UE operating direction selected in UE with HARQ feedback disabled

Abstract

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

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a communication system.

Background Art

[0002] In this section, one aspect for easier understanding of this disclosure is introduced. Therefore, the description in this section should be read from this perspective and should not be construed as recognizing what is prior art and what is not prior art.

[0003] In a communication system, it is known that a downstream node confirms the reception of a previously transmitted downlink (DL) message and returns an uplink (UL) message indicating whether the DL message has been successfully decoded to an upstream node. If the DL message has not been successfully decoded, the downstream node uses the UL message to request retransmission of the DL message.

[0004] For example, it is known that a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network transmits an uplink hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) message to a base station to confirm the reception of a previously transmitted physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message. If the UE successfully decodes the PDSCH message, the UE transmits a HARQ-ACK message indicating the success of the PDSCH message decoding to the base station. If the UE fails to decode the PDSCH message, the UE transmits a HARQ-NACK message indicating the failure to decode the PDSCH message to the base station, and in this case, the base station retransmits the PDSCH message.

[0005] In an environment where the probability of failure in decoding individual PDSCH messages is relatively high, it is known that the base station transmits a continuous set including multiple repetitions of the PDSCH message to the UE to increase the probability of successful decoding by the UE. In this case, the UE waits until the entire repeated set is received before executing DL processing to attempt to decode the PDSCH message.

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

[0007] In wireless networks, if conventional HARQ feedback processing is disabled and the number of PDSCH message repetitions is relatively high, this relatively high number of repetitions may exceed the number required for the UE to successfully decode the PDSCH message. In this case, additional repetitions of the PDSCH message are unnecessary, resulting in unnecessarily large delays and / or unnecessarily narrow effective bandwidth in the DL and / or UL directions.

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

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

[0010] In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the user equipment (UE) comprises at least one processor and at least one memory that stores instructions causing the UE to perform at least: (1) receive a set of repetitions of downlink (DL) messages, the set comprising two or more subsets of repetitions, each subset comprising one or more repetitions; (2) after receiving one or more subsets, attempt to decode the DL messages; (3) if the UE succeeds in decode the DL messages, send an uplink (UL) message indicating that the DL messages have been successfully decoded; and (4) if the UE fails to decode the DL messages with the current subset, (i) not send an uplink message indicating that the DL messages have been undecoded; and (ii) if the set is not complete, (a) receive one or more additional subsets; and (b) attempt to decode the DL messages again.

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

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

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

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

[0015] In at least some of the embodiments described above, the UE is configured to use a UL resource to send a UL message.

[0016] In at least some of the embodiments described above, the UL resource is configured as part of configuring the UE to receive a set of iterations.

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

[0018] In at least some of the embodiments described above, the number of times the DL message is repeated differs for at least two subsets.

[0019] In at least some of the embodiments described above, the UE sends a UL message while a series of DL messages are arriving at the UE.

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

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

[0022] In at least some of the above embodiments, the base station sets one or more specific times for the UE to attempt decoding of the DL message.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0029] Embodiments of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to similar or identical elements. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a simplified hardware block diagram of a part of the wireless network of the present disclosure in which a base station communicates wirelessly with a user equipment (UE). [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a time diagram showing the transmission of a PDSCH message by the base station of FIG. 1 and the reception and processing of that message by the UE of FIG. 1 for a first scenario where the PDSCH message is not successfully decoded at the UE. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a time diagram showing the transmission of a PDSCH message by the base station of FIG. 1 and the reception and processing of that message by the UE of FIG. 1 for a second scenario where the UE successfully decodes the PDSCH message before the base station finishes transmitting all of the scheduled subset of that PDSCH message. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the processing of the UE of FIG. 1 according to a particular embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the processing of the base station of FIG. 1 according to a particular embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

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

[0031] Where used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural form unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, it should be understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “contains,” “includes,” and / or “include” identify the presence of the described feature, step, or component, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, or components. Also note that in some alternative embodiments, the described functions / actions may occur in a different order than shown in the figures. For example, two figures shown consecutively may actually be performed substantially simultaneously, or in reverse order depending on the functions / actions involved.

