UE-selected direction of operation for UE with HARQ feedback disablement

Abstract

The UE is configured to receive a set of repetitions of a downlink message from a base station, and attempt to decode a DL message after receiving one or more of the repetitions. If the decoding is successful, the UE transmits an uplink message (e.g., HARQ-ACK) indicating successful decoding. If the decoding is not successful, the UE does not transmit an uplink message indicating that the decoding is not successful. If the set is not complete, the UE receives one or more additional repetitions and attempts again to decode the DL message. If the base station receives a UL message indicating successful decoding before transmitting all repetitions in the set, the base station stops transmitting the repetitions. For half-duplex UEs that disable HARQ feedback processing, upon successful decoding, the UE switches from a downlink mode to an uplink mode to send uplink messages, thereby avoiding processing subsequently received repetitions for the same downlink messages.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to communication systems. Background Art

[0002] This section introduces aspects that help to better understand the present disclosure. Therefore, the statements in this section should be read in this light, and this section should not be understood as an admission of what is or is not prior art.

[0003] In a communication system, it is known that a downstream node transmits an uplink (UL) message back to an upstream node, which acknowledges receipt of a previously sent downlink (DL) message and indicates whether the DL message was successfully decoded. If the DL message was not successfully decoded, the downstream node uses the UL message to request retransmission of the DL message.

[0004] For example, in a wireless network, it is known that a user equipment (UE) sends an uplink hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) message to a base station to acknowledge receipt of a previously sent physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message. If the UE successfully decodes the PDSCH message, the UE sends a HARQ-ACK message to the base station indicating successful decoding of the PDSCH message. If the UE does not successfully decode the PDSCH message, the UE sends a HARQ-NACK message to the base station indicating that the PDSCH message was not successfully decoded, in which case the base station will retransmit the PDSCH message.

[0005] In an environment where the probability of unsuccessful decoding of a single PDSCH message is relatively high, it is known that a base station sends a PDSCH message to a UE by sending a continuous set containing multiple repetitions of the PDSCH message to increase the probability of successful decoding at the UE. In this case, the UE will wait until it has received the entire set of repetitions before performing DL processing to attempt to decode the PDSCH message.

[0006] It is also known to disable HARQ feedback processing, where the UE does not send any HARQ messages to the base station. In this case, since the base station will not receive retransmission requests, it is known to increase the number of repetitions of the PDSCH message to increase the probability of successful decoding at the UE. Summary of the invention

[0007] When conventional HARQ feedback processing is disabled in a wireless network and the number of repetitions of a PDSCH message is relatively large, it is possible that the relatively large number of repetitions is more than the number of repetitions required for successfully decoding the PDSCH message at the UE. In this case, the additional repetitions of the PDSCH message are unnecessary, which results in unnecessarily high latency and / or unnecessarily low effective bandwidth in the DL and / or UL directions.

[0008] According to the principles of the present disclosure, these problems in the prior art are solved by a conditional HARQ feedback scheme, in which the base station sends a PDSCH message to the UE by sending a set of repetitions of the PDSCH message in multiple subsets that may be separated by time gaps, wherein each subset includes one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message, and the UE attempts to decode the PDSCH message after receiving one or more subsets of the repetitions, but not all subsets. If the UE fails to successfully decode the PDSCH message, the UE will receive one or more additional subsets without transmitting any HARQ message to the base station. However, if the UE does successfully decode the PDSCH message, the UE will send a HARQ-ACK message to the base station indicating that the PDSCH message has been successfully decoded. In this case, the base station can terminate its transmission of subsequent subsets for the PDSCH message, thereby enabling the base station to, for example, schedule the transmission of another PDSCH message more quickly, thereby reducing latency and increasing bandwidth.

[0009] In implementations where the UE operates in half-duplex mode, upon successful decoding of the PDSCH message, the UE will switch from its DL mode of operation to its UL mode of operation in order to send the HARQ-ACK message.

