CN113748625B

CN113748625B - Service-based HARQ enablement mechanism

Info

Publication number: CN113748625B
Application number: CN201980094662.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 温萍萍
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2019-03-26
Filing date: 2019-03-26
Publication date: 2023-09-26
Anticipated expiration: 2039-03-26
Also published as: CN113748625A; WO2020191625A9; WO2020191625A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to service-based HARQ enablement mechanisms. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a service-based HARQ disabling/enabling mechanism in uplink is proposed. HARQ is dynamically disabled/enabled based on the service type. The terminal device determines whether HARQ is enabled for the data packet. In this way, the disabling/enabling of HARQ is dynamically controlled in consideration of the actual state of the system.

Description

Service-based HARQ enablement mechanism

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications, and more particularly, relate to non-terrestrial networks and, in particular, relate to a method, apparatus, device, and computer-readable storage medium for a service-based HARQ enablement mechanism.

Background

3GPP has initiated a research project to extend applicability to non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), more specifically to be able to use 5G radio access for satellite links, where long round trip delays can have an impact on HARQ design. HARQ is a combination of high speed forward error correction coding and ARQ error control.

With HARQ, the transmitter needs to wait for feedback from the receiver before sending new data. In the case of a Negative Acknowledgement (NACK), the transmitter may need to retransmit the data packet. Otherwise, it may send new data. Such a stop-and-wait (SAW) procedure introduces an inherent delay into the communication protocol, which may reduce link throughput. To alleviate this problem, existing HARQ processes allow for multiple HARQ processes to be activated at the transmitter. That is, the transmitter may initiate multiple transmissions in parallel without having to wait for HARQ to complete. With the introduction of HARQ, data transmission becomes more reliable and efficient.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for a service-based HARQ enablement mechanism in the uplink of NTN systems.

In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device comprises at least one processor; at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to obtain a configuration of a radio bearer for data to be transmitted from the terminal device to the network device. The terminal device is also caused to determine whether hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) is enabled/disabled for a logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped based on the configuration of the radio bearer. The terminal device is also caused to determine, based on the determination, an enable/disable setting for HARQ for a data packet, the data packet including data from the logical channel. The terminal device is also caused to transmit data packets to the network device.

In a second aspect, a network device is provided. The apparatus includes at least one processor; at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to send to the terminal device a configuration of a radio bearer for data indicating whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for a logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped. The network device is also caused to send an indication of whether HARQ is enabled for a data packet, the data packet comprising data from the logical channel. The network device is also caused to receive a data packet from the network device.

In a third aspect, a method implemented at a terminal device is provided. The method comprises obtaining a configuration of a radio bearer for data to be transmitted from the terminal device to the network device. The method also includes determining whether hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) is enabled/disabled for a logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped based on a configuration of the radio bearer. The method also includes determining, based on the determining, an enable/disable setting for HARQ for a data packet, the data packet including data from the logical channel. The method also includes transmitting the data packet to a network device.

In a fourth aspect, a method implemented at a network device is provided. The method comprises sending to the terminal device a configuration of the radio bearer for data, the configuration indicating whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped. The method further includes transmitting an indication of whether HARQ is enabled for a data packet, the data packet including data from the logical channel. The method also includes receiving a data packet from the network device.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for obtaining a configuration of a radio bearer for data to be sent from a terminal device to a network device; means for determining whether hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) is enabled/disabled for a logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped based on a configuration of the radio bearer; means for determining, based on the determining, an enable/disable setting for HARQ for a data packet, the data packet comprising data from a logical channel; and means for transmitting the data packet to the network device.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for sending to the terminal device a configuration of a radio bearer for data, the configuration indicating whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for a logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped; means for sending an indication of whether HARQ is enabled for a data packet, the data packet comprising data from a logical channel; and means for receiving a data packet from a network device.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to any one of the third and fourth aspects above.

It should be understood that the summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

fig. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of interactions between communication devices according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3A and 3B illustrate diagrams of uplink Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Units (PDUs) according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 illustrates a flow chart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

fig. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer-readable medium, according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

The same or similar reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements.

