Hybrid automatic request retransmission method and device, and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

The invention provides a hybrid automatic request retransmission method and device, a device for receiving hybrid automatic request retransmission and a computer readable storage medium, belongs to the technical field of communication, and can solve the problems of low retransmission efficiency and large delay in the prior art. The hybrid automatic request retransmission method disclosed by the invention comprises the following steps: receiving a data block and decoding to obtain decoded data; verifying the decoded data to obtain a verification result; when the verification result is successful, first feedback information is generated and fed back to the sending end; when the verification result fails, on the basis of the decoded data and the verification result, error data position information in the decoded data is determined, and second feedback information including a negative confirmation instruction and the error data position information is generated and fed back to the sending end, so that the sending end generates correction data of the error data according to the position information of the error data and sends the correction data; and receiving correction data sent by the sending end, combining the correction data with the data block, decoding the data block as a new data block, and repeating the verification step.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure belongs to the field of communication technology, specifically relating to a hybrid automatic repeat request method and apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] Data communication typically requires large bandwidth and high transmission quality from communication systems. For wired transmission systems, data transmission reliability is achieved through retransmission. For example, the Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) mechanism requests a retransmission when the current transmission attempt fails. For wireless transmission systems, factors such as channel noise, signal fading due to device movement, and interference from other users result in poor channel transmission quality. Therefore, data packets should be protected to suppress various interferences; a common protection mechanism is forward error correction (FEC), which involves transmitting additional bits in the data packet. However, excessive FEC can reduce transmission efficiency. Therefore, a hybrid scheme combining ARQ and FEC—Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) technology—has been proposed.

[0003] HARQ technology significantly improves the reliability and efficiency of data transmission through its efficient error detection and correction mechanism. Especially when facing different signal conditions, HARQ technology offers better adaptability, reducing the probability of data loss and thus enhancing the user experience in scenarios such as video streaming and online gaming. Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) mostly use satellite communication. Due to the long transmission paths and high satellite speeds, satellite communication suffers from longer signal transmission delays and Doppler shifts, resulting in significantly lower data accuracy compared to terrestrial networks. Therefore, data retransmission is particularly important in NTNs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. On one hand, it provides a hybrid automatic request repeat method, the method comprising: receiving a data block transmitted by a sending end and decoding it to obtain decoded data; verifying the decoded data to obtain a verification result; when the verification result is successful, generating first feedback information and feeding it back to the sending end, the first feedback information including an acknowledgment instruction; when the verification result is unsuccessful, determining the location information of erroneous data in the decoded data based on the decoded data and the verification result, generating second feedback information including a negative acknowledgment instruction and the location information of the erroneous data, and feeding it back to the sending end, so that the sending end, in response to the second feedback information, generates corrected data for the erroneous data according to the location information of the erroneous data and sends it; receiving the corrected data sent by the sending end, merging the corrected data with the data block as a new data block, and repeating the above steps.

[0005] In some optional embodiments, at least a portion of the physical resource blocks used to transmit the second feedback information are located in the guard bandwidth of the radio frame structure; and / or, at least a portion of the physical resource blocks used to transmit the correction data are located in the guard bandwidth of the radio frame structure.

[0006] In some optional embodiments, when at least a portion of the physical resource blocks used to transmit the second feedback information are located in the guard bandwidth of the radio frame structure, the guard bandwidth in which the portion of the physical resource blocks are located is located at the first end of the radio frame structure; when at least a portion of the physical resource blocks used to transmit the correction data are located in the guard bandwidth of the radio frame structure, the guard bandwidth in which the portion of the physical resource blocks are located is located at the second end of the radio frame structure.

[0007] In some optional embodiments, before receiving the data block transmitted by the sending end, the method further includes: receiving downlink control information transmitted by the sending end; the downlink control information includes: the physical resource block corresponding to the data block, and the encoding method of the data block.

[0008] In some optional embodiments, receiving the data block transmitted by the sending end includes: receiving the data block at the physical resource block according to the physical resource block corresponding to the data block in the downlink control information.

[0009] In some optional embodiments, decoding the data block to obtain decoded data includes: decoding the data block according to the encoding method of the data block in the downlink control information to obtain the decoded data.

[0010] In some optional embodiments, the step of generating first feedback information and sending it back to the sending end when the verification result is successful includes: generating an acknowledgment instruction as the first feedback information and sending it back to the sending end via PUCCH or PUSCH.

