APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR HARQ-ACK FEEDBACK FOR MULTICAST SERVICES - Patent application

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for supporting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)-Acknowledgement (ACK) feedback for multicast services. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) device may comprise at least one antenna, at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using at least one radio access technology, and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: cause the UE device to receive, from a base station, Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)-Acknowledgement (ACK) feedback for both multicast and unicast and that HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is disabled; and cause the UE device to generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report that excludes a HARQ-ACK bit for multicast by using a Time Domain Resource Allocation (TDRA) for unicast to configure the semi-static codebook.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application relates generally to wireless communication systems, including apparatus and methods for supporting Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)-Acknowledgement (ACK) feedback for multicast services. [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless communication devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols can include, for example, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP new radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs), commonly known to industry groups as Wi-Fi®.

[0003] As contemplated by 3GPP, different wireless communication system standards and protocols may use various radio access networks (RANs) for communication between base stations of the RAN (sometimes commonly referred to as RAN nodes, network nodes, or simply nodes) and wireless communication devices known as user equipment (UE). 3GPP RANs may include, for example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and / or Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).

[0004] Each RAN can perform communications between base stations and UEs using one or more radio access technologies (RATs). For example, a GERAN implements a GSM and / or EDGE RAT, a UTRAN implements a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, an E-UTRAN implements an LTE RAT (sometimes simply referred to as LTE), and an NG-RAN implements an NR RAT (sometimes referred to herein as a 5G RAT, a 5G NR RAT, or simply NR). In certain deployments, an E-UTRAN can also implement an NR RAT. In certain deployments, an NG-RAN can also implement an LTE RAT.

[0005] A base station used by a RAN may correspond to that RAN. An example of an E-UTRAN base station is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly referred to as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNode B, or eNB). An example of an NG-RAN base station is a next-generation Node B (sometimes referred to as a Node B or gNB).

[0006] The RAN provides communication services with external entities via a connection to a core network (CN). For example, the E-UTRAN can utilize the evolved packet core (EPC), and the NG-RAN can utilize the 5G core network (5GC).

[0007] NR can support multicast and broadcast services (MBS) for UEs. Therefore, uplink (UL) feedback, such as HARQ-ACK feedback, is needed to improve MBS reliability. The level of reliability can be based on the requirements of the application / service provided. HARQ-ACK feedback can generally include feedback based on non-acknowledgement (NACK) only and feedback based on acknowledgment (ACK) / non-acknowledgement (NACK). For multicast services, it is proposed that both NACK-only and ACK / NACK-based feedback be supported to improve multicast physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) reception reliability. Therefore, a technique for supporting HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast services is needed. Summary of the Invention

[0008] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) device may comprise at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using the at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: cause the UE device to receive, from a base station, radio resource control (RRC) signaling indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)-acknowledgement (ACK) feedback for both multicast and unicast and that HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is disabled; and cause the UE device to generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report that excludes a HARQ-ACK bit for multicast by using time domain resource allocation (TDRA) for unicast to configure the semi-static codebook.

[0009] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) device may comprise at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using the at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: cause the UE device to receive, from a base station, radio resource control (RRC) signaling indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)-acknowledgement (ACK) feedback for both multicast and unicast; receive, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) indicating that HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is disabled; and generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report including a HARQ-ACK bit based on ACK / NACK for multicast or a HARQ-ACK bit based only on NACK for multicast in the configured semi-static codebook by using actual ACK or NACK feedback.

[0010] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) device may comprise at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using the at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: cause the UE device to receive, from a base station, radio resource control (RRC) signaling indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)-acknowledgement (ACK) feedback for multicast; receive, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) indicating that HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is not disabled when the semi-static codebook is configured via an indication field for HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast; and generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report including a HARQ-ACK bit for multicast.

[0011] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) device may comprise at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using the at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: cause the UE device to determine that the UE device supports acknowledgement (ACK) / non-acknowledgement (NACK) based hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling and multicast semi-persistent scheduling (SPS); receive radio resource control (RRC) signaling from a base station indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling and that ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS is disabled; and generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report that excludes the HARQ-ACK bit for the multicast SPS by using time domain resource allocation (TDRA) for multicast to configure the semi-static codebook.

[0012] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) device may comprise at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using the at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: cause the UE device to determine that the UE device supports acknowledgement (ACK) / non-acknowledgement (NACK) based hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling and multicast semi-persistent scheduling (SPS); receive radio resource control (RRC) signaling from a base station indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS and that ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling is disabled; determine whether a unicast physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is received; and, in response to determining that the unicast PDSCH is not received, generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report including only HARQ-ACK bits for the multicast SPS.

[0013] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) device may comprise at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using the at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: determine that the UE device supports acknowledgement (ACK) / non-acknowledgement (NACK) based hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling and multicast semi-persistent scheduling (SPS); receive radio resource control (RRC) signaling from a base station indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast; receive downlink control information (DCI) from the base station indicating that either the ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling or the ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS is disabled; and generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report including ACK / NACK based HARQ bits for multicast dynamic scheduling and multicast SPS in the configured semi-static codebook by using the actual ACK or NACK feedback.

[0014] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) device may comprise at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using the at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: cause the UE device to determine that the UE device supports acknowledgement (ACK) / non-acknowledgement (NACK)-based hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling and multicast semi-persistent scheduling (SPS); and receive, from a base station, a message indicating that ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling and ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS are both enabled or both disabled.