Detailed Description

Principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described merely for the purpose of illustrating and helping those skilled in the art understand and achieve the objects of the present disclosure without any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various other ways besides those described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

References in the present disclosure to "one embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It will be understood that, although the terms "first" and "second" may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," "including," "having," "containing," "includes" and/or "including," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) Pure hardware circuit implementations (such as implementations in analog and/or digital circuitry only), and

(b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (as applicable):

(i) Combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuitry and software/firmware, and

(ii) A hardware processor (including a digital signal processor) with software, any portion of the software and memory that work together to cause a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and

(c) Hardware circuitry and/or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may not exist when operation is not required.

The definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this disclosure, the term circuitry also encompasses hardware-only circuitry or processor (or processors) or a portion of hardware circuitry or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware implementations. The term circuitry also encompasses (e.g., and if applicable to the particular claim element) a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit of a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), high Speed Packet Access (HSPA), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), new Radio (NR), non-terrestrial network (NTN), and the like. Furthermore, communication between a terminal device and a network device in a communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocol now known or later developed. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communications, there will, of course, also be future types of communication techniques and systems that may be used to embody the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to only the above-described systems.

As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. A network device may refer to a Base Station (BS) or an Access Point (AP), e.g., a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also known as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, a low power node (such as femto, pico), etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied.

The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example, and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user Equipment (UE), subscriber Station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile Station (MS), or Access Terminal (AT). The terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices (such as digital cameras), gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless terminals, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless client devices (CPE), internet of things (loT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head Mounted Displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., tele-surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or automated processing chain environment), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

Recently, the third generation partnership project (3 GPP) has initiated a research project to extend applicability to non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), more specifically to be able to use 5G radio access for satellite links, where long round trip delays can have an impact on HARQ design. The HARQ disabling mechanism in NTN should be studied in 3 GPP.

HARQ problems have been discussed and the problem with HARQ in NTN is that large propagation delay forces an impractical increase in the number of HARQ processes due to extreme buffer size requirements for the soft buffer of the receiver and large amount of signaling requirements regarding the indicated number of HARQ processes. The following two principles were captured for further investigation: enhance existing HARQ operations and limit HARQ capabilities and/or disable HARQ.

The dynamic HARQ enablement mechanism may decide whether to disable HARQ operations with per-packet retransmissions. In addition, the QoS requirements for service data and signaling, as well as different services, are different, and HARQ enablement/disablement may be based on data type. A higher control signaling and block error rate (BLER) requiring service may support HARQ transmissions and a lower BLER requiring service may disable HARQ functionality. This may be achieved by dynamic scheduling. However, for the uplink, since the service packet is generated at the UE, and the gNB cannot timely acquire information about the status of the service packet through the buffer report due to a long propagation delay. For example, the gNB allocates resources to the UE based on the latest received Buffer Status Report (BSR) in consideration of different types of services waiting for transmission, if a service packet is generated after a previous buffer status report, even if a new buffer status report is triggered, the on-satellite gNB cannot receive the new buffer status report, and HARQ disable can only depend on the received buffer status report.

There are some proposed HARQ disabling/enabling mechanisms. For example, a HARQ process ID greater than the set of HARQ processes is used to indicate that HARQ ack/NACK feedback is not to be sent. Different C-RNTIs may be used as UE identifiers, one C-RNTI identifier referring to a UE with normal HARQ operation and another C-RNTI identifier referring to the same UE, but indicating that HARQ ack/NACK feedback is not to be transmitted.

Furthermore, there are some proposals to support differentiated HARQ operations for services with different reliability requirements in one UE, and consider selectively turning off HARQ. But does not give how selective shut down of HARQ is supported, nor does it give different HARQ operations. In particular, considering the special problem that the gNB cannot know UE side information in time due to long propagation delay in the uplink system, an uplink solution should be considered in particular, but no specific solution for uplink is currently available.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a service-based HARQ disabling/enabling mechanism in uplink is proposed. HARQ is dynamically disabled/enabled based on the service type. The terminal device determines whether HARQ is enabled for the data packet. In this way, the disabling/enabling of HARQ is dynamically controlled in consideration of the actual state of the system.

The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Referring initially to fig. 1, fig. 1 illustrates an example communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The communication system 100, which is part of a communication network, includes terminal devices 110-1, 110-2, … …, 110-N (collectively, "terminal device 110", where N is an integer). Communication system 100 includes network device 120. It should be understood that communication system 100 may also include other elements that have been omitted for clarity. It should be understood that the number of terminal devices and network devices shown in fig. 1 are given for illustrative purposes and are not meant to be limiting in any way. Network device 120 may communicate with terminal device 110.