[0011] In some optional embodiments, when the verification result is successful and the first feedback information is generated and sent to the sending end, the method further includes: presenting the decoded data to the MAC layer for the MAC layer to process the decoded data.

[0012] In some optional embodiments, generating second feedback information and feeding it back to the sending end when the verification result is a failure includes: feeding back the generated second feedback information to the sending end via PUCCH or PUSCH.

[0013] Based on the same inventive concept, in a second aspect, the present invention provides a hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) device applied to a terminal device. The device includes: a first receiving module configured to receive at least a data block transmitted by the sending end; a first decoding module configured to decode the data block to obtain decoded data; and to verify the decoded data to obtain a verification result; a first feedback module configured to generate first feedback information and send it back to the sending end when the verification result is successful, the first feedback information including an acknowledgment instruction; and, when the verification result is unsuccessful, to determine the location information of erroneous data in the decoded data based on the decoded data and the verification result, and to generate second feedback information and send it back to the sending end; the second feedback information including a negative acknowledgment instruction and the location information of the erroneous data.

[0014] In some optional embodiments, the first receiving module is further configured to receive correction data sent by the sending end; the first decoding module is further configured to merge and decode the correction data and the data block.

[0015] In some optional embodiments, the first receiving module is further configured to receive downlink control information sent by the sending end; the downlink control information includes at least the physical resource block where the data block is located and the encoding method of the data block; the first decoding module is configured to decode the data block according to the encoding method of the data block in the downlink control information to obtain the decoded data.

[0016] Based on the same inventive concept, in a third aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for receiving hybrid automatic retransmission requests, applied at a sending end, the apparatus comprising: a second receiving module configured to receive first feedback information or second feedback information from a terminal device; and a retransmission module configured to, in response to the second feedback information, obtain correction data of the erroneous data according to the location information of the erroneous data in the second feedback information, and send it to the terminal device.

[0017] Based on the same inventive concept, in a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the storage medium stores a computer program for executing the hybrid automatic request repeat method described in any of the embodiments of the first aspect above. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of HARQ.

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the workings of the HARQ pause / wait mechanism.

[0020] Figure 3This is a flowchart illustrating the HARQ method provided in this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating the process of generating data blocks at the sending end and sending them to the terminal device.

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the wireless frame structure.

[0023] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating the process of determining the current coding rate and modulation order selected by the transmitter.

[0024] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the structure of the hybrid automatic repeat request device provided in this disclosure.

[0025] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the device structure for receiving hybrid automatic repeat request (ATR) provided in this disclosure.

[0026] The attached figures are labeled as follows:

[0027] 11. First receiving module; 12. First decoding module; 13. First feedback module; 21. Second receiving module; 22. Retransmission module. Detailed Implementation

[0028] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0029] Unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in this disclosure shall have the ordinary meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. The terms “first,” “second,” and similar terms used in this disclosure do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Similarly, the terms “an,” “a,” or “the,” and similar terms do not indicate a quantity limitation, but rather indicate the presence of at least one. The terms “including,” “comprising,” or “containing,” and similar terms mean that the element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed following the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. The terms “connected,” “linked,” or similar terms are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. The terms “upper,” “lower,” “left,” and “right,” etc., are used only to indicate relative positional relationships, and these relative positional relationships may change accordingly when the absolute position of the described objects changes.

[0030] As used herein, “parallel” and “perpendicular” include the described situation and situations that are similar to the described situation, within an acceptable range of deviation, which is determined by those skilled in the art taking into account the measurement under discussion and the error associated with the measurement of a particular quantity (i.e., the limitations of the measurement system). For example, “parallel” includes absolute parallelism and approximate parallelism, where an acceptable range of deviation for approximate parallelism may be, for example, within 5°; “perpendicular” includes absolute perpendicularity and approximate perpendicularity, where an acceptable range of deviation for approximate perpendicularity may also be, for example, within 5°.

[0031] It should be understood that when a layer or element is referred to as being on another layer or substrate, it can mean that the layer or element is directly on the other layer or substrate, or that there is an intermediate layer between the layer or element and the other layer or substrate.

[0032] In this article, "electrical connection" includes the situation where constituent elements are connected together by a component that has a certain electrical function. There are no particular restrictions on the "component that has a certain electrical function" as long as it enables the transmission and reception of electrical signals between the connected constituent elements. Examples of "components that have a certain electrical function" include not only electrodes and wiring, but also switching elements such as transistors, resistors, inductors, capacitors, and other components with various functions.