[0015] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) device may comprise at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using the at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: cause the UE device to convert non-acknowledgement (NACK)-only based Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback bits for multicast into acknowledgement (ACK) / NACK-based HARQ feedback bits to report to a base station an capability of the UE device supporting an operation mode supporting two or more bits of NACK-only based HARQ feedback; receive from the base station information regarding a codebook type for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast configured for the operation mode; and construct a codebook for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast in accordance with the configured codebook type in the same manner as a codebook for ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback for multicast.

[0016] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) device may comprise at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using the at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors configure the UE device to support an operating mode supporting two or more bits for non-acknowledgement (NACK)-only based HARQ feedback for multicast using predefined mapping rules that define a mapping between one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback bits and a plurality of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource sets for each received one or more transport blocks (TBs). the UE device is configured to report to a base station an capability of the UE device to support the multicasting, receive from the base station radio resource control (RRC) signaling indicating a PUCCH configuration for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicasting, generate a HARQ feedback report including a HARQ feedback bit with an ACK or NACK bit for each scheduled TB, select a PUCCH resource set from a plurality of PUCCH resource sets according to a predefined mapping rule, and, for a particular PUCCH resource set within the predefined mapping rule, if one or more TBs are scheduled, add a NACK bit in addition to one or more existing HARQ feedback bits, and transmit the HARQ feedback report using the selected PUCCH resource set.

[0017] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used in conjunction with several different types of devices, including, but not limited to, cellular base stations, cellular telephones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and any of a variety of other computing devices.

[0018] This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it should be understood that the above features are merely examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, the drawings, and the claims.

[0019] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit(s) of a reference number refers to the number of the figure in which that element is first introduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an example architecture of a wireless communication system according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0021] [Figure 2] 1 illustrates a system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device according to an aspect disclosed herein.

[0022] [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a first example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report by a UE device according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0023] [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a second example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report by a UE device according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0024] [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a third example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report by a UE device according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0025] [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a fourth example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report by a UE device according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0026] [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a fifth example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report by a UE device according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0027] [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a sixth example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report by a UE device according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0028] [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a seventh example method for determining a configuration of HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast by a UE device according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0029] [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an eighth exemplary method for constructing a codebook by a UE device according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0030] [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a ninth example method for transmitting a HARQ-ACK feedback report by a UE device according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0031] While the features described herein may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments of the features have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detailed description are not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but rather to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] Various embodiments are described with reference to a UE. However, reference to a UE is provided merely for illustrative purposes. The illustrative embodiments may be used with any electronic component, configured with hardware, software, and / or firmware for establishing a connection to a network and exchanging information and data with the network. Accordingly, a UE as described herein is used to represent any suitable electronic component. Examples of a UE may include a mobile device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a personal computer, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or a machine-type communication (MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances, vehicles, meters, among other examples.

[0033] 1 illustrates an example architecture of a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment disclosed herein. The following description is provided for the example wireless communication system 100 operating in conjunction with an LTE system standard and / or a 5G or NR system standard, as provided by the 3GPP technical specifications.

[0034] 1, wireless communication system 100 includes UE 102 and UE 104 (although any number of UEs may be used). In this example, UE 102 and UE 104 are shown as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may comprise any mobile or non-mobile computing devices configured for wireless communication.

[0035] The UEs 102 and 104 may be configured to be communicatively coupled to the RAN 106. In an embodiment, the RAN 106 may be an NG-RAN, an E-UTRAN, or the like. The UEs 102 and 104 utilize connections (or channels) with the RAN 106 (shown as connection 108 and connection 110, respectively), each of which comprises a physical communication interface. The RAN 106 may include one or more base stations, such as base station 112 and base station 114, that facilitate the connections 108 and 110.

[0036] In this example, connection 108 and connection 110 are air interfaces for enabling such communication coupling and may correspond to the RAT(s) used by RAN 106, such as, for example, LTE and / or NR.

[0037] In some embodiments, the UE 102 and the UE 104 may also directly exchange communication data via the sidelink interface 116. The UE 104 is configured to access an access point (shown as AP 118) via a connection 120, as shown. By way of example, the connection 120 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, and the AP 118 may include a Wi-Fi router. In this example, the AP 118 may be connected to other networks (e.g., the Internet) without going through the CN 124.

[0038] In an embodiment, the UEs 102 and 104 may be configured to communicate with each other or with the base stations 112 and / or 114 using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals over multi-carrier communication channels according to various communication technologies, such as, but not limited to, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication technology (e.g., for downlink communication) or a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication technology (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), and the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. An OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0039] In some embodiments, all or a portion of the base station 112 or the base station 114 may be implemented as one or more software entities executing on a server computer as part of a virtual network. Additionally or in other embodiments, the base station 112 or the base station 114 may be configured to communicate with each other via the interface 122. In embodiments where the wireless communication system 100 is an LTE system (e.g., where the CN 124 is the EPC), the interface 122 may be an X2 interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more eNBs) that connect to the EPC and / or between two eNBs that connect to the EPC. In embodiments where the wireless communication system 100 is an NR system (e.g., where the CN 124 is the 5GC), the interface 122 may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface may be defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more gNBs) that connect to the 5GC, between the base station 112 (e.g., a gNB) and an eNB that connect to the 5GC, and / or between two eNBs that connect to the 5GC (e.g., the CN 124).

[0040] The RAN 106 is shown communicatively coupled to the CN 124. The CN 124 may comprise one or more network elements 126 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UEs 102 and 104) connected to the CN 124 via the RAN 106. The components of the CN 124 may be implemented in a single physical device or separate physical devices, including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium).

