Retransmission method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a retransmission method and a communication apparatus, which can be applied to a scheme based on multi-level coding modulation. In the method, for a layer that is not coded in an initial transmission or uses a first coding method that does not support or cannot support an IR retransmission mode with high performance in the initial transmission, a second coding method, which supports the IR retransmission mode or can support the IR retransmission mode with high performance, is used to perform coding in a retransmission, such that the decoding performance of the retransmission can be improved, thereby improving the overall decoding performance of data transmission.

Description

Retransmission methods and communication devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411834643.6, filed on December 12, 2024, entitled "Method and Communication Apparatus for Retransmission", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of wireless communication, and more specifically, to a retransmission method and a communication apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] Multi-level coding (MLC) modulation is an important coding and modulation scheme. In MLC, the bitstream to be transmitted is first divided into multiple layers. Then, each layer's bit sequence is encoded using a different encoder, and the codeword bits output by each layer's encoder are mapped to different sets of constellation points in a constellation diagram. When data retransmission is involved, each layer typically employs its supported retransmission method based on its coding characteristics. For example, low-density parity-check codes (LDPC) support incremental redundancy (IR) retransmission, while BCH codes (Bose–Chaudhuri–Hocquenghem codes) support chase-comb (CC) retransmission. However, using these retransmission methods results in poor retransmission performance for MLC modulation. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a retransmission method and communication device that can improve retransmission performance.

[0005] Firstly, a retransmission method is provided, which can be executed by a communication device or a module applied to the communication device (e.g., a processor, chip, circuit, etc., or a logic module, hardware, and / or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication device). The communication device can also be called an encoding device. The method includes: generating codeword bits for the k-th retransmission, wherein the codeword bits for the k-th retransmission include codeword bits of the first layer of layered coded MLC modulation, wherein the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission and / or the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on a second encoding method, wherein the first transmission of the first layer uses a first encoding method, the second encoding method is different from the first encoding method, or the second encoding method is the same as the first encoding method but with different encoding parameters, and k is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and transmitting the codeword bits for the k-th retransmission.

[0006] The first encoding method either does not support IR retransmission or cannot support IR retransmission efficiently and with high performance. The second encoding method, compared to the first, can support IR retransmission or can support IR retransmission efficiently and with high performance.

[0007] Optionally, in this embodiment, the "k-th retransmission" can be any retransmission after the initial transmission. This method can be applied to the hybrid auto repeat request (HARQ) mechanism of 5G systems. See the detailed implementation description for information on the HARQ mechanism.

[0008] In the technical solution of this application, under the background of the layered coding MLC modulation scheme, for the layers that are not coded in the first transmission or use the first coding method that does not support IR retransmission, a second coding method is used for these layers in the retransmission process. This can not only improve the retransmission performance of the first layer, but also improve the overall retransmission performance based on the MLC modulation scheme.

[0009] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending codeword bits for the first transmission, wherein the codeword bits for the first transmission include codeword bits of the first layer, and the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission are obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer based on the first encoding method.

[0010] In this implementation, before retransmission, the sending device sends the codeword bits of the first transmission. If the first transmission fails to be successfully decoded by the receiving device, the sending device performs a retransmission.

[0011] If the initial transmission fails, the receiving device can send a NACK signal to the sending device, which will then retransmit based on the NACK signal. For any retransmission, if the receiving device fails to decode successfully, it can send a NACK signal to the sending device. The sending device will then retransmit based on the NACK signal. This process repeats until the receiving device responds with an ACK signal, indicating successful decoding; or until the maximum number of retransmissions is reached.

[0012] Secondly, a retransmission method is provided, which can be executed by a communication device or a module applied to the communication device (e.g., a processor, chip, circuit, etc., or a logic module, hardware, and / or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication device). The communication device can also be called a decoding device. The method includes: receiving a sequence of information to be decoded in the k-th retransmission, wherein the sequence of information to be decoded in the k-th retransmission includes a sequence of information to be decoded for the first layer of a layered coded modulation (MLC) system, wherein the sequence of information to be decoded for the first layer in the k-th retransmission corresponds to the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission, and the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are obtained by encoding the information bits and / or the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission using a second encoding method, wherein the first transmission of the first layer uses a first encoding method, and the second encoding method is different from the first encoding method, or the second encoding method is the same as the first encoding method but with different encoding parameters, where k is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

[0013] Decoding is performed based on the sequence of information to be decoded from the kth retransmission.

[0014] The second aspect is a decoding-side method corresponding to the first aspect. Its beneficial technical effects can be found in the explanation of the first aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0015] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving a sequence of information to be decoded transmitted for the first time, the sequence of information to be decoded transmitted for the first time including the sequence of information to be decoded of the first layer, wherein the sequence of information to be decoded of the first layer in the first transmission corresponds to the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission, and the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission are obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer based on the first encoding method.

[0016] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the first layer is not encoded in the initial transmission, and the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission include at least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the initial transmission based on the second encoding method; or, at least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the initial transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one of the information bits of the first layer in the initial transmission; or, at least one of the information bits of the first layer in the initial transmission.

[0017] In this implementation, when the MLC modulation scheme includes a first layer that is not encoded in the initial transmission, the first layer is encoded using a second encoding method during the retransmission process, so that the first layer supports IR retransmission mode and improves retransmission performance.

[0018] Alternatively, as another alternative expression, this implementation also means that at least one of the k retransmissions satisfies one of the following: at least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method; or, at least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one of the information bits of the NC layer in the first transmission.

[0019] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the MLC includes at least two first layers, the at least two first layers further including a first layer using the first encoding method in the initial transmission, and in the k-th retransmission, the codeword bits of the first layer using the first encoding method in the initial transmission include: a check bit obtained by encoding a first codeword bit sequence based on the second encoding method, the first codeword bit sequence being the codeword bits of the first layer using the first encoding method in the initial transmission; or, at least one check bit obtained by encoding the first codeword bit sequence based on the second encoding method, and at least one of the codeword bits included in the first codeword bit sequence, wherein the first codeword bit sequence is the codeword bits of the first layer using the first encoding method in the initial transmission, the first codeword bit sequence being obtained by encoding a first information bit sequence based on the first encoding method, the first information bit sequence being the information bits of the first layer using the first encoding method in the initial transmission; or, at least one of the codeword bits of the first layer using the first encoding method in the initial transmission.

[0020] In this implementation, when the MLC modulation scheme includes a first layer that is not encoded in the first transmission and a first layer that uses a first encoding method in the first transmission, such as NC layer and CC layer, the second encoding method is used to encode both types of first layers during the retransmission process, so that both types of first layers support IR retransmission mode, thereby improving retransmission performance.

[0021] Alternatively, as another alternative expression, this implementation also indicates that at least one transmission in the k retransmissions satisfies one of the following: a check bit obtained by encoding the first codeword bit sequence based on the second encoding method, wherein the first codeword bit sequence is the codeword bit of the first layer in the first transmission using the first encoding method; or, at least one check bit obtained by encoding the first codeword bit sequence based on the second encoding method, and at least one of the codeword bits included in the first codeword bit sequence, wherein the first codeword bit sequence is the codeword bit of the first layer in the first transmission using the first encoding method, wherein the first codeword bit sequence is obtained by encoding the first information bit sequence based on the first encoding method, and the first information bit sequence is the information bit of the first layer in the first transmission using the first encoding method.

[0022] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the first layer employs the first encoding method in the initial transmission, and the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission include: at least one parity bit obtained by encoding the codeword bits of the first layer in the initial transmission based on the second encoding method; or, at least one parity bit obtained by encoding the codeword bits of the first layer in the initial transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one codeword bit of the first layer in the initial transmission; or, at least one of the codeword bits of the first layer in the initial transmission.

[0023] In this implementation, when the MLC modulation scheme includes a first layer that uses the first coding method in the initial transmission, such as the CC layer, the first layer is encoded using the second coding method during the retransmission process, so that the first layer supports IR retransmission mode and improves retransmission performance.

[0024] Alternatively, as another alternative expression, this implementation also means that at least one transmission in the k retransmissions satisfies one of the following:

[0025] At least one check bit obtained by encoding the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method; or...

[0026] At least one check bit obtained by encoding the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one codeword bit of the first layer in the first transmission.

[0027] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the first encoding method includes any one or more of the following: not encoding NC, BCH, RM, or polar codes; and the second encoding method includes any one or more of the following: raptor-like LDPC codes, convolutional codes, or turbo codes.

[0028] In this implementation, the first encoding method can be an encoding method that does not support IR retransmission or cannot efficiently and effectively support IR retransmission. In different application scenarios, based on the solution provided in this application, a second encoding method can be introduced during the retransmission process to improve retransmission performance for layers that do not support or cannot efficiently support IR retransmission.

[0029] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, for the same first layer, the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are obtained using the second encoding method and encoding parameters, wherein the codeword bits of the first layer in one or more retransmissions prior to the k-th retransmission use the second encoding method and the same encoding parameters as in the k-th retransmission.

[0030] In this implementation, for the implementation that introduces a second coding method during retransmission through a first layer, the coding parameters used in different retransmissions are the same. Thus, on the receiving side, the soft values ​​corresponding to multiple transmissions (i.e., LLR obtained by demodulating the receiving constellation points) can be merged to obtain energy gain and bit rate gain, thereby reducing bit error rate performance (e.g., reducing BER or BLER) and improving retransmission performance.

[0031] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission include: a redundant version from a set of redundant versions corresponding to the first layer, wherein the set of redundant versions includes at least one redundant version.

[0032] In this implementation, the reliability of transmission can be increased by using a finite number of redundant versions (RVs) for retransmission. For example, each RV represents a transmission start point, and different RVs can be used for the first transmission and each retransmission. Additional parity bits can be obtained during the retransmission process, thereby reducing the overall bit rate.

[0033] In some implementations of the first or second aspect, the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are any one of the at least one redundant version; or, the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are the redundant version of the at least one redundant version corresponding to the k-th retransmission, wherein each of the at least one redundant version corresponds to a different number of retransmissions.

[0034] In this implementation, using a finite number of RVs for retransmission is beneficial to improving retransmission performance. For example, it can effectively utilize transmission resources. Different RVs can be specially designed so that excessive transmission resources are not wasted during retransmission, while ensuring transmission reliability. For another example, it can simplify the processing of the receiving device. Since each RV defines a transmission start point, the receiving device can more easily identify and process the retransmitted codewords, thereby improving the retransmission processing efficiency.

