Method of a terminal device and a terminal device

Abstract

The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable medium for communication, in which a first device receives at least one data transmission from a second device in at least one opportunity of a first number of opportunities set within a period, and the first device transmits to the second device a second number of information blocks for HARQ feedback for the at least one data transmission, the second number being less than the first number, to mitigate the effect of jitter, reduce the complexity of a terminal device for blind detection, and reduce signaling overhead on the HARQ feedback.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to a communication method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback transmission.

Background Art

[0002] SPS downlink (DL) transmission and type 1 or 2 configured grant (CG) uplink (UL) transmission are supported and extended in New Radio (NR) technology. These are advantageous for services with periodic packets in terms of control signaling overhead and scheduling delay, especially for extended reality (XR) services such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and cloud gaming.

[0003] Typically, packets arrive at the radio access network (RAN) every 1 / frame per second (FPS). Due to various factors, arrivals tend to occur within the range of jitter. The impact of jitter is identified as an important aspect for services such as XR services. It has already been proposed to reduce the impact of jitter by using an overly provided SPS opportunity (i.e., setting more frequent and dense SPS opportunities than required for transmission). However, the overly provided transmission opportunities will cause many problems, such as increased complexity of the terminal device for blind detection and increased signaling overhead on HARQ feedback for multiple transmission opportunities.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Overall, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for HARQ feedback transmission.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes, at a first device, receiving at least one data transmission from a second device at at least one opportunity out of a first number of opportunities set within one period, and transmitting, to the second device, a second number of information blocks that is less than the first number, regarding HARQ feedback for the at least one data transmission.

[0006] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes, at a first device, receiving, from a second device, a setting for semi-persistent scheduling indicating a period and a first number of opportunities within the period, and determining, based on at least the second number and an offset value for the one opportunity, an identity of a HARQ process for the one opportunity out of the first number of opportunities.

[0007] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes, at a second device, transmitting at least one data transmission to a first device at at least one opportunity out of a first number of opportunities set within one period, and receiving, from the first device, a second number of information blocks that is less than the first number, regarding HARQ feedback for the at least one data transmission.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes, at a second device, transmitting to a first device a configuration for semi-persistent scheduling indicating a period and a first number of opportunities within the period; and determining an identity of a HARQ process for one of the first number of opportunities based on at least a second number and an offset value for the one opportunity.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a processor configured to execute the method according to the first or second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a processor configured to execute the method according to the third or fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable medium storing instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed by at least one processor, the at least one processor is caused to execute the method according to the first or second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable medium storing instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed by at least one processor, the at least one processor is caused to execute the method according to the third or fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0013] Other features of the present disclosure should be easily understood from the following description.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014] Some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail in the accompanying drawings to further clarify the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure.

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[0036] In the figure, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0037] Here, the principles of the present disclosure will be described with reference to some embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and are intended to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from the methods described below.

[0038] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art of the present disclosure.

[0039] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to, user equipment (UE), personal computer, desktop computer, mobile phone, cellular phone, smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computer, tablet, wearable device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, any Internet of Everything (IoE) device, machine type communication (MTC) device, in-vehicle device for V2X communication, etc. Here, "X" in V2X represents a pedestrian, a vehicle or infrastructure / network, or an image acquisition device such as a digital camera, a game device, a music storage and playback device, or an Internet appliance enabling wireless or wired Internet access and browsing. The term "terminal device" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device. Also, the term "network device" refers to a device that can provide or host a cell or coverage with which a terminal device can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), next-generation Node B (gNB), transmission and reception point (TRP), remote radio unit (RRU), radio head (RH), remote radio head (RRH), femto node, pico node, and other low-power nodes.

[0040] In one embodiment, the terminal device can be connected to a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device can be a master node, and the other can be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device can use different radio access technologies (RATs). In one embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device, and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device is an eNB, and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information regarding different RATs can be transmitted from at least one of the first network device or the second network device to the terminal device. In one embodiment, the first information may be transmitted from the first network device to the terminal device, and the second information can be transmitted from the second network device directly or via the first network device to the terminal device. In one embodiment, information regarding the settings of the terminal device set by the second network device can be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. Information regarding the resetting of the terminal device set by the second network device can be transmitted from the second network device directly or via the first network device to the terminal device.

[0041] As used herein, the singular forms "a" and "the" include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The terms "comprising" and variations thereof should be understood as open-ended terms meaning "including, but not limited to." The term "based on" should be understood as "at least partially based on." The terms "one embodiment" and "embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment." Terms such as "first," "second," etc. may mean different or the same objects. There may be other explicit and implicit definitions below.

[0042] In some examples, a value, procedure, or device is referred to as "best", "lowest", "highest", "minimum", "maximum", etc. Such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection can be made from among a number of available functional alternatives, and it should be understood that such a selection need not be better, smaller, higher, or otherwise preferable to other selections.

[0043] In the context of the present application, the term "occasion" refers to any of 1) a time-domain resource allocated or permitted for data transmission, e.g., one or more slots, one or more mini-slots, or one or more symbols, 2) one or more slots in which a DL allocation, UL grant, or sidelink grant occurs, or 3) one or more symbols in which a DL allocation, UL grant, or sidelink grant occurs.

[0044] In the context of the present application, the term "symbol" refers to an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol or a discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbol. The term "slot" includes a plurality of consecutive symbols, e.g., 14 symbols or 12 symbols. The term "mini-slot" includes one or more consecutive symbols and has fewer symbols than a slot, e.g., 1, 2, 4, or 7 symbols.

[0045] In the context of the present application, the term "data transmission" may mean a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

[0046] As described above, the excessive provision of transmission opportunities (hereinafter also referred to as opportunities for convenience) causes many problems, such as the increased complexity of the terminal device regarding blind detection and the increased signaling overhead on HARQ feedback regarding opportunities. These problems also exist when multiple opportunities are set within one period.

[0047] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for solving the above and other potential problems when multiple opportunities are set within one period. In one aspect, solutions for transmitting HARQ feedback that is generated and transmitted only for some of the multiple opportunities are provided. In this way, the influence of jitter can be reduced, the complexity of the terminal device regarding blind detection can be reduced, and the signaling overhead on HARQ feedback can be reduced.

[0048] In another aspect, solutions for determining the HARQ process ID (identity) generated for each opportunity are provided. In this way, collisions and wastes in the HARQ process ID can be avoided.

[0049] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail. Example of a communication network

[0050] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication network 100 may include a first device 110 and a second device 120. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may be served by the second device 120. The first device 110 and the second device 120 may communicate with each other via a channel such as a wireless communication channel. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may communicate directly with the second device 120. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may communicate with the second device 120 via another device (not shown).

