Network node and method for prioritization handling of feedback messages in a wireless communication system

Abstract

A first node (330 / 311) and a method therein are provided for handling transmission of one or more feedback messages related to one or more data receptions in a wireless communication system (300). The first node (330 / 311) determines to send one or more feedback messages indicating one or more data reception statuses to a second node (311 / 330), determines a priority or order of the one or more feedback messages, and sends the one or more feedback messages to the second node (311 / 330) on a data transmission channel based on the priority or order of the feedback messages.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments described herein relate to network nodes, communication devices, and methods therein for handling feedback messages in a wireless communication system. Specifically, the embodiments described herein relate to the transmission of feedback messages related to the reception of one or more data. Background Technology

[0002] In a typical wireless communication network or system, wireless devices (also known as wireless communication devices, mobile stations, and / or user equipment (UE)) communicate with one or more core networks (CN) via a radio access network (RAN). Radio network nodes (also known as network nodes, RAN nodes, gNBs, eNBs, or access nodes) communicate with one or more wireless communication devices within their range on radio frequencies via an air interface.

[0003] Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third-generation (3G) telecommunications network that evolved from the second-generation (2G) Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The specifications for Evolved Packet System (EPS) (also known as fourth-generation (4G) networks or Long Term Evolution (LTE)) have been completed in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and this work continues in upcoming 3GPP releases, such as specifying fifth-generation (5G) New Radio (NR) networks, Next Generation (NG) networks, and upcoming releases.

[0004] 5G User Plane Architecture and Protocol Reference Figure 1 The UE connects to the RAN node gNB via the Uu protocol on the air interface. The gNB can be divided into Distributed Units (DUs), i.e., gNB-DU, and Centralized Units (CUs), i.e., gNB-CU, which are connected via the F1 interface. The gNB connects to the core network (CN) and contains the User Plane Functions (UPF). Typically, Internet Protocol (IP) data is transmitted via UE-gNB-UPF. The RAN protocol stack between the UE and gNB includes the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), which handles the mapping of Quality of Service (QoS) flows established by the UPF to Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) established by the gNB. The Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) is specifically responsible for encryption or integrity protection, as well as handover forwarding and retransmission. For handover between gNBs, the Xn interface is used. Radio Link Control (RLC) is specifically responsible for segmenting higher-layer PDCP / IP data to adapt to the Transport Blocks (TBs) available for lower-layer air transport. Furthermore, retransmissions are based on Automatic Repeat Requests (ARQ) in RLC acknowledgment mode. The Media Access Control (MAC) protocol supports transmission scheduling over the air interface and includes the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) protocol. The Physical Layer (PHY) handles things like modulation and coding, as well as the actual physical transmission.

[0005] In 3GPP radio access networks, such as 5G NR, the HARQ protocol facilitates data retransmission when transmission errors occur on the air interface.

[0006] For downlink HARQ, data transmission is allocated by downlink control indications (DCIs) carried on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), while data is transmitted on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Applying different encodings to these channels results in different error rates. HARQ feedback, i.e., positive acknowledgments (ACKs) or negative acknowledgments (NACKs) from the UE for data reception, is transmitted as uplink control information (UCIs) on the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or multiplexed with other uplink data on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), as simultaneous transmission of PUCCH and PUSCH presents challenges for radio frequency (RF) implementations. Different encodings for these channels can lead to different error rates, with transmissions on the PUCCH generally being more robust. However, it is worth noting that transmissions on the PUSCH undergo the uplink HARQ protocol, meaning they are also subject to retransmissions to correct any decoding errors. Furthermore, the code rate of the UCIs on the PUSCH can be adjusted by changing the amount of UCI resources.

[0007] In addition to HARQ feedback, the PUCCH can also carry scheduling requests and / or Channel State Information (CSI) reports. Due to the use of carrier aggregation scheduling, code block groups (CBGs), and / or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers, the number of UCI bits and therefore the amount of PUCCH resources may vary. To optimize for different PUCCH payload sizes, different PUCCH formats (PF) are specified, as shown in the table below. PUCCH format OFDM symbol Payload size content PF 0 (short) 1-2 OS 1-2 bits SR and / or HARQ feedback PF 1 (Long) 4-14 OS 1-2 bits SR and / or HARQ feedback PF 2 (short) 1-2 OS >2 bits HARQ feedback and / or CSI PF 3 (Long) 4-14 OS >2 bits HARQ feedback and / or CSI PF 4 (Long) 4-14 OS >2 bits HARQ feedback and / or CSI

[0008] The difference between PUCCH format 4 (PF 4) and PUCCH format 3 (PF 3) is that it uses orthogonal overlay code (OCC) for FR2-2.

[0009] To minimize UCI bits, a dynamic HARQ codebook is used by default, meaning HARQ feedback resources are allocated only for actual downlink (DL) transmissions. If carrier aggregation and CBG transmissions are used, the HARQ codebook size can become very large. If there are insufficient PUCCH resources to transmit both HARQ feedback and CSI simultaneously, the CSI is discarded.

