UE Operation Direction Selected by UE with HARQ Feedback Disabled

Abstract

The UE is configured to receive a set of repetitions of a downlink message from the base station and attempt to decode the DL message after receiving one or more of the repetitions. If the decoding is successful, the UE transmits an uplink message (e.g., HARQ-ACK) indicating successful decoding. If the decoding is not successful, the UE does not transmit an uplink message indicating unsuccessful decoding. If the set is not complete, the UE receives one or more additional repetitions and attempts to decode the DL message again. If the base station receives an UL message indicating successful decoding before transmitting all the repetitions in the set, the base station stops transmitting the repetitions. For a half-duplex UE with HARQ feedback processing disabled, if the decoding is successful, the UE switches from downlink mode to uplink mode and transmits an uplink message, thereby avoiding processing subsequently received repetitions for that same downlink message.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to communication systems. [Background technology]

[0002] This section introduces aspects of the present disclosure to make it easier to understand, and therefore, the statements in this section should be read in this light and not be understood as admissions about what is prior art or what is not prior art.

[0003] In communication systems, it is known for a downstream node to acknowledge receipt of a previously transmitted downlink (DL) message and transmit an uplink (UL) message back to the upstream node indicating whether the DL message was successfully decoded. If the DL message was not successfully decoded, the downstream node uses the UL message to request a retransmission of the DL message.

[0004] For example, it is known that a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network transmits an uplink Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) message to a base station to acknowledge receipt of a previously transmitted Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) message. If the UE successfully decodes the PDSCH message, the UE transmits a HARQ-ACK message to the base station indicating successful decoding of the PDSCH message. If the UE does not successfully decode the PDSCH message, the UE transmits a HARQ-NACK message to the base station indicating unsuccessful decoding of the PDSCH message, in which case the base station retransmits the PDSCH message.

[0005] In environments where there is a relatively high probability of failure in decoding an individual PDSCH message, it is known for a base station to transmit a PDSCH message to a UE by transmitting successive sets containing multiple repetitions of the PDSCH message, thereby increasing the probability of successful decoding at the UE, where the UE waits until it has received the entire repetition set before performing DL processing to attempt to decode the PDSCH message.

[0006] It is also known that if the UE does not send a HARQ message to the base station, the HARQ feedback process is disabled, and since the base station does not receive a retransmission request in this case, it is known that the number of repetitions of the PDSCH message is increased to increase the probability of successful decoding at the UE. Summary of the Invention

[0007] If conventional HARQ feedback processing is disabled in a wireless network and a relatively large number of repetitions of a PDSCH message are performed, the relatively large number of repetitions may be greater than the number required for successful decoding of the PDSCH message at the UE, in which case the additional repetitions of the PDSCH message are unnecessary, resulting in unnecessarily large delays and / or unnecessarily small effective bandwidth in the DL and / or UL directions.

[0008] These problems of the prior art are addressed in accordance with the principles of this disclosure by a conditional HARQ feedback scheme in which a base station transmits a PDSCH message to a UE by transmitting a set of repetitions of the PDSCH message in multiple subsets, possibly separated by a time gap, with each subset including one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message, and the UE attempts to decode the PDSCH message after receiving one or more (but not all) of the subsets of repetitions. If the UE does not successfully decode the PDSCH message, the UE subsequently receives one or more additional subsets without transmitting a HARQ message to the base station. However, if the UE successfully decodes the PDSCH message, the UE transmits a HARQ-ACK message to the base station indicating that the PDSCH message was successfully decoded. In that case, the base station can terminate transmission of subsequent subsets for that PDSCH message, which allows the base station to, for example, schedule transmission of other PDSCH messages earlier, thereby reducing latency and increasing bandwidth.

[0009] In implementations where the UE operates in half-duplex mode, upon successful decoding of the PDSCH message, the UE switches from DL to UL operating mode to transmit a HARQ-ACK message.