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

[0033] As shown in Figure 1, BS110 includes (i) a radio transceiver (TRX) 112 for transmitting downlink (DL) radio signals to UE120 and receiving uplink (UL) radio signals from UE120, and (ii) a processor (CPU) 114 for controlling the operation of BS110, including processing DL and UL messages with UE120, based on software code stored in the base station's memory (MEM) 116. Similarly, UE120 includes (i) a wireless TRX 122 for transmitting UL wireless signals to BS110 and receiving DL wireless signals from BS110, and (ii) a processor 124 for controlling the operation of UE120, including processing UL and DL messages with BS110, based on software code stored in the UE's memory 126. In addition, BS110 includes a backend transceiver (not shown) for sending and receiving signals (wired or wireless, depending on the implementation) to and from a backend network infrastructure (not shown).

[0034] In a specific implementation, the network 100 in Figure 1 employs frequency division duplex (FDD) processing that operates in full-duplex (FD) mode so that BS110 can send a DL message to UE120 and simultaneously send a DL message to UE120. Figure 1 employs frequency division duplex (FDD) processing that operates in half-duplex (HD) mode so that BS110 can simultaneously send a DL message to UE120 and receive a UL message from UE120, but within a predetermined time, UE120 can support either a DL operation to receive a DL message from BS110 or a UL operation to send a UL message to BS110, but cannot support both.

[0035] In certain operating modes where conventional HARQ feedback processing is disabled, BS110 is configured to send PDSCH messages to UE120 by sending sequences of subsets, possibly separated by time gaps, each subset containing one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. UE120 is configured to attempt to decode the PDSCH message after receiving one or more (but not all) subsets. If UE120 fails to decode the PDSCH message, it remains in DL operating mode, receives one or more additional subsets, and then attempts to decode the PDSCH message again. This process can continue across the entire set of repeating subsets. However, if UE120 successfully decodes the PDSCH message, UE120 switches to UL operating mode and sends a HARQ-ACK message to BS110 to notify it that the PDSCH message was successfully received. Upon receiving the HARQ-ACK message, BS110 stops sending subsets of that PDSCH message.

[0036] UE120 can send UL messages while repeated DLPDSCH messages are arriving at UE120.

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

[0038] In this specification, the term “repeat” refers to a copy or instance of a message. Note that a single copy or instance of a message within a subset is called a “repeat,” even if the message is not repeated within that subset.

[0039] Figure 2 is a timeline showing the transmission of the PDSCH message by BS110 in Figure 1, and the reception and processing of that message by UE120 in a first scenario where the PDSCH message is not successfully decoded by UE120. As shown in Figure 2, from time t11 to time t12, BS110 transmits a first subset 202(1) containing one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. From time t12 to time t13, BS110 does not transmit. From time t13 to time t14, BS110 transmits a second subset 202(2) containing one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message again. From time t14 to time t15, BS110 does not transmit again. From time t15 to time t16, BS110 transmits a third subset 202(3) containing one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message again. From time t16 to time t17, BS110 does not transmit again. From time t17 to time t18, BS110 again transmits a fourth subset 202(4) containing one or more repetitions of the PDSCH message. In this particular scenario, BS110 transmits four subsets of the PDSCH message 202(1) to 202(4). Generally, in this scenario, BS110 transmits a sequence containing a certain number of subsets separated by time gaps. Generally, gaps can exist between two or more subsets.

[0040] Meanwhile, with UE120 set to its DL operation mode, from time t21 to time t22, UE120 receives the first subset 202(1) transmitted by BS110. Note that due to processing and transmission delays, there is a waiting time between the transmission of the first subset 202(1) from BS110 and the reception of the first subset 202(1) by UE120. From time t22 to time t23, UE120 attempts to decode the PDSCH message by employing DL decoding during the time gap 204(1). In this first scenario, UE120 fails to decode the PDSCH message. Thus, from time t23 to time t24, UE120 receives the second subset 202(2) transmitted by BS110. From time t24 to time t25, UE120 attempts again during the time gap 204(2) but fails to decode the PDSCH message. Thus, from time t25 to time t26, UE120 receives the third subset 202(3) transmitted by BS110, and from time t26 to time t27, UE120 attempts again during the time gap 204(3) but fails to decode the PDSCH message. Thus, from time t27 to time t28, UE120 receives the fourth subset 202(4) transmitted by BS110, and from time t28 to time t29, UE120 attempts again during the time gap 204(4) but fails to decode the PDSCH message.