[0035] Thirdly, a retransmission method is provided, which can be executed by a communication device or a module applied to the communication device (e.g., a processor, chip, circuit, etc., or a logic module, hardware, and / or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication device). The communication device can also be called an encoding device. The method includes: generating codeword bits for the k-th retransmission, wherein the codeword bits for the k-th retransmission are obtained by encoding information bits and / or codeword bits from the first transmission using a second encoding method, wherein the first transmission uses a first encoding method, wherein the second encoding method is different from the first encoding method; or, the second encoding method is the same as the first encoding method, and the encoding parameters of the second encoding method are different from the encoding parameters of the first encoding method; and transmitting the codeword bits for the k-th retransmission.

[0036] In the third aspect of the method, for the first coding method that does not support IR retransmission in the initial transmission or cannot efficiently and effectively support IR retransmission, a second coding method is introduced during the retransmission process to improve retransmission performance.

[0037] It can be seen that, compared with the first method, the third method is not limited by the use of MLC modulation schemes, can be more widely used in retransmission, can improve retransmission performance, and thus improve the reliability of data transmission.

[0038] Fourthly, a retransmission method is provided, which can be executed by a communication device or a module applied to the communication device (e.g., a processor, chip, circuit, etc., or a logic module, hardware, and / or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the communication device). This communication device can also be called a decoding device. The method includes: acquiring a sequence of information to be decoded in the k-th retransmission, the sequence of information to be decoded corresponding to a codeword bit sequence in the k-th retransmission, the codeword bit sequence in the k-th retransmission being obtained by encoding the information bits and / or the codeword bits in the first transmission based on a second encoding method, the first transmission employing a first encoding, wherein the second encoding method is different from the first encoding method; or, the second encoding method is the same as the first encoding method, and the encoding parameters of the second encoding method are different from the encoding parameters of the first encoding method, k being an integer greater than or equal to 1; and decoding based on the sequence of information to be decoded in the k-th retransmission to obtain a decoding result.

[0039] The fourth method is the decoding-side method corresponding to the third method. Its beneficial technical effects can be found in the explanation of the third method, and will not be repeated here.

[0040] In some implementations of the third or fourth aspect, the sequence of information to be decoded in the kth retransmission is obtained, the sequence of information to be decoded corresponding to the codeword bit sequence in the kth retransmission, the codeword bit sequence in the kth retransmission being obtained by encoding the information bits and / or the codeword bits in the first transmission based on the second encoding method, the first transmission using the first encoding, wherein the second encoding method is different from the first encoding method; or, the second encoding method is the same as the first encoding method, and the encoding parameters of the second encoding method are different from the encoding parameters of the first encoding method, k being an integer greater than or equal to 1; and decoding is performed based on the sequence of information to be decoded in the kth retransmission to obtain the decoding result.

[0041] In some implementations of the third or fourth aspect, the first encoding method includes any one or more of the following: not encoding NC, BCH, RM, or polar codes; and the second encoding method includes any one or more of the following: raptor-like LDPC codes, convolutional codes, or turbo codes.

[0042] Furthermore, any possible implementation of the first or second aspect may also be applicable to the method of the third or fourth aspect. Those skilled in the art, based on the above description of the various implementations of the first (or second) aspect, can understand how these implementations can be applied in the third or fourth aspect, and will not elaborate further.

[0043] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, the communication device having the function of implementing the methods of the first aspect or the third aspect, or any possible implementation of these aspects. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above-described functions.

[0044] Sixthly, a communication device is provided, the communication device having the function of implementing the methods of the second aspect or the fourth aspect, or any possible implementation of these aspects. The function can be implemented by hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units corresponding to the above-described functions.

[0045] A seventh aspect provides a communication device including at least one processor configured to cause the communication device to perform a method of the first aspect or the third aspect, or any possible implementation thereof; or to perform a method of the second aspect or the fourth aspect, or any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the at least one processor is coupled to at least one memory for storing a computer program or instructions, the at least one processor being configured to call and execute the computer program or instructions from the at least one memory, causing the communication device to perform any one of the first to fourth aspects, or any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the at least one processor may be included in the communication device or configured externally to the communication device. Optionally, the communication device further includes the at least one memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes at least one communication interface. As an example, the communication interface may include an input interface and / or an output interface, or may be an interface circuit.

[0046] Eighthly, a communication device is provided, comprising a communication interface and a circuit. The communication interface is configured to receive a signal to be processed and transmit the signal to the circuit. The circuit is configured to process the signal to perform a method as described in the first or third aspect, or any possible implementation thereof; or to perform a method as described in the second or fourth aspect, or any possible implementation thereof. Optionally, the communication interface is further configured to output the signal processed by the circuit. Optionally, the signal may include information and / or data. Optionally, the communication device may be a chip, such as a baseband chip, a system-on-a-chip (SoC), or a chip system. Furthermore, the SoC may optionally include a hardware accelerator (HAC).

[0047] A ninth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer program code or instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the method of the first or third aspect, or any possible implementation thereof, to be implemented; or, the method of the second or fourth aspect, or any possible implementation thereof, to be implemented.

[0048] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising computer program code or instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the method in the first aspect or the third aspect, or any possible implementation thereof, to be implemented; or, as in the second aspect or the fourth aspect, or any possible implementation thereof, to be implemented.

[0049] Eleventh aspect: A wireless communication system is provided, including the communication device as described in the fifth aspect and the communication device as described in the sixth aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0050] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the workflow of the layered coding modulation scheme.

[0051] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the matrix structure of BG1-based raptor-like LDPC.

[0052] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the HARQ mechanism.

[0053] Figure 4 shows an example of a communication system applicable to the technical solution of this application.

[0054] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of the retransmission method 500 provided in this application.

[0055] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow on the sending side of the retransmission method provided in this application scenario.

[0056] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow of the retransmission method provided in this application on the receiving side in one application scenario.

[0057] Figure 8 is a comparison chart of decoding performance using the technical solution of Example 1 of this application.

[0058] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow on the sending side of the retransmission method provided in this application in another application scenario.

[0059] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow of the retransmission method provided in this application on the receiving side in another application scenario.

[0060] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow on the sending side of the retransmission method provided in this application in another application scenario.

[0061] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow of the retransmission method provided in this application on the receiving side in another application scenario.

[0062] Figure 13 is a schematic flowchart of the retransmission method 700 provided in this application.

[0063] Figure 14 is a schematic structural diagram of the communication device 1000 provided in this application.

[0064] Figure 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in this application.

[0065] Figure 16 is a schematic structural diagram of the chip provided in this application.

[0066] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of a chip applicable to the transmitting side device in an embodiment of this application.

[0067] Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of the chip of the receiving-side device applicable to the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0068] The technical solutions in this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0069] First, the relevant technologies involved in the embodiments of this application will be introduced.

[0070] 1. Multi-level coding (MLC) modulation

[0071] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the workflow of the layered coding modulation scheme. As shown in Figure 1, layered coding modulation first divides the input sequence of information bits into layers. In the example in Figure 1, it is divided into m layers, each layer including K1 information bits, K2 information bits, and so on, up to K... m Each layer of information bits is then encoded by a different encoder, resulting in codeword bit sequences for each layer (N1 codeword bits, N2 codeword bits, and so on, as shown in Figure 1, and N...). mEach codeword (number of bits) is mapped to different sets of constellation points in the constellation diagram. On the decoding side, each layer of channel transmission codeword is decoded by a corresponding decoder (e.g., decoder 1, decoder 2, and so on, up to decoder m) to obtain the corresponding layer's decoding result, such as K1 decoded information bits, K2 decoded information bits, etc. The strategy for dividing the constellation point sets and the encoder design of the corresponding bit stream are generally based on the different protection capabilities of different bits. For example, the I-path or Q-path constellation diagram of 16th-order quadrature amplitude modulation (16QAM) corresponds to 2 bits, and the reliability of these 2 bits is not the same, thus corresponding to different layers of bit streams in the layered code. Some constellation diagrams have relatively slow bit changes and high reliability. Therefore, the coded bits mapped to these constellations can use encoders with higher code rates and lower decoding complexity, such as BCH codes (Bose–Chaudhuri–Hocquenghem codes), or no encoding at all. Other constellation diagrams have more frequent bit changes and lower reliability, requiring encoders with higher reliability and lower code rates, such as low-density parity-check codes (LDPC). This allows the receiver to utilize coding gain to counteract the effects of the wireless channel. As a result, the decoding complexity of the former type of bit change is significantly lower than that of the latter. Therefore, the hierarchical coding combined with hierarchical modulation architecture, compared to the traditional decoupled coding and modulation architecture, can reduce the overall decoding complexity and improve the peak decoding throughput at the receiver.

[0072] This application introduces two retransmission schemes: chase combine (CC) retransmission and incremental redundancy (IR) retransmission, as well as the hybrid auto repeat request (HARQ) mechanism of LDPC in the fifth generation (5G) system.

[0073] 2. Retransmission

[0074] 1) CC retransmission

[0075] CC retransmission refers to the retransmission of N packets if the initial transmission is N. (0) If there are N codeword bits, then during repeated transmissions, the codeword bits in the kth retransmission will differ from the initial N codeword bits. (0)Each codeword bit is completely identical. Therefore, the characteristic of CC retransmission is that each retransmitted data is essentially a repetition of the initial data. For CC retransmission, the receiver only needs to add and combine the log likelihood ratios (LLRs) obtained after k transmissions of the bits, and then perform decoding. From an energy perspective, each bit is transmitted multiple times in the CC retransmission method, thus obtaining a corresponding energy gain, thereby reducing the bit error rate (BER) and block error rate (BLER).

[0076] 2) IR retransmission

[0077] IR retransmission refers to the retransmission of N in the initial transmission. (0) This retransmission method adds extra parity bits during subsequent retransmissions, building upon the initial codeword bits. Therefore, retransmitted data may partially overlap with the initial data, but at least one parity bit in the retransmission will not have been transmitted during the initial transmission. Compared to CC retransmission, IR retransmission introduces extra parity bits during retransmission, resulting in a lower effective bit rate. Therefore, IR retransmission not only gains the energy gain from retransmission but also the bit rate gain from the reduced bit rate. This leads to a greater reduction in BER and BLER.

[0078] 3. HARQ mechanism of LDPC in 5G system

[0079] Current 5G protocols use a type of LDPC called raptor-like LDPC, which can easily achieve compatibility with lower code rates, thus easily supporting IR retransmission. Raptor-like LDPC first designs a high code rate parity check matrix, called the core matrix, and then generates parity bits incrementally by expanding the parity check matrix to achieve multi-code rate coding. The retransmission of the expanded parity bits realizes support for IR-HARQ.

