HARQ process / entity based uplink multiplexing

Abstract

To enhance or improve scheduling of uplink transmission.SOLUTION: An apparatus comprises a plurality of Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) entities, each of the plurality of HARQ entities making a HARQ process associated with one of a plurality of HARQ behaviors operate, the plurality of HARQ behaviors being different, and / or a HARQ entity for operating a plurality of HARQ processes. The apparatus also receives control information from a transceiver in a wireless communication system and transmits the control information over a radio channel of the wireless communication system. The control information comprises a HARQ identifier for identifying one HARQ behavior out of the plurality of HARQ behaviors or one HARQ process out of the plurality of HARQ processes, the one HARQ process being associated with a HARQ behavior.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of mobile communication systems, and more particularly to techniques for checking or verifying whether information transmitted by a transmitter is correctly received at a receiver and initiating a retransmission if the transmission of the information is not successful.Embodiments relate to HARQ, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, operation in a network entity of a wireless communication system, such as a base station or a user equipment, UE.Some embodiments relate to HARQ, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request, process / entity based uplink multiplexing. [Background technology]

[0002] FIG. 1 illustrates a core network 102 and one or more radio access networks (RANs), as shown in FIG. 1(a). 1 , R.A.N. 2 , …RAN N FIG. 1(b) is a schematic representation of an example of a terrestrial wireless network 100 including cells 106. 1 ~106 5 One or more base stations gNB, each serving a specific area surrounding a base station represented generally by 1 ~gNB 5 a radio access network RAN ​​that may include n1 is a schematic representation of an example of a wireless communication system. A base station is provided to serve users in a cell. One or more base stations may serve users in licensed and / or unlicensed bands. The term base station BS refers to gNB in ​​5G networks, eNB in ​​UMTS / LTE / LTE-A / LTE-A Pro, or simply BS in other mobile communication standards. A user may be a fixed device or a mobile device. A wireless communication system may also be accessed by a mobile or fixed IoT device that connects to a base station or a user. A mobile or IoT device may include physical devices, ground-based vehicles such as robots or cars, aircraft such as manned or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the latter also called drones, buildings, as well as other items or devices embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators, etc., and network connectivity that allows these devices to collect and exchange data across existing network infrastructure. FIG. 1(b) shows an example diagram of five cells, but the RAN may include a RAN-based device. n may contain more or fewer such cells, and the RAN n The cell 106 may include only one base station. 2 Located in the base station gNB 2 Two user equipments, also called UEs, are served by 1 and UE 2 Base station gNB 4 Cell 106 served by 4 Then, another user UE 3 is shown. Arrow 108 1 , 108 2 , and 108 3 is the user UE 1 , U.E. 2 , and U.E. 3 From base station gNB 2 , gNB 4 or to transmit data to the base station gNB 2 , gNB 4 From User UE 1, U.E. 2 , U.E. 3 1(b) shows a schematic representation of an uplink / downlink connection for transmitting data to a cell 106. This may be realized over a licensed or unlicensed band. 4 2 IoT devices in 110 1 and 110 2 , which may be fixed or mobile devices. 1 Arrow 112 1 To transmit and receive data, a base station gNB 4 The IoT device 110 accesses the wireless communication system via the 2 Arrow 112 2 As represented diagrammatically by 3 Each base station gNB 1 ~gNB 5 1(b) are the respective backhaul links 114, which are represented diagrammatically in FIG. 1(b) by arrows pointing to the “core.” 1 ~114 5 Each base station gNB may be connected to the core network 102 via an S1 interface, for example via an S1 interface. The core network 102 may be connected to one or more external networks. 1 ~gNB 5 1(b) , some or all of which may be connected to the gNB via, for example, an S1 or X2 interface or an XN interface in the NR, and a respective backhaul link 116, which is represented diagrammatically in FIG. 1(b) by an arrow pointing to the gNB. 1 ~116 5 The sidelink channels allow direct communication between UEs, also called device-to-device (D2D) communication. The sidelink interface in 3GPP is named PC5.

[0003] For data transmission, a physical resource grid may be used. The physical resource grid may include a set of resource elements onto which various physical channels and physical signals are mapped. For example, the physical channels may include physical downlink, uplink, and sidelink shared channels (PDSCH, PUSCH, PSSCH) carrying user-specific data, also referred to as downlink, uplink, and sidelink payload data, a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying one or more of, for example, a master information block (MIB) and a system information block (SIB), and physical downlink, uplink, and sidelink control channels (PDCCH, PUCCH, PSSCH) carrying, for example, downlink control information (DCI), uplink control information (UCI), and sidelink control information (SCI). It should be noted that the sidelink interface may support two-stage SCI. This refers to a first control region that includes some parts of the SCI and, optionally, a second control region that includes a second part of the control information.

[0004] For the uplink, the physical channel may further include a physical random access channel (PRACH or RACH) used by the UE to access the network once the UE synchronizes and acquires the MIB and SIB. The physical signal may include a reference signal or symbol (RS), a synchronization signal, etc. The resource grid may include a frame or radio frame having a specific duration in the time domain and a given bandwidth in the frequency domain. The frame may have a certain number of subframes of a predefined length, e.g., 1 ms. Each subframe may include one or more slots of 12 or 14 OFDM symbols depending on the cyclic prefix (CP) length. The frame may also be composed of a smaller number of OFDM symbols, e.g., when utilizing a shortened transmission time interval (sTTI) or a minislot / nonslot-based frame structure including only a few OFDM symbols.

[0005] The wireless communication system may be any single-tone or multi-carrier system using frequency division multiplexing, such as an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) system, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) system, or any other IFFT-based signal with or without CP, such as, for example, DFT-s-OFDM. Other waveforms may be used, such as non-orthogonal waveforms for multiple access, such as, for example, Filter Bank Multi-Carrier (FBMC), Generic Frequency Division Multiplexing (GFDM), or Universal Filter Multi-Carrier (UFMC). The wireless communication system may operate, for example, according to the LTE-Advanced pro standard, or the 5G or NR, New Radio standard, or the NR-U, New Radio Unlicensed standard.

[0006] The wireless network or communication system shown in FIG. 1 may, for example, include a base station gNB 1 ~gNB 5 The network may be heterogeneous, having separate overlaid networks, such as a network of macro cells, including macro base stations such as, and a network of small cell base stations, such as femto base stations or pico base stations (not shown in FIG. 1).

[0007] In addition to the terrestrial wireless networks described above, there are also non-terrestrial wireless communication networks (NTNs) that include space-borne transceivers, such as satellites, and / or airborne transceivers, such as unmanned aerial systems. The non-terrestrial wireless communication networks or systems may operate in a manner similar to the terrestrial systems described above with reference to FIG. 1, for example according to the LTE-Advanced pro standard or the 5G or NR New Radio standard.

[0008] In a mobile communication network, e.g., in a network as described above with reference to FIG. 1, such as an LTE or 5G / NR network, there may be UEs that communicate directly with each other over one or more sidelink (SL) channels, e.g., using a PC5 interface. The UEs that communicate directly with each other over the sidelink may include vehicles that communicate directly with other vehicles (V2V communication), vehicles that communicate with other entities of the wireless communication network, e.g., roadside entities such as traffic lights, traffic signals, or pedestrians (V2X communication). The other UEs may not be vehicle-associated UEs and may include any of the devices mentioned above. Such devices may communicate directly with each other (D2D communication) using the SL channels.

[0009] Considering two UEs communicating directly with each other via sidelink, both UEs may be served by the same base station, i.e., both UEs may be within the coverage area of ​​a base station, such as one of the base stations shown in FIG. 1. This is called an "in-coverage" scenario. According to another example, both UEs communicating via sidelink may not be served by a base station, called an "out-of-coverage" scenario. Note that "out-of-coverage" does not mean that the two UEs are not in one of the cells shown in FIG. 1, but rather that these UEs are not connected to a base station, e.g., not in an RRC connected state. Yet another scenario is called a "partial coverage" scenario, according to which one of the two UEs communicating with each other via sidelink is served by a base station and the other UE is not served by a base station.

[0010] Figure 2 is a schematic representation of a situation where two UEs communicating directly with each other are both within the coverage of a base station. The base station gNB has a coverage area, represented diagrammatically by a circle 140, which basically corresponds to the cell represented diagrammatically in Figure 1. The UEs communicating directly with each other include a first vehicle 142 and a second vehicle 144, both within the coverage area 140 of the base station gNB. Both vehicles 140, 142 are connected to the base station gNB and, in addition, are directly connected to each other via a PC5 interface. Scheduling and / or interference management of V2V traffic is assisted by the gNB via control signaling over the Uu interface, which is the radio interface between the base station and the UEs. The gNB allocates resources to be used for V2V communication via the sidelink. This configuration is also called Mode 3 configuration.

[0011] FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a situation where the UEs are not in the coverage of a base station, i.e., the respective UEs that communicate directly with each other may be physically present in a cell of the wireless communication network, but are not connected to the base station. Three vehicles 152, 154, 156 are shown communicating directly with each other over a sidelink, for example using a PC5 interface. Scheduling and / or interference management of V2V traffic is based on algorithms implemented between the vehicles. This configuration is also referred to as a Mode 4 configuration. As mentioned above, the scenario of FIG. 3 being an out-of-coverage scenario does not mean that the respective Mode 4 UEs are outside the coverage 140 of the base station, but rather that the respective Mode 4 UEs are not served by the base station or are not connected to a base station in the coverage area. Thus, there may be a situation where, in addition to the Mode 3 UEs 142, 144, there are also Mode 4 UEs 152, 154, 156 within the coverage area 140 shown in FIG. 2.