[0041] Figure 3 is a timeline showing the transmission of the PDSCH message by BS110 and the reception and processing of that message by UE120 in Figure 1, representing the second scenario in which UE120 successfully decodes the PDSCH message before BS110 finishes transmitting all of the scheduled subsets for that PDSCH message. As shown in Figure 3, from time t11 to time t15, BS110 performs the same processing as in Figure 2. Similarly, from time t21 to time t23, UE120 performs the same processing as in Figure 2, except that in this scenario, during the time gap 204(1), UE120 successfully decodes the PDSCH message by time t23. In this situation, at or immediately after time t23, UE120 switches from its DL operation mode to its UL operation mode and sends back a HARQ-ACK message 302 to BS110 notifying it that UE120 has successfully decoded the PDSCH message.

[0042] BS110 receives and processes HARQ-ACK message 302 at time t15'. In response, BS110 stops transmitting a subset for the PDSCH message. In the implementation shown in Figure 3, BS110 completes the transmission of the current subset (i.e., the third subset 202(3)) before stopping the transmission of the PDSCH message. Therefore, in this scenario, the fourth subset 202(4) in Figure 2 is not transmitted by BS110. Note that, due to the waiting time, BS110 transmits the second and third subsets 202(2) and 202(3), but these subsets will not be received by UE120, which is in UL operation mode by the time they arrive. Note that because BS110 operates in full-duplex mode, BS110 can (i) successfully receive and process HARQ-ACK message 302 and (ii) simultaneously transmit the subsets to UE120.

[0043] In other possible implementations, BS110 stops sending PDSCH messages after receiving HARQ-ACK message 302 at t15', for example, after completing the transmission of the current iteration of PDSCH messages, even if it is not the last iteration of the current subset. Note that if BS110 completes processing the HARQ-ACK message during the time gap, BS110 may stop sending PDSCH messages without starting the transmission of the next subset.

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

[0045] Figure 4 is a flowchart of the processing of UE120 in Figure 1 according to a particular embodiment of the present disclosure. In step 402, UE120 is configured in its DL operating mode. In step 404, UE120 receives one or more repetitions of PDSCH messages. In step 406, UE attempts to decode the PDSCH messages. In step 408, if UE determines that it has not succeeded in decoding the PDSCH messages, processing returns to step 404 and receives one or more repetitions of PDSCH messages. However, if the PDSCH messages are successfully decoded, in step 410 UE120 switches to UL operating mode, and in step 412 UE120 sends a HARQ-ACK message to BS110.

[0046] Figure 5 is a flowchart of the processing of BS110 in Figure 1 according to a specific embodiment of the present disclosure. In step 502, BS110 starts repeating a given PDSCH message. In step 504, if BS110 receives a HARQ-ACK message from UE120, and if so, in step 506, BS110 stops repeating.

[0047] As described above, in a given PDSCH message transmission sequence, each subset contains one or more repetitions of the message, possibly followed by a transmission gap. The network (i.e., BS110 or any other network node) determines the number of message repetitions to include in each subset, and the number of repetitions may vary for a given PDSCH message and / or different subsets of different PDSCH messages.

[0048] For example, in one possible scenario, the BS110 sends PDSCH messages in a sequence of six subsets, with the first subset containing 50% of the repetitions, the second 25%, the third 10%, and the last three subsets each containing 5%. Therefore, the timing of the subsets (e.g., start time and duration), and the timing of any time gaps, if any, will differ for each subset.