[0010] When UCI is transmitted on the PUSCH, at most two HARQ feedback bits are always punctured. If more HARQ feedback bits are transmitted on the PUSCH, rate matching is used for uplink data.

[0011] Because the UE may miss a DCI / PDCCH allocated by the DL scheduling, it will incorrectly calculate the HARQ codebook size. To address this, a Downlink Allocation Index (DAI) counter is used in the DCI. The DAI field in the DCI indicates the amount of resources reserved for DL ​​HARQ feedback. Therefore, regardless of whether the device has missed any previous scheduling allocations, the amount of resources available for DL ​​HARQ feedback (i.e., the expected count of HARQ feedback bits) is known. The UE sets the bit position corresponding to the missed DCI (e.g., missing DAI) to "NACK". However, ambiguity still exists because the gNB cannot distinguish whether the UE missed a DCI or the corresponding transport block, and the use of DAI introduces complexity in carrier aggregation scheduling, as well as the use of code block groups (CBGs) and MIMO layers, as these resources need to be coordinated across carriers.

[0012] The use of the counter DAI (cDAI) and total DAI (tDAI) in the DL DCI is shown in Figure 2(a), and allows the UE to detect missed DCIs and determine the HARQ codebook size for transmitting the UCI to the network node. It should be noted that the HARQ IDs used in the example in Figure 2(a) are used on different carriers for simplicity only. Each carrier has its own set of HARQ processes, and therefore the same HARQ ID can be used on another carrier. The narrow text DAI pairs in the first line represent the actual cDAI / tDAI, while the bold text DAI pairs assume that only 2 bits are used for DAI transmission, and the cDAI / tDAI provided in the DCI is the actual cDAI / tDAI mod 4.

[0013] DCI also informs the UE about the time offset between DCI reception and HARQ feedback transmission.

[0014] The UE provides the HARQ-FB as a bitmap. Based on the DAI, the UE calculates the size of the HARQ-FB bitmap and the corresponding bitmap positions for HARQACK / NACK. For a missed DCI, the UE sets NACK. Therefore, the network node cannot distinguish whether the UE missed a DCI or was unable to decode a transport block.

[0015] Furthermore, if the gNB does not receive any HARQ feedback / UCI on the PUCCH or PUSCH, in this case, the gNB does not know whether the UE missed the scheduled DCI or whether the UE sent HARQ feedback but it was not detected by the gNB. Figure 2(b) shows the HARQ feedback provided in the UCI. Another way to resolve this ambiguity is through a one-time HARQ feedback request introduced in the NR-U context. This makes it possible for the gNB to request the UE to send HARQ feedback for all HARQ processes. Other common failures of the downlink HARQ protocol are PUCCH transmission errors that cause the transmitted HARQ feedback to flip, for example, from NACK to ACK (false positive) or from ACK to NACK (false negative). False negatives will lead to unnecessary retransmissions, resulting in inefficient resource usage, while false positives can be resolved through the Acknowledgment Mode (AM) of the Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol.

[0016] The timing of the time slot between DL data transmission and HARQ feedback is denoted as K1 and is determined based on the K1 field in DCI. K1=0 means that HARQ-FB is provided in the same time slot, K1=1 means that HARQ-FB is provided in the next time slot, and so on.

[0017] For NR-U, a non-numerical K1 value can be used to indicate that the network node has not yet decided when the UE should send a HARQ-FB for a given HARQ process. Instead, the network node can request a "one-time" HARQ feedback for all active / inactive HARQ processes at a later time. When the UE receives such a HARQ-FB request, it sets the HARQ-FB bit of the successfully decoded transport block to ACK and all others to NACK. The ACK is only cleared when the UE receives the New Data Indicator (NDI) for that HARQ process. As in the traditional approach, NACK can indicate to the network node that the UE either missed the DCI or failed to successfully decode the corresponding TB.

[0018] The Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol sits on top of the HARQ protocol and, in Acknowledgment Mode (AM), can detect and correct residual HARQ errors. Therefore, the RLC maintains its own state regarding which packets have been successfully received. This is based on RLC status reports from the receiver. Counters and timers are used to poll, trigger, and retransmit RLC status reports, as well as RLC data, as needed, until successful reception is ensured. RLC status reports are treated as data in the HARQ protocol, meaning they undergo HARQ retransmission in cases of unsuccessful reception. The disadvantage of RLC retransmission is increased latency.

