Systems and methods for enabling or disabling harq feedback

Abstract

Systems and methods for enabling or disabling hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback are presented. A wireless communication device (e.g., UE) can receive first signaling and second signaling from a wireless communication node (e.g., BS). The wireless communication device can determine, from the first signaling and the second signaling, whether at least one hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback of at least one HARQ process is to be disabled.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including but not limited to systems and methods for enabling or disabling HARQ feedback. BACKGROUND

[0002] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is currently specifying a new radio interface, referred to as 5G New Radio (5G NR) and a next generation packet core network (NG-CN or NGC). 5G NR will have three main components: a 5G access network (5G-AN), a 5G core network (5GC), and a user equipment (UE). To facilitate different data services and requirements, the elements of the 5GC (also referred to as network functions) have been simplified, some are software-based, and some are hardware-based, to adjust as needed. SUMMARY

[0003] The example embodiments disclosed herein are directed to addressing issues with one or more problems in the art that has been addressed by the prior art and to providing additional features that will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. According to different embodiments, example systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. It is to be understood, however, that these embodiments are made only by way of example, and that

[0004] At least one aspect is directed to a system, method, apparatus, or computer readable medium. A wireless communication device (e.g., a UE) can receive first signaling (e.g., downlink control information (DCI) signaling) and second signaling (e.g., higher layer signaling) from a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS). The wireless communication device can determine, according to the first signaling and the second signaling, whether at least one hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback for at least one HARQ process is to be disabled.

[0005] In some embodiments, the first signaling can comprise downlink control information (DCI) signaling. The second signaling can comprise higher layer signaling. The higher layer signaling can comprise at least one of: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, or system information block (SIB) signaling. The DCI signaling can comprise a 1-bit value to indicate whether the at least one HARQ feedback is to be disabled for at least one transport block and / or at least one HARQ process.

[0006] In some embodiments, the DCI signaling can include a bitmap to indicate whether respective HARQ feedback corresponding to each of the multiple transport blocks is to be disabled. The DCI signaling can include a bitmap to indicate whether respective HARQ feedback corresponding to each of the multiple HARQ processes is to be disabled.

[0007] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device can determine, in response to the field for enabling or disabling HARQ feedback not being present in the DCI signaling, that there is no change in configuration of the at least one HARQ feedback, that the configuration of the at least one HARQ feedback is not present, or that the HARQ feedback is enabled. The second signaling (e.g., higher layer signaling) can include an indication of whether the first signaling is used to indicate whether the at least one HARQ feedback is to be disabled. The indication of whether the first signaling is used to indicate whether the at least one HARQ feedback is to be disabled can be specific to at least one of: the wireless communication device, or each of the at least one HARQ process.

[0008] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device can receive third signaling from the wireless communication node. The third signaling can (be used to) indicate whether at least one HARQ feedback for the at least one HARQ process is to be disabled. The third signaling can include radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0009] In some embodiments, when the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is used to indicate whether the HARQ feedback is to be disabled, the wireless communication device can determine, from the first signaling, whether the at least one HARQ feedback for the at least one HARQ process is to be disabled regardless of the indication of the third signaling.

[0010] In some embodiments, when the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is used to indicate whether the HARQ feedback is to be disabled, and the field for enabling or disabling the HARQ feedback is not present (e.g., not detected) in the first signaling, the wireless communication device can determine, from the third signaling, whether the at least one HARQ feedback for the at least one HARQ process is to be disabled.

[0011] In some embodiments, when the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is not used to indicate whether the HARQ feedback is to be disabled, the wireless communication device can determine, from the third signaling, whether the at least one HARQ feedback for the at least one HARQ process is to be disabled.

[0012] In some embodiments, the second signaling (e.g., higher layer signaling) can include an indication of whether at least one HARQ feedback for at least one HARQ process is to be disabled. The DCI signaling can include a 1-bit value to indicate whether to reverse (e.g., reverse or opposite) the indication from the second signaling of whether the HARQ feedback for at least one transport block is to be disabled.

