Communication methods and related apparatuses

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and related device, which are applied in the technical field of wireless communication. A network device sends a transport block to a terminal device. The terminal device sends a medium access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU) to the network device. The MAC PDU indicates hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback information of the transport block. The HARQ feedback information is transmitted based on the MAC PDU, and the time delay is lower.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] In current wireless communication scenarios, the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) technology can correct most errors. Errors that HARQ technology cannot correct can be retransmitted through the automatic repeat request (ARQ) technology of the radio link control (RLC) layer.

[0003] While the two technologies mentioned above can improve communication reliability, there is still room for improvement in terms of latency. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above, this application provides a communication method and related apparatus to solve at least some of the aforementioned problems, and the disclosed technical solution is as follows:

[0005] Firstly, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the terminal device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device. This application does not limit this approach. The following description uses a terminal device as an example.

[0006] The method includes: a terminal device receiving a transport block from a network device, the transport block including a Radio Link Control Protocol Data Unit (RLC PDU); the terminal device sending a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) to the network device, the MAC PDU indicating Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for the transport block.

[0007] It is evident that the terminal device, based on the MAC PDU, feeds back HARQ feedback information from the RLC PDU. Compared with the existing HARQ mechanism that transmits HARQ feedback information at the physical layer, this method has lower latency and is more efficient.

[0008] In some implementations, the MAC PDU indicates the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for a transport block. The MAC PDU includes a first string and a second string; the first string indicates the transport block with HARQ feedback information; and the second string indicates whether the HARQ feedback information for the corresponding transport block is an ACK or a NACK. Using the first and second strings to indicate the HARQ feedback information is advantageous because it consumes fewer transmission resources and allows for indicating the HARQ feedback information for multiple transport blocks at once, resulting in higher feedback efficiency.

[0009] In some implementations, before sending the Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU), the terminal device further includes obtaining the HARQ feedback information of the transport block through Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC). CRC has high accuracy and reliability, thus effectively avoiding the aforementioned NACK-ACK error.

[0010] In some implementations, the terminal device also receives a process identifier and a HARQ block descriptor (HBD) from a network device to assemble a MAC PDU based on the process identifier and the HBD.

[0011] Secondly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a network device, or by a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the network device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device. This application does not limit this. The following description uses a network device (such as a satellite) as an example.

[0012] The method includes: a network device sending a transport block to a terminal device, the transport block including a Radio Link Control Protocol Data Unit (RLC PDU); the network device receiving a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) from the terminal device, the MAC PDU indicating Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information of the transport block.

[0013] In some implementations, after receiving the Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MACPDU) from the terminal device, the process further includes: the MAC layer of the network device sending transmission failure information to the RLC layer. This transmission failure information indicates the information of the first transport block and a NACK (Non-Accept) response. The first transport block is a transport block whose HARQ feedback information is NACK. Therefore, the MAC layer can inform the RLC layer of the information of the failed transport block, which is beneficial for the RLC layer to perform retransmission and ensure communication reliability.

[0014] In some implementations, before sending the transmission failure information to the RLC layer, the MAC layer of the network device determines that the retransmission count of the first transport block has reached a threshold. The threshold can be understood as the maximum number of retransmissions that the MAC layer can perform. When the MAC layer's retransmission count reaches the threshold, it informs the RLC layer to perform a retransmission, which can achieve both low latency and high efficiency in MAC layer retransmissions, while also ensuring the reliability of communication.

[0015] In some implementations, after sending the transmission failure information to the RLC layer, the process further includes: the network device's RLC layer querying the HARQ block descriptor (HBD) corresponding to the first transport block to obtain information about the RLC PDUs included in the first transport block; and the network device's RLC layer retransmitting the RLC PDUs included in the first transport block. It is evident that, based on the pre-configured HBD, the RLC layer can parse the first transport block indicated by the MAC layer, which helps ensure retransmission by the RLC layer, thereby guaranteeing communication reliability.

[0016] In some implementations, retransmitting RLC PDUs included in the first transport block involves: retransmitting the RLC PDUs included in the first transport block using at least one other transport block, where the at least one other transport block is different from the first transport block. Retransmitting RLC PDUs using a new transport block aligns with the MAC layer's decision not to retransmit these RLC PDUs, thus increasing the likelihood of successful retransmission.

[0017] In some implementations, the network device's RLC layer deletes the HBD corresponding to the first transport block. Since the RLC PDU is retransmitted using a new transport block, the HBD corresponding to the deleted transport block is not meaningful to store, and deletion helps save storage resources.

[0018] In some implementations, after receiving the Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MACPDU) from the terminal device, the following steps are also included: the MAC layer of the network device sends a transmission success message to the RLC layer. The transmission success message indicates the second transmission block and ACK confirmation. The second transmission block is a transmission block with HARQ feedback information of ACK, so as to ensure that the RLC layer can continue to process the successfully transmitted RLC PDU and is compatible with existing standards.

[0019] In some implementations, after sending the transmission success information to the RLC layer, the following steps are also included: the RLC layer of the network device obtains the information of the RLC PDU included in the second transport block by querying the HBD corresponding to the second transport block; the RLC layer of the network device stops maintaining the RLC PDU included in the second transport block, thereby saving resources and being compatible with existing standards.

[0020] In some implementations, after receiving the Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MACPDU) from the terminal device, the network device further includes sending a redundant transport block of the first transport block to the terminal device. The first transport block is a transport block with a HARQ feedback message of negative acknowledgment (NACK). The redundant transport block and the first transport block include the same RLC PDU but use different encoding methods. The redundant transport block can be soft-merged and decoded by the terminal device with the first transport block, which helps to increase the probability of successful decoding.

[0021] In some implementations, before sending the redundant transmission block of the first transmission block to the terminal device, the network device determines that the number of retransmissions of the first transmission block has not reached the threshold. This not only achieves the benefits of low latency and high efficiency of MAC layer retransmission, but also ensures that the RLC layer retransmits after MAC layer retransmission failure, thus guaranteeing the reliability of communication.

