HARQ Feedback Handling for Multi-Transport Block Satellite Links
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Solution Overview
Problem
In satellite communication, the long signal transmission distance leads to significant HARQ delay, causing network devices to wait excessively for HARQ feedback, which hinders subsequent downlink transmission, especially when multiple transport blocks are scheduled.
Innovation Solution
A method where a terminal device sends HARQ feedback only for transport blocks with enabled feedback, while ignoring or defaulting to a fixed value for blocks with disabled feedback, allowing the network device to proceed with subsequent transmissions without waiting for all feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the network device waits for HARQ feedback from all transport blocks before proceeding with subsequent downlink transmission, then the reliability of data transmission is improved, but the transmission delay increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the HARQ feedback process by transport block. Instead of waiting for feedback from all transport blocks, the network device processes feedback on a per-transport block basis. When a transport block has HARQ feedback disabled, the network device can proceed with subsequent transmissions without waiting for that specific feedback, thereby reducing overall waiting time while maintaining reliability for blocks that require feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by selectively waiting for HARQ feedback only when necessary. For transport blocks with HARQ feedback disabled, the network device does not wait for feedback at all, performing only the necessary action (proceeding with transmission) while skipping unnecessary waiting. This partial approach optimizes the balance between reliability and delay.
2Reliability
If the terminal device sends HARQ feedback for all scheduled transport blocks, then the network device can ensure reliable reception, but the transmission delay increases due to waiting for all feedback
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the HARQ feedback requirement for each transport block. Some transport blocks have HARQ feedback enabled (requiring acknowledgment) while others have it disabled (no acknowledgment needed). This local differentiation allows the system to maintain high reliability where needed while improving overall transmission efficiency by not waiting for feedback from blocks where it is not required.
3Productivity
If the network device schedules multiple transport blocks through a single scheduling instruction, then the resource utilization is improved, but the HARQ delay problem is exacerbated due to longer waiting time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the handling of multiple transport blocks scheduled by a single instruction. Instead of treating all blocks uniformly and waiting for all feedback, the network device processes each block independently based on its HARQ feedback configuration. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high resource utilization (by scheduling multiple blocks) while reducing waiting time (by not waiting for feedback from blocks with feedback disabled).
Data Source
AI summary
A hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback method is performed by a terminal device, and includes: receiving a scheduling instruction sent by a network device, wherein the scheduling instruction is configured to schedule a plurality of transport blocks; and in response to the plurality of transport blocks comprising a first transport block with HARQ feedback enabled and a second transport block with HARQ feedback disabled, sending at least one HARQ feedback to the network device, wherein the at least one HARQ feedback includes HARQ feedback corresponding to the first transport block.