[0019] There are currently several challenges. For example, for carrier aggregation, there is a trade-off between PUCCH overhead and increased PUCCH allocation delay due to scheduling dependencies between the primary and secondary cells (PCell / (one or more) SCells). The size of the PUCCH allocation depends on scheduling decisions on the PCell / (one or more) SCells, which leads to variations in PUCCH allocation size and increases the probability of decoding errors. There is ambiguity caused by missed DCIs and missed UL HARQs. RLC retransmissions due to feedback issues can cause significant delays because RLC retransmissions are based on an RLC timer configured with a delay that allows for a certain number of more spectrally efficient HARQ retransmissions before triggering an RLC retransmission. Summary of the Invention

[0020] Certain aspects of this disclosure and its embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0021] In communication systems where the UE is triggered to report HARQ feedback via MAC, the size and order of the feedback messages should depend on their content. If all feedback messages cannot be sent at a given time, prioritization is required. Rules for discarding feedback messages may also be needed. Different HARQ feedback messages can be prioritized based on their time urgency.

[0022] Therefore, one object of the embodiments herein is to provide a method for handling the transmission of feedback messages in a communication system.

[0023] According to one aspect of the embodiments herein, this objective is achieved by a first node and a method therein for handling the transmission of one or more feedback messages in a wireless communication system related to the reception of one or more data. The first node determines to send one or more feedback messages to a second node indicating one or more data reception states. The first node determines the priority or order of the one or more feedback messages. The first node sends the one or more feedback messages to the second node on a data transmission channel, such as a physical layer Media Access Control (MAC) data channel, based on the priority or order of the feedback messages.

[0024] According to some embodiments of this document, the first node may be a UE or a radio access network node.

[0025] According to some embodiments of this document, the one or more feedback messages may be sent at the same or different transmission times.

[0026] According to some embodiments of this document, the priority or order of feedback messages can be determined among the plurality of feedback messages or between a feedback message and other control and data transmissions.

[0027] According to some embodiments of this document, the priority or order of the plurality of feedback messages may be determined based on any one or a combination of the following: • The transmission time of the relevant data transmitted by the second node; • The carrier index of the carrier carrying the relevant data transmitted by the second node; • The time since the end or start of the relevant data transmission; • The reception status of the relevant data transmitted by the second node; • The processing time for feedback messages; • The content of the relevant data transmitted by the second node; • Explicit or implicit control information for scheduling related data transmission; • Available data transmission channels for carrying feedback messages; • The granularity of the feedback message content.

[0028] According to some embodiments of this document, the content of the feedback message may be determined based on at least one of the priority of the feedback message and the available data resources.

[0029] According to some embodiments of this document, feedback messages with lower priority can be split across multiple delivery times.

[0030] According to some embodiments of this document, the granularity of the feedback message content may depend on the transport block size and the availability and priority of other data.

[0031] According to some embodiments of this document, in order to indicate the reception status of relevant data, the first node may generate feedback messages with coarse granularity and / or feedback messages with finer granularity.

[0032] According to some embodiments of this document, for the timing of transmission, a coarse-grained feedback message can have a higher priority than a fine-grained feedback message.

[0033] According to some embodiments of this document, feedback messages with higher priority can be sent in multiple different transport blocks, while feedback messages with lower priority can be sent in a smaller number of transport blocks.

[0034] Some embodiments may provide one or more technical advantages, such as faster HARQ retransmission and less overhead. Attached Figure Description

[0035] Examples of embodiments in this article will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 It is a schematic block diagram depicting the 5G user plane protocol; Figure 2(a) is a schematic block diagram depicting the use of the counter DAI and the total DAI; Figure 2(b) is a schematic block diagram depicting the HARQ feedback provided in UCI; Figure 3 It is a schematic block diagram depicting a wireless communication system; Figure 4 This is a schematic block diagram depicting HARQ transmission in TB; Figure 5 It is a signaling flowchart depicting the signal flow between the first and second radio nodes according to embodiments of this document; Figures 6(a)-(c) are schematic block diagrams showing examples of determining the priority of feedback messages according to embodiments herein; Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating a method performed in a radio node according to an embodiment of this document; Figure 8 This is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a network node; and Figure 9 This is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example embodiment of a communication device. Detailed Implementation

[0036] Those skilled in the art should understand that "communication device" is a non-limiting term that means any terminal, wireless communication terminal, user equipment, machine-type communication (MTC) device, device-to-device (D2D) terminal or node, such as smartphones, laptops, mobile phones, sensors, relays, mobile tablets, or even small base stations communicating within a cell.

[0037] The terms “communication device”, “wireless device”, “UE”, “user equipment”, “terminal equipment”, “wireless terminal” and “terminal” are used interchangeably in this document.

[0038] Network nodes can be RAN nodes, gNB, eNB, en-gNB, ng-eNB, gNB-CU, gNB-CU-CP, gNB-CU-UP, eNB-CU, eNB-CU-CP, eNB-CU-UP, IAB nodes, IAB donor DU, IAB donor CU, IAB-DU, IAB-MT, O-CU, O-CU-CP, O-CU-UP, O-DU, O-RU, O-eNB, Non-RT RAN Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC), Real-time RAN Intelligent Controller (RT-RIC), OAM nodes, core network nodes / functions, cloud-based network functions, cloud-based centralized training nodes, nodes carrying NR PDCP, etc.