[0022] In some implementations, before sending the transport block to the terminal device, the network device also constructs an HBD (Host Block Definition) for the transport block. The HBD indicates the correspondence between the information in the transport block and the RLC PDUs included in the transport block. The HBD, as a bridge between the MAC layer and the RLC layer of the network device, is the basis for combining MAC retransmission and RLC layer retransmission, which is beneficial for achieving low-latency and high-reliability retransmission.

[0023] The second aspect is the implementation on the network device side, which corresponds to the first aspect. The explanations, supplements, and descriptions of the beneficial effects of the first aspect also apply to the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0024] Thirdly, a communication device is provided, comprising a transceiver module. The transceiver module is configured to receive a transport block from a network device, the transport block including a Radio Link Control Protocol Data Unit (RLC PDU); and to send a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) to the network device, the MAC PDU indicating Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for the transport block.

[0025] In some implementations, the communication device further includes a processing module for acquiring HARQ feedback information and obtaining the HARQ feedback information of the transport block through cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

[0026] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, comprising a transceiver module. The transceiver module is configured to transmit a transport block to a terminal device, the transport block including a Radio Link Control Protocol Data Unit (RLC PDU); and to receive a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) from the terminal device, the MAC PDU indicating Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for the transport block.

[0027] In some implementations, the communication device also includes a processing module for acquiring the HBD and performing queries based on the HBD.

[0028] The third and fourth aspects are the implementation on the device side, which correspond to the first and second aspects. The explanations, supplements, and descriptions of the beneficial effects of the first and second aspects also apply to the third and fourth aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0029] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect described above. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0030] In one implementation, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0031] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device. When the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0032] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect described above. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0033] In one implementation, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0034] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a satellite. When the communication device is a chip configured in a satellite, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0035] In a seventh aspect, a processor is provided, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive signals through the input circuit and transmit signals through the output circuit, causing the processor to execute a method in any possible implementation of any aspect.

[0036] In specific implementation, the processor can be one or more chips, the input circuit can be input pins, the output circuit can be output pins, and the processing circuit can be transistors, gate circuits, flip-flops, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. Furthermore, the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as both the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0037] Eighthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor and a memory. The processor is used to read instructions stored in the memory, receive signals via a receiver, and transmit signals via a transmitter to execute the method in any possible implementation of any of the preceding aspects.

[0038] Optionally, the processor may be one or more, and the memory may be one or more.

[0039] Ninthly, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when the computer program is run, causes a computer to perform a method in any possible implementation of any of the above aspects.

[0040] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods in any possible implementation of any of the preceding aspects.

[0041] Eleventhly, embodiments of this application provide a chip system including one or more processors for calling and executing instructions stored in memory, causing the methods in any of the above aspects or possible implementations to be executed. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0042] The chip system may include input circuits or interfaces for transmitting information or data, and output circuits or interfaces for receiving information or data.

[0043] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, including the aforementioned terminal device and network device. Optionally, the communication system may further include other devices that communicate with the terminal device and / or network device. Attached Figure Description

[0044] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of a communication system used in an embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 2 The process for downlink HARQ;

[0046] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0047] Figure 4 Example diagram of a transport block provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0048] Figure 5 Example diagrams illustrating the generation of a first string and a second string based on the reception status of a transport block, provided in embodiments of this application;

[0049] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating the construction of a MAC PDU for a terminal device provided in this application embodiment;

[0050] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating the process of the MAC layer of a terminal device submitting an RLC PDU to the RLC layer, provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 8 A schematic diagram illustrating yet another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 9 A flowchart illustrating the network device's response to HARQ feedback information provided in this application embodiment;

[0053] Figure 10 Example diagram of network device response to HARQ feedback information provided in embodiments of this application;

[0054] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0055] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0056] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terminology used in the following embodiments is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to be a limitation of this application. As used in the specification and appended claims of this application, the singular expressions "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more," unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of this application, "one or more" refers to one, two, or more; "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships may exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0057] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" as described in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0058] The "multiple" mentioned in the embodiments of this application refers to two or more. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, nor should they be construed as indicating or implying order.

[0059] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) systems, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, sidelink communication systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication systems, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, or new radio access technology (NR). Among these, 5G mobile communication systems can include non-standalone (NSA) and / or standalone (SA) networking. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems. This application does not limit the scope of these applications.

[0060] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a communication system used in an embodiment of this application. The communication system may include network devices, such as... Figure 1 The network device 1 shown. This communication system may also include terminal devices, such as... Figure 1 The terminal device 2 shown. Network device 1 and terminal device 2 can communicate via a wireless link.

[0061] Figure 1 An exemplary network device 1 and a terminal device 2 are shown. Optionally, the communication system may also include multiple network devices and / or multiple terminal devices.

[0062] The network equipment in this application can be network-side equipment such as access network and core network equipment. Access network equipment is sometimes also called access node. Access network equipment has wireless transceiver capabilities and is used to communicate with terminals. Access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), transmission reception points (TRPs) in the above-mentioned communication systems, next-generation NodeBs (gNBs) in 5G mobile communication systems, access network equipment or modules of access network equipment in open RAN (ORAN) systems, satellites in NTN communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in WiFi systems. Access network equipment can also be modules or units capable of implementing some of the functions of a base station. Access network equipment can be macro base stations, micro base stations, or indoor stations, relay nodes or donor nodes, or wireless controllers in cloud radioaccess network (CRAN) scenarios. Optionally, access network equipment can also be servers, wearable devices, or vehicle-mounted equipment, etc. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). Multiple access network devices in a communication system can be base stations of the same type or different types. Base stations can communicate with terminals directly or via relay stations. Terminals can communicate with multiple base stations using different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the access network equipment. In this application, the access network equipment is referred to as a network device.

[0063] In this application, the means for implementing the functions of a network device can be a network device itself, or a means capable of supporting the network device in implementing those functions, such as a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system. This means can be installed in or connected to the network device. In the technical solutions provided in this application, the example of a network device being used to implement the functions of a network device is used to describe the technical solutions provided in this application.

