further comprising: The number of downlink transmissions for the subset mapped to each time slot is constrained to be less than or equal to half of the total number of the plurality of downlink transmissions.

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising: The acknowledgment message received in a given time slot is decoded to determine whether each downlink transmission in the subset of downlink transmissions was correctly received by the wireless communication device.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein: The confirmation message is decoded based on the confirmation message including a HABQ-ACK value or a HARQ-NACK value indicating whether each downlink transmission is correctly received by the wireless communication device.

28. The method according to claim 27, further comprising: Schedule retransmissions of specific downlink transmissions indicated with a HARQ-NACK value in an acknowledgment message.

29. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The plurality of downlink transmissions include one or more candidate physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) receptions or one or more semi-persistently scheduled (SPS) PDSCH releases.

30. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processor configured to implement the method according to one or more of claims 1 to 29.

31. A non-transitory computer-readable program storage medium having stored thereon codes which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to implement the method according to one or more of claims 1 to 29.

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