[0010] In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a user equipment (UE) comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to at least: (1) receive a set of repetitions of a downlink (DL) message, the set including two or more subsets of the repetitions, each subset including one or more of the repetitions; (2) after receiving one or more subsets, attempt to decode the DL message; (3) if the UE successfully decodes the DL message, send an uplink (UL) message indicating successful decoding of the DL message; and (4) if the UE does not successfully decode the DL message with the current subset, (i) do not send an uplink message indicating failure to decode the DL message; and (ii) if the set is not complete, (a) receive an additional one or more subsets; and (b) attempt to decode the DL message again.

[0011] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE is configured to attempt to decode the DL message based on one or more specific times.

[0012] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE is configured to (i) operate in half-duplex (HD) mode and (ii) stop repeated reception of a DL message after successfully decoding the DL message.

[0013] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE is configured to decode DL messages during a time gap between the start and end of two or more subsets.

[0014] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE is configured with a specific timing for the gap.

[0015] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE is configured to use UL resources to transmit UL messages.

[0016] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UL resources are configured as part of configuring the UE to receive the recurring set.

[0017] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UL message is multiplexed with one or more other UL messages from one or more other UEs using shared UL resources.

[0018] In at least some of the above embodiments, the number of repetitions of the DL message is different for at least two of the subsets.

[0019] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UE transmits a UL message while a repetition of the DL message arrives at the UE.

[0020] In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a base station comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the base station to at least: (1) send a set of repetitions of a DL message to a UE, the set including two or more subsets of the repetitions, each subset including one or more repetitions; and (2) send the two or more subset repetitions to the UE while monitoring for UL messages indicating successful decoding of the DL message from the UE.

[0021] In at least some of the above embodiments, the base station configures the UE to receive two or more subsets of DL message repetitions.

[0022] In at least some of the above embodiments, the base station configures the UE with one or more specific times during which it will attempt to decode the DL message.

[0023] In at least some of the above embodiments, the base station stops transmitting repetitions of the DL message after receiving a UL message indicating successful decoding of the DL message, after transmitting one or more repetitions in the set, but before transmitting all repetitions in the set.

[0024] In at least some of the above embodiments, the base station transmits the repetitions with a time gap between the start and end of two or more subsets, and the base station configures the UE to attempt to decode the DL message during the time gap.

[0025] In at least some of the above embodiments, the network is a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

[0026] In at least some of the above embodiments, the base station configures UL resources for the UE to transmit UL messages, and the base station receives UL messages on the UL resources from the UE.

[0027] In at least some of the above embodiments, the number of repetitions of the DL message is different for at least two of the subsets.

[0028] In at least some of the above embodiments, the UL message is multiplexed with one or more other UL messages from one or more other UEs using shared UL resources. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0029] Embodiments of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate similar or identical elements. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a simplified hardware block diagram of a portion of a wireless network of the present disclosure in which base stations communicate wirelessly with user equipment (UE). [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a time diagram illustrating the transmission of a PDSCH message by the base station of FIG. 1 and the reception and processing of that message by the UE of FIG. 1 for a first scenario in which the PDSCH message is not successfully decoded at the UE. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a time diagram illustrating the transmission of a PDSCH message by the base station of FIG. 1 and the receipt and processing of that message by the UE of FIG. 1 for a second scenario in which the UE successfully decodes the PDSCH message before the base station has finished transmitting all of the scheduled subsets for that PDSCH message. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process of the UE of FIG. 1 in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of processing of the base station of FIG. 1 in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] Detailed exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are disclosed herein. However, the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are merely representative for the purpose of describing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be embodied in many alternative forms and should not be construed as being limited to only the embodiments described herein. Furthermore, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, it should be understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "contains," "includes," and / or "including" identify the presence of stated features, steps, or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, or components. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions / acts described may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two figures shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently, or the functions / acts involved may be executed in the reverse order.

[0032] 1 is a simplified hardware block diagram of a portion of a wireless network 100 in which a base station (BS) 110 (e.g., an eNB in a 4G network / gNB in a 5G network) wirelessly communicates with user equipment (UE) 120. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the network may include other UEs (not shown) that communicate with the BS 110, which is connected to a network infrastructure (not shown) that enables, for example, the UE 120 to communicate with the other UEs. Additionally, although not shown in FIG. 1, the network 100 may have additional base stations as well as other network elements that support the network's functionality for communicating with multiple other UEs.