[0013] In some embodiments, the DCI signaling can include a bitmap to indicate whether to reverse respective indications from the second signaling of whether the HARQ feedback for a respective one of a plurality of transport blocks is to be disabled. In some embodiments, the DCI signaling can include a bitmap to indicate whether to reverse respective indications from the second signaling of whether the HARQ feedback for a respective one of a plurality of HARQ processes is to be disabled. When a field for reversing or keeping the indication from the second signaling of whether the at least one HARQ feedback for the at least one HARQ process is to be disabled is not present in the DCI signaling, the wireless communication device can determine whether the at least one HARQ feedback for the at least one HARQ process is disabled according to the second signaling.

[0014] In some embodiments, a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS) can transmit first signaling (e.g., downlink control information (DCI) signaling) and second signaling (e.g., higher layer signaling) to a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE). The first signaling and the second signaling can (e.g., collectively) indicate whether to disable at least one HARQ process of at least one hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] Various example embodiments of the present solution will be described in detail below with reference to the following drawings or accompanying figures. The accompanying figures are provided only for reference, and only describe example embodiments of the present solution to facilitate the reader's understanding of the present solution. Therefore, the accompanying figures should not be considered as limiting the breadth, scope, or applicability of the present solution. It should be noted that, for the sake of clarity and ease of illustration, these accompanying figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0016] Figure 1 An example cellular communication network in which the techniques disclosed herein can be implemented according to embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0017] Figure 2 A block diagram of example base station and user equipment apparatuses according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0018] Figure 3 Example embodiments of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown;

[0019] Figure 4An example representation of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) stalling and HARQ feedback de- enabling is shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0020] Figure 5 A flowchart of an example method of enabling or de-enabling HARQ feedback is shown in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] 1. Mobile communication technology and environment

[0022] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network and / or system 100 in which embodiments according to the present disclosure can be implemented is disclosed herein. In the following discussion, the wireless communication network 100 can be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) network, and is referred to herein as “network 100”. Such example network 100 includes base stations 102 (hereinafter “BS 102”; also referred to as wireless communication nodes) and user equipment devices 104 (hereinafter “UE 104”; also referred to as wireless communication devices) that can communicate with each other over communication links 110 (e.g., wireless communication channels), as well as clusters 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 of cells that cover a geographic area 101. In Figure 1 In the example shown in FIG. 1, the BS 102 and the UE 104 are located within respective geographic boundaries of the cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 can include at least one base station operating at its assigned bandwidth in order to provide sufficient radio coverage for its intended users.

[0023] For example, the BS 102 can operate at an assigned channel transmission bandwidth to provide sufficient coverage to the UE 104. The BS 102 and the UE 104 can communicate via downlink radio frames 118 and uplink radio frames 124, respectively. Each radio frame 118 / 124 can further be divided into subframes 120 / 127, which can include data symbols 122 / 128. In the present disclosure, the BS 102 and the UE 104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of “communication nodes”, which in general can implement the methods of the present disclosure. According to various embodiments of the present solution, these communication nodes can communicate wirelessly and / or via wire.

[0024] Figure 2A block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM / OFDMA signals) in accordance with some embodiments of the present solution is shown. The system 200 can include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operational features that need not be described in detail herein. In one illustrative embodiment, the system 200 can be used to communicate (e.g., transmit and receive) data symbols in a wireless communication environment of a wireless communication environment 100 such as that described above. Figure 1

[0025] The system 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter "BS 202") and a user equipment device 204 (hereinafter "UE 204"). The BS 202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each of which is coupled and interconnected to each other as needed via a data communication bus 220. The UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each of which is coupled and interconnected to each other as needed via a data communication bus 240. The BS 202 communicates with the UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for data transmission as described herein.

[0026] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the system 200 can also include any number of modules other than those shown. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. Figure 2

[0027] ​​According to some embodiments, UE transceiver 230, which can be referred to herein as an "uplink" transceiver 230, includes radio frequency (RF) transmitters and RF receivers, each including circuitry coupled to antenna 232. A duplexing switch (not shown) can couple the uplink transmitter or receiver with the uplink antenna in a time duplexed manner. Similarly, according to certain embodiments, BS transceiver 210, which can be referred to herein as a "downlink" transceiver 210, includes RF transmitters and RF receivers, each including circuitry coupled to antenna 212. A downlink duplexing switch can alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or receiver with the downlink antenna 212 in a time duplexed manner. The operation of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 can be coordinated in time so that the uplink receiver circuitry is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 for receiving transmissions over wireless transmission link 250 at the same time that the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212. Conversely, the operation of the two transceivers 210 and 230 can be coordinated in time so that the downlink receiver is coupled to the downlink antenna 212 for receiving transmissions over wireless transmission link 250 at the same time that the uplink transmitter is coupled to the uplink antenna 232. In certain embodiments, there is a close time synchronization with a minimum guard time between duplex direction changes.

