WO2020042034A1

WO2020042034A1 - Hybrid harq feedback scheme for self-contained burst on nr-u

Info

Publication number: WO2020042034A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/103080
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zhe LUO; Tao Tao; Jianguo Liu; Zhuo WU; Yan Meng; Gang Shen
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.; Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2018-08-29
Filing date: 2018-08-29
Publication date: 2020-03-05
Also published as: CN112640344A; CN112640344B

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program product where a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network receives, from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT). The UE decodes the data, where the data has a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs). In response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, the UE transmits an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding. In response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, the UE transmits a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation. A method, apparatus, and computer program product for a network access device is also disclosed.

Description

HYBRID HARQ FEEDBACK SCHEME FOR SELF-CONTAINED BURST ON NR-U

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HAR Q) enhancements for New Radio (NR) unlicensed and, particular, to transmission of HARQ Acknowledgement/Negative-Acknowledgement (A/N) for the corresponding data in the same shared Channel Occupancy Time (COT) .

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention disclosed below. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived, implemented, or described. Therefore, unless otherwise explicitly indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

In recent 3GPP RAN1 #93 meeting, namely, Draft Report of 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 #93 v0.2.0, ” in 3GPP TSG RAN meeting #93, Busan, South Korea, 21st -25th May 2018, it was agreed that transmission ofHARQ A/N for the corresponding data in the same shared COT (self-contained COT) was identified as beneficial and mechanisms to support this were encouraged.

The Agreement stated the following: “Transmission of HARQ A/N for the corresponding data in the same shared COT is identified as beneficial. Strive to support transmitting all HARQ A/N for the corresponding data in the same shared COT, ifpossible, considering the current NR UE processing time required. Mechanisms to support this need to be identified. It is understood in some cases, the HARQ A/N has to be transmitted in a separate COT from the one the corresponding data was transmitted. Mechanisms to support this need to be identified. ”

FIG. 1 shows an example of HARQ feedback scheme in self-contained COT with additional gap. See, “HARQ enhancements for NR unlicensed, ” in 3GPP TSG RAN meeting #93, Nokia, Nokia Shanghai Bell, R1-1806110, Busan, South Korea, 21st -25th May 2018. In this example, a gap (white part) is reserved for UE to decode PDSCH and prepare PUCCH. The UE has to perform LBT before transmitting PUCCH of A/N, and the PUCCH of A/N may be blocked due to LBT failure.

However, the receiver needs time to decode data before transmitting A/N. For instance, at least 4 ms is required from end of PDSCH to earliest possible start of transmitting A/N in LTE-LAA or MF, while FIG. 2 has a table that shows the minimum symbols (N1) from end of PDSCH to earliest possible start of transmitting A/N in NR.

Two ideas were proposed to solve the issue of decoding latency for self-contained COT. The first was that in some cases, the HARQ A/N has to be transmitted in a separate COT from the one the corresponding data was transmitted. The second was that some gap is added between final data transmission and the start of transmitting A/N

However, it can be observed that the first idea cannot achieve the target of transmitting all HARQ A/N for the corresponding data in the same shared COT. The second idea is lacking because it needs the additional gap; the channel occupancy initiated by the transmitter may be lost during the gap.

The current invention moves beyond these techniques.

Acronyms or abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined within the context of this disclosure or as follows below:

3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

5G 5th Generation

A/N ACK/NACK

ACK Acknowledgement

BER Bit Error Rate

CB Code Block

CBG Code Block Group

CCA Clear Channel Assessment

CDF Cumulative Distribution Function

COT Channel Occupancy Time

DCI Downlink Control Information

DL Downlink

DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

gNB Next Generation Node B

HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

LAA Licensed Assisted Access

LBT Listen Before Talk

LLR Log-Likelihood Ratio

LTE Long Term Evolution

MCOT Maximum Channel Occupancy Time

MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme

NACK Negative Acknowledgement

NR New Radio

NR-U NR on Unlicensed Spectrum

OFDM Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing

OS OFDM Symbol

PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

PRB Physical Resource Block

PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

RAT Radio Access Technology

RE Resource Element

Rel Release

RRC Radio Resource Control

RS Reference Signal

RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality

TB Transport Block

UCI Uplink Control Information

UE User Equipment

UL Uplink

BRIEF SUMMARY

This section is intended to include examples and is not intended to be limiting. The word “exemplary” as used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration. ” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. All of the embodiments described in this Detailed Description are exemplary embodiments provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention which is defined by the claims.

This invention proposes a hybrid HARQ feedback include an actual A/N for early data and a fast A/N for later data in one COT and that all A/N for the corresponding data in the same shared COT can be transmitted immediately after final data transmission without a gap. A missing detection indicator of the previous COT is also included in the hybrid HARQ feedback, where the transmitter will resend the data corresponding to the incorrect fast ACK at the next COT.

An example of an embodiment of the current invention is a method that comprises receiving, in a wireless network by a user equipment (UE) from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ; decoding the data, where the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding, and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention is an apparatus that comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, where the at least one memory and the computer code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: receiving, in a wireless network by the apparatus from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ; decoding the data, where the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding, and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.