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

[0050] Generally, when HARQ feedback processing is disabled, the network cannot use HARQ feedback information as a reference for channel status to adjust channel link parameters. Faster feedback after UE120 successfully decodes DLPDSCH messages can provide HARQ feedback information for link adaptation, but the feedback does not require additional latency because it occurs simultaneously with the expected reception of DL repetitions by UE120.

[0051] Those skilled in the art will understand that the network may employ physical downlink control channels (PDCCH) and physical uplink control channels (PUCCH) to coordinate communication between BS110 and UE120, and for BS110 to configure UE120 for different PDSCH message transmission sequences. Alternatively, radio resource control / medium access control (RRC / MAC) signaling may be used.

[0052] In some implementations, the UE120 uses network-configured UL resources (e.g., frequency bandwidth and / or time) for sending HARQ-ACK messages. The resources may be linked to the decoding gap in the downlink transmission so that the UE120 can respond in the UL after decoding the DL message. The UL resources may be shared by multiple UEs that multiplex HARQ-ACK messages using, for example, CDM (CodeDomanMultiplex) processing, to use the UL resources more efficiently.

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

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

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

[0056] This disclosure can be implemented in the context of wireless non-terrestrial networks (NTN), such as 4G Internet of Things (IoT) NTN or 5G New Wireless (NR) NTN. Those skilled in the art will understand that this disclosure can also be implemented in the context of other wireless networks, as well as wired or optical networks.

[0057] While this disclosure includes references to exemplary embodiments, this specification is not intended to be constrained. Various modifications of the embodiments described herein, as well as other embodiments within the scope of this disclosure that are obvious to those skilled in the art to the extent of this disclosure, are considered to be within the principles and scope of this disclosure, as expressed, for example, in the following claims.

[0058] It will be further understood that various modifications in the details, materials, and arrangement of the components described and illustrated to illustrate the nature of this disclosure are feasible to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of this disclosure, as expressed, for example, in the following claims.

[0059] The use of figure numbers and / or figure reference labels in the claims is intended to identify one or more possible embodiments of the claimed subject matter in order to facilitate the interpretation of the claims. Such use is not necessarily construed as limiting those claims to the embodiments shown in the corresponding figures.

[0060] Where elements are described in the claims of the following methods, they are described in a specific order with corresponding designations; however, unless the claims imply a specific order for carrying out some or all of those elements, those elements are not necessarily intended to be limited to being carried out in that specific order. Similarly, in methods consistent with the various embodiments of this disclosure, additional steps may be included in such methods, and certain steps may be omitted or combined.

[0061] Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment” or “a particular embodiment” means that certain features, structures, or characteristics described in relation to an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this disclosure. While the phrase “in one embodiment” appears in various places in this specification, not all instances refer to the same embodiment, and different or alternative embodiments are not necessarily mutually exclusive with other embodiments. The same applies to the term “embodiment.”

[0062] In this specification, except in specific cases, the use of ordinal adjectives such as “first,” “second,” and “third” to refer to multiple homogeneous objects merely indicates that different examples of such homogeneous objects are being referred to, and does not imply that the homogeneous objects referred to in this manner must be in a corresponding order or sequence, whether temporal, spatial, ranking, or otherwise.

[0063] Furthermore, in this specification, the terms “coupling,” “joining,” “linking,” “connecting,” or “linking” refer to any method known or subsequently developed in the art in which energy is permitted to be transferred between two or more elements, and the intervention of one or more additional elements is assumed (though not required). Conversely, terms such as “direct coupling” or “direct connection” mean that there are no such additional elements. The same kind of distinction also applies to the use of the terms “adhesion” and “direct adhesion” when applied to descriptions of physical structures. For example, such “direct adhesion” of two corresponding components in such a physical structure can be achieved by using a relatively thin adhesive layer or other suitable binder.

[0064] Where used herein in relation to elements and standards, the terms “compatible” and “conform” mean that an element is recognized by the standard as having sufficient ability to communicate with other elements in a particular way, either entirely or partially, and by other elements as having sufficient ability to communicate with other elements in a particular way, as defined by the standard. Compatible or conforming elements do not need to operate internally in a particular way as defined by the standard.