[0012] Please note that the information in the above sections is merely intended to enhance understanding of the background of the present invention, and thus may contain information that does not form prior art already known to those skilled in the art. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0013] [Non-Patent Document 1] TS 38.321, sections 5.3.2 and 5.4.2 [Non-Patent Document 2] NR Rel.15 TS38.331 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0014] Starting from the prior art as described above, an improvement or refinement of the scheduling of uplink transmissions may be required. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1(a)] 1 is a schematic representation of an example of a wireless communication system. [Figure 1(b)] 1 is a schematic representation of an example of a wireless communication system. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic representation of a situation in which UEs communicating directly with each other are within the coverage of a base station. [Diagram 3] A diagram showing a scenario in which UEs that communicate directly with each other are not within the coverage of a base station, i.e., are not connected to the base station. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 illustrates a base station protocol stack. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a simplified representation of an example of a conventional HARQ mechanism, which may also be derived from TS 38.321, sections 5.3.2 and 5.4.2, describing HARQ operations and entities. [Figure 6]FIG. 1 illustrates an 8-channel stop-and-wait HARQ protocol in which further data packets are transmitted during a period of time that may be the minimum time before a retransmission can be sent due to a missing ACK / NACK or a received NACK. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a layer structure for implementing synchronous and asynchronous HARQ operations in a base station or user equipment using a common MAC entity in the MAC layer. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 illustrates a further embodiment of a layer structure for implementing synchronous and asynchronous HARQ operations in a base station or user equipment using separate MAC entities in the MAC layer. [Figure 9] FIG. 3 shows details of a UE such as that described above with reference to FIG. 11, including an antenna ANTR, a signal processor 302a, and a transceiver 302b. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 illustrates the above concept of using LL-PUCCH for feedback in case of synchronous HARQ, and multiplexing the feedback onto regular PUCCH in case of asynchronous HARQ. [Figure 11] A diagram showing an 8-channel stop-and-wait HARQ protocol in which some of the HARQ processes are configured not to provide ACK / NACK feedback. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a layer structure for implementing synchronous and asynchronous HARQ operations in a base station or user equipment using a common MAC entity in the MAC layer. [Figure 13] 1 is a schematic representation of a MAC PDU that includes multiple MAC PSUs. [Figure 14] 1 is a schematic representation of uplink scheduling and link adaptation between a BS and a UE in a wireless communication system. [Figure 15] 1 is a schematic representation of the LTE BSR short format. [Figure 16] 1 is a schematic representation of the LTE BSR long format. [Figure 17] 1 is a schematic representation of a wireless communication system for communicating information between a transmitter and one or more receivers, according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 1 illustrates a transmission time interval (subframe) in VoIP, where UE resources are preconfigured by a base station (e.g., a gNB) in the uplink in predefined resource blocks having a predefined format and a predefined periodicity. [Figure 19] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a computer system in which units or modules may be executed, along with the method steps described according to the inventive approach. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which identical or similar elements are assigned the same reference numerals, and in which:

[0018] In a wireless communication system such as that described above with reference to Figure 1, such as an LTE system or a 5G / NR system, the UE and / or base station are configured to operate based on a communication protocol defined by a respective protocol stack. For illustrative purposes, a base station protocol stack 120 will be described with reference to Figure 4.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 4, the base station protocol stack 120 includes a control plane protocol stack 130 and a user plane protocol stack 132, which include a first layer 122, a second layer 124, and a third layer 126, respectively.

[0020] The first layer 122 of both the control plane protocol stack 130 and the user plane protocol stack 132 includes a PHY physical layer. The second layer 124 of both the control plane protocol stack 130 and the user plane protocol stack 132 includes a MAC, medium access control, (sub)layer, an RLC, radio link control, (sub)layer, a PDCP, packet data convergence protocol, (sub)layer, and an SDAP, and the second layer 124 of the user plane protocol stack 132 further includes an SDAP, service data adaptation protocol, (sub)layer. The third layer 126 of the control plane protocol stack 130 includes an RRC, radio resource control, (sub)layer, an SMF, session management function, and an AMF, access mobility management function. The third layer 126 of the user plane protocol stack 132 includes an UPF, user plane function.

[0021] In FIG. 4, channels or elements of different layers are also shown, such as physical channels of the first layer 122, transport channels of the second layer 124, logical channels, RLC channels, signaling and data radio bearers, and QoS flows.

[0022] Furthermore, in wireless communication systems such as those described above with reference to FIG. 1, such as in LTE or 5G / NR systems, approaches are implemented to check or verify whether a transmission sent by a transmitter, such as a BS, has correctly arrived at a receiver, such as a UE, which in the case of an unsuccessful transmission requests a retransmission of information or a retransmission of one or more redundant versions of information. Naturally, such a process may also be implemented when transmitting from a UE to a BS or from a UE to another UE. In other words, to handle erroneous packets received at a UE or a gNB, a mechanism is applied to correct the errors. According to LTE or NR, a HARQ mechanism is implemented to correct the erroneous packets.

[0023] HARQ is a retransmission technique at the PHY / MAC layer (see Figure 4), where erroneous packets are not discarded, but sampled soft values ​​or soft or hard bits from the received signal are stored and (in the case of soft values ​​or hard bits) combined with a retransmission of the same packet. If the receiver is unable to decode the packet (e.g., the CRC check fails), it stores the packet in its buffer or soft buffer and requests a retransmission by sending a NACK. In LTE and NR, the ACK / NACK is typically transmitted on the uplink PUCCH or on the sidelink PSFCH (Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel). The sender receives the NACK and transmits another version of the same packet. If the same code block is being transmitted, the scheme is called chase combining (CC), and if different code blocks (or redundancy versions) are transmitted, the scheme is called incremental redundancy (IR).

[0024] FIG. 5 shows a simple example of a conventional HARQ mechanism, which may also be derived from TS 38.321, sections 5.3.2 and 5.4.2, describing HARQ operations and entities. FIG. 5 shows a transmitter, e.g., gNB, transmitting data packet 1 to a receiver, e.g., UE. Data packet 1 (1) is transmitted first, and the receiver attempts to decode the received data packet. If the data packet is successfully decoded, the receiver delivers the data packet from the MAC / PHY layer to the upper layer (see FIG. 4). If the data packet is not successfully decoded, the receiver buffers the data packet in a soft buffer, as indicated by "1" in FIG. 5. Furthermore, the receiver transmits a NACK message to the transmitter, and in response to the NACK message, the transmitter transmits retransmission 1 (2) of the data packet. The buffered initial transmission is combined with the retransmission, as indicated by "2". The combining may use chase combining or incremental redundancy. If the combined data can be decoded, as shown at "3", an ACK message is sent to the transmitter to indicate successful transmission.

[0025] In order to combine old and new transmissions at the receiver, each packet must be uniquely identified. In LTE and NR, this HARQ information is transmitted within the resource allocation of the downlink PDCCH channel.

[0026] LTE and NR use an N-channel stop-and-wait HARQ scheme. In LTE, up to 16 parallel HARQ processes (or channels) can be used, in NR, 8 processes are used. The same HARQ process can only be used again if an ACK is received. The process is identified by a HARQ process identifier (3 bits in the case of 8 processes).

[0027] FIG. 6 shows an 8-channel stop-and-wait HARQ protocol in which further data packets are transmitted during a time period that may be the minimum time before a retransmission can be sent due to a missing ACK / NACK or a received NACK. In the latter case (reception of a NACK), the time period is defined by the processing time for decoding the data packet at the receiver and the processing time for decoding the ACK / NACK message associated with the data packet at the transmitter. The gNB provides instructions to the UE regarding which HARQ process is used during each subframe in which resources are allocated, and the respective identification or HARQ process ID may be included in the PDCCH transmission. Asynchronous HARQ processes come with increased signaling overhead since the HARQ process ID needs to be included in the DCI or SCI message, but with increased flexibility since retransmissions do not need to be scheduled during every subframe.

[0028] In synchronous HARQ scheme, HARQ processes are transmitted in sequence as shown in Figure 6. In this case, process identification may be strictly relative to sequence frame number to save overhead signaling. LTE uplink uses synchronous HARQ. NR uses asynchronous HARQ where the scheduler decides which HARQ process is scheduled at which point in time.

[0029] The embodiments described herein are based on the assumption that HARQ processes / entities may be configured with different HARQ behaviors, i.e. different HARQ behaviors for each HARQ process / entity.

[0030] According to an embodiment, synchronous HARQ can be implemented, for example, in NR for low-latency services such as URLLC. More specifically, in the uplink, scheduling each transmission of the PDCCH introduces additional delays, and in the downlink additional complexity is required, which needs to be avoided for URLLC services. Feedback bundling, which also increases the spectral efficiency and reliability of the feedback channel, has the drawback of providing additional latency. For URLLC services, feedback is requested as fast as possible, and therefore, according to an embodiment, dedicated resources are used for URLLC HARQ feedback. In the downlink, this corresponds to the HARQ indicator channel, which contains only the acknowledgement / non-acknowledgement messages, ACK / NACK, and in the uplink, two specific PUCCH resources used for feedback or low-latency CSI, LL-CSI. According to an embodiment, there may be multiple hybrid ARQ, HARQ, entities, e.g., two or more HARQ entities performing different HARQ operations, e.g., asynchronous HARQ for delay non-critical services such as eMBB services and synchronous HARQ for delay critical services such as URLLC services.

[0031] According to an embodiment, the communication system configures data flows across multiple layers with QoS flows, signaling and radio bearers, RLC flows, logical channels, transport channels, and physical channels. A service may correspond to a QoS flow and is mapped to a radio bearer. HARQ may be located at the MAC and / or PHY layer and may not be aware of any actual services in the upper layers. The MAC layer may only know which logical channel a packet corresponds to so that a HARQ entity can be selected for each logical channel.

[0032] In other words, the embodiments provide the possibility to support synchronous and asynchronous HARQ operation simultaneously, i.e. at the same time, whereby the advantages of the respective operation with respect to the service from which the transmission occurs are combined. For example, synchronous HARQ has the advantage that scheduling retransmissions does not require an extra PDCCH, thereby avoiding additional time consumption, especially for uplink transmissions, and reducing the blind decoding burden. Synchronous HARQ operation uses a dedicated HARQ indicator channel to transmit ACK / NACK messages, which automatically allocate predefined resources for retransmissions depending on the initial transmission, i.e. no additional time is spent to schedule resources for retransmissions. For example, the UE may use synchronous HARQ operation when it recognizes that a transmission occurs from a latency-critical service, such as a URLLC service, or a low-complexity service, such as an mMTC service, but at the same time, the UE may also support transmissions from latency-non-critical or normal-complexity services, such as an eMBB service, and for such transmissions the UE may use the PDCCH to schedule retransmissions asynchronously. For example, when applying a synchronous HARQ operation, a stop-and-wait HARQ mechanism may be used, while an asynchronous HARQ protocol may be selected and used for delay-non-critical services.