An example of yet another embodiment of the current invention is a computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in which a computer program is stored that, when being executed by a computer, is configured to provide instructions to control or carry out: receiving, in a wireless network by a UE from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ; decoding the data, where the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding, and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.

An example of still another embodiment of the current invention is an apparatus that comprises means for receiving, in a wireless network by the apparatus from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ; means for decoding the data, where the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and means for transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding, and means for transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.

An example of yet still another embodiment of the current invention is a computer program comprising: code for receiving, in a wireless network by a UE from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ; code for decoding the data, where the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and code for transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding, and code for transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention is a method comprising: transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; receiving an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks; a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention is an apparatus comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; receiving an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks; a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.

An example of yet a further embodiment of the current invention is a computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in which a computer program is stored that, when being executed by a computer, is configured to provide instructions to control or carry out: transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; receiving an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks; a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.

An example of still a further embodiment of the current invention is an apparatus comprising: means for transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; means for receiving an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks; a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.

An example of yet still a further embodiment of the current invention is a computer program comprising: code for transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; code for receiving an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks; a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the attached Drawing Figures:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of HARQ feedback scheme in self-contained COT with additional gap;

FIG. 2 is table that shows a Minimum symbols (N1) from end of PDSCH to earliest possible start of ACK/NACK feedback in NR;

FIG. 3 is an example of hybrid HARQ feedback scheme for DL;

FIG. 4 is a table of simulation parameters;

FIG. 5 is a graph of CDF of delays for retransmitted TBs;

FIG. 6 is a chart of the mean of delays for retransmitted TBs;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary system in which the exemplary embodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 8 is a logic flow diagram an exemplary method, a result of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and/or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a logic flow diagram an exemplary method, a result of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and/or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration. ” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. All of the embodiments described in this Detailed Description are exemplary embodiments provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the invention and not to limit the scope of the invention which is defined by the claims.

This invention proposes a hybrid HARQ feedback scheme for self-contained COT, where the hybrid HARQ feedback includes actual A/N for early data and fast A/N for later data in the COT. The actual A/N is obtained by decoding data, while the fast A/N is estimated by some metrics (e.g., RSRQ of DM-RS) instead of actually decoding data. Then, all A/N for the corresponding data in the same shared COT can be transmitted immediately after final data transmission without a gap.

The fast A/N estimation can be achieved by either of two options. Option 1: The receiver compares RSRQ of DM-RS of the data with a threshold, which depends on MCS of the data. If measured RSPQ is lower than the threshold, NACK will be transmitted. Otherwise, ACK will be transmitted. Option 2: The receiver tries to decode some early parts of the data (e.g., first several OFDM symbols) . The intermediate results (e.g. BER or LLR of bits [3] ) can be used for estimating A/N of the data.

If the fast NACK is obtained, the transmitter can resend the corresponding data at the next COT. If the fast ACK is obtained, the transmitter can send new data at the next COT.

Since the fast A/N is based on estimation instead of actually decoding, an actual ACK may be mistaken for a fast NACK (false alarm) , or an actual NACK may be mistaken for fast ACK (missing detection) . Note that while a false alarm is harmless, missing detection makes the receiver miss the data. Thus, a missing detection indicator of the previous COT is also included in the hybrid HARQ feedback. If a missing detection is acknowledged, then the transmitter will resend the data corresponding to the incorrect fast ACK at the next COT.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed embodiment of the hybrid HARQ feedback scheme for DL, where it is assumed that the UE needs at least one slot (14 OSs) to finish decoding PDSCH of a slot.

At the first COT, the gNB transmits PDSCH (with front-loaded DMRS at OSs #2 and 3) to the UE at three consecutive slots numbers m, m+1, m+2, where the corresponding DCI of DL grant is transmitted at OSs #0 and 1 of the same slot. Then, the UE sends the UCI of hybrid A/N for slots #m, m+1, m+2 at the end of the first COT (at OSs #0 and 1 in slot #m+3) . For PDSCH at slots #m, m+1, an actual A/N is transmitted since decoding has finished, while for PDSCH at slot #m+2, a fast A/N is transmitted.

At the second COT, the gNB transmits PDSCH to the UE at four consecutive slots #n, n+1, n+2, n+3. The UE sends an actual A/N for slots #n, n+1, n+2, a fast A/N for slot #n+3, and a missing detection.

In one embodiment, the fast A/N is determined by comparing the RSRQ of DMRS (at slot #m+2 or n+3) with the threshold which is related on MCS of PDSCH. The threshold is pre-defined by specification or configured by RRC signaling. In another embodiment, the fast A/N is estimated by BER of the several early received CBs or CBGs, where the data (PDSCH) of a slot consists of several CBs or CBGs. The UE tries to decode the CBs or CBGs transmitted at the early OSs of the slot before receiving all OSs. The BER of the early CBs or CBGs is used to estimate the probability of A/N.