[0010] In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a user equipment (UE) includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to at least (1) receive a set of repetitions of a downlink (DL) message, the set comprising two or more subsets of the repetitions, each subset comprising one or more repetitions of the repetitions; (2) attempt to decode the DL message after receiving one or more subsets of the subsets; (3) if the UE successfully decodes the DL message, send an uplink (UL) message indicating successful decoding of the DL message; and (4) if the UE does not successfully decode the DL message in the current subset, (i) do not send an uplink message indicating unsuccessful decoding of the DL message, and (ii) if the set is not complete, (a) receive an additional one or more subsets of the subset, and (b) attempt to decode the DL message again.

[0011] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE is configured to attempt to decode the DL message based on one or more designated times.

[0012] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE is configured to (i) operate in half-duplex (HD) mode, and (ii) stop receiving repetitions of a DL message after successfully decoding the DL message.

[0013] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE is configured to decode the DL message during a time gap between the start and the end of the two or more subsets.

[0014] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE is configured with a specified timing for the gap.

[0015] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE is configured to use UL resources to send UL messages.

[0016] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UL resources are configured as part of a configuration of a set of repetitions for reception by the UE.

[0017] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UL message is multiplexed with one or more other UL messages from one or more other UEs using the shared UL resources.

[0018] In at least some of the above embodiments, the number of repetitions of the DL message is different for at least two of the subsets.

[0019] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE sends the UL message while repetitions of the DL message are arriving at the UE.

[0020] In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a base station includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the base station to at least (1) be configured to send a set of repetitions of a DL message to a UE, the set including two or more subsets of the repetitions, each subset including one or more repetitions of the repetitions, and (2) send the two or more subsets of the repetitions to the UE while monitoring an uplink (UL) message from the UE indicating successful decoding of the DL message.

[0021] In at least some of the above embodiments, the base station configures the UE to receive two or more subsets of repetitions of the DL message.

[0022] In at least some of the above embodiments, the base station configures the UE with one or more designated times to attempt to decode the DL message.

[0023] In at least some of the above embodiments, the base station stops sending repetitions of the DL message after receiving a UL message indicating successful decoding of the DL message after sending one or more of the repetitions in the set but before sending all of the repetitions in the set.

[0024] In at least some of the above embodiments, the base station sends the repetition in a time gap between the beginning and the end of the two or more subsets, and the base station configures the UE to attempt to decode the DL message during the time gap.

[0025] In at least some of the above embodiments, the network is a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

[0026] In at least some of the above embodiments, the base station configures UL resources to the UE to send a UL message, and the base station receives the UL message from the UE on the UL resources.

[0027] In at least some of the above embodiments, the number of repetitions of the DL message is different for at least two of the subsets.

[0028] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UL message is multiplexed with one or more other UL messages from one or more other UEs using the shared UL resources. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify similar or identical elements.

[0030] Figure 1 is a simplified hardware block diagram of a portion of a wireless network of the present disclosure, wherein a base station communicates wirelessly with a user equipment (UE);

[0031] Figure 2 is a time diagram for the first scenario, which indicates Figure 1 The base station sends the PDSCH message and Figure 1 The UE receives and processes the message, and in the first scenario, the UE fails to successfully decode the PDSCH message;

[0032] Figure 3 is a time diagram for the second scenario, which shows Figure 1 The base station sends the PDSCH message and Figure 1 The UE receives and processes the message, in which the UE successfully decodes the PDSCH message before the base station has completed sending all its scheduled subsets for the PDSCH message;

[0033] Figure 4 According to certain embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 1 A flowchart of the processing of the UE; and

[0034] Figure 5 According to certain embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 1 Flow chart of the processing of the base station. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Detailed description embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed herein. However, the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are only for the purpose of describing the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be embodied in many alternative forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In addition, the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0036] 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. It should also be understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "having", "having", "includes", and / or "comprising" specify the presence of the features, steps, or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, or components. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions / actions indicated may occur in the order indicated in the accompanying drawings. For example, depending on the functions / actions involved, two figures shown in succession may actually be performed substantially simultaneously or may sometimes be performed in the opposite order.

