NTN HARQ Control Using Distance-Based Retransmission Disabling
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Solution Overview
Problem
In non-terrestrial networks, the use of HARQ transmission can lead to unnecessary power consumption due to packet delays exceeding the packet delay budget, as existing methods do not specify when to disable HARQ transmission effectively.
Innovation Solution
An electronic device is configured to identify distance information between itself and a non-terrestrial network base station, transmit this information, and receive instructions on disabling HARQ based on the ratio of data to be transmitted without HARQ, thereby optimizing HARQ operations to reduce power consumption and latency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If HARQ transmission is always performed in non-terrestrial networks, then data reliability is improved, but power consumption increases due to unnecessary retransmissions when packet delay exceeds the packet delay budget
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic HARQ disabling based on distance thresholds. The UE determines its distance from the NTN base station and dynamically adjusts HARQ transmission status - disabling HARQ when distance exceeds a threshold (indicating likely delay budget violation) and enabling it when within threshold. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by adjusting reliability mechanisms based on actual propagation conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the HARQ transmission parameter based on distance information. By using distance as a parameter to control HARQ enabling/disabling, the system optimizes the trade-off between reliability and power consumption. The distance parameter reflects the propagation delay characteristics, allowing appropriate HARQ configuration for each transmission scenario.
2Reliability
If HARQ transmission is always performed, then error correction capability is improved, but latency increases due to additional retransmission processing time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically controls HARQ transmission based on real-time distance measurements. When the UE is far from the NTN base station, HARQ is disabled to avoid additional retransmission latency that would further exceed the delay budget. This dynamic control reduces unnecessary latency while maintaining error correction capability when HARQ is beneficial.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the HARQ retransmission mechanism from the data transmission path when distance conditions indicate it would be harmful. By selectively removing HARQ functionality based on distance thresholds, the system eliminates the latency overhead of HARQ processing when the propagation delay already indicates budget violation, thus resolving the latency-reliability contradiction.
3Use of energy by moving object
If distance-based HARQ control is implemented, then power consumption is reduced by avoiding unnecessary HARQ transmissions, but device complexity increases due to distance measurement and threshold comparison operations
Solution Approach 1:
The UE performs self-service by autonomously measuring its distance from the NTN base station using available positioning information and autonomously deciding whether to enable or disable HARQ based on predefined thresholds. This self-service approach reduces power consumption by eliminating unnecessary HARQ transmissions without requiring complex network-side control mechanisms, thus resolving the contradiction between power savings and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the NTN coverage area into zones based on distance thresholds - a near zone where HARQ is enabled and a far zone where HARQ is disabled. This segmentation simplifies the control logic to a straightforward threshold comparison rather than continuous optimization, reducing device complexity while maintaining power savings from selective HARQ disabling.
4Device complexity
If uniform HARQ policy is applied across all NTN coverage areas, then system simplicity is maintained, but performance optimization is lost due to varying propagation delays at different distances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by configuring HARQ parameters differently for different distance zones within the NTN coverage area. Instead of a uniform policy, the system enables HARQ locally in near-zone areas where propagation delay is acceptable and disables it in far-zone areas where delay budget would be violated. This local differentiation optimizes performance while maintaining relatively simple threshold-based control logic.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device may include: a memory storing instructions and including one or more storage media, and at least one processor comprising processing circuitry. The instructions may, when individually or collectively executed by the at least one processor, control the electronic device to identify distance information relating to a distance between the location of the electronic device and the location of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) base station, transmit the identified distance information to the base station, and receive, from the base station, information related to disabling of hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) when transmitting data. The information relating to disabling of HARQ may include a ratio of data to be transmitted without using HARQ to a total amount of data to be transmitted at the request of the electronic device. The ratio of data to be transmitted without using HARQ may be determined differently according to the distance information between the location of the base station and the location of the electronic device.