[0028] UE transceiver 230 and base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via wireless data communication link 250, and cooperate with appropriately configured RF antenna arrangements 212 / 232 that can support a particular wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some illustrative embodiments, UE transceiver 210 and base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards, etc. However, it can be appreciated that the application of the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to a particular standard and related protocols. Rather, UE transceiver 230 and base station transceiver 210 can be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variants thereof.

[0029] According to various embodiments, the BS 202 can be an evolved Node B (eNB), a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femto station, or a pico station, for example. In some embodiments, the UE 204 can be embodied as various types of user equipment, such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a wearable computing device, etc. The processor modules 214 and 236 can be implemented or realized with a general purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. The processor modules can be realized as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, or the like. The processor modules can also be implemented as a combination of a

[0030] Further, the steps of a method or algorithm related to embodiments disclosed herein can be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module separately from processor modules 214 and 236, or in any practical combination thereof. The memory modules 216 and 234 can be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, the memory modules 216 and 234 can be coupled to the processor modules 214 and 236, respectively, such that the processor modules 214 and 236 can read information from, and write information to, the memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. The memory modules 216 and 234 can also be integrated into the respective processor modules 214 and 236. In some embodiments, the memory modules 216 and 234 can include a cache memory, respectively, for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by the processor modules 214 and 236. The memory modules 216 and 234 can also each include a non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor modules 214 and 236, respectively.

[0031] The network communications module 218 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic and / or other components that can enable two-way communications between the base transceiver station 202 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with the base station 202. For example, the network communications module 218 can be configured to support Internet or WiMAX traffic. In a typical deployment, the network communications module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface, enabling the base transceiver station 210 to communicate with a conventional Ethernet-based computer network, although not limited thereto. As such, the network communications module 218 can include a physical interface for connecting to a computer network, such as a mobile switching center (MSC). The term "configured to," "configured for," and conjugations thereof as used herein with reference to an apparatus, a component, a circuit, a structure, a machine, a signal, etc., refers to the physical configuration, programming, formatting, and / or arrangement of the apparatus, component, circuit, structure, machine, signal, etc., to perform the specified operation or function.

[0032] The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (herein simply referred to as the "open systems interconnection model") is a conceptual and logical layout used to define network communications used by systems, such as wireless communication devices, wireless communication nodes, that can interconnect and communicate with other systems. The model is divided into seven subcomponents (or layers), each representing a conceptual set of services provided to its upper and lower layers. The OSI model also defines logical networks and effectively describes computer packet transmission by using different layer protocols. The OSI model can also be referred to as the seven-layer OSI model or seven-layer model. In certain embodiments, the first layer can be a physical layer. In some embodiments, the second layer can be a medium access control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, the third layer can be a radio link control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, the fourth layer can be a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, the fifth layer can be a radio resource control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, the sixth layer can be a non-access stratum (NAS) layer or an internet protocol (IP) layer, and the seventh layer is other layers.

[0033] Various example embodiments of the present solution will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in order to enable ordinary skilled persons in the art to make and use the present solution. As will be apparent from the disclosure, various changes or modifications can be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the present solution. Thus, the present solution is not limited to the example embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. Moreover, the particular order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely examples. The particular order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed can be rearranged, unless otherwise specifically provided, while still falling within the scope of the present solution. As a result, the present solution is not limited to the particular order or hierarchy of steps disclosed herein.