[0041] In an embodiment, the CN 124 may be an EPC, and the RAN 106 may be connected to the CN 124 via an S1 interface 128. In an embodiment, the S1 interface 128 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface that carries traffic data between the base station 112 or 114 and a serving gateway (S-GW), and an S1-MME interface that is a signaling interface between the base station 112 or 114 and a mobility management entity (MME).

[0042] In an embodiment, the CN 124 may be a 5GC, and the RAN 106 may be connected to the CN 124 via an NG interface 128. In an embodiment, the NG interface 128 may be divided into two parts: an NG-User Plane (NG-U) interface that carries traffic data between the base station 112 or 114 and a User Plane Function (UPF), and an S1-Control Plane (NG-C) interface that is a signaling interface between the base station 112 or 114 and an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF).

[0043] In general, the application server 130 may be an element that provides applications that use Internet Protocol (IP) bearer resources (e.g., packet-switched data services) with the CN 124. The application server 130 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, group communication sessions, etc.) for the UEs 102 and 104 via the CN 124. The application server 130 may communicate with the CN 124 via an IP communication interface 132.

[0044] 2 illustrates a system 200 for performing signaling 234 between a wireless device 202 and a network device 218 according to embodiments disclosed herein. The system 200 may be part of a wireless communication system as described herein. The wireless device 202 may be, for example, a UE of the wireless communication system. The network device 218 may be, for example, a base station (e.g., an eNB or a gNB) of the wireless communication system.

[0045] The wireless device 202 may include one or more processor(s) 204. The processor(s) 204 may execute instructions to perform various operations of the wireless device 202, as described herein. The processor(s) 204 may include, for example, one or more baseband processors implemented using a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0046] The wireless device 202 may include a memory 206. The memory 206 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 208 (e.g., may include instructions being executed by the processor(s) 204). The instructions 208 may also be referred to as program code or computer programs. The memory 206 may also store data used by the processor(s) 204 and results computed by the processor(s) 204.

[0047] The wireless device 202 may include one or more transceiver(s) 210, which may include radio frequency (RF) transmitter and / or receiver circuitry, that uses antenna(s) 212 of the wireless device 202 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 234) to and / or from the wireless device 202 with other devices (e.g., network devices 218) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0048] The wireless device 202 may include one or more antenna(s) 212 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). In embodiments with multiple antenna(s) 212, the wireless device 202 may exploit the spatial diversity of such multiple antenna(s) 212 to transmit and / or receive multiple different data streams over the same time and frequency resources. This behavior is sometimes referred to, for example, as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) behavior (referring to the multiple antennas used at each of the transmitting and receiving devices that enable this aspect). MIMO transmission by the wireless device 202 may be achieved in accordance with precoding (or digital beamforming) applied at the wireless device 202 that multiplexes data streams across the antenna(s) 212 according to known or assumed channel characteristics such that each data stream is received at a desired location in the spatial domain (e.g., the location of a receiver associated with that data stream) with an appropriate signal strength relative to the other streams. Some embodiments may use Single-User MIMO (SU-MIMO) methods (in which data streams are all directed to a single receiver) and / or Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO) methods (in which individual data streams may be directed to individual (different) receivers in different locations in the spatial domain).

[0049] In some embodiments having multiple antennas, the wireless device 202 may implement analog beamforming techniques whereby the phases of the signals sent by the antenna(s) 212 are adjusted relative to one another so that the (joint) transmissions of the antenna(s) 212 can be directed (this may be referred to as beam steering).

[0050] The wireless device 202 may include one or more interface(s) 214. The interface(s) 214 may be used to provide input to or output from the wireless device 202. For example, a wireless device 202 that is a UE may include interface(s) 214 such as a microphone, speaker, touchscreen, buttons, etc. to enable a user of the UE to provide input and / or output to the UE. Such other interfaces of the UE may consist of transmitters, receivers, and other circuitry (e.g., other than the transceiver(s) 210 / antenna(s) 212 already described) that enable communication between the UE and other devices and may operate according to known protocols (e.g., Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.).

[0051] The network device 218 may include one or more processor(s) 220. The processor(s) 220 may execute instructions to perform various operations of the network device 218, as described herein. The processor(s) 204 may include, for example, one or more baseband processors implemented using a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0052] The network device 218 may include a memory 222. The memory 222 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 224 (e.g., may include instructions being executed by the processor(s) 220). The instructions 224 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 222 may also store data used by the processor(s) 220 and results computed by the processor(s) 220.

[0053] The network device 218 may include one or more transceiver(s) 226, which may include RF transmitter and / or receiver circuitry, using antenna(s) 228 of the network device 218 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 234) to and / or from the network device 218 with other devices (e.g., the wireless device 202) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0054] The network device 218 may include one or more antenna(s) 228 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). In embodiments with multiple antenna(s) 228, the network device 218 may perform MIMO, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, beamsteering, etc., as described.

[0055] The network device 218 may include one or more interface(s) 230. The interface(s) 230 may be used to provide input to or output from the network device 218. For example, a network device 218 that is a base station may include interface(s) 230 consisting of a transmitter, a receiver, and other circuitry (e.g., other than the transceiver(s) 226 / antenna(s) 228 already described) that enables the base station to communicate with other equipment in the core network and / or to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc., for purposes of operation, management, and maintenance of the base station or other equipment operatively connected thereto.