[0037] Figure 1 1 is a simplified hardware block diagram of a portion of a wireless network 100 in which a base station (BS) 110 (e.g., eNB for 4G networks / gNB for 5G networks) communicates wirelessly with a user equipment (UE) 120. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the network may include other UEs (not shown) that communicate with the BS 110, and that the BS 110 is connected to a network infrastructure (not shown) that enables, for example, the UE 120 to communicate with other UEs. In addition, although Figure 1 Not shown, but network 100 may have additional base stations and other network elements that support the functionality of the network for communicating with multiple other UEs.

[0038] like Figure 1As shown, BS 110 includes: (i) a radio transceiver (TRX) 112 for transmitting downlink (DL) radio signals to UE 120 and receiving uplink (UL) radio signals from UE 120; and (ii) a processor (CPU) 114 for controlling the operation of BS 110 based on software codes stored in a memory (MEM) 116 of the base station, including processing DL messages to UE 120 and UL messages from UE 120. Similarly, UE 120 includes (i) a radio TRX 122 for transmitting UL radio signals to BS 110 and receiving DL radio signals from BS 110, and (ii) a processor 124 for controlling the operation of UE 120 based on software codes stored in a memory (MEM) 126 of the UE, including processing UL messages to BS 110 and DL messages from BS 110. In addition, BS 110 includes a backend transceiver (not shown) for sending and receiving (wired or wireless, depending on the implementation) signals to and from a backend network infrastructure (not shown).

[0039] In some implementations, Figure 1 The network 100 employs frequency division duplex (FDD) processing, wherein the BS 110 operates in a full-duplex (FD) mode such that the BS 110 can simultaneously transmit DL messages to the UE 120 and receive UL messages from the UE 120, but wherein the UE 120 operates in a half-duplex (HD) mode such that at any given time, the UE 120 may support DL operation to receive DL messages from the BS 110 or support UL operation to send UL messages to the BS 110, but may not support both at the same time.

[0040] In a specific operating mode in which conventional HARQ feedback processing is disabled, BS110 is configured to send a PDSCH message to UE 120 by sending a sequence of subsets that may be separated by time gaps, wherein each subset includes one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. UE 120 is configured to attempt to decode the PDSCH message after receiving one or more but not all subsets. If UE 120 fails to decode the PDSCH message, UE 120 remains in its DL operating mode to receive one or more additional subsets and then attempts to decode the PDSCH message again. This process can continue for the entire set of repeated subsets. However, if UE 120 successfully decodes the PDSCH message, UE 120 switches to its UL operating mode and sends a HARQ-ACK message to BS110, notifying BS110 that the PDSCH message has been successfully received. In this case, upon receiving the HARQ-ACK message, BS110 stops sending the subset of the PDSCH message.

[0041] UE 120 may send an UL message while repetitions of the DL PDSCH message are arriving at UE 120 .

[0042] Depending on the implementation, UL feedback may be used for a HARQ feedback process or for bundling of multiple HARQ feedback processes.

[0043] As used herein, the term "repetition" refers to a copy or instance of a message. Note that a single copy or instance of a message in a subset is referred to as a repetition, even if the message is not repeated in the subset.

[0044] Figure 2 is a time diagram for the first scenario, which shows Figure 1 The BS 110 sends the PDSCH message and the UE 120 receives and processes the message. In the first scenario, the PDSCH message cannot be successfully decoded at the UE 120. Figure 2 As shown, from time t11 to time t12, BS110 sends a first subset 202(1) containing one or more repetitions of a PDSCH message. From time t12 to time t13, BS110 does not send. From time t13 to time t14, BS110 again sends a second subset 202(2) containing one or more repetitions of a PDSCH message. From time t14 to time t15, BS110 again does not send. From time t15 to time t16, BS110 again sends a third subset 202(3) containing one or more repetitions of a PDSCH message. From time t16 to time t17, BS110 again does not send. From time t17 to time t18, BS110 again sends a fourth subset 202(4) containing one or more repetitions of a PDSCH message. In this particular scenario, BS110 sends four subsets 202(1) to 202(4) for PDSCH messages. Typically, in this scenario, the sequence sent by BS 110 contains a specified number of subsets separated by time gaps. Typically, a gap may be between subsets of two or more subsets.

