Method, device and system for HARQ information transmission

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information transmission are described. A method comprises: receiving, by a target network node, first HARQ information from a source network node; determining, by the target network node, at least one wrong transport block (TB) in a link between the source network node and the UE based on the first HARQ information; and performing, by the target network node, a HARQ retransmission process for the at least one wrong TB based on the first HARQ information. Another method comprises: sending, by a source network node, first HARQ information to a target network node; and instructing, by the source network node, the target network node to perform a HARQ retransmission process for at least one erroneous TB of the source network node based on the first HARQ information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to wireless communications. In particular, this disclosure relates to methods, apparatus, and systems for transmitting hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information. Background Technology

[0002] Wireless communication technology is propelling the world towards an increasingly connected and networked society. High-speed, low-latency wireless communication relies on efficient network resource management and allocation between one or more user devices and one or more radio access network nodes (including but not limited to base stations). Next-generation networks promise to provide high-speed, low-latency, and ultra-reliable communication capabilities, meeting the requirements of various industries and users.

[0003] Several issues exist related to how transport blocks (TBs) are handled during handover, leading to low network efficiency and poor data transmission performance. For example, during handover from a source node to a destination node, the destination node may be unable to initiate retransmissions of TBs that failed at the source node, resulting in low network data transmission efficiency. This disclosure describes various embodiments for the transmission of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) information to address at least one of the problems discussed above. The various embodiments in this disclosure can fully utilize the data transmission information of the source node and improve the data transmission efficiency of the network, and / or enhance the performance of enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and / or ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC), and / or provide new scenarios to fully utilize the HARQ information of the source node during handover to improve network transmission efficiency, thereby improving the field of wireless communication technology. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This document relates to methods, systems, and apparatuses for wireless communication, and more specifically, methods, systems, and apparatuses for transmitting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) information.

[0005] In one embodiment, this disclosure describes a method for transmitting HARQ information in wireless communication. The method includes: receiving first HARQ information from a source network node by a target network node; determining at least one erroneous transport block (TB) in the link between the source network node and the UE based on the first HARQ information; and performing a HARQ retransmission procedure for the at least one erroneous TB based on the first HARQ information.

[0006] In another embodiment, this disclosure describes a method for transmitting HARQ information in wireless communication. The method includes: sending a first HARQ message from a source network node to a target network node; and instructing the target network node, based on the first HARQ message, to perform a HARQ retransmission procedure for at least one error TB of the source network node.

[0007] In another embodiment, this disclosure describes a method for transmitting HARQ information in wireless communication. The method includes: receiving second HARQ information from a target network node, wherein the target network node receives first HARQ information from a source network node; and determining, based on the second HARQ information, at least one erroneous transport block (TB) in the link between the source network node and the UE.

[0008] In some other embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication may include: a memory storing instructions and processing circuitry communicating with the memory. When the processing circuitry executes the instructions, the processing circuitry is configured to perform the methods described above.

[0009] In some other embodiments, a device for wireless communication may include: a memory storing instructions and processing circuitry communicating with the memory. When the processing circuitry executes the instructions, the processing circuitry is configured to perform the methods described above.

[0010] In some other embodiments, a computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described above. The computer-readable medium includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

[0011] The above and other aspects and their implementations are described in more detail in the accompanying drawings, detailed descriptions, and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system is shown, including a wireless network node and one or more user devices.

[0013] Figure 2 An example of a network node is shown.

[0014] Figure 3 An example of a user device is shown.

[0015] Figure 4A A flowchart of an exemplary method for wireless communication is shown.

[0016] Figure 4B A flowchart of another exemplary method for wireless communication is shown.

[0017] Figure 4C A flowchart of another exemplary method for wireless communication is shown.

[0018] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment for wireless communication is shown.

[0019] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment for wireless communication is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0020] This disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this disclosure, and which illustrate specific examples of embodiments by way of illustration. However, it should be noted that this disclosure may be implemented in many different forms, and therefore the subject matter covered or claimed is intended to be construed as not being limited to any of the embodiments set forth below.

[0021] Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings beyond those explicitly stated, implied or suggested in the context. Similarly, the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in some embodiments” as used herein do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the phrases “in another embodiment” or “in other embodiments” as used herein do not necessarily refer to different embodiments. Likewise, the phrases “in one implementation” or “in some implementations” as used herein do not necessarily refer to the same implementation, and the phrases “in another implementation” or “in other implementations” as used herein do not necessarily refer to different implementations. For example, the claimed subject matter is intended to include, in whole or in part, combinations of exemplary embodiments or implementations.

[0022] Generally, terms can be understood, at least in part, from their use in context. For example, terms used herein, such as “and,” “or,” or “and / or,” can include a variety of meanings that may depend at least in part on the context in which they are used. Generally, if “or” is used in a list of associations (e.g., A, B, or C), it is intended to mean A, B, and C (used in an inclusive sense) and A, B, or C (used in an exclusive sense). Furthermore, the terms “one or more” or “at least one,” as used herein, depend at least in part on the context and can be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense, or can be used to describe a combination of features, structures, or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms such as “a,” “an,” or “the / that,” also depend at least in part on the context and can be understood to convey either a singular or a plural usage. Furthermore, also depending at least in part on the context, the terms “based on” or “determined by” can be understood to not necessarily convey an exclusive set of factors, but may allow for the presence of additional factors that are not necessarily explicitly described.

