Repetitions of partitions of data block

Abstract

A first apparatus receives 510 a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of several partitions of a data block, and transmits 520 the data block to a second apparatus based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the partitions. The repetition configuration may comprise a number of repetitions of a partition, an indication for the partition, an indication of allowability of repetitions of a partition, or an identifier of a QoS flow, a radio bearer, a PDU or a logical channel associated with the partition. The repetition configuration may be received in RRC signalling, a MAC control element, or a bitmap where a bit corresponds to a partition of the partitions of the data block. The repetition configuration may be used to transmit after receiving an activation command. The partitions may be associated with a processing chain of several processing chains of the first apparatus.

Description

FIELDS

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to apparatuses, methods and computer readable storage medium for repetitions of a partition of a data block. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a design of the sixth generation (6G) radio protocols, an approach is suggested which relies on the following two stacks: an anchor protocol stack (APS) which is designed for low bitrate services, coverage (e.g., bit-level optimizations) and reliability (e.g., radio link control (RLC) automatic repeat request (ARQ); and a fast protocol stack (FPS) which is designed for high bitrate services, where the focus is on a processingfriendly and implementation-friendly design employing the concept of radio processing units (RPU), enabling parallel processing of the radio functions. Data from the APS and the FPS may be mapped into a single transport block (TB) where data from the FPS may come from multiple RPUs. However, data mapped in one TB may have different reliability requirements. SUMMARY

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: receive a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block; and transmit the data block to a second apparatus based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: transmit, to a first apparatus, a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block; and receive the data block from the first apparatus based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method at a first apparatus. The method includes: receiving a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block; and transmitting the data block to a second apparatus based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method at a second apparatus. The method includes: transmitting, to a first apparatus, a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block; and receiving the data block from the first apparatus based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus includes means for receiving a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block; and means for transmitting the data block to a second apparatus based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus includes means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block; and means for receiving the data block from the first apparatus based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the third aspect.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0011] It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure may become easily comprehensible through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Some example embodiments may now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0014] FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example communication process between a first apparatus and a second apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates an example process of partition repetition according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] FIG. 4 illustrates an example process of an uplink (UL) data transmission according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0020] FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] Principle of the present disclosure may now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein may be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0023] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0024] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0025] It shall be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,”..., etc. in front of noun(s) and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements may not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another and they do not limit the order of the noun(s). For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0026] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0027] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

[0028] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It may be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0029] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firm ware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. 5

[0030] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and 10 if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0031] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution 15 (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there may of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It may not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0032] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may include a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, x NodeB (xNB), such as a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) and an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0033] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customerpremises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0034] As used herein, the term “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other combination of the time, frequency, space and / or code domain resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain may be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0035] The current 5G NR standards include options for multiplexing different internet protocol (IP) packets, signaling and data from different radio bearers (RBs) into one medium access control (MAC) protocol data units (PDUs). For example, prior to an actual transmission of an MAC PDU in one transport block (TB) on a downlink (DL) physical layer, the following processing steps may occur: transport block cyclic redundancy check (CRC) attachment; code block segmentation and code block CRC attachment; channel coding such as Low-density Parity-check (LDPC) coding; physical-layer hybrid-ARQ processing; rate matching; scrambling; modulation such as quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM), 64QAM, 256QAM, and 1024QAM; layer mapping; and mapping to assigned resources and antenna ports. At a UE side, corresponding actions are taken in an inverse order to recreate the initial TB and to recover the transmitted MAC PDU.

[0036] In these steps, each TB may be sent with a single unique channel coding and modulation scheme, where this is independent of whether it contains data from the different radio bearers (RBs) with different reliability targets and / or maximum delay budget. The gNB may select a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) according to the strictest reliability target among the data (RBs / CBGs) which are part of that TB. Thus, there may be a need for a part of a gNB link adaptation mechanism.

[0037] Options with a code block groups (CBG)-based Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) transmission are also supported by 5G NR. In the CBG-based HARQ transmission, a TB is split into multiple code blocks (CBs) where the maximum size of each CB is 8448 bits, and the CBs are further grouped into CBGs. For each received TB, a receiver may provide HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) feedback to indicate which CBGs are error, such that only the erroneously received CBGs are thereafter retransmitted by a transmitter.