[0033] This document describes exemplary embodiments with reference to sectional views and / or plan views, which are idealized exemplary drawings. In the drawings, the thickness of layers and regions is enlarged for clarity. Therefore, variations in shape relative to the drawings are contemplated due to, for example, manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances. Therefore, exemplary embodiments should not be construed as limited to the shapes of the regions shown herein, but rather include shape deviations due to, for example, manufacturing processes. Thus, the regions shown in the drawings are schematic in nature, and their shapes are not intended to show the actual shapes of the regions of the device, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the exemplary embodiments.

[0034] Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) refer to networks that achieve global communication coverage using non-terrestrial communication infrastructure such as satellites and high-altitude platforms (e.g., drones, stratospheric balloons). The NTN architecture mainly consists of three parts: the space segment, the ground segment, and the user segment. The space segment includes satellites or high-altitude platforms located in space, whose core function is signal forwarding. The ground segment includes ground-based gateway stations, network control centers, or the 5G core network, whose core functions include space-to-ground protocol conversion, managing satellite coordination, and allocating resources. The user segment includes terminals that support NTN (e.g., mobile phones, IoT devices, airborne terminals). Taking an emergency communication scenario in an earthquake-stricken area where ground base stations are damaged as an example, the signal transmission process between the three parts of NTN is as follows: rescue personnel (user segment) use mobile phones to transmit signals, which are first received by satellites in the space segment. The satellites relay the signals to available gateway stations on the ground segment via inter-satellite links. The ground gateway stations convert the signals, send them to the 5G core network for processing, and then forward the distress information to the command center. The feedback instructions from the command center are transmitted back to the gateway stations, which then transmit the signals back to the satellites in the space segment. The satellites then feed back the received signals to the user segment.

[0035] The main satellite types in the space segment include low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites. LEO satellites orbit the Earth at altitudes of 300-2000 km, moving at speeds of approximately 7.9 km / s; GEO satellites orbit the Earth at approximately 36,000 km, remaining essentially stationary relative to the ground. LEO satellites typically have latency in the range of a few milliseconds, facing the main challenges of Doppler frequency shift and frequent switching caused by their high-speed movement. GEO satellites, on the other hand, face significantly longer latency, in the range of hundreds of milliseconds, far exceeding the latency of terrestrial communication networks. In other words, due to factors such as long transmission paths and high satellite speeds, satellite communication suffers from latency delays, Doppler frequency shifts, signal multipath propagation, and transmission interference, severely degrading data accuracy.

[0036] To ensure the accuracy of data during satellite communication, a number of key technologies have been proposed and used, with Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) being one of the commonly used technologies. Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of HARQ. (For example...) Figure 1 As shown, the basic principle of HARQ is to achieve reliable data transmission through feedback between the sending and receiving ends. The following section uses soft-merging HARQ as an example to introduce the HARQ workflow:

[0037] (1) The sending end divides the data into multiple small data blocks and adds a redundancy check code (CRC) after each data block to form a data packet consisting of "information data + CRC" and sends it to the receiving end. Each data packet is configured with a unique identifier called the HARQ process ID. The number of HARQ process IDs is configured by the higher-layer signaling, usually 8 or 16. Here, we explain the HARQ process with an example: After HARQ process 0 sends data block packet A, it waits for ACK / NACK feedback. During the waiting period of process 0, in order to avoid wasting time and channel, process 1 is immediately activated, causing process 1 to send data packet B and wait for ACK / NACK feedback; then process 2 is activated, causing it to send data packet C and continue to wait... When process 0 receives NACK feedback, it will arrange for process 0 to retransmit data packet A. Since the processes are independent, the retransmission of process 0 will not affect the subsequent operations of process 1 and process 2. When process 0 receives ACK feedback, it will be allocated a new data packet and sent again. This cycle repeats, with multiple processes taking turns using the channel, which can eliminate idle waiting time and greatly improve channel utilization and data transmission efficiency.

[0038] (2) The receiving end attempts to receive the data packet, decodes the data block in the data packet, performs CRC check, and generates feedback information after the check. When the redundancy check code is successfully checked, it sends an ACK signal to the sending end and sends the corresponding information of the data block to the MAC layer or higher layer of the user terminal, and the process terminates. If the redundancy check code fails to be checked, it sends a NACK signal to the sending end.

[0039] (3) The sending end responds to the NACK signal based on the feedback information from the receiving end, triggers the retransmission mechanism, determines the retransmission data, and terminates after reaching the maximum number of retransmissions.