[0033] In addition, for downlink transmissions, a HARQ protocol using normal channel state information feedback may be used for latency-noncritical transmissions, and another HARQ protocol using a low-latency CSI feedback channel may be used for latency-critical services. These CSI feedbacks may be transmitted using the PUCCH using different formats.

[0034] FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic of a layer 2 structure for implementing simultaneous synchronous and asynchronous HARQ operation in a base station or user equipment according to an embodiment. At the MAC layer, a MAC entity is provided that performs scheduling / priority processing 310 and multiplexing 312. The MAC entity further includes a synchronous HARQ entity 314 for synchronous HARQ operation and an asynchronous HARQ entity 316 for asynchronous HARQ operation, so that depending on the HARQ used, either one or both of the HARQ entities 314, 316 may be applied or used for the transmission of one or more data packets. According to other embodiments, rather than providing a single MAC entity including the HARQ entities 314, 316, multiple MAC entities may be provided, each including a HARQ entity, as shown in FIG. 8. In addition, a single HARQ entity may also support synchronous and asynchronous HARQ operation simultaneously, and the HARQ process may be shifted dynamically or by re / configuration, e.g., by RRC signaling, between HARQ operation modes.

[0035] Thus, the embodiments provide network entities and methods that support different retransmission protocols or procedures simultaneously or at the same time. It should be noted that although reference is made to two retransmission procedures, the embodiments are not limited to such a scenario, but rather, three or more retransmission procedures may be supported simultaneously at a network entity. Furthermore, the embodiments are not limited to asynchronous and synchronous HARQ operation, but rather, other retransmission procedures, such as ARQ procedures, may be implemented.

[0036] According to an embodiment, the HARQ protocol to be used may be semi-statically configured via the RRC protocol. The configuration may set the criteria by which the UE or gNB selects which HARQ protocol to use, for example based on the service type, such as eMBB, URLLC, or mMTC, or based on certain 5QI attributes, such as latency or guaranteed bit rate GBR.

[0037] According to further embodiments, for each supported HARQ protocol, a different HARQ entity may be used. The HARQ entity may be configured by signaling or may be hard-coded in the standard. The different HARQ entities may use different logical channels defined by logical channel identities and may use different physical channels defined by different physical resources. The different physical resources may also use different subcarrier spacings.

[0038] Different HARQ entities may use different target block error rates, BLER, for different transmissions / retransmissions and may be associated with different numbers of HARQ processes. Furthermore, different orders of redundancy versions, RV, may be applied.

[0039] According to further embodiments, DCI signaling may be used to distinguish HARQ entities / protocols. For example, the UE needs to determine, for a received grant for transmission, which HARQ entity should be processed or which HARQ protocol should be applied. This may be achieved by using a new specific DCI format, which may be a Radio Network Temporary Identifier, RNTI, or a compact format.

[0040] For example, when using an RNTI, the UE is configured with a new RNTI, e.g., via RRC signaling, and the new RNTI is associated with the HARQ entity / protocol used for transmission, such that during the blind decoding process in which all RNTIs are tested, the UE can determine which HARQ protocol should be applied.

[0041] The new DCI format may be used especially for delay-critical transmissions, and a new DCI format that does not include a HARQ process ID may be provided, since synchronous HARQ does not require a HARQ process ID. The DCI format may be referred to as the URLLC DCI format in case of a URLLC service. The DCI format that includes the HARQ process ID may be referred to as the eMBB DCI format, since it is related to asynchronous HARQ operation, for example, with eMBB services. According to this approach, the UE may test the PDCCH candidate against its eMBB DCI format and the URLLC DCI format, so that the embedded checksum indicates which DCI format, and therefore which HARQ entity / protocol, should be applied. The DCI for signaling DL transmissions with synchronous HARQ may be referred to as compact DCI format 1_2, which is detected by blind decoding. Compact DCI format 1_2 may include the same fields as DCI format 1_0, but does not include the following fields: HARQ process number - 4 bits Downlink Allocation Index PDSCH-to-HARQ_feedback timing indicator

[0042] According to yet another embodiment, a dedicated PUCCH may be used per HARQ entity / protocol. For example, each HARQ / protocol may receive its dedicated PUCCH to transmit feedback or LL-CSI in the uplink. This allows supporting low latency for the URLLC HARQ protocol. Since the eMBB HARQ protocol may use bundling techniques, more processing and longer transmission times are required, which translates into a correspondingly longer PUCCH. However, this is a bottleneck for the URLLC HARQ procedure. Therefore, according to an embodiment, the URLLC HARQ procedure uses a short PUCCH with a single ACK / NACK feedback and / or LL-CSI.

[0043] According to yet another embodiment, RRC signaling can be used to configure the number of HARQ processes and the UE capabilities. In NR and LTE, only a single HARQ protocol is used for the uplink and downlink, respectively. Therefore, it is sufficient to configure the number of HARQ processes for PDSCH, PUSCH, and PSSCH. According to an embodiment, the gNB can tell the UE how many HARQ processes should be used for the synchronous and asynchronous HARQ protocols, see FIG. 7 above showing the respective HARQ processes at 314 and 316. The number of HARQ processes available for each protocol can be part of the UE capabilities that can be signaled by the UE to the gNB. An example of signaling for PDSCH is shown below, for asynchronous HARQ operation see nrofHARQ-ProcessesForPDSCH, and for the number of HARQ processes for PDSCH, as well as for the number of HARQ processes for PDSCH-URLLC, see nrofHARQ-ProcessesForPDSCH-URLLC. PDSCH-ServingCellConfig ::= SEQUENCE { codeBlockGroupTransmission SetupRelease {PDSCH-CodeBlockGroupTransmission} OPTIONAL xOverhead ENUMERATED { xOh6, xOh12, xOh18} OPTIONAL nrofHARQ-ProcessesForPDSCH ENUMERATED {n2, n4, n6, n10, n12, n16} OPTIONAL nrofHARQ-ProcessesForPDSCH-URLLC ENUMERATED {n2, n4, n6, n10, n12, n16} OPTIONAL pucch-Cell ServCellIndex OPTIONAL , -- Cond SCellAddOnly ...}

[0044] According to yet another embodiment, DCI miss detection and rescheduling of retransmissions may be implemented. For example, in case of downlink transmission, the UE may miss the initial scheduling of the transmission, in which case, of course, the subsequent retransmissions are also missed. The gNB may detect, for example, a missing PUCCH, i.e., a missing feedback, or a missing LL-SCI, depending on the indicated PUSCH format. If the gNB detects a missing DCI, the same transmission or the next redundancy version is explicitly rescheduled using PDCCH at the next opportunity. The gNB may perform power thresholding to detect a missing PUCCH transmission in case of PUSH formats 0-1, and may perform checksum detection in case of PUCCH formats 2-4, where a mismatch of the embedded checksum indicates a missing initial grant.

[0045] According to an embodiment, the base station gNB may schedule UL HARQ retransmission. For example, adaptive retransmission used in NR may be applied, and the gNB may schedule UL resource allocation for retransmission using normal DCI format on PDCCH to indicate new location and format. Thus, complete signaling of HARQ control information including, for example, process ID, RV, NDI is provided.

[0046] Non-adaptive and synchronous ARQ retransmissions may also be scheduled and according to an embodiment the gNB has different options for triggering retransmissions by the UE.

[0047] According to a first embodiment, a Physical Hybrid Indicator Channel, PHICH, may be used that is limited to ACK / NACK, i.e. contains only ACK / NACK messages. When the UE receives a NACK, it retransmits on the same resource in a fixed format, optionally fixed to a predefined sequence of RVs. Fast ACK signaling is useful, for example, to stop autonomous retransmissions, and in URLLC scenarios retransmissions can be sent without waiting for a NACK.

[0048] According to a second embodiment, a PDCCH with a new compact DCI format may be implemented so that only limited control information can be transmitted, and the load may be reduced compared to the normal DCI format. For example, there may be no need to transmit a process ID since the same resources as for the initial transmission are used.

[0049] For example, for an initial transmission, the normal DCI may be used with detailed information, and later, for retransmissions or for the initial transmission of new data, e.g., when using a synchronization protocol, only the compact DCI format is used.

[0050] Furthermore, if no UL ACK / NACK is received for the first transmission, i.e., no ACK or no NACK or nothing is received, the gNB may request a new initial uplink transmission from the UE, or a specific redundancy version with compact DCI.

[0051] Further embodiments for feedback such as UE feedback for DL ​​HARQ retransmissions are now described. R 9 shows details of a UE such as that described above with reference to FIG. 11, including a UE 302b, a signal processor 302a, and a transceiver 302b. Following receipt of a transmission, as shown in FIG. 9, a channel estimation may first be performed using a reference signal in the transmission to generate a CQI. Further PMI and RI may also be provided. An ACK / NACK message is generated only after the data has been processed to ascertain whether decoding was successful.

[0052] Embodiments may provide a low latency, LL, PUCCH that is transmitted more frequently than a normal PUCCH, for example using a smaller transmission time interval, in synchronous HARQ. LL-PUCCH may not support HARQ ACK / NACK bundling, since it must wait for the reception and decoding process of multiple data packets. LL-PUCCH allows immediate transmission of HARQ ACK / NACKs, which may even overtake HARQ ACK / NACKs of asynchronous HARQ protocols, since ACK / NACKs must always be transmitted in a FIFO, first-in-first-out sequence, as in the past.

[0053] Asynchronous HARQ uses a normal PUCCH, and embodiments allow for multiplexing feedback onto a normal PUSCH. Multiplexing onto a PUSCH is beneficial when latency is not critical, e.g., better link adaptation is possible, a larger payload is provided, etc., since PRBs are scheduled.

[0054] FIG. 10 illustrates the above concept of using LL-PUCCH for feedback in the case of synchronous HARQ, and multiplexing the feedback onto regular PUCCH in the case of asynchronous HARQ.