[0023] In this disclosure, a node may refer to a device, protocol layer, network function, and / or network entity. A node may be a radio access network (RAN), such as a base transceiver station (BTS), base station (BS), enhanced node (eNode), next generation node (gNB), next generation RAN (NG-RAN), or distributed unit (DU) in a mobile communication network.

[0024] This disclosure describes various methods and apparatus for transmitting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) information.

[0025] Next-generation (NG) mobile communication systems are propelling the world towards an increasingly connected and networked society. High-speed, low-latency wireless communication relies on efficient network resource management and allocation between one or more user devices and one or more radio access network nodes (including but not limited to radio base stations). NG networks promise to provide high-speed, low-latency, and ultra-reliable communication capabilities, meeting the requirements of diverse industries and users.

[0026] With the rapid evolution of cellular mobile communication systems, more and more applications are emerging in various business and / or service industries. Some services (such as holographic communication, industrial internet services, and immersive cloud extended reality (XR)) require both ultra-high throughput and ultra-low latency. These services integrate the characteristics of both high-performance and high-efficiency wireless networks: they not only have extremely high throughput requirements but also high latency requirements. For example, but not limited to, high-bandwidth, high-throughput, and low-latency scenarios may require reliable transmission of large amounts of data under low latency requirements.

[0027] In some implementations of communication networks, user data can be divided into multiple small data packets (e.g., transport blocks (TBs)) for transmission. These small data packets serve as the basic unit for scheduling at the medium access control (MAC) layer and transmission at the physical layer. Due to multipath effects, channel fading, and interference in the wireless environment, TB data may be lost or corrupted during transmission. To ensure data transmission efficiency and reliability, the MAC layer uses a fast retransmission mechanism called HARQ. In the HARQ mechanism, the HARQ process is responsible for transmitting TB data on the physical channel. Each TB of data is assigned an available HARQ process, and each HARQ process has an independent HARQ buffer on the receiver or transmitter. HARQ with soft combining in the HARQ buffer can merge retransmitted data packets to improve the data transmission success rate. If decoding of the merged data packet still fails, a retransmission and merging can be requested again. Based on whether the retransmitted bit information is the same as the original transmission (also known as the initial transmission), soft combining HARQ can be divided into two types of retransmission modes: chase combining (CC) and incremental redundancy (IR). In CC mode, the retransmitted bit information is the same as the original transmission, while in IR mode, the retransmitted bit information may differ from the original transmission. In IR mode, multiple sets of coded bits can be generated, and each set of coded bits (i.e., the retransmitted bit information) corresponds to a redundant version (RV). Through multiple retransmissions and soft combining of received data, the probability of successfully decoding TB is significantly improved.

[0028] For some implementations, certain issues may arise. During mobility operations where a terminal (e.g., user equipment (UE)) undergoes a handover process from a source node to a target node, the source node may trigger a MAC reset procedure and discard its MAC layer data when a connection is established with the target node. The target node may not perform continuous retransmission processing on failed data blocks (TBs) transmitted by the source node (i.e., erroneous TBs); instead, it may transmit the erroneous TB block as the first original TB. In other words, when handover occurs, the TB information transmitted by the source node can be discarded, and the target node cannot use the source node's existing HARQ information for HARQ soft merging, leading to inefficient data transmission. Therefore, there is a problem of underutilizing the source node's HARQ information during handover, resulting in inefficient network transmission.

[0029] In some implementations, in 5G New Radio (NR) TS38.321, when an upper layer requests a reset of the MAC entity, the MAC entity can be configured to perform some or all of the following operations: initialize Bj for each logical channel to zero; initialize SBj for each logical channel to zero if sidelink resource allocation mode 1 is configured via Radio Resource Control (RRC); stop all timers (if running); treat all timeAlignmentTimers as timeouts and perform predefined actions; set the New Data Indicator (NDI) for all uplink HARQ processes to a value of 0; set the NDI for all HARQ process IDs used to monitor the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in sidelink resource allocation mode 1 to a value of 0; stop ongoing random access... Access (RA) procedure (if present); Discard contention-free random access resources for explicit signaling notifications for 4-step RA and 2-step RA types (if present); Clear Msg3 (message 3) buffer; Clear MSGA (message A) buffer; Cancel triggered scheduling request (SR) procedure (if present); Cancel triggered buffer status reporting (BSR) procedure (if present); Cancel triggered power headroom reporting (if present); Cancel triggered continuous listen-before-talk (LBT) failure (if present); Cancel triggered beam failure recovery (if present); Cancel triggered sidelink buffer status reporting procedure (if present); Cancel triggered preemptive buffer status reporting procedure (if present); Clear soft buffers for all downlink (DL) HARQ processes; For each DL HARQ process, treat the next received transmission for the TB as the first transmission; Release Cell-RadioNetworkTemporary Identifier (Cell-RadioNetworkTemporary). Identifier (C-RNTI) (if present); reset all BFI_COUNTER (beam failure instance counter); and / or reset all LBT_COUNTER (LBT counter).

[0030] This disclosure describes various embodiments for transmitting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) information to address at least one of the problems discussed above. The various embodiments in this disclosure can enhance the performance of Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and / or Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC), and / or provide new scenarios to fully utilize the HARQ information of the source node during handover to improve network transmission efficiency, thereby improving the field of wireless communication technology.