It should be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is for illustration purposes only and is not meant to be limiting in any way. The system 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it is to be understood that one or more terminal devices may be located in cell 101 or 102.

Communication in communication system 100 may be implemented in accordance with any suitable communication protocol including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), etc. cellular communication protocols, wireless local area network communication protocols (such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc.), and/or any other protocols currently known or developed in the future. Further, the communication may use any suitable wireless communication technology including, but not limited to: code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), frequency Division Duplex (FDD), time Division Duplex (TDD), multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), discrete fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and/or any other technique currently known or developed in the future.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of an interaction 200 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Interaction 200 may be implemented on any suitable device. For illustrative purposes only, interaction 200 is described as being implemented at terminal device 110-1 and network device 120.

HARQ enable/disable may be supported separately for different types of services, e.g. radio bearers. The network device 120 sends 205 a configuration of radio bearers to the terminal device 110-1. The configuration may be transmitted in downlink signaling (e.g., radio Resource Control (RRC)).

HARQ per radio bearer may be set to two states: "HARQ enabled" or "HARQ disabled". Table 1 below shows a radio bearer configuration (radio bearconfig) information element defining a HARQ state for a radio bearer.

TABLE 1

In this way, user plane data and control plane data and different kinds of services may be configured with different HARQ states. For example, the HARQ status of a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) for control plane data may be configured with "HARQ enabled", a Dedicated Radio Bearer (DRB) with higher BLER requirements may also be configured with "HARQ enabled", but a DRB with lower BLER requirements may be configured with "HARQ disabled".

HARQ for the uplink may be dynamically disabled on a packet-by-packet basis. In some embodiments, network device 120 may send an indication to terminal device 110-1. The indication may indicate whether the network device 120 determines to disable HARQ for the data packet. The network device 120 may determine HARQ disabling during the scheduling process. The indication may be transmitted in a resource grant command (e.g., downlink Control Information (DCI)).

The network device 120 may determine whether HARQ is enabled for the data packet based on one of a Buffer Status Report (BSR), a Power Headroom Report (PHR) power, and channel information between the terminal device 110-1 and the network device 120. Alternatively, the network device 120 may receive a Buffer Status Report (BSR) of some data from the terminal device 110-1.

In some embodiments, network device 120 may send a default HARQ status (e.g., "HARQ enabled" or "HARQ disabled") to terminal device 110-1 via RRC signaling. Alternatively, the default HARQ status may be preconfigured.

Terminal device 110-1 may generate 215 data. In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may construct a Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) based on a conventional Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP) procedure. The terminal device 110-1 determines 220 whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped. In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may examine a radio bearer in a MAC PDU on which a Radio Link Control (RLC) PDU is placed.

The terminal device 110-1 determines 230 an enable/disable setting for HARQ of the data packet. The data packet includes the data described above. In some embodiments, if HARQ is enabled for the logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped, the terminal device 110-1 may set HARQ to be enabled for the data packet. If the logical channel to which HARQ is mapped for the radio bearer is disabled, the terminal device 110-1 may determine whether HARQ is enabled for other logical channels. If HARQ is enabled for any of the other logical channels, terminal device 110-1 may set HARQ to be enabled for the data packet. In some embodiments, if HARQ is disabled for all logical channels in the data packet, terminal device 110-1 may set HARQ to be disabled for the data packet. In this way, HARQ of the data packet may be disabled/enabled using the latest information.

As an example, if RLC PDUs configured with "HARQ enable" from any radio bearer are included in the MAC PDU, the terminal device 110-1 may set the setting of the MAC PDU to "HARQ enable". If RLC PDUs configured with "HARQ disabled" from all radio bearers are included in the MAC PDU, the terminal device 110-1 may set the setting of the MAC PDU to "HARQ disabled".

For example, as shown in fig. 3A, a MAC PDU may include data packets from three logical channels. SRBs are mapped to logical channels 310.DRB1 and DRB2 are mapped to logical channel 320 and logical channel 330, respectively. SRB and DRB1 are configured with "HARQ enabled", and DRB2 is configured with "HARQ disabled". In this example, since SRB and DRB1 are configured with "HARQ enabled", HARQ is also enabled for MAC PDU 3010.