[0051] Communication in the communication network 100 may comply with any suitable standard including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), New Radio (NR), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Machine Type Communication (MTC), etc. Further, the communication may be performed according to any generation of communication protocol known currently or developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols.

[0052] It should be understood that the number of devices in FIG. 1 is provided for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation to the present disclosure. The communication network 100 may include any suitable number of first devices and / or second devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0053] For illustration purposes, the first device 110 is shown as a terminal device, and the second device 120 is shown as a network device. For the sake of explanation only, without suggesting any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure, some embodiments will be described in the context where the first device 110 is a terminal device and the second device 120 is a network device. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the first device 110 may be a network device and the second device 120 may be a terminal device. In other words, the principles and spirit of the present disclosure are applicable to both uplink transmission and downlink transmission. Further, in some embodiments, both the first device 110 and the second device 120 may be terminal devices, and in some embodiments, both the first device 110 and the second device 120 may be network devices.

[0054] In some embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit a setting regarding the period of opportunities for SPS DL transmission. In this case, the first device 110 may receive data packets from the second device 120 in at least some of these opportunities. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit a setting regarding the period of opportunities for CG UL transmission. In this case, the first device 110 may transmit data packets to the second device 120 in at least some of these opportunities. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit a setting regarding the period of opportunities for CG sidelink transmission. In this case, the first device 110 may receive data packets from the second device 120 in at least some of these opportunities. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit a setting regarding the period of opportunities for CG sidelink transmission to the first device 110. In this case, the first device 110 may receive data packets from a device other than the second device 120 in at least some of these opportunities, or may transmit data packets to a device other than the second device 120 in at least some of these opportunities.

[0055] In some embodiments, the second device 120 may send to the first device 110 settings regarding opportunities within one period. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may send to the first device 110 settings regarding a plurality of opportunities within one period.

[0056] In some scenarios, the first device may desire to send an XR frame packet to the second device or receive an XR frame packet from the second device. For a 60 FPS XR video stream, XR frame packets arrive at the RAN on average every 1 / 60 second. However, there is significant jitter in the arrival time of each XR frame packet. As modeled from a truncated Gaussian distribution, the range of jitter may be within 8 ms or 10 ms. On the other hand, the requirements for the packet delay budget (PDB) for each XR frame packet are quite strict, e.g., 10 / 15 ms. Therefore, each XR frame packet needs to be transmitted as soon as possible after arriving at the RAN.

[0057] In conventional solutions, to reduce the jitter problem, shorter SPS periods and simultaneous activation of multiple SPS / CG settings are supported. That is, the jitter is reduced by the overly provided SPS settings. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram 200 showing an exemplary scenario of SPS transmission regarding jitter reduction according to a conventional solution. Assume that a 60 FPS XR video stream is transmitted.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 2, the XR frame packet 201 in the XR video stream may arrive at the RAN at a time point within the jitter range 210. In this example, the period of the SPS setting is 5 ms. Although the XR packets arrive on average every 16.67 ms, since the network device and the terminal device do not know the exact arrival time of the XR packets in advance, the SPS period is set much smaller than 16.67 ms in order to provide a PDSCH opportunity as soon as possible after the arrival of the XR packets. As shown in FIG. 2, the PDSCH opportunities 220, 221, 222, and 223 are set periodically. That is, one opportunity is set within one period.

[0059] In the example of FIG. 2, only the PDSCH opportunity 221 is actually used by the network device for the transmission of the XR frame packet 201, and the PDSCH opportunities 220, 222, and 223 are not used. However, even though the PDSCH opportunities 220, 222, and 223 are not actually used, the terminal device generates a HARQ acknowledgment response (HARQ-ACK) codebook for all four PDSCH opportunities 220 to 223. The terminal device transmits the HARQ-ACK codebook within the PUCCH slot 224. This increases the overhead related to HARQ feedback and the complexity of blind detection.

[0060] The above description has been made about the problems in the case where one opportunity is set within one period. The same problems exist even when multiple opportunities are set within one period. That is, the terminal device generates a HARQ-ACK codebook for all multiple opportunities even if some of the multiple opportunities are not actually used.

[0061] In view of the above, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for HARQ feedback transmission in the case where multiple opportunities are set within one period. This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9C.

[0062] Embodiments of HARQ Feedback FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a process 300 for communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the sake of explanation, process 300 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. Process 300 may involve a first device 110 and a second device 120 as shown in FIG. 1.

[0063] As shown in FIG. 3, the second device 120 transmits at least one data transmission to the first device 110 at at least one opportunity within a first number (for the sake of convenience, represented as N in this specification) of opportunities (310). The first number of opportunities is set within one period (for the sake of convenience, represented as P in this specification), and the first number N is greater than 1. In some embodiments, the first number of opportunities may occur only once within the duration P. In some embodiments, the first number of opportunities may occur periodically with a period P.

[0064] In some embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit a setting regarding N resource allocations for the period P and N opportunities within the period to the first device 110. The period P may mean a plurality of time units. The time unit may be 1 millisecond, 1 slot, or 1 symbol. The number may be a positive integer or a positive non-integer. In some embodiments, the N resource allocations for the N opportunities may be indicated by start and length indication value (SLIV) fields in downlink control information (DCI).

[0065] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram 400 showing an example of SPS setting according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, opportunities 411, 412, 413, and 414 may be set within a single SPS period 410. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit a data transmission at one of opportunities 411 to 414. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit a plurality of data transmissions at a plurality of opportunities among opportunities 411 to 414.

[0066] Returning to FIG. 3, the first device 110 transmits (320) to the second device 120 an information block of a second number (represented herein as M for convenience) of HARQ feedbacks for the at least one data transmission. In some embodiments, the second number may be smaller than the first number, i.e., M < N. In other words, when at least one data transmission is received, the first device 110 may generate HARQ feedback for the second number of opportunities out of the first number of opportunities.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive from the second device 120 a setting indicating the second number M. The second number M means the maximum number of opportunities actually used out of the first number of opportunities. The first device 110 does not expect to correctly receive more than M data transmissions within the period P and feeds back only M information blocks.

[0068] In the context of the present disclosure, correctly receiving a data transmission within an opportunity means correctly receiving at least one data block within the opportunity. Further, successfully or correctly receiving or decoding or detecting a data block has the same meaning and can be used interchangeably. Successfully or correctly receiving or decoding or detecting a data block may mean that the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the data block is successfully or correctly performed.

[0069] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive a setting indicating a third number (for convenience, represented as L in this specification) from the second device 120. The third number refers to the number of data blocks within a single opportunity. In some embodiments, all opportunities within one period have the same L value. In some embodiments, the data block may be a transport block (TB). In some embodiments, the data block may be a code block group (CBG). In the context of the present application, the information block includes L HARQ-ACK information bits, and among the L HARQ-ACK information bits, the HARQ-ACK information bits indicate whether each data block within the opportunity has been received correctly or successfully.

