Method of communicating feedback to a base station

Abstract

In some example embodiments, a method of communicating feedback to a base station can be provided, the method comprising: receiving, from the base station, at least one transport block during downlink transmissions in a plurality of time intervals; determining hybrid automatic repeat request, HARQ, feedback information for the transport blocks received during one or more of the plurality of time intervals; including, in a subheader of a medium access control layer control element, MAC-CE, at least one indication to indicate that the MAC-CE includes the HARQ feedback information; including, in a payload portion of the MAC-CE, the determined HARQ feedback information for the one or more time intervals and time interval mapping information to associate each of the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the one or more time intervals; and transmitting the MAC-CE to the base station.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments relate to the field of wireless communication, and particularly to one or more methods for conveying feedback to a base station, especially in the uplink. Background Technology

[0002] In the field of wireless communications, particularly in next-generation / higher-generation networks such as sixth-generation (6G) networks, among other things, it can be beneficial to have a method for providing or communicating feedback, such as Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback from a device (e.g., User Equipment (UE)) to the network (e.g., a base station). Alternatively, in next-generation / higher-generation networks, these can be more flexible and / or more dynamic communication modes, so providing asynchronous (multiple) feedback mechanisms can be beneficial, among other things. Furthermore, when reporting feedback for many transmissions, especially from different time periods and / or frequency bands, among other things, it can be beneficial to organize feedback to the base station, particularly without using too much bandwidth and / or without increasing or causing excessive overhead. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The subject matter of the independent claims is provided for several aspects. Additional aspects, advantages, and / or features are defined in the dependent claims, the description, and / or the drawings.

[0004] In particular, in combination with any of the exemplary aspects and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, a device comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory, storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to perform at least the following: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received during at least one specific time interval among a plurality of time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer (MAC-CE) control element includes at least one indication that indicates: i) MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information, and ii) The determined HARQ feedback information is associated with or belongs to a specific time interval among multiple time intervals; The payload portion of the MAC-CE includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block; and Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0005] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a first example aspect described herein, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded in the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of a subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0006] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one code point index or subset of code point indices indicates at least one logical channel identifier (LCID) field that includes or corresponds to a subheader of a MAC-CE.

[0007] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one code point index subset indicates a logical channel identifier (LCID) field including a subheader of a MAC-CE, wherein different code point indices in the code point index subset are used to selectively indicate different time intervals among a plurality of time intervals.

[0008] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one reserved code point index of at least one logical channel identifier (LCID) field indicating the use of a subheader of MAC-CE is constructed.

[0009] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein at least one specific time interval corresponds to the time interval in which the MAC-CE is transmitted to the base station.

[0010] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one specific time interval corresponds to a time interval prior to when the MAC-CE is transmitted to the base station therein. n The receiving time interval of each time interval, where n It is a natural number other than zero.

[0011] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein determined HARQ feedback information associated with at least one particular time interval of a plurality of time intervals corresponds to a plurality of HARQ feedback information for a transport block received during at least one particular time interval.

[0012] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one indication enables at least one of the following: a separate or unique mapping of HARQ feedback information to a specific time interval among a plurality of time intervals.

[0013] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0014] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is caused to perform at least the following: The determined HARQ feedback is compared with the size of the payload portion of the MAC-CE. L alignment.

[0015] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the size of the payload portion is... L Defined as: L=Ceil(HARQ_ CB_size / 8) ,in HARQ_CB_size Corresponding to the total number of HARQ feedback bits, and Ceil This corresponds to the floor function, where each HARQ feedback bit represents either an ACK or a NACK.

[0016] In an example embodiment of a first example aspect, which may be referred to as a first example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein MAC-CEs are transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising a plurality of MAC-CEs.

[0017] In an example embodiment of a second example embodiment of what may be called the first example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example embodiment of the first example aspect, wherein a plurality of MAC-CEs include a first MAC-CE associated with a first time interval of a plurality of time intervals and a second MAC-CE associated with a second time interval of a plurality of time intervals.

[0018] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a first example embodiment of a first example aspect and / or a second example embodiment of a first example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0019] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is caused to perform at least the following: Reporting at least one time interval to the base station is omitted, at least in part, based on the following: - Uplink transport blocks with limited payload size, or - Decoding of data in at least one transport block within a time interval is in progress.

[0020] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one time interval corresponds to at least one of the following: - Time Division Duplex (TDD) frames, or - Wireless frame.

[0021] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the apparatus is included in a UE.

[0022] Furthermore, particularly according to the first example aspect, an apparatus can be provided that includes components for: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received during at least one specific time interval among a plurality of time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer (MAC-CE) control element includes at least one indication that indicates: i) MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information, and ii) The determined HARQ feedback information is associated with or belongs to a specific time interval among multiple time intervals; The payload portion of the MAC-CE includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block; and Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0023] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a first example aspect described herein, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded in the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of a subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0024] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one code point index or subset of code point indices indicates at least one logical channel identifier (LCID) field that includes or corresponds to a subheader of a MAC-CE.

[0025] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one code point index subset indicates a logical channel identifier (LCID) field including a subheader of a MAC-CE, wherein different code point indices in the code point index subset are used to selectively indicate different time intervals among a plurality of time intervals.

[0026] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one reserved code point index of at least one logical channel identifier (LCID) field indicating the use of a subheader of MAC-CE is constructed.

[0027] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein at least one specific time interval corresponds to the time interval in which the MAC-CE is transmitted to the base station.

[0028] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one specific time interval corresponds to a time interval prior to when the MAC-CE is transmitted thereto to the base station. n The receiving time interval of each time interval, where n It is a natural number other than zero.

[0029] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein determined HARQ feedback information associated with at least one particular time interval of a plurality of time intervals corresponds to a plurality of HARQ feedback information for a transport block received during at least one particular time interval.

[0030] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one indication enables at least one of the following: a separate or unique mapping of HARQ feedback information to a specific time interval among a plurality of time intervals.

[0031] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0032] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, is provided, wherein the component is configured to: The determined HARQ feedback is compared with the size of the payload portion of the MAC-CE. L alignment.

[0033] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the size of the payload portion is... L Defined as: L=Ceil(HARQ_ CB_size / 8) ,in HARQ_CB_size Corresponding to the total number of HARQ feedback bits, and Ceil This corresponds to the floor function, where each HARQ feedback bit represents either an ACK or a NACK.

[0034] In an example embodiment of a first example aspect, which may be referred to as a first example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein MAC-CEs are transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising a plurality of MAC-CEs.

[0035] In an example embodiment of a second example embodiment of what may be called the first example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example embodiment of the first example aspect, wherein a plurality of MAC-CEs include a first MAC-CE associated with a first time interval of a plurality of time intervals and a second MAC-CE associated with a second time interval of a plurality of time intervals.

[0036] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a first example embodiment of a first example aspect and / or a second example embodiment of a first example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0037] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, is provided, wherein the component is configured to: Reporting at least one time interval to the base station is omitted, at least in part, based on the following: - Uplink transport blocks with limited payload size, or - Decoding of data in at least one transport block within a time interval is in progress.

[0038] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one time interval corresponds to at least one of the following: - Time Division Duplex (TDD) frames, or - Wireless frame.

[0039] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the apparatus is included in a UE.

[0040] In the second example, a method may be provided that includes: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received during at least one specific time interval among a plurality of time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer (MAC-CE) control element includes at least one indication that indicates: i) MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information, and ii) The determined HARQ feedback information is associated with or belongs to a specific time interval among multiple time intervals; The payload portion of the MAC-CE includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block; and Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0041] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect described herein, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded in the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0042] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one code point index or subset of code point indices indicates at least one logical channel identifier (LCID) field that includes or corresponds to a subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0043] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one code point index indicates a subset of the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of a subheader including the MAC-CE, wherein different code point indices in the subset of code point indices are used to selectively indicate different time intervals among a plurality of time intervals.

[0044] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one reserved code point index of at least one logical channel identifier (LCID) field indicating the use of a subheader for MAC-CE is constructed.

[0045] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one specific time interval corresponds to the time interval in which the MAC-CE is transmitted to the base station.

[0046] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein at least one specific time interval corresponds to a time interval prior to when the MAC-CE is transmitted to the base station therein. n The receiving time interval of each time interval, where n It is a natural number other than zero.

[0047] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein determined HARQ feedback information associated with at least one particular time interval of a plurality of time intervals corresponds to a plurality of HARQ feedback information for a transport block received during at least one particular time interval.

[0048] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one indication enables at least one of the following: a separate or unique mapping of HARQ feedback information to a specific time interval among a plurality of time intervals.

[0049] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0050] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the method includes: The determined HARQ feedback is compared with the size of the payload portion of the MAC-CE. L alignment.

[0051] In an exemplary embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the size of the payload portion... L Defined as: L=Ceil(HARQ_ CB_size / 8) ,in HARQ_CB_size Corresponding to the total number of HARQ feedback bits, and Ceil This corresponds to the floor function, where each HARQ feedback bit represents either an ACK or a NACK.

[0052] In an example embodiment of the first example embodiment, which may be referred to as the second example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein MAC-CEs are transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising a plurality of MAC-CEs.

[0053] In an example embodiment of a second example embodiment of what may be called a second example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to a first example embodiment of the second example aspect, wherein a plurality of MAC-CEs include a first MAC-CE associated with a first time interval of a plurality of time intervals and a second MAC-CE associated with a second time interval of a plurality of time intervals.

[0054] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to a first example embodiment of a second example aspect and / or a second example embodiment of a second example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0055] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the method includes: Reporting at least one time interval to the base station is omitted, at least in part, based on the following: - Uplink transport blocks with limited payload size, or - Decoding of data in at least one transport block within a time interval is in progress.

[0056] In an exemplary embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one time interval corresponds to at least one of the following: - Time Division Duplex (TDD) frames, or - Wireless frame.

[0057] In exemplary embodiments, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the second exemplary aspect described herein and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments, wherein the method is performed by or can be performed by a device, wherein the device is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the device is included in the UE.

[0058] In a third example aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by a device, particularly a device according to the first example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, causes operation including: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received during at least one specific time interval among a plurality of time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer (MAC-CE) control element includes at least one indication that indicates: i) MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information, and ii) The determined HARQ feedback information is associated with or belongs to a specific time interval among multiple time intervals; The payload portion of the MAC-CE includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block; and Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0059] The third example aspect may also include one or more steps and / or features of the methods described in the second example aspect and / or any associated example embodiments.

[0060] In a fourth example aspect, which can be particularly combined with any of the example aspects described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, an apparatus comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory, storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to perform at least the following: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for transport blocks received during one or more of the multiple time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer control element MAC-CE includes at least one indication to indicate that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information; The payload portion of MAC-CE includes: determined HARQ feedback information for one or more time intervals, and time interval mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the one or more time intervals; and Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0061] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect described herein, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded in the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0062] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth exemplary aspect described herein and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments, wherein at least one indicates a predetermined or selected code point index in a subset of code point indices that includes or corresponds to a subheader of the MAC-CE logical channel identifier (LCID) field.

[0063] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the payload portion of the MAC-CE includes determined HARQ feedback information accumulated since previous or preceding uplink transmissions from the apparatus to a base station for one or more time intervals.

[0064] In an example embodiment of the first example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fourth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes indications for the following items K A set of bits: which of one or more time intervals the determined HARQ feedback information corresponds to.

[0065] In an example embodiment of the second example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fourth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes indications for the following items KA set of bits: HARQ feedback information is for multiple consecutive time intervals within the time interval that are included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0066] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment and / or a second exemplary embodiment of a fourth exemplary aspect, wherein... K The set of bits indicates M=2 K There are values, among which K It is a natural number other than zero.