[0034] 2. Systems and methods for HARQ feedback enable-disable configuration

[0035] In terrestrial networks (TNs), a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) mechanism can improve transmission reliability. After a transmission, a transmitter can perform a new transmission or retransmission in the same HARQ process after receiving HARQ-acknowledgement (ACK) feedback (e.g., an acknowledgement / response about a received / not received transmission) from a receiver. The HARQ-ACK feedback can be used to confirm whether the transmitted data has been successfully received. When the propagation delay is long, such as in non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), the HARQ process can wait a long time for feedback before the next transmission. If all HARQ processes have completed transmission but none of them have received feedback due to a large round-trip time (RTT) (e.g., a round-trip delay), the transmitter can stop transmitting and HARQ stalling occurs. To avoid HARQ stalling and improve throughput, HARQ feedback deactivation (e.g., deactivating a part of the HARQ process related to waiting for feedback and / or processing feedback) can be applied in new radio (NR)-NTN systems.

[0036] However, HARQ feedback deactivation can be optional. To enhance coverage and improve detection performance, repeated data transmission can be applied in NTNs, such as narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC). When a HARQ process is enabled, deactivating HARQ feedback can mean that no feedback is provided, which can cause some problems (e.g., modulation order and / or power control can not be able to adapt to channel conditions). Therefore, dynamic configuration of enabling / deactivating HARQ feedback can be beneficial to make a trade-off between throughput and detection performance.

[0037] Figure 3An example structure of transparent NTN is shown. The link between a UE (e.g., user equipment, UE 104, UE 204, mobile device, wireless communication device, terminal, etc.) and a satellite can be a service link. The link between a BS (e.g., base station, BS 102, BS 202, gNB, eNB, wireless communication node, etc.) and a satellite can be a feeder link and is common for all UEs within the same cell. Due to the high altitude of the satellite, the propagation delay can be large. For NTN, especially for aircraft entities on geostationary equatorial orbit (GEO), the RTT between a UE and a BS can be up to hundreds of milliseconds due to the long (signal transmission / propagation) distance. On low earth orbit (LEO), the RTT between a UE and a BS can be only a few milliseconds to tens of milliseconds.

[0038] Figure 4 An illustration of HARQ stalling and HARQ feedback deactivation is shown according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. HARQ feedback deactivation can be implemented at least for semi-statically configured new radio (NR)-NTN. The network can deactivate the feedback of at least one HARQ process through radio resource control (RRC) signaling. By deactivating the HARQ feedback of one HARQ process, the UE can continuously send new transport blocks (TBs) without performing the stop-and-wait procedure as shown in (2) of Figure 4 Thus, HARQ stalling due to the large RTT can be avoided and the throughput can be improved. However, the detection performance can decrease at the same time when there is no HARQ retransmission. Therefore, HARQ feedback deactivation can be configured in NR-NTN to make a trade-off between the throughput and the detection performance.

[0039] Repetition can be applied to data transmission (e.g., in IoT-NTN or eMTC) to improve the detection performance at the receiver. If the number of repetitions (the number of repetitions of data transmission) is large enough, the duration of sending one TB can be longer than the RTT. In this case, even if the HARQ feedback is enabled as shown in (3) of Figure 4 For a single HARQ process UE, deactivating the HARQ feedback can prohibit the link adaptation due to the absence of feedback information. Therefore, the dynamic configuration mechanism of deactivating the HARQ feedback can be investigated.

[0040] Implementation Example 1: HARQ feedback enable / deactivate based on DCI configuration

[0041] The dynamic configuration of HARQ feedback enabling / disabling can be configured in IoT-NTN in order to trade-off between throughput and performance. The downlink control information (DCI) can be sent for the scheduling of each transmission. The DCI can be the appropriate signaling carrying the configuration information. The following at least one example can be considered for the configuration.

[0042] Example-1: A bit field (e.g., a field with length of one or more bits) in the DCI can be defined to indicate whether the HARQ feedback is disabled for at least one transport block scheduled by the DCI. For example, a one-bit field can be defined. If the network shows “1” in the bit field, the HARQ feedback can be disabled. If the network shows “0” in the bit field, the HARQ feedback can be enabled, and vice versa. The bit field can be newly defined or re-interpreted from an existing bit field in the DCI (including a reserved bit field).