As another example, as shown in fig. 3B, a MAC PDU may include data from two logical channels (logical channel 340 and logical channel 350). DRB2 and DRB3 are mapped to logical channel 340 and logical channel 350, respectively. In this case, both DRB2 and DRB3 are configured with "HARQ disable". Thus, HARQ is also disabled for MAD PDU 3020.

In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may determine the HARQ status further based on the buffer status and power consumption on the terminal device 110-1 side. For example, if the available buffer of terminal device 110-1 exceeds a threshold amount, terminal device 110-1 may enable HARQ for the data packet. If the power consumption of the terminal device is above a threshold amount, the terminal device 110-1 may enable HARQ for the data packet. In addition, the terminal device 110-1 may also determine the HARQ status based on the MAC Control Element (CE) type (or with/without MAC CE) in the MAC PDU. If there is a MAC CE in the data packet, the terminal device 110-1 may enable HARQ for the data packet.

Terminal device 110-1 sends 235 the data packet to network device 120. In some embodiments, as described above, network device 120 may send an indication of whether HARQ is enabled for the data packet. The terminal device 110-1 may compare 240 the indication with a determination as to whether HARQ is enabled for the data packet.

If the indication may indicate that HARQ is disabled for the data packet and terminal device 110-1 may also determine that HARQ is disabled for the data packet, terminal device 110-1 may not send any information about HARQ to network device 120. Similarly, if the indication may indicate that HARQ is enabled for the data packet and terminal device 110-1 may also determine that HARQ is enabled for the data packet, terminal device 110-1 may not send any information regarding HARQ to network device 120.

In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may send 245 a request to enable/disable HARQ for the data packet. The request may be transmitted in Uplink Control Information (UCI). A new indication bit may be introduced to indicate the request. Alternatively, the scheduling request may be repeated for indicating the HARQ enable/disable request, unlike the conventional scheduling request. Since the scheduling request is used for scheduling grant requesting a buffer status report when there is no Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). And when PUSCH is allocated resources, scheduling requests are not used. Thus, it may be defined when resources are allocated for PUSCH and a scheduling request may be used to indicate HARQ enablement. With this solution, no new indication in UCI is needed, which is simple, and only new definition of UE procedures is needed. The network device then performs a corresponding HARQ operation based on the received HARQ enable/disable request.

If the indication may indicate that HARQ is disabled for the data packet and terminal device 110-1 may determine that HARQ is enabled for the data packet, terminal device 110-1 may send a request to network device 120 to enable HARQ for the data packet.

If the indication may indicate that HARQ is enabled for the data packet and terminal device 110-1 may determine that HARQ is disabled for the data packet, terminal device 110-1 may send a request to network device 120 to disable HARQ for the data packet.

In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may obtain a default configuration indicating the HARQ status. Regardless of the default HARQ state, terminal device 110-1 may send a request to enable/disable HARQ functionality at network device 120. Alternatively, if terminal device 110-1 may determine that HARQ is enabled for data packets other than the default HARQ state, terminal device 110-1 may send a request to enable HARQ. If terminal device 110-1 can determine that HARQ is disabled for data packets other than the default HARQ state, terminal device 110-1 can send a request to disable HARQ.

Alternatively, the terminal device 110-1 may not obtain any indication about the HARQ state or the default HARQ state. If terminal device 110-1 determines that HARQ is enabled for the data packet, terminal device 110-1 may send a request to network device 120 to enable HARQ. If terminal device 110-1 determines that HARQ is disabled for the data packet, terminal device 110-1 may send a request to network device 120 to disable HARQ.

In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may transmit a BSR including the data amount of the logical channel at time t1, the buffer status including the data amounts of logical channel 340 and logical channel 350.DRB3 and DRB4 are mapped to logical channel 340 and logical channel 350, respectively. Both DRB3 and DRB4 are configured with "HARQ disabled". The network device 120 may receive the BSR at time t2 and allocate resources for the terminal device 110-1 based on the BSR and disable HARQ operations at time t 3. The terminal device 110-1 may receive a scheduling grant at time t 4. During the duration between t1 and t4, new data for DRB1 is generated and DRB1 is configured with "HARQ enabled". Based on the LCP, the data of DRB1 is included in the MAC PDU, and then the terminal device 110-1 may determine that HARQ is to be enabled and send a request to the network device 120 to enable HARQ. The network device 120 may turn on the HARQ function for the data packet based on the received HARQ enable request.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 400 implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, the method 300 will be described with reference to fig. 1 from the perspective of the terminal device 120.