In yet another embodiment, the hybrid HARQ feedback is carried by a bitmap. For an example, for the first COT of FIG. 3, bitmap “101” indicates actual ACK for slot #m, actual NACK for slot #m+1, fast ACK for slot #m+2, and no missing detection indicator. For another example, for the second COT of FIG. 3, bitmap “01101” indicates actual NACK for slot #n, actual ACK for slots #n+ 1 and n+2, fast NACK for slot #n+3, and missing detection happening for slot #m+2 at the first COT.

FIG. 4 has a table of simulation parameters. Using that table, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 illustrate the performance comparison for DL self-contained COT among the proposed hybrid HARQ feedback scheme (denoted by ‘Hybrid’ ) and two existing HARQ feedback schemes, namely the first option (denoted by ‘Next’ ) and the second option (denoted by ‘Gap’ ) discussed above in the prior art.

FIG. 5 shows the CDF of delays for retransmitted TBs using the three HARQ feedback schemes, respectively. The delay is calculated by the interval between the slot when a TB is initially transmitted from the gNB and the slot when the TB is finally decoded by the UE successfully.

FIG. 6 shows the mean of the delays corresponding to the CDF of FIG. 5.

From FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, it can be observed that the proposed hybrid HARQ feedback scheme outperforms the other two existing schemes for DL self-contained COT, in term of delays of retransmitted TBs.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting exemplary system in which the exemplary embodiments may be practiced. In FIG. 7, a user equipment (UE) 710 is in wireless communication with a wireless network 700. A UE is a wireless, typically mobile device that can access a wireless network. The UE 710 includes one or more processors 720, one or more memories 725, and one or more transceivers 730 interconnected through one or more buses 727. Each of the one or more transceivers 730 includes a receiver, Rx, 732 and a transmitter, Tx, 733. The one or more buses 727 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, and the like. The one or more transceivers 730 are connected to one or more antennas 728. The one or more memories 725 include computer program code 723. Note that the YYY module allows functionality for the usage of control resources for data transmission where any method or examples of such embodiments discussed herein can be practiced. The UE 710 includes a YYY module 740, comprising one of or both parts 740-1 and/or 740-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The YYY module 740 may be implemented in hardware as YYY module 740-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 720. The YYY module 740-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the YYY module 740 may be implemented as YYY module 740-2, which is implemented as computer program code 723 and is executed by the one or more processors 720. For instance, the one or more memories 725 and the computer program code 723 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 720, cause the user equipment 710 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. The UE 710 communicates with base station 770 via a wireless link 711.

The base station 770 (which in the shown embodiment is a Radio Access Node (RAN) , a gNB, NR/5G Node B, or possibly an evolved NodeB for LTE connected to 5GC, long term evolution, but could be any similar access point to a wireless network) that provides access by wireless devices such as the UE 710 to the wireless network 700. The base station 770 includes one or more processors 752, one or more memories 755, one or more network interfaces (N/W I/F (s) ) 761, and one or more transceivers 760 interconnected through one or more buses 757. Each of the one or more transceivers 760 includes a receiver, Rx, 762 and a transmitter, Tx, 763. The one or more transceivers 760 are connected to one or more antennas 758. The one or more memories 755 include computer program code 753. Note that the ZZZ module allows functionality for the usage of control resources for data transmission where any method or examples of such embodiments discussed herein can be practiced. The base station 770 includes a ZZZ module 750, comprising one of or both parts 750-1 and/or 750-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The ZZZ module 750 may be implemented in hardware as ZZZ module 750-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 752. The ZZZ module 750-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the ZZZ module 750 may be implemented as ZZZ module 750-2, which is implemented as computer program code 753 and is executed by the one or more processors 752. For instance, the one or more memories 755 and the computer program code 753 are configured to, with the one or more processors 752, cause the base station 770 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. The one or more network interfaces 761 communicate over a network such as via the

links

776 and 731. Two or more base stations 770 communicate using link 778, while the base station can communicate with other entities via link 776, where both link 776, sand 778 may be wired or wireless or both and may implement, e.g., an Xn interface.

The one or more buses 757 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, wireless channels, and the like. For example, the one or more transceivers 760 may be implemented as a remote radio head (RRH) 795, with the other elements of the base station 770 being physically in a different location from the RRH, and the one or more buses 757 could be implemented in part as fiber optic cable to connect the other elements of the base station 770 to the RRH 795.

It is noted that description herein indicates that “cells” perform functions, but it should be clear that the base station that forms the cell would perform the functions. The cell makes up part of a base station. That is, there can be multiple cells per base station. For instance, there could be three cells for a single base station carrier frequency and associated bandwidth, each cell covering one-third of a 360-degree area so that the single base station’s coverage area covers an approximate oval or circle. Furthermore, each cell can correspond to a single carrier and a base station may use multiple carriers. So if there are three 120-degree cells per carrier and two carriers, then the base station has a total of 6 cells.

The base station 770 is coupled via a link 731 to the some other network node 790. The link 731 may be implemented as a type of interface that is not necessarily wireless. The other network node 790 includes one or more processors 775, one or more memories 771, and one or more network interfaces (N/W I/F (s) ) 780, interconnected through one or more buses 785. The one or more memories 771 include computer program code 773. The one or more memories 771 and the computer program code 773 are configured to, with the one or more processors 775, cause the NCE 790 to perform one or more operations.