[0055] According to further embodiments, LL-PUCCH may be used to transmit low-latency, LL, CSI, e.g., to support RV selection and adaptive retransmission if the channel condition estimated using DM-RS in the initial transmission was not good, as well as low-latency, LL, HARQ, e.g., to provide faster ACK / NACK compared to slower eMBB decoding. For example, first, LL-PUCCH is transmitted with fast CSI feedback based on the front-loaded DM-RS of the faster initial transmission, since it is based on channel estimation rather than packet decoding. If fast CSI feedback is not received, e.g., if no PDCCH resource allocation and therefore no DM-RS is received, a new initial transmission may be transmitted. LL-CSI feedback may be interpreted or understood as an ACK of PDCCH+DM-RS and / or the data itself. Following the LL-CSI feedback, LL-PUCCH including ACK / NACK may be transmitted. The feedback may be combined with one or more additional or incremental CSI feedback and may use the same or different PUCCH format as the fast CSI feedback.

[0056] According to an embodiment, HARQ feedback can be enabled / disabled per HARQ process / entity. The disclosed concept is applicable to all kinds of HARQ behaviors, but can be explained based on the example shown in FIG.

[0057] Figure 11 shows an 8-channel stop-and-wait HARQ protocol in which some of the HARQ processes are configured to not provide ACK / NACK feedback. As an example, in Figure 11, HARQ process IDs #1 and #2 are configured to not provide ACK / NACK feedback. This configuration is transmitted from the gNB to the UE via the radio resource protocol layer (see Figure 4), which also informs its lower layers.

[0058] For downlink transmission, the gNB schedules per-packet resource allocation via the PDCCH. This resource allocation also includes the HARQ process identification, NDI, and RV ID. The UE receiving must read the PDCCH before it can decode the data on the PDSCH data channel. From the process identification, it knows the HARQ process. Because of its RRC configuration, it knows that for the first packet on HARQ process identification #0, an ACK / NACK must be sent on the PUCCH. For the second packet on process identification #1, no ACK / NACK shall be sent. Similarly for process identification #2.

[0059] A base station scheduling algorithm at the MAC layer can dynamically decide and multiplex which packets are placed in which HARQ process. This decision can be based on different criteria, depending, for example, on how much latency is tolerable for a packet (and whether retransmissions are possible) and what kind of reliability is required.

[0060] FIG. 12 illustrates a schematic layer 2 structure for implementing simultaneous synchronous and asynchronous HARQ operation in a base station or user equipment according to an embodiment. At the MAC layer, a MAC entity is provided that performs scheduling / priority processing 310 and multiplexing 312. The MAC entity further includes a synchronous HARQ entity 314 for synchronous HARQ operation and an asynchronous HARQ entity 316 for asynchronous HARQ operation, so that depending on the HARQ used, either one or both of the HARQ entities 314, 316 may be applied or used for transmission of one or more data packets. According to other embodiments, rather than providing a single MAC entity including the HARQ entities 314, 316, multiple MAC entities may be provided, each including a HARQ entity. In addition, a single HARQ entity may also support synchronous and asynchronous HARQ operation simultaneously, and the HARQ process may be shifted dynamically or by re / configuration, e.g., by RRC signaling, between HARQ operation modes.

[0061] Note that Figure 12 shows an example of different HARQ behaviors for configuring HARQ entities / processes with and without ACK / NACK feedback. Nevertheless, the same mechanism is applicable to different HARQ aspects. HARQ entities / processes may be configured with, for example, different numbers of retransmissions, different processing times, different buffer sizes, etc.

[0062] For example, in an embodiment, one HARQ entity / process may use a stop-and-wait protocol, while another HARQ entity / process is using a window-based ARQ protocol.

[0063] For example, in an embodiment, one HARQ entity / process may use a synchronous protocol and another HARQ entity / process may use an asynchronous protocol.

[0064] For example, in an embodiment, one HARQ entity / process may use Chase combining and another HARQ entity / process may use incremental redundancy.

[0065] For example, in an embodiment, one HARQ entity / process may send HARQ ACK / NACK feedback, while other HARQ entities / processes do not send such feedback.

[0066] For example, in an embodiment, HARQ entities / processes may be configured with different numbers of retransmissions, different processing times, different buffer sizes, and so on.

[0067] According to an embodiment, MAC multiplexing is supported: the MAC layer supports multiplexing of different logical channels into one MAC PDU within one transmission time interval mapped to a specific data channel (PDSCH, PUSCH or PSSCH), as shown as an example in Fig. 13.

[0068] In detail, Fig. 13 shows a schematic representation of a MAC PDU 200 according to one embodiment. As shown in Fig. 13, each MAC SDU 202, 204, 206 of each logical channel is identified by a logical channel identification (LCID) in the MAC subheader 201, 203, 205 that carries the respective MAC SDU. At the beginning of the MAC PDU 200, an optional MAC control element 210, 212, 214, 216 can be included. Finally, padding 220, 222 may be optionally performed to adapt the length of the MAC PDU 200 to the transport block size provided by the physical layer and selected by the MAC scheduler. The example shown in Fig. 13 shows the transmission of several MAC CEs, the multiplexing of three logical channels, and the padding at the end of the MAC PDU.

[0069] One example of an uplink MAC control element is the Buffer Status Report (BSR), which is described in more detail below.

[0070] All scheduling decisions are made by the base station. This is a complex task, especially in the uplink. Before any scheduling decision, the gNB must know the buffer status and associated QoS requirements from all UEs, and must also know the characteristics of the mobile channel for link adaptation. The principle procedure of uplink scheduling and link adaptation is shown in Figure 14.

[0071] In detail, FIG. 14 shows a schematic representation of uplink scheduling and link adaptation between a BS, a base station, and a UE, a user equipment, in a wireless communication system. As shown in FIG. 14, in a first step 242, the UE may signal its buffer status and QoS information to the BS. In a second step 244, the UE may transmit a reference signal within a data transmission tx or as a sounding. In a third step 246, the BS may measure the channel based on the reference signal and collect information from all UEs. In a fourth step, the BS may perform uplink scheduling, including 1) selecting UEs and data flows, 2) selecting resources and parameters, and 3) adapting the link to the channel. In a fifth step 250, the BS may signal grants and tx parameters to the UE. In a sixth step 252, the UE may apply the uplink tx parameters and transmit uplink data.

[0072] Thus, after the UE requests resources for uplink transmission via a Buffer Status Report (BSR) in the MAC control element and the base station finally grants some resources on the PDCCH control channel, including downlink control information bits containing HARQ side information, the UE can transmit data.

[0073] The embodiments described herein relate in particular to a sixth step 252 in which the UE actually transmits data on the uplink. So far, it is mainly up to the UE implementation which data queues to service and which MAC SDUs to select to build the MAC PDUs.

[0074] Scheduling and buffer status reporting is used by the UE to inform the gNB of its buffer status and to request resources for the uplink. BSR is used by the UE to request uplink resources from the gNB. The gNB receives scheduling requests and BRS from all UEs in the cell and the gNB scheduler makes the scheduling decision every transmission time interval. There are various formats. As an example, the short format of the LTE BSR consists of a logical channel group identification followed by a few bits identifying the amount of data pending in the buffer, as shown in Figure 15.

[0075] In contrast, the long BRS format provides information for all four logical channel groups according to the format shown in FIG.

[0076] In a wireless communication system or network, similar to the one described above, a scheduler in the base station (e.g., gNB scheduler) schedules all uplink transmissions. In detail, the scheduler decides almost everything related to HARQ while the UE executes what the base station decides. Within the PDCCH uplink grant transmitted from the base station (e.g., gNB) to the UE, the base station tells the UE the HARQ process and redundancy version to be used, as well as whether new data should be transmitted by NDI. Nevertheless, for each uplink grant, it is up to the UE to select the logical channel (LC) to be served by this grant. The UE can also multiplex packets from different radio bearers in one MAC SDU.

[0077] In the past, multiplexing of different packets from different logical channels and bearers was not very critical since the same HARQ behavior was applied in both cases. For different HARQ configurations, the data processing of the packets is very different, resulting in different resource usage, different packet processing, etc. Ideally, the base station has full control over the UE behavior and tells the UE, for example, which logical channels and bearers should be served for each grant. In practice, this causes a lot of signaling overhead.

[0078] The present invention provides improvements and enhancements in wireless communication systems or networks that address the above-mentioned problems with uplink multiplexing. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention avoid signaling overhead to tell the UE which logical channels and bearers should be served for each grant. Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in a wireless communication system as shown in FIG. 1, including a base station and a user, such as a mobile terminal or IoT device. FIG. 17 is a schematic representation of a wireless communication system including a transmitter 300, such as a base station, and one or more receivers 302, 304, such as user devices, UEs. The transmitter 300 and receivers 302, 304 may communicate over one or more wireless communication links or channels 306a, 306b, 308, such as radio links. The transmitter 300 includes one or more antennas ANT with multiple antenna elements, a signal processor 300a, and a transceiver 300b coupled together. T The receivers 302, 304 may include one or more antenna ANTs having multiple antennas, signal processors 302a, 304a, and transceivers 302b, 304b coupled together. UEor antenna array. The base station 300 and the UEs 302, 304 communicate over respective first wireless communication links 306a and 306b, such as a radio link using a Uu interface, while the UEs 302, 304 may communicate with each other over a second wireless communication link 308, such as a radio link using a PC5 / sidelink (SL) interface. When the UEs are not served by the base station, when they are not connected to the base station, e.g., when they are not in an RRC connected state, or more generally, when no SL resource allocation configuration or assistance is provided by the base station, the UEs may communicate with each other over the sidelink (SL). The system or network, one or more UEs 302, 304, and the base station 300 of FIG. 1 may operate in accordance with the teachings of the present invention described herein. A device transmitting data, such as a UE or a BS, that supports multiple HARQ processes

[0079] An embodiment provides an apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a plurality of hybrid ARQ, HARQ, entities, each of the plurality of HARQ entities being configured to operate a HARQ process associated with one of a plurality of HARQ behaviors, the plurality of HARQ behaviors being different; and / or A hybrid ARQ,HARQ,entity configured to operate a plurality of HARQ processes, each HARQ process being associated with one of a plurality of HARQ behaviors, the plurality of HARQ behaviors being distinct.,The HARQ entity and the apparatus is configured to receive control information (e.g., a PDCCH uplink grant or a PSCCH grant) from a transceiver in a wireless communication system, the control information being transmitted over an air channel (e.g., PDCCH, PSCCH) of the wireless communication system, the control information including a hybrid ARQ, HARQ, identifier (e.g., a HARQ process number) that identifies one HARQ behavior of a plurality of HARQ behaviors or one HARQ process of a plurality of HARQ processes, wherein one HARQ process is associated with a HARQ behavior. A device receiving data, such as a UE or a BS, that supports multiple HARQ processes

[0080] An embodiment provides an apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a plurality of hybrid ARQ, HARQ, entities, each of the plurality of HARQ entities being configured to operate a HARQ process associated with one of a plurality of HARQ behaviors, the plurality of HARQ behaviors being different; or A hybrid ARQ,HARQ,entity configured to operate a plurality of HARQ processes associated with one of a plurality of HARQ behaviors, the plurality of HARQ behaviors being different. and the apparatus is configured to transmit control information (e.g., a PDCCH uplink grant or a PSCCH grant) to a transceiver in a wireless communication system, the control information being transmitted over an air channel (e.g., PDCCH, PSCCH) of the wireless communication system, the control information including a hybrid ARQ, HARQ, identifier (e.g., a HARQ process number) that identifies one HARQ behavior of a plurality of HARQ behaviors or one HARQ process of a plurality of HARQ processes, wherein one HARQ process is associated with a HARQ behavior. Preferred embodiments of the device transmitting data and / or the device receiving data

[0081] In an embodiment, the apparatus includes a plurality of different channels or elements, which are linked to one or more HARQ processes and / or behaviors of a plurality of HARQ processes and / or behaviors according to a configuration of the channel or element.