[0064] The terminal device in this application can be a wireless terminal device capable of receiving network device scheduling and instruction information. The wireless terminal device can be a device providing voice and / or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connectivity, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. For example, the terminal device can communicate with one or more core networks or the Internet via a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, or satellite communication, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, aircraft (such as drone, helicopter, airplane), hot air balloon, ship, robot, robotic arm, or smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the form of the terminal device.

[0065] In this application, the apparatus for implementing the functions of a terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or any apparatus capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing those functions, such as a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system. This apparatus can be installed in or connected to the terminal device. In the technical solutions provided in this application, the example of a terminal device being used to implement the functions of a terminal device is used to describe the technical solutions provided in this application.

[0066] Access network equipment and / or terminal equipment can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. This application does not limit the application scenarios of the access network equipment and terminal equipment. They can be deployed in the same or different scenarios; for example, both can be deployed on land simultaneously; or the access network equipment can be deployed on land while the terminal equipment is deployed on water, etc., and so on.

[0067] In practical applications, multiple network devices can collaborate to assist terminals in achieving wireless access, with different network devices each implementing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, network devices can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CUs (control planes, CPs), CUs (user planes, UPs), or radio units (RUs), etc. CUs and DUs can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0068] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules. CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, and RU can implement different protocol layer functions.

[0069] To improve communication reliability, one of the core features of the 5G NR user plane, for example, is the use of a dual-layer retransmission mechanism to ensure reliable data transmission. Specifically, the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer employs HARQ technology, where the transmitter performs fast incremental redundant retransmissions, and the receiver improves the success rate of decoding through soft combining of multiple transmissions. Furthermore, the RLC layer (in acknowledged mode (AM)) executes ARQ technology to retransmit data that failed to be transmitted by HARQ. This layered design aims to balance the needs of low latency and high reliability. HARQ corrects most errors within milliseconds, while RLC ARQ compensates for the remaining 10% of errors that HARQ failed to correct over a longer timescale. The two mechanisms complement each other to meet overall reliability requirements.

[0070] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, a brief explanation of HARQ and ARQ involved in this application will be given first. Optionally, the explanation of HARQ and ARQ can also refer to the explanation in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard protocol.

[0071] ARQ's AM refers to the requirement that the RLC sending entity receives an acknowledgment (ACK) report from the receiving end after transmitting data before ceasing to maintain the data packet. Specific implementation methods include: the RLC sending entity maintains a sending window, the lower boundary of which is the smallest sequence number (SN) in the unacknowledged received data packet, and the upper boundary of which is determined based on the sum of the lower boundary and the window size.

[0072] The RLC receiving entity maintains a receive window, the lower boundary of which is the smallest serial number (SN) among the unacknowledged received data packets. This lower boundary is updated after a data packet is acknowledged. Furthermore, a status report is triggered when the reassembly timer expires, notifying the sending entity of the SNs of both acknowledged and unacknowledged received data packets, thus enabling the sending entity to update its sending window.

[0073] HARQ is an error correction mechanism that combines forward error correction and automatic repeat request. Its core objective is to ensure reliable and efficient data reception in unreliable wireless channels. To support high-speed data transmission, NR allows multiple HARQ processes to work in parallel. While process A is waiting for its acknowledgment, processes B, C, and D can continue transmitting data, thus filling the pipeline and avoiding wasted waiting time.

[0074] Combination Figure 2 The downlink HARQ process is as follows:

[0075] 1) Initial downlink transmission: The base station schedules and sends a data transmission block, along with a HARQ process identifier and a new data indicator (NDI, usually 0).

[0076] 2) Receiving and Decoding: The UE receives data and attempts to decode it.

[0077] 3) Feedback: If decoding is successful, the UE will send an ACK to the base station; if decoding fails, the UE will send a negative acknowledgement (NACK) to the base station.

[0078] In this step, there may be a NACK to ACK error, that is, NACK should be transmitted, but the base station receives ACK instead. The inventors found that the probability of this error is about 10%.

[0079] 4) Base station actions: If an ACK is received, it means that the data has been successfully received. The base station clears the buffer of the HARQ process and sends the next new data using the same process ID (while flipping the NDI, for example, to 1). If a NACK is received, the base station will initiate a retransmission, using the same HARQ process identifier, but the NDI remains unchanged, indicating that this is a retransmission.

[0080] Understandably, in the event of a NACK to ACK error, the base station will trigger an NDI flip and send new downlink data. In other words, the NDI should remain unchanged and the data should be retransmitted, but the base station does not retransmit because it receives an ACK.

[0081] Even if the UE can detect a NACK-ACK error (i.e., a HARQ error) through the received downlink data, neither the UE's physical layer nor MAC layer can know the mapping relationship between the RLC PDU and the downlink transport block (carrying downlink data). Therefore, it needs to rely on the RLC's ARQ mechanism to notify the base station to retransmit, as shown in the following steps:

[0082] 5) UE sends status report: The status report is generated by the ARQ mechanism of the RLC layer.

[0083] Due to the execution rules of the ARQ mechanism, a status report can only be triggered after a timer (such as t-Reassembly) expires. The typical duration of t-Reassembly specified in the existing standard is 80ms. Therefore, it is not possible to quickly inform the base station to retransmit.

[0084] 6) The base station retransmits based on the status report.

[0085] For a typical 80ms t-Reassembly configuration, the average retransmission latency is about 40ms, which is unacceptable for scenarios requiring low latency.

[0086] In summary, the inventors' research has found that in scenarios with higher latency requirements, such as 6G, the current HARQ and ARQ mechanisms have at least the following problems:

[0087] First, the latency associated with RLC ARQ feedback and retransmissions is high, typically in the tens of milliseconds or even higher. This is because the RLC must send status reports and schedule new protocol data units (PDUs), and the status reports must wait for timers to trigger, a process that significantly increases the end-to-end latency of data that needs to be reliably transmitted. For services requiring extremely low latency, this additional latency is unacceptable.