[0070] Thus, since the second device 120 can start transmitting the XR frame packet as soon as possible after the arrival of the XR frame packet, the influence of jitter can be reduced. Furthermore, since the first device 110 can be allowed to blindly detect fewer opportunities, the complexity of the first device 110 can be reduced. Additionally, since the first device 110 can be allowed to feedback less HARQ-ACK information, the signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0071] For clarity, some embodiments will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0072] Embodiment 1 In this embodiment, the second number is 1, that is, M = 1. In this case, at least one data transmission includes one data transmission, and the information block of the second number includes one information block. This embodiment is beneficial when the data packet size is small or medium and the jitter is severe.

[0073] FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram 500A showing an exemplary SPS transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5A, packet 501 may arrive at the RAN at a time point within jitter range 510. Opportunities 520-523 are set within the first period, and opportunities 524-527 are set within a second period subsequent to the first period. In this example, the second device 120 may transmit packet 501 only at opportunity 520. After the average packet arrival interval, packet 502 may arrive at the RAN at a time point within the jitter range 520. The second device 120 may transmit packet 502 only at opportunity 527.

[0074] In some embodiments, if at least one data block for one data transmission is correctly or successfully received at one of the first number of opportunities (also referred to herein as the first opportunity), the first device 110 does not expect to correctly receive the data block at the remaining opportunities of the first number of opportunities (also referred to herein as the second opportunity). In other words, if the first device 110 correctly detects at least one data block within one of N opportunities, the first device 110 may stop detecting the remaining opportunities of the N opportunities. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, if the first device 110 correctly detects at least one data block within opportunity 520, the first device 110 may stop detecting opportunities 521, 522, and 523. As a result, since the first device 110 can be permitted to perform blind detection of fewer opportunities, the complexity of the first device 110 can be reduced. On the other hand, the second device 120 may start transmitting the packet as soon as possible when the packet arrives, and the influence of jitter can be reduced.

[0075] FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram 500B showing exemplary HARQ feedback for SPS transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5B, packet 503 may arrive at the RAN at a time within jitter range 530. Opportunities 540 to 543 are set within one period. In this example, the second device 120 may transmit packet 503 to the first device 110 only at opportunity 540, and the first device 110 may transmit HARQ feedback only for opportunity 540 within slot 544.

[0076] In some embodiments, if none of the data blocks for one data transmission are correctly received at N opportunities, the first device 110 may generate one information block including L HARQ-ACK information bits, and each of the L HARQ-ACK information bits indicates a negative acknowledgement (NACK).

[0077] In some embodiments, if a data block (also referred to herein as the first data block) is correctly or successfully received within the case of N opportunities, the first device 110 may generate a positive acknowledgement (ACK) for that data block. In some embodiments, if a data block (also referred to herein as the second data block) is incorrectly received at this opportunity, the first device 110 may generate HARQ-ACK information bits in the information block indicating a NACK for the data block. In other words, if the first device 110 is shown multiple data blocks for a single opportunity and the first device 110 successfully detects at least one data block within the opportunity, if there is one or more data blocks that were not successfully detected within the same opportunity, the first device 110 may generate a NACK for the one or more data blocks. Thus, an information block including M HARQ-ACK information bits may be obtained.

[0078] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may determine the position of the information block in the HARQ-ACK codebook based on the first opportunity among the N opportunities (e.g., opportunity 540 in FIG. 5B). In some embodiments, the first device 110 may determine the position of the information block in the HARQ-ACK codebook based on the last opportunity among the N opportunities (e.g., opportunity 543 in FIG. 5). Of course, the first device 110 may also determine the position of the information block in the HARQ-ACK codebook based on any one of the N opportunities. In other words, the N opportunities may share the same HARQ process ID. Then, based on the determined position, the first device 110 may place the information block in the HARQ-ACK codebook and transmit the HARQ-ACK codebook within slot 544.

[0079] So far, the HARQ feedback for one data transmission is sent from the first device 110 to the second device 120 while reducing the impact of jitter, reducing the complexity of blind detection, and reducing the signaling overhead. Embodiment 2

[0080] In this embodiment, the second number is also 1. The first device 110 may perform blind detection for all of the N opportunities and generate HARQ-ACK information for all of the N opportunities. Next, the first device 110 may generate L HARQ-ACK information bits by performing an "OR" operation on each bit in the HARQ-ACK information.

[0081] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate N information blocks for the N opportunities. Each of the N information blocks includes L HARQ-ACK information bits for the data blocks within their respective opportunities. That is, the L HARQ-ACK information bits indicate whether the data blocks were correctly received in their respective opportunities.

[0082] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate an information block by performing an OR operation on HARQ-ACK information bits within L HARQ-ACK information bits having the same index among N information blocks. For clarity, an example will be described with reference to FIG. 5C. FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram 500C showing another exemplary HARQ feedback for SPS transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5C, the packet 504 may arrive at the RAN at a time within the jitter range 550. The opportunities 550-553 are set within one period, and the HARQ feedback is transmitted within the slot 554. The first device 110 does not know in which of the opportunities 550-553 the packet 504 was transmitted. In this example, N = 4 and L = 3. It should be understood that this is only an example, and N and L may be any other suitable values.

[0083] In the example of FIG. 5C, the first device 110 may perform blind detection for all opportunities 550-553 set within one period and generate respective HARQ-ACK information blocks B0, B1, B2, and B3 for opportunities 550, 551, 552, and 553. The information block B0 includes three HARQ-ACK information bits B00, B01, and B02 having indices 0, 1, and 2. The information block B1 includes three HARQ-ACK information bits B10, B11, and B12 having indices 0, 1, and 2. The information block B2 includes three HARQ-ACK information bits B20, B21, and B22 having indices 0, 1, and 2. The information block B3 includes three HARQ-ACK information bits B30, B31, and B32 having indices 0, 1, and 2.

[0084] Then, the first device 110 can perform an OR operation on HARQ-ACK information bits having the same index, respectively. For example, the first device 110 can perform an OR operation on the HARQ-ACK information bits B00, B10, B20, and B30 having index 0 to obtain the HARQ-ACK information bit C0. The first device 110 can perform an OR operation on the HARQ-ACK information bits B01, B11, B21, and B31 having index 1 to obtain the HARQ-ACK information bit C1. The first device 110 can perform an OR operation on the HARQ-ACK information bits B02, B12, B22, and B32 having index 2 to obtain the HARQ-ACK information bit C2. Thus, the first device 110 can determine an information block C including the HARQ-ACK information bits C0, C1, and C2, and transmit the information block C within slot 544.