[0043] Example-2: When multiple transport blocks are scheduled by the DCI, a bitmap can be shown in the DCI to configure which transport blocks among the multiple transport blocks disable the HARQ feedback. For example, when two TBs are scheduled, two bits can be defined for the two TBs respectively to show the configuration of enabling / disabling the HARQ feedback. The bit field can be newly defined or re-interpreted (e.g., re-used) from a current / existing bit field (including a reserved bit field).

[0044] Example-3: When multiple HARQ processes are used, a bitmap can be indicated in the DCI to configure which HARQ processes are HARQ feedback disabled. For example, when two HARQ processes are used, two bits can be defined for the two HARQ processes respectively to show the configuration of enabling / disabling the HARQ feedback. The bit field can be newly defined or re-interpreted from a current / existing bit field (including a reserved bit field).

[0045] Example-4: When the bit field for the HARQ feedback enabling / disabling configuration is not present in the DCI, the HARQ feedback configuration can not change (e.g., same as the previous DCI configuration).

[0046] Example-5: When the bit field for the HARQ feedback enabling / disabling configuration is not present in the DCI, the UE can determine that there is no DCI configuration for the HARQ feedback enabling / disabling. The RRC-based HARQ feedback enabling / disabling configuration can be applied.

[0047] Example-6: When the bit field for the HARQ feedback enabling / disabling configuration is not present in the DCI, the HARQ feedback can be enabled.

[0048] From the above examples, the UE can receive the first signaling, the second signaling, and / or the third signaling. The UE can determine whether to de- enable at least one hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process (and / or at least one transport block) of at least one HARQ feedback according to at least one of the following: the first signaling, the second signaling, or the third signaling. In some embodiments, the BS can determine whether to configure at least one HARQ feedback of at least one hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process to be de-enabled. The BS can transmit at least one of the following signaling: the first signaling, the second signaling, or the third signaling to indicate whether to de-enable the at least one HARQ process feedback. The bit field for HARQ feedback enable / de- enable configuration can be newly defined or obtained by reinterpreting an existing bit field. To avoid misinterpretation of DCI, it can be configured whether the DCI-based HARQ feedback enable / de- enable configuration function is enabled. The enablement of the function can be semi-statically configured by higher layer signaling. The higher layer signaling can include at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, or system information block (SIB) signaling. The indication of whether to de-enable the HARQ feedback can be configured to be at least one of the following: per UE or per HARQ process. For example, if the indication of whether to de-enable the HARQ feedback is de-enabled for a first UE, the first UE can de-enable all HARQ feedbacks of HARQ processes on the first UE. The DCI-based HARQ feedback enable / de- enable configuration function can be enabled per UE or per HARQ process. For example, if the DCI-based HARQ feedback enable / de- enable configuration function is enabled per UE, the UE can follow the DCI configuration regardless of which HARQ process is used. If the function is enabled per HARQ process, the UE can only follow the DCI configuration of the HARQ process for which the DCI configuration function is enabled.

[0049] Implementation Example 2: Interaction between RRC-based configuration and DCI-based configuration

[0050] In NR-NTN, RRC-based configuration for enable / de- enable of HARQ feedback can be supported. In the RRC-based approach, the network can indicate to the UE whether to de- enable HARQ feedback per HARQ process. Therefore, the RRC-based configuration approach can be considered for IoT-NTN design. When both RRC-based configuration and DCI-based configuration are supported, how to handle the case of conflict between the two configurations can be considered.

[0051] Since the RRC-based solution can be the default solution used in NR-NTN, while the DCI-based solution can be designed for IoT-NTN to handle specific cases, the DCI-based solution can have higher priority when both configurations exist. At least one of the following examples can be considered.

[0052] Example-1: When the DCI-based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration function is not enabled (e.g., indicated), the RRC-based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration can be adopted. If neither the DCI-based configuration nor the RRC-based configuration is indicated, the HARQ feedback is enabled.

[0053] Example-2: When the DCI-based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration function is enabled, the DCI-based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration can have higher priority than the RRC-based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration. If the RRC-based configuration is not applied, the DCI-based configuration can be applied. If there is an RRC-based configuration, the DCI configuration can override / priority the RRC configuration (e.g., the DCI configuration has higher / preferred priority than the RRC configuration). If there is a conflict between the DCI-based configuration and the RRC-based configuration, the RRC-based configuration can be ignored.