[0088] Secondly, the RLC ARQ mechanism introduces considerable protocol overhead. The receiver must periodically send status reports (ACK or NACK) via the air interface, which consumes radio resources and increases processing burden. In scenarios with poor link quality or high reliability requirements, status reports become very frequent and their length may increase, thus consuming valuable air interface resources and further increasing overhead.

[0089] Furthermore, unlike HARQ, RLC ARQ cannot utilize soft combining, meaning that different ARQ retransmissions of the same data cannot be soft-combined to improve decoding success rate.

[0090] In summary, multiple retransmissions driven by status report feedback essentially add round-trip latency costs to each retransmission. These inefficiencies mean that, while 5G solutions are robust, existing 5G solutions must be improved if directly applied to the more demanding low-latency and massive connectivity requirements of 6G.

[0091] To address the above problems, embodiments of this application provide a communication method in which a terminal device receives a transport block from a network device, the transport block including a Radio Link Control Protocol Data Unit (RLC PDU), and the terminal device sends a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) to the network device, the MAC PDU indicating Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for the transport block. It is evident that by sending HARQ feedback information at the MAC layer, the terminal device achieves lower latency and higher efficiency compared to implementing HARQ at the physical layer as specified in existing standards.

[0092] Accordingly, the network device sends a transport block to the terminal device, the transport block including a Radio Link Control Protocol Data Unit (RLC PDU). The network device receives a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) from the terminal device, the MAC PDU indicating the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for the transport block. Similarly, the network device receives the MAC PDU to obtain HARQ feedback information, resulting in lower latency and higher efficiency.

[0093] The solution provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the corresponding flowcharts. It is understood that the illustrative flowcharts provided in this application primarily use different devices (e.g., terminal devices, network devices) as examples of the execution subjects of this interactive illustration to illustrate the method, but this application does not limit the execution subjects of the interactive illustrations. For example, the devices (e.g., terminal devices, network devices) in the illustrative flowcharts can also be chips, chip systems, or processors that support the implementation of this method on the device, or logic modules or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the device.

[0094] As a general statement, the message or signaling interactions involved in the interaction process of this application embodiment can be standard messages or signaling or newly introduced messages or signaling. This application embodiment does not make specific limitations on this.

[0095] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of this application. It can be understood that... Figure 3 The terminal device in the middle can be Figure 1 Any terminal device in the context of network equipment can refer to any component within that terminal device (such as a processor, chip, or chip system). Network equipment can be... Figure 1 Any access network device, or a component within an access network device (such as a processor, chip, or chip system). Figure 3 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0096] S11. The network device sends a transport block, and the corresponding terminal device receives the transport block.

[0097] Understandably, the transport block is a downlink transport block.

[0098] Each transport block corresponds to one HARQ process; therefore, a transport block is also called a HARQ block. A transport block includes at least one RLC PDU. Figure 4 For example, RLC PDUs with SNs of 1-12 are the data packets transmitted for the first time, and RLC PDUs with SNs of 13-16 are the data packets that have not been transmitted. Among them, RLC PDUs with SNs of 1-4 are included in the HARQ process with process number 1 for transmission, that is, the transport block (TB) with number 1. In other words, TB1 includes RLC PDUs with SNs of 1-4. Similarly, the transport block with number 2, i.e. TB2, includes RLC PDUs with SNs of 5-8, and the transport block with number 3, i.e. TB3, includes RLC PDUs with SNs of 9-12.

[0099] For example, HARQ processes with different numbers can be transmitted in parallel.

[0100] S12. The terminal device sends a MAC PDU, and the network device receives the MAC PDU accordingly.

[0101] The MAC PDU indicates the HARQ feedback information of the transport block. For example, the HARQ feedback information of any transport block is ACK or NACK. ACK indicates that the terminal device has correctly received the transport block, and NACK indicates that the terminal device has not correctly received the transport block.

[0102] For example, a MAC PDU includes a first string and a second string. The first string can be called a first bit string, which is used to indicate whether the corresponding transport block has been fed back, that is, whether it has HARQ feedback information. It can also be understood as indicating the transport block that has feedback information.

[0103] The second string, also known as the second bit string, is used to indicate whether the feedback information for the corresponding transport block is ACK or NACK.

[0104] by Figure 5 For example, suppose TB1 and TB3 are correctly received by the terminal device, while TB2 is not correctly received. In this example, assume both the first and second strings are 8 bits. Figure 5 As shown, starting from the least significant bit, each bit in the first string corresponds to a TB (Through-Based Transaction). Therefore, the 8 bits correspond to TBs numbered 0-7. Since the terminal device received TB1, TB2, and TB3, the second bit (numbered 1) indicates that TB1 has HARQ feedback information; that is, the second bit corresponds to TB1 and has a value of 1. Similarly, the third bit (numbered 2) indicates that TB2 has HARQ feedback information; that is, the third bit corresponds to TB2 and has a value of 1. The fourth bit (numbered 3) indicates that TB3 has HARQ feedback information; that is, the fourth bit corresponds to TB3 and has a value of 1. Because the terminal device did not receive TBs corresponding to other bits (or the first string does not indicate feedback information for TBs corresponding to other bits), the other bits are set to 0, indicating no HARQ feedback information.

[0105] In the second string, starting from the least significant bit, each bit corresponds to a TB (Through Block). Therefore, the 8 bits correspond to TBs numbered 0-7. Since TB1 and TB3 were correctly received by the terminal device, but TB2 was not, the second bit (number 1) of TB1 and the fourth bit (number 3) of TB3 are both 1, indicating an ACK (Accept) HARQ feedback. The third bit (number 2) of TB2 is 0, indicating a NACK (Non-ACK) HARQ feedback. It's understandable that the other bits in the second string have a value of 0 in the first string, meaning the corresponding TB does not have HARQ feedback, so the 0 values ​​in the other bits of the second string are meaningless.

[0106] Figure 5 The 0 and 1 in the text are examples of possible values ​​and do not constitute a limitation.

[0107] The first and second strings shown in this embodiment can be collectively referred to as new HARQ feedback (NHF). Figure 5 As can be seen, the first and second strings can indicate HARQ feedback information for multiple TBs at once, which is highly efficient and helps to consume less transmission resources.