[0067] In an example embodiment of the third example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fourth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes a bitmap, wherein each bit of the bitmap is associated with or corresponds to a time interval in one or more time intervals.

[0068] In an example embodiment of the fourth example aspect, which may be referred to as the fourth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any associated example embodiment and / or the third example embodiment of the fourth example aspect described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes a bitmap used to indicate which of one or more time intervals HARQ feedback information is included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0069] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a third example embodiment of the fourth example aspect and / or a fourth example embodiment of the fourth example aspect, wherein bits with zero values ​​in a bitmap indicate a time interval for which HARQ feedback information is not included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0070] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein time interval mapping information indicates how determined HARQ feedback information is distributed or split across one or more time intervals.

[0071] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein time interval mapping information indicates a correspondence between HARQ feedback information in the determined HARQ feedback information and one or more time intervals.

[0072] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information corresponds to or includes at least one flag bit, the at least one flag bit being used to indicate at least one of the following: - Whether one of the one or more time intervals begins with an octet, or - Whether one of the one or more time intervals ends with an octet.

[0073] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is included in the bit length of the payload portion of the MAC-CE. LK In the size, among K Corresponding to the number of bits used for time interval mapping information, and L The number of bits corresponding to the payload portion.

[0074] In an example embodiment of the fifth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fourth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising only one MAC-CE.

[0075] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a fifth example embodiment of a fourth example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0076] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0077] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one time interval corresponds to at least one of the following: - Time Division Duplex (TDD) frames, or - Wireless frame.

[0078] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the apparatus is included in a UE.

[0079] Furthermore, particularly according to the fourth example aspect, an apparatus can be provided that includes components for: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for transport blocks received during one or more of the multiple time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer control element MAC-CE includes at least one indication to indicate that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information; The payload portion of MAC-CE includes: determined HARQ feedback information for one or more time intervals, and time interval mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the one or more time intervals; and Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0080] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect described herein, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded in the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0081] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one indicates a predetermined or selected code point index in a subset of code point indices that includes or corresponds to a subheader of the MAC-CE logical channel identifier (LCID) field.

[0082] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the payload portion of the MAC-CE includes determined HARQ feedback information accumulated since previous or preceding uplink transmissions from the apparatus to a base station for one or more time intervals.

[0083] In an example embodiment of the first example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fourth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any associated example embodiment described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes indications for the following items K A set of bits: which of one or more time intervals the determined HARQ feedback information corresponds to.

[0084] In an example embodiment of the second example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fourth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes indications for the following items K A set of bits: HARQ feedback information is for multiple consecutive time intervals within the time interval that are included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0085] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment and / or a second exemplary embodiment of a fourth exemplary aspect, wherein... K The set of bits indicates M=2 K There are values, among which K It is a natural number other than zero.

[0086] In an example embodiment of the third example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fourth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes a bitmap, wherein each bit of the bitmap is associated with or corresponds to a time interval in one or more time intervals.

[0087] In an example embodiment of the fourth example aspect, which may be referred to as the fourth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any associated example embodiment and / or the third example embodiment of the fourth example aspect described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes a bitmap used to indicate which of one or more time intervals HARQ feedback information is included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0088] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a third example embodiment of the fourth example aspect and / or a fourth example embodiment of the fourth example aspect, wherein bits with zero values ​​in a bitmap indicate a time interval for which HARQ feedback information is not included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0089] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein time interval mapping information indicates how determined HARQ feedback information is distributed or split across one or more time intervals.

[0090] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein time interval mapping information indicates a correspondence between HARQ feedback information in the determined HARQ feedback information and one or more time intervals.

[0091] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information corresponds to or includes at least one flag bit, the at least one flag bit being used to indicate at least one of the following: - Whether one of the one or more time intervals begins with an octet, or - Whether one of the one or more time intervals ends with an octet.

[0092] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is included in the bit length of the payload portion of the MAC-CE. LK In the size, among K Corresponding to the number of bits used for time interval mapping information, and L The number of bits corresponding to the payload portion.

[0093] In an example embodiment of the fifth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fourth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising only one MAC-CE.

[0094] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a fifth example embodiment of a fourth example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0095] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0096] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one time interval corresponds to at least one of the following: - Time Division Duplex (TDD) frames, or - Wireless frame.

[0097] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the fourth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the apparatus is included in a UE.

[0098] In a fifth example aspect, which can in particular be combined with any of the example aspects described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, a method comprising: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for transport blocks received during one or more of the multiple time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer control element MAC-CE includes at least one indication to indicate that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information; The payload portion of MAC-CE includes: determined HARQ feedback information for one or more time intervals, and time interval mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the one or more time intervals; and Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0099] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect described herein, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded in the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0100] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein at least one indicates a predetermined or selected code point index in a subset of code point indices that includes or corresponds to the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of a subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0101] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein the payload portion of the MAC-CE includes determined HARQ feedback information accumulated since previous or preceding uplink transmissions from the device to a base station for one or more time intervals.

[0102] In an example embodiment of the first example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fifth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect and / or any associated example embodiment described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes indicators for indicating the following items K A set of bits: which of one or more time intervals the determined HARQ feedback information corresponds to.

[0103] In an example embodiment of the second example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fifth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes indicators for indicating the following items K A set of bits: HARQ feedback information is for multiple consecutive time intervals within the time interval that are included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0104] In exemplary embodiments, a method is provided, particularly a method according to a first exemplary embodiment of the fifth exemplary aspect and / or a second exemplary embodiment of the fifth exemplary aspect, wherein... K The set of bits indicates M=2 K There are values, among which K It is a natural number other than zero.

[0105] In an example embodiment of the third example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fifth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes a bitmap, wherein each bit of the bitmap is associated with or corresponds to a time interval in one or more time intervals.

[0106] In an example embodiment of the fourth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the fifth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information includes a bitmap indicating which of one or more time intervals HARQ feedback information is included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0107] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to a third example embodiment of the fifth example aspect and / or a fourth example embodiment of the fifth example aspect, wherein bits with zero values ​​in a bitmap indicate a time interval for which HARQ feedback information is not included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0108] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein time interval mapping information indicates how determined HARQ feedback information is distributed or split across one or more time intervals.

[0109] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein time interval mapping information indicates a correspondence between HARQ feedback information in the determined HARQ feedback information and one or more time intervals.

[0110] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the time interval mapping information corresponds to or includes at least one flag bit, the at least one flag bit indicating at least one of the following: - Whether one of the one or more time intervals begins with an octet, or - Whether one of the one or more time intervals ends with an octet.

[0111] In exemplary embodiments, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth exemplary aspect described herein and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is included in the bit length of the payload portion of the MAC-CE. LK In the size, among K Corresponding to the number of bits used for time interval mapping information, and L The number of bits corresponding to the payload portion.

[0112] In an example embodiment of the fifth example aspect, which may be referred to as the fifth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising only one MAC-CE.

[0113] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to a fifth example embodiment of a fifth example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0114] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0115] In an exemplary embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one time interval corresponds to at least one of the following: - Time Division Duplex (TDD) frames, or - Wireless frame.

[0116] In exemplary embodiments, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the fifth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the method is performed by or can be performed by a device, wherein the device is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the device is included in the UE.

[0117] In a sixth example aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by a device, particularly a device according to the fourth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, causes operation including: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for transport blocks received during one or more of the multiple time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer control element MAC-CE includes at least one indication to indicate that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information; The payload portion of MAC-CE includes: determined HARQ feedback information for one or more time intervals, and time interval mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the one or more time intervals; and Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0118] The sixth example aspect may also include one or more steps and / or features of the methods described in the fifth example aspect and / or any associated example embodiments.

[0119] In the seventh example aspect, which can be particularly combined with any of the example aspects and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, an apparatus comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory, storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to perform at least the following: During downlink transmission, at least one transport block is received from each of at least two serving cells of the network; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell from at least two serving cells; The payload portion of the Media Access Control Layer (MAC-CE) control element includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell, and at least one indication indicating that the determined HARQ feedback information is associated with or belongs to a specific serving cell among at least two serving cells; and Send the MAC-CE to the network.

[0120] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh exemplary aspect described herein, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded at the beginning of the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0121] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein at least one indication includes or indicates a serving cell index.

[0122] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one indication includes or occupies C bits, of which C It corresponds to natural numbers other than zero.

[0123] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein a particular serving cell is a primary serving cell or a secondary serving cell.

[0124] In an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary embodiment, which may be referred to as the seventh exemplary aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is caused to perform at least the following: The subheader of the MAC-CE includes at least one additional indication that indicates the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information.

[0125] In an example embodiment of the second example embodiment, which may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein at least one additional indication is included or embedded in the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0126] In an example embodiment that may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, a device is provided, particularly a device according to the first example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein at least one additional indication includes at least one code point index or subset of code point indices of a logical channel identifier (LCID) field that corresponds to a subheading of a MAC-CE.

[0127] In an example embodiment that may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, a device is provided, particularly a device according to the first example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the third example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein at least one additional reserved code point index of the logical channel identifier LCID field indicating the use of the subheader of the MAC-CE is constructed.

[0128] In an example embodiment that may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, a device is provided, particularly a device according to the first example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the third example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the fourth example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein at least one instruction enables at least one of the following: a separate or unique mapping of HARQ feedback information to a specific serving cell in at least two serving cells.

[0129] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0130] In an example embodiment of the sixth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein MAC-CE is transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising a plurality of MAC-CEs.

[0131] In an example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the sixth example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein a plurality of MAC-CEs include a first MAC-CE associated with a first serving cell among at least two serving cells, and a second MAC-CE associated with a second serving cell among at least two serving cells.

[0132] In an example embodiment that may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the sixth example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the seventh example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0133] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a sixth exemplary embodiment of the seventh exemplary aspect and / or a seventh exemplary embodiment of the seventh exemplary aspect and / or an eighth exemplary embodiment of the seventh exemplary aspect, wherein each MAC-CE included in the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback for each serving cell.

[0134] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the apparatus is included in a UE.

[0135] Furthermore, particularly according to the seventh example aspect, an apparatus can be provided that includes components for: During downlink transmission, at least one transport block is received from each of at least two serving cells of the network; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell from at least two serving cells; The payload portion of the Media Access Control Layer (MAC-CE) control element includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell, and at least one indication indicating that the determined HARQ feedback information is associated with or belongs to a specific serving cell among at least two serving cells; and Send the MAC-CE to the network.

[0136] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh exemplary aspect described herein, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded at the beginning of the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0137] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein at least one indication includes or indicates a serving cell index.

[0138] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one indication includes or occupies C bits, of whichC It corresponds to natural numbers other than zero.

[0139] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein a particular serving cell is a primary serving cell or a secondary serving cell.

[0140] In an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect, which may be referred to as the seventh exemplary aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the component is configured to: The subheader of the MAC-CE includes at least one additional indication that indicates the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information.

[0141] In an example embodiment of the second example embodiment, which may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein at least one additional indication is included or embedded in the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0142] In an example embodiment that may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, a device is provided, particularly a device according to the first example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein at least one additional indication includes at least one code point index or subset of code point indices of a logical channel identifier (LCID) field that corresponds to a subheading of a MAC-CE.

[0143] In an example embodiment that may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, a device is provided, particularly a device according to the first example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the third example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein at least one additional reserved code point index of the logical channel identifier LCID field indicating the use of the subheader of the MAC-CE is constructed.