[0038] For transmission of large TB sizes (as is the case for XR use cases), such techniques are promising. Cases with up to 8 CBGs per TB are supported by current NR specification. More generally, the maximum number of CBGs per TB is configurable as C G {2, 4, 6, 8} for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0039] For the above dual-stack architecture in 6G, data from an APS and an FPS may be mapped into a single TB where data from the FPS may come from multiple RPUs. Using CBG-based HARQ transmissions may help increase resource efficiency on retransmissions, which is already supported by the current 5GNR standards. Transmission of one TB may be scheduled to contain data from multiple data radio bearers (DRBs) with different reliability requirements. For example, if a TB includes data from two DRBs which have reliability targets of 0.001% and 10%, respectively, the gNB may have to select the transmission MCS for that TB according to the strictest reliability requirement of 0.001%, which leads to wasted resources due to overly conservative MCS selection for the DRB with 10% reliability requirement. Even though terms dual-stack “APS” and “FPS” are used in the present disclosure to refer to two (parallel) radio protocol stacks of different types, it is to be understood that other terms may be used, instead, to refer to two separate configurations of radio protocols and radio protocol stacks having at least one characteristic (e.g., a supported highest bitrate) different from one another. The teachings of the present disclosure should, thus, not be construed to be limited to said two terms.

[0040] As described above, the APS is targeted for supporting radio bearers with high reliability requirements such as, for example, signaling radio bearers (SRBs), and certain low data rate data radio bearers (DRBs), while the FPS is targeted for supporting high data rate radio bearers with relatively relaxed reliability requirements. An approach is to configure different retransmission schemes for the APS and FPS where, for example, RLC ARQ or an increased number of HARQ retransmissions is used for APS data. However, in both the cases (with increased number of maximum HARQ retransmission or with RLC ARQ), there is a risk that the latency requirements cannot be met. Another approach is to select a very robust MCS to meet reliability requirements for APS data. However, there is an issue that such a robust MCS becomes unnecessarily robust for the FPS data, and this will lead to wasted resources especially when considering a large size of an FPS data packet.

[0041] Therefore, there is a need to select a single MCS for an overall TB (on which both APS data and FPS data are mapped) to meet the reliability requirements for both APS and FPS data without leading to increased latency and wasted resources.

[0042] Example embodiments of the present disclosure propose a repetition solution for a distinct partition or portion of a data block. In this solution, a first apparatus receives a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block. Based on the repetition configuration, the first apparatus transmits, to a second apparatus, the data block which includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0043] This solution may achieve simultaneous support of a mix of high reliability and low latency of data mapped into different partitions of a data block, thereby improving transmission efficiency and resource utilization.

[0044] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0045] In the communication environment 100, a plurality of communication devices, including a first apparatus 110 and a second apparatus 120, may communicate with each other. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may operate as a terminal device such as a UE, and the second apparatus 120 may operate as a network device (such as a gNB) serving the terminal device.

[0046] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with the first apparatus 110 operating as a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 operating as a network device. However, in some example embodiments, operations described with respect to a terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other devices, and operations described with respect to a network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other devices.

[0047] In some example embodiments, if the first device 110 is a terminal device and the second device 120 is a network device, a link from the second device 120 to the first device 110 is referred to as a DL, while a link from the first device 110 to the second device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, the second device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or a transmitter), and the first device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or a receiver). In UL, the first device 110 is a TX device (or a transmitter), and the second device 120 is a RX device (or a receiver). If both the first device 110 and the second device 120 are terminal devices, a link between two terminal devices is referred to as a sidelink (SL). In SL, one of the first and second devices 110 and 120 is a TX device (or a transmitter), and the other of the first and second devices 110 and 120 is a RX device (or a receiver).

[0048] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), including, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0049] It is to be understood that the number and types of apparatuses are shown in FIG. 1 for the purpose of illustration, without suggesting any limitation. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable numbers and types of devices and apparatuses.

[0050] In the communication environment 100, certain partition(s) of a data block transmitted from the first apparatus 110 to the second apparatus 120 may be configured with repetition-based transmission. Some example implementations may be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

[0051] FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram showing an example communication process 200 between the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 2, in the process 200, the second apparatus 120 transmits (210), to the first apparatus 110, a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block. Correspondingly, the first apparatus 110 receives (220) this repetition configuration.