[0080] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the matrix structure of the raptor-like LDPC based on BG1. As shown in Figure 2, the parity check matrix of the LDPC under this structure can be divided into five components: matrix A, which is the information bit part of the core matrix; matrix B, which is the parity check part of the core matrix and has a double diagonal structure; where matrices A and B form the complete core matrix; matrix C, which is an all-zero matrix; matrix D, which is the information bit part of the extended matrix; and matrix I, which is the parity check part of the extended matrix and has a single diagonal structure.

[0081] [AB] corresponds to the core matrix H in the LDPC code. core[DI] corresponds to the high bitrate portion; [DI] corresponds to H. ext This is the extended part. Based on H core Extend to generate H ext H ext Each additional row adds one column to H. Figure 2 uses the base graph (BG) 1 in the 5G protocol as an example. The core part, H... core The size is 4z × 26z (where z represents the boost factor, which varies with the length of the input information bits), while the complete matrix size is 46z × 68z. Since the first 2z bits of LDPC in the 5G protocol are punctured, the highest code rate supported by the above matrix is... The lowest supported bitrate is

[0082] The following example illustrates how easily Raptor-like LDPC can support IR retransmission.

[0083] Assume the initial transmission uses the code rate corresponding to the core matrix. The transmitting end encodes 22z information bits to obtain 4z parity bits. The first 2z bits of these 26z bits are then punctured, and the remaining 24z bits are transmitted. This is the initial transmission process. The retransmission process utilizes the D and I parts of the aforementioned matrix to re-encode certain rows of the initially transmitted 26z bits, generating new redundant parity bits. During retransmission, these newly encoded redundant parity bits are transmitted first, thereby reducing the bit rate and achieving additional retransmission rate gain.

[0084] Figure 3 illustrates the HARQ mechanism. If the sender initially transmits a redundant version (RV)0, which is successfully decoded at the receiver, the receiver will send an acknowledgement (ACK) signal to the sender, indicating that the transmission was successful. This process is shown in Figure 3(a). However, if the receiver fails to decode, it will send a negative acknowledgement (NACK) signal to the sender. After receiving the NACK signal, the sender will send a second redundant version RV2 (different redundant versions can be considered as different data transmission start points on the BG) to the receiver. This process repeats until the receiver sends an ACK signal to the sender, as shown in Figure 3(b).

[0085] 4. Retransmission methods in MLC modulation schemes

[0086] In MLC modulation schemes, appropriate retransmission methods are typically used based on the characteristics of each layer. For example, an MLC modulation scheme may contain three layers: a low-density parity check (LDPC) layer, a BCH code layer, and a no-coding (NC) layer. For the retransmission of data from these three layers, since LDPC supports IR retransmission, it can be used to transmit additional redundant parity bits. However, for the BCH code layer and the no-coding NC layer, which do not support IR retransmission, CC retransmission is used during the retransmission process, thus sending the same data as the initial transmission.

[0087] Currently, retransmissions in MLC modulation schemes are based on the coding characteristics of each layer, employing the retransmission methods supported by that layer. For layers that do not support IR retransmission, such as uncoded layers and BCH-coded layers, only CC retransmission can be used. As described in the background section, its performance is generally worse than IR retransmission.

[0088] For layers in MLC modulation schemes that do not support IR retransmission, the technical solution provided in this application enables these layers to adopt IR retransmission, thereby improving the retransmission performance of these layers and the MLC scheme as a whole.

[0089] The technical solution of this application is described below.

[0090] The technical solutions of this application can be applied to various existing and future communication systems, including but not limited to: satellite communication systems, fifth-generation (5G) systems or new radio (NR) systems, long-term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, LTE time division duplex (TDD) systems, and future communication systems. Furthermore, they can also be applied to sidelink (SL) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), and Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems, or other communication systems, etc., which are not limited herein.

[0091] Figure 4 illustrates an example of a communication system applicable to the technical solution of this application. As shown in Figure 4, the communication system may include one or more transmitting ends and one or more receiving ends. Optionally, one of the transmitting end and the receiving end may be a terminal device, and the other may be a network device. The retransmission method provided in this application is applicable to communication between the network device and the terminal device shown in Figure 4, i.e., uplink communication or downlink communication. For example, in downlink communication, the transmitting device in this embodiment is a network-side device, and the receiving device is a terminal-side device; in uplink communication, the transmitting device in this embodiment is a terminal-side device, and the receiving device is a network-side device.

[0092] For example, a terminal device may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, mobile terminal (MT), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, or user apparatus. In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device may be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, and can be used to connect people, objects, and machines, such as a handheld device with wireless connectivity, in-vehicle equipment, etc. The terminal device in the embodiments of this application may be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, PDA, mobile internet device (MID), wearable device, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, wireless terminal in industrial control, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, etc. Optionally, the UE may be used as a base station. For example, the UE may act as a scheduling entity, providing sidelink signals between UEs in V2X or SL, etc.

[0093] In this embodiment, the device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or any device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing the corresponding functions, such as a chip, processor, circuit, hardware, and / or software combination. This device is located on the terminal side and can be configured within or used in conjunction with the terminal device. The chip system can consist of chips or include chips and other discrete components. In this embodiment, the terminal device is used as an example to illustrate the device for implementing the corresponding functions of the terminal device.

[0094] The network device in this application embodiment may include a device for communicating with a terminal device. This network device may include an access network device or a radio access network device; for example, the network device may be a base station. In this application embodiment, the access network device may refer to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects the terminal device to the wireless network. A base station can broadly encompass, or be replaced by, various names such as: NodeB, evolved NodeB (eNB), next-generation NodeB (gNB), relay station, access point, transmitting and receiving point (TRP), transmitting point (TP), master station, auxiliary station, motor slide retainer (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point (AP), transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), central unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), positioning node, etc. A base station can be a macro base station, micro base station, relay node, donor node, or a combination thereof. A base station can also refer to a communication module, modem, or chip installed within the aforementioned equipment or apparatus. A base station can also be a mobile switching center, a device performing base station functions in D2D, V2X, and M2M communications, a network device (e.g., a base station) in a future communication network, or a device performing network device functions. A base station can support networks using the same or different access technologies. Optionally, a RAN node can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the network equipment.

[0095] Base stations can be fixed or mobile. For example, a helicopter or drone can be configured to act as a mobile base station, and one or more cells can move depending on the location of the mobile base station. In other examples, a helicopter or drone can be configured as a device to communicate with another base station.

[0096] In some deployments, the network device in this application embodiment may be a device including a CU, or a DU, or a device including both CU and DU, or a control plane CU node (central unit-control plane (CU-CP)) and a user plane CU node (central unit-user plane (CU-UP)) and a DU node. For example, the network device may include gNB-CU-CP, gNB-CU-UP, and gNB-DU.

[0097] In some deployments, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminals in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing some of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be CUs, DUs, CU-CPs, CU-UPs, or RUs. CUs and DUs can be configured separately or included in the same network element, such as a BBU. RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as RRUs, AAUs, or RRHs.

[0098] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN / O-RAN) system, CU can also be called an open CU (open CU, O-CU), and DU can also be called an open DU (open DU, O-DU). CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0099] In this embodiment, the device used to implement the functions of the network device can be the network device itself; it can also be a device capable of supporting the network device in implementing the corresponding functions, such as a chip, processor, circuit, hardware, and / or software combination. This device is located on the network side and can be configured within or used in conjunction with the network device. In this embodiment, only the network device is used as an example to illustrate the implementation of the corresponding functions of the network device.

[0100] The retransmission method provided in this application can be applied to transmissions between various network devices (e.g., base stations) and various terminal devices. The network devices can be dedicated network devices or general-purpose devices. The channel coding scheme of the transmitting device is mainly implemented by the channel coding unit (e.g., an encoder or a device that supports the transmitting device in implementing corresponding functions) in the transmitting device; the channel decoding scheme is mainly implemented by the channel decoding unit (e.g., a decoder or a device that supports the receiving device in implementing corresponding functions) in the receiving device.

[0101] Optionally, the functions of the transmitting or receiving devices can be implemented by application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or by software (e.g., computer program code or instructions in memory), or by a combination of both, without limitation.

[0102] The retransmission method provided in this application is described in detail below.

[0103] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of the retransmission method 500 provided in this application. Method 500 can be implemented by a transmitting device (also called an encoding device) performing corresponding steps. Optionally, method 500 may also include related steps performed by a receiving device (also called a decoding device). The transmitting device can be a transmitting device or an apparatus applied to a transmitting device (e.g., a chip, processor, or circuit), without limitation. Similarly, the receiving device can be a receiving device or an apparatus applied to a receiving device (e.g., a chip, processor, or circuit). In the following embodiments, the first apparatus and the second apparatus are used as examples of the transmitting and receiving devices, respectively.

[0104] 510. The transmitting device generates the codeword bits for the kth retransmission.

[0105] The codeword bits in the k-th retransmission include the codeword bits of the first layer of the MLC modulation scheme. The codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are obtained by encoding the information bits and / or codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission using a second encoding method. The first layer uses the first encoding method in the first transmission, and k is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Where:

[0106] The first encoding method and the second encoding method are different; or,

[0107] The first encoding method and the second encoding method are the same, but the encoding parameters of the first encoding method are different from those of the second encoding method.

[0108] Here, "the kth retransmission" can be any retransmission after the initial transmission.

[0109] In the embodiments of this application, the encoding method can also be referred to as a "coding scheme". As an example, the first encoding method includes any one or more of the following: NC, BCH code, RM code (full name Reed-Muller Codes), or polar code; the second encoding method includes any one or more of the following: raptor-like LDPC code, convolutional code, or turbo code.

[0110] Furthermore, the aforementioned encoding parameters may include one or more of the following: the length of information bits, the length of codeword bits (or code length), code rate, bit error rate, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), etc. In addition, the encoding parameters may also include other information related to the encoding method. For example, when the first encoding method and the second encoding method are the same, the encoding parameters of the first encoding method are also the encoding parameters of the second encoding method. If the second encoding method is a raptor-like LDPC code, the encoding parameters of the second encoding method may also include the base map (or base matrix), etc. Optionally, the encoding parameters may also include the code pattern, in which case the code pattern indicates which specific encoding method the second encoding method is. For example, the codes listed in the first or second encoding methods above represent different code patterns.

[0111] Optionally, "first transmission" can be replaced with "initial transmission," "first transmission," or "0th transmission," etc. Similarly, "kth retransmission" can be replaced with "k+1th transmission."

[0112] Furthermore, the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission are obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the first encoding method.