[0039] Research on 6G, as the next generation of mobile communication systems, is underway. This disclosure relates to potential technical components of 6G communication systems, which are described using existing definitions and descriptions based on 5G specifications.

[0040] The embodiments in this article generally involve communication networks. Figure 3 This is a schematic overview depicting a communication network or system 300. The communication network 300 can be a wireless communication network including one or more RANs and one or more CNs. The communication network 300 can use a variety of different RATs, such as Wi-Fi, LTE, LTE-Advanced, NR, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications / Enhanced Data Rate GSM Evolution (GSM / EDGE), Global Microwave Interconnect Access (WiMax) or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), NR, etc., to name just a few possible implementations.

[0041] In the wireless communication network 300, one or more wireless communication devices 330, 331 (e.g., UE, mobile station, or wireless terminal) communicate with one or more core networks (CN) through one or more radio access networks (RAN).

[0042] Network nodes operate in wireless communication network 300, such as first network node 311 and second network node 312. The first and second network nodes 311 and 312 can be any RAN node, such as gNB, eNB, en-gNB, ng-eNB, gNB, etc. First network node 311 provides radio coverage over a geographic area (service area 11), which may also be referred to as a beam or beam group, wherein the beam group covers the service area of ​​a first radio access technology (RAT), such as 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi, or similar technologies. Second network node 312 provides radio coverage over a geographic area (service area 12), which may also be referred to as a beam or beam group, wherein the beam group covers the service area of ​​a second radio access technology (RAT), such as 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi, or similar technologies. It should be noted that network nodes can be RAN nodes, CN nodes, or OAM nodes.

[0043] The first / second network node 311 / 312 can be a transmitting and receiving point, such as a radio access network node, such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point or access point station (AP STA), access controller, base station, such as a radio base station, such as a Node B, gNB, evolved Node B (eNB, eNode B), base transceiver station, radio remote unit, access point base station, base station router, radio base station transmission device, stand-alone access point, or any other network element capable of communicating with wireless communication devices within the service area served by the respective first / second network node 311 / 312, depending on the radio access technology and terminology used. The first and second network nodes 311 / 312 can be referred to as the source network node and the target network node, respectively, and can communicate with wireless communication devices 330, 331, performing downlink (DL) transmissions to and from wireless communication devices 330, 331.

[0044] This disclosure describes operation in a UE or network node (referred to as a first node, such as UE 330 or network node 311) configured or signaled to generate one or more HARQ feedback messages related to the reception of one or more data items, and to include these feedback messages in a transport block on a data channel. It also describes operation in a second node (such as network node 311 or UE 330) receiving HARQ feedback messages on a data channel, depending on the presence of a given feedback message.

[0045] Figure 4 An example HARQ transmission using HARQ processes is shown between the first and second nodes, where HARQ feedback messages (referred to as HARQ-FB in the figure) are encapsulated in data transmission blocks and carried on the data channel. In this example, the HARQ-FB message is transmitted on time slot n. The HARQ codebook size corresponds to the number of HARQ processes identified by the same bundle identifier (ID), and the receive state is set up as described in Figure 2(a).

[0046] Figure 5 The signaling flowchart for HARQ requests and HARQ-FB transmissions between the first and second nodes is shown. The second node can send one or more requests to the first node on time slots 0-2, containing channel information (CI) and HARQ transmissions carried in data transmission blocks, also referred to as data resources. The second node can also send CIs to the first node containing HARQ-FB requests and HARQ association set indications, such as bundle IDs used to determine HARQ transmission / process sets.

[0047] The HARQ-FB can be transmitted autonomously by the first node using pre-configured or contention-based radio resources. The first radio node needs to contain sufficient information so that the second radio node can associate the HARQ-FB with the corresponding data transmission.

[0048] The alternative location may contain control messages from the second radio node to the first radio node: • The control message scheduler carries data resources that carry data and / or HARQ-FB messages. • The control message contains timing information and / or bundle ID to define the HARQ delivery to be associated with the HARQ-FB message.

[0049] Alternatively, the first radio node transmits a HARQ-FB message based on a control message from the second node.

[0050] Figure 4 The transport block and signal flow diagram shown in -6 is applicable to DL, UL and side links.

[0051] The method for handling the transmission of one or more feedback messages related to one or more data receptions in the wireless communication system 300, performed by the first node (e.g., network node 311 or UE 330), will refer to Figure 7 The method includes the following actions, which can be performed in any suitable order.