[0144] In an example embodiment that may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, a device is provided, particularly a device according to the first example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the third example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the fourth example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein at least one instruction enables at least one of the following: a separate or unique mapping of HARQ feedback information to a specific serving cell in at least two serving cells.

[0145] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0146] In an example embodiment of the sixth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein MAC-CEs are transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising a plurality of MAC-CEs.

[0147] In an example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, which may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the sixth example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein a plurality of MAC-CEs include a first MAC-CE associated with a first serving cell among at least two serving cells, and a second MAC-CE associated with a second serving cell among at least two serving cells.

[0148] In an example embodiment that may be referred to as the seventh example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the sixth example embodiment of the seventh example aspect and / or the seventh example embodiment of the seventh example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0149] In an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a sixth exemplary embodiment of the seventh exemplary aspect and / or a seventh exemplary embodiment of the seventh exemplary aspect and / or an eighth exemplary embodiment of the seventh exemplary aspect, wherein each MAC-CE included in the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback for each serving cell.

[0150] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the seventh exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the apparatus is included in a UE.

[0151] In particular, the eighth example aspect, which can be combined with any of the example aspects and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, can provide a method comprising: During downlink transmission, at least one transport block is received from each of at least two serving cells of the network; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell from at least two serving cells; The payload portion of the Media Access Control Layer (MAC-CE) control element includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell, and at least one indication indicating that the determined HARQ feedback information is associated with or belongs to a specific serving cell among at least two serving cells; and Send the MAC-CE to the network.

[0152] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly according to the eighth example aspect described herein, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded at the beginning of the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0153] In exemplary embodiments, a method is provided, particularly a method according to eight exemplary aspects and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one indication includes or indicates a serving cell index.

[0154] In an exemplary embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eighth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein at least one indication includes or occupies C bits, of which C It corresponds to natural numbers other than zero.

[0155] In exemplary embodiments, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eighth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein a particular serving cell is a primary serving cell or a secondary serving cell.

[0156] In an example embodiment of the first example embodiment, which may be referred to as the eighth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eighth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the method includes: The subheader of the MAC-CE includes at least one additional indication that indicates the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information.

[0157] In an example embodiment of the second example embodiment, which may be referred to as the eighth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the first example embodiment of the eighth example aspect, wherein at least one additional indication is included or embedded in the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0158] In an example embodiment of the third example embodiment, which may be referred to as the eighth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the first example embodiment of the eighth example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the eighth example aspect, wherein at least one additional indication includes at least one code point index or subset of code point indices of a logical channel identifier (LCID) field that corresponds to or includes a subheading of the MAC-CE.

[0159] In an example embodiment of the fourth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the eighth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the first example embodiment of the eighth example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the eighth example aspect and / or the third example embodiment of the eighth example aspect, wherein at least one additional reserved code point index of the logical channel identifier LCID field indicating the use of the subheader of the MAC-CE is constructed.

[0160] In an example embodiment of the fifth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the eighth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the first example embodiment of the eighth example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the eighth example aspect and / or the third example embodiment of the eighth example aspect and / or the fourth example embodiment of the eighth example aspect, wherein at least one instruction enables at least one of the following: a separate or unique mapping of HARQ feedback information to a specific serving cell in at least two serving cells.

[0161] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eighth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0162] In an example embodiment of the sixth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the eighth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eighth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein MAC-CEs are transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising a plurality of MAC-CEs.

[0163] In an example embodiment of the seventh example embodiment, which may be referred to as the eighth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the sixth example embodiment of the eighth example aspect, wherein a plurality of MAC-CEs include a first MAC-CE associated with a first serving cell among at least two serving cells, and a second MAC-CE associated with a second serving cell among at least two serving cells.

[0164] In an example embodiment of the eighth example aspect, which may be referred to as the eighth example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the sixth example embodiment of the eighth example aspect and / or the seventh example embodiment of the eighth example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0165] In an exemplary embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to a sixth exemplary embodiment of the eighth exemplary aspect and / or a seventh exemplary embodiment of the eighth exemplary aspect and / or an eighth exemplary embodiment of the eighth exemplary aspect, wherein each MAC-CE included in the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback for each serving cell.

[0166] In exemplary embodiments, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eighth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the method is performed by or can be performed by a device, wherein the device is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the device is included in the UE.

[0167] In the ninth example aspect, a non-transient computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by a device, particularly a device according to the seventh example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, causes operation including: During downlink transmission, at least one transport block is received from each of at least two serving cells of the network; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell from at least two serving cells; The payload portion of the Media Access Control Layer (MAC-CE) control element includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell, and at least one indication indicating that the determined HARQ feedback information is associated with or belongs to a specific serving cell among at least two serving cells; and Send the MAC-CE to the network.

[0168] The ninth example aspect may also include one or more steps and / or features of the methods described in the eighth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments.

[0169] In a tenth example aspect, which can be particularly combined with any of the example aspects and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, an apparatus comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory, storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to perform at least the following: During downlink transmission, at least one transport block is received from each of at least two serving cells of the network; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from each of at least two serving cells; The payload portion of the Media Access Control (MAC-CE) layer control element includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from each of at least two serving cells, and cell mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the at least two serving cells; and Send the MAC-CE to the network.

[0170] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect described herein, wherein cell mapping information indicates the grouping or ordering of determined HARQ feedback information within the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0171] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect described herein, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is grouped or sorted based on or according to a serving cell index.

[0172] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect described herein, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is grouped or sorted based on or according to different time intervals.

[0173] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect described herein, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is grouped or sorted based on or according to a time interval index.

[0174] In an example embodiment of the first example embodiment, which may be referred to as the tenth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is caused to perform at least the following: The subheader of the MAC-CE includes at least one indication that indicates the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information.

[0175] In an example embodiment of the second example embodiment, which may be referred to as the tenth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example embodiment of the tenth example aspect, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded in the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0176] In an example embodiment of the third example embodiment, which may be referred to as the tenth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example embodiment of the tenth example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the tenth example aspect, wherein at least one indicates a predetermined or selected code point index in a subset of code point indexes that includes or corresponds to a logical channel identifier (LCID) field in a subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0177] In an example embodiment that may be referred to as the tenth example aspect, a device is provided, particularly a device according to the first example embodiment and / or the second example embodiment and / or the third example embodiment of the tenth example aspect, wherein the payload portion of the MAC-CE includes determined HARQ feedback information for a plurality of serving cells, the plurality of serving cells including at least two serving cells.

[0178] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein cell mapping information indicates a correspondence between HARQ feedback information in the determined HARQ feedback information and at least two serving cells.

[0179] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0180] In an example embodiment of the fifth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the tenth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising only one MAC-CE.

[0181] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a fifth example embodiment of the tenth example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0182] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the apparatus is included in a UE.

[0183] Furthermore, particularly according to the tenth example aspect, an apparatus can be provided that includes components for: During downlink transmission, at least one transport block is received from each of at least two serving cells of the network; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from each of at least two serving cells; The payload portion of the Media Access Control (MAC-CE) layer control element includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from each of at least two serving cells, and cell mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the at least two serving cells; and Send the MAC-CE to the network.

[0184] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect described herein, wherein cell mapping information indicates the grouping or ordering of determined HARQ feedback information within the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0185] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect described herein, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is grouped or sorted based on or according to a serving cell index.

[0186] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect described herein, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is grouped or sorted based on or according to different time intervals.

[0187] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect described herein, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is grouped or sorted based on or according to a time interval index.

[0188] In an example embodiment of the first example embodiment, which may be referred to as the tenth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the component is configured to: The subheader of the MAC-CE includes at least one indication that indicates the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information.

[0189] In an example embodiment of the second example embodiment, which may be referred to as the tenth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example embodiment of the tenth example aspect, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded in the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0190] In an example embodiment of the third example embodiment, which may be referred to as the tenth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the first example embodiment of the tenth example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the tenth example aspect, wherein at least one indicates a predetermined or selected code point index in a subset of code point indexes that includes or corresponds to a logical channel identifier (LCID) field in a subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0191] In an example embodiment that may be referred to as the tenth example aspect, a device is provided, particularly a device according to the first example embodiment and / or the second example embodiment and / or the third example embodiment of the tenth example aspect, wherein the payload portion of the MAC-CE includes determined HARQ feedback information for a plurality of serving cells, the plurality of serving cells including at least two serving cells.

[0192] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein cell mapping information indicates a correspondence between HARQ feedback information in the determined HARQ feedback information and at least two serving cells.

[0193] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0194] In an example embodiment of the fifth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the tenth example aspect, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising only one MAC-CE.

[0195] In an example embodiment, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to a fifth example embodiment of the tenth example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0196] In exemplary embodiments, an apparatus is provided, particularly an apparatus according to the tenth exemplary aspect and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments described herein, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the apparatus is included in a UE.

[0197] In the eleventh example aspect, which in particular can be combined with any of the example aspects described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, a method comprising: During downlink transmission, at least one transport block is received from each of at least two serving cells of the network; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from each of at least two serving cells; The payload portion of the Media Access Control (MAC-CE) layer control element includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from each of at least two serving cells, and cell mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the at least two serving cells; and Send the MAC-CE to the network.

[0198] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly according to the eleventh example aspect described herein, wherein cell mapping information indicates the grouping or ordering of determined HARQ feedback information within the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0199] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eleventh example aspect described herein, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is grouped or sorted based on or according to a serving cell index.

[0200] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eleventh example aspect described herein, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is grouped or sorted based on or according to different time intervals.

[0201] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly according to the eleventh example aspect described herein, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is grouped or sorted based on or according to a time interval index.

[0202] In an example embodiment that may be referred to as the eleventh example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eleventh example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the method includes: The subheader of the MAC-CE includes at least one indication that indicates the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information.

[0203] In an example embodiment of the second example embodiment, which may be referred to as the eleventh example aspect, a method is provided, particularly the method according to the first example embodiment of the eleventh example aspect, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded in the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0204] In an example embodiment of the third example embodiment, which may be referred to as the eleventh example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the first example embodiment of the eleventh example aspect and / or the second example embodiment of the eleventh example aspect, wherein at least one indicates a predetermined or selected code point index in a subset of code point indices that includes or corresponds to the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0205] In an example embodiment of the fourth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the eleventh example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the first example embodiment and / or the second example embodiment and / or the third example embodiment of the eleventh example aspect, wherein the payload portion of the MAC-CE includes determined HARQ feedback information for a plurality of serving cells, the plurality of serving cells including at least two serving cells.

[0206] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eleventh example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein cell mapping information indicates a correspondence between HARQ feedback information in the determined HARQ feedback information and at least two serving cells.

[0207] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eleventh example aspect described herein and / or any of the associated example embodiments, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0208] In an example embodiment of the fifth example embodiment, which may be referred to as the eleventh example aspect, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eleventh example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, wherein the MAC-CE is transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising only one MAC-CE.

[0209] In an example embodiment, a method is provided, particularly a method according to a fifth example embodiment of the eleventh example aspect, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

[0210] In exemplary embodiments, a method is provided, particularly a method according to the eleventh exemplary aspect described herein and / or any of the associated exemplary embodiments, wherein the method is performed by or can be performed by a device, wherein the device is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the device is included in the UE.

[0211] In the twelfth example aspect, a non-transient computer-readable storage medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by a device, particularly a device according to the tenth example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments described herein, causes operation including: During downlink transmission, at least one transport block is received from each of at least two serving cells of the network; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from each of at least two serving cells; The payload portion of the Media Access Control (MAC-CE) layer control element includes determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from each of at least two serving cells, and cell mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the at least two serving cells; and Send the MAC-CE to the network.