[0056] Type-1 HARQ-ACK Feedback Codebook Configuration When HARQ-ACK Feedback for Multicast is Disabled

[0057] The BS can inform the UE of the codebook type for ACK / NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast via the RRC parameter pdsch-HARQ-ACK-Codebook-Multicast. There are two codebook types: semi-static codebook, also called Type 1 codebook, and dynamic codebook, also called Type 2 codebook. The UE can be configured with pdsch-HARQ-ACK-Codebook or pdsch-HARQ-ACK-CodebookList. Such configuration applies to all Group Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (G-RNTIs) configured in the UE.

[0058] HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast can be dynamically enabled or disabled per G-RNTI by RRC signaling or by downlink control information (DCI). Figures 3 and 4 show how a UE device constructs a Type 1 HARQ-ACK feedback codebook when HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is disabled by RRC signaling and DCI, respectively.

[0059] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a first example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report by a UE device when HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is disabled by RRC signaling, according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0060] At 301, the UE device may receive RRC signaling from a base station indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for HARQ-ACK feedback for both multicast and unicast. The RRC signaling may also indicate that HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is disabled.

[0061] At 302, the UE device may generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report that excludes HARQ-ACK bits for multicast by using time domain resource allocation (TDRA) for unicast to configure a semi-static codebook. Thus, the UE device removes the HARQ-ACK bits for multicast from the HARQ-ACK feedback report and then uses the TDRA table for unicast to determine a Type 1 codebook size, thereby constructing the Type 1 HARQ-ACK feedback codebook.

[0062] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a second example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report by a UE device when HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is disabled by a DCI, according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0063] At 401, the UE device may receive RRC signaling from a BS indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for HARQ-ACK feedback for both multicast and unicast.

[0064] At 402, the UE device may receive DCI from the BS indicating that HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is disabled. The DCI may be DCI format 4_2, which is specialized for multicast services.

[0065] At 403, the UE device may generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report including HARQ-ACK feedback bits for multicast in a semi-static codebook configured with actual ACK or NACK feedback, where the HARQ-ACK feedback may be ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback or NACK-only based HARQ feedback.

[0066] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a third example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report according to DCI received from a BS by a UE device, according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0067] At 501, the UE may receive RRC signaling from the BS indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for HARQ-ACK feedback for both multicasts.

[0068] At 502, the UE may receive DCI from the BS indicating that HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is not disabled when the semi-static codebook is configured via an indication field for HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast.

[0069] The DCI, for example, DCI format 4_2, may include an enable / disable HARQ-ACK feedback indication field that may indicate whether HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is enabled or disabled. The enable / disable HARQ-ACK feedback indication field contains a 1 bit if the upper layer parameter harq-FeedbackEnabler Multicast indicates dci-enabler, and a 0 bit otherwise.

[0070] In some aspects, if a Type 1 HARQ-ACK codebook is configured, the UE may not expect the Enable / Disable HARQ-ACK feedback indication field in the DCI format to indicate disablement, in other words, the BS shall only configure the HARQ-ACK feedback indication field as enabled.

[0071] In another aspect, the enable / disable HARQ-ACK feedback indication field applies only to Type 2 codebooks for multicast. That is, the enable / disable HARQ-ACK feedback indication field can be configured to indicate the enablement or disablement of Type 2 codebooks for multicast. However, for Type 1 HARQ-ACK codebooks, the BS shall not configure / include the HARQ-ACK feedback indication field in the DCI.

[0072] At 503, the UE may generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report including a HARQ-ACK bit for multicast. Type-1 HARQ-ACK Feedback Codebook Construction for Multicast Dynamic Scheduling and Multicast SPS Multiplexing

[0073] Multicast downlink scheduling can include multicast dynamic scheduling and multicast semi-persistent scheduling (SPS). Unlike dynamic scheduling, which allocates radio resources to a UE every transmission time interval (TTI), SPS allows radio resources to be configured semi-statically and periodically allocated to a UE. Currently, HARQ-ACK enablement / disablement for multicast dynamic scheduling and multicast semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) are separate UE functions. Therefore, HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling and multicast SPS can be enabled / disabled separately. Figures 6 to 9 show the operation of a UE or a BS in various scenarios in which HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling or multicast SPS is enabled or disabled via RRC signaling or DCI.

[0074] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a fourth example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report when ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS is disabled by a UE device via RRC signaling, according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0075] At 601, the UE may determine that it supports multicast dynamic scheduling and ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS.

[0076] At 602, the UE may receive RRC signaling from the BS indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling and that ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS is disabled.

[0077] At 603, the UE may generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report that excludes the HARQ-ACK bit for the multicast SPS by using the TDRA for multicast to configure a semi-static codebook. Thus, the UE device removes the HARQ-ACK bit for the multicast SPS from the HARQ-ACK feedback report, and then uses the TDRA table for multicast to determine the Type 1 codebook size, thereby constructing the Type 1 HARQ-ACK feedback codebook.

[0078] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a fifth example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report when ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling is disabled by a UE device via RRC signaling, according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0079] At 701, the UE may determine that the UE device supports multicast dynamic scheduling and ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS.

[0080] At 702, the UE may receive RRC signaling from the BS indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS and that ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling is disabled.

[0081] At 703, the UE may determine whether a unicast PDSCH is being received.

[0082] At 704, in response to determining that the unicast PDSCH is not received, the UE may generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report that includes only HARQ-ACK bits for the multicast SPS, i.e., a fallback operation to a Type-1 HARQ-ACK codebook occurs.

[0083] If a unicast PDSCH is received, the fallback operation to the Type 1 HARQ-ACK codebook also occurs.