[0052] Action 710 The first node (330 / 311) determines to send one or more feedback messages to the second node (311 / 330) indicating the reception status of one or more data items. The first node (330 / 311) may receive a request from the second node (311 / 330) to send feedback messages indicating the reception status of one or more data items transmitted by the second node (311 / 330). The first node (330 / 311) may determine, through configuration or specification, to send one or more feedback messages indicating the reception status of one or more data items transmitted by the second node (311 / 330).

[0053] Action 720 The first node (330 / 311) may generate one or more feedback messages based on the reception status of the one or more data transmitted by the second node (311 / 330). The feedback messages may be ACKs, NACKs, or missed acknowledgments. Alternatively, the first node (330 / 311) may generate one or more priority feedback messages and include them in the transmission. That is, action 720 may occur after action 730.

[0054] Action 730 When all feedback messages cannot be sent at a given transmission time, prioritization is required. The first node (330 / 311) determines the priority of one or more feedback messages.

[0055] In one embodiment, the first node (330 / 311) can be configured or specified to send its pending HARQ feedback messages in order of pending duration, such that the HARQ feedback message associated with the earliest starting or earliest ending data transmission is given the highest priority, and subsequent HARQ feedback messages are appended based on whether the data transmission carrying the feedback message can accommodate more bits.

[0056] In some embodiments, the component carriers carrying the relevant data transmission (i.e., the relevant data transmitted by the second node (311 / 330)) also affect the transmission order of feedback messages. As an example, feedback messages can be prioritized based on the carrier index of the carrier carrying the relevant data transmitted by the second node (311 / 330). Furthermore, the order of the carriers or carrier indices can depend on the carrier frequency, subcarrier spacing, parameter set, or subframe duration they use. In this way, the prioritization of feedback message transmission can be related to the expected transmission duration of each carrier.

[0057] In some embodiments, if the time since the end or start of the relevant data transmission is greater than a threshold, the HARQ feedback message related to the data transmitted by the second node (311 / 330) is given a lower priority or is discarded.

[0058] In some embodiments, HARQ feedback prioritization depends on the decoding or reception status of the relevant data transmission. In some embodiments, the first node may prioritize sending feedback messages containing negative acknowledgments (NACK). This may help accelerate the retransmission of failed data. In other embodiments, the first node may prioritize sending feedback messages containing positive acknowledgments (ACK). This may help avoid unnecessary retransmission of data that has already been decoded or received. In some embodiments, the prioritization of ACK or NACK feedback messages may also depend on the waiting time of the feedback message; for example, if the delay is greater than a threshold, ACK is prioritized, otherwise NACK is prioritized.

[0059] In some embodiments, feedback messages may be prioritized based on the content of the associated data transmission. As an example, an ACK for successfully decoding a data transmission containing high-priority data (e.g., signaling, higher-level control such as Radio Link Control (RLC) status reports, or data on a high-priority logical channel or data bearer) may be given higher priority than certain other feedback messages. In some embodiments, feedback messages are prioritized based on explicit or implicit control information that schedules the associated data transmission.

[0060] In some embodiments, the priority of feedback messages may also be affected by which data channels they are allowed to use or map to for feedback message transmission. For example, only feedback messages with a given priority due to content, processing time, or other reasons may be allowed to be sent on pre-allocated contention-based resources. In other examples, control messages may indicate what type or priority of feedback messages can be mapped to a given data transmission carrying the feedback message. For example, only low-priority feedback messages may be mapped to channels with a high expected block error rate (BLER) because latency may be poor due to retransmissions.

[0061] Transmission restrictions can be defined based on the logical channel to which the feedback message belongs. For the example of downlink data transmission, the feedback message is transmitted in the uplink direction, so these restrictions will be defined for the downlink logical channel. Examples of such restrictions could be: allowing the feedback message to be transmitted on a certain carrier or serving cell; allowing transmission on a certain parameter set, subframe PUSCH duration; allowing transmission on a configuration-granted configuration or contention-based resource; or allowing transmission on a PUSCH resource marked with a priority index.

[0062] In some embodiments, priority may affect not only the order of different feedback messages, but also the order of feedback messages with other control and data transmissions. In some embodiments, higher-priority HARQ feedback messages may have a higher priority than certain control information (such as buffer status reports). In other examples, lower-priority feedback messages may have a lower priority than certain data logic channels.

[0063] In some embodiments, not only the priority of the HARQ feedback message, but also its content may depend on the priority and / or the available data transmission blocks (i.e., data resources). As an example, the first node (330 / 311) may consider a basic feedback with high priority and provide a richer feedback format (e.g., containing more refined quality information or information distributed across multiple code block groups) with lower priority (if there is still space available during transmission). Examples include information for each code block or code block group, information related to the estimated quality of reception, information related to portions of the transmission with better or worse quality, etc.