Moreover, the base station or Radio Access Network (RAN) also has “logical” elements, namely, a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) . The CU is a logical node which may include the functions (i.e., gNB functions) such as transfer of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management, etc., except those functions allocated exclusively to the DU. The CU may control the operation of DUs over a front-haul (F 1) interface. The CU may also be known as BBU/REC/RCC/C-RAN/V-RAN. The DU is a logical node which may include a subset of the functions (i.e., gNB functions) , depending on the functional split option. The operation of the DU may be controlled by the CU. The DU may also be known with other names like RRH/RRU/RE/RU. The DU may also contain intra-DU interfaces, e.g. E 1 interface between its user and control plane functions.

The wireless network 700 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks, or parts of networks, into a virtual unit, or internal, providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. Note that the virtualized entities that result from the network virtualization are still implemented, at some level, using hardware such as

processors

752 or 775 and

memories

755 and 771, and also such virtualized entities create technical effects. With the cloud, the RAN and core could be also fully or partially in same cloud element (s) . Also an N2 and/or other interfaces could be substituted with data repository etc.

The computer

readable memories

725, 755 and 771 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The computer

readable memories

725, 755, and 771 may be means for performing storage functions. The

processors

720, 752, and 775 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The

processors

720, 752, and 775 may be means for performing functions, such as controlling the UE 710, base station 770, and other functions as described herein.

In general, the various embodiments of the user equipment 710 can include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones such as cellular phones, smart devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs) having wireless communication capabilities, portable computers having wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras having wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices having wireless communication capabilities, music storage and playback appliances having wireless communication capabilities, Internet appliances permitting wireless Internet access and browsing, tablets with wireless communication capabilities, as well as portable units or terminals that incorporate combinations of such functions. In addition, various embodiments of the user equipment include machines, communicators and categories of equipment, which are not primarily or not at all in use by human interaction.

Embodiments herein may be implemented in software (executed by one or more processors) , hardware (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit) , or a combination of software and hardware. For example, in an embodiment, the software (e.g., application logic, an instruction set) is maintained on any one of various conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” may be any media or means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer, with one example of a computer described and depicted, as in FIG. 7 for example. A computer-readable medium may comprise a computer-readable storage medium (e.g.,

memories

725, 755, 771 or other device) that may be any media or means that can contain or store the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer.

The current 3GPP Release 8 based architecture in LTE networks is fully distributed in the radio and fully centralized in the core network. The low latency requires bringing the content close to the radio which leads to local break out and multi-access edge computing (MEC) . 5G (and evolved LTE connected to 5G core) may use edge cloud and local cloud architecture. Edge computing covers a wide range of technologies such as wireless sensor networks, mobile data acquisition, mobile signature analysis, cooperative distributed peer-to-peer ad hoc networking and processing also classifiable as local cloud/fog computing and grid/mesh computing, dew computing, mobile edge computing, cloudlet, distributed data storage and retrieval, autonomic self-healing networks, remote cloud services and augmented reality. In radio communications, using edge cloud may mean node operations to be carried out, at least partly, in a server, host or node operationally coupled to a remote radio head or base station comprising radio parts. It is also possible that node operations will be distributed among a plurality of servers, nodes or hosts. It should also be understood that the distribution of labor between core network operations and base station operations may differ from that of the LTE or even be non-existent. Some other technology advancements probably to be used are Software-Defined Networking (SDN) , Big Data, and all-IP, which may change the way networks are being constructed and managed.

One possible manner to carry out embodiments described herein is with an edge cloud using a distributed computing system. An exemplary embodiment comprises a radio node connected to a server. Exemplary embodiments implementing the system allow the edge cloud server and the radio node as stand-alone apparatuses communicating with each other via a radio path or via a wired connection or they may be located in a same entity communicating via a wired connection.

FIG. 8 is a logic flow diagram of an exemplary method of the current invention, a result of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and/or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with exemplary embodiments. Parts or all of method 800 could be performed in module YYY or module ZZZ as appropriate.

In an exemplary method 800, in step 802 depicts where a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network receives, from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) . In step 804, the UE decodes the data, where the data has a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) . In response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, in step 806 the UE transmits an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding. In response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, in step 808 the UE transmits a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.

FIG. 9 is a logic flow diagram of an exemplary method of the current invention, a result of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and/or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with exemplary embodiments. Parts or all of method 800 could be performed in module YYY or module ZZZ as appropriate.

In an exemplary method 900, in step 902 depicts where a network access device transmits data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) . In step 902, the network access device receives an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks; a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.

Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.

Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the claims appearing below, an advantage or technical effect of one or more of the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein is that compared to the first option discussed above in the prior art section, the hybrid HARQ feedback currently proposed herein reduces the latency of the later data in the COT.

Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the invention or of the claims appearing below, an advantage, benefit, or technical effect of one or more of the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein is that compared to the second option discussed above in the prior art, the hybrid HARQ feedback currently proposed herein does not require the gap between transmission and HARQ feedback caused by decoding latency. It avoids the risk of LBT block for HARQ feedback.