[0113] In the embodiments of this application, the first encoding method may refer to an encoding method that does not support IR retransmission, or an encoding method that cannot efficiently and effectively support IR retransmission. Correspondingly, the second encoding method may refer to an encoding method that supports IR retransmission, or an encoding method that can efficiently and effectively support IR retransmission. Therefore, it can be seen that the technical solution of this application is applicable in different application scenarios (e.g., application scenarios with different requirements for data transmission performance) when the MLC modulation scheme contains layers that cannot efficiently and effectively support IR retransmission. For example, by introducing layers that can support, or can efficiently and effectively support, IR retransmission, in these layers, retransmission performance can be improved, thereby improving the overall performance of data transmission.

[0114] As another implementation, if the coding method used for a certain layer in the initial transmission (e.g., coding method #a) supports IR retransmission, but its performance is worse compared to another coding method that supports IR retransmission (e.g., coding method #b), then coding method #b can be used in the retransmission to improve retransmission performance. For example, in some scenarios, due to changes in transmission performance requirements and channel conditions, different second coding methods may have different transmission performance. In this case, the approach of this application can also be used for retransmission. In this case, it is equivalent to the first coding method not being able to efficiently or effectively support IR retransmission, while the second coding method can support IR retransmission more efficiently or with higher performance.

[0115] 520. The transmitting device sends the codeword bits for the kth retransmission.

[0116] Optionally, method 500 may further include steps performed by the receiving device, such as steps 530 to 540.

[0117] 530. The receiving device receives the sequence of information to be decoded during the kth retransmission.

[0118] The sequence of information to be decoded in the kth retransmission includes the sequence of information to be decoded in the first layer of the MLC modulation scheme, and the sequence of information to be decoded in the first layer of the kth retransmission corresponds to the codeword bits of the first layer in the kth retransmission.

[0119] 540. The receiving device decodes the sequence of information to be decoded based on the k-th retransmission.

[0120] When a layered coding modulation scheme is adopted, as illustrated in Figure 1, the transmitting device performs layered processing on the input bit stream (or information bit sequence). In the initial transmission, each layer is encoded using a corresponding coding method; for example, the first layer uses the first coding method, and the second layer uses the second coding method. In the k-th retransmission, each layer uses the second coding method. Since the second coding method supports IR retransmission, it can improve the retransmission performance of the k-th retransmission and the overall retransmission performance of the MLC modulation scheme, thereby improving the data decoding performance. In one implementation, after receiving the information to be decoded in the first transmission or the kth retransmission, the receiving device can independently decode each layer and obtain the decoding results of the information bits for each layer. In another implementation, after receiving the information to be decoded in the first transmission or the kth retransmission, a certain layer can be independently decoded first to obtain the decoding results of the information bits of that layer in the first transmission and the decoding results of the channel transmission codewords corresponding to the current transmission (specifically, the first transmission or the kth retransmission). Then, the decoding results of the channel transmission codewords of that layer are used as prior information for decoding other layers. In the latter implementation, the layers to be decoded first and the layers to be decoded later can be set by the receiving device and are not limited.

[0121] However, this application considers that different decoding orders for each layer may lead to different decoding performance. For example, the second coding method supports IR retransmission, and the decoding performance of IR retransmission is better than that of CC retransmission, which in turn is better than uncoded retransmission. Therefore, using the decoding result of the channel transmission codeword of the layer that supports IR retransmission as the decoding result of the layer that does not support IR retransmission results in better decoding performance than decoding each layer according to other decoding orders. Therefore, in the embodiments of this application, when the MLC modulation scheme includes a first layer that does not support IR retransmission and a second layer that supports IR retransmission in the first transmission, the second layer is decoded first, and then the decoding result of the channel transmission codeword of the second layer is used as prior information for decoding the first layer, combined with the receiving constellation points of the first layer, to decode the first layer. When an MLC modulation scheme contains multiple first layers, such as a first layer not encoded in the initial transmission (e.g., layer #a) and a first layer using a first coding method in the initial transmission (e.g., layer #c), the second layer supporting IR retransmission in the MLC scheme (e.g., layer #b) is decoded first, then layer #c is decoded, and finally layer #a is decoded. The decoding result of the channel transmission codeword of layer #b serves as prior information for decoding layer #c, and the decoding result of the channel transmission codeword of layer #c, or the decoding results of the channel transmission codewords of layers #c and #b, serves as prior information for decoding layer #a. If layer #a or layer #c is absent, the corresponding processing for that layer is skipped, and the process proceeds to the next layer. Finally, the receiving device obtains the decoding results of the information bits for each layer.

[0122] Optionally, method 500 may further include one or more of steps 550 to 560.

[0123] 550. The transmitting device sends the codeword bits for the first transmission.

[0124] The codeword bits transmitted in the first transmission include codeword bits of the first layer. The codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission are obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer based on the first encoding method.

[0125] 560. The receiving device receives the first transmitted sequence of information to be decoded, wherein the first transmitted sequence of information to be decoded includes the first layer of information to be decoded. The first layer of information to be decoded in the first transmission corresponds to the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission.

[0126] When the initial transmission fails, the receiving device can send a NACK signal to the sending device, which then retransmits based on the NACK signal. For any retransmission, if the receiving device fails to decode successfully, it can send a NACK signal to the sending device. The sending device then retransmits based on the NACK signal. This process repeats until the receiving device responds with an ACK signal, indicating successful decoding; or until the maximum number of retransmissions is reached. This process is similar to the HARQ mechanism shown in Figure 3 above and will not be elaborated further.

[0127] The following examples will be used to explain steps 510 to 540 in detail.

[0128] In one example, referred to as Example A, the MLC modulation scheme includes a first layer that is not encoded in the first transmission. In this case, the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission may include one of the following possibilities:

[0129] 1) At least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method; or,

[0130] 2) At least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one of the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission; or,

[0131] 3) At least one of the information bits in the first layer of the transmission.

[0132] In another example, such as Example B, the MLC modulation scheme includes a first layer, which employs a first coding method in the initial transmission. In this case, the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission include:

[0133] 1) At least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method; or,

[0134] 2) At least one check bit obtained by encoding the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one codeword bit of the first layer in the first transmission; or,

[0135] 3) At least one of the codeword bits in the first layer during the initial transmission.

[0136] In another example, the MLC modulation scheme includes at least two first layers, which include the first layer in Example A above, i.e., the first layer that is not encoded in the first transmission, and the first layer in Example B above, i.e., the first layer that employs a first encoding method in the first transmission.

[0137] For ease of distinction and description, these two first layers will be referred to as layer #a and layer #c, respectively. Both layer #a and layer #c belong to the first layer. Layer #a is not encoded in the initial transmission, while layer #c uses the first encoding method in the initial transmission.

[0138] When the MLC modulation scheme includes layers #a and #c, the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission include: the codeword bits of layer #a in the k-th retransmission, and the codeword bits of layer #c in the k-th retransmission. Wherein,

[0139] ①The codeword bits of layer #a in the k-th retransmission include:

[0140] At least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of layer #a in the first transmission based on the second encoding method; or...

[0141] At least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of layer #a in the first transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one of the information bits of layer #a in the first transmission; or,

[0142] Layer #a is at least one of the information bits in the initial transmission.

[0143] ②The codeword bits of layer #c in the k-th retransmission include:

[0144] At least one check bit obtained by encoding the codeword bits of layer #c in the first transmission based on the second encoding method; or

[0145] At least one check bit obtained by encoding the codeword bits of layer #c in the first transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one codeword bit of layer #c in the first transmission; or,

[0146] Layer #c is at least one of the codeword bits in the first transmission.

[0147] For the same first layer, if the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are obtained using the second encoding method and encoding parameters, then in one or more retransmissions prior to the k-th retransmission, the codeword bits of that first layer are also obtained based on the second encoding method and the same encoding parameters as in the k-th retransmission. In other words, for the same first layer, the second encoding method and the same encoding parameters are used in all retransmissions.

[0148] In one implementation, the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are an RV from the set of redundant versions (RVs) corresponding to the first layer. This set of RVs includes at least one RV. For example, the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission can be any RV from the RV set, or the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission can be the RV corresponding to the k-th retransmission from the RV set. In the latter example, each RV in the RV set corresponds to a different number of retransmissions. During retransmission, based on the current number of retransmissions, the corresponding RV is selected from the RV set for transmission.

[0149] The following examples illustrate the technical solutions provided in this application.

[0150] Example 1

[0151] The MLC modulation scheme includes two layers, denoted as layer #a and layer #b. In the initial transmission, layer #a is not encoded, while layer #b is encoded using a second encoding method. In the k-th retransmission, both layer #a and layer #b are encoded using the second encoding method.

[0152] As can be seen, layer #a is an example of the first layer mentioned above. Among them, layer #b is an example of the second layer included in the MLC modulation scheme.

[0153] 1. Processing flow of the transmitting side device

[0154] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow on the sending side of the retransmission method provided in this application scenario.

[0155] 1) Initial transmission

[0156] For ease of illustration, in the examples shown below, the first transmission is marked as transmission number 0.

[0157] The transmitting device first divides the input bitstream into layers, for example, into layers #a and #b, for a total of two layers. Optionally, the input bitstream can be a bitstream with added transport blocks (TB) and / or coding blocks (CB) and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) or a sequence of information bits, without limitation.

[0158] For the bitstream of layer #a (That is, the bit sequence), because it is not encoded, can be directly output to the layered modulation module. For the bit stream input to layered #b... First, it is encoded according to the target code rate of layer #b using the second encoding method to obtain the codeword bits of layer #b in the first transmission. Then divide the codeword bits of layer #b It is also fed into the layered modulation module. In the layered modulation module, the two input layered bitstreams are mapped to their corresponding constellation points.

[0159] Furthermore, in Figure 6, since layer #a is not encoded, the information bits or codeword bits of layer #a are represented by "NC" as the subscript, for example... Layer #b employs a second coding method that supports IR retransmission. Therefore, the information bits or codeword bits of layer #b are represented using "IR" as the subscript. For example, the information bits are represented as follows: Codeword bits are represented as In the embodiments described below, this representation method is also used to represent the information bit streams or codeword bit streams of each layer.

[0160] 2) The kth retransmission

[0161] For the k-th retransmission, to enable layer #a to support the second coding method and thus improve the overall retransmission performance, a second coding method is introduced in layer #a. Compared to layer #a using no coding in the initial transmission, layer #a uses the second coding method in the k-th retransmission. No coding (NC) is an example of the first coding method.

[0162] Furthermore, layer #b also employs the second encoding method. It is evident that in the k-th retransmission, both layer #a and layer #b use the second encoding method. The encoding parameters used by layer #a and layer #b can be the same or different, without limitation. However, as mentioned above, for a given layer, all k retransmissions will use the second encoding method with the same encoding parameters.