[0031] Figure 1 A wireless communication system 100 is illustrated, including a wireless network node 118 and one or more user equipment (UE) devices 110. The wireless network node may include a radio access network (RAN) node, such as a base transceiver unit (BTS), base station (BS), enhanced node (eNode), next-generation node B (gNB), next-generation RAN (NG-RAN), or DU in a mobile communication network. Each UE can wirelessly communicate with the wireless network node through one or more radio channels 115 used for downlink / uplink communication. For example, a first UE 110 may wirelessly communicate with the wireless network node 118 through a channel including multiple radio channels during a specific time period. The network base station 118 may send higher-layer signaling to the UE 110. This higher-layer signaling may include configuration information for communication between the UE and the base station. In one implementation, the higher-layer signaling may include a radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0032] Figure 2 An example of electronic device 200 is shown for implementing a network base station. The example electronic device 200 may include wireless transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) circuitry 208 for transmitting / receiving communication with a UE and / or other base stations. Electronic device 200 may also include network interface circuitry 209 for enabling the base station to communicate with other base stations and / or the core network, for example, via optical or wired interconnects, Ethernet, and / or other data transmission media / protocols. Electronic device 200 may optionally include input / output (I / O) interface 206 for communicating with operators, etc.

[0033] Electronic device 200 may also include system circuitry 204. System circuitry 204 may include processor 221 and / or memory 222. Memory 222 may include operating system 224, instructions 226, and parameters 228. Instructions 226 may be configured to cause one or more processors 124 to perform the functions of a network node. Parameters 228 may include parameters that support the execution of instructions 226. For example, parameters may include network protocol settings, bandwidth parameters, radio frequency mapping allocation, and / or other parameters.

[0034] Figure 3 An example of an electronic device is shown for implementing terminal device 300 (e.g., user equipment (UE)). UE 300 may be a mobile device, such as a smartphone or a mobile communication module installed in a vehicle. UE 300 may include: a communication interface 302, system circuitry 304, input / output (I / O) interface 306, display circuitry 308, and storage device 309. Display circuitry 308 may include a user interface 310. System circuitry 304 may include any combination of hardware, software, firmware, or other logic / circuit. System circuitry 304 may be implemented, for example, through one or more system-on-a-chip (SoC), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), discrete analog and digital circuitry, and other circuitry. System circuitry 304 may be part of the implementation of any desired functionality in UE 300. In this regard, system circuitry 304 may include logic that facilitates, for example, decoding and playing music and video, such as MP3, MP4, MPEG, AVI, FLAC, AC3, or WAV decoding and playback; running applications; accepting user input; saving and retrieving application data; establishing, maintaining, and terminating cellular phone calls or data connections, such as internet connections; establishing, maintaining, and terminating wireless network connections, Bluetooth connections, or other connections; and displaying relevant information on user interface 310. User interface 310 and input / output (I / O) interface 306 may include a graphical user interface, a touch-sensitive display, haptic feedback or other haptic outputs, voice or facial recognition inputs, buttons, switches, speakers, and other user interface elements. Additional examples of I / O interface 306 may include a microphone, video and still image cameras, temperature sensors, vibration sensors, rotation and orientation sensors, headset and microphone input / output jacks, Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors, memory card slots, radiation sensors (e.g., infrared (IR) sensors), and other types of inputs.

[0035] refer to Figure 3The communication interface 302 may include radio frequency (RF) transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) circuitry 316, which processes the transmission and reception of signals via one or more antennas 314. The communication interface 302 may include one or more transceivers. This transceiver may be a wireless transceiver, including modulation / demodulation circuitry, a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a shaping table, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), filters, waveform shapers, preamplifiers, power amplifiers, and / or other logic for transmission and reception via one or more antennas or (for some devices) via a physical (e.g., wired) medium. The transmitted and received signals may follow any of the following formats, protocols, modulations (e.g., QPSK (Quadrature Phase Shift Keying), 16-QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), 64-QAM, or 256-QAM), frequency channels, bit rates, and encodings. As a specific example, communication interface 302 may include a transceiver supporting transmission and reception under the following standards: 2G, 3G, BT, WiFi, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA)+, 4G / Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G, 6G, or any other telecommunications standard. However, the techniques described below are applicable to other wireless communication technologies, regardless of whether these technologies originate from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) Association, 3GPP2, the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), or other partners or standards bodies.

[0036] refer to Figure 3The system circuitry 304 may include one or more processors 321 and a memory 322. The memory 322 stores, for example, an operating system 324, instructions 326, and parameters 328. The processor 321 is configured to execute instructions 326 to perform the desired functions of the UE 300. Parameters 328 can provide and specify configuration and operational options for instructions 326. The memory 322 may also store any BT, WiFi, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G, or other data that the UE 300 will send or has received via the communication interface 302. In various implementations, the system power of the UE 300 may be provided by a power storage device (e.g., a battery or transformer).

[0037] This disclosure describes various embodiments for transmitting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) messages, which may be implemented in part or in whole as described above. Figure 2 and Figure 3 The network base stations and / or user equipment described herein.

[0038] In some implementations, considering the real-time requirements of MAC and the transmission latency between nodes, some communication systems may not support the transmission of MAC layer data between RAN nodes. Therefore, during handover, the target RAN node cannot perform MAC layer HARQ retransmissions of the source RAN node link. However, when fiber optic connections are used between nodes, the information transmission latency between nodes can be controlled within a short time period (e.g., 1 millisecond (ms)). In particular, 5G RAN supports the deployment of centralized units (CUs) and distributed units (DUs), and multiple DUs can be physically close to each other (e.g., in a room), which can further reduce the interaction latency between DUs. When the transmission latency between nodes is low, the MAC layer information exchange between nodes allows the target node to fully utilize the information from the source node and improves data transmission efficiency.