At block 410, the terminal device 110-1 obtains a configuration of a radio bearer for data to be transmitted from the terminal device to the network device. In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may receive a configuration of radio bearers. The configuration may be transmitted in downlink signaling (e.g., radio Resource Control (RRC)). The HARQ per radio bearer may be set to two states "HARQ enabled" or "HARQ disabled".

HARQ for the uplink may be dynamically disabled on a packet-by-packet basis. In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may receive an indication from network device 120. The indication may indicate whether the network device 120 determines to disable HARQ for the data packet. The indication may be transmitted in a resource grant command (e.g., downlink Control Information (DCI)).

At block 420, terminal device 110-1 determines whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped based on the configuration of the radio bearer. In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may examine a radio bearer in a MAC PDU on which a Radio Link Control (RLC) PDU is placed.

At block 430, terminal device 110-1 determines, based on the determination, an enable/disable setting for HARQ for a data packet that includes data from the logical channel. As an example, if RLC PDUs configured with "HARQ enable" from any radio bearer are included in the MAC PDU, the terminal device 110-1 may set the setting of the MAC PDU to "HARQ enable". If RLC PDUs configured with "HARQ disabled" from all radio bearers are included in the MAC PDU, the terminal device 110-1 may set the setting of the MAC PDU to "HARQ disabled".

Fig. 5 illustrates a flow chart of a method of configuring settings for HARQ according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the method shown in fig. 5 is only an example.

At block 510, terminal device 110-1 may determine whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the logical channel. If HARQ is enabled for the logical channel, terminal device 110-1 may set HARQ to be enabled for the data packet at block 540. If HARQ is disabled for a logical channel, terminal device 110-1 may determine whether HARQ is enabled for other logical channels at block 520.

If HARQ is enabled for any of the other logical channels, terminal device 110-1 may set HARQ enabled for the data packet at block 540.

If HARQ is disabled for all other logical channels, terminal device 110-1 may set HARQ to be disabled for the data packet at block 530. In this way, HARQ of the data packet may be disabled/enabled using the latest information.

Returning to fig. 4, at block 440, terminal device 110-1 transmits a data packet to network device 120. In some embodiments, as described above, network device 120 may send an indication of whether HARQ is enabled for the data packet. The terminal device 110-1 may compare the indication with a determination as to whether HARQ is enabled for the data packet.

In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may send a request to enable/disable HARQ for the data packet. The request may be transmitted in Uplink Control Information (UCI). A new indication bit may be introduced to indicate the request. Alternatively, the scheduling request may be used to indicate a HARQ enable/disable request. Since the scheduling request is used for scheduling grant requesting a buffer status report when there is no Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). And when PUSCH is allocated resources, scheduling requests are not used. Thus, it may be defined when resources are allocated for PUSCH and a scheduling request may be used to indicate HARQ enablement. With this solution, no new indication in UCI is needed, which is simple, and only new definition of UE procedures is needed. The network device then performs a corresponding HARQ operation based on the received HARQ enable/disable request.

If the indication may indicate that HARQ is disabled for the data packet and terminal device 110-1 may determine that HARQ is enabled for the data packet, terminal device 110-1 may transmit a request to network device 120 to enable HARQ for the data packet.

In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may obtain a default configuration indicating whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the data packet. Regardless of the default HARQ state, terminal device 110-1 may send a request to enable/disable HARQ functionality at network device 120. Alternatively, if terminal device 110-1 may determine that HARQ is enabled for data packets other than the default HARQ state, terminal device 110-1 may send a request to enable HARQ. If terminal device 110-1 can determine that HARQ is disabled for data packets other than the default HARQ state, terminal device 110-1 can send a request to disable HARQ.