[0084] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a sixth example method for generating a HARQ-ACK feedback report when ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling or multicast SPS is disabled by a UE device via DCI, according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0085] At 801, the UE may determine that the UE supports multicast dynamic scheduling and ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS.

[0086] At 802, the UE may receive RRC signaling from the BS indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast.

[0087] At 803, the UE may receive DCI from the BS indicating that either ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling or ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS is disabled.

[0088] At 804, the UE may generate a HARQ feedback report including ACK / NACK-based HARQ bits or NACK-only-based HARQ bits for multicast dynamic scheduling and for multicast SPS in a semi-static codebook configured by using the actual ACK or NACK feedback.

[0089] Specifically, if the HARQ feedback based on ACK-NACK for multicast SPS is disabled via DCI in SPS activation, the HARQ-ACK for SPS, i.e., ACK or NACK, is still generated in the codebook, or the HARQ bits based only on NACK for SPS are generated.

[0090] When ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling is disabled via DCI, the codebook configuration is the same as when the feedback mode is ACK / NACK based HARQ feedback, i.e., the ACK / NACK based HARQ bits for multicast dynamic scheduling are configured in the semi-static codebook by using the actual ACK or NACK feedback.

[0091] The above aspects describe various scenarios in which HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast dynamic scheduling or multicast SPS is disabled. However, according to other aspects, the UE may not expect the multicast dynamic scheduling PDSCH and the multicast SPS PDSCH to have different enablement / disablement configurations.

[0092] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a seventh example method for determining a configuration of HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast by a UE device according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0093] At 901, the UE may determine that the UE supports multicast dynamic scheduling and ACK / NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS.

[0094] At 902, the UE may receive a message from the BS indicating that ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for dynamic multicast scheduling and ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast SPS are both enabled or both are disabled. More than 2 bits for HARQ-ACK feedback based on NACK only

[0095] Typically, only one bit is reported for NACK-only feedback, and physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources are shared among users. It has been proposed to support two or more NACK-only HARQ-ACK feedback bits for multicast in the same PUCCH transmission. Two operation modes for supporting two or more bits for NACK-only HARQ-ACK feedback are described below. One is to convert NACK-only HARQ bits to ACK / NACK-based HARQ bits, and the other is to use a predefined mapping rule to map NACK-only HARQ bits to PUCCH resource sets. The operation mode(s) used for a UE are signaled via RRC messages. Figures 10 and 11 show the operation of a UE in either of the two modes.

[0096] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an eighth exemplary method for constructing a codebook by a UE device according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0097] At 1001, the UE may convert NACK-only based HARQ feedback bits into ACK / NACK based HARQ feedback bits and report to the BS the capability of the UE device to support an operation mode supporting two or more bits for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast.

[0098] At 1002, the UE may receive, from the BS, information regarding a codebook type for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for a multicast configured for an operating mode.

[0099] The codebook types can be constructed according to different strategies.

[0100] As option 1, a Type 1 codebook or a Type 2 codebook can be selectively determined for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast.

[0101] As option 2, the codebook type for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast can be determined by following the codebook type for ACK / NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast with the same priority, if configured. Two priority indices are introduced for multicast in DCI format 4_2, with index 0 indicating low priority and index 1 indicating high priority.

[0102] As option 3, the codebook type for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast can be determined by following the codebook type for HARQ-ACK feedback for unicast PDSCH with the same priority.

[0103] As option 4, the codebook type for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast can be determined by combining options 1, 2, or 3 above.

[0104] As option 5, the UE may assume that the Type-2 codebook is applied in the case of the mode in which NACK-only based HARQ bits are converted to ACK / NACK based HARQ bits. In other words, the UE may not need to receive information about the codebook type for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast from the BS.

[0105] At 1003, the UE may construct a codebook for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast according to the configured codebook type in the same manner as the codebook for ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback for multicast.

[0106] Generally, PUCCH resources for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast are shared among users that are to be configured with the same G-RNTI. Here, since NACK-only based HARQ feedback falls back to ACK / NACK based HARQ feedback, the UE needs to adaptively determine the PUCCH resources used to transmit the constructed codebook.

[0107] According to some aspects, a UE may receive from a BS a configuration of PUCCH resources including two PUCCH resource sets for UE use, where a first PUCCH resource set is for NACK-only-based HARQ feedback for multicast and a second PUCCH resource set is for ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback for multicast. The DCI received by the UE may include a PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) that may indicate PUCCH resources of the second PUCCH resource set if two or more bits are present for NACK-only-based HARQ feedback for multicast and reserved if one bit is present for NACK-only-based HARQ feedback for multicast. Thus, the converted ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback may be transmitted by the UE using the second PUCCH resource set.

[0108] According to another aspect, the BS may not configure a PUCCH resource set dedicated to NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast. Instead, the UE may use PUCCH resources for ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback for NACK-only based HARQ feedback. In this case, the UE may receive a separate PUCCH-Config / PUCCH-ConfigurationList for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast, or, if configured, receive RRC signaling including the PUCCH configuration for ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback for multicast. The PUCCH configuration for ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback for multicast may be signaled via the RRC parameter pucch-Config-Multicast1, which indicates the PUCCH configuration for ACK / NACK-based HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast for one bandwidth portion (BWP) of the normal UL or supplemental uplink (SUL) of the serving cell.

[0109] According to yet another aspect, the BS may not configure a dedicated PUCCH resource set for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast, and instead, the UE may use the PUCCH configuration for unicast for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast.

[0110] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a ninth example method for transmitting a HARQ-ACK feedback report when an operation mode using a predefined mapping rule of NACK-only based HARQ bits with a PUCCH resource set is applied by a UE device, according to aspects disclosed herein.