[0163] During the generation of the codeword bits for the kth retransmission, layer #a utilizes an IR encoder to process the information bitstream from the initial transmission. Encode the codeword bitstream corresponding to layer #a to obtain the bitstream. Among them, the codeword bit stream This includes information bits and check bits. In the codeword bits of the k-th retransmission sent by the transmitting device, the codeword bits of layer #a can include a codeword bit stream. At least one of the check bits; or, a stream of information bits may be sent. At least one of the codeword bit streams At least one of the check bits; or, in a possible case, for example, if the receiving device fails to decode, the sending device continuously reduces the code rate for retransmission. If decoding still fails even at the lowest code rate, the information bit stream may be retransmitted. At least one of them. That is, in the k-th retransmission, at least one of the information bits of layer #a in the first transmission may also be sent.

[0164] Furthermore, for different retransmissions k, k = 1, 2, ..., layer #a uses the second encoding method with the same encoding parameters. Therefore, the receiving device can combine the multiple received decoded information, also known as soft values ​​or log-likelihood ratios (LLRs), thereby reducing the code rate of layer #a and improving the decoding performance of retransmissions.

[0165] Optionally, in one implementation, the retransmission of layer #a can be divided into different finite number of RVs, and different RVs can be sent sequentially in the retransmission; or, the check bits can be sent sequentially one by one (if the lowest bit rate is reached, the information bits in the first transmission are restarted), without limitation.

[0166] In the k-th retransmission, layer #b uses an IR encoder to process the information bitstream from the initial transmission. Encode to obtain codeword bitstream Similar to the implementation in layer #a, the codeword bits in layer #b of the k-th retransmission sent by the transmitting device can include a codeword bit stream. At least one of the check bits in the first transmission; or, the information bit stream of layer #b in the first transmission. At least one of them; or, codeword bitstream. At least one check bit and information bit stream At least one of them.

[0167] In this embodiment, since the second encoding method supports IR retransmission, the transmitting device uses the second encoding method for encoding, specifically an IR encoder. Furthermore, as mentioned above, for a given layer, multiple retransmissions all use the second encoding method with the same encoding parameters; different layers can use the same encoding parameters or different encoding parameters, without limitation. For example, in Figure 6, the first transmission and the kth retransmission of layer #b both use IR encoder #1 for encoding, meaning the encoding parameters used in the first transmission and the kth retransmission are the same; in the kth retransmission, layer #a uses IR encoder #2 for encoding, merely as an example. IR encoder #2 can be different from IR encoder #1, in which case it also indicates that both layer #a and layer #b use the second encoding method, but with different encoding parameters. Optionally, IR encoder #2 can also be the same as IR encoder #1, in which case it also indicates that both layer #a and layer #b use the second encoding method with the same encoding parameters. This description applies to any of the embodiments described below.

[0168] 2. Processing flow of receiving side equipment

[0169] Referring to the description in step 540, the processing flow in Figure 7 below is only one possible implementation. This is just an example, and the receiving device can also use other processing flows.

[0170] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow of the retransmission method provided in this application on the receiving side in one application scenario.

[0171] 1) Initial transmission

[0172] For the initial transmission, the receiving device first demodulates the received constellation points to obtain the information to be decoded for layer #b, i.e., the log likelihood ratio (LLR) sequence. Then, it uses an IR decoder to obtain the decoding result of the information bits for layer #b in the initial transmission. And the decoding result of the channel transmission codeword of layer #b in the first transmission. For example, if layer #b corresponds to a layer using LDPC, then the IR decoder for layer #b corresponds to a commonly used belief propagation (BP) decoder in LDPC. After decoding this layer, the decoding result is combined with the received constellation points and the channel transmission codewords of layer #b. The sequence of information to be decoded, layer #a, is calculated and represented as follows: Then, a hard decision is made to obtain the decoding result of the information bits of layer #a.

[0173] 2) The kth retransmission

[0174] For the k-th retransmission decoding, the receiving device first decodes layer #b, and then decodes layer #a.

[0175] Specifically, for layer #b, in the decoding process corresponding to the k-th retransmission, the decoding information obtained from all transmissions prior to the k-th retransmission of layer #b (specifically, the first transmission and the retransmissions from the first to the (k-1)-th retransmission) is first represented as: The information to be decoded obtained from the k-th retransmission is represented as HARQ combining is performed by adding the LLRs at the same bit positions, while retaining the received values ​​for the LLRs at non-repeated bit positions. Based on this, an IR decoder is used to decode the information bits of layer #b, which is represented as follows: And the decoding result of the codeword bits actually transmitted in the k-th retransmission of layer #b is represented as

[0176] Next, for layer #a, we first need to combine the received constellation points from the k-th retransmission with the decoding result of layer #b. The decoding information (or soft value) of the codeword bits corresponding to layer #a in this transmission (specifically the k-th retransmission) is obtained, represented as follows: Combining this with the decoding information of layer #a from the previous transmissions (specifically the first transmission and the first retransmission to the (k-1)th retransmission), it can be represented as: HARQ merging is performed, followed by decoding using the IR decoder for layer #a, to obtain the decoded result of the information bits transmitted in layer #a, representing...

[0177] In Figure 7, the decoding results of information bits for different layers in the first transmission and the k-th retransmission are represented separately. For example, taking layer #b as an example, in the first transmission, the decoding result of the information bits of layer #b is represented as follows: In the k-th retransmission, the decoding result of the information bits of layer #b is represented as follows: and They may be the same or different, but they are all the decoding results of the information bits sent by the sending device in the initial transmission. This explanation also applies to decoding in other layers, which will not be repeated below.

[0178] It should be noted that during the decoding process, the receiving device uses the same decoder as the encoding device. For example, in the initial transmission, if layer #a is unencoded and layer #b uses IR encoder #1, then in the decoding process of the initial transmission: layer #b uses IR decoder #1, and layer #a uses NC decoder. In the k-th retransmission, layer #a uses IR encoder #2, and layer #b uses IR encoder #1. Then in the decoding process of the k-th retransmission: layer #b uses IR decoder #1, and layer #a uses IR decoder #2.

[0179] Figure 8 shows a comparison of decoding performance using the technical solution of Example 1 of this application. Because a second coding method is introduced in the retransmission of layer #a (which is not encoded in the initial transmission), IR retransmission of layer #a is supported during the retransmission process, thus improving both the retransmission performance of layer #a and the overall retransmission performance. As shown in Figure 8, compared to layer #a using CC retransmission, when layer #a uses IR retransmission, the operating point corresponding to the same block bit error rate (BLER) in a single retransmission, i.e., the ratio of symbol energy to noise power spectral density (Esn0), can be reduced by 5.5 dB.

[0180] In Example 1, for a scenario where the MLC modulation scheme includes two layers, an IR encoder is introduced for the layer that is not encoded in the first transmission during retransmission, thereby supporting the IR retransmission mode of that layer and improving the retransmission performance.

[0181] Example 2

[0182] The MLC modulation scheme consists of two layers, denoted as layer #c and layer #b. In the initial transmission, layer #c is encoded using the first coding method, and layer #b is encoded using the second coding method. In the k-th retransmission, layers #a and #b are encoded using the second coding method.

[0183] In Example 2, layer #c is an example of the first layer described above. Layer #b could be an example of the second layer included in an MLC modulation scheme.

[0184] 1. Processing flow of the transmitting side device

[0185] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow on the sending side of the retransmission method provided in this application in another application scenario.

[0186] 1) Initial transmission

[0187] The transmitting device first divides the input bitstream into layers, for example, into layer #c and layer #b, for a total of two layers. Optionally, the input bitstream can be a bitstream with CRC added to TB and / or CB, or it can be information bits, without limitation.

[0188] For the information bit stream of layer #c Encode it using a first encoding method (e.g., encoding that supports CC retransmission, specifically using a CC encoder) to obtain the codeword bits of layer #c in the first transmission, represented as follows: For the information bitstream input to layer #b The layer #b can be encoded using a second encoding method (e.g., via IR encoder #1) according to the target code rate, to obtain the codeword bitstream of layer #b in the first transmission, represented as follows: The bit streams (i.e., codeword bits) of layer #c and layer #b from the initial transmission are then sent to the layer modulation module. In the layer modulation module, the two input layer bit streams are mapped to their corresponding constellation points.

[0189] 2) The kth retransmission

[0190] For the k-th retransmission, in order to enable layer #c to support IR retransmission mode and improve the overall performance of retransmission, a second coding method is introduced in layer #c.

[0191] Compared to layer #c, which uses the first encoding method in its initial transmission, layer #c uses the second encoding method in its k-th retransmission. For example, layer #c specifically uses IR encoder #2 for encoding. Furthermore, layer #b also uses the second encoding method. It can be seen that in the k-th retransmission, both layer #c and layer #b use the second encoding method, where the encoding parameters used by layer #c and layer #b can be the same or different, without limitation. That is, IR encoder #1 and IR encoder #2 can be the same or different. However, as mentioned above, for a given layer, the second encoding method is used in all k retransmissions with the same encoding parameters. For example, layer #b uses IR encoder #1 in both its initial transmission and k-th retransmission.

[0192] During the generation of the codeword bits for the kth retransmission, layer #c utilizes an IR encoder to process the codeword bits from the initial transmission. Encode the codeword bitstream corresponding to layer #c to obtain the codeword bitstream. Among them, the codeword bit stream This includes information bits and check bits. In the codeword bits of the k-th retransmission sent by the transmitting device, the layered #c codeword bits may include: a codeword bit stream. At least one of the check bits in the first transmission; or, the codeword bits of layer #c in the first transmission. At least one of them and codeword bitstream At least one of the check bits in the first transmission; or, the codeword bits of layer #c in the first transmission. At least one of them.

[0193] In the k-th retransmission, the codeword bits of layer #c refer to the codeword bits output by the second encoding method. For example, in Figure 9, for layer #c, the input of the IR encoder is the codeword bits of layer #c in the first transmission, and the output of the IR encoder is the codeword bits of layer #c in the k-th retransmission.

[0194] For different retransmissions k, k = 1, 2, ..., layer #c uses the second encoding method with the same encoding parameters. Therefore, the receiving device can merge the multiple acquisitions of the information to be decoded, i.e., LLR, thereby reducing the code rate of layer #c and improving the decoding performance of retransmissions.

[0195] Optionally, in one implementation, the retransmission of layered #c can be divided into different finite number of RVs, and different RVs can be sent sequentially in the retransmission; or, check bits can be sent sequentially one by one (if the lowest bit rate is reached, the information bits in the first transmission are restarted), without limitation.

[0196] In the k-th retransmission, layer #b uses an IR encoder to process the information bitstream from the initial transmission. Encode to obtain codeword bitstream Similar to the implementation in layered #c, the codeword bits in the k-th retransmission sent by the transmitting device can include a codeword bit stream in layered #b. At least one of the check bits in the data; or, the information bit stream including the layered #b in the initial transmission. At least one of them; or, including codeword bitstreams. At least one check bit in the data and the information bit stream of layer #b in the first transmission. At least one of them.