In some embodiments, terminal device 110-1 may transmit a BSR including the data amount of the logical channel at time t1, the buffer status including the data amounts of logical channel 340 and logical channel 350.DRB3 and DRB4 are mapped to logical channel 340 and logical channel 350, respectively. Both DRB3 and DRB4 are configured with "HARQ disabled". The network device 120 may receive the BSR at time t2 and allocate resources for the terminal device 110-1 based on the BSR and disable HARQ operations at time t 3. The terminal device 110-1 may receive a scheduling grant at time t 4. During the duration between t1 and t4, new data for DRB1 is generated and DRB1 is configured with "HARQ enabled". Based on the LCP, the data of DRB1 is included in the MAC PDU, and then the terminal device 110-1 may determine that HARQ is to be enabled and transmit a request to the network device 120 to enable HARQ. The network device 120 may turn on the HARQ function for the data packet based on the received HARQ enable request.

In this way, service-based dynamic HARQ enablement/disablement of the uplink in non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) may be supported. HARQ may be dynamically disabled in consideration of the actual state of the system, such as the dynamic state of the UE buffer status, power consumption, and the real data type in the data packet, so that QoS such as delay, jitter, and reliability may be guaranteed.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., terminal device 110-1) for performing methods 400 and 500 may include respective modules for performing corresponding steps in methods 400 and 500. These modules may be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, it may be implemented by circuitry or software modules.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for obtaining a configuration of a radio bearer for data to be sent from a terminal device to a network device; means for determining whether hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) is enabled/disabled for a logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped based on a configuration of the radio bearer; means for determining, based on the determining, an enable/disable setting for HARQ for a data packet, the data packet comprising data from a logical channel; and means for transmitting the data packet to the network device.

In some embodiments, the means for determining whether HARQ is enabled for a logical channel comprises means for receiving a configuration of a radio bearer from a network device, the configuration comprising an indication of whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the radio bearer; and means for determining, based on the indication, whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped.

In some embodiments, the means for determining the enable/disable settings for HARQ of the data packet comprises: the apparatus includes means for enabling a HARQ component for a data packet in response to determining that HARQ is enabled for a logical channel, the data packet including data from the logical channel.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: in response to determining that HARQ is disabled for each of the further logical channels, disabling HARQ for a data packet comprising further data from the further logical channels.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for receiving from the network device a further indication of whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the data packet; and means for sending a request to disable HARQ for the data packet in response to the indication that HARQ is enabled for the data packet.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for determining a default configuration indicating whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the data packet; and means for sending a request to disable HARQ for the data packet in response to the default configuration indicating that HARQ is enabled for the data packet.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for sending a request to disable HARQ for the data packet.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for receiving from the network device a further indication of whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the data packet; and means for sending a request to enable HARQ for the data packet in response to the indication that HARQ is disabled for the data packet.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for sending a request for data packet enablement HARQ.

In some embodiments, the means for configuring the enable/disable settings of HARQ for the data packet comprises: means for enabling HARQ for a data packet in response to one of: the available buffer of the terminal device is above a threshold amount, the power consumption of the terminal device is above a threshold amount, or the presence of a control element in the data packet.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for determining a default configuration indicating whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the data packet; and means for sending a request to enable HARQ for the data packet in response to the default configuration indicating that HARQ is disabled for the data packet.

In some embodiments, the request to enable HARQ for the data packet is transmitted in Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a scheduling request.

In some embodiments, the request to disable HARQ for the data packet is transmitted in Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a scheduling request.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the disclosure. For discussion purposes, the method 600 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 from the perspective of the terminal device 110-1.

At block 610, network device 120 sends a configuration of radio bearers to terminal device 110-1. The configuration indicates whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped. The configuration may be transmitted in downlink signaling (e.g., radio Resource Control (RRC)). HARQ per radio bearer may be set to two states: "HARQ enabled" or "HARQ disabled".

At block 620, the network device 120 may send an indication of whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the data packet. The data packet includes data from a logical channel. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit a default HARQ state.

In some embodiments, network device 120 may determine whether HARQ is enabled for the data packet based on one of: an available buffer of the terminal device, a power headroom report of the terminal device, or channel information between the terminal device and the network device.

