HARQ-ACK Feedback Bundling for Uplink Control Information
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network schemes face challenges in efficiently conveying Uplink Control Information (UCI) from user equipment (UE) to the network, particularly in supporting ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC).
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves a processor in the UE that receives Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmissions, decodes them, determines Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)-ACK feedback, and bundles this feedback for multiple PDSCH transmissions before reporting it to the network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If individual HARQ-ACK feedback is reported for each PDSCH transmission, then complete feedback information is provided, but network traffic and latency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by combining multiple individual HARQ-ACK feedback bits into a single bundled feedback message. The UE bundles HARQ-ACK feedback for multiple PDSCH transmissions (e.g., from different slots or carriers) into one consolidated report, reducing the total amount of data transmitted back to the network while maintaining complete feedback information.
Solution Approach 2:
The bundled HARQ-ACK feedback mechanism serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides feedback for multiple PDSCH transmissions, reduces overhead, and enables efficient resource allocation. The single feedback message universally represents the status of multiple downlink transmissions, allowing the network to handle multiple scenarios with one report.
2Loss of time
If bundled HARQ-ACK feedback is used, then network traffic and latency are reduced, but feedback processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring the UE with bundling window parameters and feedback timing information before actual transmissions occur. The UE is configured with parameters such as bundling window size, timing offsets, and resource allocation patterns, so that during operation it can automatically bundle feedback without complex real-time calculations.
Solution Approach 2:
The feedback processing is segmented into distinct phases: reception of PDSCH transmissions, generation of individual HARQ-ACK bits, bundling of these bits according to pre-configured patterns, and transmission of the consolidated feedback. This segmentation allows each phase to be optimized independently and reduces overall processing complexity.
3Speed
If carrier aggregation is used to increase bandwidth, then data communication speed improves, but UCI feedback overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges UCI feedback from multiple carriers into a single bundled message. Instead of reporting HARQ-ACK status for each carrier separately, the UE bundles feedback across carriers (e.g., combining feedback for first and second carriers into one report), thereby reducing total feedback overhead while maintaining the benefits of carrier aggregation for high-speed data communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a one-dimensional feedback approach (separate feedback per carrier) to a multi-dimensional approach (bundled feedback across carriers and time slots). By organizing feedback in multiple dimensions (carrier dimension, time dimension), the system achieves compact representation of extensive feedback information, reducing overhead while preserving completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer readable storage medium, a user equipment, a method and an integrated circuit that are used to perform operations. Operations include receiving, from a network, a plurality of Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmissions in slots of a hybrid automatic repeating request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) window, decoding each of the PDSCH transmissions in the slots of the HARQ window, determining a HARQ-ACK feedback for each PDSCH transmission in the HARQ-ACK window, bundling the HARQ-ACK feedback for at least two of the PDSCH transmissions and reporting the bundled HARQ-ACK feedback for the HARQ window to the network.