[0053] In some example embodiments, the one or more partitions may be associated with a processing chain of a plurality of processing chains of the first apparatus 110. In some example embodiments, the processing chains may include one or more protocol stacks (such as an APS and an FPS) and one or more processing chains from a protocol stack (such as one or more RPUs from the FPS) at the first apparatus 110. Other processing chains at the first apparatus 110 are also possible.

[0054] A data block for containing data associated with different processing chains may be implemented in any suitable form. In some example embodiments, a data block may be implemented by a TB. In some example embodiments, a partition of a data block may include a CBG. It is possible that a partition of a data block includes a CB or any other portion or segment of the data block.

[0055] The repetition configuration may include any configuration information related to the repetitions of the one or more partitions of the plurality of partitions of the data block. For example, in the example embodiments where CBGs are examples of the partitions of a data block, the network may configure necessary parameters of this feature, e.g., CBG repetition (denoted by CBG rep).

[0056] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration may include an indication whether repetitions of a partition of the data block is allowed. For example, the second apparatus 120 may send a RRC configuration to indicate whether selected CBGs repetition is supported or not.

[0057] Alternatively, or in addition, the repetition configuration may include a number of repetitions of a partition of the one or more partitions of the plurality of partitions of the data block. For example, the network may configure, via the second apparatus 120, for example how many repetitions (denoted by A_rep) for the data to be transmitted from an APS side. In an example, the second apparatus 120 may configure the number of repetitions N_ rep with the assumption that the first apparatus 110 supports this feature as well. In an example, the second apparatus 120 may configure the number of repetitions A_rep based on the capability of supporting this feature of the first apparatus 110.

[0058] The numbers of repetitions for all the partitions may or may not be the same. In order words, the numbers of repetitions for different partitions may be the same or different. In an example, the numbers of repetitions for all partitions may be the same. In an alternative example, the numbers of repetitions for different partitions may be different.

[0059] Alternatively, or in addition, the repetition configuration may include an indication for the one or more partitions, to indicate which partition(s) of a data block is to be repeated. Alternatively, or in addition, a repetition number for some of the partitions of the data block may be fixed, and the rest of the partitions may not require repetitions. For example, except for CBG #X, all other CBGs may be repeated twice. In this case, the repetition configuration may include an indication for one or more partitions which do not require repetitions.

[0060] Alternatively, or in addition, the repetition configuration may include at least one identification of at least one of a quality of service (QoS) flow, a radio bearer (RB), a PDU set, a logical channel (LCH) or a logical channel group (LCG) associated with the one or more partitions. For example, the network may configure via the second apparatus 120, for example, that the feature is limited to certain SRBs or DRBs, LCHs, and / or LCGs. In other words, the feature may not be applicable to all data transmitted for example over the APS. It is up to the network to determine to which SRBs / DRBs / LCHs / LCGs such feature is applicable. The granularity may be even finer. For example, the second apparatus 120 may specify PDU set(s) within one quality of service (QoS) flow.

[0061] The repetition configuration may be received (220) by the first apparatus 110 in any suitable signaling. In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration may be received (220) by the first apparatus 110 in at least one of RRC signaling, a MAC control element (CE) or a DCI.

[0062] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration may be indicated in a bitmap where a bit in the bitmap may be corresponding to a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block. For example, a field may be added in the scheduling DCI. The field may carry information about which CBG(s) (as examples of partitions of a data block) within a TB (as an example of a data block) are repeated A_rep times. Such an indication may be carried via a bitmap where, for example, "0" indicates no repetition and "1" indicates a repetition. Assuming that M=4 CBGs are supposed to be transmitted in a single TB, the length of the bitmap is 4. For example, "1100" means the first two CBGs is repeated A^rep times, while the last two CBGs are configured with no repetition.

[0063] Based on the repetition configuration received (220), the first apparatus 110 transmits (230), to the second apparatus 120, the data block including repetitions of the one or more partitions. Correspondingly, the second apparatus 120 receives (240) the data block.