[0111] At 1101, the UE may report to the BS its capability to support an operating mode supporting more than one bit for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast using a predefined mapping rule that defines a mapping between HARQ-ACK feedback bits for each received TB and multiple PUCCH resource sets.

[0112] At 1102, the UE may receive RRC signaling from the BS indicating a PUCCH configuration for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast. For example, the UE may receive an RRC parameter pucch-Config-Multicast2 indicating a PUCCH configuration for NACK-only based HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast for one BWP of the normal UL or SUL of the serving cell, which is UE-specific and configured per UL BWP.

[0113] In 1103, the UE may generate a HARQ feedback report including HARQ feedback bits including an ACK or NACK bit for each scheduled TB. For example, if only one TB, e.g., TB1, is transmitted by the BS, the UE will feedback a NACK if it does not receive TB1, and will not feedback an ACK if it receives TB1. In other words, the UE performs HARQ-ACK feedback based only on NACK. However, if two TBs, e.g., TB1 and TB2, are transmitted by the BS, there are three combinations of feedback bits, namely (N, N), (N, A), and (A, N), which still belong to HARQ-ACK feedback based only on NACK even if an ACK is present.

[0114] At 1104, the UE may select a PUCCH resource set from the multiple PUCCH resource sets according to a predefined mapping rule. If another TB is scheduled for the same PUCCH resource set in the predefined mapping rule, a NACK bit is added in addition to one or more existing HARQ feedback bits. Table 1 below shows an example of a predefined mapping rule. [Table 1]

[0115] In this table, up to 15 orthogonal PUCCH resources are defined for up to four TB combinations. TB1 is transmitted first, followed by TB2, TB3, and TB4. Alternatively, a counter Downlink Allocation Index (DAI) is used, and the TB is associated with the DAI index. In the table, A means ACK, and N means NACK or discontinuous transmission (DTX).

[0116] In the table, if another TB is scheduled for the same PUCCH resource, a NACK bit is added in addition to the existing HARQ feedback. Taking the first PUCCH resource as an example, the one or more HARQ feedback bits are N for TB1, (N,N) for (TB1,TB2), (N,N,N) for (TB1,TB2,TB3), and (N,N,N,N) for (TB1,TB2,TB3,TB4).

[0117] Such mapping has the advantage that if the last scheduled TB is DTX, i.e., if the PDCCH for that TB is missed, the gNB can autonomously detect this error. For example, three TBs are scheduled by the gNB, but the last TB is missed by the UE. If the UE reports (N, A) using the second PUCCH resource, the gNB detects the second PUCCH resource and therefore knows that the third TB was received by the UE and not corrected.

[0118] At 1105, the UE may transmit a HARQ feedback report including HARQ feedback bits using the selected PUCCH resource set.

[0119] The maximum number of TBs to be supported for this operating mode is 4 TBs. When the number of scheduled TBs is greater than 4, the UE can report HARQ feedback bits only for the first four scheduled TBs. In the second option, the UE may consider this an error case and use the 16th PUCCH resource for feedback. In the third option, the operating mode is switched to ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback, i.e., the UE can generate a HARQ feedback report by converting NACK-only-based HARQ feedback bits to ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback bits. In the fourth option, the UE does not expect to be scheduled with more than four TBs, i.e., the BS shall not schedule more than four TBs for NACK-only-based feedback.

[0120] This mode, which uses a predefined mapping rule for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast, can support only one G-RNTI or more than one G-RNTI. Different numbers of supported G-RNTIs result in different HARQ-ACK bit to PUCCH resource mappings.

[0121] According to some aspects, a UE is not expected to be configured with more than one G-RNTI with NACK-only based HARQ feedback in this mode, i.e., the BS shall configure a UE with at most one G-RNTI for NACK-only based HARQ feedback in this mode.

[0122] According to another aspect, a UE may support up to two G-RNTIs for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast, where each G-RNTI is associated with two TBs, as shown in Table 2 below. [Table 2]

[0123] In this table, the first of the two G-RNTIs with the lower index (G-RNTI1) is associated with the first two of the four scheduled TBs, and the second of the two G-RNTIs with the higher index (G-RNTI2) is associated with the last two of the four scheduled TBs.

[0124] Alternatively, the gNB can configure the association of the TB with the G-RNTI. The UE can receive the configuration of the association of the G-RNTI with the TB from the base station. If the UE device receives only a PDSCH associated with one G-RNTI, the UE reports an ACK bit for one or more TBs associated with another G-RNTI.

[0125] According to yet another aspect, a UE may support more than two G-RNTIs for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast, in which case the UE may generate HARQ feedback reports by converting NACK-only based feedback bits into ACK / NACK based HARQ feedback bits, i.e., by falling back to a mode of converting NACK-only based HARQ bits into ACK / NACK based HARQ bits.

[0126] To determine the total number of HARQ-ACK bits for either of the above two modes, a Downlink Allocation Index (DAI) field is used to count the number of scheduled PDSCHs. The gNB can communicate the DAI to the UE in the DCI.

[0127] In some aspects, the DAI may have 2 bits for HARQ feedback based only on NACKs. The HARQ feedback bits may have the same total number as the value of the DAI.

[0128] In another aspect, the DAI may have 4 bits for HARQ feedback based only on NACK. The two most significant bits (MBS) of the 4 bits are used as a counter DAI indicating the count of scheduled PDSCHs for the current G-RNTI, and the two least significant bits (LBS) of the 4 bits are used as a total DAI indicating the total count of scheduled PDSCHs for all G-RNTIs. The HARQ feedback bits may have a total number equal to the value of the total DAI.