[0197] Furthermore, in Figure 9, since layer #c uses the first encoding method in the initial transmission, such as an encoding method that supports CC retransmission, the information bits or codeword bits of layer #c are represented by "CC" as the subscript, for example... Layer #b employs a second coding method that supports IR retransmission. Therefore, the information bits or codeword bits of layer #b are represented using "IR" as the subscript. For example, the information bits are represented as follows: Codeword bits are represented as In the k-th retransmission, layer #c uses the second encoding method, and the output codeword bits of the IR encoder of layer #c are represented as follows:

[0198] 2. Processing flow of receiving side equipment

[0199] Referring to the description in step 540, the processing flow in Figure 10 below is only one possible implementation. This is just an example, and the receiving device can also use other processing flows.

[0200] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow of the retransmission method provided in this application on the receiving side in another application scenario.

[0201] 1) Initial transmission

[0202] For the initial transmission, the receiving device first demodulates the receiving constellation points to obtain the information to be decoded for layer #b, i.e., the LLR sequence. Then, it uses an IR decoder (specifically, IR decoder #1 corresponding to IR encoder #1) to obtain the decoding result of the information bits of layer #b in the initial transmission. And the decoding result of the codeword bits of layer #b in the first transmission, represented as After completing the decoding of layer #b, combine the received constellation points and the decoding result of layer #b. The decoding information of layer #c obtained in the first transmission is represented as follows: After performing a hard decision on the information to be decoded, the result of the hard decision is input into the CC decoder for decoding, obtaining the decoding result of the layered #c information bits in the first transmission, represented as...

[0203] 2) The kth retransmission

[0204] For the k-th retransmission decoding, the receiving device first decodes layer #b, and then decodes layer #c.

[0205] Specifically, for layer #b, in the decoding process corresponding to the k-th retransmission, the decoding information obtained from all transmissions prior to the k-th retransmission of layer #b (specifically, the first transmission and the retransmissions from the first to the (k-1)-th retransmission) is first represented as: The information to be decoded obtained from the k-th retransmission is represented as HARQ merging is performed. Based on this, the information bits of layer #b are decoded using an IR decoder (i.e., IR decoder #1) to obtain the decoding result. And the decoding result of the codeword bits actually transmitted in layer #b during this transmission (specifically the k-th retransmission), represented as:

[0206] Next, for layer #c, we first need to combine the receiving constellation points of this transmission (referring to the k-th retransmission) with the decoding result of layer #b. The codeword bits to be decoded in the k-th retransmission of layer #c are obtained, represented as follows: Then, the decoded information in layer #c from the previous transmissions (specifically, the initial transmission and the first retransmission to the (k-1)th retransmission) is compared with the decoded information in the layer #c. HARQ merging is performed, followed by decoding using the IR decoder of layer #c (e.g., IR decoder #2 corresponding to IR encoder #2) to obtain the decoded codeword bits of layer #c in the first transmission. Finally, the decoding result is processed by a CC decoder. After decoding, the decoding result of the information bits of layer #c is obtained, represented as

[0207] In Example 2, for a scenario where the MLC modulation scheme includes two layers, an IR encoder is introduced during retransmission for the layer that uses the first coding method in the initial transmission, thereby supporting the IR retransmission mode of that layer and improving the retransmission performance.

[0208] Example 3

[0209] The MLC modulation scheme consists of three layers, denoted as layer #a, layer #b, and layer #c. In the initial transmission, layer #a is not encoded, layer #b uses the second encoding method, and layer #c uses the first encoding method. In the k-th retransmission, layers #a, #b, and #c all use the second encoding method.

[0210] In Example 3, layers #a and #c are examples of the first layer described above. Layer #b could be an example of a second layer included in an MLC modulation scheme.

[0211] 1. Processing flow of the transmitting side device

[0212] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow on the sending side of the retransmission method provided in this application in another application scenario.

[0213] 1) Initial transmission

[0214] The transmitting device first divides the input bitstream into layers, for example, into layers #a, #b, and #c, for a total of three layers. Optionally, the input bitstream can be a bitstream with CRC added to TB and / or CB, or it can be an information bit sequence, without limitation.

[0215] For the bitstream input to layer #a Because it uses no encoding processing, it can be directly output to the layered modulation module.

[0216] For the bitstream input to layer #b It is encoded according to the target code rate of layer #b using a second encoding method (e.g., using IR encoder #1) to obtain the codeword bits of layer #b in the first transmission. Then divide the codeword bits of layer #b It is also sent to the layered modulation module.

[0217] For layered #c bitstream Encode it using a first encoding method (e.g., a CC encoder that supports CC retransmission) to obtain the codeword bits of layer #c in the first transmission. Then divide the codeword bits of layer #c It is fed into the layered modulation module.

[0218] In the layered modulation module, the codeword bits of the three layered inputs are mapped to the corresponding constellation points.

[0219] 2) The kth retransmission

[0220] For the k-th retransmission, a second coding method is introduced in layers #a and #c. Furthermore, layer #b also employs the second coding method.

[0221] During the generation of the codeword bits for the kth retransmission:

[0222] Layer #a utilizes a second encoding method (e.g., specifically IR encoder #2) to process the information bitstream in the initial transmission. Encode the codeword bitstream corresponding to layer #a to obtain the bitstream. In the codeword bits of the k-th retransmission sent by the transmitting device, the codeword bits of layer #a may include a codeword bit stream. At least one of the check bits in the data; or, the information bit stream in the initial transmission. At least one of the codeword bit streams At least one of the check bits in the data; or, the information bit stream in the initial transmission. At least one of them.

[0223] Layer #b utilizes a second encoding method (specifically, IR encoder #1) to process the information bitstream during the initial transmission. Encode to obtain codeword bitstream In the codeword bits of the k-th retransmission sent by the transmitting device, the codeword bits of layer #b can include a codeword bit stream. At least one of the check bits in the first transmission; or, the information bit stream of layer #b in the first transmission. At least one of them; or, codeword bitstream. At least one check bit and information bit stream At least one of them.

[0224] Layer #c utilizes a second encoding method (e.g., specifically an IR encoder #3) to process the codeword bits in the initial transmission. Encode the codeword bitstream corresponding to layer #c to obtain the codeword bitstream. Among them, codeword bitstream This includes information bits and check bits. In the codeword bits of the k-th retransmission sent by the transmitting device, the layered #c codeword bits may include: a codeword bit stream. At least one of the parity bits in the sequence; or, the codeword bit stream of layer #c in the first transmission. At least one of them and codeword bits At least one of the check bits in the first transmission; or, the codeword bits of layer #c in the first transmission. At least one of them.

[0225] In Figure 11, IR encoder #1, IR encoder #2, and IR encoder #3 can be the same encoder, meaning they all have the same encoding parameters; or they can be two of the three encoders that are the same, or all three can be different—there is no limitation. However, for a given layer, the encoder used in different retransmissions is the same, or in other words, the encoding parameters remain unchanged. In the decoding process of the receiving device, for each layer, a decoder corresponding to the encoder of that layer is used for decoding.

[0226] 2. Processing flow of receiving side equipment

[0227] Referring to the description in step 540, the processing flow shown in Figure 12 below is only one possible implementation. This is just an example, and the receiving device can also use other processing flows.

[0228] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the processing flow of the retransmission method provided in this application on the receiving side in another application scenario.

[0229] 1) Initial transmission

[0230] The receiving device first demodulates the received constellation points to obtain the layer #b decoding information, i.e., the LLR sequence. Then, it decodes this information using the decoding method corresponding to the second encoding method (e.g., IR decoder #1 corresponding to IR encoder #1) to obtain the decoding result of the layer #b information bits from the first transmission. And the decoding result of the channel transmission codeword of layer #b in the first transmission.

[0231] After completing the decoding of layer #b, combine the decoding results of the received constellation points and the channel transmission codeword of layer #b. The decoding information of layer #c obtained in the first transmission is represented as follows: After performing a hard decision on the information to be decoded in layer #c, the result of the hard decision is input into the CC decoder for decoding, thus obtaining the decoding result of the information bits of layer #c in the first transmission. And the decoding results of the channel transmission codewords of layer #c in the first transmission.

[0232] Finally, the decoding results of the received constellation points and layer #c are combined. The decoded information for layer #a obtained in the first transmission (e.g., the NC decoder corresponding to "no encoding" or "NC encoder") is represented as follows: A hard decision is made on it to obtain the decoding result of the information bits of layer #a in the first transmission.

[0233] 2) The kth retransmission

[0234] As an example, for the k-th retransmission decoding, the receiving device first decodes layer #b to obtain the decoding result of the information bits of layer #b and the decoding result of the channel transmission codeword of layer #b. Then, using the decoding result of the channel transmission codeword of layer #b as prior information, it is used for decoding layer #c to obtain the decoding result of the information bits of layer #c and the decoding result of the channel transmission codeword of layer #c. Finally, using the decoding result of the channel transmission codeword of layer #c, or the decoding results of the channel transmission codewords of layers #b and #c, as prior information, it is used for decoding layer #a to obtain the decoding result of the information bits of layer #a.

[0235] For layer #b, firstly, the decoding information obtained from all transmissions prior to the k-th retransmission of layer #b (specifically, the first transmission and retransmissions from the 1st to the (k-1st)th retransmission) is represented as: The information to be decoded obtained from the k-th retransmission is represented as Perform HARQ merging. Based on this, decode using an IR decoder (e.g., IR decoder #1) to obtain the decoded information bits of layer #b. The decoding result of the channel transmission codeword of layer #b in this transmission (specifically the k-th retransmission) is represented as follows:

[0236] Next, we decode layer #c. First, we need to combine the received constellation points from the k-th retransmission with the decoding result of layer #b. The codeword bits to be decoded in the k-th retransmission of layer #c are obtained, represented as follows: This will be compared with the layered #c decoding information in previous transmissions (specifically, the first transmission and the first retransmission to the (k-1)th retransmission). HARQ merging is performed, followed by decoding using a layered #c IR decoder (e.g., IR decoder #3) to obtain the decoding result of the layered #c channel transmission codeword in the first transmission. Finally, the decoding result is processed by a CC decoder. After decoding, the decoding result of the information bits of layer #c is obtained, represented as

[0237] Next, we decode layer #a. First, we need to combine the received constellation points from the k-th retransmission with the decoding result of layer #c. The decoding information (or soft value) of the codeword bits corresponding to layer #a in the kth retransmission is obtained, represented as follows: The codeword bits to be decoded corresponding to the kth retransmission are then combined with the codeword bits to be decoded from the previous transmissions (referring to the first transmission and the 1st retransmission to the (k-1)th retransmission) and the layered #a codeword bits to be decoded, and represented as follows: HARQ merging is performed, followed by decoding using the IR decoder of layer #a (e.g., IR decoder #2) to obtain the decoded result of the information bits transmitted in layer #a, representing...