[0054] Example-3: When the DCI-based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration function is enabled but not configured, the RRC-based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration can be adopted. If neither the DCI-based configuration nor the RRC-based configuration is indicated, the HARQ feedback is enabled.

[0055] In addition, the UE can determine whether to disable HARQ feedback based on information from RRC signaling and DCI signaling. For example, the RRC signaling can be used to configure whether HARQ feedback is disabled by default. The DCI signaling can be used to indicate whether the RRC signaling is to be reversed / changed / reversed. At least one of the following examples can be considered. This approach can be different from the previous examples. The previous examples can directly indicate via DCI whether the feedback is disabled or not. In this approach, the RRC-based configuration can be the baseline, and the DCI signaling can indicate whether the configuration is reversed (e.g., from “enabled” to “disabled”, or from “disabled” to “enabled”).

[0056] Example-4: A bit field in the DCI can be defined to indicate whether the RRC based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration is reversed / changed or not for at least one transport block scheduled by the DCI. For example, a one bit field can be defined, where "1" can indicate that the RRC based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration is reversed / changed, and "0" can indicate that the RRC based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration is preserved, or vice versa. If the bit field is not present, the RRC based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration can be kept / maintained (if enabled or available).

[0057] Example-5: When multiple transport blocks are scheduled by the DCI, a bitmap can be indicated in the DCI to indicate for which RRC based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration in the HARQ processes corresponding to the transport blocks can be reversed / changed. For example, when two TBs are scheduled, two bits can be defined for the two HARQ processes respectively to show whether the corresponding RRC based configuration of HARQ feedback enable / disable is reversed / changed or not. If the bit field is not present, the RRC based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration can be kept / maintained.

[0058] Example-6: When multiple HARQ processes are used, a bitmap can be indicated in the DCI to configure which of the RRC based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration is reversed / changed. For example, when two HARQ processes are used, two bits can be defined for the two TBs respectively to show the configuration of HARQ feedback enable / disable. If the bit field is not present, the RRC based HARQ feedback enable / disable configuration can be kept / maintained.

[0059] It should be understood that one or more features from the above-described examples can not be exclusive to a particular example, but can be combined in any manner (e.g., in any priority and / or order, concurrently, or otherwise) with one another.

[0060] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating a method 500 for enabling or disabling HARQ feedback is shown. The method 500 can be implemented using any one or more of the components and devices described herein, in conjunction with those described in the detailed description above. In some embodiments, the method 500 can be performed by a wireless communication device, such as a UE. The method 500 can perform more, fewer, or different operations depending on the embodiment. At least one aspect of the operations can be directed to a system, method, apparatus, or computer readable medium. Figures 1-4

[0061] ​A wireless communication device (e.g., a UE) can receive first signaling (e.g., downlink control information (DCI) signaling) and second signaling (e.g., higher layer signaling) from a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS). The wireless communication device can determine, from the first signaling and the second signaling, whether at least one hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback of at least one HARQ process is to be disabled.

[0062] In some embodiments, the first signaling can comprise / be downlink control information (DCI) signaling. The second signaling can comprise / be higher layer signaling. The higher layer signaling can comprise / be at least one of: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, or system information block (SIB) signaling. The DCI signaling can comprise a 1-bit value to indicate whether at least one HARQ feedback of at least one transport block is to be disabled.

[0063] In some embodiments, the DCI signaling can comprise a bitmap to indicate whether a respective HARQ feedback corresponding to each of a plurality of transport blocks is to be disabled. The DCI signaling can comprise a bitmap to indicate whether a respective HARQ feedback corresponding to each of a plurality of HARQ processes (e.g., each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a HARQ feedback of a respective one of the HARQ processes) is to be disabled.

[0064] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device can determine, in response to a field (e.g., not detected) for enabling or disabling HARQ feedback not being present in the DCI signaling, that there is no change in configuration of the at least one HARQ feedback, that the configuration of the at least one HARQ feedback is not present, or that the HARQ feedback is enabled. The second signaling (e.g., higher layer signaling) can comprise an indication of whether the first signaling is used to indicate whether the at least one HARQ feedback is to be disabled. The indication of whether the first signaling is used to indicate whether the at least one HARQ feedback is to be disabled can be specific to at least one of: the wireless communication device, or each of the at least one HARQ process.