[0039] This disclosure describes various embodiments for sending MAC layer information from a source node to a target node during handover, allowing data that failed to be transmitted at the source node to be retransmitted by the target node. Since soft information for the same TB is merged between the source and target node links, the TB transmission success rate can be improved. Various embodiments in this disclosure can use order information associated with the TB to align the same TB data between the source and target nodes, allowing the target node to continue retransmitting the same TB from the source node. The order information associated with the TB can be a TB sequence number, a HARQ process ID, a codeword index, etc. Alternatively, the order information associated with the TB can be associated with a HARQ entity.

[0040] In this disclosure, a node (e.g., a source node or a target node) may refer to a physical or logical entity, such as a RAN node, DU, cell, base station, etc.

[0041] This disclosure describes various embodiments for transmitting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) information, such as how to send / receive HARQ information for a TB, how to determine a erroneously transmitted TB, and / or how to perform a HARQ retransmission for a erroneously transmitted TB, thereby addressing at least some of the problems described above.

[0042] refer to Figure 4A This disclosure describes various embodiments of a method 400 for transmitting HARQ information in wireless communication. Method 400 may include some or all of the following steps: step 410, where a target network node receives first HARQ information from a source network node; step 412, where the target network node, based on the first HARQ information, determines at least one erroneous transport block (TB) in the link between the source network node and the UE; and / or step 414, where the target network node, based on the first HARQ information, performs a HARQ retransmission procedure for at least one erroneous TB.

[0043] In this disclosure, the HARQ retransmission process may include not only the target base station retransmitting TB, but also the target base station instructing the UE to retransmit data and the target base station receiving the data.

[0044] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, the method further includes: sending a HARQ information request message from a target network node to a source network node; and / or receiving a HARQ information response from the source network node, the HARQ information response including first HARQ information.

[0045] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, the method further includes: after receiving the first HARQ information, the target network node sends a second HARQ information to the user equipment (UE).

[0046] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, the method further includes: after receiving the first HARQ information, the target network node sends a third HARQ information to the source network node.

[0047] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, the first HARQ information includes HARQ information corresponding to the source network node, which includes at least one of the following: order information associated with the TB of the source network node; HARQ process identifier (ID) of the source network node; HARQ process number of the source network node; transport mode of the source network node; Redundancy version (RV) number of the source network node; HARQ cache of the source network node; Cache status report (BSR) of the source network node; TB size of the source network node; New data indicator (NDI) of the source network node; and / or acknowledgment or negative acknowledgement (ACK / NACK) feedback of the source network node.

[0048] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, the second HARQ information includes HARQ information corresponding to the information of the source network node and the target network node. The HARQ information includes at least one of the following: order information associated with the TB of the source network node; the HARQ process identifier (ID) of the source network node; the HARQ process number of the source network node; the transport mode of the source network node; the redundancy version (RV) number of the source network node; the HARQ cache of the source network node; the cache status report (BSR) of the source network node; the TB size of the source network node; the new data indicator (NDI) of the source network node; and the source network node's... Acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback; sequence information associated with the TB of the target network node; HARQ process identifier (ID) of the target network node; HARQ process number of the target network node; transport mode of the target network node; Redundancy version (RV) number of the target network node; HARQ cache of the target network node; Cache status report (BSR) of the target network node; TB size of the target network node; New data indicator (NDI) of the target network node; Acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback of the target network node; and / or Media Access Control (MAC) reset indication, used to indicate to the UE a MAC reset of the link between the source network node and the UE.

[0049] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, the third HARQ information includes at least one of the following: MAC reset indication information for instructing the source network node on the MAC reset of the link between the source network node and the UE; and / or confirmation of successful reception of the first HARQ information from the source network node.

[0050] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, determining and performing a HARQ retransmission procedure for at least one error TB includes: determining at least one error TB and retransmission mode in the downlink (DL) between the source network node and the UE during the UE mobility process from the source network node to the target network node; and / or retransmitting at least one error TB on the target network node side using the retransmission mode of the source network node.

[0051] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, determining and performing a HARQ retransmission procedure for at least one error TB includes: determining at least one error TB in the uplink (UL) between the source network node and the UE during the UE mobility process from the source network node to the target network node and the HARQ cache of the source network node; and / or merging soft information of at least one error TB in the HARQ caches of the target network node and the source network node for decoding.

[0052] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, the method further includes: using the order information associated with the TB in the first HARQ information to determine at least one erroneous TB and the HARQ cache of the source network node.

[0053] refer to Figure 4B This disclosure describes various embodiments of a method 450 for transmitting HARQ information in wireless communication. Method 450 may include some or all of the following steps: step 460, whereby a source network node sends first HARQ information to a target network node; and / or step 462, whereby the source network node instructs the target network node to perform a HARQ retransmission procedure based on the first HARQ information for at least one error TB of the source network node.

[0054] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, the method further includes: immediately triggering a MAC reset procedure on the source network node after sending the first HARQ message; or triggering a MAC reset procedure on the source network node after receiving a third HARQ message containing a MAC reset indication from the target network node.