At block 630, network device 120 receives a data packet from terminal device 110-1. In some embodiments, network device 120 may receive a request to enable/disable HARQ functionality at network device 120.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., terminal device 120) for performing method 600 may include respective modules for performing corresponding steps in method 600. These modules may be implemented in any suitable manner. For example, it may be implemented by circuitry or software modules.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for sending to the terminal device a configuration of a radio bearer for data, the configuration indicating whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for a logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped; means for transmitting an indication of whether HARQ is enabled for a data packet, the data packet comprising data from a logical channel; and means for receiving a data packet from a network device.

In some embodiments, the means for determining whether HARQ is enabled for the data packet based on one of: an available buffer of the terminal device, a buffer status report from the terminal device, a power headroom report from the terminal device, or channel information between the terminal device and the network device.

In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a module for receiving a request for data packet HARQ enablement in Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a scheduling request.

In some embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving a request to disable HARQ for a data packet in Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a scheduling request.

Fig. 7 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 700 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 700 may be used to implement a communication device, such as network device 120 or terminal device 110-1 shown in fig. 1. As shown, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processors 710, and one or more communication modules (e.g., transmitter and/or receiver (TX/RX)) 740 coupled to the processors 710.

The communication module 740 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 740 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required to communicate with other network elements.

Processor 710 may be of any type suitable to the local technology network and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital Signal Processors (DSPs), and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 700 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock that is synchronized to the master processor.

Memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 724, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact Disks (CD), digital Video Disks (DVD), and other magnetic and/or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, random Access Memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memory that does not last for the duration of the power outage.

The computer program 730 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by an associated processor 710. Program 730 may be stored in ROM 724. Processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 730 into RAM 722.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by the program 730 such that the device 700 may perform any of the processes of the present disclosure as discussed with reference to fig. 2-6. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented in hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

In some embodiments, program 730 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in device 700 (such as in memory 720) or other storage device accessible to device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from a computer readable medium into the RAM 722 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any type of tangible, non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Fig. 8 shows an example of a computer readable medium 800 in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has a program 730 stored thereon.

In general, the various embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the method 600 described above with reference to fig. 2-6. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data types, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Program code for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, causes the functions/operations specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on the machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable an apparatus, device, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

Moreover, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Also, while the above discussion contains several specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising:

At least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to:

obtaining a configuration of a radio bearer for data to be transmitted from the terminal device to a network device;

determining whether hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) is enabled/disabled for a logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped based on the configuration of the radio bearer;

determining, based on the determining, an enable/disable setting for HARQ for a data packet, the data packet comprising the data from the logical channel; and

transmitting the data packet to the network device;

wherein the terminal device is caused to determine an enable/disable setting for HARQ of the data packet by:

responsive to determining that the HARQ is enabled for the logical channel, enabling the HARQ for the data packet;

in response to determining that the HARQ is disabled for the logical channel, it is further determined whether the HARQ is enabled for a further logical channel, the data packet further comprising further data from the further logical channel.

2. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is caused to determine whether HARQ is enabled for the logical channel by:

receiving the configuration of the radio bearer from the network device, the configuration comprising an indication of whether the HARQ is enabled/disabled for the radio bearer; and

based on the indication, it is determined whether the HARQ is enabled/disabled for the logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped.

3. A terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is caused to determine the enabling/disabling settings for HARQ of the data packet by:

in response to determining that the HARQ is enabled for the additional logical channel, the HARQ is enabled for the data packet.

4. A terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is caused to determine the enabling/disabling settings for HARQ of the data packet by:

in response to determining that the HARQ is disabled for each of the additional logical channels, the HARQ is disabled for the data packet.

5. The terminal device of claim 4, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

Receiving from the network device a further indication of whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the data packet; and

in response to the indication that the HARQ is enabled for the data packet, a request to disable HARQ for the data packet is sent.

6. The terminal device of claim 4, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

a request to disable HARQ for the data packet is sent.

7. The terminal device of claim 4, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

determining a default configuration indicating whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for the data packet; and

in response to the default configuration indicating that the HARQ is enabled for the data packet, a request to disable the HARQ for the data packet is sent.

8. The terminal device of any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the request to disable the HARQ for the data packet is sent in Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a scheduling request.

9. A terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

In response to the indication that the HARQ is disabled for the data packet, a request to enable HARQ for the data packet is sent.

10. A terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

a request to enable HARQ for the data packet is sent.