[0065] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device can receive third signaling from the wireless communication node. The third signaling can indicate whether at least one HARQ feedback of at least one HARQ process is to be disabled. The third signaling can comprise radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0066] In some embodiments, when the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is used to indicate whether the HARQ feedback is to be disabled, the wireless communication device can determine, from the first signaling, whether the at least one HARQ feedback of the at least one HARQ process is to be disabled regardless of the indication of the third signaling.

[0067] In some embodiments, when (i) the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is used to indicate whether HARQ feedback is to be disabled, and (ii) a field for enabling or disabling HARQ feedback is not present in the first signaling, the wireless communication device can determine, from the third signaling, whether at least one HARQ feedback of at least one HARQ process is to be disabled.

[0068] In some embodiments, when the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is not to be used to indicate whether HARQ feedback is to be disabled, the wireless communication device can determine, from the third signaling, whether at least one HARQ feedback of at least one HARQ process is to be disabled.

[0069] In some embodiments, the second signaling (e.g., higher layer signaling) can include an indication of whether at least one HARQ feedback of at least one HARQ process is to be disabled. The DCI signaling can include a 1-bit value to indicate whether to reverse (e.g., reverse or make opposite) the indication of the second signaling of whether HARQ feedback of at least one transport block is to be disabled.

[0070] In some embodiments, the DCI signaling can include a bitmap (e.g., multiple bits) to indicate whether to reverse respective indications (e.g., each bit corresponding to a respective one of the transport blocks) from the second signaling of whether HARQ feedback of a respective one of multiple transport blocks is to be disabled. In some embodiments, the DCI signaling can include a bitmap to indicate whether to reverse respective indications from the second signaling of whether HARQ feedback of a respective one of multiple HARQ processes is to be disabled. When a field for reversing or keeping the indication of the second signaling of whether at least one HARQ feedback of at least one HARQ process is to be disabled is not present in the DCI signaling, the wireless communication device can determine, from the second signaling, whether at least one HARQ feedback of at least one HARQ process is to be disabled.

[0071] In some embodiments, a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS) can transmit, to a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE), first signaling (e.g., downlink control information (DCI) signaling) and second signaling (e.g., higher layer signaling). The first signaling and the second signaling can (e.g., collectively) indicate whether to disable at least one hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback of at least one HARQ process.

[0072] While various embodiments of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Likewise, the various schematic diagrams can depict example architectures or configurations, and provide a general understanding of the example features and functionality of the present solution. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present solution can be practiced according to alternative architectures and configurations without departing from the scope of the present solution. In other words, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the example features and functionality described herein can be equally applied to any number of alternative architectures and configurations. Additionally, it should be understood that one or more features of one embodiment can be combined with one or more features of another embodiment. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above described example embodiments.

[0073] It should also be understood that any reference to an element herein using a designation such as "first," "second," and so forth does not limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations can be used herein as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elements does not mean that only two elements can be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element.

[0074] In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols that can be referenced throughout the above description can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0075] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., a number of logic

[0076] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described herein can be implemented or performed with an integrated circuit (IC), a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof. The logical blocks, modules, and circuits can also include antennas and / or transceivers to communicate with various components within a network or device. The general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0077] If implemented in software, the functions can be stored or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Therefore, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program or code from one place to another. Storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact discs and laser discs.

[0078] In this document, the term "module" refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements that is used to implement the associated functionality described herein. Furthermore, various modules described herein can be comprised of programming means for implementing embedded functional ity as opposed to one or more distinct software modules, device, circuits, or self-contained programs. It will be appreciated that one or more of the various modules described herein can be combined in a composite module. In addition, the one or more modules together can each be comprised of one or more components operable under the control of one or more computer readable media for implementing embedded functionality. It will be appreciated that, for clarity and the avoidance of doubt, this document has described embodiments that refer to software and / or computer-readable media. However, it will be appreciated that the function performed by the various components, modules and units described herein can be implemented in hardware, for example, as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

[0079] Furthermore, memory or other storage, as well as communication components can also be employed in embodiments of the solution. It is to be understood that the embodiments of the solution described above are to be considered illustrative, rather than restrictive, of the disclosure. Although embodiments of the solution are described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, alternative embodiments of the solution can be employed and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the solution. No component is essential to the practice of the solution unless the component is specifically described as such. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but that the disclosure include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims, and their equivalents.