[0033] 1 , the BS 110 includes (i) a wireless transceiver (TRX) 112 for transmitting downlink (DL) wireless signals to the UE 120 and receiving uplink (UL) wireless signals from the UE 120, and (ii) a processor (CPU) 114 for controlling operation of the BS 110, including processing DL and UL messages to and from the UE 120, based on software code stored in a base station memory (MEM) 116. Similarly, the UE 120 includes (i) a wireless TRX 122 for transmitting UL wireless signals to the BS 110 and receiving DL wireless signals from the BS 110, and (ii) a processor 124 for controlling operation of the UE 120, including processing UL and DL messages to and from the BS 110, based on software code stored in a UE memory 126. In addition, the BS 110 includes a back-end transceiver (not shown) for transmitting and receiving signals (wired or wireless, depending on the implementation) to and from a back-end network infrastructure (not shown).

[0034] In a particular implementation, the network 100 of Figure 1 employs frequency division duplexing (FDD) operations that operate in a full duplex (FD) mode such that the BS 110 can simultaneously transmit DL messages to the UE 120 and receive UL messages from the UE 120. Figure 1 also employs frequency division duplexing (FDD) operations that operate in a half duplex (HD) mode such that, at a given time, the UE 120 can support either DL operation to receive DL messages from the BS 110 or UL operation to transmit UL messages to the BS 110, but not both.

[0035] In certain operating modes in which conventional HARQ feedback processing is disabled, the BS 110 is configured to transmit a PDSCH message to the UE 120 by transmitting a sequence of subsets, possibly separated by a time gap, with each subset including one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. The UE 120 is configured to attempt to decode the PDSCH message after receiving one or more (but not all) of the subsets. If the UE 120 fails to decode the PDSCH message, the UE 120 remains in its DL operating mode, receives one or more additional subsets, and then attempts to decode the PDSCH message again. This process may continue for the entire set of repetitive subsets. However, if the UE 120 successfully decodes the PDSCH message, the UE 120 switches to an UL operating mode and transmits a HARQ-ACK message to the BS 110, notifying the BS 110 that the PDSCH message was successfully received. In that case, upon receiving the HARQ-ACK message, the BS 110 stops transmitting subsets for that PDSCH message.

[0036] The UE 120 may transmit an UL message while the repetition of the DLPDSCH message arrives at the UE 120 .

[0037] Depending on the implementation, the UL feedback may be a HARQ feedback process or a bundle of multiple HARQ feedback processes.

[0038] As used herein, the term "repetition" refers to a copy or instance of a message. Note that a single copy or instance of a message within a subset is called a "repetition," even if the message is not repeated in the subset.

[0039] 2 is a time diagram illustrating the transmission of a PDSCH message by BS 110 of FIG. 1 and the reception and processing of that message by UE 120 for a first scenario in which the PDSCH message is not successfully decoded at UE 120. As shown in FIG. 2, from time t11 to time t12, BS 110 transmits a first subset 202(1) including one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. From time t12 to time t13, BS 110 does not transmit. From time t13 to time t14, BS 110 again transmits a second subset 202(2) including one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. From time t14 to time t15, BS 110 again does not transmit. From time t15 to time t16, BS 110 again transmits a third subset 202(3) including one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. From time t16 to time t17, BS 110 again does not transmit. From time t17 to time t18, BS 110 again transmits a fourth subset 202(4) that includes one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. In this particular scenario, BS 110 transmits four subsets 202(1) through 202(4) of the PDSCH message. Generally, in this scenario, BS 110 transmits a sequence that includes a certain number of subsets separated by a time gap. Generally, gaps may exist between two or more subsets.