[0055] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, the first HARQ information includes HARQ information corresponding to the source network node, which includes at least one of the following: order information associated with the TB of the source network node; HARQ process identifier (ID) of the source network node; HARQ process number of the source network node; transport mode of the source network node; Redundancy version (RV) number of the source network node; HARQ cache of the source network node; Cache status report (BSR) of the source network node; TB size of the source network node; New data indicator (NDI) of the source network node; and / or acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback of the source network node.

[0056] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, the third HARQ information includes at least one of the following: MAC reset indication information for instructing the source network node on the MAC reset of the link between the source network node and the UE; and / or confirmation of successful reception of the first HARQ information from the source network node.

[0057] refer to Figure 4C This disclosure describes various embodiments of a method 480 for transmitting HARQ information in wireless communication. Method 480 may include some or all of the following steps: step 490, whereby a user equipment (UE) receives second HARQ information from a target network node, wherein the target network node receives first HARQ information from a source network node; and / or step 492, whereby the UE determines at least one erroneous transport block (TB) in the link between the source network node and the UE based on the second HARQ information.

[0058] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, after receiving the second HARQ information and determining at least one error TB, the method further includes at least one of the following: merging the soft information of the determined error TB in the HARQ caches of the target network node and the source network node for decoding; performing a HARQ retransmission procedure for the determined error TB in the HARQ process of the link between the target network node and the UE; and / or initiating a MAC reset procedure on the UE of the link between the source network node and the UE.

[0059] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, performing a HARQ retransmission process for the determined error TB in the HARQ process of the link between the target network node and the UE also includes: retransmitting the determined error TB in the HARQ process of the link between the target network node and the UE.

[0060] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, performing a HARQ retransmission process for a determined error TB in the HARQ process of the link between the target network node and the UE further includes at least one of the following: on the UE side, for the determined error TB, merging soft information in the HARQ caches of the target network node and the source network node into the target network node's HARQ cache; decoding based on the merged soft information of the determined error TB; and / or sending feedback in the HARQ process of the link between the target network node and the UE to the target network node.

[0061] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the implementations / executives described, the UE receives second HARQ information from the target network node via downlink control information (DCI) or medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0062] In some implementations, in addition to some, all, or any combination of the described implementations / executives, the second HARQ information includes HARQ information corresponding to the information of the source network node and the target network node, and the HARQ information includes at least one of the following: Sequence information associated with the TB of the source network node; HARQ process identifier (ID) of the source network node; HARQ process number of the source network node; transport mode of the source network node; Redundancy version (RV) number of the source network node; HARQ buffer of the source network node; Buffer status report (BSR) of the source network node; TB size of the source network node; New data indicator (NDI) of the source network node; Acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback of the source network node; Sequence information associated with the TB of the target network node; HARQ process identifier (ID) of the target network node; HARQ process number of the target network node; transport mode of the target network node; Redundancy version (RV) number of the target network node; HARQ buffer of the target network node; Buffer status report (BSR) of the target network node; TB size of the target network node; New data indicator (NDI) of the target network node; Acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback of the target network node; and / or Media Access Control (MAC) reset indication, used to indicate to the UE a MAC reset of the link between the source network node and the UE.

[0063] Example Set I This disclosure describes various embodiments corresponding to downlink transmissions, wherein the UE can incorporate HARQ buffers.

[0064] For example, refer to Figure 5 During downlink transmission, during the terminal mobility process from the source node to the target node, the target node 595 determines the erroneous TB data and retransmission mode in the downlink of the source node 598 (where the source node sends data to the terminal 591), and performs retransmission on the target node side using the source node's retransmission mode for that TB. For example, the source node notifies the target node of the TB's sequence number and the different RV versions of the redundant version. The target node can find the corresponding TB based on the source node's TB sequence number and retransmit it using the source node's RV version.

[0065] In some implementations, some or all of the following steps for transmitting downlink HARQ information between nodes are shown below. The step numbers are used only to identify each step and do not limit or indicate the order of execution.

[0066] Step 510: The source node sends the first HARQ information (i.e., downlink HARQ information) to the target node. The first HARQ information includes, for example, the order information of the TB corresponding to the downlink HARQ entity of UE1, the retransmission mode, and the RV number.

[0067] Step 520: The target node receives the first HARQ information sent by the source node, determines the erroneous TB transmitted by the source node and the HARQ process of the corresponding TB in the source node and the target node based on the first HARQ information, and generates the second HARQ information and the third HARQ information.

[0068] Step 530: The target node uses the source node's HARQ retransmission information to perform a retransmission based on the first HARQ information. For example, the target node uses the source node's RV number.

[0069] Step 540: The target node sends the second HARQ information to UE1. The second HARQ information includes, for example: the source node's HARQ process number, the sequence information associated with the TB, the target node's HARQ process number, and UE1's MAC reset indication for the source node link, etc.

[0070] Step 550: UE1 receives the second HARQ information from the target node and merges the soft information in the HARQ buffer of the receiver between the source node and the target node based on the second HARQ information.

[0071] Step 560: UE1 initiates a MAC reset process for the source node link according to the MAC reset instruction in the second HARQ information.

[0072] Step 570: The target node sends a third HARQ message to the source node. This third HARQ message contains the MAC reset instruction of the source node, causing the source node to initiate the MAC reset process for the source node link.

[0073] Step 580: The source node can perform a MAC reset procedure for the source node-UE link.

[0074] As a non-limiting example, since the step numbering does not restrict the order of execution, step 570 may be executed after step 530 and before step 540; or, step 570 may be executed after step 540 and before step 550.

[0075] Example Set II This disclosure describes various embodiments related to uplink transmission, wherein the target node can merge HARQ caches.