[0045] Meanwhile, with UE 120 configured in its DL mode of operation, from time t21 to time t22, UE 120 receives a first subset 202(1) transmitted by BS 110. Note that due to processing and transmission delays, there is a delay between the transmission of first subset 202(1) from BS 110 and the receipt of first subset 202(1) at UE 120. From time t22 to time t23, UE 120 employs a DL decoding process during time gap 204(1) to attempt to decode the PDSCH message. In this first scenario, UE 120 fails to successfully decode the PDSCH message. Thus, from time t23 to time t24, UE 120 receives a second subset 202(2) transmitted by BS 110. From time t24 to time t25, UE 120 attempts again during time gap 204(2), but fails to decode the PDSCH message. Thus, from time t25 to time t26, UE 120 receives a third subset 202(3) transmitted by BS 110, and from time t26 to time t27, UE 120 tries again during time gap 204(3), but fails to decode the PDSCH message. Thus, from time t27 to time t28, UE 120 receives a fourth subset 202(4) transmitted by BS 110, and from time t28 to time t29, UE 120 tries again during time gap 204(4), but fails to decode the PDSCH message.

[0046] Figure 3 is a time diagram for the second scenario, which shows Figure 1 BS 110 sends a PDSCH message and UE 120 receives and processes the message. In the second scenario, UE 120 successfully decodes the PDSCH message before BS 110 has completed sending all its scheduled subsets for the PDSCH message. Figure 3 As shown, from time t11 to time t15, BS110 executes Figure 2 Similarly, from time t21 to time t23, UE 120 performs the same process as Figure 2 204(1), except that in this scenario, during time gap 204(1), UE 120 successfully decodes the PDSCH message before expiration at time t23. In this case, at or shortly after time t23, UE 120 switches from its DL mode of operation to its UL mode of operation and sends a return HARQ-ACK message 302 to BS 110 to inform BS 110 that UE 120 has successfully decoded the PDSCH message.

[0047] Beginning at time t15', BS 110 receives and processes HARQ-ACK message 302. In response, BS 110 stops sending a subset of PDSCH messages. Figure 3 In the illustrated implementation, BS 110 completes transmission of the current subset (ie, the third subset 202(3)) before stopping transmission of the PDSCH message. Figure 2 302 is not transmitted by BS 110. Note that due to latency, BS 110 transmits second subset 202(2) and third subset 202(3), but they are not received by UE 120, which will be in its UL operating mode when these subsets arrive. Note that because BS 110 operates in full-duplex mode, BS 110 is able to (i) successfully receive and process HARQ-ACK message 302, and (ii) simultaneously transmit the subsets to UE 120.

[0048] In other possible implementations, after receiving the HARQ-ACK message 302 at time t15' and before completing the current subset, for example, after completing the transmission of the current repetition of the PDSCH message (even if it is not the last repetition in the current subset), the BS 110 stops sending the PDSCH message. Note that if the BS 110 completes processing of the HARQ-ACK message during the time gap, the BS 110 can stop sending the PDSCH message without starting to send the next subset.

[0049] As previously suggested, in some implementations, there are no time gaps between different subsets of repetitions. Typically, base station 110 configures UE 120 to receive different subsets of repetitions and attempt to decode the PDSCH message at specified times. Depending on the implementation, these times may be specified in different ways, such as (but not limited to) relative to the start of the set of repetitions, an absolute value (e.g., a system frame number), every x repetitions, or based on y milliseconds / subframes before the scheduled UL resources. If the subsets are sent with time gaps between them, base station 110 may configure UE 120 to attempt to decode the PDSCH message during one or more of those time gaps.

[0050] Figure 4 According to certain embodiments of the present disclosure Figure 14. Flowchart of the process of UE 120 of UE 120. In step 402, UE 120 is configured to operate in its DL mode of operation. In step 404, UE 120 receives one or more repetitions of a PDSCH message. In step 406, the UE attempts to decode the PDSCH message. If, in step 408, the UE determines that the PDSCH message is not successfully decoded, the process returns to step 404 to receive one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. However, if the PDSCH message is successfully decoded, then in step 410, UE 120 switches to its UL mode of operation, and in step 412, UE 120 sends a HARQ-ACK message to BS 110.