[0129] The number of bits included in the DAI can be defined as follows: If two or more serving cells are configured for multicast in the DL and the upper layer parameter pdsch-HARQ-ACK-Codebook-Multicast indicates dynamic, the number of bits may include 4 bits, where the 2 MSB bits are the counter DAI and the 2 LSB bits are the total DAI. If only one serving cell is configured for multicast in the DL and the upper layer parameter pdsch-HARQ-ACK-Codebook-Multicast indicates dynamic, the number of bits may include 2 bits, where the 2 bits are the counter DAI. Otherwise, the number of bits includes 0 bit.

[0130] To reduce the reported HARQ-ACK bit overhead, a special domain bundling in slots can be applied to the above mode for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast. For example, the HARQ bits for TB1 and TB2 in DCI format 4_2 are bundled together, i.e., an AND operation is applied. In this case, the UE device can support NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast for up to eight scheduled TBs.

[0131] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of one or more methods as described above, which may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 202, which is a UE as described herein).

[0132] Embodiments contemplated herein may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media containing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of one or more methods, such as those described above. The non-transitory computer-readable media may be, for example, a memory of a UE (such as memory 206 of wireless device 202 that is a UE, as described herein).

[0133] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry for performing one or more elements of one or more methods as described above, which may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 202, which is a UE as described herein).

[0134] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus, which may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 202, which is a UE described herein), comprising one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media containing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of one or more methods, such as those described above.

[0135] Embodiments contemplated herein include signals described in or associated with one or more elements of one or more methods.

[0136] Embodiments contemplated herein include computer programs or computer program products including instructions, the execution of which by a processor causes the processor to perform one or more elements of one or more methods, as described above. The processor may be a processor of a UE (such as processor(s) 204 of a wireless device 202 that is a UE, as described herein). These instructions may be located, for example, within the processor and / or on a memory of the UE (such as memory 206 of a wireless device 202 that is a UE, as described herein).

[0137] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of one or more methods as described above, which may be, for example, a base station apparatus (such as base station network device 218 described herein).

[0138] Embodiments contemplated herein may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media containing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of one or more methods, such as those described above. The non-transitory computer-readable media may be, for example, memory of a base station (e.g., memory 222 of network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein).

[0139] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry for performing one or more elements of one or more methods as described above, which may be, for example, a base station apparatus (such as base station network device 218 described herein).

[0140] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus, which may be, for example, a base station apparatus (such as base station network device 218 described herein), comprising one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media containing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of one or more methods, such as those described above.

[0141] Embodiments contemplated herein include signals described in or associated with one or more elements of one or more methods as described above.

[0142] Embodiments contemplated herein include computer programs or computer program products including instructions, where execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform one or more elements of one or more methods, as described above. The processor may be a processor of a base station (e.g., processor(s) 220 of a network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein). These instructions may be located, for example, within the processor and / or on a memory of the UE (e.g., memory 222 of a network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein).

[0143] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components depicted in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described herein. For example, a baseband processor described above in connection with one or more of the figures herein may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described herein. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, a base station, a network element, etc., as described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures, may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described herein.

[0144] Any of the above embodiments can be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments) unless otherwise stated. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

[0145] Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations that may be embodied in machine-executable instructions executed by a computer system. The computer system may include one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers (or other electronic devices). The computer system may include hardware components that contain specific logic for performing the operations, or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0146] It should be appreciated that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, divided into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. Additionally, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of one embodiment may be used in another embodiment. It is recognized that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described in one or more embodiments for clarity only, and that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, etc. of other embodiments, unless specifically disclaimed herein.

[0147] It is well understood that the use of personal information should comply with generally recognized privacy policies and practices that meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personal information data should be managed and handled in a manner that minimizes the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized uses should be clearly indicated to users.

[0148] While the foregoing has been described in some detail for clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications can be made without departing from the principles thereof. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and apparatus described herein. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the description is not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. 1. A user equipment (UE) device, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors cause the UE device to: receiving radio resource control (RRC) signaling from a base station indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)-acknowledgement (ACK) feedback for both multicast and unicast; receiving, from the base station, downlink control information (DCI) indicating that HARQ-ACK feedback for multicast is disabled; a user equipment (UE) device configured to generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report including a HARQ-ACK bit based on an ACK / Non-Acknowledgement (NACK) for the multicast or a HARQ-ACK bit based only on a NACK for the multicast in the semi-static codebook configured by using actual ACK or NACK feedback.

2. 1. A user equipment (UE) device, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors cause the UE device to: determining that the UE device supports hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback based on acknowledgement (ACK) / non-acknowledgement (NACK) for multicast dynamic scheduling and multicast semi-persistent scheduling (SPS); receiving radio resource control (RRC) signaling from a base station indicating that a semi-static codebook is configured for ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for the multicast SPS and that ACK-NACK based HARQ feedback for the multicast dynamic scheduling is disabled; determining whether a unicast physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) is being received; In response to determining that the unicast PDSCH has not been received, a user equipment (UE) device is configured to generate a HARQ-ACK feedback report including only a HARQ-ACK bit for the multicast SPS.

3. 1. A user equipment (UE) device, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors cause the UE device to: converting a non-acknowledgement (NACK)-only based Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) feedback bit into an acknowledgment (ACK) / NACK-based HARQ feedback bit to report to a base station an capability of the UE device supporting an operation mode supporting two or more bits for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast; receiving, from the base station, information regarding a codebook type for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast configured for the operation mode; A user equipment (UE) device configured to construct a codebook for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast in the same manner as a codebook for ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback for the multicast according to the configured codebook type.