[0085] Thus, the HARQ feedback for one data transmission is sent from the first device 110 to the second device 120 in a state where the signaling overhead is reduced and in a simple manner. Embodiment 3

[0086] In this embodiment, the second number is greater than 1, that is, M>1. This embodiment is advantageous for larger data packet scenarios such as high-quality video stream frames (4K, 8K videos), and multiple opportunities may be required.

[0087] An important feature of the XR service is the varying packet size, and the second device 120 may not be able to accurately know in advance how many opportunities are required. Therefore, the value of M may be the maximum number of opportunities, and the second device 120 can estimate the value of M based on the maximum packet size and the channel quality. In some embodiments, the first device 110 can determine the positions of M opportunities based on an explicit or implicit method, and generate a HARQ-ACK codebook only for the M opportunities. Thus, it can support the transmission of packets having a greatly varying packet size.

[0088] FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram 600A showing an exemplary SPS transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6A, packet 601 may arrive at the RAN at a time within jitter range 610. Opportunities 620-623 are set within a first period, and opportunities 624-627 are set within a second period after the first period. In this example, the second device 120 may transmit packet 601 at opportunities 620 and 621. After the average packet arrival interval, packet 602 may arrive at the RAN at a time within the jitter range 620. The second device 120 may transmit packet 602 at opportunities 626 and 627.

[0089] In some embodiments, when at least one data transmission is correctly received at M of the N opportunities, the first device 110 does not expect to correctly receive data transmissions at opportunities other than the M of the N opportunities. In this embodiment, when at least one data block is correctly received at an opportunity, the data transmission is considered to be correctly received at that opportunity.

[0090] For example, if the first device 110 successfully detects M SPS PDSCHs within N opportunities and there are remaining opportunities within the N opportunities, the first device 110 may stop detecting the remaining opportunities.

[0091] FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram 600B showing exemplary HARQ feedback for SPS transmission according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6B, packet 603 may arrive at the RAN at a time within jitter range 630. Opportunities 640-643 are set within one period. In this example, the second device 120 may transmit packet 603 to the first device 110 at opportunities 640 and 641, and the first device 110 may transmit HARQ feedback for opportunities 640 and 641 within slot 644.

[0092] For example, if the first device 110 successfully detects K SPS PDSCHs where K < M within N opportunities, there are two possibilities. On the one hand, the second device 120 may transmit only the K SPS PDSCHs to the first device 110, and the first device 110 may detect all of the K SPS PDSCHs. On the other hand, the second device 120 may transmit more than K SPS PDSCHs to the first device 110, and the first device 110 may miss some of the more than K SPS PDSCHs without detecting them.

[0093] Therefore, for HARQ feedback, in some embodiments, the first device 110 may generate HARQ-ACK information for all of the N opportunities. In this case, there is no need for the first device 110 to determine which opportunity it missed.

[0094] As another possible solution, the first device 110 may generate HARQ-ACK information for only M opportunities. In this case, the first device 110 must determine which opportunity it missed. The latter solution is superior to the former solution because the overhead is low. To provide a solution for indicating the positions of the M opportunities within the N opportunities, several exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to Examples 1 to 3. Example 1

[0095] In this example, the N opportunities are divided into several groups, and each group contains M opportunities. The second device 120 may use only one of the groups for data transmission. The first device 110 does not expect to correctly receive two or more data transmissions belonging to different groups.

[0096] In some embodiments, if at least one data block for at least one data transmission is correctly received at the fourth opportunity out of N opportunities, the first device 110 may determine M opportunities associated with the fourth opportunity and generate M information blocks for the M opportunities. For example, the first device 110 may determine the group to which the fourth opportunity belongs and determine M opportunities included in the group. That is, when the first device 110 successfully detects at least one data block within any of the N opportunities, the actually used group may be identified. That is, when the first device 110 detects a data block within a specific opportunity, the group to which the specific opportunity belongs may be determined as the actually used group.

[0097] In some embodiments, the group may be set as a distributed pattern. In this case, one group may include M discontinuous opportunities that are interleaved with the opportunities of another group. This will be further described with reference to FIG. 7A. FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram 700A showing an exemplary grouping of SPS setting opportunities according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7A, group 1 may include opportunities 701, 703, 705, and 707, and group 2 may include opportunities 702, 704, 706, and 708. Assume that the first device 110 detects at least one data block within opportunity 703. Then, the first device 110 can know that group 1 has been used by the second device 120 for data transmission. In this case, the first device 110 may generate HARQ-ACK information for group 1 and may not generate HARQ-ACK information for group 2.

[0098] In some embodiments, the group can be set as a localized pattern. In this case, one group can include M consecutive opportunities. This will be further described with reference to FIG. 7B. FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram 700B showing an exemplary grouping of SPS setting opportunities according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7B, group 1 may include opportunities 711, 712, 713, and 714, and group 2 may include opportunities 715, 716, 717, and 718. Assume that the first device 110 detects at least one data block within opportunity 713. Then, the first device 110 can know that group 1 has been used by the second device 120 for data transmission. In this case, the first device 110 may generate HARQ-ACK information for group 1 and may not generate HARQ-ACK information for group 2.

[0099] In some embodiments, the group can be set as any pattern indicated by a bitmap. Of course, any other suitable method for grouping is also possible.

[0100] Example 2 In this example, the second device 120 can use M different sequences to indicate the positions and orders of the M opportunities. In this case, the first device 110 can blindly detect these sequences and identify the indices of the opportunities among the M opportunities.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first device 110 can determine M opportunities from N opportunities based on a set of sequences associated with the M opportunities, and can generate M information blocks for the M opportunities. In some embodiments, the position of the information block for one case may depend on the order of that opportunity within the M opportunities.

[0102] In some embodiments, if data transmission with a sequence is not correctly received at any of N opportunities, the first device 110 may generate L HARQ-ACK information bits indicating NACK as an information block corresponding to that opportunity for the opportunity corresponding to the sequence. In other words, if the first device 110 fails to successfully detect a PDSCH with a specific sequence within N opportunities, the first device 110 may generate L NACK values for the opportunity corresponding to the specific sequence.

[0103] In some embodiments, the sequence may be at least one of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a wake-up signal, a synchronization signal, a phase-tracking reference signal (PTRS), a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), etc. In some embodiments, the sequence may be embedded signaling within the data transmission. For example, the sequence may be a field of embedded signaling similar to configured grant-uplink control information (CG-UCI). It should be understood that the sequence may adopt any other suitable type, and the present disclosure does not limit this aspect.