[0051] Figure 5 According to certain implementations of the present disclosure Figure 1 Flowchart of the process of BS 110 of . In step 502, for a given PDSCH message, BS 110 starts sending repetitions. If and when BS 110 receives a HARQ-ACK message from UE 120 at step 504, BS 110 stops sending repetitions at step 506.

[0052] As described above, in a transmission sequence for a given PDSCH message, each subset includes one or more repetitions of the message, and the subsets may be followed by time gaps. The network (i.e., BS 110 or another network node) determines how many repetitions of the message to include in each subset, where the number of repetitions may vary for different subsets for a given PDSCH message and / or for different PDSCH messages.

[0053] For example, in one possible scenario, BS 110 sends a PDSCH message in a sequence of six subsets, where the first subset contains 50% repetitions, the second subset contains 25%, the third subset contains 10%, and the last three subsets each contain 5%. Therefore, the timing of the subsets (e.g., start time and duration) and the timing of the time gap (if any) are different for different subsets.

[0054] Typically, the network can use the timing of the reception of the HARQ-ACK message relative to the corresponding phase of the transmit sequence as feedback for link adaptation (e.g., determining the number of subsets and / or the number of repetitions of the message to be included in the subset for a subsequent PDSCH message). Earlier reception indicates relatively reliable decoding, which may mean the need for fewer repetitions of the message for each subset and / or the need for fewer subsets for each sequence, and vice versa.

[0055] Typically, when HARQ feedback processing is disabled, the network cannot use HARQ feedback information as a reference to the channel state to adjust channel link parameters. Although there is still no HARQ feedback after the entire repetition of the DL message is completed, the earlier feedback after the UE 120 successfully decodes the DL PDSCH message can provide HARQ feedback information for link adaptation, but without additional delay because the feedback occurs at the same time as the UE 120 expects to receive the DL repetition.

[0056] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the network may use a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) to coordinate communications between BS 110 and UE 120, and for BS 110 to configure UE 120 for the transmission sequence of different PDSCH messages. Alternatively, radio resource control / medium access control (RRC / MAC) signaling may be used.

[0057] In some implementations, UE 120 uses network-configured UL resources (e.g., frequency band and / or time) to send HARQ-ACK messages. Resources can be linked to decoding gaps in downlink transmissions so that after decoding the DL message, UE 120 can respond with UL. UL resources can be shared by multiple UEs, which multiplex their HARQ-ACK messages using, for example, code division multiplexing (CDM) processing to more efficiently use UL resources.

[0058] Although the present disclosure is described in the context of a UE sending a HARQ-ACK message immediately after successfully decoding a PDSCH message, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure may be implemented in the context of a UE delaying sending a HARQ-ACK message after successfully decoding a PDSCH message. In such an implementation, if the UE successfully decodes a PDSCH message after the current subset, the UE may wait until one or more subsequent subsets for the PDSCH message are received before sending the HARQ-ACK message.

[0059] Although the present disclosure has been described in the context of a UE operating in half-duplex mode in a frequency division based network, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure may be implemented in the context of a UE operating in full-duplex mode and / or a time division based network.

[0060] Although the present disclosure has been described in the context of PCSCH messages, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure may be implemented in the context of other types of messages.

[0061] The present disclosure may be implemented in the context of a wireless non-terrestrial network (NTN) such as a 4G Internet of Things (IoT) NTN or a 5G New Radio (NR) NTN. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure may be implemented in the context of other wireless networks as well as wired or optical networks.

[0062] Although the present disclosure includes references to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be interpreted in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the described embodiments, as well as other embodiments within the scope of the present invention, which are obvious to those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs, are deemed to be within the principles and scope of the present invention, for example, as expressed in the appended claims.

[0063] It will also be appreciated that various changes in the details, materials and arrangements of components which have been described and illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, for example as indicated in the following claims.

[0064] The use of reference numerals and / or reference signs in the claims is intended to identify one or more possible embodiments of the claimed subject matter to facilitate the interpretation of the claims. Such use should not be interpreted as necessarily limiting the scope of these claims to the embodiments shown in the corresponding drawings.