[0212] The twelfth example aspect may also include one or more steps and / or features of the methods described in the eleventh example aspect and / or any of the associated example embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0213] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0214] The remainder of this specification (including reference to the accompanying drawings) sets forth in more detail a complete and enabling disclosure to a person skilled in the art, in which:

[0215] Figure 1 The diagram illustrates multiple transport blocks included in downlink transmissions across multiple time intervals associated with the topics described herein.

[0216] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates multiple transport blocks included in downlink transmissions across multiple time intervals associated with the topics described herein.

[0217] Figure 3 An example MAC-PDU structure based on the topic described in this article is shown;

[0218] Figure 4A flowchart illustrating an example aspect of the topic described in this article is shown;

[0219] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating an example aspect of the topic described in this article is shown;

[0220] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating an example aspect of the topic described in this article is shown; and

[0221] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating an example aspect of the topic described in this article is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0222] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the figures. In the following description of the figures, the same reference numerals may refer to the same components. Generally, only differences relative to individual embodiments may be described. Each example is provided by way of explanation and is not intended to be limiting. Furthermore, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used on or in combination with other embodiments to produce yet another embodiment. This specification is intended to include such modifications and variations.

[0223] The accompanying drawings are schematic and not drawn to scale. Some elements in the drawings may have exaggerated dimensions to highlight aspects of this disclosure and / or to make the presentation clear.

[0224] The general trend toward standardization to higher generations (e.g., sixth generation (6G)) could be the pursuit of new options, particularly where lower-layer feedback (e.g., from device (e.g., user equipment (UE)) to base station (e.g., gNB)) is communicated via MAC-CE signaling, especially not on a dedicated physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). This could also be referred to as PUCCH-free operation. The advantage of this approach could be the availability of a unified and / or flexible method for communicating feedback signaling. This could, for example, include feedback signaling for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ).

[0225] "HARQ or (multiple) HARQ processes can be used to ensure that data is correctly received and / or transmitted, for example, over a wireless link. HARQ can correspond to or indicate a combination of error corrections, such as forward error correction (FEC) and automatic repeat request (ARQ). A HARQ process can be considered as a single process that may include the transmission and / or reception of data and the reporting and / or retransmission of acknowledgment (ACK) and / or negative acknowledgment (NACK) reports (e.g., as necessary, etc.). HARQ feedback can be considered as a binary signal that can indicate different states, such as ACK (e.g., data has been correctly received) or NACK, which can indicate that data has not been correctly received, there is an error, etc. HARQ feedback may include one bit for each HARQ process, for example, bit=1 can represent ACK, bit=0 can represent NACK. HARQ feedback, "HARQ feedback information," or HARQ data can be represented using one or more bits, which may be referred to as (multiple) HARQ bits, where these terms are used interchangeably herein. "Multiple HARQ" feedback can refer to feedback from multiple (e.g., at least two or more) HARQ processes." For example, an apparatus (e.g., a UE) may receive multiple downlink transmissions, each of which may belong to a different or separate HARQ process. For example, multi-HARQ feedback may include ACK / NACK for multiple downlink transmissions. For example, if the apparatus (e.g., a UE) receives three transport blocks, such as in frames N-2, N-1, and N, the HARQ feedback or multi-HARQ feedback may be, for example, ACK, NACK, ACK, etc. A “transport block” or TB can be considered, in particular, a basic data unit, passed or exchanged between higher layers, such as between the MAC layer and the physical (PHY) layer. It may correspond to or include, for example, actual content or payload transmitted, modulated, and / or encoded over the air. In the example, a transport block may be received during a downlink transmission, such as from a base station. In the example, a transport block may be mapped to a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) for the downlink. A transport block may include different types of data, such as user data, control information, etc. Each HARQ process may, for example, be associated with one transport block at a time and / or may manage one transport block.

[0226] One assumption is that higher-generation networks (such as 6G) can rely on asynchronous HARQ. This means that the timing of HARQ feedback can be flexibly adjusted; specifically, the timing of HARQ feedback relative to data transmission may not be fixed, but the receiver can send feedback, for example, when it is ready. Furthermore, it may not have a fixed time offset, for example, compared to downlink payload transmission. On the other hand, synchronous HARQ can, for example, mean that feedback arrives at a fixed time, such as a predefined ms or a few ms after reception.

[0227] The topics described herein can be applied to Time Division Duplex (TDD) scenarios, where, for example, the device (e.g., UE) can report HARQ information received from multiple downlink (DL) connections, particularly within a single uplink resource. Nevertheless, the topics described herein can also be applied to Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) or other advanced duplexing schemes, such as subband full-duplex, and can be directly applied to DL carrier aggregation, where one HARQ report carries information about transmissions for more than one DL carrier.

[0228] In a non-limiting example of a fifth-generation (5G) or new radio (NR) network, "HARQ-ACK codebook" can be a term used to report HARQ information bits generated by the UE, specifically corresponding to one or more downlink (e.g., PDSCH) receptions. For single-carrier FDD, the HARQ codebook size can be 1, since only one PDSCH can be acknowledged in a HARQ-ACK codebook, but for TDD and / or carrier aggregation (CA), the HARQ codebook size can contain multiple bits. For HARQ on the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), such as in 5G, the size (specifically in bits) of the uplink control information (UCI) transmitted by the device (e.g., UE) should match the expectations of the base station (e.g., gNB), particularly regardless of whether there are missed downlink control information (DCI) (e.g., scheduling authorization). For the base station (e.g., gNB) to correctly decode the HARQ report, it may be important for the base station (e.g., gNB) to know the size (specifically in bits) of the HARQ codebook that the device (e.g., UE) is reporting. To facilitate this alignment between the base station (e.g., gNB) and the device (e.g., UE), for example, in the PDCCH, each downlink allocation (specifically, DCI) may include a Downlink Allocation Indicator (DAI) field, which indicates the number of downlink (DL) transmissions awaiting acknowledgment. The DAI field in the DCI helps the device (e.g., UE) determine, and in particular, correct, the HARQ codebook size. For example, by indicating "4," especially in the last DCI scheduling (e.g., PDSCH4), the device (e.g., UE) can know that it is expected to acknowledge 4 downlink allocations; for example, it can create a HARQ-ACK codebook containing 4 HARQ information bits, even if it may have missed one of the previous allocations (PDSCH1, ..., PDSCH3). This might look like the following non-limiting example:

[0229] In other words, taking an exemplary 5G NR PDCCH UE as a baseline, the device (e.g., the UE) can be aware of potential faults in the receive control channel (e.g., DCI), especially after receiving another control DCI with an unexpected increase in the DAI field. It can be assumed that this is also the case for higher-generation (e.g., 6G) systems, but it should be noted that the topics described herein are not limited to DAI-based DTX detection, etc.

[0230] To avoid so-called HARQ stall, which can be seen as a situation where the transmitter (e.g., gNB) is unable to send new data for the HARQ process because it is waiting for feedback (e.g., ACK / NACK) from the receiver (e.g., UE), 5G NR supports multiple stop and wait channels, which can be referred to as the HARQ process.

[0231] The device (e.g., UE) may support, for example, up to 16, particularly parallel, HARQ processes, for example per cell. Some (high-end) devices (e.g., UE) support, for example, 32 HARQ processes (which may be based on the UE's capabilities, etc.). By default, the device (e.g., UE) may be configured to operate using 8, particularly active, HARQ processes. It should be noted that this configuration can be changed, particularly through appropriate signaling, such as RRC signaling; therefore, this is merely an example.

[0232] A Media Access Control Protocol Data Unit (MAC-PDU) can be viewed as a data structure, container, or structured bit string that encapsulates data that can be sent to a base station. The bit string of a MAC-PDU can be represented using a table; for example, the most significant bit (MSB) is located at the leftmost position of the first row, and the least significant bit (LSB) is located at the rightmost position of the last row. This helps in correctly interpreting the bit string, especially during encoding and decoding. A Media Access Control Service Data Unit (MAC-SDU) can be part of a MAC-PDU and is considered a data block, such as user plane data, including voice, video, or application services. A MAC-SDU can be considered a payload to be delivered, specifically the payload bits included within the MAC-PDU. A MAC-SDU can be inserted into a MAC-PDU or a portion thereof, particularly next to the subheader describing it. A single MAC-PDU can include multiple MAC-SDUs, each originating from a different logical channel (e.g., voice and file transfers). A MAC-PDU can include one or more Media Access Control Control Elements (MAC-CEs). A MAC-CE can be considered a control element, such as multiple bits, or a string of bits that may be associated with or include control information. A MAC-CE can convey signaling or information, which may not be user data. A MAC-CE can be a "fixed-size" MAC-CE (e.g., a MAC-CE with a constant, known, defined, and / or immutable / invariable size) or a "variable-size" MAC-CE (e.g., the size of the MAC-CE, particularly the payload, can vary).

[0233] Each MAC-CE may include i) a subheader and ii) a payload or payload section. The "subheader" may be used to identify a specific control element and / or indicate what type of control element it is. The subheader may be considered a section and / or a part preceding the MAC-SDU, and / or may be located at the beginning or start of the MAC-CE, such as within the MAC-PDU. The subheader may include, for example, one or more fields or (sub)header fields. For example, the fields may be structured or distributed differently, depending on the type of MAC-CE used, such as a fixed-size MAC-CE or a variable-size MAC-CE. For example, a subheader for a fixed-size MAC-CE may include fields such as R, LCID (and potential padding bits), where "R" may correspond to reserved bits and "LCID" may correspond to a logical channel ID, such as a field indicating the type of control element. For example, a subheader for a variable-size MAC-CE may include fields such as R, F, LCID, L (and potential padding bits), where "R" may correspond to reserved bits, "F" may indicate the length of the L field (e.g., L may be 1 or 2 octets), "LCID" may correspond to a logical channel ID, such as a field indicating the control element type, and "L" may indicate the payload size. An "octet" may correspond to 8 bits or 1 byte. An example (variable-size) MAC-CE subheader from TS 38.321 can be represented as follows:

[0234] The "payload" or "payload portion" can be considered as the actual information sent as part of a control element. The payload can be byte-aligned, and its size can be specified or indicated in the subheader, for example, in the case of a variable size. "Padding" or "padding bits" can refer to the process of adding extra information or bits, such as for padding corresponding bit strings or elements, particularly for providing byte alignment, etc.

[0235] In a non-restrictive example of 5G NR, particularly from the example in the 3GPP 5G NR MAC specification 3GPP TS 38.321 (which is cited exemplarily), the assumptions for the construction of the MAC-PDU and the one or more MAC-CEs that may be included are outlined. Higher-generation networks (such as 6G) are likely to adopt a similar structure for the MAC-PDU.

[0236] Non-limiting examples of MAC-PDU structures can be obtained from the aforementioned standard document TS 38.321. An excerpt from the same document is provided below. However, it should be noted that the same document and / or its contents should be considered purely optional. In particular, although different elements for MAC-PDUs are mentioned, it should be noted that these elements are not to be construed as essential or limited to the topics described herein. A MAC-PDU structure in TS 38.321 could be, for example, as follows: A MAC-PDU is a string of bits that is byte-aligned in length (i.e., a multiple of 8 bits). In the diagram in item 6, bits... The string is represented by a table, where the most significant bit is the leftmost bit of the first row of the table, and the least significant bit is the last row of the table. The rightmost bit; more generally, the bit string will be read from left to right, and then in the order of row reading. MAC The bit order of each parameter field in the PDU is determined by the first and most significant bits in the leftmost bit and the rightmost bit. Finally, the least significant bit is used to represent it. MAC SDU is a bit string that is byte-aligned in length (i.e., a multiple of 8 bits). The MAC SDU is included in the MAC PDU starting from the first bit. MAC CE is a bit string that is byte-aligned in length (i.e., a multiple of 8 bits). The MAC header is a byte-aligned bit string of length (i.e., a multiple of 8 bits). Each MAC header is placed directly into... Before the corresponding MAC SDU, MAC CE, or padding.