[0064] According to some embodiments of this document, in order to indicate the reception status of relevant data, the first node (330 / 311) may generate feedback messages with coarse granularity and / or with finer granularity. That is, for a given transmission timing, there may be a higher-priority feedback message with coarse granularity and a lower-priority feedback message with finer granularity. In some embodiments, both types of feedback messages are sent. In some embodiments, only the coarse-granularity feedback message is sent. Therefore, the coarse feedback message will be sent, but the finer-granularity feedback message will only be sent if there is available space. If there are only sufficient resources to send the higher-priority feedback message (e.g., a higher-priority channel), the lower-priority feedback message can usually be transmitted later, but in subsequent transmission timings, the coarse-granularity feedback message will take precedence over the finer-granularity feedback message. However, if there are not sufficient resources to provide both types of feedback messages simultaneously, but sufficient resources are available for the fine-granularity feedback message, only the fine-granularity feedback message is sent, and the coarse-granularity feedback message may be completely omitted or discarded, as it is assumed that it does not add any additional information. Therefore, in some embodiments, if space permits, only feedback messages with finer granularity are sent, rather than both.

[0065] Figures 6(a)-(c) illustrate some examples of prioritizing feedback messages of different granularities and prioritizing them relative to other FB messages based on available data resources. In Figure 6(a), some FB messages with coarse granularity may have higher priority. In Figure 6(b), some FB messages with coarse granularity and some FB messages with finer granularity may have higher priority. For example, if a coarse feedback message covers {all ACK, all NACK, all missed, mixed}, such as 5 ACKs, but without information about which of the 16 HARQ transmissions (e.g., 4 bits to encode values ​​from 1-15) were ACKed, then the 5 ACK indications might require 4 bits (value range 1-15) + 1 bit indication to indicate coarse / fine FB, i.e., a total of 5 bits, while the full HARQ codebook would only require 1 bit indication to distinguish between coarse and fine, and the fine-grained HARQ-FB would require 16 bits, i.e., a total of 17 bits. That is, the coarse FB has 5 bits, while the fine-grained FB has 17 bits. Let's assume the remaining radio resources for HARQ-FB transmission are 18 bits. Therefore, there's no space to transmit both coarse and fine FB messages simultaneously, but the finer FB message should be sent for efficient retransmission. The first node can then prioritize processing the fine-grained feedback message with 17 bits instead of sending the coarse FB with 5 bits.

[0066] If there is space to accommodate a 20-bit FB and there are 4 FB messages, that is, if transmission is used on 4 carriers, the first node can try to squeeze in as many coarse FB messages as possible, such as 4 x 5 bits = 20 bits, instead of sending a single 17-bit fine-grained FB message.

[0067] In Figure 6(c), available data resources are used for FB messages with higher priority.

[0068] In some embodiments, higher-priority feedback messages may be duplicated, and the same information may be sent in multiple different transport blocks, while lower-priority feedback messages may be sent in fewer transport blocks, typically only one. Multiple repetitions will reduce the BLER (Browser Response Time) of the feedback messages.

[0069] Therefore, according to the embodiments herein, the priority / order of the plurality of feedback messages can be determined based on any one or a combination of the following: • The transmission time of the relevant data transmitted by the second node; • The carrier index of the carrier carrying the relevant data transmitted by the second node; • The time since the end or start of the relevant data transmission; • The reception status of the relevant data transmitted by the second node; • The processing time for feedback messages; • The content of the relevant data transmitted by the second node; • Explicit or implicit control information for scheduling related data transmission; • Available data transmission channels for carrying feedback messages; • The granularity of the feedback message content.

[0070] Action 740 The first node sends one or more feedback messages on the data transmission channel based on the priority or order of the feedback messages. Figure 4 An example is shown where a feedback message is sent in time slot n of the data transmission channel.

[0071] The above method can be performed by the UE or a network node, and is applicable to both DL and UL transmissions. To perform this method in a first network node (e.g., network node 311), network node 311 may include, for example... Figure 8 The modules or functions shown. Network node 311 may include a receiving module 810, a transmitting module 820, a determining module 830, a processing module 840, a memory 850, etc.

[0072] Network node 311 is configured to perform any of the above actions 710-740.

[0073] Network node 311 is configured, for example, to determine, via module 830, to send one or more feedback messages indicating one or more data reception states to a second node, i.e., UE 330.

[0074] Network node 311 is also configured, for example, to determine the priority or order of the one or more feedback messages by means of a determination module 830.

[0075] Network node 311 is also configured, for example, by transmission module 820, to send one or more feedback messages to the second node UE 330 on a data transmission channel based on the priority or order of the feedback messages.

[0076] The methods according to the embodiments herein can be implemented by one or more processors (e.g., processor 860 in network node 311) and computer program code for performing the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. The program code can also be provided as a computer program product, for example, carrying computer program code 870 in the form of a computer-readable medium or data carrier 880, such as... Figure 8As shown, the embodiments described herein are executed when loaded into network node 311. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD-ROM. However, other data carriers (such as memory sticks) are also feasible. The computer program code may also be provided as pure program code on a server or in the cloud and downloaded to network node 311.