[0104] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram 800 showing an exemplary indication of an SPS configuration opportunity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, there are four opportunities 801, 802, 803, and 804. Assume that L = 1 and M = 2, and the first device 110 successfully detects data blocks within opportunities 802 and 803 having sequences 1 and 2, respectively. In this case, the first device 110 generates two ACKs for the data transmissions having sequences 1 and 2, respectively.

[0105] L = 1 and M = 3, and the first device 110 successfully detects data blocks having sequences 2 and 3 within opportunities 802 and 803 respectively, but the first device 110 does not detect a data block having sequence 1 within any of opportunities 801 - 804. In this case, the first device 110 knows that the data transmission having sequence 1 has been missed. Then, the first device 110 may generate a NACK for the data transmission having sequence 1 and two ACKs for the data transmissions having sequences 2 and 3 respectively. Example 3

[0106] In this example, the second device 120 may indicate the positions of the M opportunities by dynamic signaling. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive an indication indicating the M opportunities from the second device 120 and generate M information blocks for the M opportunities.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive the indication within a slot (also referred to herein as the first slot) before the first opportunity among the N opportunities. In other words, the second device 120 may transmit the indication before the first actually used opportunity. FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram 900A showing another exemplary indication of the SPS setting opportunity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9A, there are four opportunities 901, 902, 903, and 904 set within one period. The second device 120 may transmit a signaling or indication 910 within a slot before the first opportunity 901 among opportunities 901 - 904 to indicate that opportunities 902 and 903 are the actually used opportunities.

[0108] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive this indication on an opportunity out of M opportunities. In other words, the second device 120 may send this indication on any one of one or more actually used opportunities (i.e., not necessarily the first opportunity). In some embodiments, the second device 120 may generate an indication by layer 1 (L1) signaling and multiplex this indication with data transmission such as embedded signaling similar to PDSCH or CG-UCI. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may send the indication via a media access control (MAC) control element (CE). It should be understood that this indication may be sent in any other suitable way.

[0109] FIG. 9B is a schematic diagram 900B showing another exemplary indication of an SPS setting opportunity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9B, there are four opportunities 911, 912, 913, and 914 set within one period. The second device 120 may send a signaling or indication 920 within the slot of opportunity 912 to indicate that opportunities 912 and 913 are actually used opportunities.

[0110] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive this indication within a slot (also referred to herein as the second slot) that is after the last opportunity among the M opportunities and before a slot (also referred to herein as the third slot) used for transmission of M information blocks. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may send this indication after at least one actually used opportunity and before HARQ feedback transmission associated with the actually used opportunity. For example, the indication may be included in, for example, a HARQ-ACK request field, for example, a HARQ-ACK request for one slot. In some embodiments, the indication may be a field of DL / UL scheduling DCI. In some embodiments, the indication may be a field of dedicated DCI.

[0111] Figure 9C is a schematic diagram 900C showing another exemplary indication of an SPS setting opportunity according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 9C, there are four opportunities 921, 922, 923, and 924 set within one period. The second device 120 may transmit a signaling or indication 930 within a slot that is after the last opportunity 924 among opportunities 921 to 924 and before the slot 925 for HARQ feedback, indicating that opportunities 922 and 923 are the opportunities actually used.

[0112] So far, for the case where a plurality of opportunities are set within one period and only some of the plurality of opportunities are actually used, solutions for HARQ feedback transmission have been described. By these solutions, HARQ feedback overhead can be reduced.

[0113] Embodiment of HARQ Process ID Determination Currently, for SPS / CG setting, the HARQ process ID is determined based on the slot index and the period. For example, the HARQ process ID of the SPS opportunity is determined by the following formula (1). (Equation 1) HARQ process ID = [floor (CURRENT_slot × 10 / (numberOfSlotsPerFrame × period))] modulo nrofHARQ - Processes (1) Here, CURRENT_slot = [(SFN × numberOfSlotsPerFrame) + the number of slots within the frame], and numberOfSlotsPerFrame represents the number of consecutive slots per frame.

[0114] Equation (1) is designed based on there being only one SPS / CG opportunity within each SPS period. However, when multiple PDSCHs are supported per SPS period, Equation (1) causes collisions between situations. Specifically, based on the above Equation (1), all opportunities within the same period will have the same HARQ process ID.

[0115] To support multiple PDSCHs per SPS period, the above equation regarding HARQ process ID calculation should be enhanced by considering the number of opportunities within each SPS period.

[0116] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved solution for determining the HARQ process ID for each opportunity among the N opportunities set within one period. This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 10.

[0117] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a process 1000 for communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the sake of explanation, the process 1000 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 1000 may involve a first device 110 and a second device 120 as shown in FIG. 1.

[0118] As shown in FIG. 10, the second device 120 may send a setting indicating a period and a first number of opportunities within this period to the first device 110 (1010). The first number is represented as N.

[0119] The first device 110 determines the HARQ process ID for an opportunity among the N opportunities based on at least a fourth number and an offset value for that opportunity (1020). In some embodiments, the fourth number may be N. In some embodiments, the fourth number may be a number smaller than N. For example, the fourth number may be the number of opportunities actually used (represented as M). Similarly, the second device 120 determines the HARQ process ID for an opportunity among the N opportunities based on at least a fourth number and an offset value for that opportunity (1030).

[0120] In some embodiments, for an SPS configuration having multiple opportunities per period, the HARQ process ID can be determined based on the following formula (2). (Equation 2) HARQ process ID = [floor (CURRENT_slot × 10 / (numberOfSlotsPerFrame × period)) * T + occasion_offset] modulo nrofHARQ-Processes (2) Here, T represents a fourth number (the number of opportunities within a single period or the number of actually used opportunities within a single period, i.e., N or M), occasion_offset represents the offset value of the opportunity among the N or M opportunities, CURRENT_slot = [(SFN × numberOfSlotsPerFrame) + the number of slots within the frame], and numberOfSlotsPerFrame represents the number of consecutive slots per frame.

[0121] In some embodiments where T represents N, the occasion_offset for the opportunity can be determined based on the time domain order of the opportunity within the N opportunities. In some embodiments where T represents M, the occasion_offset for the opportunity can be determined based on the time domain order of the opportunity within the M opportunities. For example, for the first opportunity, occasion_offset may be 0, and for the second opportunity, occasion_offset may be 1.

[0122] Generally, the first device 110 can determine the opportunity by the SLIV in the activated DCI. However, some of the SLIVs may be invalid within a certain period. For example, the PDSCH opportunity indicated by the SLIV value may collide with at least one UL symbol.

[0123] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the first device 110 may determine an offset value based on the order of the slots corresponding to the opportunity among the set slots. In other words, occasion_offset may be determined based on the order of the SLIVs among all the SLIVs.