[0108] For example, the process by which a terminal device obtains any TB of HARQ feedback information and constructs a MAC PDU is as follows: Figure 6 As shown, it includes the following steps:

[0109] S21. Perform cyclic redundancy check (CRC) on the received TB to obtain the TB verification result.

[0110] CRC has high accuracy and reliability, and therefore can effectively avoid the aforementioned NACK to ACK error. The inventors have found that CRC can basically avoid all NACK to ACK errors.

[0111] If the verification result is successful, it means that the terminal device has correctly received the TB, and then proceed to steps S22-S23. If the verification result is unsuccessful, it means that the terminal device has not correctly received the TB, and then proceed to steps S24-S25.

[0112] For example, since CRC is a common operation at the MAC layer, S21 is performed by the MAC layer of the terminal device.

[0113] For example, the terminal device decodes the TB and then performs a CRC check.

[0114] S22. Submit the CRC-passed RLC PDU to the RLC layer.

[0115] For example, TB is carried in the MAC PDU transmission. Therefore, after stripping the header of the MAC PDU that has passed the CRC, the RLCPDU is obtained and then the RLC PDU is submitted to the RLC layer.

[0116] For example, S22 is executed by the MAC layer of the terminal device.

[0117] S23. Set the value of the bit corresponding to TB in the first string to 1, and set the value of the bit corresponding to TB in the second string to 1.

[0118] The order of S22 and S23 is not a limitation.

[0119] S24. Discard the hard bits after decoding the TB, and store the original soft bits (log-likelihood ratio, LLR) of the TB in the soft buffer corresponding to the TB.

[0120] The purpose of S24 is to perform soft merging after receiving retransmitted data of the TB to increase the probability of successful decoding. S24 is a common operation and will not be described in detail here.

[0121] S25. Set the value of the bit corresponding to TB in the first string to 1, and set the value of the bit corresponding to TB in the second string to 0.

[0122] by Figure 7 For example, the MAC layer of the terminal device submits the RLC PDUs in TB1 and TB3 to the RLC layer, while TB2 cannot submit its RLC PDUs to the RLC layer because it was not received correctly.

[0123] The communication method provided in this embodiment involves the terminal device transmitting HARQ feedback information via a MAC PDU, i.e., feeding back ACK or NACK at the MAC layer. Compared to the HARQ specified in existing standards, the feedback is handled at the MAC layer, not the physical layer, thus enabling faster and more efficient feedback. Furthermore, the RLC layer no longer needs to configure ARQ feedback, significantly reducing feedback latency and complexity. Additionally, compared to HARQ specified in existing standards, CRC significantly reduces errors from NACK to ACK, thereby improving the accuracy of feedback information, further avoiding increased latency due to incorrect feedback information, and further enhancing communication reliability.

[0124] In addition to reducing transmission latency through rapid feedback ACK or NACK from terminal devices, the embodiments of this application can also improve the retransmission mechanism of network devices to further reduce transmission latency. The following embodiments will focus on the improvement of network devices.

[0125] Figure 8 This application provides another communication method, comprising the following steps:

[0126] S31. The network device sends downlink control information (DCI), and the terminal device receives the DCI accordingly.

[0127] DCI indicates the following: 1) time-frequency resource block information used for data transmission, 2) modulation and coding scheme (MCS), 3) new data indicator (NDI), 4) HARQ process identifier, and 5) information on redundant versions.

[0128] The identifier of the HARQ process is the same as the identifier of the TB. Redundant versions refer to the result of encoding the same TB using different encoding methods.

[0129] For details on the above content, please refer to existing standards; they will not be repeated here.

[0130] For example, network devices transmit DCI via the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

[0131] S32. Network devices construct TB and HARQ block descriptor (HBD).

[0132] For example, the RLC layer of a network device determines the number of RLC PDUs included in each TB based on the size of the TB. An example of the TB constructed in this step can be found in [link to example]. Figure 4 As shown.

[0133] HBD is used to describe TB. The HBD of any TB indicates the information of the TB and the information of the RLC PDU included in the TB.

[0134] Examples of information about the TB include the identifier (ID) of the TB (i.e., the HARQ process), which can be indicated by the DCI.

[0135] An example of information for an RLC PDU is the SN of the RLC PDU.

[0136] For example, the network device stores HBD for each TB of data, which is used for subsequent RLCPDU information exchange between the MAC layer and RLC layer of the network device. HBD, as a bridge between the MAC layer and RLC layer of the network device, is the foundation for combining MAC retransmission and RLC layer retransmission, which is beneficial for achieving low latency and high reliability retransmission.

[0137] S33. The network device sends TB, and the corresponding terminal device receives TB.

[0138] For example, TB is transmitted on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0139] Each TB carries the process identifier of that TB.

[0140] S34. The network device starts a counter for the TB that has been sent, and sets the initial value to 1, i.e., TxCont(i) = 1.

[0141] For example, each transmitted TB corresponds to a counter, and the initial value of each counter is set to 1 after startup. The count of this counter is used to control subsequent retransmissions, which will be explained in detail in the following steps.

[0142] S35. The terminal device sends a MAC PDU, and the network device receives the MAC PDU accordingly.

[0143] The MAC PDU indicates the HARQ feedback information for the transport block, as detailed in S12. For example, it also includes... Figure 5 For example, assuming the terminal device receives process identifier 1 for TB1, process identifier 2 for TB2, and process identifier 3 for TB3, the bit sequence numbers from least significant to most significant in the first and second strings are the same as the process identifier of the corresponding TB. Figure 5 In the first string, the bit with index 1 indicates whether the process identifier TB (process truncation) has HARQ feedback information. A value of 1 indicates that HARQ feedback information is present. For example, Figure 5 In the second string, the bit with sequence number 1 represents the feedback information of TB with process identifier 1, and a value of 1 indicates ACK.

[0144] For example, in addition to S35, in this embodiment, the terminal device also performs the following for TBs that have passed the CRC: Figure 6 S22-S23 are shown, and S24-S25 are executed for TBs that fail the CRC test.