[0065] Although the elements in the following method claims (if any) are recited in a specific sequence with corresponding labels, unless the claim references otherwise imply a specific sequence for implementing some or all of those elements, those elements are not necessarily intended to be limited to being implemented in that specific order. Likewise, in methods consistent with various embodiments of the present disclosure, additional steps may be included, and certain steps may be omitted or combined.

[0066] Reference herein to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearance of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarily mutually exclusive of other embodiments. The same applies to the term "implementation".

[0067] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the use of the ordinal adjectives "first," "second," "third," etc., to refer to an object among a plurality of similar objects indicates merely that different instances of such similar objects are referenced, and is not intended to imply that the similar objects so referenced must have a corresponding order or sequence in time, space, in ranking, or in any other manner.

[0068] Also for the purposes of this specification, the terms "coupled", "coupled to", "coupled to", "connected", "connected to", or "connected to" refer to any means known in the art or later developed in which energy is allowed to be transferred between two or more elements, and the mutual position of one or more additional elements is expected but not required. In contrast, the terms "directly coupled", "directly connected", etc. imply that there are no such additional elements. The same type of distinction applies to the use of the terms "attach" and "directly attached", as applied to the description of the physical structure. For example, a relatively thin layer of adhesive or other suitable adhesive can be used to achieve this "direct attachment" of the two corresponding parts in this physical structure.

[0069] As used herein with reference to components and standards, the terms "compatible" and "compliant" mean that a component communicates with other components in a manner specified in whole or in part by a standard, and will be recognized by other components as being able to communicate with other components in a manner specified by a standard. A compatible or compliant component need not operate internally in a manner specified by a standard.

[0070] The described embodiments are considered in all respects to be illustrative only and not restrictive. In particular, the scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the description and drawings herein. All changes that fall within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims will be included within their scope.

[0071] The functions of the various elements shown in the drawings (including any functional blocks marked as "processors" and / or "controllers") can be provided by using dedicated hardware and hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functions can be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by multiple separate processors, some of which can be shared. In addition, the explicit use of the term "processor" or "controller" should not be interpreted as exclusively referring to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, but are not limited to, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, network processors, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), and non-volatile storage devices for storing software. Other conventional and / or customized hardware may also be included. Similarly, any switches shown in the figure are only conceptual. Their functions can be performed by the operation of program logic, by dedicated logic, by the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, and the specific technology can be selected by the implementer, as more specifically understood from the context.

[0072] It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual diagrams of illustrative circuits embodying the principles of the present disclosure. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flowcharts, state transition diagrams, pseudocodes, etc. represent various processes that can be substantially represented in a computer-readable medium and thus executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

[0073] As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the present disclosure may be embodied as an apparatus (including, for example, a system, a network, a machine, a device, a computer program product, etc.), a method (including, for example, a business process, a computer-implemented process, etc.), or any combination thereof. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely software-based embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects, which may generally be referred to herein as a "system" or "network."

[0074] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be expressed in the form of methods and devices for practicing these methods. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be expressed in the form of program codes embodied in tangible media (such as magnetic recording media, optical recording media, solid-state memory, floppy disk, CD-ROM, hard disk drive, or any other non-transient machine-readable storage medium), wherein, when the program code is loaded into a machine such as a computer and executed by it, the machine becomes a device for practicing the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be expressed in the form of program codes, for example, stored in a non-transient machine-readable storage medium, including being loaded into a machine and / or executed by a machine, wherein, when the program code is loaded into a machine such as a computer and executed by the machine, the machine becomes a device for practicing the present disclosure. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, a program code segment is combined with a processor to provide a unique device that operates similarly to a specific logic circuit.

[0075] As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (ie, tangible rather than a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (eg, RAM versus ROM).

[0076] In this specification, including any claims, the term "each" may be used to refer to one or more specified characteristics of a plurality of previously recited elements or steps. When used with the open-ended term "comprising," the recitation of the term "each" does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or steps. Thus, it should be understood that an apparatus may have additional, unrecited elements, and a method may have additional, unrecited steps, where the additional, unrecited elements or steps do not have one or more specified characteristics.