[0040] Meanwhile, with UE 120 configured in its DL operating mode, from time t21 to time t22, UE 120 receives first subset 202(1) transmitted by BS 110. Note that due to processing and transmission delays, there is a latency between the transmission of first subset 202(1) from BS 110 and the reception of first subset 202(1) at UE 120. From time t22 to time t23, UE 120 employs DL decoding processing during time gap 204(1) to attempt to decode the PDSCH message. In this first scenario, UE 120 does not successfully decode the PDSCH message. Thus, from time t23 to time t24, UE 120 receives second subset 202(2) transmitted by BS 110. From time t24 to time t25, UE 120 attempts again during time gap 204(2) but fails to decode the PDSCH message. Thus, from time t25 to time t26, UE 120 receives third subset 202(3) transmitted by BS 110, and from time t26 to time t27, UE 120 attempts again during time gap 204(3) but fails to decode the PDSCH message. Thus, from time t27 to time t28, UE 120 receives fourth subset 202(4) transmitted by BS 110, and from time t28 to time t29, UE 120 attempts again during time gap 204(4) but fails to decode the PDSCH message.

[0041] 3 is a time diagram illustrating the transmission of a PDSCH message by BS 110 of FIG. 1 and the reception and processing of that message by UE 120 for a second scenario in which UE 120 successfully decodes the PDSCH message before BS 110 has finished transmitting all of the scheduled subsets for that PDSCH message. As shown in FIG. 3, from time t11 to time t15, BS 110 performs the same processing as in FIG. 2. Similarly, from time t21 to time t23, UE 120 performs the same processing as in FIG. 2, except that in this scenario, during time gap 204(1), UE 120 successfully decodes the PDSCH message by time t23. In this situation, at or shortly after time t23, UE 120 switches from its DL mode of operation to its UL mode of operation and sends a HARQ-ACK message 302 back to BS 110, notifying BS 110 that UE 120 successfully decoded the PDSCH message.

[0042] BS 110 receives and processes HARQ-ACK message 302 beginning at time t15'. In response, BS 110 stops transmitting the subsets for the PDSCH message. In the implementation depicted in FIG. 3, BS 110 completes transmission of the current subset (i.e., third subset 202(3)) before stopping transmission of the PDSCH message. Therefore, in this scenario, fourth subset 202(4) from FIG. 2 is not transmitted by BS 110. Note that due to latency, BS 110 transmits second and third subsets 202(2) and 202(3), but by the time these subsets arrive, they are not received by UE 120, which is in the UL mode of operation. Note that because BS 110 operates in full-duplex mode, BS 110 can (i) successfully receive and process HARQ-ACK message 302 and (ii) simultaneously transmit subsets to UE 120.

[0043] In another possible implementation, BS 110 stops transmitting PDSCH messages after receiving HARQ-ACK message 302 at t15' before completing the current subset, e.g., after completing transmission of the current repetition of the PDSCH message, even if it is not the last repetition of the current subset. Note that if BS 110 completes processing the HARQ-ACK message during the time gap, BS 110 can stop transmitting PDSCH messages without starting transmission of the next subset.

[0044] As mentioned previously, in some implementations, there are no time gaps between different subsets of repetitions. Generally, the base station 110 configures the UE 120 to receive different subsets of repetitions and attempt to decode the PDSCH message at specific times. Depending on the implementation, these times may be specified in different ways, such as (but not limited to) relative to the start of the set of repetitions, absolute (e.g., system frame number), every xth repetition, or based on y ms / subframes before the scheduled UL resource. If the subsets are transmitted with time gaps between them, the base station 110 can configure the UE 120 to attempt to decode the PDSCH message during one or more of those time gaps.

[0045] 4 is a flow diagram of a process for the UE 120 of FIG. 1 in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. In step 402, the UE 120 is configured in its DL mode of operation. In step 404, the UE 120 receives one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. In step 406, the UE attempts to decode the PDSCH message. If, in step 408, the UE determines that the PDSCH message was not successfully decoded, the process returns to step 404 to receive one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. However, if the PDSCH message is successfully decoded, in step 410, the UE 120 switches to an UL mode of operation, and in step 412, the UE 120 transmits a HARQ-ACK message to the BS 110.