[0082] In an embodiment, the plurality of different channels or elements comprises: Different logical channels, LCH, Different Logical Channel Groups, LCGs, Different Radio Link Control, RLC, channels, Different packet data convergence protocols, PDCP, channels, Different radio bearers or different quality of service, QoS, flows, Includes one or more of:

[0083] In an embodiment, multiple different channels or elements are linked one by one to multiple HARQ processes and / or behaviors, and / or multiple different protocol stack channels or elements are linked in groups to one of multiple HARQ processes and / or behaviors.

[0084] In an embodiment, data packets of channels or elements that are linked to the same HARQ process and / or behavior are included in the same data [e.g., uplink] transmission [e.g., multiplexed into the same MAC physical data unit, PDU].

[0085] In an embodiment, data packets of a channel or element are associated with a priority, and data packets of channels or elements that are linked to the same HARQ process and / or behavior are included in the same data [e.g., uplink] transmission [e.g., multiplexed into the same MAC physical data unit, PDU] based on their priority.

[0086] In an embodiment, data packets of channels or elements linked to the same HARQ process and / or behavior are multiplexed into the same data [e.g., uplink] transmission [e.g., multiplexed into the same MAC physical data unit, PDU] based on UE internal knowledge [e.g., service type, traffic characteristics, prioritized bit rate, PBR].

[0087] In an embodiment, the configuration of the channels or elements or HARQ processes and / or behaviors is predefined and / or the configuration of the protocol stack channels or elements or HARQ processes and / or behaviors is: Radio resource control, RRC, signalling, Downlink Control Information, DCI, Sidelink control information, SCI, System Information Block, SIB, The signal is sent by one or more of the following:

[0088] In an embodiment, the device is configured to: Traffic prioritization, Quality of service, Latency or delay budget, Buffer status, - Transmission history, configured thresholds, the HARQ process and / or behavior configuration itself based on one or more of the following:

[0089] In an embodiment, if a higher priority data packet of a channel or element linked to a HARQ process and / or behavior not identified by the current HARQ identifier is available for transmission and the higher priority data packet is associated with a higher priority than a data packet of a protocol stack channel or element linked to a HARQ process and / or behavior identified by the current HARQ identifier, the apparatus is configured to transmit the higher priority data packet in accordance with the identified HARQ process and / or behavior.

[0090] In an embodiment, transmitting the high priority data packet includes including a high priority data packet transmission request (e.g., a Buffer Status Report, BSR) in the transmission of the high priority data packet (e.g., as a MAC Control element in a MAC Physical Data Unit, PDU).

[0091] In an embodiment, if the uplink transmission grant is larger than required for the available data packets of a channel or element linked to a HARQ process and / or behavior identified by the current HARQ identifier, then one or more data packets of a channel or element linked to a HARQ process and / or behavior not identified by the current HARQ identifier are included in the same data [e.g., uplink] transmission [e.g., multiplexed into the same MAC physical data unit, PDU].

[0092] In an embodiment, the apparatus comprises: transmitting one or more data packets to a transceiver in the wireless communication system according to the identified HARQ process and / or behavior, the one or more data packets being one or more data packets of a channel or element that is linked to the identified HARQ process and / or behavior according to a configuration of the channel or element; and / or retransmitting the data packet according to the identified HARQ process and / or behavior, where retransmission may include receiving a request for retransmission of the data packet from a transmitter [e.g., a base station] if transmission of the data packet is unsuccessful; and / or repeating transmission of the data packet according to the identified HARQ process and / or behavior; The present invention is configured to:

[0093] In an embodiment, the retransmitted data packet is a copy of the transmitted data packet and / or the retransmitted data packet is a redundant version of the transmitted data packet.

[0094] In an embodiment, the retransmitted data packet is on the same frequency resources [e.g. using the same hopping pattern] or on different frequency resources [e.g. using different hopping patterns], using different bandwidth portions or carriers or cells [for example, depending on whether carrier aggregation or dual connectivity is configured]; Will be resent.

[0095] In an embodiment, the HARQ process and / or behavior is: one or more HARQ operations, and / or - Configuring different HARQ operations Includes.

[0096] In an embodiment, the plurality of HARQ operations include: Stop-and-wait HARQ and / or ARQ protocols, Window-based HARQ and / or ARQ protocols, a synchronization protocol, the synchronization protocol scheduling one or more retransmissions and / or one or more HARQ ACK / NACKs at predefined time instances after an initial transmission; an asynchronous protocol, the asynchronous protocol dynamically scheduling in time one or more retransmissions and / or one or more HARQ ACK / NACKs; Retransmission schemes that cause retransmissions without feedback, such as the HARQ blind transmission scheme or the K-repetition scheme that transmits a data packet K times without waiting for feedback. Includes one or more of:

[0097] In an embodiment, if no new data arrives and an uplink resource allocation or configured grant opportunity exists, the device determines based on locally available information about the data packet planned for transmission (e.g., timing information such as buffer occupancy, transmission timers, or service requirements of the data packet) and / or configurations or parameters of the communication system (e.g., propagation delay or round trip time (RTT)) that the data packet is - sent or - be discarded or be replaced by a different version of the data packet [for example using the same PHY parameters], replaced by a different version of the data packet, which is transmitted according to different transmission parameters [e.g. modulation scheme, MIMO scheme or transmission power], or is configured to determine

[0098] In an embodiment, the apparatus is configured to transmit uplink control information to a transceiver in a wireless communication system using a control channel or a data channel, the uplink control information indicating different transmission parameters (e.g., different coding and modulation schemes, MIMO schemes, aggregation factors) and / or including information regarding different versions of data packets (e.g., redundancy version, new data indicator).

[0099] In an embodiment, when new data arrives and an uplink resource allocation or configured grant opportunity exists, the device: HARQ behavior and / or HARQ process for the transmission of new data and for transmitting data packets comprising new data according to the determined HARQ behavior and / or HARQ process; and / or Modulation and coding schemes, and / or MIMO and / or Aggregation Factor (AF) is configured to determine

[0100] In an embodiment, the HARQ behavior, and / or the HARQ process, and / or the HARQ new data indicator, and / or the HARQ redundancy version identified by a HARQ identifier in the downlink control information and the determined HARQ behavior, and / or the HARQ process, and / or the HARQ new data indicator, and / or the HARQ redundancy version are different, and / or the modulation and / or coding scheme signaled by a transmitter [e.g., a base station] of the wireless communications system [e.g., via downlink control information] is different from the determined modulation and / or coding scheme, and / or the MIMO scheme signaled by a transmitter [e.g., a base station] of the wireless communications system [e.g., via downlink control information] is different from the determined MIMO scheme, and / or the aggregation factor [e.g. blind retransmission] signaled by a transmitter [e.g., a base station] of the wireless communications system [e.g., via downlink control information] is different from the determined aggregation factor.

[0101] In an embodiment, an apparatus is configured to transmit uplink control information to a transceiver in a wireless communication system using a control channel or a data channel, the uplink control information comprising: determined HARQ behavior, and / or HARQ process, and / or HARQ new data indicator, and / or HARQ redundancy version, and / or the determined modulation and / or coding scheme, and / or The determined MIMO scheme, and / or Determined aggregation factor Shows.

[0102] In an embodiment, the apparatus comprises: HARQ behavior for transmission of new data, and / or HARQ process, and / or HARQ new data indicator, and / or HARQ redundancy version, and / or modulation and / or coding schemes, and / or MIMO and / or Aggregation factor, based on a defined algorithm or based on information provided by a transceiver [e.g., a base station] in a wireless communication system. is configured to determine

[0103] In an embodiment, the wireless system includes two or more user equipment, at least two of the user equipment directly communicating with each other [e.g., V2X, D2D] via sidelink communications [e.g., PC5] while in a connected mode, or an idle mode, or an inactive mode, and the apparatus includes a UE. system

[0104] An embodiment provides a wireless communication network including at least one of the UE of the present invention and at least one of the base station of the present invention.

[0105] In an embodiment, the UE a mobile device, or Fixed terminal, or a mobile device, or Cellular IoT-UE, or IoT devices, or Ground-based vehicles, or Aircraft, or Drones, or Mobile base station, or Roadside unit, or Buildings, or Any other item or device provided with network connectivity with which the item / device can communicate using a wireless communications network, e.g. a sensor or actuator; Includes one or more of:

[0106] In an embodiment, the BS is Macrocell base station, or Microcell base station, or Small cell base stations, or · The central unit of a base station, or Distributed units in base stations, or Roadside unit, or UE, or Remote radio head, or AMF, or SMF, or a core network entity, or Network slices, such as NR or 5G Core Context, or Any Transmitting / Receiving Point (TRP) with which an item or device can communicate using a wireless communications network, the item or device being provided with network connectivity for communicating using the wireless communications network; Includes one or more of:

[0107] A further embodiment provides a wireless communication network comprising at least two UEs of the present invention.