[0040] (4) After receiving the retransmitted data, the receiving end merges the old and new data and decodes them to improve the data reception success rate. In summary, HARQ technology aims to achieve accurate transmission of data packets by cyclically exchanging ACK or NACK acknowledgment information between the sending and receiving ends.

[0041] However, the inventors discovered that when the satellite signal propagation delay is long (hundreds of milliseconds to several seconds), the traditional HARQ technology is no longer applicable for the following reasons.

[0042] First, it's necessary to clarify the relationship between the HARQ mechanism and satellite latency. HARQ employs a "Stop-and-Wait (SAW)" mechanism, also known as the stop-and-wait mechanism. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the HARQ stop-and-wait mechanism. Figure 2As shown, the stop-and-wait mechanism means that after a HARQ process ID at the sending end sends a data packet, it must wait for the receiving end to respond with an ACK / NACK signal before it can decide whether to retransmit the data block or send a new data block. During this waiting period, the channel resources are idle, and no other data can be transmitted; that is, the same process cannot complete other tasks during the waiting period. This is understandable. Figure 2 Taking ID2 and ID5 receiving NACK signals as an example, in satellite communication, the round-trip time (RTT) for low-Earth orbit satellites is approximately 20-50 ms, while the RTT for geostationary orbit satellites can reach as high as 500-800 ms. The minimum number of HARQ processes is related to the RTT, and the number of HARQ process IDs is equal to... Here, TTI refers to the time taken to transmit a subframe within a frame, also known as the transmission time interval, for example, 1ms (a time slot in 5G NR). In other words, the minimum number of process IDs for HARQ is proportional to the RTT. For example, a geostationary satellite requires 500-800 processes, far exceeding the hardware support limit.

[0043] In other words, the number of HARQ process IDs is limited. A long RTT (Round-Trip Time) causes process IDs to be occupied for extended periods, preventing new data from being transmitted due to a lack of available IDs, resulting in data congestion. Furthermore, each HARQ process ID requires an independent buffer to store data for merging retransmitted data received later. As the number of HARQ process IDs increases, the number of buffers also increases, easily exceeding the UE's hardware limits. Additionally, HARQ typically sets a maximum waiting window, such as 8ms, while satellite communication RTT far exceeds this value, easily leading to system misjudgment of packet loss and triggering unnecessary retransmissions, further exacerbating congestion. Moreover, when the receiver receives an error message from a process ID, it only sends a NACK signal. Upon receiving the NACK signal, the transmitter retransmits the entire data packet corresponding to that process ID. Larger data volumes will increase latency and require more buffer space.

[0044] In summary, in NTN, due to the long latency of satellite communication, traditional HARQ technology not only cannot ensure the accuracy of data transmission, but may also lead to a decrease in the success rate of valid data transmission due to system misjudgment and process blocking.

[0045] Before elaborating on the technical solution of this disclosure, the following concepts in the communication system will be explained.

[0046] DL-SCH (Downlink Shared Channel): DL-SCH is a logical channel used to receive data packets from different user terminals and different services, add control information to the data packets, and package the processed data packets into a transport block (TB).

[0047] PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel): The PDCCH is the scheduling center, and its core function is to send DCI (Downlink Control Information). This DCI can inform the UE (User Terminal) of the resource blocks, modulation and coding scheme, HARQ information, power control commands, etc. allocated to its data packets.

[0048] PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel): PDSCH is a physical channel controlled by DCI in PDCCH. It carries data from DL-SCH and places the data on the resource block indicated by DCI, so that the UE can subsequently "find" the signal carried on PDSCH according to the resource block indicated by DCI, and demodulate the signal of PDSCH according to the coding scheme indicated by DCI to recover the user data.

[0049] UL-SCH (Uplink Shared Channel): UL-SCH is the transport channel used to process upper-layer data packets into transport blocks (TBs).

[0050] PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel): PUCCH is a physical channel used to transmit UCI (Uplink Control Information), which mainly includes HARQ ACK / NACK, scheduling requests, channel state information, etc.

[0051] PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel): PUSCH is the physical channel and the main data transmission carrier, carrying user plane data from UL-SCH and UCI.