11. A terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

in response to the default configuration indicating that the HARQ is disabled for the data packet, a request to enable the HARQ for the data packet is sent.

12. The terminal device of any of claims 9 to 11, wherein the request to enable the HARQ for the data packet is sent in Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a scheduling request.

13. A terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is caused to configure the enabling/disabling settings for HARQ of the data packet by:

enabling the HARQ for the data packet in response to one of:

the available buffer of the terminal device is above a threshold amount,

The power consumption of the terminal device is higher than a threshold amount, or

The presence of control elements in the data packet.

14. A network device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the network device to:

transmitting to a terminal device a configuration of a radio bearer for data, the configuration indicating whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for a logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped;

transmitting an indication of whether HARQ is enabled for a data packet, the data packet comprising the data from the logical channel; and

receiving the data packet from the terminal device;

wherein the network device is further caused to:

a request to enable HARQ for the data packet is received in Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a scheduling request.

15. The network device of claim 14, wherein the network device is caused to send the indication of whether HARQ is enabled for the data packet by:

determining whether the HARQ is enabled for the data packet based on one of:

The available buffers of the terminal device,

buffer status reports from the terminal device,

power headroom reporting from the terminal device, or

Channel information between the terminal device and the network device.

16. The network device of claim 14, wherein the network device is further caused to:

a request to disable HARQ for the data packet is received in Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a scheduling request.

17. A method for communication, comprising:

obtaining a configuration of a radio bearer for data to be transmitted from the terminal device to the network device;

transmitting the data packet to the network device;

wherein determining the enable/disable settings for HARQ for the data packet comprises:

18. The method of claim 17, wherein determining whether HARQ is enabled for the logical channel comprises:

19. The method of claim 17, wherein determining an enable/disable setting for HARQ for the data packet comprises:

in response to determining that the HARQ is enabled for the logical channel, the HARQ is enabled for the data packet.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein determining an enable/disable setting for HARQ for the data packet comprises:

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

a request to disable HARQ for the data packet is sent.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

24. The method of any of claims 21 to 23, wherein the request to disable the HARQ for the data packet is sent in Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a scheduling request.

25. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

a request to enable HARQ for the data packet is sent.

27. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

in response to the default configuration indicating that the HARQ is disabled for the data packet, a request to enable HARQ for the data packet is sent.

28. The method of any of claims 25 to 27, wherein the request to enable the HARQ for the data packet is sent in Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a scheduling request.

29. The method of claim 17, wherein determining an enable/disable setting for HARQ for the data packet comprises:

enabling the HARQ for the data packet in response to one of:

the available buffer of the terminal device is above a threshold amount,

The presence of control elements in the data packet.

30. A method for communication, comprising:

receiving the data packet from the terminal device;

wherein the method further comprises:

31. The method of claim 30, wherein sending the indication of whether HARQ is enabled for the data packet comprises:

determining whether the HARQ is enabled for the data packet based on one of:

the available buffers of the terminal device,

buffer status reports from the terminal device,

power headroom reporting from the terminal device, or

Channel information between the terminal device and the network device.

32. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

33. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for obtaining a configuration of a radio bearer for data to be sent from a terminal device to a network device;

means for determining, based on the configuration of the radio bearer, whether hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) is enabled/disabled for a logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped;

means for determining, based on the determination, an enable/disable setting for HARQ for a data packet, the data packet comprising the data from the logical channel; and

means for transmitting the data packet to the network device;

wherein the means for determining enablement/disablement settings for HARQ of a data packet based on the determination comprises:

means for enabling the HARQ for the data packet in response to determining that the HARQ is enabled for the logical channel;

in response to determining that the HARQ is disabled for the logical channel, further determining whether the HARQ is enabled for a further logical channel, the data packet further comprising further data from the further logical channel.

34. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

Means for sending to a terminal device a configuration of a radio bearer for data, the configuration indicating whether HARQ is enabled/disabled for a logical channel to which the radio bearer is mapped;

means for sending an indication of whether HARQ is enabled for a data packet, the data packet comprising the data from the logical channel; and

means for receiving the data packet from the terminal device;

wherein the apparatus further comprises:

means for receiving a request for the data packet to enable HARQ in Uplink Control Information (UCI) or a scheduling request.

35. A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by at least one processing unit of a machine, cause the machine to perform the method of any of claims 17 to 32.