[0065] The embodiments described herein are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive in any respect. In particular, the scope of this disclosure is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the description and drawings herein. All modifications that fall within the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are included within that scope.

[0066] The functionality of the various elements shown in the diagram, including the functional blocks labeled “Processor” and / or “Controller,” can be provided not only by the use of dedicated hardware but also by the use of hardware capable of executing software in conjunction with appropriate software. Where provided by a processor, functionality may be provided by a single dedicated processor, a single shared processor, or multiple individual processors (some of which may be shared). Furthermore, the explicit use of the terms “Processor” or “Controller” should not be interpreted as referring only to, but not limited to, software-executable hardware, but may implicitly include, digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, network processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage for storing software. It may also include other conventional and / or custom hardware. Similarly, the switches shown in the diagram are conceptual. Their functionality can be performed through the operation of programmed logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of programmed control and dedicated logic, or manually, and specific techniques are selectable by the implementer, as can be more specifically understood from the context.

[0067] Those skilled in the art will understand that block diagrams in this specification represent conceptual diagrams of exemplary circuits embodying the principles of this disclosure. Similarly, flowcharts, flow charts, state transition diagrams, pseudocode, etc., which are substantially represented in a computer-readable medium, will be understood to represent various processes that can be performed by a computer or processor, whether or not such a computer or processor is explicitly indicated.

[0068] As those skilled in the art will understand, the Disclosure may be implemented as an apparatus (e.g., including systems, networks, machines, devices, computer program products, and / or equivalents), as a method (e.g., including business processes, computer implementation processes, and / or equivalents), or as any combination thereof. Accordingly, embodiments of the Disclosure may take the form of entirely software-based embodiments (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), entirely hardware embodiments, or embodiments combining software and hardware aspects that may be commonly referred to herein as “systems” or “networks.”

[0069] Embodiments of the Disclosure may be revealed in the form of methods and apparatus for carrying out those methods. Embodiments of the Disclosure may also be revealed in the form of program code embodied on tangible media such as magnetic recording media, optical recording media, semiconductor memory, floppy disks, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any other non-temporary machine-readable storage media, such that when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine such as a computer, that machine becomes an apparatus for carrying out the Disclosure. Exemplary embodiments of the Disclosure may also be revealed, for example, in the form of program code stored on a non-temporary machine-readable storage medium, which includes being loaded into and / or executed by a machine, such that when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine such as a computer, that machine becomes an apparatus for carrying out the Disclosure. When implemented on a general-purpose processor, the program code segment combines with the processor to provide a unique apparatus that operates similarly to a particular logic circuit.

[0070] As used herein, the term “non-temporary” refers to a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not signal-based) as opposed to a limitation relating to the persistence of data storage (e.g., ROM versus RAM).

[0071] In this specification, including in the claims, the term “each” can be used to refer to one or more specific characteristics of the elements or steps cited herein. When used in conjunction with the open-ended term “comprising,” the use of the term “each” does not preclude any additional, unincorporated elements or steps. Thus, it will be understood that an apparatus may have additional, implicit elements, and a method may have additional, implicit steps, but the additional, implicit elements or steps may not have one or more specific characteristics.

[0072] As used herein, “at least one of the following, <list of two or more elements>” and “at least one of <list of two or more elements>,” as well as similar expressions in which lists of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or,” mean at least one of the elements, at least two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements. For example, the expressions “at least one of A and B” and “at least one of A or B” are both interpreted as having the same meaning and encompass three possibilities: (1) A only, (2) B only, and (3) both A and B.

[0073] All documents referenced herein are either incorporated herein in their entirety by reference, or, in lieu of, disclosures on which they are particularly relied upon are provided.

[0074] The embodiments covered by the claims of this application are limited to (1) embodiments enabled by this specification and (2) embodiments corresponding to statutory subject matter. Invalid embodiments and embodiments corresponding to non-statutory subject matter are expressly disallowed, even if they are included in the claims.