[0076] For example, refer to Figure 6 During uplink transmission, during the mobility process from the source node to the target node, the target node 695 determines the erroneous TB data and HARQ buffer in the uplink of the source node 698 (where UE1 691 sends data to the source node). The target node then merges the soft information in the HARQ receive buffer between the source and target nodes for decoding. For example, the source node notifies the target node of the TB sequence number, HARQ process ID, and HARQ buffer. The target node finds the corresponding HARQ buffer based on the TB sequence number and merges the soft information in the HARQ buffer between the source and target nodes to fully utilize the transmitted data received by the source node.

[0077] In some implementations, some or all of the following steps for transmitting uplink HARQ information between nodes are shown below. The step numbers are used only to identify each step and do not limit or indicate the order of execution.

[0078] Step 610: The source node sends the first HARQ information (i.e., uplink HARQ information) to the target node. The first HARQ information includes information such as: the source node's uplink TB order information, the source node's HARQ process number, the source node's HARQ process ID, the source node's retransmission mode, the source node's RV number, and the source node's uplink HARQ buffer, etc.

[0079] Step 620: The target node receives the first HARQ information from the source node, determines the uplink error TB in the source node's transmission based on the order information associated with the TB in the first HARQ information, and generates the second HARQ information and the third HARQ information.

[0080] Step 630: The target node determines the uplink HARQ cache of the TB in the source node and the target node, and merges the soft information of the TB in the uplink HARQ cache between the source node and the target node for decoding.

[0081] Step 640: The target node sends a second HARQ message to UE1, which contains a MAC reset indication for the source node link, to instruct UE1 to initiate a MAC reset procedure for the source node link.

[0082] Step 650: The target node sends a third HARQ message containing a MAC reset.

[0083] Step 660: UE1 initiates a MAC reset process for the source node link according to the MAC reset instruction in the second HARQ information.

[0084] Step 670: The source node can initiate a MAC reset process for the source node link based on the MAC reset indication in the third HARQ information.

[0085] Example Set III This disclosure describes various embodiments for determining erroneous knowledge bases (TBs) (or error TBs). For downlink transmissions, during a mobility process, a target node receives data from the MAC layer and HARQ process of a source node. The source node determines the TB for which a NACK feedback has been received and transmits HARQ information (e.g., sequence information associated with the TB, and the HARQ process corresponding to the erroneous TB at the source node) to the target node, indicating that the target node can continue retransmission in its HARQ process. After receiving the HARQ information from the source node, the target node can locate the TB that needs to be retransmitted and initiate a retransmission in its HARQ process based on the HARQ information from the source node. The target node can also notify the terminal (e.g., UE) of the continuous retransmission operation, allowing the terminal to merge the MAC layer information of the source and target nodes, such as merging the HARQ receive buffers of the source and target nodes.

[0086] In some implementations, for uplink transmissions, the terminal can send a notification to the serving node to inform it of the amount of data to be transmitted in the uplink buffer. During handover, the terminal sends a BSR not only to the source node but also to the destination node. Since the TB order of the terminal's uplink data transmission is the same for both the source and destination nodes, the destination node can determine the corresponding TB data and its HARQ buffer after receiving HARQ information (such as the TB-associated order information transmitted by the source node).

[0087] In some implementations, to reduce the amount of information transmitted between nodes, the first HARQ message may only include HARQ information for one or more erroneous TBs in the source node. To achieve more accurate and efficient retransmission of erroneous TBs, the first HARQ message may include: sequence information associated with the TB, TB size (TBS) indication, TB HARQ receive buffer for soft combining, HARQ transmit buffer for retransmission, retransmission mode for indicating CC or IR, RV version for coded bit indication, ACK / NACK feedback indication regarding whether the TB transmission was successful, etc.

[0088] In some implementations, the target node can transmit HARQ information to the terminal through downlink control information (DCI), MAC control elements (CE), etc.

[0089] In some implementations, HARQ information transmission between the source node and the target node can be achieved through the X2 interface between 4G base stations, the Xn interface between 5G base stations, or other dedicated interfaces between nodes (such as new types of interfaces between nodes).

[0090] Example Set IV This disclosure describes various embodiments of MAC reset triggering for HARQ message transmission.

[0091] In some implementations, during handover, the target node initiates a HARQ information transmission request and instructs the source node to reset the MAC, which may include some or all of the following steps: Step 1: The target node sends a HARQ information transmission request message to the source node; Step 2: After receiving the HARQ information transmission request message from the target node, the source node sends a response message carrying first HARQ information in response to the HARQ information transmission request; Step 3: The target node sends a HARQ acknowledgment message carrying third HARQ information to the source node; and / or Step 4: After the source node receives the HARQ acknowledgment message from the target node, the source node triggers a MAC reset according to the MAC reset indication in the third HARQ information.

[0092] In some other implementations, during the handover, the source node initiates a HARQ message request and a source node MAC reset, which includes some or all of the following steps: Step 11: The source node sends a HARQ message transmission request message; Step 12: The target node responds to the HARQ message transmission request message; Step 13: The source node sends a first HARQ message; Step 14: The target node sends an acknowledgment message for the first HARQ message from the source node; and / or Step 15: After the source node receives the HARQ acknowledgment message from the target node, the source node triggers a MAC reset.

[0093] In some implementations, during mobility, when a terminal receives a MAC reset command from the source node, the terminal can initiate a MAC reset of the source node link in that terminal.