[0237] As mentioned above, the MAC-CE may include a subheader, which may include a Logical Channel ID (LCID). A fragment of an exemplary list of LCIDs is given in Table 1 below. In particular, the LCIDs in Table 1 should be considered as non-limiting examples of LCID values, which can also be obtained from the standard document TS 38.321. An excerpt of this LCID is provided below. However, it should be noted that this document and / or its contents should be considered purely optional. Example values ​​for LCIDs in TS 38.321 may be as follows: Table 1: Example values ​​of LCID based on TS 38.321

[0238] Assuming that higher-generation networks (such as 6G) can largely inherit or use MAC-PDU, MAC-CE, and / or MAC-SDU structures and / or assume asynchronous HARQ, the topics described herein can consider how to communicate HARQ feedback and / or solve (among other things) the problem of how to communicate HARQ feedback using / via one or more MAC-CEs, particularly in an efficient manner. This can include addressing challenges such as letting the base station (e.g., gNB) know which HARQ processes different ACK / NACKs in the MAC-CE belong to. The latter can be a relevant challenge, especially considering the assumption of asynchronous HARQ operation in higher-generation networks (such as 6G). One solution is to include a bit string representing the HARQ process ID with each HARQ feedback. However, this would be quite inefficient, as it would result in many bits in the MAC-CE being used for HARQ feedback overhead, i.e., representing greater overhead. The topics described herein address at least some of these problems.

[0239] According to the subject matter described herein (which may be referred to as a first implementation), the device (e.g., UE) may receive at least one transport block (TB) during downlink transmissions in a number of or a plurality of (e.g., at least two) time intervals, time periods, time slots, and / or time windows (these terms may be used interchangeably herein). The time intervals may be consecutive time intervals or multiple consecutive, sequential, and / or sequential time intervals or radio frames. For example, at least one first transport block (e.g., TB1) may be received in or during a first time interval (e.g., time interval N), and at least one second transport block (e.g., TB2) may be received in or during a second time interval (e.g., time interval N+1). Undoubtedly, there may be other or additional transport blocks, such as TB3, TB4, etc.; and / or other or additional time intervals, such as N+2, N+3, etc. At least one time interval may correspond to at least one of the following: a time-division duplex (TDD) frame or a radio frame. Each TDD frame or radio frame may include multiple transport blocks (TBs). As described herein, the terms "time interval" and "radio frame" may be used interchangeably. "Radio frame" or "TDD mode period" can be used as a reference for time intervals used to report HARQ feedback, such as DL data transmissions from MAC-CE. Higher generation networks (such as 6G) may use other or at least similar terms, or such time intervals may alternatively be referred to as "frame period," "duplex period," etc., or even other references. It should be noted that such terms can also be encompassed and used interchangeably herein. For example, it can be, for example, multiple subframes (N... 1ms interval), time slot (i.e., N) (e.g., 14 symbol intervals). This time interval can be configured by the base station (e.g., gNB) or defined / fixed in the specification.

[0240] Based on the subject matter described herein, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback or HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received during at least one specific, particular, or selected time interval (these terms are used interchangeably herein) within a plurality of time intervals can be determined by the device (e.g., UE). For example, the device (e.g., UE) can examine, analyze, and / or evaluate at least one TB (or particularly each received TB) to determine whether it has been successfully decoded, and generate HARQ feedback information accordingly. For example, the HARQ feedback information may include "ACK" (e.g., if it has been successfully decoded), or "NACK" if decoding has failed.

[0241] Based on the subject matter described herein, the apparatus (e.g., UE) may include at least one indication in the subheader of the Media Access Control Layer Control Element (MAC-CE). Specifically, at least one indication may be included, contained, or embedded in the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field or a portion thereof in the subheader of the MAC-CE. "Including at least one indication" can also be understood as providing, forming, setting, constructing, and / or generating at least one indication in the subheader of the MAC-CE, particularly using, for example, the Logical Channel ID (LCID), specifically one or more of its fields, one or more code point indices, one or more values, or one or more bits. For example, at least one indication may be used as labeled in Table 1 above ( One or more reserved code point indices (e.g., reserved code point indices 37-42) are used to include or provide this information. This may be especially true if a higher generation network (such as 6G) inherits the MAC-CE structure or MAC-CE subheader structure and / or numbering, particularly from 5G. At least one indication may indicate only one piece of information, or it may indicate multiple and / or different pieces of information. For example, at least one indication (or at least a first part of the indication) may indicate first information, and at least one indication (or a second part of the indication) may indicate second information. Thus, when referring to “indication”, it may mean (only) a “part” of the indication. For example, at least one indication may indicate that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information. In addition to or alternatively, at least one indication may indicate that the determined HARQ feedback information is associated with, linked to, belongs to, is part of, is assigned to, and / or mapped to a specific time interval among a plurality of time intervals (these terms may be used interchangeably herein). In other words, at least one indication may also indicate which time interval or radio frame the determined HARQ feedback is for, or which time interval or radio frame the determined HARQ feedback corresponds to. For example, the subheader may include information about which specific, selected, predefined, different, and / or dedicated time interval the HARQ feedback information is for or corresponds to among a plurality of time intervals.

[0242] Based on the subject matter described herein, the apparatus (e.g., UE) may include determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block in the payload portion of the MAC-CE. In other words, actual or determined HARQ feedback information, such as HARQ feedback bits, such as HARQACK / NACK bits, may be added, inserted, included, arranged, and / or provided within the MAC-CE payload. Each bit may correspond to one TB. At least one indication may enable the determined HARQ feedback information to be mapped, linked, matched, assigned, and / or associated with a specific time interval among multiple time intervals.

[0243] The MAC-CE constructed in this regard may include HARQ feedback information for a specific time interval among multiple time intervals. For example, the MAC-CE may be transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) that includes multiple MAC-CEs. Specifically, the multiple MAC-CEs may include a first MAC-CE associated with a first time interval among multiple time intervals, and a second MAC-CE associated with a second time interval among multiple time intervals. In such an example, each MAC-CE may be specific to a particular or particular time interval, for example, including HARQ feedback for a particular time interval. For example, the MAC-CE may have a one-to-one correspondence with a particular or specific time interval. Each MAC-CE and / or MAC-PDU as a whole may include HARQ feedback information from multiple HARQ processes.

[0244] The device (e.g., the UE) can, for example, use an uplink channel to send or transmit the MAC-CE (including the header and payload) back to the base station. The base station can then read at least one indication, such as reading the LCID or one or more code point indices, to identify whether HARQ feedback information has appeared, is available, or exists. The base station can use the header / payload to determine which specific time interval the feedback is for, for example, and map the MAC-CE, particularly the HARQ feedback information, to a specific time interval among multiple time intervals. The base station can then process the ACK / NACK bits to determine whether it should retransmit the data, etc.

[0245] Based on the subject matter described herein and as stated above, at least one indication may include or correspond to at least one code point index or subset of code point indices of the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field of the MAC-CE subheader. For example, at least one indication may include a subset, group, or number of code point indices of the code point indexes of the MAC-CE subheader's Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field, wherein, in particular, different code point indices within the code point index subset may be used to selectively, individually, and / or explicitly indicate, assign, or reference different time intervals among a plurality of time intervals. For example, code point indices within the code point index subset may be used to selectively, individually, and / or explicitly indicate, assign, or reference at least one time interval or at least one (corresponding) time interval, at least one specific time interval, at least one individual time interval, and / or at least one particular time interval (these phrases may be used interchangeably herein). Therefore, at least one indication may enable, permit, and / or provide at least one of the following: a separate or unique mapping or association of HARQ feedback information to a specific time interval among a plurality of time intervals.

[0246] As described above, at least one indicator can indicate which time frame the determined HARQ feedback corresponds to. For example, at least one indicator can indicate: - LCID: Qà, for example, at least one specific time interval corresponds to the time interval in which the MAC-CE is sent to the base station; in other words, HARQ feedback may correspond to at least one received TB in the same time interval in which the MAC-CE is sent in the uplink. - LCID: Q+1à, for example, at least one specific time interval corresponds to the time interval prior to when the MAC-CE is sent to the base station. n The receiving time interval of each time interval, where n It is a natural number other than zero, such as 1 time interval in this case; in other words, the HARQ feedback can correspond to at least one received TB in the time interval before the MAC-CE is sent in the uplink. - LCID: Q+2, for example, at least one specific time interval corresponds to the time interval prior to when the MAC-CE is sent to the base station. n The receiving time interval of each time interval, where n It is a natural number other than zero, for example, 2 time intervals in this case; in other words, HARQ feedback can correspond to at least one received TB in two time intervals before the MAC-CE is sent in the uplink; and so on.

[0247] In these examples, Q can be an integer. Take (multiple) 5G MAC-CEs as an example (also including those in Table 1 above). Setting Q=37 will correspond to using reserved (i.e., already used) bits.

[0248] The determined HARQ feedback information associated with at least one specific time interval among a plurality of time intervals may correspond to or include (one) or more HARQ feedback information, particularly for (one) or more (multiple) or more (plurality) transport blocks received during at least one specific time interval. In other words, the HARQ feedback for a given or specific time interval (e.g., radio frame N) may include (one) or more ACK / NACK bits (or combinations thereof), for example, one ACK / NACK bit for each transport block (TB) received in that given or specific time interval.

[0249] Based on the subject matter described herein, the apparatus (e.g., UE) can be made to at least perform: aligning the determined HARQ feedback with the size L of the payload portion of the MAC-CE. This can be viewed as preparing the HARQ feedback for transmission, for example by calculating how much space (e.g., in bytes) is needed to carry the ACK / NACK bits and / or properly aligning them within the payload of the MAC-CE so that it conforms, for example, to format requirements, etc. For example, after the apparatus (e.g., UE) generates the HARQ feedback information (e.g., a series of ACK / NACK bits or HARQ bits), it can place these bits into the payload portion of the MAC-CE and / or ensure that the payload size L is byte-aligned as described above (e.g., a multiple of 8 bits, i.e., 1 byte, 2 bytes, etc.). The size of the payload portion L It can be defined as: L = Ceil(HARQ_CB_size / 8) ,in HARQ_CB_size Corresponding to the total number of HARQ feedback bits, and Ceil Corresponding to the floor function, it specifically approximates upwards to the nearest integer. Each HARQ feedback bit can represent either an acknowledgment "ACK" or a negative acknowledgment "NACK". The value or the number "8" can convert the number of bits to bytes. Note that the number of HARQ bits to be reported (e.g., HARQ_CB_ size This may be expected to vary, particularly based on the actual number of DL data (e.g., PDSCH) allocated on a time interval schedule. Therefore, a variable-size MAC-CE may be preferred here, where the L field can provide the payload size.

[0250] According to the subject matter described herein (which may be referred to as the second implementation), the apparatus (e.g., the UE) may receive at least one transport block (TB) during downlink transmissions in a number of or a plurality of (e.g., at least two) time intervals, time periods, time slots, and / or time windows (these terms may be used interchangeably herein). This may be similar to the first implementation, and in particular, the same paragraphs as previously mentioned may apply here and / or may not be explicitly repeated here. The apparatus (e.g., the UE) may determine hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback or HARQ feedback information for the transport blocks received during one or more, multiple, or plurality of time intervals. For example, the apparatus (e.g., the UE) may examine, analyze, and / or evaluate at least one TB (or particularly each received TB) to determine whether it has been successfully decoded, and generate HARQ feedback information accordingly. For example, the HARQ feedback information may include "ACK" (e.g., in the case of successful decoding) or "NACK" in the case of decoding failure.