[0145] S36. The network device performs corresponding operations based on the counter count corresponding to TB, the first and second strings in the MAC PDU, and the HBD corresponding to TB.

[0146] The specific implementation process of S36 is as follows: Figure 9 As shown, it includes the following steps:

[0147] S401. Assign the sequence number of a bit in the first string that has a value of 1 (i.e., the process identifier of TB represented by that bit) to the variable pid.

[0148] Combination Figure 5 As shown, for example, pid=1 in order from least significant bit to most significant bit.

[0149] S402. Query the value of the bit with the sequence number pid in the second bit. If the value found is 1, execute S403-S405. If the value found is 0, execute S406-S407.

[0150] For example, combining Figure 5 As shown, the value of the bit with pid=1 is 1, which means that the feedback information of the TB corresponding to this bit is ACK, that is, the terminal device has correctly received the TB.

[0151] S403, the MAC layer sends a transmission success message to the RLC layer.

[0152] The successful transmission message indicates the transmission block identified by process pid and an ACK; that is, the successful transmission message indicates that the transmission block identified by process pid has an ACK response. In this embodiment, the transmission block with an ACK response can be referred to as the second transmission block.

[0153] S404: The RLC layer queries the HBD corresponding to the transport block with process identifier pid to obtain the information of the RLC PDU included in the transport block with process identifier pid.

[0154] S405, RLC layer stops maintaining the RLC PDU included in the transport block with process identifier pid.

[0155] For example, stopping maintenance includes removing the RLCPDU included in the transport block identified by the process pid from the cache and updating the state variables of the ARQ send window to achieve compatibility with the ARQ mechanism and save resources.

[0156] S414 is executed after S405.

[0157] S406. Set the counter of TB to TxCont(i) = TxCont(i) + 1.

[0158] Where i represents the process identifier, and i=1 when pid=1.

[0159] S407. Determine whether the count value of the counter TxCont(i) of the TB is greater than the count threshold.

[0160] If the number of retransmissions does not exceed the threshold, MAC layer retransmissions can still be performed without involving the ARQ mechanism of the RLC layer to reduce latency, i.e., execute S408. If the number of retransmissions exceeds the threshold, it means that the MAC layer retransmission limit for this TB has been reached, and the possibility of the retransmission being correctly received by the terminal device is unlikely, so execute S409-S413.

[0161] The retransmission threshold can be understood as the maximum number of times the MAC layer can retransmit. When the MAC layer retransmits to the threshold, it informs the RLC layer to retransmit, which can achieve both low latency and high efficiency of MAC layer retransmission, and ensure the reliability of communication.

[0162] S408, Redundant transport block for the transport block whose sending process identifier is pid.

[0163] In this step, the transport block with a feedback message of NACK can be referred to as the first transport block.

[0164] Redundant transport blocks and transport blocks with the process identifier PID share the same RLC PDU but use different encoding methods. When the terminal device is capable of soft-merging decoding, sending the redundant version during retransmission increases the likelihood of correctly receiving the transport block.

[0165] For example, this step can be performed by the MAC layer.

[0166] S414 is executed after S408.

[0167] S409, the MAC layer stops retransmissions on the HARQ process with process ID pid and removes the TB with process ID pid from the cache.

[0168] Since retransmission at the MAC layer is not very meaningful, the MAC layer should instruct the RLC layer to perform ARQ-based retransmission, which involves the following steps.

[0169] S410, the MAC layer sends a transmission failure message to the RLC layer.

[0170] A transmission failure message indicates the information of the transport block identified by process pid and NACK; that is, a transmission success message indicates the feedback information of the transport block identified by process pid as NACK.

[0171] The MAC layer can inform the RLC layer of transmission failure information, which helps the RLC layer to retransmit and ensure the reliability of communication.

[0172] S411, the RLC layer queries the HBD corresponding to the transport block with process identifier pid to obtain the information of the RLC PDU included in the transport block with process identifier pid.

[0173] For example, obtain the SN of the RLC PDU included in the transport block whose process identifier is pid.

[0174] S412, RLC PDUs included in the transport block whose retransmission process identifier is pid.

[0175] For example, the RLC layer obtains these RLCPDUs from the cache based on the RLC PDU information queried in S411 and retransmits these RLC PDUs, which helps to ensure the reliability of communication.

[0176] The method for retransmitting these RLC PDUs is the same as described above for constructing and sending a TB. It is understood that these RLC PDUs are included in at least one new TB (which may also be called another TB) for transmission; at least one new TB refers to at least one TB other than the original TB. Retransmitting RLC PDUs using a new transport block, while adapting to the MAC layer no longer retransmitting these RLC PDUs, helps increase the likelihood of successful retransmission.

[0177] S413, the RLC layer deletes the HBD corresponding to the transport block with process identifier pid.

[0178] Since the RLC PDU of the original process block with process ID pid has been retransmitted using the new TB, and the original process block with process ID pid has been deleted, there is no need to save the HBD corresponding to the process block with process ID 1, in order to save space.

[0179] S414. Assign the number of the next bit in the first string that has a value of 1 to pid, and return to execute S402.

[0180] Combination Figure 10 As shown, for TBs with correctly received process identifiers 1 and 3, the MAC layer submits the included RLC PDU to the RLC layer. For TBs with incorrectly received process identifier 2, if the MAC layer reaches the maximum number of retransmissions for that TB, it uploads transmission failure information to the RLC layer, and the RLC layer can retransmit the TB.

[0181] In this embodiment, the network device can perform MAC layer retransmission, or deliver the correctly received data packet to the RLC layer, or trigger RLC layer retransmission when the number of MAC layer retransmissions reaches a threshold, thus achieving both low latency and reliability.

[0182] It should be understood that Figures 1 to 10 The flowcharts or scene diagrams shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the embodiments of this application to the examples illustrated. In fact, those skilled in the art can interpret the embodiments based on... Figures 1 to 10 The examples in the document can be transformed into equivalent ways to obtain more implementations.