[0064] An example mechanism of partition repetition will be described below with reference to FIG. 3 which shows mapping APS / FPS (with multiple RPUs) data to CBGs with selected CBG repetition in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 3, in producing a MAC PDU to be contained in a TB 308, the mapping of MAC-HI PDUs may be organized in a way that the data from an APS 302 and each RPU 304-1, ..., 304-N from an FPS 303 ends up in one or more (integer multiplier) of CBGs 306-1, ..., 306-M. N and M are positive integers. In an example, it may be configured to map each processing chain (such as each RPU 304-1, ..., 304-N or the APS 302) into separate CBGs. Thus, a mix requirement of high reliability and low latency may be simultaneously supported in case the APS / FPS data are mapped into the same TB.

[0066] In this example, a CBG 306-1 is repeated once. As the total number of CBGs (excluding the repetitions) in the TB is M, the length of the bitmap is M as well and the bitmap is as: [100...00]. In this way, data from each of the parallel tracks of the 6G radio protocol stack (APS / FPS / RPUs) may be mapped to a distinct portion of a TB while taking into account different requirements including or especially on the reliability. Each of these partitions may then be further composed of one of more CBGs.

[0067] It is to be understood that both stacks may rely on the same radio protocols such as service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC). It is also to be understood that although the term “stack” is used, the terms “track” or “path” is applicable to refer to two distinct or independent configurations of the same radio protocol.

[0068] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may transmit to the first apparatus 110 an activation command of the repetitions of the one or more partitions. The activation command may be received in at least one of RRC signaling, a MAC CE or DCI. After the first apparatus 110 receives the activation command, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (230) the data block based on the repetition configuration.

[0069] For example, the configuration and the activation of the partition repetition may be separate. For example, such a feature nay be configured, for example, by a RRC configuration and activated by other signaling e.g. RRC signaling, an MAC CE, or a DCI. The feature may be applied only after it is activated. Alternatively, the configuration and the activation may be simultaneous. For example, once the feature of selected CBG(s) repetition is configured, the feature is activated at the same time.

[0070] The repetition configuration may be applied to initial transmission (also referred to as a proactive mode) or retransmission (also referred to as a reactive mode) of the one or more partitions. It may be up to the network to determine which mode is to be used. In some example embodiments, different modes can be applied to different UEs, or even difference channels of the same UE.

[0071] The DCI, which includes a bitmap (or a bit map) to indicate which partition(s) of the data block, may be applied in both the proactive mode and the reactive mode. In the proactive mode, the DCI may be used for the initial transmission, including a bitmap (or a bit map) to indicate which CBGs in the TB are with repetitions in their first transmissions and the rest are not. In the reactive mode, the initial transmissions of all CBGs are without repetitions and a normal DCI format may be used. The above DCI including the bitmap may only be applied after the initial transmission and indicate which failed CBGs are with repetitions.

[0072] With the proactive mode, the selected repetition feature may be applied to the initial transmission of selected CBG(s). The use case of this mode is that if certain CBGs include data with higher reliability requirements, the repetitions may enhance a first transmission success rate of the data. On the contrary, in the reactive mode, the selected repetition feature may be only applicable to the retransmission(s), and not for the initial transmission. The use case of the reactive mode may be a delay sensitive type of traffic. For example, if some CBGs carry this type of traffic and it is essential for the network to deliver the traffic before their respective packet delay budget (PDB) expires, the proposed selective repetition in the reactive mode may improve the second transmission success rate.

[0073] An example process of UL data transmission (assuming the proactive selected CBGs repetition) will be described below with reference to FIG. 4. In this example, a UE 410 is an example of the first apparatus 110, and a gNB 420 is an example of the second apparatus 120.

[0074] As shown in FIG. 4, in a process 400, in Step 0, the UE 410 may transmit (422) an FPS capability report to the gNB 420. In Step 1, the gNB 420 may transmit (424) an RRC configuration for the feature “selected CBG(s) repetition” to the UE 410.

[0075] For example, assuming that CBG rep is configured and taking DCI format 0^1 (for scheduling UL PUSCH) as one example, a field added to a DCI may be defined as “CBG repetition bitmap”. Taking the example of 4 CBGs (as examples of partitions of a data block) included in one TB (as an example of a data block), the length of the field is 4 bits where one bit in the bitmap is mapping to one CBG. For each bit of the bitmap, a value “0” may be used to indicate no repetition applied; otherwise, a value “1” may indicate that repetition is applied to the corresponding CBG. In another embodiment, a type of DCI format X X may be defined which includes a repetition field as described above.