[0238] In Example 3, by introducing an IR encoder in the retransmission of the layer that is not encoded in the first transmission and the layer that uses the first encoding method (which does not support IR retransmission), the two layers support IR retransmission, which improves the decoding performance of retransmission and the overall decoding performance of the MLC modulation scheme.

[0239] The three examples above are merely examples of a layer that is not encoded in the initial transmission and a layer that uses the first encoding method in the initial transmission, respectively. The technical solution of this application can be extended to scenarios with multiple layers, for example, including at least one layer that is not encoded in the initial transmission (such as layer #a above), and at least one layer that uses the first encoding method in the initial transmission (such as layer #c above). Optionally, it may also include at least one layer that uses the second encoding method in the initial transmission (such as layer #b above).

[0240] The above embodiments are based on layered coding modulation. For one or more layers that are not coded and / or use coding methods that do not support IR retransmission (such as the first coding method) in the first transmission, a coding method that supports IR retransmission (such as the second coding method) is used in the retransmission, so that the one or more layers support IR retransmission and improve the retransmission performance.

[0241] Optionally, the retransmission method provided in this application can also be applied to scenarios other than layered coding modulation. For example, the transmitting device may not encode the information bits to be transmitted in the first transmission or may encode them using a first coding method. If the receiving device fails to decode, a second coding method supporting IR retransmission is used during retransmission to improve retransmission performance and overall information transmission performance. The application of the retransmission method of this application in addition to layered coding modulation is described below with reference to Figure 13.

[0242] Figure 13 is a schematic flowchart of the retransmission method 700 provided in this application. Method 700 can be implemented by a transmitting-side device (also referred to as an encoding-side device) performing the corresponding steps. Optionally, method 700 may also include related steps performed by a receiving-side device (also referred to as a decoding-side device). For a description of the transmitting-side device and the receiving-side device, please refer to the description in method 500 in Figure 5, which will not be repeated here.

[0243] 710. The transmitting device generates the codeword bits for the kth retransmission, where k is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0244] The codeword bits in the kth retransmission are obtained by encoding the information bits and / or codeword bits in the first transmission using the second encoding method. The first transmission uses the first encoding method, and the second encoding method is different from the first encoding method; or the second encoding method is the same as the first encoding method, and the encoding parameters of the second encoding method are different from the encoding parameters of the first encoding method.

[0245] Similar to Method 500, the first encoding method includes any one or more of the following: NC, BCH, RM, or polar codes; the second encoding method includes any one or more of the following: raptor-like LDPC codes, convolutional codes, or turbo codes.

[0246] 720. The transmitting device sends the codeword bits for the kth retransmission.

[0247] The receiving device receives the sequence of information to be decoded during the k-th retransmission.

[0248] 730. The receiving device decodes the sequence of information to be decoded based on the k-th retransmission to obtain the decoding result.

[0249] For a first coding method that does not support IR retransmission in the initial transmission, or cannot support IR retransmission efficiently and with high performance, a second coding method that supports IR retransmission or supports IR retransmission more efficiently and with high performance can be introduced during the retransmission process to improve retransmission performance.

[0250] As can be seen, compared with method 500, method 700 is not limited by the use of MLC modulation scheme and can be more widely used in retransmission to improve retransmission performance.

[0251] Optionally, an initial transmission, such as step 740, may be included before retransmission.

[0252] 740. The transmitting device sends the first bit sequence.

[0253] The initial bit sequence transmitted includes either information bits or codeword bits. In the former implementation, no encoding is performed in the initial transmission; in the latter implementation, the information bits can be encoded using a first encoding method to obtain the codeword bits corresponding to the initial transmission. The first encoding method does not support IR retransmission, or cannot efficiently or effectively support IR retransmission. In contrast, the second encoding method supports IR retransmission, or can efficiently or effectively support IR retransmission. For details, please refer to the description of method 500 and its various embodiments.

[0254] Accordingly, the receiving device receives the information to be decoded in the first transmission. If the decoding fails when the receiving device attempts to decode the information based on the first transmission, the sending device retransmits the information to the receiving device. The retransmission process can be referred to the HARQ mechanism shown in Figure 3.

[0255] As another implementation, if the first coding method (e.g., coding method #a) supports IR retransmission, but its performance is worse compared to another coding method that supports IR retransmission (e.g., coding method #b), then coding method #b can be used in the retransmission to improve retransmission performance. For example, in some scenarios, due to changes in transmission performance requirements and channel conditions, different second coding methods may have different transmission performance. In such cases, the approach of this application can also be used for retransmission. In this case, it is equivalent to the first coding method not being able to efficiently or effectively support IR retransmission, while the second coding method can support IR retransmission more efficiently or with higher performance.

[0256] The retransmission method provided in this application has been described in detail above. The communication device provided in this application will be described below.

[0257] Figure 14 is a schematic structural diagram of the communication device 1000 provided in this application. The communication device 1000 can be a transmitting-side device, or a device applied to the transmitting-side device that can realize the corresponding functions of the transmitting-side device in the method embodiments of this application, such as a chip, processor, or circuit. Alternatively, the communication device 1000 can be a receiving-side device, or a device applied to the receiving-side device that can realize the corresponding functions of the receiving-side device in the method embodiments of this application, such as a chip, processor, or circuit.

[0258] Optionally, the communication device 1000 includes a processing module 1001, which may be a processor, a processing board, a processing unit, or a processing device, etc. When the communication device 1000 is a transmitting device or a device applied to a transmitting device, the processing module 1001 is used to: generate the codeword bits for the k-th retransmission, generate the codeword bits for the first transmission, etc. Specific processes can be found in the detailed descriptions of the corresponding steps in the method embodiments, and will not be repeated here. When the communication device 1000 is a receiving device or a device applied to a receiving device, the processing module 1001 is used to: decode the information sequence to be decoded based on the k-th retransmission, decode the codeword bits for the first transmission, etc. Specific processes can be found in the detailed descriptions of the corresponding steps in the method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0259] Optionally, the communication device 1000 further includes a communication module 1002, which may also be called a transceiver module, transceiver, transceiver unit, or transceiver device, etc., for performing receiving (or input) and / or sending (or output) operations. For example, when the communication device 1000 is a transmitting-side device or a device applied to a transmitting-side device, the communication module 1002 can be used to send the codeword bits of the kth retransmission, send the codeword bits of the first transmission, transmit the bit sequence to be encoded to the processing module 1001; and output the codeword bits obtained by the encoding by the processing module 1001, etc. When the communication device 1000 is a receiving-side device or a device applied to a receiving-side device, the communication module 1002 can be used to receive the information sequence to be decoded in the kth retransmission, receive the information sequence to be decoded in the first transmission, and send the information sequence to be decoded to the processing module 1001; and output the decoding result of the processing module 1001, for example, the decoding result of information bits of a certain layer, or the decoding result of channel transmission codewords of a certain layer, etc. Furthermore, it should be noted that the aforementioned communication module and / or processing module can be implemented through virtual modules. For example, the processing module can be implemented through software functional units or virtual devices, and the communication module can be implemented through software functions or virtual devices. Alternatively, the processing module or communication module can also be implemented through physical devices, such as chips / circuits (e.g., integrated circuits or logic circuits). The communication module can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface, performing input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operation) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operation); the processing module is an integrated processor, microprocessor, or circuit (e.g., integrated circuits, logic circuits).

[0260] The module division in this application is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods are possible. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various examples of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware, as software functional modules, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0261] Figure 15 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in this application. The communication device 1100 can be used to implement the functions of any communication device (e.g., a transmitting device or a receiving device) in the communication system described in the foregoing examples. The communication device 1100 may include at least one processor 1110. Optionally, the processor 1110 (or processing device) is coupled to a memory, which may be located within the communication device, integrated with the processor, or located outside the communication device. For example, the communication device 1100 may also include at least one memory 1120. The memory 1120 stores computer programs, instructions, or data necessary for implementing any of the above method embodiments; the processor 1110 may execute the computer programs, instructions, or data stored in the memory 1120 to perform the corresponding functions of the transmitting device or receiving device in any of the above embodiments.

[0262] Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include a communication interface 1130, through which the communication device 1100 can interact with other devices. For example, the communication interface 1130 may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module, pin, or other type of communication interface. When the communication device 1100 is a chip-type device or circuit, the communication interface 1130 in the device 1100 may also be an input / output circuit, capable of inputting information (or receiving information) and / or outputting information (or sending information). The processor may be an integrated circuit or logic circuit, etc., and the processor can determine the output information based on the input information.

[0263] The coupling in this application refers to indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 1110 may operate in conjunction with the memory 1120 and the communication interface 1130. This application does not limit the connection medium between the processor 1110, the memory 1120, and the communication interface 1130.

[0264] Figure 16 is a schematic structural diagram of the chip provided in this application. Chip 30 includes circuit 31 and communication interface 32. Circuit 31 can be a logic circuit, integrated circuit, etc., and communication interface 32 can also be called an input / output circuit, input / output interface, interface circuit, etc., and can input information (or receive information) or output information (or send information). Chip 30 can execute the methods performed by the transmitting-side device or the receiving-side device in the various embodiments of this application.

[0265] In addition, this application also provides schematic diagrams of the chip architecture of the layered coding modulation encoder and the layered coding modulation decoder applicable to this application, as shown in Figures 17-18 below.

[0266] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram of a chip for a transmitting-side device applicable to an embodiment of this application. Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of a chip for a receiving-side device applicable to an embodiment of this application. The chip architecture of the transmitting-side device or receiving-side device may include a computing unit, a storage unit, and a control unit. The computing unit is responsible for processing the logical operations of the encoder and decoder, the storage unit is responsible for storing data during the computing process, and the control unit is responsible for scheduling and controlling the computing unit and storage resources. The computing unit in the transmitting-side device chip may include one or more of the following processes: TB CRC calculation, data layering, code block segmentation, code block concatenation, layered encoding, and CB CRC calculation. The computing unit in the receiving-side device chip may include one or more of the following processes: delayering, rate matching de-splitting, HARQ merging, layered decoding, CB CRC, and TB CRC.