[0251] Based on the subject matter described herein, the apparatus (e.g., UE) may include at least one indication in the subheader of the Media Access Control Layer Control Element (MAC-CE). Specifically, at least one indication may be included, contained, or embedded in the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field or a portion thereof in the subheader of the MAC-CE. "Including at least one indication" can also be understood as providing, forming, constructing, setting, and / or generating at least one indication in the subheader of the MAC-CE, particularly using, for example, a Logical Channel ID (LCID) and / or one or more code point indices. At least one indication may include or correspond to a predetermined or selected code point index from a subset of the code point indices of the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field in the subheader of the MAC-CE. For example, at least one indication may include only one, for example, a single code point index. Therefore, only one code point index in the LCID (MAC-CE subheader) can be used to indicate that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information. As before, at least one indication may use the indices marked in Table 1 above (…). This can be included or provided by a code point index in a reserved code point index (e.g., reserved code point indices 37-42). This may be especially true if a higher generation network (such as 6G) inherits the MAC-CE structure or MAC-CE subheader structure and / or numbering, etc.

[0252] Based on the subject matter described herein, the device (e.g., UE) may include determined HARQ feedback information for one or more (more) or multiple time intervals in the payload portion of the MAC-CE. In other words, actual or determined HARQ feedback information, such as HARQ feedback bits, such as HARQ ACK / NACK bits, may be added, distributed, included, arranged, and / or provided within the MAC-CE payload. Each bit may correspond to one TB. For example, the payload portion of the MAC-CE may include determined HARQ feedback information accumulated, collected, and / or established since the device's previous, last, or preceding uplink transmission to the base station for one or more (more) or multiple time intervals. For example, when the next UL opportunity arrives, the device (e.g., UE) may, for example, use a single MAC-CE to batch report feedback for one or more (more) or multiple (more) time intervals. Specifically, the MAC-CE payload of size L following the sub-header may include HARQ feedback for the last M time intervals, since the device (e.g., UE) sends this last to the base station (e.g., gNB). In addition, the device (e.g., UE) may include, in particular, time interval mapping information in the payload portion of the MAC-CE mapping information to associate, link, map, assign to, and / or match each of the determined HARQ feedback messages with one of one or more time intervals. In other words, the mapping information can be used to identify which HARQ feedback messages or which HARQ feedback bits belong to which time interval. The mapping information may indicate which time interval the determined HARQ feedback messages are for, or which time interval the determined HARQ feedback messages correspond to. Since the MAC-CE sub-header in this example may not indicate which time interval the HARQ feedback messages are for, such mapping information can be captured, embedded, included, inserted, or placed in the MAC-CE payload as described above. A possible solution is to reserve the first M bits of the payload to represent the time interval or radio frame mapping, while the remaining LK bits can carry HARQ feedback (e.g., including potential zero padding to match it with octet alignment). In another implementation, K can be fixed to, for example, K=3 bits, such that these K bits can represent that it contains HARQ feedback from at most the last M=2^3-1=7 time intervals or radio frames. K can also be configurable, for example, by / using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling for the device (e.g., UE), conveying a default value, such as K=3, if not explicitly configured.

[0253] A single MAC-CE constructed in this regard may include HARQ feedback from one or more time intervals. For example, a MAC-CE may be transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising only one (e.g., a single) MAC-CE. In such an example, the MAC-CE may be specific to or indicate the number of one or more, multiple, or a plurality of time intervals, thus including HARQ feedback. The MAC-CE and / or MAC-PDU as a whole may include HARQ feedback information from multiple HARQ processes. In other words, HARQ feedback across one or more time intervals may be combined, bundled, pooled, distributed, and / or grouped together in a single MAC-CE.

[0254] The device (e.g., the UE) can, for example, use an uplink channel to send or transmit the MAC-CE (including the header and payload) back to the base station. The base station can then read at least one indication, such as the LCID, to identify the presence of HARQ feedback. The base station can use the payload, particularly mapping information, to determine which time interval the feedback pertains to, for example, and map the MAC-CE, particularly the HARQ feedback, to corresponding time intervals among multiple time intervals. The base station can then process the ACK / NACK bits to determine whether it should retransmit data, etc.

[0255] One advantage of the subject matter described herein (among others) is the enhancement of current codebook-based HARQ feedback, particularly for handling (e.g., fully) asynchronous HARQ operation envisioned in higher-generation networks such as 6G. Given the lack of determinism in when HARQ feedback will be sent (the device (e.g., UE) may need to send an SR and receive an SG), additional timing knowledge will help the base station (e.g., gNB) correctly map HARQ feedback to the correct transmission. Another advantage of the subject matter described herein is that HARQ feedback, particularly for multiple HARQ processes, can be efficiently communicated due to the signaling outlined in each example aspect, signaling, implementation, and / or embodiment described herein.

[0256] However, time interval mapping information may include information used to indicate the following items: K A set of bits: which of one or more time intervals the determined HARQ feedback information corresponds to. For example, K A set of bits can be M=2K The form is constructed, in particular, it can indicate M=2 K There are values, among which K It is a natural number other than zero, which can be called solution 1. For example, K A set of bits can be placed at the beginning or end of the payload. In the example, time interval mapping information may include indicators for the following items: K A set of bits: The payload portion of the MAC-CE includes one or more (more) or multiple (multiple) consecutive, sequential, and / or ordered time intervals for its HARQ feedback information. For example, assuming K = 3 bits, "000" could indicate that the HARQ ACK information is reported (e.g., only) for the current time interval or radio frame "N", while "111" could indicate that the HARQ-ACK is reported for time intervals or radio frames starting from N-7 up to the current time interval or radio frame, etc.

[0257] The time interval mapping information may include a bitmap, such as M=K. Each bit of the bitmap may be associated with or correspond to a time interval in one or more time intervals, which may be referred to as Solution 2. The bits of the bitmap and the time intervals may have a one-to-one correspondence. The bitmap may indicate which time intervals of one or more time intervals have HARQ feedback information included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE. Each bit in the bitmap may indicate whether a time interval is included. Bits with a zero value in the bitmap may indicate or correspond to the following time intervals: for which HARQ feedback information is not included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE. Bits with a zero value in the bitmap may indicate or correspond to the following time intervals: for which HARQ feedback information is definitely not included (or only its negative HARQ feedback information is included) in the payload portion of the MAC-CE. The absence of positive or negative HARQ feedback information may be associated with (e.g., only) the presence of NACK. This may allow the device (e.g., UE) to skip reporting useless or all NACK frames, for example, to reduce overhead.

[0258] For example, in the case of K=4 bits in the bitmap (e.g., bits "xyzw"), each bit in the bitmap can indicate whether the HARQ information is reported for the corresponding (N, N-1, N-2, N-3) time interval or radio frame. This solution can be slightly more flexible, although it may require a larger K than in Solution 1 above (e.g., slightly higher overhead). However, in an additional example, if all bits in a time interval or radio frame are "NACK" (which could specifically indicate that no PDSCH was correctly received), or if the device (e.g., UE) did not receive DL data or PDSCH in a time interval or radio frame, the device (e.g., UE) can omit that time interval or radio frame from the report, for example, by setting the corresponding bit in the K bits to "0". One advantage of this solution is the enhanced flexibility, as the device (e.g., UE) can skip reporting time intervals or radio frames. Assuming the burst nature of errors, there may be situations where the device (e.g., UE) must report all "NACK" in a single time interval or radio frame. In this scenario, the device (e.g., the UE) can report a bitmap, such as "1101," which may indicate that a time interval or radio frame N-1 should be skipped. Upon receiving such a bitmap, the base station or gNB should assume that the skipped time interval or radio frame contains all "NACKs." K The size of the bit value can be statically defined in the standard, cell-specific (e.g., broadcast via higher-layer parameters), or UE-specific. For both solutions 1 and 2, the remaining LK bits can carry HARQ feedback (e.g., including potential zero padding to match it with the octet alignment).

[0259] The determined HARQ feedback can be included in the bit length of the payload portion of the MAC-CE. L - K In the size, among K L corresponds to the number of bits used for time interval mapping information, and L corresponds to the number of bits in the payload portion.

[0260] From the UE's perspective, this means that after it is scheduled for uplink transmission, it can determine that it has pending HARQ feedback to send within the past M time intervals or radio frames. Therefore, it can create a MAC-CE with this feedback by first creating the MAC-CE subheader, for example by setting the code point index in the LCID (MAC-CE subheader) to indicate the content of the MAC-CE payload.

[0261] For example, the first K bits of the MAC-CE payload can then be set according to the value of M, while the remaining LK bits can carry HARQ feedback for DL ​​transmissions in these M time intervals or radio frames. When the device (e.g., UE) knows the size of the HARQ feedback or bits, it can set the value of L (e.g., align it with an integer number of octets). Zero padding can be applied to conform to the octet alignment.

[0262] In the following non-restrictive example, K This can correspond to 3 bits. The device (e.g., the UE) can... K The value is set to "100", for example, to indicate that HARQ information is reported for the last (e.g., 4) time interval or radio frame. If K A bitmap indicating the included wireless frames, in this example K The corresponding value will be K =“1111”. The network (e.g., gNB) can implicitly know, in particular, the (exact) number of HARQ bits reported for the corresponding time interval or radio frame (e.g., by using the Type I HARQ codebook as described above), and therefore it can know how the HARQ bits should be split among the time intervals or radio frames N, N-1, N-2, and N-3: ...

[0263] Time interval mapping information can indicate how the determined HARQ feedback information is distributed, arranged, extended, divided, and / or split across one or more time intervals. Time interval mapping information can indicate the correspondence between each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information and one or more time intervals. For example, the reported payload can contain more explicit information about how the reported HARQ bits are distributed or split across different time intervals or radio frames. In the non-limiting example below, there can be multiple length fields, such as 2 bits, each indicating the size (e.g., in octets) for each reported time interval or radio frame. For example, L1="00" can indicate that the first reported subframe has a size of 0 octets, and L1="11" can indicate that the first reported subframe has a size of 3 octets, and so on. In this way, the start and end of the HARQ information for the corresponding subframe can be indicated to the base station or gNB. ...

[0264] The time interval mapping information may correspond to or include at least one flag bit indicating whether one of the more or more time intervals begins with an octet, or whether one of the more or more time intervals ends with an octet. For example, the first or last bit in an octet may be used to indicate whether a new time interval or radio frame begins (or ends) with the corresponding octet. For instance, setting X=1 in octet 1 may indicate that HARQ information for the new time interval or radio frame will be reported in the next octet (octet 2), while X=0 may indicate that the next octet will still contain HARQ for the current time interval or radio frame. ...

[0265] The topics described herein (particularly the first and / or second implementations) can also be applied to, used in conjunction with, and / or combined with carrier aggregation (CA) scenarios. Therefore, the definitions, features, attributes, characteristics, and / or steps mentioned in connection with the first and / or second implementations can be applied accordingly to the CA topics described herein. For example, according to the topics described herein, a MAC-CE may include HARQ feedback information associated with or belonging to: i) a specific time interval among a plurality of time intervals, and / or ii) a specific serving cell among at least two serving cells. Corresponding sub-features and / or example embodiments of these implementations may also be combined. In addition to or alternatively, a (e.g., a single) MAC-CE may include HARQ feedback information for: i) one or more (more) or multiple (multiple) time intervals, and / or ii) multiple or at least two serving cells, wherein, in particular, each HARQ feedback message may be associated with: i) one of the one or more (more) or multiple (multiple) time intervals, and / or ii) one of the multiple or at least two serving cells. Corresponding sub-features and / or example embodiments of these implementations may also be combined. Therefore, mapping information, particularly time interval mapping information, can include other / additional mapping information, such as mapping information associated with a specific serving cell, especially the cell mapping information mentioned herein, and vice versa. In this case, it can be collectively referred to as "mapping information," which can indicate multiple different pieces of information, such as time interval mapping information and / or (serving) cell information. For example, mapping information can instruct the base station on how to correctly decode and / or associate each HARQ feedback information, such as each HARQ bit, for example i) which serving cell it belongs to, and / or ii) which time interval it belongs to, etc.