[0076] It is to be understood that the names and definitions of the field and the DCI message as described above are only examples but not limited. Any name and definition may be used or defined for the field or message depending on the 3GPP standardization.

[0077] In Step 2, the gNB 420 may activate repetition of selected CBG(s) (also called selected CBG repetition) with, e.g., a MAC CE. In Step 3, the gNB 420 may transmit (428) a DCI for Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) scheduling, including a bit map for CBG repetition. In Step 4, the UE 410 may perform (430) TB preparing according to the bitmap. In Step 5, the UE 410 may transmit a PUSCH transmission with the repetition of the selected CBG(s).

[0078] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0079] At block 510, the first apparatus 110 receives a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block.

[0080] At block 520, the first apparatus 110 transmits the data block to a second apparatus based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0081] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration may include at least one of: a number of repetitions of a partition of the one or more partitions, an indication for the one or more partitions, an indication whether repetitions of a partition of the data block is allowed, or at least one identification of at least one of a QoS flow, a radio bearer, a PDU set, a logical channel or a logical channel group associated with the one or more partitions.

[0082] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration may be received in at least one of RRC signaling, a MAC CE, or a DCI.

[0083] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration may be indicated in a bitmap, and a bit in the bitmap may be corresponding to a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block.

[0084] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may receive an activation command of the repetitions of the one or more partitions. The data block may be transmitted based on the repetition configuration after receiving the activation command.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the activation command may be received in at least one of RRC signaling, a MAC CE, or a DCI.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration may be applied to initial transmission or retransmission of the one or more partitions.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the one or more partitions may be associated with a processing chain of a plurality of processing chains of the first apparatus.

[0088] In some example embodiments, a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block may include one or more code block groups.

[0089] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0090] At block 610, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to a first apparatus, a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block.

[0091] At block 620, the second apparatus 120 receives the data block from the first apparatus based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration may include at least one of: a number of repetitions of a partition of the one or more partitions, an indication for the one or more partitions, an indication whether repetitions of a partition of the data block is allowed, or at least one identification of at least one of a QoS flow, a radio bearer, a PDU set, a logical channel or a logical channel group associated with the one or more partitions.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration may be transmitted in at least one of RRC signaling, a MAC CE or a DCI.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration may be indicated in a bitmap, and a bit in the bitmap is corresponding to a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may transmit, to the first apparatus, an activation command of the repetitions of the one or more partitions, where the data block is received based on the repetition configuration after transmitting the activation command.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the activation command may be transmitted in at least one of RRC signaling, a MAC CE, or a DCI.

[0097] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration may be applied to initial transmission or retransmission of the one or more partitions.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the one or more partitions may be associated with a processing chain of a plurality of processing chains of the first apparatus.

[0099] In some example embodiments, a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block may include one or more code block groups.

[0100] All operations and features related to the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 are likewise applicable to the methods 500 and 600 and have similar effects.

[0101] FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of a device 700 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first apparatus 110 or the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processor 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processor 710.

[0102] The communication module 740 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 740 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 740 may include at least one antenna.

[0103] The processor 710 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 700 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0104] The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 724, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that may not last in the power-down duration.

[0105] A computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 710. The instructions of the program 730 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 730 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 724. The processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 730 into the RAM 722.

[0106] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 730 so that the device 700 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 6. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 722 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0108] FIG. 8 shows an example of the computer readable medium 800 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 800 has the program 730 stored thereon.

[0109] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0110] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computerexecutable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0111] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0112] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0113] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0114] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this may not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these may not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0115] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

[0116] Various example embodiments of the techniques have been described. In addition to or as an alternative to the above, the following examples are described. The features described in any of the following examples may be utilized with any of the other examples described herein.

[0117] In an aspect, a first apparatus (110) includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus (110) at least to: receive (220; 510; 424, 428) a repetition configuration of one or more partitions (306-1) of a plurality of partitions (306-1 to 306-M) of a data block (308); and transmit (230, 520, 432) the data block to a second apparatus (120) based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions (306-1).