[0108] In an embodiment, the UE a mobile device, or Fixed terminal, or a mobile device, or Cellular IoT-UE, or IoT devices, or Ground-based vehicles, or Aircraft, or Drones, or Mobile base station, or Roadside unit, or Buildings, or Any other item or device provided with network connectivity with which the item / device can communicate using a wireless communications network, e.g. a sensor or actuator; Includes one or more of: method

[0109] In the embodiment, a plurality of hybrid ARQ, HARQ, entities, each of the plurality of HARQ entities operating a HARQ process associated with one of a plurality of HARQ behaviors, the plurality of HARQ behaviors being different; or A hybrid ARQ,HARQ,entity that performs multiple HARQ processes, each HARQ,process being associated with one of multiple HARQ behaviors,,wherein the multiple HARQ behaviors are different.,HARQ entity providing a receiving control information (e.g., a PDCCH uplink grant or a PSCCH grant) from a transceiver in a wireless communication system, the control information being transmitted over a radio channel (e.g., a PDCCH, a PSCCH) of the wireless communication system, the control information including a hybrid ARQ, HARQ, identifier (e.g., a HARQ process number) that identifies one HARQ behavior of a plurality of HARQ behaviors or one HARQ process of a plurality of HARQ processes, and one HARQ process is associated with a HARQ behavior; The present invention provides a method comprising:

[0110] A further embodiment comprises a plurality of hybrid ARQ, HARQ, entities, each of the plurality of HARQ entities operating a HARQ process associated with one of a plurality of HARQ behaviors, the plurality of HARQ behaviors being different; or A hybrid ARQ,HARQ,entity that operates multiple HARQ processes, each HARQ process,associated with one of multiple HARQ behaviors, the multiple HARQ behaviors being,different.,HARQ entity. providing a transmitting control information (e.g., a PDCCH uplink grant or a PSCCH grant) from a transceiver in the wireless communication system, the control information being transmitted over a radio channel (e.g., a PDCCH, a PSCCH) of the wireless communication system, the control information including a hybrid ARQ, HARQ, identifier (e.g., a HARQ process number) that identifies one HARQ behavior of a plurality of HARQ behaviors or one HARQ process of a plurality of HARQ processes, and one HARQ process is associated with a HARQ behavior; The present invention provides a method comprising: Computer Program Products

[0111] The invention provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out one or more methods according to the invention.

[0112] Thus, the embodiments provide different ways of how UE behavior can be controlled. For all options, there are two possibilities: either what the UE has to do is defined in the specification (pre-configured) or the behavior is configurable by the base station (e.g., gNB). The base station (e.g., gNB) configuration can be provided via RRC signaling, via broadcast, semi-statically via UE-specific signaling, or dynamically via PDCCH DCI. Via broadcast signaling, the configuration can be transmitted via an existing or new system information block (SIB). This can be valid for all UEs in the cell, or for all UEs using a specific feature such as non-terrestrial network (NTN) or extra-long coverage that must read and apply this specific system information block. Semi-static UE-specific signaling can be provided via an RRC message, typically an RRC reconfiguration message, sent to the UE. Once the RRC reconfiguration message is processed by the UE, the new settings are applied with or without a specific delay. Alternatively, the configuration may be provided in the downlink control information DCI for each transmission. Therefore, in the last case, the behavior of the HARQ process may vary up to an indication in the DCI.

[0113] In one embodiment, a logical channel can be linked to a HARQ entity and / or process in the respective configuration of this logical channel. This means that if a grant is received on the PDCCH, the UE reads the downlink control information (DCI) of the PDCCH and knows the HARQ process identification. Based on the logical channel configuration (mapping between LCHs and HARQ processes and / or entities), the UE knows which logical channel can be served with this grant. There can be a 1:1 mapping of an LCH to a HARQ entity / process, or an N:1 mapping of multiple LCHs to a HARQ entity / process. In case of an N:1 mapping, the UE can multiplex packets of all LCHs mapped to this HARQ entity / process into one MAC SDU. As usual, the LCH can be identified by the LCID in the MAC subheader.

[0114] In a preferred embodiment, data packets of different LCHs, logical channels, can be associated with priority values ​​configured by the network. For example, the base station (e.g., gNB) can configure a priority {1...16} per LCH. Depending on the resource allocation, multiple MAC SDUs can be transmitted within one MAC PDU. The UE can select the MAC SDU from the buffer queue according to the priority value, where a lower priority number means a higher priority and a higher priority value means a lower priority. This behavior can be standardized or left to the implementation. Since the UE may have some information available that is not known to the network, implementation-specific behavior may be preferred. Such UE internal knowledge may be information about service type and traffic characteristics. This prioritized scheduling can be extended by the concept of prioritized bit rates (PRBs). Also, the PRBs of each configured LCH, e.g., configured per LCH, can be served first before serving one LCH priority after another using absolute priority. This concept can be used to avoid starvation of some services by providing a minimum bit rate.

[0115] There are many LCHs and this configuration can already result in significant overhead. One way to reduce this overhead is to group the LCHs, logical channels, into logical channel groups (LCGs). LCGs are also used in buffer status reports sent from the UE to the base station (e.g., gNB) to request resources. In LTE, there are four LCGs and in NR, there are eight LCGs.

[0116] According to a preferred embodiment, logical channel groups or logical channels can be linked to HARQ entities / processes depending on their HARQ behavior (reported or non-reported) (note that in case of RRC configured behavior, LCGs can be mapped to HARQ processes, and in case of dynamic indication in DCI, LCGs can be mapped to HARQ behavior). Again, the base station (e.g., gNB) may signal this mapping to the UE via RRC reconfiguration or it may be hard-coded by the standard. When an uplink packet needs to be transmitted, the UE may send a buffer status report in the uplink, e.g., via a MAC control element. The BSR indicates the amount of data pending per logical channel group identified by the LCG ID. The base station (e.g., gNB) may make its scheduling decision and then schedule the UE. Once a grant in the PDCCH identifying the HARQ process identification is received, the UE knows which logical channel of which logical channel group to serve. In some embodiments, a UE may only multiplex data (eg, RLC SDUs) of logical channels within a logical channel group, but not outside the logical channel group.

[0117] In alternative embodiments, one or more or all signaling radio bearers may be linked to one set of HARQ entities / processes, while one or more or all data radio bearers may be linked to another set of HARQ entities / processes depending on the HARQ behavior (reporting or non-reporting). In addition to the mapping of LCH, LCG, SRB, DRB to HARQ entities and processes, the same principles may be applied to map RLC channels and / or QoS flows to HARQ entities and processes. The concepts of prioritized scheduling and PRB rates may be applied to each of the mapping variants.

[0118] In a further embodiment, the UE itself may be configured to receive one or more criteria: Traffic priority, e.g. high priority traffic is only sent with HARQ, Quality of service, e.g. it can be determined whether HARQ-less transmission meets QoS requirements and if not, only grants associated with HARQ can be used; Delay budget, e.g., it can be determined whether there is sufficient delay budget to perform retransmission, and if not, HARQ-less transmission (grant associated with HARQ-less operation) can be used; Buffer status, - Transmission history, Received signal strength / quality measurements RSRP, RSRQ, SINR etc. Configured thresholds, Based on this, it may be determined to map a certain logical channel / logical channel group / signaling radio bearer / data radio bearer to a certain HARQ process or HARQ behavior. Example of RRC configuration based on NR Rel.15 TS38.331

[0119] According to one example, uplink LCH logical channels are associated to HARQ processes based on the following list: -- ASN1START -- TAG-LOGICALCHANNELCONFIG-START LogicalChannelConfig ::= SEQUENCE { ul-SpecificParameters SEQUENCE { priority INTEGER (1..16), prioritisedBitRate ENUMERATED {kBps0, kBps8, kBps16, kBps32, kBps64, kBps128, kBps256, kBps512, kBps1024, kBps2048, kBps4096, kBps8192, kBps16384, kBps32768, kBps65536, infinity}, bucketSizeDuration ENUMERATED {ms5, ms10, ms20, ms50, ms100, ms150, ms300, ms500, ms1000, spare7, spare6, spare5, spare4, spare3,spare2, spare1}, allowedServingCells SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofServingCells-1)) OF ServCellIndex OPTIONAL, -- PDCP-CADuplication allowedSCS-List SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxSCSs)) OF SubcarrierSpacing OPTIONAL, -- Need R maxPUSCH-Duration ENUMERATED {ms0p02, ms0p04, ms0p0625, ms0p125, ms0p25, ms0p5, spare2, spare1} OPTIONAL, -- Need R configuredGrantType1Allowed ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -- Need R logicalChannelGroup INTEGER (0..maxLCG-ID) OPTIONAL, -- Need R schedulingRequestID SchedulingRequestId OPTIONAL, -- Need R logicalChannelSR-Mask BOOLEAN, logicalChannelSR-DelayTimerApplied BOOLEAN, ..., bitRateQueryProhibitTimer ENUMERATED { s0, s0dot4, s0dot8, s1dot6, s3, s6, s12,s30} OPTIONAL -- Need R } OPTIONAL, -- Cond UL ... }

[0120] In this uplink LCH configuration information element, the following additional parameters can be added to associate the LCH with a HARQ process and / or entity: ·HARQ-process-bitmap BIT STRING (SIZE(16)) Here, the UE may know which LCH should be served in the uplink from the HARQ process identification scheduled for uplink transmission on the downlink PDCCH.

[0121] In a preferred embodiment, the HARQ process itself is linked to a logical channel group. Different realizations can be foreseen, such as pre-configuring different HARQ entities or pre-configuring different logical channel groups with different HARQ behaviors, such as on / off switching or dynamic feedback indication via PDCCH DCI, for example, based on the following list: HARQEntityConfig ::= SEQUENCE { HARQ-process-bitmap BIT STRING (SIZE(16)) HARQ-process-feedback ENUMERATED {on, dynamic, off} logicalChannelGroup INTEGER (0..maxLCG-ID) } LogicalChannelGroupConfig ::= SEQUENCE { HARQ-process-bitmap BIT STRING (SIZE(16)) HARQ-process-feedback ENUMERATED {on, off} }

[0122] Depending on the number of HARQ processes, a bitmap approach may or may not be appropriate. Alternatively, HARQ processes can be assigned sequentially. In this case, only the number may be defined (e.g., 4) and the HARQ process identification may be derived implicitly (e.g., 5, 6, 7, 8). Logical Channel Prioritization Mapping Restrictions

[0123] By default, the UE shall not segment the RLC SDU but shall map the RLC SDU as a whole into a MAC PDU if it fits into the granted resources.