[0077] In order to perform the method in a communication device (e.g., UE 330), UE 330 may include, for example, Figure 9 The modules or functions shown. UE330 may include a receiving module 910, a transmitting module 920, a determining module 930, a processing module 940, a memory 950, etc.

[0078] UE 330 is configured to perform any of the above actions 710-740.

[0079] UE 330 is configured, for example, to determine, via module 930, to send one or more feedback messages to network node 311 indicating one or more data reception states.

[0080] UE 330 is also configured to, for example, determine the priority or order of the one or more feedback messages by determining the module 930.

[0081] UE 330 is also configured, for example, via transmission module 920, to send one or more feedback messages to network node 311 on a data transmission channel based on the priority or order of the feedback messages. The methods according to embodiments herein can be implemented by one or more processors (e.g., processor 960 in communication device UE 330) and computer program code for performing the functions and actions of embodiments herein. The aforementioned program code can also be provided as a computer program product, for example, carrying computer program code 970 in the form of a computer-readable medium or data carrier 980, such as... Figure 9 As shown, the embodiments described herein are executed when loaded into the communication device UE 330. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD-ROM. However, other data carriers (e.g., memory sticks) are also feasible. The computer program code may also be provided as pure program code on a server or in the cloud and downloaded to the communication device UE 330.

[0082] Example Implementation 1. A method performed by a first node (UE330 / 311) for handling the transmission of one or more feedback messages in relation to one or more data reception in a wireless communication system (300), the method comprising: Determine (710) to send one or more feedback messages indicating one or more data reception statuses to the second node (311 / UE330); Generate (720) one or more feedback messages based on the status of the one or more received data; Determine the priority or order of the one or more feedback messages (730); and One or more feedback messages are sent on the data transmission channel based on the priority / order of the feedback messages (740).

[0083] 2. The method according to Embodiment 1 further includes determining the size of the one or more feedback messages.

[0084] 3. The method according to any one of Embodiments 1-2, wherein one or more feedback messages are sent at the same or different transmission times.

[0085] 4. The method according to any one of embodiments 1-3, wherein the priority / order of the plurality of feedback messages is determined based on the transmission time of the related data transmission.

[0086] 5. The method according to any one of embodiments 1-3, wherein the priority / order of the plurality of feedback messages is determined based on the carrier index of the carrier carrying the related data transmission.

[0087] 6. The method according to any one of embodiments 1-3, wherein if the time since the end or start of the relevant data transmission is greater than a threshold, the feedback message is given a lower priority or is discarded.

[0088] 7. The method according to any one of embodiments 1-3, wherein the priority / order of feedback messages is determined based on the reception status of related data transmissions.

[0089] 8. The method according to embodiment 7, wherein the priority / order of feedback messages is determined based on whether the feedback message contains a negative acknowledgment (NACK) or a positive acknowledgment (ACK).

[0090] 9. The method according to Example 8, wherein a feedback message containing a negative acknowledgment (NACK) is determined to have a higher priority than other feedback messages.

[0091] 10. The method according to embodiment 8, wherein a feedback message containing a positive acknowledgment (ACK) is determined to have a higher priority than other feedback messages.

[0092] 11. The method according to any one of embodiments 8-10, wherein the priority / order of feedback messages containing NACK or ACK is determined based on the processing time of the feedback messages.

[0093] 12. The method according to any one of embodiments 1-3, wherein the priority / order of feedback messages is determined based on the content of the relevant data transmission.

[0094] 13. The method according to any one of embodiments 1-3, wherein the priority / order of feedback messages is determined based on explicit or implicit control information for scheduling related data transmissions.

[0095] 14. The method according to any one of embodiments 1-3, wherein the priority / order of feedback messages is determined based on the available data transmission channel carrying the feedback messages.

[0096] 15. The method according to any one of embodiments 1-14, wherein the priority / order of feedback messages is determined among the plurality of feedback messages or between a feedback message and other control and data transmissions.

[0097] 16. The method according to any one of Examples 1-15, wherein the content of the feedback message is determined based on priority and / or available data resources.

[0098] 17. The method according to any one of Examples 1-16, wherein the content of the feedback message is provided in a feedback format with finer quality.

[0099] 18. The method according to any one of Examples 1-17, wherein the priority / order of feedback messages is determined based on the granularity of the feedback message content.

[0100] 19. The method according to any one of Examples 17-18, wherein the granularity of the feedback message content depends on the transport block size and the availability and priority of other data.

[0101] 20. The method according to any one of Examples 1-19, wherein generating one or more feedback messages includes generating feedback messages with coarse granularity and / or feedback messages with finer granularity.

[0102] 21. The method according to embodiment 20, wherein, for transmission timing, a feedback message with coarse granularity may have a higher priority than a feedback message with finer granularity.