[0080] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the embodiments described in the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for communication, comprising: The wireless communication device receives the first and second signaling from the wireless communication node. When the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is used to indicate whether the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback should be disabled, the wireless communication device determines, based on the first signaling, whether at least one HARQ feedback of at least one HARQ procedure should be disabled, regardless of the indication of the third signaling, wherein the third signaling is received from the wireless communication node. as well as When the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is not used to indicate whether the HARQ feedback should be disabled, the wireless communication device determines whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled based on the third signaling. The second signaling indicates whether the first signaling is used to indicate whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled, and the third signaling indicates whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the following: The first signaling includes downlink control information (DCI) signaling; The second signaling includes higher-level signaling; or The higher-level signaling includes Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the DCI signaling indicates whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled for at least one transport block scheduled by the DCI signaling.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the third signaling includes Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

5. A method for communication, comprising: The wireless communication node sends a first signaling and a second signaling to the wireless communication device to indicate whether to enable at least one HARQ feedback of at least one Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) procedure. The wireless communication node enables the wireless communication device to: when the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is used to indicate whether the HARQ feedback should be disabled, determine, according to the first signaling, whether at least one hybrid automatic repeat request HARQ feedback of at least one HARQ procedure should be disabled, regardless of the indication of the third signaling, wherein the third signaling is sent from the wireless communication node to the wireless communication device; as well as The wireless communication node enables the wireless communication device to: when the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is not used to indicate whether the HARQ feedback should be disabled, determine whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled based on the third signaling. The second signaling indicates whether the first signaling is used to indicate whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled, and the third signaling indicates whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled.

6. A wireless communication device, comprising: At least one processor, said at least one processor being configured to: Receive the first and second signaling from the wireless communication node via the receiver; When the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is used to indicate whether the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback should be disabled, it is determined, based on the first signaling, whether at least one HARQ feedback of at least one HARQ procedure should be disabled, regardless of the indication of the third signaling, wherein the third signaling is received from the wireless communication node. as well as When the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is not used to indicate whether the HARQ feedback should be disabled, the third signaling is used to determine whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled. The second signaling indicates whether the first signaling is used to indicate whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled, and the third signaling indicates whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled.

7. The wireless communication device according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the following is true: The first signaling includes downlink control information (DCI) signaling; The second signaling includes higher-level signaling; or The higher-level signaling includes Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

8. The wireless communication device of claim 7, wherein the DCI signaling indicates whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled for at least one transport block scheduled by the DCI signaling.

9. The wireless communication device according to claim 6, wherein the third signaling includes Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

10. A wireless communication node, comprising: At least one processor, said at least one processor being configured to: The transmitter sends a first signaling and a second signaling to the wireless communication device to indicate whether to enable at least one HARQ feedback of at least one Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) procedure. This enables the wireless communication device to: when the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is used to indicate whether the HARQ feedback should be disabled, determine, based on the first signaling, whether at least one Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request HARQ feedback of at least one HARQ procedure should be disabled, regardless of the indication of the third signaling, wherein the third signaling is transmitted from the wireless communication node to the wireless communication device; and This enables the wireless communication device to: when the second signaling indicates that the first signaling is not used to indicate whether the HARQ feedback should be disabled, determine whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled based on the third signaling. The second signaling indicates whether the first signaling is used to indicate whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled, and the third signaling indicates whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled.

11. The wireless communication node according to claim 10, wherein at least one of the following: The first signaling includes downlink control information (DCI) signaling; The second signaling includes higher-level signaling; or The higher-level signaling includes Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

12. The wireless communication node of claim 11, wherein the DCI signaling indicates whether the at least one HARQ feedback should be disabled for at least one transport block scheduled by the DCI signaling.

13. The wireless communication node of claim 10, wherein the third signaling includes Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

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