[0075] As used herein and in the claims, the term “to provide” with respect to an apparatus, or a system, device, or component, includes designing or manufacturing the apparatus, system, device, or component, having the apparatus, system, device, or component designed or manufactured, and / or obtaining the apparatus, system, device, or component by purchase, lease, rent, or other contractual arrangement.

[0076] While preferred embodiments of the Disclosure have been shown and described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided only as exemplary embodiments. Numerous modifications, alterations, and substitutions will be made to those skilled in the art without departing from the Disclosure. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the Disclosure described herein may be employed when carrying out the Art of the Disclosure. The following claims define the scope of the Invention, and methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents are intended to be covered thereby.

Claims

1. User equipment (UE), At least one processor, When executed by the at least one processor, the UE receives at least, Receiving a set of repeating downlink (DL) messages, wherein the set includes two or more subsets of the repeats, and each subset includes one or more of the repeats. After receiving one or more of the aforementioned subsets, an attempt is made to decode the DL message, Hybrid Automatic Retransmission Request (HARQ) feedback has been disabled for the aforementioned UE. If the UE successfully decodes the DL message, it switches from downlink operation mode to uplink operation mode and sends an uplink (UL) message indicating that the DL message has been successfully decoded. If the UE fails to decode the DL message in the current subset, (i) it does not send an uplink message indicating that it failed to decode the DL message, and does not send a HARQ denial response (HARQ-NACK), and (ii) if the set is not complete, (a) it receives one or more additional subsets, and (b) it attempts to decode the DL message again. At least one memory that stores instructions to execute, UE, equipped with [unclear / etc.].

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

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

4. The UE according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the UE is configured to decode the DL message during the time gap between the start and end of the two or more subsets.

5. The UE according to claim 4, wherein the UE is configured to have a specific timing for the time gap.

6. The UE according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the UE is configured to use UL resources to send the UL message.

7. The UE according to claim 6, wherein the UL resource is configured as part of configuring the UE to receive the repeated sets.

8. The UE according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the UL message is multiplexed with one or more other UL messages from one or more other UEs using a shared UL resource.

9. The UE according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the number of repetitions of the DL message differs for at least two of the subsets.

10. The UE according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the UE transmits the UL message while the repeated DL messages are arriving at the UE.

11. It is a base station, At least one processor, When executed by the at least one processor, the base station receives at least, Sending a set of repeating downlink (DL) messages to a user device (UE), wherein the set includes two or more subsets of the repeats, each subset including one or more of the repeats. While monitoring an uplink (UL) message indicating successful decoding of the DL message from the UE, the repetition of the two or more subsets is sent to the UE. At least one memory that stores instructions to execute, Equipped with, Hybrid Automatic Retransmission Request (HARQ) feedback has been disabled for the aforementioned UE. If the UE fails to decode the DL message in the current subset, the UE does not send an uplink message indicating decryption failure, and no HARQ negation response (HARQ-NACK) is sent. If the UE successfully decodes the DL message, the UE switches from downlink operation mode to uplink operation mode and sends a HARQ acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) as the UL message. The base station is configured to terminate the transmission of the remaining subset of the repetition when it receives the HARQ-ACK. Base station.

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

13. The base station according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the base station sets one or more specific times for attempting to decode the DL message to the UE.

14. The base station according to claim 11 or 12, wherein after receiving the UL message indicating that the DL message has been successfully decoded, the base station transmits one or more of the repetitions in the set, but before transmitting all of the repetitions in the set, stops transmitting the repetitions of the DL message.

15. The base station transmits the repetition with a time gap between the start and end of the two or more subsets. The base station is configured so that the UE attempts to decode the DL message during the time gap. The base station according to claim 11 or 12.

16. The base station according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the base station is part of a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

17. The base station sets the UL resource to the UE in order to transmit the UL message, The base station receives the UL message on the UL resource from the UE. The base station according to claim 11 or 12.

18. The base station according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the number of repetitions of the DL message differs for at least two of the subsets.

19. The base station according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the UL message is multiplexed with one or more other UL messages from one or more other UEs using a shared UL resource.

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