[0124] For multiplexing and MAC PDU assembly, logical channel prioritization rules can be defined for the UE, which again may be partly specified, partly configured by the RRC, and partly implemented natively in the UE.

[0125] RRC can control the scheduling of uplink data by signaling the configuration of each logical channel per MAC entity. eNB RRC signaling can signal the priority, prioritized bit rate (PBR), and bucket size duration (BSD) (see ASN1 calculated from LCH configuration) as part of the LCH configuration (see list above). MAC PDUs can be constructed considering the prioritized bit rate priority first, then the priority values ​​in descending order. Thereby, a lower priority value may represent a higher priority. The PBR can be calculated, for example, using a token bucket model.

[0126] As explained above, it may not be possible to multiplex the LCH with all HARQ processes, or with HARQ processes that use a specific behavior or a specific feedback type. In this case, the multiplexing and MAC PDU assembly may be restricted by the RRC configuration. This restriction can be achieved by signaling the allowed multiplexing options, such as: ·AllowedHARQ-process-feedback ENUMERATED {on, dynamic, off} ·AllowedHARQ -process-bitmap BIT STRING (SIZE(16)) ·AllowedHARQ-process-behaviour-type ENUMERATED {regular, aggregation, single tx}

[0127] Alternatively, a non-allowed multiplexing option may be signaled. In either case, when the UE receives an uplink grant via a PDCCH resource allocation, the UE must follow the configured logical channel priority mapping restrictions as configured by the base station (e.g., gNB) when assembling the MAC PDU for transmission. This means that the UE should select only logical channels per uplink grant with HARQ process identities that may be signaled that meet the configured conditions for HARQ process / entity usage. Otherwise, again, logical channel prioritization follows absolute priority, also taking into account the prioritized bit rate in the token bucket model.

[0128] According to an embodiment, MAC control elements and RRC messages can be multiplexed. Depending on the HARQ behavior, the delivery time and reliability of the messages also vary. This may also affect the delivery of MAC control elements (and / or RRC messages) that are mapped to the MAC PDU. There may be some limitations, configured per logical channel or per MAC entity, on whether MAC CEs (and / or RRC messages) can be multiplexed into the MAC PDU. Furthermore, depending on the priority of the MAC CEs (and / or RRC messages), some MAC CEs (and / or RRC messages) may be transmitted multiple times via different HARQ processes / entities, while other MAC CEs (and / or RRC messages) are prohibited from transmitting multiple times. If prohibition timers are defined (limiting how often an element can be transmitted), the timers may be defined to run per HARQ process / entity or across all HARQ processes / entities. Arrival of high priority data on the uplink while low priority data has already been scheduled

[0129] One key principle is that the UE requests uplink resources based on a BSR report, e.g., logical channel group-based BSR. When the report is received, the base station (e.g., gNB) allocates resources, and using the resource allocation, the base station allocates HARQ processes corresponding to a certain behavior. This procedure causes additional uplink scheduling delay, especially in networks with long propagation delays, such as non-terrestrial networks.

[0130] In the following example, it is assumed that the gNB has scheduled some data of a low priority service (or LCH or LCG, etc.), but in the meantime, high priority data of a different service (or LCG or LCH, etc.) has arrived at the UE. Following a strict procedure, the UE cannot transmit the high priority data and must stick to the low priority data for which this particular HARQ behavior is optimized. The UE must first send a BSR to the gNB, requesting resources for the high priority data. Once this BSR is received, the gNB allocates a HARQ process supporting the high priority LCG. Such a high delay is not acceptable in non-terrestrial networks, which have very high delays.

[0131] Thus, according to an embodiment, a high priority service (or LCH or LCG, etc.) can overtake the resource allocation of a low priority service. Furthermore, a new BSR can be added as a MAC CE to the data being transmitted in the uplink. The base station (e.g., gNB) can also configure the UE with a kind of prioritization of which service (or LCH or LCG, etc.) supersedes / overwrites which other service (or LCH or LCG, etc.). Based on another UE configuration parameter configured by the base station (e.g., gNB), the UE may transmit data a second time when it receives the "intended" uplink resource for the high priority service, or the UE may not transmit data a second time. This allows the UE to transmit high priority data immediately without waiting for another grant to be received. At the same time, if the UE can transmit a packet at another time with the appropriate HARQ process, a higher reliability can be achieved for this packet (e.g., for a control message). Thus, one high priority service may be able to overtake the resource allocation of another low priority service. In addition, to increase reliability, a reliable service may be transmitted multiple times using different HARQ processes with different resource allocations.

[0132] Furthermore, according to an embodiment, UCI, uplink control information, side information can be multiplexed into said PUSCH transmission indicating the presence of high priority traffic, which causes the base station (e.g., gNB) to apply high priority procedures, such as sending a grant on a specific HARQ process or dynamically enabling a HARQ process for a specific transmission via a PDCCH DCI. The received grant for uplink transmission is greater than required and other data is pending

[0133] Due to the approach where all uplink resources are controlled by the base station scheduler (e.g. gNB scheduler), it can happen that a grant that is too large is received by the UE. With a normal scheduler, this is not an issue since any service (or LCH or LCG, etc.) can be mapped to an uplink resource allocation. In the method described above, there is a fixed mapping of services (or LCH or LCG, etc.) to HARQ processes / entities. With this fixed mapping, if more resources are granted than necessary, it is not possible to add data from other services (or LCH or LCG, etc.). The default approach is to add padding bits, which is not at all efficient in terms of resource utilization.

[0134] Thus, according to an embodiment, even if such a mapping is not configured, other services (or LCHs or LCGs, etc.) can be multiplexed onto this HARQ process. Which services (or LCHs or LCGs, etc.) can be multiplexed with another service may be configurable by RRC configuration or fixed in the specification, for example based on QoS, priority, delay budget, buffer status, signal measurement thresholds, etc. UE based selection of HARQ behavior (process number, new data indicator, redundancy version)

[0135] Typically, HARQ parameters are selected by a base station (e.g., gNB) and communicated to the UE, which must comply with the base station's (e.g., gNB) decision. For normal scheduled uplink transmissions, this information is provided via PDCCH downlink control information. For uplink configured grants, this is provided by RRC configuration and derived by the formulas specified herein, or configured by dynamic signaling via RRC plus PDCCH DCI. This behavior is not optimal in communication systems with large propagation delays, where only the UE has the best knowledge of what data has arrived recently in its buffer.

[0136] Thus, according to one embodiment, the UE is provided with some autonomy in selecting the most appropriate HARQ behavior. This is achieved by defining an algorithm in the UE within which the decision is being made. The algorithm may take into account parameters such as: Buffer occupancy, Arrival of uplink data, Availability of HARQ processes, Previous use of HARQ processes, Round trip time of the communication system, Some service requirements (e.g., latency and error rate) or service parameters for the data previously scheduled in this HARQ process, Some service requirements (e.g., latency and error rate) or service parameters for the data to be scheduled in this HARQ process; The time available to transmit a particular packet (for this purpose, the UE may mark each packet with a timer that is started when the packet arrives in the transmit buffer. If the transmit timer (time available to transmit) expires, the packet is typically removed from the transmit buffer and dropped).

[0137] The base station (e.g., gNB) can control the behavior by configuring certain parameters that affect the decision-making. This can be, for example, a certain threshold of buffer occupancy for a logical channel or group of logical channels. The base station (e.g., gNB) also configures the number of HARQ processes and certain HARQ behaviors that affect the selection of HARQ transmission parameters.

[0138] Depending on some of the above mentioned criteria, the UE can then autonomously determine (according to a specified algorithm) the HARQ transmission parameters for the next packet. For example, the UE may decide to transmit a new packet or to send a retransmission to the base station, or even overwrite the information provided by the base station. The preferred behavior for different scenarios is described below.

[0139] According to the first scenario, no new data arrives and an uplink resource allocation / configured grant opportunity exists.

[0140] The UE has received a scheduled grant or a configured granted transmission opportunity for a certain HARQ process. If no new data arrives, the UE will follow the base station (e.g., gNB) decision, e.g., to transmit a retransmission, since there is usually enough time and sufficient transmission resources available.

[0141] An exception to this behavior may be considered the transmission timer of each packet. This packet-specific timing information is not available at the base station (e.g., gNB). Buffer status reports received by the base station (e.g., gNB) may not be very meaningful in communication systems with large propagation delays.

[0142] If the transmission timer expires, if a scheduling grant is received, or even if a configured grant for retransmission arrives, the packet may be dropped and not retransmitted. The UE may still replace this packet in favor of a new transmission related to the application. The information that a retransmission was requested may still be used in selecting other transmission parameters, e.g. to make the first transmission of the next packet more reliable. This may be achieved by: Modulation coding method, MIMO scheme (e.g. number of users multiplexed in MU-MIMO, or streams multiplexed in SU-MIMO, precoding, etc.), the number of "blind" transmissions (aggregation factor), Transmission power etc. · or any combination thereof This can be done by modifying

[0143] The receiver, in this case the base station, does not know that the packet is being transmitted with different transmission parameters. Therefore, the UE can multiplex this transmission parameter (same as the one normally transmitted on the PDCCH DCI) into the PUSCH data channel as uplink control information. This information can be coded separately from the data and thus decoded by the base station (e.g., gNB). The base station (e.g., gNB) can first decode this information and, based on the uplink control information, decode the packet correctly, i.e., with the correct coding / modulation, MIMO scheme, etc.

[0144] According to the second scenario, no new data arrives and an uplink resource allocation / configured grant opportunity exists.

[0145] The UE has received a scheduled grant or a configured granted transmission opportunity for a certain HARQ process. If no new data has arrived, depending on one of the above criteria, the UE may autonomously decide to send a retransmission or schedule a new packet (e.g., a high priority packet) (e.g., based on base station (e.g., gNB) scheduling information, e.g., NDI). For this purpose, the UE may overwrite the HARQ information from the base station (e.g., gNB). Since new data has arrived, a more important packet may be selected.