[0183] The above text combined Figures 1 to 10 This document describes in detail the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application. The following will combine... Figures 11 to 12The device embodiments of this application are described in detail below. It should be understood that the communication device of this application embodiment can execute the various communication methods of the foregoing embodiments of this application, that is, the specific working processes of the various products below can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0184] In the embodiments described above, the terminal device may execute some or all of the steps in each embodiment; the network device may execute some or all of the steps in each embodiment. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of this application may also perform other operations or variations thereof. Furthermore, the steps may be executed in different orders as presented in the embodiments, and it is not necessary to execute all the operations in the embodiments of this application. Moreover, the sequence number of each step does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0185] Figure 11 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 11 As shown, the communication device 100 may include a communication module 120. The communication module 120 can implement corresponding communication functions, which can be internal communication functions of the communication device 100 or communication functions between the communication device 100 and other devices. Optionally, the communication module 120 may also be referred to as a communication interface or transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device 100 further includes a processing module 110. The processing module 110 can implement corresponding processing functions.

[0186] Optionally, the communication device 100 further includes a storage module, which can be used to store instructions and / or data; the processing module 110 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module so that the communication device 100 can implement the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0187] In one possible design, the communication device 100 may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the terminal device. The communication device 100 can be used to perform the steps or processes performed by the terminal device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0188] For example, the communication module 120 is configured to receive a transport block from a network device, the transport block including a Radio Link Control Protocol Data Unit (RLC PDU); and to send a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) to the network device, the MAC PDU indicating Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for the transport block.

[0189] In some implementations, the MAC PDU indicates the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information of the transport block, including: the MAC PDU includes a first string and a second string; the first string indicates the transport block having the HARQ feedback information; the second string indicates that the HARQ feedback information of the corresponding transport block is an ACK or a NACK.

[0190] In some implementations, the first string indicates a transport block having the HARQ feedback information, including: a first bit in the first string is a first value, and other bits besides the first bit are second values, wherein the first bit is a bit corresponding to the transport block targeted by the HARQ feedback information.

[0191] In some implementations, the second string indicates whether the HARQ feedback information of the corresponding transport block is an ACK or a NACK, including: the bit in the second string corresponding to the correctly received transport block is a third value, the third value representing the ACK; the bit in the second string corresponding to the incorrectly received transport block is a fourth value, the fourth value representing the NACK.

[0192] In some implementations, the processing module 110 is used to obtain the HARQ feedback information of the transport block through cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

[0193] In some implementations, the communication module 120 is also used to receive the process identifier and HARQ block descriptor (HBD) of the transport block from the network device.

[0194] The above are merely examples; for detailed steps or procedures, please refer to the descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0195] In one possible design, the communication device 100 may correspond to the network device in the above method embodiments, or to a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the network device. The communication device 100 can be used to perform the steps or processes performed by the network device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0196] For example, the communication module 120 is used to transmit a transport block including a Radio Link Control Protocol Data Unit (RLC PDU); and to receive a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) from the terminal device, the MAC PDU indicating Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for the transport block.

[0197] In some implementations, the communication module 120 is further configured to send transmission failure information from the MAC layer of the network device to the RLC layer. The transmission failure information indicates the information of a first transmission block and NACK, wherein the first transmission block is the transmission block whose HARQ feedback information is NACK.

[0198] In some implementations, the processing module 110 is used to determine, triggered by the MAC layer of the network device, that the number of retransmissions of the first transmission block has reached a threshold.

[0199] In some implementations, the processing module 110 is further configured to obtain information about the RLC PDUs included in the first transport block by querying the HARQ block descriptor (HBD) corresponding to the first transport block; the communication module 120 is further configured to trigger the retransmission of the RLC PDUs included in the first transport block by the RLC layer of the network device.

[0200] In some implementations, the processing module 110 is further configured to trigger the network device's RLC layer to obtain information about the RLC PDUs included in the first transport block by querying the HARQ block descriptor (HBD) corresponding to the first transport block; and trigger the retransmission of the RLC PDUs included in the first transport block by the network device's RLC layer.

[0201] In some implementations, the communication module 120 retransmits the RLC PDU included in the first transport block by using at least one other transport block, which is different from the first transport block.

[0202] In some implementations, the processing module 110 is also configured to trigger the deletion of the HBD corresponding to the first transport block by the RLC layer of the network device.

[0203] In some implementations, the communication module 120 is further configured to, after receiving the Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) from the terminal device, send a transmission success message to the RLC layer triggered by the MAC layer of the network device. The transmission success message indicates a second transmission block and an ACK confirmation, wherein the second transmission block is the transmission block whose HARQ feedback information is ACK.

[0204] In some implementations, the processing module 110 is further configured to, after the communication module 120 sends a transmission success message to the RLC layer, trigger the RLC layer of the network device to obtain information about the RLC PDUs included in the second transport block by querying the HBD corresponding to the second transport block; and trigger the RLC layer of the network device to stop maintaining the RLC PDUs included in the second transport block.

[0205] In some implementations, the communication module 120 is further configured to send a redundant transport block of the first transport block to the terminal device after receiving the Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) from the terminal device. The first transport block is a transport block in which the HARQ feedback information is a negative acknowledgment (NACK). The redundant transport block includes the same RLC PDU as the first transport block but uses a different encoding method.

[0206] In some implementations, the processing module 110 is further configured to determine that the number of retransmissions of the first transmission block has not reached a threshold number before the communication module 120 sends the redundant transmission block of the first transmission block to the terminal device.

[0207] In some implementations, the processing module 110 is further configured to construct an HBD of the transport block before the communication module 120 sends the transport block to the terminal device, wherein the HBD indicates the correspondence between the information of the transport block and the RLC PDUs included in the transport block.

[0208] The above are merely examples; for detailed steps or procedures, please refer to the descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0209] Figure 12 This is another schematic block diagram of the communication device 200 provided in the embodiments of this application. The communication device 200 may be a chip, chip system, or processor, etc., in a terminal device or network device that implements the above-described methods. The communication device 200 can be used to implement the methods described in the above-described method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above-described method embodiments.