[0046] 5 is a flow diagram of the processing of the BS 110 of FIG. 1 in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure. In step 502, for a given PDSCH message, the BS 110 starts repeat transmission. In step 504, if and when the BS 110 receives a HARQ-ACK message from the UE 120, the BS 110 stops repeat transmission in step 506.

[0047] As noted above, in a given PDSCH message transmission sequence, each subset includes one or more repetitions of the message, possibly followed by a transmission gap. The network (i.e., either BS 110 or another network node) determines the number of message repetitions to include in each subset, and the number of repetitions may vary for a given PDSCH message and / or for different subsets for different PDSCH messages.

[0048] For example, in one possible scenario, BS 110 transmits a PDSCH message in a sequence of six subsets, with the first subset containing 50% of the repetitions, the second subset containing 25%, the third subset containing 10%, and the final three subsets containing 5% each. Thus, the timing of the subsets (e.g., start time and duration) and the timing of the time gaps, if any, differ for each subset.

[0049] In general, the network can use the timing of reception of the HARQ-ACK message relative to the corresponding phase of the transmission sequence as feedback for link adaptation (e.g., determining the number of subsets and / or message repetitions to include in the subsets of a subsequent PDSCH message). Earlier reception means more reliable decoding, which may imply the need for fewer message repetitions per subset and / or fewer subsets per sequence, and vice versa.

[0050] Generally, when HARQ feedback processing is disabled, the network cannot use HARQ feedback information as a channel status reference to adjust channel link parameters. Earlier feedback after UE 120 successfully decodes the DLPDSCH message can provide HARQ feedback information for link adaptation, but does not require additional latency because the feedback occurs at the same time that UE 120 is expected to receive the DL repetition.

[0051] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the network may employ a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) to coordinate communications between the BS 110 and the UE 120 and for the BS 110 to configure the UE 120 for the transmission sequence of different PDSCH messages. Alternatively, radio resource control / medium access control (RRC / MAC) signaling may be used.

[0052] In some implementations, the UE 120 uses network-configured UL resources (e.g., frequency band and / or time) for transmission of the HARQ-ACK message. The resources may be linked with a decoding gap in the downlink transmission to allow the UE 120 to respond in the UL after decoding the DL message. The UL resources may be shared by multiple UEs, which may multiplex the HARQ-ACK messages using, for example, Code Domain Multiplexing (CDM) processing, to use the UL resources more efficiently.

[0053] Although this disclosure has been described in the context of a UE transmitting a HARQ-ACK message immediately after successfully decoding a PDSCH message, those skilled in the art will appreciate that this disclosure can be implemented in the context of a UE delaying transmission of a HARQ-ACK message after successfully decoding a PDSCH message. In such an implementation, if the UE successfully decodes a PDSCH message after the current subset, the UE may wait until one or more subsequent subsets of PDSCH messages are received before transmitting the HARQ-ACK message.

[0054] Although the present disclosure has been described in the context of a UE operating in half-duplex mode in a frequency division based network, those skilled in the art will understand that the present disclosure may be implemented in the context of a UE operating in full-duplex mode and / or in a time division based network.

[0055] Although the present disclosure has been described in the context of PCSCH messages, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure may also be implemented in the context of other types of messages.

[0056] The present disclosure may be implemented in the context of a wireless non-terrestrial network (NTN), such as a 4G Internet of Things (IoT) NTN or a 5G New Radio (NR) NTN. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure may be implemented in the context of other wireless networks, as well as wired or optical networks.

[0057] While this disclosure includes reference to exemplary embodiments, this specification is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the described embodiments, as well as other embodiments within the scope of the disclosure that are apparent to those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains, are deemed to be within the principles and scope of the disclosure, as expressed, for example, in the following claims.

[0058] It will be further understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of parts described and illustrated to explain the nature of the present disclosure may be practiced by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, as expressed, for example, in the claims that follow.

[0059] Use of figure numbers and / or figure reference labels in the claims is intended to identify one or more possible embodiments of the claimed subject matter to facilitate claim interpretation, and such use is not to be construed as necessarily limiting the scope of those claims to the embodiments shown in the corresponding figure.