[0118] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration includes at least one of: a number of repetitions of a partition of the one or more partitions, an indication for the one or more partitions, an indication whether repetitions of a partition of the data block is allowed, or at least one identification of at least one of a QoS flow, a radio bearer, a PDU set, a logical channel or a logical channel group associated with the one or more partitions.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is received in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or downlink control information.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is indicated in a bitmap, and a bit in the bitmap is corresponding to a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the at least one processor further cause the first apparatus (110) to: receive (426) an activation command of the repetitions of the one or more partitions, where the data block is transmitted (432) based on the repetition configuration after receiving (426) the activation command.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the activation command is received in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or downlink control information.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is applied to initial transmission or retransmission of the one or more partitions.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the one or more partitions are associated with a processing chain of a plurality of processing chains (302; 304-1 to 304-N) of the first apparatus (110).

[0125] In some example embodiments, a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block includes one or more code block groups.

[0126] In an aspect, a second apparatus (140) includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus (120) at least to: transmit (210; 610; 424, 428), to a first apparatus (110), a repetition configuration of one or more partitions (306-1) of a plurality of partitions (306-1 to 306-M) of a data block (308); and receive (240, 620, 432) the data block from the first apparatus (110) based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration includes at least one of: a number of repetitions of a partition of the one or more partitions, an indication for the one or more partitions, an indication whether repetitions of a partition of the data block is allowed, or at least one identification of at least one of a QoS flow, a radio bearer, a PDU set, a logical channel or a logical channel group associated with the one or more partitions.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is transmitted in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or downlink control information.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is indicated in a bitmap, and a bit in the bitmap is corresponding to a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the at least one memory and the at least one processor further cause the second apparatus (120) to: transmit (426), to the first apparatus (410), an activation command of the repetitions of the one or more partitions, where the data block is received (432) based on the repetition configuration after transmitting (426) the activation command.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the activation command is transmitted in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or downlink control information.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is applied to initial transmission or retransmission of the one or more partitions.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the one or more partitions are associated with a processing chain of a plurality of processing chains (302; 304-1 to 304-N) of the first apparatus (110).

[0134] In some example embodiments, a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block includes one or more code block groups.

[0135] In an aspect, a first apparatus (110) includes: means for receiving (220; 510; 424, 428) a repetition configuration of one or more partitions (306-1) of a plurality of partitions (306-1 to 306-M) of a data block (308); and means for transmitting (230, 520, 432) the data block to a second apparatus (120) based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions (306-1).

[0136] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration includes at least one of: a number of repetitions of a partition of the one or more partitions, an indication for the one or more partitions, an indication whether repetitions of a partition of the data block is allowed, or at least one identification of at least one of a quality of service flow, a radio bearer, a protocol data unit set, a logical channel or a logical channel group associated with the one or more partitions.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is received in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or downlink control information. [01381In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is indicated in a bitmap, and a bit in the bitmap is corresponding to a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus (110) further includes: means for receiving (426) an activation command of the repetitions of the one or more partitions, where the data block is transmitted (432) based on the repetition configuration after receiving (426) the activation command.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the activation command is received in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or downlink control information.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is applied to initial transmission or retransmission of the one or more partitions.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the one or more partitions are associated with a processing chain of a plurality of processing chains (302; 304-1 to 304-N) of the first apparatus (110).

[0143] In some example embodiments, a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block includes one or more code block groups.

[0144] In an aspect, a second apparatus (120) includes: means for transmitting (210; 610; 424, 428), to a first apparatus (110), a repetition configuration of one or more partitions (306-1) of a plurality of partitions (306-1 to 306-M) of a data block (308); and means for receiving (240, 620, 432) the data block from the first apparatus (110) based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration includes at least one of: a number of repetitions of a partition of the one or more partitions, an indication for the one or more partitions, an indication whether repetitions of a partition of the data block is allowed, or at least one identification of at least one of a quality of service flow, a radio bearer, a protocol data unit set, a logical channel or a logical channel group associated with the one or more partitions.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is transmitted in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) or downlink control information.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is indicated in a bitmap, and a bit in the bitmap is corresponding to a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus (120) further includes: means for transmitting (426), to the first apparatus (410), an activation command of the repetitions of the one or more partitions, where the data block is received (432) based on the repetition configuration after transmitting (426) the activation command.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the activation command is transmitted in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), or downlink control information.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the repetition configuration is applied to initial transmission or retransmission of the one or more partitions.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the one or more partitions are associated with a processing chain of a plurality of processing chains (302; 304-1 to 304-N) of the first apparatus (110).