[0124] In some alternative embodiments, the first device 110 may determine an offset value based on the order of the slots corresponding to the opportunity among the valid slots within the set slots. In other words, occasion_offset may be determined based only on the order of the SLIVs among the valid SLIVs. That is, an opportunity with an invalid SLIV does not have a value of occasion_offset.

[0125] In this way, for multiple PDSCHs for each SPS period, the HARQ process IDs can be determined such that there are no collisions or wastes in the HARQ process IDs.

[0126] Embodiment of the method Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure provide communication methods implemented in a terminal device and a network device. Referring to FIGS. 11 to 14, these methods will be described below.

[0127] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an exemplary communication method 1100 implemented in a first device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 1100 may be executed in the first device 110 as shown in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, for the sake of explanation, the method 1100 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The method 1100 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and it should be understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0128] In block 1110, the first device 110 receives at least one data transmission from the second device 120 in at least one of the first number of opportunities set within one period.

[0129] In block 1120, the first device 110 transmits to the second device 120 a second number of information blocks that is less than the first number, regarding the HARQ feedback for the at least one data transmission.

[0130] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, if at least one data block for the at least one data transmission is correctly received in the first opportunity among the first number of opportunities, the first device 110 does not expect to correctly receive the data block in the second opportunity among the first number of opportunities.

[0131] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, if none of the data blocks for the at least one data transmission are correctly received in the first number of opportunities, the first device 110 may generate, as the second number of information blocks, an information block including a third number of HARQ-ACK information bits equal to the set number of data blocks for the opportunity, indicating a negative response.

[0132] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, if the first data block for the at least one data transmission is correctly received in the third opportunity among the first number of opportunities, the first device 110 may generate HARQ-ACK information bits in the information block indicating an affirmative response for the first data block. If the second data block for the at least one data transmission is incorrectly received in the third opportunity, the first device 110 may generate HARQ-ACK information bits in the information block indicating a negative response for the second data block. Thus, the information block may be generated.

[0133] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the first device 110 may determine the position of the second number of information blocks in the HARQ-ACK codebook based on the first or last opportunity among the first number of opportunities, and place the second number of information blocks in the HARQ-ACK codebook based on that position.

[0134] In some embodiments where the second number is 1 and the at least one opportunity includes the first number of opportunities, the first device 110 may generate the first number of information blocks for the first number of opportunities. The information blocks within the first number of information blocks include the third number of HARQ-ACK information bits, and the third number of HARQ-ACK information bits indicate whether the data blocks were correctly received at each opportunity. Then, the first device 110 may generate an information block as the second number of information blocks by performing an OR operation on the HARQ-ACK information bits having the same index within the third number of HARQ-ACK information bits among the first number of information blocks.

[0135] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the first device 110 may determine the identity of the HARQ process associated with the at least one data transmission based on the opportunity among the first number of opportunities.

[0136] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, if the at least one data transmission was correctly received in the second number of opportunities among the first number of opportunities, the first device 110 does not expect the data transmission to be correctly received in opportunities other than the second number of opportunities among the first number of opportunities.

[0137] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, if at least one data block for the at least one data transmission is correctly received at a fourth opportunity out of the first number of opportunities, the first device 110 may determine a second number of opportunities associated with the fourth opportunity and generate a second number of information blocks for the second number of opportunities.

[0138] In some embodiments, the first number of opportunities includes a plurality of groups of opportunities, and the number of opportunities included in one of the plurality of groups is equal to the second number. In these embodiments, the first device 110 may determine the second number of opportunities by determining one of the plurality of groups to which the fourth opportunity belongs.

[0139] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, the first device 110 may determine the second number of opportunities from the first number of opportunities based on a set of sequences associated with the second number of opportunities and generate a second number of information blocks for the second number of opportunities.

[0140] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, if no data transmission having a sequence is correctly received at the first number of opportunities, the first device 110 may generate, as an information block corresponding to the opportunity, a third number of HARQ-ACK information bits indicating a negative acknowledgment for the opportunity corresponding to the sequence.

[0141] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, the first device 110 may receive an indication from the second device 120 indicating a second number of opportunities and generate the second number of information blocks for the second number of opportunities. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive the indication within a first slot before a first opportunity among the second opportunities. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive this indication at an opportunity among the second number of opportunities. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may receive this indication within a second slot after the last slot among the second number of opportunities and before a third slot used for transmission of the second number of information blocks.

[0142] By the method of FIG. 11, the influence of jitter can be reduced, the complexity of the terminal device regarding blind detection can be reduced, and the signaling overhead on HARQ feedback can be reduced.

[0143] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another exemplary communication method 1200 implemented in a first device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 1200 may be executed in the first device 110 as shown in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, for the sake of explanation, the method 1200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. It should be understood that the method 1200 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the blocks shown may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0144] In block 1210, the first device 110 receives a setting from the second device 120 indicating a period and a first number of opportunities within this period.

[0145] In block 1220, the first device 110 determines the identity of the HARQ process for the opportunity among the first number of opportunities based on at least a fourth number and an offset value for the opportunity. In some embodiments, the fourth number may be equal to the first number. In some embodiments, the fourth number may be smaller than the first number. For example, the fourth number may be the number of opportunities actually used among the first opportunities.

[0146] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may determine the offset value based on the order of the slot corresponding to the opportunity among the set slots. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may determine the offset value based on the order of the slot corresponding to the opportunity among the valid slots within the set slot.

[0147] By the method of FIG. 12, collisions and wastes in the HARQ process ID can be avoided.

[0148] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an exemplary communication method 1300 implemented in a second device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 1300 may be executed in the second device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, for the sake of explanation, the method 1300 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. It should be understood that the method 1300 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the blocks shown may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0149] As shown in FIG. 13, in block 1310, the second device 120 transmits at least one data transmission to the first device 110 at at least one opportunity among the first number of opportunities set within one period.

[0150] In block 1320, the second device 120 receives, from the first device 110, a second number of information blocks that is less than the first number, for HARQ feedback regarding the at least one data transmission.

[0151] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the second device 120 may receive an information block including a third number of HARQ-ACK information bits equal to a set number of data blocks for an opportunity indicating HARQ feedback.

[0152] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the second device 120 may determine the position of the second number of information blocks in the HARQ-ACK codebook based on the first or last opportunity among the first number of opportunities, and obtain the second number of information blocks from the HARQ-ACK codebook based on that position.

[0153] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the second device 120 may determine the identity of the HARQ process associated with the at least one data transmission based on an opportunity among the first number of opportunities.

[0154] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, the first number of opportunities may include a plurality of groups of opportunities, and the number of opportunities included in one of the plurality of groups may be equal to the second number. In these embodiments, the second device 120 may determine a group including the second number of opportunities from the plurality of groups, and transmit the at least one data transmission in at least one of the second number of opportunities.