[0267] Specifically, as shown in Figure 17, for the "layered encoding" module in the chip of the transmitting device, during the retransmission process, it needs to read the parity check matrix used by the IR encoder of each layer from the storage unit, perform corresponding IR encoding to obtain additional redundancy check bits, and output them to the next module. As shown in Figure 18, for the "layered decoding" module in the chip of the receiving device, it first receives the bit soft value of the IR layer (such as layer #b in the above embodiment) obtained from the HARQ merging unit, and decodes the IR layer. Next, it decodes the uncoded layer (such as layer #a in the above embodiment) and the CC layer (such as layer #c in the above embodiment) in sequence. During decoding, it needs to first read the receiving constellation point of this retransmission from the storage unit, and calculate the bit soft value of the current decoded layer by combining the decoding results of other layers. Next, it needs to read the bit soft value of the transmission process preceding the current decoded layer (specifically, all transmissions from the first transmission to the (k-1)th retransmission) from the storage unit, and perform HARQ merging with the currently calculated bit soft value. The merged soft value is used for IR decoding of this layer, and also written back to the storage unit for subsequent retransmission.

[0268] Alternatively, since the encoding and decoding of layered coding modulation schemes have high throughput requirements, they are generally implemented in system-on-chip (SoC) using hardware accelerators (HACs).

[0269] In addition, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause operations and / or processes performed by a transmitting-side device or a receiving-side device in the various method embodiments of this application to be executed.

[0270] This application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer program code or instructions. When the computer program code or instructions are run on a computer, the operations and / or processes performed by the sending-side device or the receiving-side device in the various method embodiments of this application are executed.

[0271] Furthermore, this application also provides a chip including a processor. A memory for storing a computer program is provided independently of the chip, and the processor is used to execute the computer program stored in the memory, such that operations and / or processes performed by a transmitting-side device or a receiving-side device in any method embodiment are executed. Further, the chip may also include a communication interface. The communication interface may be an input / output interface or an interface circuit, etc. Further, the chip may also include the memory.

[0272] This application provides a communication system, including the transmitting-side device and the receiving-side device in the above method embodiments.

[0273] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0274] The processor in this application embodiment has signal processing capabilities and can be a central processing unit (CPU), or a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in this application can be directly embodied in the execution of the hardware processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory; the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above methods.

[0275] In the embodiments of this application, the memory can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or it can include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). The memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0276] The technical solutions provided in this application can be implemented in whole or in part through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, they can be implemented in whole or in part as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a terminal device, an access network device, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media, etc.

[0277] In the embodiments of this application, "at least one" refers to one or more items. "More than one" means two or more items. "And / or" is used to describe the relationship between related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone.

[0278] The term "comprising" and any variations thereof used in the embodiments of this application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or device that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the steps or units listed, but may optionally include other steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices.

[0279] In this application, examples may reference each other without logical contradiction. For example, methods and / or terms between method embodiments may reference each other, functions and / or terms between device embodiments may reference each other, and functions and / or terms between device examples and method examples may reference each other.

[0280] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0281] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0282] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0283] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0284] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0285] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

Claims

1. A retransmission method, characterized in that, include: Generate codeword bits for the k-th retransmission, wherein the codeword bits for the k-th retransmission include codeword bits for the first layer of layered coded MLC modulation, wherein the codeword bits for the first layer in the k-th retransmission are obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission and / or the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on a second encoding method, wherein the first transmission of the first layer uses a first encoding method, and the second encoding method is different from the first encoding method, or the second encoding method is the same as the first encoding method but with different encoding parameters, and k is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and, Send the codeword bits of the kth retransmission.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: The codeword bits of the first transmission are sent, the codeword bits of the first transmission include the codeword bits of the first layer, and the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission are obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer based on the first encoding method.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first layer is not encoded in the initial transmission, and the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission include: At least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method; or, At least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one of the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission; or, The first layer is at least one of the information bits in the initial transmission.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The MLC includes at least two first layers, and the at least two first layers further include a first layer that uses the first encoding method in the initial transmission. In the k-th retransmission, the codeword bits of the first layer that uses the first encoding method in the initial transmission include: The check bit is obtained by encoding the first codeword bit sequence based on the second encoding method, wherein the first codeword bit sequence is the codeword bit of the first layer in the first transmission using the first encoding method in the first transmission; or, At least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the first codeword bit sequence based on the second encoding method, and at least one of the codeword bits included in the first codeword bit sequence, wherein the first codeword bit sequence is the codeword bit of the first layer in the first transmission using the first encoding method in the first transmission, the first codeword bit sequence is obtained by encoding the first information bit sequence based on the first encoding method, and the first information bit sequence is the information bit of the first layer in the first transmission using the first encoding method in the first transmission; or, The first layer of the first encoding method used in the first transmission is at least one of the codeword bits in the first transmission.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first layer employs the first encoding method in the initial transmission, and the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission include: At least one check bit obtained by encoding the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method; or... At least one check bit obtained by encoding the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one codeword bit of the first layer in the first transmission; or, The first layer is at least one of the codeword bits in the initial transmission.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2-5, characterized in that, The first encoding method includes any one or more of the following: not encoding NC, BCH codes, RM codes, or polar codes; and, The second encoding method includes any one or more of the following: raptor-like LDPC codes, convolutional codes, or turbo codes.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, For the same first layer, the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are obtained using the second encoding method and encoding parameters, wherein, In one or more retransmissions prior to the k-th retransmission, the codeword bits of the first layer are encoded using the second encoding method and the same encoding parameters as in the k-th retransmission.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission include: a redundant version from the redundant version set corresponding to the first layer, wherein the redundant version set includes at least one redundant version.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, In the k-th retransmission, the codeword bits of the first layer are any one of the at least one redundant version; or, In the k-th retransmission, the codeword bits of the first layer are the redundant versions of the at least one redundant version corresponding to the k-th retransmission, wherein each of the at least one redundant versions corresponds to a different number of retransmissions.

10. A retransmission method, characterized in that, include: The system receives the sequence of information to be decoded in the k-th retransmission, which includes the sequence of information to be decoded for the first layer of Layered Coding Modulation (MLC). The sequence of information to be decoded for the first layer in the k-th retransmission corresponds to the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission. The codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are obtained by encoding the information bits and / or codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission using a second encoding method. The first transmission of the first layer uses a first encoding method. The second encoding method is different from the first encoding method, or the second encoding method is the same as the first encoding method but with different encoding parameters. k is an integer greater than or equal to 1. Decoding is performed based on the sequence of information to be decoded from the kth retransmission.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: The system receives a sequence of information to be decoded transmitted for the first time. The sequence of information to be decoded transmitted for the first time includes the sequence of information to be decoded of the first layer. The sequence of information to be decoded of the first layer in the first transmission corresponds to the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission. The codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission are obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer based on the first encoding method.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The first layer is not encoded in the initial transmission, and the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission include: At least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method; or, At least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one of the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission; or, The first layer is at least one of the information bits in the initial transmission.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The MLC includes at least two first layers, and the at least two first layers further include a first layer that uses the first encoding method in the initial transmission. In the k-th retransmission, the codeword bits of the first layer that uses the first encoding method in the initial transmission include: The check bit is obtained by encoding the first codeword bit sequence based on the second encoding method, wherein the first codeword bit sequence is the codeword bit of the first layer in the first transmission using the first encoding method in the first transmission; or, At least one of the check bits obtained by encoding the first codeword bit sequence based on the second encoding method, and at least one of the codeword bits included in the first codeword bit sequence, wherein the first codeword bit sequence is the codeword bit of the first layer in the first transmission using the first encoding method in the first transmission, the first codeword bit sequence is obtained by encoding the first information bit sequence based on the first encoding method, and the first information bit sequence is the information bit of the first layer in the first transmission using the first encoding method in the first transmission; or, The first layer of the first encoding method used in the first transmission is at least one of the codeword bits in the first transmission.

14. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that, The first layer employs the first encoding method in the initial transmission, and the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission include: At least one check bit obtained by encoding the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method; or... At least one check bit obtained by encoding the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on the second encoding method, and at least one codeword bit of the first layer in the first transmission; or, The first layer is at least one of the codeword bits in the initial transmission.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11-14, characterized in that, The first encoding method includes any one or more of the following: not encoding NC, BCH codes, RM codes, or polar codes; and, The second encoding method includes raptor-like LDPC codes, convolutional codes, or turbo codes.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10-15, characterized in that, For the same first layer, the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are obtained using the second encoding method and encoding parameters, wherein, In one or more retransmissions prior to the k-th retransmission, the first encoding method and the encoding parameters used to obtain the codeword bits of the first layer are obtained.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10-16, characterized in that, The codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission include: a redundant version from the redundant version set corresponding to the first layer, wherein the redundant version set includes at least one redundant version.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, In the k-th retransmission, the codeword bits of the first layer are any one of the at least one redundant version; or, In the k-th retransmission, the codeword bits of the first layer are the redundant versions of the at least one redundant version corresponding to the k-th retransmission, wherein each of the at least one redundant versions corresponds to a different number of retransmissions.

19. An encoding device, characterized in that, include: A processing module is configured to generate codeword bits for the k-th retransmission, wherein the codeword bits for the k-th retransmission include codeword bits for the first layer of layered coded MLC modulation. The codeword bits for the first layer in the k-th retransmission are obtained by encoding the information bits of the first layer in the first transmission and / or the codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission using a second encoding method. The first transmission of the first layer uses a first encoding method, and the second encoding method is different from the first encoding method, or the second encoding method is the same as the first encoding method but with different encoding parameters, where k is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and... The communication module is used to send the codeword bits of the kth retransmission.

20. A decoding device, characterized in that, include: A communication module is configured to receive the decoded information sequence in the k-th retransmission, wherein the decoded information sequence in the k-th retransmission includes the decoded information sequence of the first layer of Layered Coding Modulation (MLC), wherein the decoded information sequence of the first layer in the k-th retransmission corresponds to the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission, and the codeword bits of the first layer in the k-th retransmission are obtained by encoding the information bits and / or codeword bits of the first layer in the first transmission based on a second encoding method, wherein the first transmission of the first layer uses a first encoding method, and the second encoding method is different from the first encoding method, or the second encoding method is the same as the first encoding method but with different encoding parameters, and k is an integer greater than or equal to 1; and, The processing module is used to decode the sequence of information to be decoded based on the kth retransmission.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, The system includes a communication interface and circuitry. The communication interface is used to acquire information required to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-9, and to send the information to the circuitry, which is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-9 based on the received information; or... The communication interface is used to acquire information required to perform the method as described in any one of claims 10-18, and to send the information to the circuit, which is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 10-18 based on the received information.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes modules or units for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-18.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes a processor coupled to a memory, the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-18.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions that, when executed on a computer, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-18.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes a computer program or instructions for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-9, or the method as described in any one of claims 10-18.

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