[0146] Again, the receiver, in this case the base station, does not know if the packet is a new transmission in this HARQ process, a retransmission, or may even expect another transmission. The UE can multiplex the HARQ new data indicator into the PUSCH data channel as uplink control information. This information is coded separately from the data and can therefore be decoded by the base station (e.g., gNB). The base station (e.g., gNB) can first decode this information and, based on the uplink control information, decode the packet correctly, i.e., with or without soft combining, with or without soft buffer removal.

[0147] Similarly, the UE may select the HARQ process itself, or, if jointly determined by the base station (e.g., gNB), may select another HARQ process instead of the HARQ process assigned by the base station (e.g., gNB). Again, the UE may multiplex this information in the uplink control information to inform the base station (e.g., gNB) of the HARQ process used.

[0148] Also, a behavior without associated UCI can be assumed. In this case, the receiver does not know exactly which UE selected. The receiver has to blindly decode the packet and apply different options for decoding. For example, in the absence of NDI uplink control information, the receiver does not know if the packet is the same packet (in this case soft combining shall be performed) or if the packet is a new packet (in this case previously stored data shall be deleted). The receiver has to blindly apply both options to see if successful decoding is possible. Similarly, the receiver can try to decode by soft combining of different HARQ processes if the process is not signaled. It may not be a preferred option since the additional effort may take time and consume power. But nevertheless, due to the long propagation delay, the processing time may not be very critical. Uplink configured permission configuration

[0149] Traditionally, uplink configured grants are used to support uplink data transmissions, e.g., small packets transmitted periodically, such as VoIP, while minimizing the PDCCH overhead of resource allocation. Resources for the UE are preconfigured by the base station (e.g., gNB) in the uplink in predefined resource blocks, with a predefined format and a predefined periodicity (e.g., 20 ms for VoIP). When uplink data is available, the UE can start transmitting on the predefined resources without having to read the PDCCH control channel beforehand. There are two types of preconfigured grants. In type 1 configured grants (sometimes also called grant-free operation), there is preconfiguration of resources via RRC signaling only. The resources can be used immediately by the UE without activation / deactivation by the PDCCH DCI. In type 2 configured grants, the PDCCH control channel for the predefined resources can be transmitted using a predefined CS-RNTI. This signaling can be used to switch the resources on / off semi-persistently.

[0150] FIG. 18 illustrates a transmission time interval (subframe) in VoIP where UE resources are preconfigured by a base station (e.g., gNB) in the uplink in predefined resource blocks having a predefined format and a predefined periodicity.

[0151] However, in 4G and 5G, there is a problem that the uplink configured grant cannot support different types of HARQ behavior. Without this distinction, it is not possible to apply different HARQ behaviors to different services or system requirements. The uplink configured grant is very important for communication systems with large propagation delays, since explicit scheduling takes too much time. Therefore, an extension of the uplink configured grant was needed to support different types of HARQ behaviors to support different services (e.g., with different latency and / or error requirements) or different bearer types (e.g., signaling bearers with high importance signaling).

[0152] As defined before, there are RRC configurations of HARQ processes with different HARQ behaviors in advance. According to one embodiment, there are several RRC configurations of configured grants that are extended for this purpose. In detail, according to one embodiment, different HARQ behaviors can be configured by RRC by assigning a specific HARQ process and HARQ behavior to be used in the configured grant configuration. Bitmaps of different lengths can define which HARQ processes are used by this configured grant process and which are not. If the number of HARQ processes is very large, the overhead due to the bitmaps can increase significantly. More advanced signaling methods such as process allocation per block can save some signaling overhead. For each configured uplink, a specific HARQ behavior can also be defined. To achieve the intended behavior, only HARQ processes of one behavior shall be used. If a different HARQ behavior is also required, a second configured grant configuration needs to be configured using a different HARQ process. Further embodiments

[0153] Although some aspects of the described concepts have been described in the context of an apparatus, it will be apparent that these aspects also represent descriptions of corresponding methods, where a block or device corresponds to a method step or feature of a method step. Similarly, aspects described in the context of a method step also represent descriptions of a corresponding block or item or feature of a corresponding apparatus.

[0154] Various elements and features of the invention may be implemented in hardware using analog and / or digital circuitry, in software, through the execution of instructions by one or more general-purpose or special-purpose processors, or as a combination of hardware and software. For example, embodiments of the invention may be implemented in the environment of a computer system or another processing system. FIG. 19 shows an example of a computer system 350. The units or modules, as well as the steps of the methods performed by these units, may be executed on one or more computer systems 350. The computer system 350 includes one or more processors 352, such as a special-purpose or general-purpose digital signal processor. The processor 352 is connected to a communication infrastructure 354, such as a bus or a network. The computer system 350 includes a main memory 356, e.g., a random access memory (RAM), and a secondary memory 358, e.g., a hard disk drive and / or a removable storage drive. The secondary memory 358 may allow computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into the computer system 350. The computer system 350 may further include a communication interface 360 ​​to allow software and data to be transferred between the computer system 350 and external devices. The communications may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical, or other signals capable of being processed by the communications interface. The communications may use wire or cable, fiber optics, phone lines, cellular phone links, RF links, and other communications channels 362.

[0155] The terms "computer program medium" and "computer readable medium" are generally used to refer to tangible storage media, such as a hard disk installed in a removable storage unit or hard disk drive. These computer program products are means for providing software to the computer system 350. The computer programs, also called computer control logic, are stored in the main memory 356 and / or the secondary memory 358. The computer programs may also be received via the communication interface 360. The computer programs, when executed, enable the computer system 350 to implement the present invention. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor 352 to implement the processes of the present invention, such as any of the methods described herein. Thus, such computer programs may represent the controller of the computer system 350. When the present disclosure is implemented using software, the software may be stored in the computer program product and loaded into the computer system 350 using an interface, such as a removable storage drive, the communication interface 360.

[0156] The hardware or software implementation may be performed using a digital storage medium, such as a cloud storage, floppy disk, DVD, Blu-ray, CD, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, or flash memory, on which electronically readable control signals are stored that cooperate (or can cooperate) with a programmable computer system to perform the respective method. Thus, the digital storage medium may be computer readable.

[0157] Some embodiments according to the invention include a data carrier having electronically readable control signals capable of cooperating with a programmable computer system to cause one of the methods described herein to be performed.

[0158] In general, embodiments of the present invention can be implemented as a computer program product having program code operable to perform one of the methods when the computer program product is run on a computer. The program code may for example be stored on a machine readable carrier.

[0159] Other embodiments comprise the computer program for performing one of the methods described herein, stored on a machine readable carrier. In other words, an embodiment of the inventive method is therefore a computer program having a program code for performing one of the methods described herein, when the computer program runs on a computer.

[0160] A further embodiment of the inventive method is therefore a data carrier (or digital storage medium, or computer readable medium) comprising recorded thereon a computer program for performing one of the methods described herein. A further embodiment of the inventive method is therefore a data stream or a sequence of signals representing the computer program for performing one of the methods described herein. The data stream or sequence of signals may for example be configured to be transferred via a data communication connection, for example via the Internet. A further embodiment comprises a processing means, for example a computer, or a programmable logic device, configured to or adapted to perform one of the methods described herein. A further embodiment comprises a computer having installed thereon the computer program for performing one of the methods described herein.

[0161] In some embodiments, a programmable logic device (e.g., a field programmable gate array) may be used to perform some or all of the functions of the methods described herein. In some embodiments, a field programmable gate array may cooperate with a microprocessor to perform one of the methods described herein. In general, the methods are preferably performed by any hardware apparatus.

[0162] The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention. It should be understood that modifications and variations of the arrangements and details described herein are obvious to those skilled in the art. It is therefore intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims, and not by the specific details presented by the description and illustration of the embodiments herein.

[0163] List of acronyms and symbols V2X Vehicle-to-Everything 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project D2D Device to Device BS base station eNB Evolved Node B (3G base station) UE User Equipment NR New Radio [Explanation of symbols]

[0164] 1 data packet 100 Terrestrial Wireless Network 102 Core Network 106 cells 110 IoT devices 114 Backhaul Link 116 Backhaul Links 120 Base Station Protocol Stack 122 First Layer 124 Second Layer 126 The Third Layer 130 Control Plane Protocol Stack 132 User Plane Protocol Stack 140 Coverage Area 142 First Car 144 Second Car 152 vehicles 154 vehicles 156 vehicles 200 MAC PDU 201 MAC Subheader 202 MAC SDU 203 MAC Subheader 204 MAC SDU 205 MAC Subheader 206 MAC SDU 210 MAC Control Element 212 MAC Control Element 214 MAC Control Element 216 MAC Control Element 220 Padding 222 Padding 300 Transmitter 302 Receiver 302a Signal Processor 302b transceiver 304 Receiver 304a Signal Processor 304b Transceiver 306 Channels 306a First wireless communication link 306b first wireless communication link 308 Channel 308 Second Wireless Communications Link 310 Scheduling / Priority Handling 312 Multiplexing 314 Synchronous HARQ Entity 316 Asynchronous HARQ Entity 350 Computer Systems 352 processor 354 Communication Infrastructure 356 Main memory 358 Secondary Memory 360 Communication Interface 362 Communication Channels

Claims

[Claim 1] An apparatus comprising: The apparatus comprises: a plurality of Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) entities, each of the plurality of HARQ entities being configured to operate a HARQ process associated with one of a plurality of HARQ behaviors, the plurality of HARQ behaviors including synchronous HARQ and asynchronous HARQ; and / or a Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) entity configured to operate a plurality of HARQ processes, each HARQ process being associated with one of a plurality of HARQ behaviors, the plurality of HARQ behaviors including synchronous HARQ and asynchronous HARQ; Including, 11. The apparatus configured to receive control information from a transceiver in a wireless communication system, the control information being transmitted over an air channel of the wireless communication system, the control information including a Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) identifier identifying a HARQ behavior of the plurality of HARQ behaviors or a HARQ process of the plurality of HARQ processes, the one HARQ process being associated with the one HARQ behavior of the plurality of HARQ behaviors, the apparatus including a plurality of different channels or elements, the plurality of different channels or elements being linked to one or more HARQ processes and / or behaviors of the plurality of HARQ processes and / or behaviors according to a configuration of the channels or elements.

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