[0052] PRB (Physical Resource Block): The basic unit of physical layer resource scheduling. In the frequency domain, a PRB consists of 12 consecutive subcarriers; in the time domain, a PRB occupies the full duration of a time slot. The total bandwidth of a PRB depends on the subcarrier spacing (SCS). When the SCS is 15kHz, the total bandwidth of the PRB is 180kHz, and the time domain length is 1ms; when the SCS is 30kHz, the total bandwidth of the PRB is 360kHz, and the time domain length is 0.5ms. In 5G NR systems, the PRB is the physical carrier of resource scheduling; that is, base stations or satellites allocate time and frequency resources in units of PRBs. The smallest unit in each PRB is a resource element (RE). Taking a time slot containing 14 OFDM symbols as an example, each PRB includes 168 resource elements (14 OFDM symbols × 12 subcarriers). The RE is the smallest physical unit carrying modulated data, occupying one OFDM symbol in the time domain and one subcarrier in the frequency domain.

[0053] nPRB (Number of Physical Resource Blocks): This refers to the number of PRBs allocated to a UE for uplink or downlink data transmission in a single scheduling operation. Typically, the base station scheduler calculates nPRB based on factors such as channel quality index (CQI), the amount of resources required by different services, and the number of UEs in the area.

[0054] To address at least one of the aforementioned technical problems, this disclosure provides a hybrid automatic request repeat method, referred to as the HARQ method.

[0055] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the HARQ method provided in this disclosure. Figure 3 As shown, the HARQ method provided in this disclosure is applied to a terminal device, and the method includes:

[0056] The first step is to receive and decode the data blocks transmitted by the sender to obtain the decoded data.

[0057] Those skilled in the art will understand that the transmitting end in this document refers to the satellite end, and the terminal device refers to the user terminal (UE). Figure 4 This diagram illustrates the process of generating data blocks at the sending end and sending them to the terminal device. (Example:) Figure 4 As shown, the process of generating data blocks on the satellite and sending them to the terminal device includes:

[0058] (1a) The DL-SCH at the transmitting end adds CRC to the original data block and performs channel coding to obtain the first data block; and allocates physical resource blocks to the first data block according to the currently selected coding rate.

[0059] (1b) The PDSCH of the transmitting end receives the first data block, maps the first data block into a modulation symbol according to the currently selected modulation order, precodes the modulation symbol to obtain a data block, maps the data block to the physical resource block corresponding to the first data block, and sends it to the terminal device.

[0060] (1c) The PDCCH of the transmitting end obtains the coding method of the data block based on the channel coding method of the original data block by DL-SCH and the precoding method of the modulation symbol by PDSCH; based on the physical resource block of the first data block, the physical resource block of the data block is obtained; according to the coding method of the data block and the physical resource block of the data block, the downlink control information (DCI) is obtained and sent to the terminal device.

[0061] In other words, after the sending end performs operations such as adding CRC, channel coding, modulation, and modulation precoding on the original data block, it generates the corresponding data block and sends it using the matching physical resource block. Simultaneously, the sending end also needs to send the DCI (Distributed Information Classification) of the data block, including its encoding method and the physical resource block it belongs to, to the terminal device. Understandably, the processing of the original data block also includes specifying the HARQ process ID and indicating whether the data block is an initial transmission or a retransmission.

[0062] Accordingly, the first step involves receiving and decoding the data blocks transmitted by the sender to obtain the decoded data, specifically including:

[0063] The system receives the DCI transmitted from the sender. Based on the physical resource block corresponding to the data block indicated in the DCI, it receives the data block at the physical resource block location. Then, it decodes the received data block according to the encoding method indicated in the DCI to obtain the decoded data.

[0064] More specifically, before generating data blocks at the satellite end and sending them to the terminal device, it is necessary to determine the coding rate and modulation order currently selected by the transmitter. Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of determining the currently selected coding rate and modulation order at the transmitter. (See diagram below.) Figure 6 As shown, the process for determining the currently selected coding rate and modulation order at the transmitting end includes:

[0065] (A1) The transmitting end sends a reference signal to the terminal device; the reference signal is such as CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal), PSS (Primary Synchronization Signal), SSS (Secondary Synchronization Signal), etc.

[0066] (A2) The terminal device obtains the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) index based on the received reference signal and feeds it back to the transmitting end.

[0067] (A3) The transmitting end determines the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) index based at least on the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) index, and obtains the corresponding coding rate and modulation order based on the MCS index and the pre-stored MCS table. For example, when the CQI channel quality is good, a higher-order modulation order is used; when the CQI channel quality is poor, a lower-order modulation order is used.

[0068] The second step is to verify the decoded data and obtain the verification result.

