PUCCH HARQ Feedback Payload Change Across Multiple Uplink Slots
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wireless communication systems face limitations in flexible PUCCH repetition due to restrictions on multiplexing uplink control information, leading to inflexible HARQ feedback transmission and inefficient use of resources.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method and network entity for transmitting HARQ feedback information across multiple PUCCH slots with overlapping but non-identical payloads, allowing for incremental redundancy and payload change, and enabling flexible multiplexing with uplink control information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If PUCCH repetition is restricted to identical payloads to ensure reliable decoding, then decoding reliability is improved, but feedback transmission flexibility and resource utilization deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The feedback payload is segmented across multiple PUCCH repetitions, where each repetition carries a portion of the feedback information (e.g., HARQ-ACK bits for different downlink transmissions). The network entity combines these segmented payloads from multiple repetitions to reconstruct the complete feedback message, enabling both reliability through repetition and flexibility through payload variation.
Solution Approach 2:
The payload content is made dynamic across PUCCH repetitions rather than static. Each repetition can carry different feedback payloads depending on the scheduling decisions and channel conditions, allowing the system to adapt feedback transmission flexibility while maintaining reliability through the repetition mechanism.
2Reliability
If multiple PUCCH slots are used for HARQ feedback transmission, then feedback reliability is improved, but resource overhead and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The PUCCH repetition mechanism is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it provides reliability through redundant transmission, enables flexible payload adaptation across repetitions, and maintains compatibility with existing uplink control information multiplexing procedures. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate mechanisms and lowers overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system leverages existing uplink control information multiplexing capabilities to handle the repeated feedback transmissions without requiring new dedicated resources or complex scheduling mechanisms. The existing framework self-adapts to accommodate multiple PUCCH slots for feedback, reducing the added complexity.
3Reliability
If PUCCH resources are allocated for feedback transmission, then feedback capability is ensured, but uplink resource availability for other purposes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of allocating dedicated uplink resources exclusively for feedback, the system uses partial resource sharing where PUCCH repetitions can coexist with other uplink transmissions. The feedback transmission uses only the necessary portion of uplink resources, allowing other uplink data or control transmissions to utilize remaining resources, thus maintaining feedback capability while preserving uplink resource availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges feedback transmission with other uplink control information in the same PUCCH resources through multiplexing. By combining HARQ feedback with other uplink control signals in overlapping PUCCH slots, the system ensures feedback capability is maintained while maximizing the utilization of available uplink resources for multiple purposes simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A wireless communications system may support transmission of feedback information for downlink data information in multiple feedback payloads across multiple uplink channel slots. For a downlink channel carrying first data information, a user equipment (UE) may transmit feedback information for the data information in two or more uplink channel transmission occasions. A first payload transmitted during a first uplink channel occasion and a second payload transmitted during a second uplink channel occasion may have overlapping information, such as feedback information for the first data information, but may not be identical. The first payload may include feedback information for a first set of downlink channel transmissions, and the second payload may include feedback information for the first set of downlink channel transmissions and a second set of downlink channel transmissions.