[0155] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, the second device 120 may determine the second number of opportunities associated with a set of sequences from the first number of opportunities. Then, the second device 120 may transmit the at least one data transmission in at least one of the second number of opportunities.

[0156] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, the second device 120 may send an instruction to the first device 110 indicating a second number of opportunities for transmission among the at least one data transmission. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may send the instruction within a first slot prior to a first opportunity among the second opportunities. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may send this instruction at an opportunity among the second number of opportunities. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may send this instruction within a second slot after the last slot among the second number of opportunities and prior to a third slot used for receiving the second number of information blocks.

[0157] The method 1300 can reduce the influence of jitter, reduce the complexity of the terminal device regarding blind detection, and reduce the signaling overhead on HARQ feedback.

[0158] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another exemplary communication method 1400 implemented in a second device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 1400 may be executed in the second device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, for the sake of explanation, the method 1400 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. It should be understood that the method 1400 may include additional blocks not shown and / or some of the blocks shown may be omitted, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0159] As shown in FIG. 14, in block 1410, the second device 120 sends a setting indicating a period and a first number of opportunities within this period to the first device 110.

[0160] In block 1420, the second device 120 determines the identity of the HARQ process for the opportunity among the first number of opportunities based on at least a fourth number and an offset value for the opportunity. In some embodiments, the fourth number may be equal to the first number. In some embodiments, the fourth number may be smaller than the first number. For example, the fourth number may be the number of opportunities actually used among the first opportunities.

[0161] In some embodiments, the second device 120 may determine the offset value based on the order of the slot corresponding to the opportunity among the set slots. In some embodiments, the second device 120 may determine the offset value based on the order of the slot corresponding to the opportunity among the valid slots within the set slot.

[0162] By the method of FIG. 14, collisions and wastes in the HARQ process ID can be avoided. Embodiment of the device

[0163] FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of a device 1500 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1500 can be considered as another exemplary embodiment of the first device 110 or the second device 120 shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, the device 1500 can be implemented in the first device 110 or the second device 120, or as at least a part thereof.

[0164] As shown, apparatus 1500 includes a processor 1510, a memory 1520 coupled to the processor 1510, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1540 coupled to the processor 1510, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1540. The memory 1510 stores at least a part of program 1530. The TX / RX 1540 is used for two-way communication. The TX / RX 1540 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although the access nodes referred to herein may actually have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 / Xn interface for two-way communication between eNB / gNB, an S1 / NG interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) / SGW / UPF and an eNB / gNB, a Un interface for communication between an eNB / gNB and a relay node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between an eNB / gNB and a terminal device.

[0165] It is assumed that when program 1530 is executed by the associated processor 1510 as described herein with reference to FIGS. 3-14, it includes program instructions that enable apparatus 1500 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1510 of apparatus 1500, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1510 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Further, the combination of the processor 1510 and the memory 1520 may form processing means 1550 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0166] Memory 1520 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and by way of non-limiting example, may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology such as a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, a semiconductor-based memory device, a magnetic memory device and system, an optical memory device and system, a fixed memory, and a removable memory. Only one memory 1520 is shown within device 1500, but there may be several physically different memory modules within device 1500. Processor 1510 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and by way of non-limiting example, may include one or more of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 1500 may have a specific-purpose integrated circuit chip that is temporally dependent on a clock that synchronizes a plurality of processors, e.g., a main processor.

[0167] In some embodiments, the first device comprises a circuit that is configured to receive at least one data transmission from the second device at at least one of a first number of opportunities set within one period, and to transmit to the second device a second number of information blocks for the HARQ feedback regarding the at least one data transmission, the second number being less than the first number.

[0168] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the circuit may be configured to receive the at least one data transmission by virtue of the first device not expecting to correctly receive a data block at a second of the first number of opportunities, in accordance with a determination that at least one data block was correctly received at a first of the first number of opportunities for the at least one data transmission.

[0169] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the circuit may further be configured to generate, as the second number of information blocks, an information block including a third number of HARQ-ACK information bits equal to the set number of data blocks for the opportunity, indicating a negative acknowledgment, according to a determination that no data block for the at least one data transmission was correctly received in the first number of opportunities.

[0170] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the circuit may further be configured to generate, as the second number of information blocks, the information block by generating HARQ-ACK information bits in the information block indicating an affirmative acknowledgment for the first data block for the at least one data transmission according to a determination that the first data block for the at least one data transmission was correctly received in the third opportunity of the first number of opportunities, and generating HARQ-ACK information bits in the information block indicating a negative acknowledgment for the second data block according to a determination that the second data block for the at least one data transmission was incorrectly received in the third opportunity.

[0171] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the circuit may further be configured to determine the position of the second number of information blocks in the HARQ-ACK codebook based on the first or last opportunity of the first number of opportunities, and arrange the second number of information blocks in the HARQ-ACK codebook based on the position.

[0172] In some embodiments where the second number is 1 and the at least one opportunity includes the opportunities of the first number, the circuit may further generate, for the opportunities of the first number, an information block of the first number, where the information blocks within the information block of the first number include HARQ-ACK information bits of a third number, the HARQ-ACK information bits of the third number indicating whether the data blocks are correctly received at respective opportunities, and may be configured to generate an information block as the information block of the second number by performing an OR operation on the HARQ-ACK information bits having the same index within the HARQ-ACK information bits of the third number among the information blocks of the first number.

[0173] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the circuit may further be configured to determine the identity of the HARQ process associated with the at least one data transmission based on the opportunities among the opportunities of the first number.

[0174] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, if the at least one data transmission is correctly received at the second number of opportunities among the opportunities of the first number, the first device does not expect to correctly receive data transmissions at opportunities other than the second number of opportunities among the opportunities of the first number.

[0175] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, the circuit may further be configured to determine a second number of opportunities associated with the fourth opportunity and generate an information block of the second number for the second number of opportunities according to a determination that at least one data block for the at least one data transmission is correctly received at the fourth opportunity among the opportunities of the first number. In some embodiments where the opportunities of the first number include multiple groups of opportunities and the number of opportunities included in one of the multiple groups is equal to the second number, the circuit may be configured to determine the number of the second opportunities by determining one of the multiple groups to which the fourth opportunity belongs.

[0176] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, the circuit may further be configured to determine the second number of opportunities from the first number of opportunities based on a set of sequences associated with the second number of opportunities, and generate a second number of information blocks for the second number of opportunities. In some embodiments, the circuit may further be configured to generate, as the information block corresponding to the opportunity, a third number of HARQ-ACK information bits indicating a negative acknowledgment for the opportunity corresponding to the sequence, according to a determination that no data transmission having the sequence was correctly received in the first number of opportunities.