4. The codebook type is 1) selectively determining a semi-static codebook or a dynamic codebook for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast; 2) determining the codebook type for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast to be the same as a codebook type for ACK / NACK based HARQ feedback for the multicast with the same priority; 3) determining the codebook type for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast to be the same as the codebook type for HARQ-ACK feedback for a unicast Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) having the same priority; or 4) A UE device as claimed in claim 3, configured according to one of the following: 1), 2), or a combination of 3).

5. The UE device of claim 3 , wherein the codebook type for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast is configured by the UE device as a dynamic codebook by default.

6. The one or more processors may cause the UE device to:

4. The UE device of claim 3, configured to receive, from the base station, a configuration of Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources, the PUCCH resources including a PUCCH resource set for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast and a PUCCH resource set for ACK / NACK based HARQ feedback for the multicast.

7. The one or more processors may cause the UE device to: receiving a configuration of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources from the base station; 4. The UE device of claim 3, further configured to: determine, according to the configuration of the PUCCH resources, a PUCCH resource set for ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback for the multicast to be used for NACK-only-based HARQ feedback for the multicast.

8. 8. The UE device of claim 7, wherein the determining comprises receiving separate PUCCH configuration parameters for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for multicast, or receiving radio resource control (RRC) signaling including a PUCCH configuration for ACK / NACK based HARQ feedback for multicast.

9. The one or more processors may cause the UE device to:

4. The UE device of claim 3, further configured to adapt a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) configuration for unicast to NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast.

10. The one or more processors may cause the UE device to:

7. The UE device of claim 6, further configured to receive a PUCCH resource indicator (PRI) in downlink control information (DCI), the PRI indicating the PUCCH resource set for ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback for the multicast when there are two or more bits for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast, and reserved when there is one bit for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast.

11. 1. A user equipment (UE) device, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna and configured to perform wireless communication using at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors cause the UE device to: reporting to a base station an capability of the UE device supporting an operating mode supporting two or more bits for non-acknowledgement (NACK)-only based HARQ feedback for multicast using a predefined mapping rule that defines a mapping between one or more hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback bits for each received one or more transport blocks (TBs) and a plurality of physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource sets; receiving, from the base station, radio resource control (RRC) signaling indicating a PUCCH configuration for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast; generating a HARQ feedback report including a HARQ feedback bit with an ACK or NACK bit for each scheduled TB; Selecting a PUCCH resource set from the plurality of PUCCH resource sets according to the predefined mapping rule, and adding a NACK bit in addition to one or more existing HARQ feedback bits when another TB is scheduled for a specific PUCCH resource set in the predefined mapping rule; A user equipment (UE) device configured to cause the HARQ feedback report to be transmitted using the selected PUCCH resource set.

12. The UE device of claim 11 , wherein the NACK bit indicates a NACK or a discontinuous transmission (DTX).

13. The UE device of claim 11 , wherein the UE device supports NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast for up to four scheduled TBs.

14. When the number of scheduled TBs is greater than four, the one or more processors may cause the UE device to: reporting the HARQ feedback bits for the first four scheduled TBs; reporting an error using an additional PUCCH resource set other than the plurality of PUCCH resource sets; generating the HARQ feedback report by converting the NACK-only based HARQ feedback bits into ACK / NACK based HARQ feedback bits.

15. 14. The UE device of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE device to support one Group Radio Network Temporary Identifier (G-RNTI) for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast.

16. 14. The UE device of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE device to support up to two Group Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (G-RNTIs) for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast, each G-RNTI being associated with two TBs.

17. 17. The UE device of claim 16, wherein a first of the two G-RNTIs having a lower index is associated with the first two TBs of the four scheduled TBs, and a second of the two G-RNTIs having a higher index is associated with the last two TBs of the four scheduled TBs.

18. 17. The UE device of claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE device to receive a configuration of association of a G-RNTI with a TB from the base station.

19. The one or more processors may cause the UE device to:

19. The UE device of claim 18, further configured to cause an ACK bit to be reported for one or more TBs associated with one G-RNTI when the UE device receives only a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) associated with another G-RNTI.

20. 14. The UE device of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: cause the UE device to support three or more Group Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (G-RNTIs) for NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast; and generate the HARQ feedback report by converting the NACK-only based feedback bits into ACK / NACK-based HARQ feedback bits.

21. 12. The UE device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE device to receive a Downlink Allocation Index (DAI) in Downlink Control Information (DCI), the DAI having two bits and indicating a count of scheduled Physical Downlink Shared Channels (PDSCHs), and the HARQ feedback bits having a total number equal to the value of the DAI.

22. 12. The UE device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE device to receive a Downlink Allocation Index (DAI) in Downlink Control Information (DCI), the DAI having four bits, two Most Significant Bits (MBS) of which indicate a count of scheduled Physical Downlink Shared Channels (PDSCHs) for a current Group Radio Network Temporary Identifier (G-RNTI) and two Least Significant Bits (LBS) of which indicate a total count of scheduled PDSCHs for all G-RNTIs, and the HARQ feedback bits have a total number equal to the value of the total count.

23. 12. The UE device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE device to perform special domain bundling in a slot for the generated HARQ feedback bits, and the UE device supports NACK-only based HARQ feedback for the multicast for up to eight scheduled TBs.

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