[0266] Carrier aggregation can refer to a technique used to aggregate or combine multiple frequency bands, carriers, or component carriers into a single larger bandwidth to provide, for example, higher data rates, better spectral efficiency, etc. In scenarios with carrier aggregation (CA), HARQ bits can be ordered or grouped according to the serving cell to which the HARQ bits belong. A "serving cell" can be a network cell that provides radio access to the device (e.g., UE), or a network cell to which the device (e.g., UE) is currently connected. In wireless systems, particularly those with carrier aggregation or dual connectivity, the device (e.g., UE) can connect to multiple cells, especially simultaneously. A serving cell can be, for example, a primary cell (PCell), a primary secondary cell (PSCell), or a secondary cell (SCell). For example, a UE can simultaneously have one PCell plus one or more active SCells. Each serving cell configured for the UE can include or be assigned an index, particularly a unique index, which can be called a serving cell index or a cell index. This index can be used, for example, to identify which cell is being referenced (e.g., in RRC messages, scheduling commands, HARQ feedback, etc.) and / or to reuse feedback or control (e.g., in MAC-CE with HARQs for different cells).

[0267] To handle the CA case, the following additional variations can be anticipated (each of which can be combined with one or more example aspects and / or associated example embodiments described herein, particularly the first and / or second implementations):

[0268] According to the subject matter described herein (which may be referred to as a first CA implementation), the apparatus (e.g., UE) may receive at least one transport block from each of at least two serving cells of a network during downlink transmission. The apparatus (e.g., UE) may determine Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell among the at least two serving cells. The apparatus (e.g., UE) may then include, in the payload portion of the Media Access Control (MAC) layer control element MAC-CE, the determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from the specific serving cell, and at least one indication indicating that the determined HARQ feedback information is associated with or belongs to the specific serving cell among the at least two serving cells. In this example, the at least one indication may be referred to as a first indication. The apparatus (e.g., UE) may then transmit the MAC-CE to the network.

[0269] At least one indication may be included or embedded at the beginning or start of the payload portion of the MAC-CE. At least one indication may include or indicate a serving cell index. At least one indication may include or occupy... CC is a number of bits, where C corresponds to a natural number other than zero. A specific serving cell can be a primary serving cell (PCell) or a secondary serving cell (SCell). For example, a "serving cell index" (e.g., 3-5 bits, etc.) can be added to the beginning of the payload. The device (e.g., UE) can generate one MAC-CE with HARQ information for each serving cell. The device (e.g., UE) can reuse multiple MAC-CEs in the same TB, especially for conveying information from multiple cells.

[0270] In this example, the device (e.g., the UE) may also be made to at least perform: including in the subheader of the MAC-CE at least one additional indication indicating that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information. In this example, the at least one additional indication may be referred to as a second indication. The at least one additional indication may be provided according to the subject matter previously described, i.e., the specific features, definitions and / or steps outlined above with respect to the first implementation may be applied accordingly herein.

[0271] According to the subject matter described herein (which may be referred to as a second CA implementation), the apparatus (e.g., UE) can receive at least one transport block from each of at least two serving cells of the network during downlink transmission. The apparatus (e.g., UE) can determine Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell among the at least two serving cells. The apparatus (e.g., UE) can then include, in the payload portion of the Media Access Control (MAC) layer control element MAC-CE, the determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from each of the at least two serving cells, and cell mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the at least two serving cells. The apparatus (e.g., UE) can then transmit the MAC-CE to the network.

[0272] Cell mapping information can indicate the grouping, arrangement, organization, structure, distribution, and / or ordering of the determined HARQ feedback information within the payload portion of the MAC-CE. Grouping or ordering may include multiple steps, levels, or stages. Therefore, it can be referred to as multi-step, multi-level, and / or multi-stage ordering / grouping. The determined HARQ feedback information can be grouped or ordered based on or according to the serving cell index. This may correspond to the first step, level, or stage of ordering / grouping. The determined HARQ feedback information can be grouped or ordered based on or according to different time intervals. This may correspond to the second step, level, or stage of ordering / grouping. The determined HARQ feedback information can be grouped or ordered based on or according to a time interval index. This may correspond to the third step, level, or stage of ordering / grouping. It can be noted that ordering / grouping can also be based on or according to one or more (or even additional) of the steps, levels, or stages described above.

[0273] In this example, the device (e.g., the UE) may also be made to at least perform: including in the subheader of the MAC-CE at least one indication indicating that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information. The at least one indication may be provided according to the previously described subject matter, i.e., the specific features, definitions, and / or steps outlined above with respect to the second implementation may be applied accordingly herein.

[0274] For example, from multiple neighborhoods (assuming...) C HARQ feedback information for each cell can be reported in the same MAC-CE. For example, HARQ bits can be sorted first by cell index and then by radio frame index, such as: {Cell 1 - Wireless Frame N;} Cell 1 - Radio frame N-1; ...; Cell 1 - Radio frame NM; Cell 2 - Radio frame N; ...; Cell C - Radio frame NM} Conversely, the same applies. The example shown above can also be extended to this case; for example, special bits can be used. X (or the second bit) Y For example, to notify whether to report a new cell in the next octet of the MAC-CE.

[0275] Last but not least, while the examples or topics described herein focus on the case where the device (e.g., UE) reports HARQ information before the current time interval or radio frame, there may be additional processing constraints in the device (e.g., UE) that may increase the time between the reception of the DL transport block and the time when the HARQ feedback for that DL transport block can be included in the MAC CE.

[0276] Therefore, the topics described herein, particularly one or more of the exemplary aspects and / or associated exemplary embodiments described herein, and / or the first implementation, second implementation, first CA implementation, and / or second CA implementation described herein, may be combined with and / or extended to include the following options: M=2^K or M=K values ​​in the MAC-CE may be mapped only to, for example, N-1, ..., NM time intervals or radio frames, rather than the current radio frame N. The offset between the current reporting time and the latest time of the corresponding PDSCH reception that may be included in the MAC-CE may be defined or fixed in the specification, for example based on the capabilities of the device (e.g., UE) and / or configured by the base station (e.g., gNB). In another example shown below, the time interval or radio frame or any time interval used to report HARQ on the MAC-CE may be “offset” by a time unit, such as Δ (in symbols, slots, etc.), to account for the processing time of the device (e.g., UE). The value of Δ may be defined or fixed in the specification, for example based on the capabilities of the device (e.g., UE) and / or configured by the base station (e.g., gNB). The HARQ information reported at time X may consist only of the HARQ bits received from the PDSCH before time X-Δ.

[0277] The term “non-transient” as used in this article refers to a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not signal), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0278] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of <two or more elements>” and similar wording (where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) means at least any one of these elements, or at least any two or more of these elements, or at least all of these elements.

[0279] The device may include a processor configured to provide and receive signals to and from the device, and to control the functions of the device. The processor may be configured to control other elements of the device by influencing control signaling via wires connecting the processor to other elements, such as a display or memory. For example, the processor may be embodied in various ways, including a circuit system, at least one processing core, one or more microprocessors having accompanying digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more processors without accompanying DSPs, one or more coprocessors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more controllers, a processing circuit system, one or more computers, various other processing elements including integrated circuits (e.g., application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc.), or some combination thereof.

[0280] The term "circuit system" can refer to one or more, or all of the following: (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation only in analog and / or digital circuit systems) and (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) A combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and (ii) Any part of a hardware processor (including digital signal processors), software, and memory (including multiple memory) that works together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions, and (c) Multiple hardware circuits and / or multiple processors, such as multiple microprocessors or a portion thereof, that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but which may be absent when no software is required to operate.

[0281] This definition of circuit system applies to all uses of the term in this application (including in any claim). As another example, as used in this application, the term circuit system also covers only the implementation of hardware circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or a portion thereof and its accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuit system also covers baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0282] The device may include memory capable of storing information elements. The device may include volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. For example, volatile memory may include random access memory (RAM), including dynamic and / or static RAM, on-chip or off-chip cache memory, etc. Non-volatile memory (which may be embedded and / or removable) may include, for example, read-only memory, flash memory, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disk drives, magnetic tapes), optical disk drives and / or media, non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), etc. Like volatile memory, non-volatile memory may include cache regions for temporary data storage. At least a portion of the volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory may be embedded in a processor. The memory may store one or more software programs, instructions, pieces of information, data, etc., that can be used by the device to perform the operations disclosed herein.

[0283] The device may be a user equipment (UE), such as a mobile or handheld device, such as a mobile phone or smartphone, or may be at least included in the UE.

[0284] Figure 1 This illustrates multiple transport blocks included in downlink transmissions across multiple time intervals. It should be noted that... Figure 1 The time interval structure shown is merely an example and should not be considered a limitation. Figure 1 It can be combined with any of the example aspects and / or associated example embodiments mentioned herein.

[0285] The first implementation described in this article is as follows: Figure 1As shown. Here, the device (e.g., UE) can be scheduled for uplink transmissions in time interval N or radio frame N. The device (e.g., UE) can send HARQ feedback for downlink transmissions occurring only in that radio frame. DL slots (e.g., the slots in which the UE is scheduled) are highlighted using a pattern. Later, in time interval N or radio frame N+3, the device (e.g., UE) can again be scheduled for UL transmissions. The device (e.g., UE) can then include HARQ feedback for all DL transmissions occurring in time intervals or radio frames N+1, N+2, N+3. In this particular implementation, the device (e.g., UE) will therefore have three MAC-CEs with HARQ feedback in its transport block, wherein, in particular, each MAC-CE contains HARQ feedback for DL ​​transmissions in different time intervals or radio frames. The uplink transport block may also include MAC-CEs with other control information, as well as user plane payloads from different logical channels, etc. The device (e.g., UE) may also omit, for example, the latest time interval or radio frame (N+3) and / or include only time intervals or radio frames N+1 and N+2, especially when the UL transport block has a limited payload size, or when the device (e.g., UE) has not yet completed decoding the DL data transmission that occurred in the time interval or radio frame N+3.

[0286] Considering this first realization, and Figure 1 The example shown, where a sample MAC-PDU is transmitted in a time interval or radio frame N+3, can be constructed using... Figure 2 The implementation can take the form shown. That is, it can include three MAC-CEs with HARQ feedback for different time intervals or radio frames, potentially including some MAC-CEs with other control information (e.g., CSI, BSR), and potentially including some SDUs with user plane payloads from logical channels. As mentioned above, this implementation can be combined with the CA scenarios mentioned in this paper.

[0287] Figure 3 This illustrates multiple transport blocks included in downlink transmissions across multiple time intervals. It should be noted that... Figure 3 The time interval structure shown is merely an example and should not be considered a limitation. Figure 3 It can be combined with any of the example aspects and / or associated example embodiments mentioned herein.