If desired, the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined.

An example of an embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 1, is a method that comprises receiving, in a wireless network by a user equipment (UE) from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ; decoding the data, where the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding, and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 2, is the method of item 1, where the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK are transmitted in the first COT.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 3, is the method of item 1, where the estimation is based on signal quality or partially decoding outputs.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 4, is the method of item 3, where the signal quality is based on comparing reference signal received quality of demodulation reference signal with a threshold.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 5, is the method of item 3, where the threshold is determined based on at least one of: a modulation and coding scheme of the data; a pre-defined specification; a decoded capability; and a configuration based on radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 6, is the method of item 4, where in response to the reference signal received quality being below the threshold, the fast negative acknowledgement is transmitted, and where in response to the reference signal received quality not being below the threshold, the fast acknowledgement is transmitted.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 7, is the method of item 3, where the partially decoding outputs of the TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends are estimated based on a bit error rate of early received code blocks or code block groups of the TB, where the TB comprises a plurality of code blocks or code block groups.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 8, is the method of item 1, further comprising: in response to sending an actual negative acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement, receiving corresponding retransmitted TB at a second channel occupancy time, where the second COT is after the first COT.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 9, is the method of item 1, the transmitting comprising: sending the actual ACK/NACK or the fast ACK/NACK in a bitmap, where a bit in the bitmap is associated with acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement of a TB, and where a type of acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement for the bit is determined explicitly or implicitly.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 10, is the method of item 1, where the TBs transmitted before slot n-k can be decoded before slot n and the TBs transmitted in slots n-k+l through n-1 cannot be decoded before slot n, where n is a slot of transmitting acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement and k is a decoding latency, and where the decoding latency is pre-defined by specification or determined by decoding capability or configured by RRC signaling.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 11, is the method of item 1, further comprising: in response to the fast ACK/NACK having been sent in the first COT, where the fast ACK/NACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, decoding the corresponding TB before a second COT ends; based on the decoding of the corresponding TB, transmitting a supplementary indicator of the corresponding TB comprising an actual ACK/NACK. Please note that a second COT need not come immediately after the first.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 12, is the method of item 1, further comprising sending a supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK in response to the fast ACK having been sent in the first COT, where the fast ACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first COT ends, and/or where decoding result of the corresponding TB before a second COT ends is incorrect. Please note that TB being not decoded before a time ends represents that the time is not enough to finish decoding of the full TB and obtain a decoding result. So in this scenario, no decoding result of the full TB is available, but UE can only estimate and guess the decode result based on signal quality or partially decoding outputs and generate fast ACK/NACK. Otherwise, if there is enough time to finish decoding of the full TB and a decoding result is available based on the decoding decision. If the TB is decoded correctly, actual ACK is sent; if the TB is decoded incorrectly, actual NACK is sent.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 13, is the method of item 11 or 12, the transmitting comprising: sending the actual ACK/NACK, the fast ACK/NACK and/or the supplementary indicator in a bitmap, where the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK correspond to TBs received in the second COT.

An example of a further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 14, is the method of item 11 or 12, further comprising: in response to the supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK being sent in the second COT, receiving corresponding retransmitted TB at a later COT where the later COT coming after the second COT.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 15, is an apparatus that comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, where the at least one memory and the computer code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: receiving, in a wireless network by the apparatus from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ; decoding the data, where the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding, and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 16, is the apparatus of item 15, where the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK are transmitted in the first COT.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 17, is the apparatus of item 15, where the estimation is based on signal quality or partially decoding outputs.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 18, is the apparatus of item 17, where the signal quality is based on comparing reference signal received quality of demodulation reference signal with a threshold.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 19, is the apparatus of item 17, where the threshold is determined based on at least one of: a modulation and coding scheme of the data; a pre-defined specification; a decoded capability; and a configuration based on radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 20, is the apparatus of item 18, where in response to the reference signal received quality being below the threshold, the fast negative acknowledgement is transmitted, and where in response to the reference signal received quality not being below the threshold, the fast acknowledgement is transmitted.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 21, is the apparatus of item 17, where the partially decoding outputs of the TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends are estimated based on a bit error rate of early received code blocks or code block groups of the TB, where the TB comprises a plurality of code blocks or code block groups.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 22, is the apparatus of item 15, where the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: in response to sending an actual negative acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement, receiving corresponding retransmitted TB at a second channel occupancy time, where the second COT is after the first COT.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 23, is the apparatus of item 15, where the transmitting comprises: sending the actual ACK/NACK or the fast ACK/NACK in a bitmap, where a bit in the bitmap is associated with acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement of a TB, and where a type of acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement for the bit is determined explicitly or implicitly.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 24, is the apparatus of item 15, where the TBs transmitted before slot n-k can be decoded before slot n and the TBs transmitted in slots n-k+1 through n-1 cannot be decoded before slot n, where n is a slot of transmitting acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement and k is a decoding latency, and where the decoding latency is pre-defined by specification or determined by decoding capability or configured by RRC signaling.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 25, is the apparatus of item 15, where the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: in response to the fast ACK/NACK having been sent in the first COT, where the fast ACK/NACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, decoding the corresponding TB before a second COT ends; based on the decoding of the corresponding TB, transmitting a supplementary indicator of the corresponding TB comprising an actual ACK/NACK. Please note that a second COT need not come immediately after the first.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 26, is the apparatus of item 15, where the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: sending a supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK in response to the fast ACK having been sent in the first COT, where the fast ACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first COT ends, and/or where decoding result of the corresponding TB before a second COT ends is incorrect. Please note that TB being not decoded before a time ends represents that the time is not enough to finish decoding of the full TB and obtain a decoding result. So in this scenario, no decoding result of the full TB is available, but UE can only estimate and guess the decode result based on signal quality or partially decoding outputs and generate fast ACK/NACK. Otherwise, if there is enough time to finish decoding of the full TB and a decoding result is available based on the decoding decision. If the TB is decoded correctly, actual ACK is sent; if the TB is decoded incorrectly, actual NACK is sent.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 27, is the apparatus of item 25 or 26, where the transmitting comprises: sending the actual ACK/NACK, the fast ACK/NACK and/or the supplementary indicator in a bitmap, where the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK correspond to TBs received in the second COT.