[0069] Specifically, since the sending end adds a CRC checksum to the original data block when sending the data block, that is, the structure of the data block includes data bits and checksum bits, after obtaining the decoded data, the correctness of the decoded data can be determined based on the CRC checksum added during transmission, that is, whether the checksum result is successful.

[0070] The third step is to determine whether the verification result is successful. If the verification result is successful, a first feedback message is generated and sent to the sending end, which includes an acknowledgment instruction (ACK). Simultaneously, the decoded data is presented to the MAC layer for further processing. If the verification result fails, based on the decoded data and the verification result, the location information of the erroneous data in the decoded data is determined. A second feedback message, including a negative acknowledgment instruction (NACK) and the location information of the erroneous data, is generated and sent to the sending end. This allows the sending end to respond to the second feedback message and generate corrective data for the erroneous data based on its location information.

[0071] Understandably, if the decoded data is correct, the verification is successful; if there are errors in the decoded data, the verification fails. In the traditional HARQ method, the UE sends an ACK to the sender when the verification is successful, and a NACK to the sender when the verification fails. Correspondingly, after the sender responds with a NACK, it retransmits the data block to the UE. The UE merges the previously received data block with the currently received data block, decodes it, and then repeats the second and third steps to obtain the decoded data. In the traditional HARQ method, because each retransmission requires retransmitting the complete data block, the data volume is large, resulting in low retransmission efficiency. At the same time, the large retransmission data block requires a large buffer, which can easily lead to high hardware storage pressure.

[0072] This disclosure, upon receiving erroneous data, does not simply respond with a NACK command. Instead, based on the decoded data and verification results, it determines the location of the erroneous data (e.g., the decoding result of bits i to j is incorrect, where i and j are both positive integers). The location information of the erroneous data and the NACK command are simultaneously fed back to the sending end. This allows the sending end, in response to the NACK command, to obtain the corrected data for the erroneous data based on its location information (the corrected data is also located at bits i to j in the data block). After receiving the corrected data, the UE only needs to merge the corrected data with the previous data block before decoding. Compared to the traditional HARQ method, this disclosure offers the following advantages: 1. Since the retransmitted data only includes the corrected data corresponding to the erroneous data, the amount of this corrected data is smaller than the amount of data in the complete data block, thus improving retransmission speed and efficiency; 2. Since the corrected data refers to the data at the location corresponding to the erroneous data, the amount of data merged with the previous data block is smaller, significantly improving decoding speed and achieving both high decoding speed and success rate.

[0073] Specifically, both the first and second feedback information can be fed back to the sending end via PUCCH or PUSCH.

[0074] Figure 5This is a schematic diagram of the wireless frame structure. Figure 5 As shown, a radio frame structure typically includes guard bands located at the first and second ends of the radio frame structure, and an intermediate bandwidth located between the two guard bands. The intermediate bandwidth serves as the actual frequency band used for data transmission, while the guard bands are not used for transmitting any useful signals; their core function is to suppress or mitigate adjacent channel interference. In the hybrid automatic repeat request method provided in this disclosure, the second feedback information or correction data can be transmitted using physical resource blocks in the intermediate bandwidth. However, as a preferred example, when transmitting the second feedback information via PUCCH or PUSCH, at least a portion of the multiple physical resource blocks matched by the second feedback information are located within the guard band of the radio frame structure. Similarly, when transmitting correction data via PDSCH, at least a portion of the multiple physical resource blocks matched by the correction data are located within the guard band of the radio frame structure.

[0075] It is understandable that, since the intermediate bandwidth physical resource blocks are frequently used for data transmission, if the intermediate bandwidth physical resource blocks are used to transmit the second feedback information or correction data, it is necessary to wait for enough physical resource blocks to be idle, which leads to a longer retransmission time and a decrease in speed. On the other hand, the protection bandwidth physical resource blocks are usually idle. Therefore, directly using the protection bandwidth physical resource blocks for data retransmission can effectively improve the retransmission efficiency.

[0076] Furthermore, when at least some of the physical resource blocks used to transmit the second feedback information are located within the guard bandwidth of the radio frame structure, the guard bandwidth containing these physical resource blocks is located at the first end of the radio frame structure; when at least some of the physical resource blocks used to transmit the correction data are located within the guard bandwidth of the radio frame structure, the guard bandwidth containing these physical resource blocks is located at the second end of the radio frame structure. In other words, the uplink second feedback information and the downlink correction data are transmitted using physical resource blocks with different guard bandwidths. This ensures that the uplink and downlink transmissions occur simultaneously, thereby ensuring that feedback and retransmission are achieved at the fastest possible speed.