[0094] In some implementations, during mobility, when a terminal receives a second HARQ message from the source node of the target node that is carrying a MAC reset instruction, the terminal can initiate a MAC reset of the source node link in that terminal.

[0095] Implementation Example Set V This disclosure describes various embodiments applicable to various application scenarios. As non-limiting examples, the various embodiments in this disclosure can be applied to improve the service experience in handover scenarios. In business-oriented (i.e., B2B) scenarios with high reliability requirements, mobility issues can lead to reduced reliability of data transmission. By fully utilizing the same TB of transmitted information from the source node, the target node can quickly complete successful data transmission. In scenarios with multiple operators, frequent handovers can lead to transmission failures for edge users. This invention allows edge users to improve transmission success rates. In large-scale data transmission scenarios such as extended reality (XR), erroneous large TB of data can result in significant resource consumption and substantial retransmission costs. This invention reduces the number of retransmissions by continuously retransmitting from the target node to the source node, thereby improving data transmission efficiency and reducing the consumption of communication resources.

[0096] This disclosure describes various embodiments for transmitting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) information. In some implementations for 5G, only PDCP layer data may be transmitted between RAN nodes, and MAC layer data may not be transmitted. This disclosure is used to send MAC layer HARQ information from a source node to a target node during handover, allowing the target node to continue retransmitting data from the source node. The target node can use the data already transmitted by the source node to combine soft bit information and improve TB decoding success rate. As a non-limiting example, the source network node is a DU (DU1) and the target network node is another DU (DU2); and DU1 and DU2 can interact directly through an interface such as the Xn interface. DU1 can transmit a first HARQ message to DU2. Subsequently, DU2 can perform a continue retransmission of TB data that failed in DU1. Alternatively, DU2 can transmit a second HARQ message to DU1 to trigger a MAC reset in DU1.

[0097] This disclosure describes methods, apparatus, and computer-readable media for wireless communication. This disclosure solves problems related to HARQ information transmission. The methods, apparatus, and computer-readable media described in this disclosure can improve the performance of wireless communication, thereby increasing efficiency and overall performance. The methods, apparatus, and computer-readable media described in this disclosure can improve the overall efficiency of wireless communication systems.

[0098] In some other embodiments, a computer-readable medium contains instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described above. A computer-readable medium may be referred to as a non-transitory computer-readable medium (CRM) for storing data for extended periods, such as flash drives or compact disks (CDs), or for storing data for short periods in the presence of power, such as memory devices or random access memory (RAM). In some embodiments, computer-readable instructions may be included in software implemented on one or more tangible and non-transitory computer-readable media. Such non-transitory computer-readable media may be media associated with user-accessible mass storage devices, as well as certain short-duration storage media devices with non-transitory characteristics, such as internal mass storage devices or ROM (Read-Only Memory). Software implementing various embodiments of this disclosure may be stored in such devices and executed by a processor (or processing circuitry). Depending on specific needs, a computer-readable medium may include one or more memory devices or chips. Software can enable processors (including CPUs (Central Processing Units), GPUs (Graphics Processing Units), FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), etc.) to execute specific processes or specific parts of specific processes described herein, including: defining data structures stored in RAM and modifying such data structures according to software-defined processes.

[0099] References to features, advantages, or similar language throughout this specification do not imply that all features and advantages achievable with this technical solution should be or are included in any single implementation. Rather, references to such features and advantages are to be understood as meaning that a particular feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this technical solution. Therefore, discussions of features and advantages, as well as similar language, throughout this specification may refer to the same embodiment, but are not necessarily so.

[0100] Furthermore, the features, advantages, and characteristics of the described technical solution can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, a portion from one or more embodiments can be combined with another portion of other embodiments without limitation. Based on the description herein, those skilled in the art will recognize that the technical solution can be practiced without possessing one or more specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages that may not be present in all embodiments of the technical solution may be recognized in certain embodiments.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) information in wireless communication, comprising: The target network node receives the first HARQ information from the source network node; Based on the first HARQ information, the target network node determines at least one erroneous transport block (TB) in the link between the source network node and the UE. as well as The target network node performs a HARQ retransmission process for the at least one erroneous TB based on the first HARQ information.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The target network node sends a HARQ information request message to the source network node, and The target network node receives a HARQ information response from the source network node, the HARQ information response including the first HARQ information.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 and 2, further comprising: After receiving the first HARQ information, the target network node sends the second HARQ information to the user equipment (UE).

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: After receiving the first HARQ information, the target network node sends the third HARQ information to the source network node.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The first HARQ information includes HARQ information corresponding to the source network node, and the HARQ information includes at least one of the following: The order information associated with the TB of the source network node; The HARQ process identifier ID of the source network node; The HARQ process number of the source network node; The transmission mode of the source network node; The redundant version (RV) number of the source network node; The HARQ cache of the source network node; The source network node's cache status report (BSR); The TB size of the source network node; The source network node's new data indicator (NDI); or The source network node provides acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The second HARQ information includes HARQ information corresponding to the information of the source network node and the target network node, and the HARQ information includes at least one of the following: The order information associated with the TB of the source network node; The HARQ process identifier (ID) of the source network node; The HARQ process number of the source network node; The transmission mode of the source network node; The redundant version (RV) number of the source network node; The HARQ cache of the source network node; The source network node's cache status report (BSR); The TB size of the source network node; The new data indicator (NDI) of the source network node; The source network node provides acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback; The order information associated with the TB of the target network node; The HARQ process identifier (ID) of the target network node; The HARQ process number of the target network node; The transmission mode of the target network node; The redundant version (RV) number of the target network node; The HARQ cache of the target network node; The target network node's cache status report (BSR); The target network node's TB size; The target network node's new data indicator (NDI); The target network node provides acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback; or A Media Access Control (MAC) reset indication is used to instruct the UE to reset the MAC of the link between the source network node and the UE.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The third HARQ information includes at least one of the following: MAC reset indication information is used to indicate to the source network node a MAC reset of the link between the source network node and the UE; or Confirmation of successful reception of the first HARQ information from the source network node.