An example of another further embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 28, is the apparatus of item 25 or 26, where the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: in response to the supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK being sent in the second COT, receiving corresponding retransmitted TB at a later COT where the later COT coming after the second COT.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 29, is a computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in which a computer program is stored that, when being executed by a computer, is configured to provide instructions to control or carry out: receiving, in a wireless network by a UE from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ; decoding the data, where the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding, and transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 30, is an apparatus that comprises means for receiving, in a wireless network by the apparatus from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ; means for decoding the data, where the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and means for transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding, and means for transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 31, is a computer program comprising: code for receiving, in a wireless network by a UE from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ; code for decoding the data, where the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and code for transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding, and code for transmitting, in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 32, is a method comprising: transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; receiving an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks; a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 33, is the method of item 32, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK are received in the first COT.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 34, is the method of item 32, further comprising: in response to receiving an actual negative acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement, retransmitting corresponding TB at a second channel occupancy time, wherein the second COT is after the first COT.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 35, is the method of item 32, the receiving comprising: obtaining the actual ACK/NACK or the fast ACK/NACK in a bitmap, wherein a bit in the bitmap is associated with acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement of a TB, and wherein a type of acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement for the bit is determined explicitly or implicitly.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 36, is the method of item 32, further comprising: in response to the fast ACK/NACK having been received in the first COT, wherein the fast ACK/NACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, receiving a supplementary indicator of the corresponding TB comprising an actual ACK/NACK indicating the corresponding TB was decoded before the second COT ended.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 37, is the method of item 32, further comprising: receiving a supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK in response to the fast ACK having been sent in the first COT, wherein the fast ACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first COT ended, and/or wherein decoding result of the corresponding TB before a second COT ended was incorrect.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 38, is the method of item 36 or 37, the receiving comprising: obtaining the actual ACK/NACK, the fast ACK/NACK and/or the supplementary indicator in a bitmap, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK correspond to TBs transmitted in the second COT.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 39, is the method of item 36 or 37, further comprising: in response to the supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK being obtained in the second COT, retransmitting corresponding TB at a later COT wherein the later COT comes after the second COT.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 40, is an apparatus comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; receiving an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks; a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 41, is the apparatus of item 40, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK are received in the first COT.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 42, is the apparatus of item 40, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: in response to receiving an actual negative acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement, retransmitting corresponding TB at a second channel occupancy time, wherein the second COT is after the first COT.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 43, is the apparatus of item 40, the receiving comprising: obtaining the actual ACK/NACK or the fast ACK/NACK in a bitmap, wherein a bit in the bitmap is associated with acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement of a TB, and wherein a type of acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement for the bit is determined explicitly or implicitly.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 44, is the apparatus of item 40, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: in response to the fast ACK/NACK having been received in the first COT, wherein the fast ACK/NACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, receiving a supplementary indicator of the corresponding TB comprising an actual ACK/NACK indicating the corresponding TB was decoded before the second COT ended.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 45, is the apparatus of item 40, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: receiving a supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK in response to the fast ACK having been sent in the first COT, wherein the fast ACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first COT ended, and/or wherein decoding result of the corresponding TB before a second COT ended was incorrect.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 46, is the apparatus of item 44 or 45, the receiving comprising: obtaining the actual ACK/NACK, the fast ACK/NACK and/or the supplementary indicator in a bitmap, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK correspond to TBs transmitted in the second COT.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 47, is the apparatus of item 44 or 45, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: in response to the supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK being obtained in the second COT, retransmitting corresponding TB at a later COT wherein the later COT comes after the second COT.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 48, is a computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in which a computer program is stored that, when being executed by a computer, is configured to provide instructions to control or carry out: transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; receiving an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks; a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 49, is an apparatus comprising: means for transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; means for receiving an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks; a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.