[0060] Although the elements recited in the following method claims, if any, are presented in a particular order with corresponding labeling, the elements are not necessarily intended to be limited to being performed in that particular order, unless the claim recitations imply a particular order for performing some or all of the elements. Similarly, additional steps may be included in such methods, and certain steps may be omitted or combined, in methods consistent with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0061] References herein to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places throughout this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarily mutually exclusive of other embodiments. The same applies to the term "embodiment."

[0062] As used herein, except as otherwise specified, the use of ordinal adjectives such as "first," "second," "third," etc. to refer to multiple identical objects merely indicates that different instances of such identical objects are being referenced and does not imply that the identical objects so referenced must be in a corresponding order or sequence, whether in time, space, ranking, or otherwise.

[0063] Also, as used herein, the terms "coupling," "bonding," "coupled," "connected," or "coupled" refer to any method known or later developed in the art that allows for the transfer of energy between two or more elements, assuming (but not requiring) the interposition of one or more additional elements. Conversely, terms such as "directly bonded," "directly connected," and the like imply the absence of such additional elements. The same type of distinction applies to the use of the terms "adhesion" and "direct bonding" as applied to describing physical structures. For example, a relatively thin layer of adhesive or other suitable binder may be used to effect such "direct bonding" of two corresponding components in such a physical structure.

[0064] As used herein in connection with elements and standards, the terms "compatible" and "conformant" mean that the element communicates with other elements in a particular way, in whole or in part, as recognized by the standard and by other elements as being fully capable of communicating with other elements in a particular way. A compatible or conformant element does not require the standard to operate internally in a particular way.

[0065] The described embodiments are considered in all respects to be illustrative only and not restrictive. In particular, the scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the description and drawings herein. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are embraced within their scope.

[0066] The functionality of the various elements illustrated in the figures, including functional blocks labeled "processor" and / or "controller," may be provided not only through the use of dedicated hardware, but also through the use of hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software. When provided by a processor, the functionality may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by multiple individual processors, some of which may be shared. Furthermore, explicit use of the terms "processor" or "controller" should not be construed to refer solely to hardware capable of executing software and may implicitly include, but is not limited to, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, network processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), read-only memory (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage. Other hardware, conventional and / or custom, may also be included. Similarly, the switches illustrated in the figures are conceptual. Their functionality may be implemented through the operation of program logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or manually, with the particular technique being selectable by the implementer as more specifically understood from the context.

[0067] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the present disclosure. Similarly, it will be appreciated that flowcharts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudocode, and the like, may be substantially embodied in a computer-readable medium and represent various processes that may be executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such a computer or processor is explicitly shown.

[0068] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the present disclosure may be embodied as an apparatus (including, e.g., a system, network, machine, apparatus, computer program product, and / or the like), as a method (including, e.g., a business process, computer-implemented process, and / or the like), or any combination thereof. Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure may take the form of an entirely software-based embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects, which may be generally referred to herein as a "system" or "network."

[0069] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be manifested in the form of methods and apparatuses for practicing those methods. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be manifested in the form of program code embodied in a tangible medium, such as a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, a semiconductor memory, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, a hard drive, or any other non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, which, when loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, becomes an apparatus for practicing the present disclosure. Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be manifested in the form of program code stored on a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, for example, that is loaded into and / or executed by a machine, which, when loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, becomes an apparatus for practicing the present disclosure. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code segments combine with the processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates analogously to specific logic circuits.

[0070] As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation regarding the permanence of the data storage (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0071] In this specification, including the claims, the term "each" may be used to refer to one or more particular characteristics of a plurality of previously recited elements or steps. When used with the open-ended term "comprising," the inclusion of the term "each" does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or steps. Thus, it will be understood that an apparatus may have additional, implicit elements, and a method may have additional, implicit steps, but that the additional, implicit elements or steps do not have one or more particular characteristics.

[0072] As used herein, "at least one of: " and "at least one of ," and similar expressions where a list of two or more elements is joined by "and" or "or," mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements. For example, the expressions "at least one of A and B" and "at least one of A or B" are both interpreted identically and encompass the three possibilities: (1) A only, (2) B only, and (3) both A and B.