[0152] In some example embodiments, a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block includes one or more code block groups.

[0153] In an aspect, a method (500) includes: receiving (220; 510; 424, 428) a repetition configuration of one or more partitions (306-1) of a plurality of partitions (306-1 to 306-M) of a data block (308); and transmitting (230, 520, 432) the data block to a second 5 apparatus (120) based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions (306-1).

[0154] In an aspect, a method (600) includes: transmitting (210; 610; 424, 428), to a first apparatus (HO), a repetition configuration of one or more partitions (306-1) of a plurality of partitions (306-1 to 306-M) of a data block (308); and receiving (240, 620, 10 432) the data block from the first apparatus (110) based on the repetition configuration, where the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

[0155] In an aspect, a computer readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the steps or operations as described above.

Claims

1. A first apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to:receive a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block; andtransmit the data block to a second apparatus based on the repetition configuration, wherein the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the repetition configuration comprises at least one of:a number of repetitions of a partition of the one or more partitions,an indication for the one or more partitions,an indication whether repetitions of a partition of the data block is allowed, orat least one identification of at least one of a quality of service flow, a radio bearer, a protocol data unit set, a logical channel or a logical channel group associated with the one or more partitions.

3. The first apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the repetition configuration is received in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE, or downlink control information.

4. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the repetition configuration is indicated in a bitmap, and a bit in the bitmap is corresponding to a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block.

5. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor further cause the first apparatus to:receive an activation command of the repetitions of the one or more partitions, wherein the data block is transmitted based on the repetition configuration after receiving the activation command.

6. The first apparatus of claim 5, wherein the activation command is received in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE, or downlink control information.

7. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the repetition configuration is applied to initial transmission or retransmission of the one or more partitions.

8. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the one or more partitions are associated with a processing chain of a plurality of processing chains of the first apparatus.

9. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block comprises one or more code block groups.

10. A second apparatus comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to:transmit, to a first apparatus, a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block; andreceive the data block from the first apparatus based on the repetition configuration, wherein the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

11. The second apparatus of claim 10, wherein the repetition configurationcomprises at least one of:a number of repetitions of a partition of the one or more partitions,an indication for the one or more partitions,an indication whether repetitions of a partition of the data block is allowed, orat least one identification of at least one of a quality of service flow, a radio bearer, a protocol data unit set, a logical channel or a logical channel group associated with the one or more partitions.

12. The second apparatus of claim 10 or 11, wherein the repetition configuration is transmitted in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE or downlink control information.

13. The second apparatus of any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the repetition configuration is indicated in a bitmap, and a bit in the bitmap is corresponding to a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block.

14. The second apparatus of any of claims 10 to 13, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor further cause the second apparatus to:transmit, to the first apparatus, an activation command of the repetitions of the one or more partitions,wherein the data block is received based on the repetition configuration after transmitting the activation command.

15. The second apparatus of claim 14, wherein the activation command is transmitted in at least one of radio resource control signaling, a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE, or downlink control information.

16. The second apparatus of any of claims 10 to 15, wherein the repetition configuration is applied to initial transmission or retransmission of the one or morepartitions.

17. The second apparatus of any of claims 10 to 16, wherein the one or more partitions are associated with a processing chain of a plurality of processing chains of the first apparatus.

18. The second apparatus of any of claims 10 to 17, wherein a partition of the plurality of partitions of the data block comprises one or more code block groups.

19. A first apparatus comprising:means for receiving a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block; andmeans for transmitting the data block to a second apparatus based on the repetition configuration, wherein the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.

20. A second apparatus comprising:means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a repetition configuration of one or more partitions of a plurality of partitions of a data block; andmeans for receiving the data block from the first apparatus based on the repetition configuration, wherein the data block includes repetitions of the one or more partitions.31

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