[0210] like Figure 12 As shown, the communication device 200 may include one or more processors 210, which may also be referred to as processing units or processing modules, and can implement certain control functions. The processor 210 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device 200 (e.g., a base station, baseband chip, user, user chip), execute software programs, and process data from the software programs.

[0211] In an alternative design, the processor 210 may also store instructions and / or data that can be executed by the processor 210 to cause the communication device 200 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0212] In another alternative design, the communication device 200 may include a communication interface 220 for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the communication interface 220 may be a transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver. The transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The aforementioned transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver may be used for reading and writing code / data, or it may be used for transmitting or relaying signals.

[0213] Optionally, the communication device 200 may include one or more memories 230, which may store instructions that can be executed on the processor 210, causing the communication device 200 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memories 230 may also store data. Optionally, the processor 210 may also store instructions and / or data. The processor 210 and the memories 230 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0214] It should be understood that, in one possible design, the steps in the method embodiments provided in this application can be implemented by integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are not provided here.

[0215] In one implementation, the communication device 200 may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiments and may be used to execute the various steps and / or processes executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The processor 210 may be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 230, and when the processor 210 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 210 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above method embodiments corresponding to the terminal device.

[0216] In another implementation, the communication device 200 may correspond to the network device in the above method embodiments and may be used to execute the various steps and / or processes executed by the network device in the above method embodiments. The processor 210 may be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 230, and when the processor 210 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 210 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above method embodiments corresponding to the network device.

[0217] It should be understood that the aforementioned processing device can be one or more chips. For example, the processing device can be a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system-on-chip (SoC), a central processor unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

[0218] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0219] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a chip system, which includes one or more processors for calling and executing instructions stored in memory, thereby causing the method described in the embodiments of this application to be executed. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0220] The chip system may include input circuits or interfaces for transmitting information or data, and output circuits or interfaces for receiving information or data.

[0221] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a communication system, which includes the aforementioned network device and terminal device.

[0222] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes executed by the network device or terminal device in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0223] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes executed by the network device or terminal device in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0224] The computer-readable storage medium may be the aforementioned volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or it may include both volatile memory and non-volatile memory.

[0225] In the embodiments of this application, the terms and English abbreviations are exemplary examples given for ease of description and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way. This application does not preclude the possibility of defining other terms that can achieve the same or similar functions in existing or future agreements.

[0226] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When these computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated.

[0227] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0228] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0229] In summary, the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the technical solution of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The terminal device receives a transport block from the network device, the transport block including a Radio Link Control Protocol Data Unit (RLC PDU); The terminal device performs Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) through the MAC layer to obtain the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information of the transmission block. The terminal device sends a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) to the network device. The MAC PDU includes a first string and a second string. The first string indicates a transport block with the HARQ feedback information, and the second string indicates whether the HARQ feedback information of the corresponding transport block is an Acknowledgment (ACK) or a Negative Acknowledgment (NACK).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first string indicates a transport block having the HARQ feedback information, including: The first bit in the first string is a first value, and the other bits are second values. The first bit is the bit corresponding to the transport block targeted by the HARQ feedback information.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second string indicates whether the HARQ feedback information for the corresponding transport block is an ACK or a NACK, including: The bits in the second string that correspond to the correctly received transport block are the third value, which represents the ACK; The bit in the second string corresponding to the incorrectly received transport block is the fourth value, which represents the NACK.

4. A communication method, characterized in that, include: The network device sends a transport block to the terminal device, the transport block including a Radio Link Control Protocol Data Unit (RLCPDU); The network device receives a Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC PDU) from the terminal device. The MAC PDU includes a first string and a second string. The first string indicates a transport block with HARQ feedback information, and the second string indicates that the HARQ feedback information of the corresponding transport block is either an Acknowledgment (ACK) or a Negative Acknowledgment (NACK). The HARQ feedback information is obtained by performing Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) at the MAC layer. The network device sends a redundant transport block of the first transport block to the terminal device, or the MAC layer of the network device sends a transmission failure message to the RLC layer. The first transport block is a transport block in which the HARQ feedback information is a negative acknowledgment (NACK). The redundant transport block and the first transport block include the same RLC PDU but use different encoding methods. The transmission failure message indicates the information of the first transport block and the NACK. After sending the transmission failure information to the RLC layer, the RLC layer of the network device obtains the information of the RLC PDU included in the first transport block by querying the HARQ block descriptor (HBD) corresponding to the first transport block and retransmits the RLC PDU included in the first transport block. The MAC layer of the network device sends a transmission success message to the RLC layer. The transmission success message indicates the second transmission block and ACK confirmation. The second transmission block is the transmission block whose HARQ feedback information is ACK. After sending the transmission success information to the RLC layer, the RLC layer of the network device obtains the information of the RLC PDU included in the second transport block by querying the HBD corresponding to the second transport block, and stops maintaining the RLC PDU included in the second transport block.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, Before sending the transmission failure information to the RLC layer, the method further includes: The MAC layer of the network device determines that the number of retransmissions of the first transmission block has reached a threshold.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The retransmission of the RLCPDU included in the first transport block includes: The RLC PDU included in the first transport block is retransmitted using at least one other transport block, which is different from the first transport block.

7. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, Also includes: The RLC layer of the network device deletes the HBD corresponding to the first transport block.

8. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, Before sending the redundant transport block of the first transport block to the terminal device, the method further includes: The network device determines that the number of retransmissions of the first transmission block has not reached the threshold.

9. The method according to any one of claims 4-8, characterized in that, Before sending the transmission block to the terminal device, the method further includes: The network device constructs the HBD of the transport block, and the HBD indicates the correspondence between the information of the transport block and the RLC PDUs included in the transport block.

10. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes at least one processor coupled to a memory storing a program or instructions, the processor executing the program or instructions to cause the device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instructions stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program or instructions are executed, they cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

12. A communication system, characterized in that, Includes the communication device as described in claim 10.

13. A chip system, characterized in that, The chip system includes one or more processors, which are configured to retrieve and execute instructions stored in memory, such that the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9 is performed.

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