8. The method of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein, For the at least one error TB, determine and execute the HARQ retransmission procedure, including: Determine at least one error TB and retransmission mode in the downlink (DL) between the source network node and the UE during the UE mobility process from the source network node to the target network node; and The at least one error TB is retransmitted at the target network node using the retransmission mode of the source network node.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein, For the at least one error TB, determine and execute the HARQ retransmission procedure, including: Determine at least one error TB in the uplink (UL) between the source network node and the UE during the UE mobility process from the source network node to the target network node, and the HARQ cache of the source network node; and The soft information of at least one error TB in the HARQ caches of the target network node and the source network node is merged for decoding.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: The target network node uses the order information associated with the TB in the first HARQ information to determine the at least one erroneous TB and the HARQ cache of the source network node.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein: The target node is a target radio access network (RAN) node; and The source node is the source RAN node.

12. A method for transmitting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) information in wireless communication, comprising: The source network node sends the first HARQ message to the target network node; as well as The source network node instructs the target network node to perform a HARQ retransmission process based on the first HARQ information for at least one error TB of the source network node.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: After sending the first HARQ message Immediately trigger the MAC reset process on the source network node; or Upon receiving a third HARQ message containing a MAC reset indication from the target network node, the MAC reset process on the source network node is triggered.

14. The method according to any one of claims 12 and 13, wherein: The first HARQ information includes HARQ information corresponding to the source network node, and the HARQ information includes at least one of the following: The order information associated with the TB of the source network node; The HARQ process identifier (ID) of the source network node; The HARQ process number of the source network node; The transmission mode of the source network node; The redundant version (RV) number of the source network node; The HARQ cache of the source network node; The source network node's cache status report (BSR); The TB size of the source network node; The source network node's new data indicator (NDI); or The source network node provides acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback.

15. The method according to any one of claims 13 to 14, wherein: The third HARQ information includes at least one of the following: MAC reset indication information, used to indicate to the source network node that the MAC of the link between the source network node and the UE has been reset; or Confirmation of successful reception of the first HARQ information from the source network node.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein: The target node is a target radio access network (RAN) node; and The source node is the source RAN node.

17. A method for transmitting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) information in wireless communication, comprising: The user equipment (UE) receives second HARQ information from a target network node, wherein the target network node receives first HARQ information from a source network node; and The UE determines at least one erroneous transport block (TB) in the link between the source network node and the UE based on the second HARQ information.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, After receiving the second HARQ information and determining the at least one error TB, the method further includes at least one of the following: The soft information of the identified error TBs in the HARQ caches of the target network node and the source network node is merged for decoding; In the HARQ process of the link between the target network node and the UE, a HARQ retransmission process is performed for the identified error TB; or Initiate a MAC reset procedure on the UE for the link between the source network node and the UE.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein, The HARQ process of the link between the target network node and the UE, which performs a HARQ retransmission procedure for the determined error TB, further includes: The identified error TB is retransmitted during the HARQ process of the link between the target network node and the UE.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein, The HARQ process for the determined error TB during the link between the target network node and the UE includes performing a HARQ retransmission process, further comprising at least one of the following: On the UE side, for the determined error TB, the soft information in the HARQ cache of the target network node and the source network node is merged into the HARQ cache of the target network node; Decoding is performed based on the merged soft information of the identified error TB; or Feedback from the HARQ process of the link between the target network node and the UE is sent to the target network node.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein: The UE receives the second HARQ information from the target network node via downlink control information (DCI) or media access control (MAC) control element (CE).

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein: The second HARQ information includes HARQ information corresponding to the information of the source network node and the target network node, and the HARQ information includes at least one of the following: The order information associated with the TB of the source network node; The HARQ process identifier (ID) of the source network node; The HARQ process number of the source network node; The transmission mode of the source network node; The redundant version (RV) number of the source network node; The HARQ cache of the source network node; The source network node's cache status report (BSR); The TB size of the source network node; The new data indicator (NDI) of the source network node; The source network node provides acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback; The order information associated with the TB of the target network node; The HARQ process identifier (ID) of the target network node; The HARQ process number of the target network node; The transmission mode of the target network node; The redundant version (RV) number of the target network node; The HARQ cache of the target network node; The target network node's cache status report (BSR); The target network node's TB size; The target network node's new data indicator (NDI); or The target network node provides acknowledgment or negative acknowledgment (ACK / NACK) feedback; or A Media Access Control (MAC) reset indication is used to instruct the UE to reset the MAC of the link between the source network node and the UE.

23. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 22, wherein: The target node is a target radio access network (RAN) node; and The source node is the source RAN node.

24. A wireless communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein, The processor is configured to read code from the memory and implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

25. A non-transitory computer program product comprising a computer-readable program medium on which code is stored, wherein the code, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

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