[0288] The second implementation is as follows Figure 3As shown. Here, the uplink scheduling transport block in time interval or radio frame N+3 may contain a single MAC-CE containing HARQ feedback for DL ​​transmissions in time intervals or radio frames N+1, N+2, and N+3. As described above, the MAC-CE payload of size L may include HARQ feedback for the last M time intervals or radio frames since the device (e.g., UE) last transmitted to the base station (e.g., gNB). Since the MAC-CE subheader may not indicate which time intervals or radio frames the HARQ CB feedback covers, the value of M can be captured in the MAC-CE payload.

[0289] Figure 4 A flowchart 400 illustrates an example aspect of the subject matter described herein. This flowchart may include steps of apparatus, methods, and / or non-transient computer-readable media as described herein.

[0290] Flowchart 400 may include the step of receiving 410 at least one transport block from a base station during downlink transmissions in multiple time intervals. Flowchart 400 may include the step of determining 420 Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received during at least one specific time interval in the multiple time intervals. Flowchart 400 may include the step of including 430 at least one indication in the subheader of a Media Access Control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) to indicate i) that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information, and ii) that the determined HARQ feedback information is associated with or belongs to a specific time interval in the multiple time intervals. Flowchart 400 may include the step of including 440 the determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block in the payload portion of the MAC-CE. Flowchart 400 may include the step of sending 450 the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0291] Flowchart 400 may include one or more additional steps or combinations thereof associated with some of the example aspects and / or associated example embodiments described herein.

[0292] Figure 5 A flowchart 500 illustrating an example aspect of the subject matter described herein is shown. This flowchart may include steps of apparatus, methods, and / or non-transient computer-readable media as described herein.

[0293] Flowchart 500 may include the steps of receiving 510 at least one transport block from a base station during downlink transmission in multiple time intervals. Flowchart 500 may include the steps of determining 520 Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for transport blocks received during one or more time intervals in the multiple time intervals. Flowchart 500 may include the steps of including 530 at least one indication in the subheader of the Media Access Control (MAC) control element MAC-CE to indicate that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information. Flowchart 500 may include the steps of including 540 the determined HARQ feedback information for one or more time intervals, and time interval mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the one or more time intervals in the payload portion of the MAC-CE, and 550 transmitting the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0294] Flowchart 500 may include one or more additional steps or combinations thereof associated with some of the example aspects and / or associated example embodiments described herein.

[0295] Figure 6 A flowchart 600 illustrating an example aspect of the subject matter described herein is provided. This flowchart may include steps of apparatus, methods, and / or non-transient computer-readable media as described herein.

[0296] Flowchart 600 may include the step of receiving 610 at least one transport block from each of at least two serving cells of the network during downlink transmission. Flowchart 600 may include the step of determining 620 Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell among the at least two serving cells. Flowchart 600 may include, in the payload portion of the Media Access Control (MAC) control element MAC-CE, the determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from a specific serving cell, and at least one indication indicating that the determined HARQ feedback information is associated with or belongs to a specific serving cell among the at least two serving cells. Flowchart 600 may include the step of sending 640 the MAC-CE to the network.

[0297] Flowchart 600 may include one or more additional steps or combinations thereof associated with some of the example aspects and / or associated example embodiments described herein.

[0298] Figure 7 A flowchart 700 illustrating an example aspect of the subject matter described herein is shown. This flowchart may include steps of apparatus, methods, and / or non-transient computer-readable media as described herein.

[0299] Flowchart 700 may include the step of receiving 710 at least one transport block from each of at least two serving cells of the network during downlink transmission. Flowchart 700 may include the step of determining 720 Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for at least one transport block received from each of the at least two serving cells. Flowchart 700 may include, in the payload portion of the Media Access Control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), the determined HARQ feedback information for at least one transport block received from each of the at least two serving cells, and cell mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the at least two serving cells. Flowchart 700 may include the step of sending 740 the MAC-CE to the network.

[0300] Flowchart 700 may include one or more additional steps or combinations thereof associated with some of the example aspects and / or associated example embodiments described herein.

[0301] While the foregoing describes embodiments of this disclosure, other and additional embodiments of this disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope of this disclosure, and the scope of this disclosure is defined by the following claims.

[0302] Example 1. An apparatus comprising: At least one processor; and At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the device to perform at least the following: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for transport blocks received during one or more of the multiple time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer control element MAC-CE includes at least one indication to indicate that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information; The payload portion of MAC-CE includes: determined HARQ feedback information for one or more time intervals, and time interval mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the one or more time intervals; and Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0303] Example 2. The apparatus according to Example 1, wherein at least one indication is included or embedded in the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0304] Example 3. The apparatus according to any one of the foregoing embodiments, wherein at least one indicator includes or corresponds to a predetermined or selected code point index in a subset of the code point indexes of the logical channel identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE.

[0305] Example 4. The apparatus according to any one of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the payload portion of the MAC-CE includes: determined HARQ feedback information accumulated since the apparatus’s previous or preceding uplink transmission to the base station for one or more time intervals.

[0306] Example 5. The apparatus according to any one of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the time interval mapping information includes information for indicating the following: K A set of bits: which of one or more time intervals the determined HARQ feedback information corresponds to.

[0307] Example 6. The apparatus according to any one of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the time interval mapping information includes information for indicating the following: K A set of bits: HARQ feedback information is for multiple consecutive time intervals within the time interval that are included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0308] Example 7. The apparatus according to any one of Examples 5 to 6 above, wherein... K The set of bits indicates M=2 K There are values, among which K It is a natural number other than zero.

[0309] Example 8. The apparatus according to any one of Examples 1 to 4 above, wherein the time interval mapping information includes a bitmap, wherein each bit of the bitmap is associated with or corresponds to a time interval in one or more time intervals.

[0310] Example 9. The apparatus according to any one of Examples 1 to 4 or 8 above, wherein the time interval mapping information includes a bitmap indicating which of the one or more time intervals the HARQ feedback information is included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0311] Example 10. The apparatus according to any one of Examples 8 to 9 above, wherein the bits with zero values ​​in the bitmap indicate the following time interval: for the time interval, HARQ feedback information is not included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

[0312] Example 11. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the time interval mapping information indicates how the determined HARQ feedback information is distributed or split across one or more time intervals.

[0313] Example 12. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the time interval mapping information indicates the correspondence between the determined HARQ feedback information and one or more time intervals.

[0314] Example 13. The apparatus according to any one of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the time interval mapping information corresponds to or includes at least one flag bit, the at least one flag bit being used to indicate at least one of the following: - Whether one of the one or more time intervals begins with an octet, or - Whether one of the one or more time intervals ends with an octet.

[0315] Example 14. The apparatus according to any one of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is included in the bit length of the payload portion of the MAC-CE. LK In the size, among K Corresponding to the number of bits used for time interval mapping information, and L The number of bits corresponding to the payload portion.

[0316] Example 15. The apparatus according to any one of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the MAC-CE is transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising only one MAC-CE.

[0317] Example 16. The apparatus according to Example 15, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from multiple HARQ processes.

[0318] Example 17. The apparatus according to any one of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion.

[0319] Example 18. The apparatus according to any one of the foregoing embodiments, wherein at least one time interval corresponds to at least one of the following: - Time Division Duplex (TDD) frames, or - Wireless frame.

[0320] Example 19. The apparatus according to any one of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the apparatus is included in a UE.

[0321] Example 20. A method comprising: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for transport blocks received during one or more of the multiple time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer control element MAC-CE includes at least one indication to indicate that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information; The payload portion of MAC-CE includes: determined HARQ feedback information for one or more time intervals, and time interval mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the one or more time intervals; and Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

[0322] Example 21. A non-transient computer-readable storage medium, comprising program instructions that, when executed by a device, cause an operation including: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for transport blocks received during one or more of the multiple time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer control element MAC-CE includes at least one indication to indicate that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information; The payload portion of MAC-CE includes: determined HARQ feedback information for one or more time intervals, and time interval mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback message in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the one or more time intervals; and Send the MAC-CE to the base station. List of abbreviations

[0323] ACK: Confirmation

[0324] CB: Codebook

[0325] CE: Control Element

[0326] DL: Downlink

[0327] HARQ: Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0328] LCID: Logical Channel Identifier

[0329] MAC: Media Access Control

[0330] MAC-CE: Media Access Control - Control Elements

[0331] NACK: Negative Acknowledgment

[0332] NG: Next Generation

[0333] PCell: Main Cell

[0334] PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0335] PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0336] RAN: Radio Access Network

[0337] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0338] SCell: Secondary Community

[0339] TB: Transport Block

[0340] UCI: Uplink Control Information

[0341] UE: User Equipment

[0342] UL: Uplink List of reference numerals

[0343] 400-700: Flowchart

[0344] 410-710: Receiving Steps

[0345] 420-720: Determine the steps

[0346] 430-730: Includes steps

[0347] 440, 540: Includes steps

[0348] 450, 550: Sending steps

[0349] 640, 740: Sending steps

Claims

1. A device for communication, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to perform at least the following: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for the transport blocks received during one or more of the plurality of time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer Control Element (MAC-CE) includes at least one indication indicating that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information; The payload portion of the MAC-CE includes: determined HARQ feedback information for the one or more time intervals, and time interval mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback information in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the one or more time intervals; as well as Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the following: The at least one indication is included or embedded in the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE; The at least one indication includes or corresponds to: a predetermined or selected code point index in a subset of the code point indexes of the Logical Channel Identifier (LCID) field of the subheader of the MAC-CE; or The payload portion of the MAC-CE includes: The determined HARQ feedback information accumulated since the previous or preceding uplink transmission from the device to the base station for one or more time intervals.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the following: The time interval mapping information includes information used to indicate the following items: K A set of bits: which of the one or more time intervals the determined HARQ feedback information corresponds to; or The time interval mapping information includes information used to indicate the following items: K A set of bits: HARQ feedback information for multiple consecutive time intervals within the time interval included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE. The above K The set of bits indicates M=2 K There are values, among which K It is a natural number other than zero.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the following: The time interval mapping information includes a bitmap, wherein each bit of the bitmap is associated with or corresponds to a time interval in one or more time intervals; or The time interval mapping information includes a bitmap indicating which of the one or more time intervals the HARQ feedback information is included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE. The bits with zero values ​​in the bitmap indicate time intervals for which HARQ feedback information is not included in the payload portion of the MAC-CE.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the following: The time interval mapping information indicates how the determined HARQ feedback information is distributed or split across the one or more time intervals; The time interval mapping information indicates the correspondence between the determined HARQ feedback information and the one or more time intervals; or The time interval mapping information corresponds to or includes at least one flag bit, which is used to indicate at least one of the following: - Whether one of the one or more time intervals begins with an octet, or - Whether one of the one or more time intervals ends with an octet.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the determined HARQ feedback information is included in the bit length of the payload portion of the MAC-CE. LK In the size, among K Corresponding to the number of bits used for the time interval mapping information, and L The number of bits corresponding to the payload portion.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the MAC-CE is transmitted in a Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) comprising only one MAC-CE, wherein the MAC-PDU includes HARQ feedback information from a plurality of HARQ processes.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the MAC-CE is a MAC-CE having a variable-size payload portion; or The at least one time interval corresponds to at least one of the following: - Time Division Duplex (TDD) frames, or - Wireless frame.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment (UE), or wherein the apparatus is included in the UE.

10. A method for communication, comprising: During downlink transmission in multiple time intervals, at least one transport block is received from the base station; Determine the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback information for the transport blocks received during one or more of the plurality of time intervals; The subheader of the Media Access Control Layer Control Element (MAC-CE) includes at least one indication indicating that the MAC-CE includes HARQ feedback information; The payload portion of the MAC-CE includes: determined HARQ feedback information for the one or more time intervals, and time interval mapping information for associating each HARQ feedback information in the determined HARQ feedback information with one of the one or more time intervals; as well as Send the MAC-CE to the base station.

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