[0103] 22. The method according to any one of embodiments 1-21, wherein feedback messages with lower priority are split across multiple transmission times.

[0104] 23. The method according to any one of embodiments 1-22, wherein feedback messages with higher priority are sent in multiple different transport blocks, while feedback messages with lower priority are sent in a smaller number of transport blocks.

[0105] 24. The method according to any one of Examples 1-23, wherein the feedback message is an Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) or a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) message.

[0106] 25. The method according to any one of embodiments 1-24, wherein the first node is a UE or a radio access network node.

[0107] 26. A network node (311) configured to perform the method according to any one of embodiments 1-24.

[0108] 27. A communication device (UE 330) configured to perform the method according to any one of embodiments 1-24.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first node (330 / 311) for processing the transmission of one or more feedback messages in relation to one or more data receptions in a wireless communication system (300), the method comprising: Determine (710) to send one or more feedback messages to the second node (311 / 330) indicating one or more data reception statuses; Determine (730) the priority or order of the one or more feedback messages; and send (740) the one or more feedback messages to the second node (311 / 330) on the data transmission channel based on the priority or order of the feedback messages.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The one or more feedback messages are sent via the Physical Layer Media Access Control (MAC) data channel.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, further comprising: Determine the size of the one or more feedback messages.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein, The one or more feedback messages are sent at the same or different transmission times.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The priority or order of the one or more feedback messages is determined based on the transmission time of the relevant data transmitted by the second node (311, 330).

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The priority or order of the one or more feedback messages is determined based on the carrier index of the carrier carrying the relevant data transmitted by the second node (311, 330).

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, If the time since the end or start of the relevant data transmission is greater than a threshold, the feedback message is given a lower priority or is discarded.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The priority or order of feedback messages is determined based on the reception status of the relevant data transmitted by the second node (311, 330).

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The priority or order of feedback messages is determined based on whether the feedback message contains a negative acknowledgment (NACK) or a positive acknowledgment (ACK).

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, The priority or order of feedback messages containing NACK or ACK is determined based on the processing time of the feedback message.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The priority or order of feedback messages is determined based on the content of the relevant data transmitted by the second node (311, 330).

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The priority or order of feedback messages is determined based on explicit or implicit control information that schedules the transmission of the relevant data.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The priority or order of feedback messages is determined based on the available data transmission channel carrying the feedback messages.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein, The priority or order of feedback messages is determined based on which data channel the feedback message is allowed to use or mapped to for transmission.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1-14, wherein, The priority or order of feedback messages is determined among the multiple feedback messages or between a feedback message and other control and data transmissions.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1-15, wherein, The content of the feedback message is determined based on at least one of the priority of the feedback message and the available data resources.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1-16, wherein, Compared to feedback messages with lower priority, feedback messages with higher priority are provided in a feedback format that contains more refined quality information or information distributed across multiple code block groups.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1-17, wherein, The priority or order of feedback messages is determined based on the granularity of the feedback message content.

19. The method according to any one of claims 17-18, wherein, The granularity of the feedback message content depends on the transport block size and the availability and priority of other data.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1-19, wherein, Generating one or more feedback messages includes generating at least one of coarse-grained feedback messages and fine-grained feedback messages.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein, Regarding delivery timing, feedback messages with coarse granularity have a higher priority than those with finer granularity.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein, Regarding the timing of transmission, if the available data source is insufficient to accommodate two feedback messages, only the feedback message with finer granularity is sent.

23. The method according to any one of claims 1-22, wherein, Feedback messages with lower priority are split across multiple delivery points.

24. The method according to any one of claims 1-23, wherein, Feedback messages with higher priority are sent in multiple different transport blocks, while feedback messages with lower priority are sent in a smaller number of transport blocks.

25. The method according to any one of claims 1-24, wherein, The feedback message is an Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) or a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) message.

26. The method according to any one of claims 1-25, wherein, The first node is a UE (330, 331) or a radio access network node (311, 312).

27. A network node (311) for handling the transmission of one or more feedback messages in relation to one or more data receptions in a wireless communication system (300), said network node (311) being configured to: Determine to send one or more feedback messages to the second node (330) indicating one or more data reception statuses; Determine the priority or order of the one or more feedback messages; as well as Based on the priority or order of the feedback messages, one or more feedback messages are sent to the second node (330) on the data transmission channel.

28. The network node (311) according to claim 27 is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 2-25.

29. A communication device (330) for handling the transmission of one or more feedback messages in relation to one or more data receptions in a wireless communication system (300), said communication device (330) being configured to: Determine to send one or more feedback messages to the second node (311) indicating one or more data reception statuses; Determine the priority or order of the one or more feedback messages; as well as Based on the priority or order of the feedback messages, one or more feedback messages are sent to the second node (331) on the data transmission channel.

30. The communication device (330) according to claim 29 is configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 2-25.

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