[0073] All documents mentioned herein are either incorporated herein by reference in their entirety or provided in lieu of the disclosure on which they have been specifically relied upon.

[0074] The embodiments covered by the claims of this application are limited to those that (1) are enabled by this specification and (2) address statutory subject matter. Non-enabled embodiments and embodiments that address non-statutory subject matter are expressly disclaimed, even if they fall within the scope of the claims.

[0075] As used in this specification and claims, the term "provide" with respect to an apparatus or with respect to a system, device, or component includes designing or making the apparatus, system, device, or component, having the apparatus, system, device, or component designed or made, and / or obtaining the apparatus, system, device, or component by purchase, lease, rental, or other contractual arrangement.

[0076] While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided as exemplary embodiments only. Numerous variations, changes, and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the present disclosure. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the present disclosure described herein may be employed in practicing the techniques of the present disclosure. The following claims define the scope of the invention, and it is intended that methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), at least one processor; When executed by the at least one processor, the method includes the steps of: receiving a set of repetitions of a downlink (DL) message, the set including two or more subsets of the repetitions, each subset including one or more of the repetitions; attempting to decode the DL message after receiving one or more of the subsets; If the UE successfully decodes the DL message, sending an uplink (UL) message indicating successful decoding of the DL message; If the UE does not successfully decode the DL message with the current subset, (i) it does not send an uplink message indicating failure to decode the DL message, and (ii) if the set is not complete, (a) it receives one or more additional subsets, and (b) it attempts to decode the DL message again. at least one memory storing instructions for executing the A UE comprising:

2. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the UE is configured to attempt to decode the DL message based on one or more specific times.

3. 3. The UE of claim 1 or 2, wherein the UE is configured to (i) operate in a half-duplex (HD) mode, and (ii) stop repeated reception of the DL message after successfully decoding the DL message.

4. 4. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE is configured to decode the DL messages during a time gap between the start and end of the two or more subsets.

5. The UE of claim 4 , wherein the UE is configured with a specific timing for the gap.

6. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the UE is configured to use UL resources for transmitting the UL message.

7. The UE of claim 6 , wherein the UL resources are configured as part of the configuring the UE to receive the set of repetitions.

8. 8. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UL message is multiplexed with one or more other UL messages from one or more other UEs using shared UL resources.

9. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the number of repetitions of the DL message is different for at least two of the subsets.

10. 10. A UE according to claim 1, wherein the UE transmits the UL message while a repetition of the DL message arrives at the UE.

11. A base station, at least one processor; When executed by the at least one processor, the method includes: transmitting a set of repetitions of a downlink (DL) message to a user equipment (UE), the set including two or more subsets of the repetitions, each subset including one or more of the repetitions; transmitting the repetitions of the two or more subsets to the UE while monitoring an uplink (UL) message from the UE indicating successful decoding of the DL message; at least one memory storing instructions for executing the A base station comprising:

12. The base station of claim 11 , wherein the base station configures the UE to receive the two or more subsets of the repetitions of the DL message.

13. The base station according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the base station configures the UE with one or more specific times during which it attempts to decode the DL message.

14. 14. The base station according to claim 11, wherein the base station stops transmitting the repetitions of the DL message after receiving the UL message indicating successful decoding of the DL message, after transmitting one or more of the repetitions in the set, but before transmitting all of the repetitions in the set.

15. the base station transmitting the repetitions with a time gap between the beginning and end of the two or more subsets; The base station configures the UE to attempt to decode the DL message during the time gap. A base station according to any one of claims 11 to 14.

16. 16. A base station according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the network is a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

17. The base station configures an UL resource for the UE to transmit the UL message; the base station receives the UL message on the UL resource from the UE; A base station according to any one of claims 11 to 16.

18. 18. The base station according to any of claims 11 to 17, wherein the number of repetitions of the DL message is different for at least two of the subsets.

19. 19. The base station of claim 11, wherein the UL message is multiplexed with one or more other UL messages from one or more other UEs using shared UL resources.

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