[0077] As used herein, "at least one of: " and "at least one item of " and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is connected by "and" or "or", mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements. For example, the phrases "at least one of A and B" and "at least one of A or B" are both interpreted as having the same meaning, including the following three possibilities: 1-only A; 2-only B; 3-both A and B.

[0078] All documents mentioned herein are either incorporated by reference in their entirety or alternatively provided for the disclosure for which they are specifically relied upon.

[0079] The embodiments covered by the claims in this application are limited to those that (1) are supported by this specification and (2) correspond to statutory subject matter. Embodiments corresponding to non-statutory subject matter and unsupported embodiments are expressly disclaimed, even if they fall within the scope of the claims.

[0080] As used herein and in the claims, the term "provided" with respect to a device or with respect to a system, device, or component encompasses designing or manufacturing the device, system, device, or component; causing the device, system, device, or component to be designed or manufactured; and / or acquiring the device, system, device, or component by purchase, lease, rental, or other contractual arrangement.

[0081] Although preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these embodiments are provided only as examples. Without departing from the present disclosure, those skilled in the art will now appreciate many variations, changes, and substitutions. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein may be used to practice the technology of the present disclosure. The following claims are intended to define the scope of the present invention, and methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents are thus covered.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to at least: receiving a set of repetitions of a downlink (DL) message, the set comprising two or more subsets of the repetitions, each subset comprising one or more of the repetitions; After receiving one or more of the subsets, attempting to decode the DL message; If the UE successfully decodes the DL message, sending an uplink (UL) message indicating successful decoding of the DL message; as well as If the UE does not successfully decode the DL message in the current subset, (i) do not send an uplink message indicating unsuccessful decoding of the DL message, and (ii) if the set is not complete, (a) receive one or more additional subsets of the subset, and (b) attempt to decode the DL message again.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE is configured to attempt to decode the DL message based on one or more designated times.

3. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the UE is configured to (i) operate in half-duplex (HD) mode, and (ii) stop receiving repetitions of the DL message after successfully decoding the DL message.

4. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the UE is configured to decode the DL message during a time gap between a start and an end of the two or more subsets.

5. The UE of claim 4, wherein the UE is configured with a specified timing for the gap. 6 . The UE according to claim 1 , wherein the UE is configured to send the UL message using UL resources. 7 . The UE of claim 6 , wherein the UL resources are configured as part of a configuration for the UE to receive the repetitive set.

8. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the UL message is multiplexed with one or more other UL messages from one or more other UEs using shared UL resources.

9. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the number of repetitions of the DL message is different for at least two of the subsets.

10. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the UE sends the UL message when a repetition of the DL message is arriving at the UE.

11. A base station, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the base station to at least: a set of repetitions of a downlink (DL) message configured to send to a user equipment (UE), the set comprising two or more subsets of the repetitions, each subset comprising one or more of the repetitions; as well as The two or more subsets of the repetitions are sent to the UE while monitoring an uplink (UL) message from the UE indicating successful decoding of the DL message.

12. The base station of claim 11, wherein the base station configures the UE to receive the two or more subsets of the repetitions of the DL message.

13. The base station according to any one of claims 11 to 12, wherein the base station configures the UE with one or more designated times for attempting to decode the DL message.

14. A base station according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the base station stops sending repetitions of the DL message after receiving the UL message indicating successful decoding of the DL message after sending one or more of the repetitions in the set but before sending all of the repetitions in the set.

15. The base station according to any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein: The base station transmits the repetition using a time gap between the beginning and the end of the two or more subsets; and The base station configures the UE to attempt to decode the DL message during the time gap.

16. The base station according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the network is a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

17. The base station according to any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein: The base station configures UL resources for the UE to send the UL message; and The base station receives the UL message from the UE on the UL resources.

18. The base station according to any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein the number of repetitions of the DL message is different for at least two of the subsets.

19. The base station according to any one of claims 11 to 18, wherein the UL message is multiplexed with one or more other UL messages from one or more other UEs using shared UL resources.

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