[0077] Typically, the guard bandwidth depends on the total bandwidth of the wireless frame structure, the subcarrier spacing, and the communication standard. For example, the guard bandwidth is a percentage of the total bandwidth. For instance, with a total bandwidth of 100MHz and a subcarrier spacing of 30kHz, the guard bandwidth at each end is approximately 5.265MHz; with a total bandwidth of 50MHz and a subcarrier spacing of 30kHz, the guard bandwidth at each end is approximately 2.565MHz; and with a total bandwidth of 20MHz and a subcarrier spacing of 30kHz, the guard bandwidth at each end is approximately 1.1MHz. For these mainstream wideband configurations, the guard bandwidth at each end is roughly equivalent to the width of several to a dozen PRBs. Therefore, when performing HARQ retransmission, PRBs within the guard bandwidth can be prioritized for transmitting second feedback information or correction data. When the number of PRBs within the guard bandwidth is insufficient, PRBs with intermediate bandwidth can be selected for transmission.

[0078] Based on the same inventive concept, in a second aspect, this disclosure provides a hybrid automatic request retransmission device applied to a terminal device.

[0079] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the hybrid automatic repeat request device provided in this disclosure. Figure 7 As shown, the hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) apparatus provided in this disclosure includes: a first receiving module 11, a first decoding module 12, and a first feedback module 13. The first receiving module 11 is configured to receive at least a data block transmitted by a sending end; the first decoding module 12 is configured to decode the data block to obtain decoded data and to verify the decoded data to obtain a verification result; the first feedback module 13 is configured to generate first feedback information and send it to the sending end when the verification result is successful, the first feedback information including an acknowledgment (ACK) instruction; and, when the verification result is unsuccessful, to determine the location information of erroneous data in the decoded data based on the decoded data and the verification result, and generate second feedback information and send it to the sending end, the second feedback information including a negative acknowledgment (NACK) instruction and the location information of the erroneous data.

[0080] In some optional embodiments, the first receiving module 11 is further configured to receive correction data sent by the sending end. Correspondingly, the first decoding module 12 is further configured to merge and decode the correction data and the data block.

[0081] In some optional embodiments, the first receiving module 11 is further configured to receive downlink control information (DCI) sent by the transmitting end; the downlink control information DCI includes at least the physical resource block (PRB) where the data block is located and the encoding method of the data block. The first decoding module 12 is specifically configured to decode the data block according to the encoding method of the data block in the downlink control information DCI to obtain decoded data.

[0082] Based on the same inventive concept, in a third aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for receiving hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) devices, applied at the sending end.

[0083] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the device structure for receiving hybrid automatic repeat request (ATR) data provided in this disclosure. Figure 8 As shown, the hybrid automatic repeat request device provided in this disclosure includes a second receiving module 21 and a repeating module 22. The second receiving module 21 is configured to receive first feedback information or second feedback information from the terminal device; the repeating module 22 is configured to, in response to the second feedback information, obtain corresponding correction data for the erroneous data based on the location information of the erroneous data in the second feedback information, and send it to the terminal device.

[0084] It is understood that the terminal devices mentioned in this disclosure can be smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), or any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as mobile phones, feature phones, tablets, wearable computing devices, personal digital assistants, pagers, wireless handheld devices, in-vehicle entertainment systems, smart home appliances, drones, etc. The transmitting end provided in this disclosure can be a base station (e.g., gNB, eNodeB, NodeB, etc.), satellite equipment, wireless access points, repeaters, TV / broadcast towers, etc.

[0085] The hybrid automatic repeat request device and the device for receiving hybrid automatic repeat request provided in this disclosure can be implemented by one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic components.

[0086] Based on the same inventive concept, in a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for performing the hybrid automatic request repeat method described in any of the embodiments of the first aspect above.

[0087] For example, computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, ROM, random access memory (RAM), CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage devices, etc.

[0088] Those skilled in the art will understand that, in addition to implementing the system, apparatus, and their modules provided by this invention in purely computer-readable program code, the same program can be implemented in the form of logic gates, switches, application-specific integrated circuits, programmable logic controllers, and embedded microcontrollers by logically programming the method steps. Therefore, the system, apparatus, and their modules provided by this invention can be considered a hardware component, and the modules included therein for implementing various programs can also be considered structures within the hardware component; alternatively, modules for implementing various functions can be considered both software programs implementing the method and structures within the hardware component.