An example of another embodiment of the current invention, which can be referred to as item 50, is a computer program comprising: code for transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; code for receiving an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks; a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.

An example of an additional embodiment of the instant invention, which can be referred to as item 51, is a computer program product that comprises a computer-readable medium bearing the computer program code of item 31 embodied therein for use with a computer.

An example of an additional embodiment of the instant invention, which can be referred to as item 52, is a computer program product that comprises a computer-readable medium bearing the computer program code of item 50 embodied therein for use with a computer.

Although various aspects are set out above, other aspects comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments, and not solely the combinations described above. If desired, the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined.

It is also noted herein that while the above describes examples of embodiments of the invention, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

A method comprising:

receiving, in a wireless network by a UE from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ;

decoding the data, wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and

transmitting,

in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actualacknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding;

in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.
The method of claim 1, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK are transmitted in the first COT.
The method of claim 1, wherein the estimation is based on signal quality or partially decoding outputs.
The method of claim 3, wherein the signal quality is based on comparing reference signal received quality of demodulation reference signal with a threshold.
The method of claim 3, wherein the threshold is determined based on at least one of:

a modulation and coding scheme of the data;

a pre-defined specification;

a decoded capability; and

a configuration based on radio resource control (RRC) signalling.
The method of claim 4,

wherein in response to the reference signal received quality being below the threshold, the fast negative acknowledgement is transmitted, and

wherein in response to the reference signal received quality not being below the threshold, the fast acknowledgement is transmitted.
The method of claim 3,

wherein the partially decoding outputs of the TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends are estimated based on a bit error rate of early received code blocks or code block groups of the TB, and

wherein the TB comprises a plurality of code blocks or code block groups.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to sending an actual negative acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement, receiving corresponding retransmitted TB at a second channel occupancy time, wherein the second COT is after the first COT.
The method of claim 1, the transmitting comprising:

sending the actual ACK/NACK or the fast ACK/NACK in a bitmap,

wherein a bit in the bitmap is associated with acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement of a TB, and

wherein a type of acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement for the bit is determined explicitly or implicitly.
The method of claim 1,

wherein the TBs transmitted before slot n-k can be decoded before slot n and the TBs transmitted in slots n-k+ 1 through n-1 cannot be decoded before slot n,

wherein n is a slot of transmitting acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement and k is a decoding latency, and

wherein the decoding latency is pre-defined by specification or determined by decoding capability or configured by RRC signalling.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to the fast ACK/NACK having been sent in the first COT, wherein the fast ACK/NACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, decoding the corresponding TB before a second COT ends;

based on the decoding of the corresponding TB, transmitting a supplementary indicator of the corresponding TB comprising an actual ACK/NACK.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK in response to the fast ACK having been sent in the first COT,

wherein the fast ACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first COT ends, and/or

wherein decoding result of the corresponding TB before a second COT ends is incorrect.
The method of claim 11 or 12, the transmitting comprising:

sending the actual ACK/NACK, the fast ACK/NACK and/or the supplementary indicator in a bitmap, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK correspond to TBs received in the second COT.
The method of claim 11 or 12, further comprising:

in response to the supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK being sent in the second COT, receiving corresponding retransmitted TB at a later COT wherein the later COT coming after the second COT.
An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following:

receiving, in a wireless network by a UE from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ;

decoding the data, wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and

transmitting,

in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding;

in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.
The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK are transmitted in the first COT.
The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the estimation is based on signal quality or partially decoding outputs.
The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the signal quality is based on comparing reference signal received quality of demodulation reference signal with a threshold.
The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the threshold is determined based on at least one of:

a modulation and coding scheme of the data;

a pre-defined specification;

a decoded capability; and

a configuration based on radio resource control (RRC) signalling.
The apparatus of claim 18,

wherein in response to the reference signal received quality being below the threshold, the fast negative acknowledgement is transmitted, and

wherein in response to the reference signal received quality not being below the threshold, the fast acknowledgement is transmitted.
The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the partially decoding outputs of the TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends are estimated based on a bit error rate of early received code blocks or code block groups of the TB, wherein the TB comprises a plurality of code blocks or code block groups.
The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: in response to sending an actual negative acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement, receiving corresponding retransmitted TB at a second channel occupancy time, wherein the second COT is after the first COT.
The apparatus of claim 15,

wherein the transmitting comprises: sending the actual ACK/NACK or the fast ACK/NACK in a bitmap,

wherein a bit in the bitmap is associated with acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement of a TB, and

wherein a type of acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement for the bit is determined explicitly or implicitly.
The apparatus of claim 15,

wherein the TBs transmitted before slot n-k can be decoded before slot n and the TBs transmitted in slots n-k+1 through n-1 cannot be decoded before slot n,

wherein n is a slot of transmitting acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement and k is a decoding latency, and

wherein the decoding latency is pre-defined by specification or determined by decoding capability or configured by RRC signalling.
The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following:

in response to the fast ACK/NACK having been sent in the first COT, wherein the fast ACK/NACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, decoding the corresponding TB before a second COT ends;

based on the decoding of the corresponding TB, transmitting a supplementary indicator of the corresponding TB comprising an actual ACK/NACK.
The apparatus of claim 15,

wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: sending a supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK in response to the fast ACK having been sent in the first COT,

wherein the fast ACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first COT ends, and/or

wherein decoding result of the corresponding TB before a second COT ends is incorrect.
The apparatus of claim 25 or 26, wherein the transmitting comprises: sending the actual ACK/NACK, the fast ACK/NACK and/or the supplementary indicator in a bitmap, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK correspond to TBs received in the second COT.
The apparatus of claim 25 or 26, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following:

in response to the supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK being sent in the second COT, receiving corresponding retransmitted TB at a later COT wherein the later COT coming after the second COT.
A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in which a computer program is stored that, when being executed by a computer, is configured to provide instructions to control or carry out:

receiving, in a wireless network by a UE from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ;

decoding the data, wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and

transmitting,

in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding;

in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.
An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, in a wireless network by a UE from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ;

means for decoding the data, wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and

means for transmitting,

in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding;

in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.
A computer program comprising:

code for receiving, in a wireless network by a UE from a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) ;

code for decoding the data, wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ; and

code for transmitting,

in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) based on the decoding;

in response to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks not being decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) based on an estimation.
A method comprising:

transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ;

receiving

an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks;

a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.
The method of claim 32, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK are received in the first COT.
The method of claim 32, further comprising:

in response to receiving an actual negative acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement, retransmitting corresponding TB at a second channel occupancy time, wherein the second COT is after the first COT.
The method of claim 32, the receiving comprising: obtaining the actual ACK/NACK or the fast ACK/NACK in a bitmap,

wherein a bit in the bitmap is associated with acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement of a TB, and

wherein a type of acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement for the bit is determined explicitly or implicitly.
The method of claim 32, further comprising:

in response to the fast ACK/NACK having been received in the first COT, wherein the fast ACK/NACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, receiving a supplementary indicator of the corresponding TB comprising an actual ACK/NACK indicating the corresponding TB was decoded before the second COT ended.
The method of claim 32, further comprising:

receiving a supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK in response to the fast ACK having been sent in the first COT,

wherein the fast ACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first COT ended, and/or

wherein decoding result of the corresponding TB before a second COT ended was incorrect.
The method of claim 36 or 37, the receiving comprising:

obtaining the actual ACK/NACK, the fast ACK/NACK and/or the supplementary indicator in a bitmap, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK correspond to TBs transmitted in the second COT.
The method of claim 36 or 37, further comprising:

in response to the supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK being obtained in the second COT, retransmitting corresponding TB at a later COT wherein the later COT comes after the second COT.
An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following:

transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ;

receiving

an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks;

a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.
The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK are received in the first COT.
The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following:

in response to receiving an actual negative acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement, retransmitting corresponding TB at a second channel occupancy time, wherein the second COT is after the first COT.
The apparatus of claim 40, the receiving comprising: obtaining the actual ACK/NACK or the fast ACK/NACK in a bitmap,

wherein a bit in the bitmap is associated with acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement of a TB, and

wherein a type of acknowledgement or negative acknowledgement for the bit is determined explicitly or implicitly.
The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following:

in response to the fast ACK/NACK having been received in the first COT, wherein the fast ACK/NACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first channel occupancy time ends, receiving a supplementary indicator of the corresponding TB comprising an actual ACK/NACK indicating the corresponding TB was decoded before the second COT ended.
The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following:

receiving a supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK in response to the fast ACK having been sent in the first COT,

wherein the fast ACK corresponds to a TB of the plurality of transmission blocks not decoded before the first COT ended, and/or

wherein decoding result of the corresponding TB before a second COT ended was incorrect.
The apparatus of claim 44 or 45, the receiving comprising:

obtaining the actual ACK/NACK, the fast ACK/NACK and/or the supplementary indicator in a bitmap, wherein the actual ACK/NACK and the fast ACK/NACK correspond to TBs transmitted in the second COT.
The apparatus of claim 44 or 45, wherein the at least one memory and the computer code are further configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to at least perform the following:

in response to the supplementary indicator comprising an actual NACK being obtained in the second COT, retransmitting corresponding TB at a later COT wherein the later COT comes after the second COT.
A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium in which a computer program is stored that, when being executed by a computer, is configured to provide instructions to control or carry out:

transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ;

receiving

an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks;

a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.
An apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ;

means for receiving

an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks;

a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.
A computer program comprising:

code for transmitting, by a network access device, data in a first channel occupancy time (COT) , wherein the data comprises a plurality of transmission blocks (TBs) ;

code for receiving

an actual acknowledgement or actual negative acknowledgement (actual ACK/NACK) corresponding to a transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks;

a fast acknowledgement or fast negative acknowledgement (fast ACK/NACK) corresponding to another transmission block of the plurality of transmission blocks.