[0177] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, the circuit may further be configured to receive, from a second device, an indication indicating the second number of opportunities, and generate the second number of information blocks for the second number of opportunities. In some embodiments, the circuit may be configured to receive the indication in a first slot before a first opportunity of the second number of opportunities, receive the indication in an opportunity of the second number of opportunities, or receive the indication in a second slot after the last slot of the second number of opportunities and before a third slot used for transmission of the second number of information blocks, at least one of which may be used to receive the indication.

[0178] In some embodiments, a first device includes a circuit, the circuit being configured to receive, from a second device, a configuration indicating a period and a first number of opportunities within the period, and determine, for an opportunity of the first number of opportunities, an identity of a HARQ process based on at least a fourth number and an offset value for the opportunity. In some embodiments, the fourth number may be equal to the first number. In some embodiments, the fourth number may be smaller than the first number.

[0179] In some embodiments, the circuit may be configured to determine the HARQ process identity by one of: determining the offset value based on the order of the slot corresponding to the opportunity among the set slots; and determining the offset value based on the order of the slot corresponding to the opportunity among the valid slots within the set slot.

[0180] In some embodiments, the second device includes a circuit, and the circuit is configured to transmit at least one data transmission to the first device in at least one of a first number of opportunities set within one period, and receive from the first device a second number of information blocks that is less than the first number, regarding HARQ feedback for the at least one data transmission.

[0181] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the circuit may be configured to receive the second number of information blocks by receiving an information block including a third number of HARQ-ACK information bits equal to the set number of data blocks for the opportunity, indicating the HARQ feedback.

[0182] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the circuit may be configured to receive the second number of information blocks by determining the position of the second number of information blocks in the HARQ-ACK codebook based on the first or last opportunity among the first number of opportunities, and obtaining the second number of information blocks from the HARQ-ACK codebook based on the position.

[0183] In some embodiments where the second number is 1, the circuit may further be configured to determine the identity of the HARQ process associated with the at least one data transmission based on the opportunities among the first number of opportunities.

[0184] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, the opportunity of the first number may include opportunities of a plurality of groups, and the number of opportunities included in one of the plurality of groups may be equal to the second number. In some embodiments, the circuit may be configured to determine a group including the second number of opportunities from the plurality of groups, and transmit the at least one data transmission by transmitting the at least one data transmission in at least one of the second number of opportunities.

[0185] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, the circuit may be configured to determine the second number of opportunities associated with a set of sequences from the first number of opportunities, and transmit the at least one data transmission by transmitting the at least one data transmission in at least one of the second number of opportunities.

[0186] In some embodiments where the second number is greater than 1, the circuit may further be configured to transmit an instruction indicating the second number of opportunities for transmission of the at least one data transmission to the first device. In some embodiments, the circuit may transmit the instruction within a first slot before the first opportunity of the second opportunities, transmit the instruction at an opportunity of the second number of opportunities, or transmit the instruction within a second slot after the last slot of the second number of opportunities and before a third slot used for reception of the second number of information blocks, at least one of which may configure the circuit to transmit the instruction.

[0187] In some embodiments, the second device includes a circuit, which is configured to send a setting indicating a period and a first number of opportunities within the period to the first device, and to determine an identity of a HARQ process for an opportunity among the first number of opportunities based on at least a fourth number and an offset value for the opportunity. In some embodiments, the fourth number may be equal to the first number. In some embodiments, the fourth number may be smaller than the first number.

[0188] In some embodiments, the circuit may be configured to determine the identity of the HARQ process by one of: determining the offset value based on an order of a slot corresponding to the opportunity among the set of slots; and determining the offset value based on an order of a slot corresponding to the opportunity among valid slots within the set of slots.

[0189] As used herein, the term "circuit" may mean a hardware circuit and / or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. For example, the circuit may be an analog and / or digital hardware circuit in combination with software / firmware. As yet another example, the circuit may be any portion of a hardware processor having software including a digital signal processor, software, and one or more memories that cooperate to cause a device such as a terminal device or a network device to perform various functions. In yet another example, the circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or a processor such as a microprocessor or a portion thereof that requires software / firmware for operation, but the software may not be present if not required for operation. As used herein, the term "circuit" includes the implementation of only a hardware circuit or one or more processors, or a portion of a hardware circuit or one or more processors and their (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware.

[0190] As a whole, various embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software executable by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or other pictorial representations, but the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein are, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or any combination thereof.

[0191] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions such as instructions included in program modules that are executed within a device on a target actual processor or virtual processor to execute the processes or methods described above with reference to FIGS. 3-14. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or divided among the program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules can be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0192] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be described in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes are provided to a processor or a controller of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing devices, and when executed by the processor or the controller, the program codes implement the functions / operations specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0193] The above program code may be implemented on a machine-readable medium, and the machine-readable medium may be any tangible medium that can be used by or incorporated into or store a program related to an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing media. More specific examples of the machine-readable storage medium may include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0194] Although the operations have been described in a specific order for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that such operations are not necessarily required to be performed in the specific order shown or in a sequential order, or that all of the operations described must be performed, to obtain a desired result. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although some specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Some features that have been described in the context of individual embodiments may be combined and implemented in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that have been described in the context of a single embodiment may be implemented separately in multiple embodiments or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0195] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as illustrative forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

Claim 1. A method for a terminal device, comprising receiving a first setting from a network, the first setting indicating a first period and a first number which is the number of a plurality of time intervals for a plurality of data transmissions within the first period, determining, for each valid time interval among the plurality of time intervals within the first period, a first offset value, and determining, based on the first period, the first number, and the first offset value, an Identity (ID) of a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) process for each data transmission among the plurality of data transmissions within the first period. Claim 2. A terminal device, comprising a receiving unit configured to receive a first setting from a network, the first setting indicating a first period and a first number which is the number of a plurality of time intervals for a plurality of data transmissions within the first period, and a processing unit configured to determine, for each valid time interval among the plurality of time intervals within the first period, a first offset value, wherein the processing unit is configured to determine, based on the first period, the first number, and the first offset value, an Identity (ID) of a Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) process for each data transmission among the plurality of data transmissions within the first period. Claim 3. Among the plurality of data transmissions within the first period, the first offset value for a first data transmission is equal to 0, and among the plurality of data transmissions within the first period, the first offset value for each data transmission of at least one data transmission after the first data transmission is determined based on the first number. The terminal device according to claim 2. Claim 4. Among the plurality of data transmissions within the first period, the first offset value for each data transmission of at least one data transmission after the first data transmission is determined in ascending order based on the first number. The terminal device according to claim 2. Claim 5. ​ ​ The data transmission includes a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH: physical downlink shared channel), a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH: physical uplink shared channel), or a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH: physical sidelink shared channel). The terminal device according to claim 2.

6. The time interval includes a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol. The terminal device according to claim 2.

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