[0089] It is understood that the above embodiments are merely exemplary implementations used to illustrate the principles of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the spirit and essence of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements are also considered to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A hybrid automatic request repeat method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive data blocks transmitted by the sender and decode them to obtain decoded data; The decoded data is verified to obtain the verification result; When the verification result is successful, a first feedback message is generated and sent to the sending end, the first feedback message including a confirmation instruction; When the verification result is a failure, based on the decoded data and the verification result, the location information of the erroneous data in the decoded data is determined, and a second feedback information including a negative confirmation instruction and the location information of the erroneous data is generated and fed back to the sending end, so that the sending end responds to the second feedback information and generates and sends the corrected data of the erroneous data according to the location information of the erroneous data. The correction data sent by the receiving end is received, the correction data is merged with the data block, and after being decoded as a new data block, the above verification steps are repeated.

2. The hybrid automatic repeat request method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Of the plurality of physical resource blocks used to transmit the second feedback information, at least a portion of the physical resource blocks are located in the guard bandwidth of the radio frame structure; And / or, of the plurality of physical resource blocks used to transmit the correction data, at least a portion of the physical resource blocks are located in the protection bandwidth of the radio frame structure.

3. The hybrid automatic request repeat method according to claim 2, characterized in that, When at least a portion of the physical resource blocks used to transmit the second feedback information are located in the guard bandwidth of the radio frame structure, the guard bandwidth where the portion of the physical resource blocks are located is located at the first end of the radio frame structure. When at least a portion of the physical resource blocks used to transmit the correction data are located in the protection bandwidth of the radio frame structure, the protection bandwidth in which that portion of the physical resource blocks are located is located at the second end of the radio frame structure.

4. The hybrid automatic repeat request method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before the data block transmitted by the receiving and sending end, the following is also included: The system receives downlink control information transmitted by the sending end; the downlink control information includes: the physical resource block corresponding to the data block, and the encoding method of the data block.

5. The hybrid automatic repeat request method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The data block transmitted by the receiving and sending end includes: The data block is received at the physical resource block corresponding to the data block in the downlink control information.

6. The hybrid automatic repeat request method according to claim 4, characterized in that, Decoding the data block yields decoded data, including: The data block is decoded according to the encoding method of the data block in the downlink control information to obtain the decoded data.

7. The hybrid automatic repeat request method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the verification result is successful, generating first feedback information and sending it back to the sending end includes: A confirmation command is generated as the first feedback information and sent back to the sending end via PUCCH or PUSCH.

8. The hybrid automatic repeat request method according to claim 7, characterized in that, When the verification result is successful, the process of generating first feedback information and sending it to the sending end also includes: The decoded data is presented to the MAC layer for processing.

9. The hybrid automatic repeat request method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the verification result is a failure, generating a second feedback message and sending it back to the sending end includes: The generated second feedback information is fed back to the sending end via PUCCH or PUSCH.

10. A hybrid automatic repeat request device, applied to a terminal device, characterized in that, The device includes: The first receiving module is configured to receive at least the data blocks sent by the sending end; The first decoding module is configured to decode the data block to obtain decoded data; and to verify the decoded data to obtain a verification result. The first feedback module is configured to generate first feedback information and send it to the sending end when the verification result is successful, the first feedback information including a confirmation instruction; and to determine the location information of the erroneous data in the decoded data based on the decoded data and the verification result when the verification result is unsuccessful, and generate second feedback information and send it to the sending end; the second feedback information including a negative confirmation instruction and the location information of the erroneous data.

11. The hybrid automatic repeat request device according to claim 10, characterized in that, The first receiving module is also configured to receive correction data sent by the sending end; The first decoding module is further configured to merge and decode the correction data and the data block.

12. The hybrid automatic repeat request device according to claim 10, characterized in that, The first receiving module is further configured to receive downlink control information sent by the sending end; the downlink control information includes at least the physical resource block where the data block is located and the encoding method of the data block; The first decoding module is configured to decode the data block according to the encoding method of the data block in the downlink control information to obtain the decoded data.

13. An apparatus for receiving hybrid automatic repeat request (ATR) data, applied at a transmitting end, characterized in that, The device includes: The second receiving module is configured to receive either the first feedback information or the second feedback information fed back by the terminal device. The retransmission module is configured to respond to the second feedback information, obtain the correction data of the erroneous data based on the location information of the erroneous data in the second feedback information, and send it to the terminal device.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program for executing the hybrid automatic request repeat method according to any one of claims 1-9.

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