Patent Description:
In Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, a mobile terminal (referred to as a User Equipment or UE) connects to the cellular network via a base station (referred to as an evolved Node B or eNB). Previous releases of the LTE specifications supported communication between the UE and the eNB over either a single carrier for both the UL (uplink) and DL (downlink) in the case of TDD (time division duplex) mode or separate UL and DL carriers in the case of FDD (frequency division duplex) mode. LTE-Advanced extended the capabilities of LTE systems with support of carrier aggregation, where up to five CCs (component carriers) are aggregated in order to support wider transmission bandwidths up to <NUM>. The CCs may also be referred to as serving cells. One CC is termed the Pcell (primary cell) and the other CCs are referred to as SCells. Subsequent releases of the LTE specification will provide support for up to <NUM> CCs. A primary concern of the present disclosure is efficient transmission of data acknowledgement signals by a UE to an eNB in response to DL data transmissions over a large number of DL CCs. <CIT> relates to techniques for acknowledging data transmissions in a multi-carrier wireless communication network. A UE determines a number of acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) bits for a data transmission on one more component carriers (CCs) based on information obtained from a grant. The grant may be a downlink grant or an uplink grant, and the information obtained may include a number of CCs scheduled for data transmission and/or identifiers of the scheduled CCs. The UE may determine the number of ACK/NACK bits for acknowledging the data transmission based on the number of scheduled CCs and the identifier of each scheduled CC.

The document "HARQ-ACK codebook size determination for CA with up to <NUM> CCs", <NPL>, discusses enhancements to HARQ-ACK codebook size determination for CA with up to <NUM> CCs.

<FIG> illustrates an example of the components of a UE <NUM> and a base station or eNB <NUM>. The base station <NUM> includes processing circuitry <NUM> connected to a radio transceiver <NUM> for providing an air interface. The UE <NUM> includes processing circuitry <NUM> connected to a radio transceiver <NUM> for providing an interface. Each of the transceivers in the devices is connected to antennas <NUM>.

LTE uses a combination of forward error-correction coding and ARQ (automatic repeat request), referred to as HARQ (hybrid ARQ). Hybrid ARQ uses forward error correction codes to correct some errors, but when uncorrected errors are detected, the corrupted transmissions are discarded and the receiver requests retransmission. As the term is used herein, a HARQ-ACK (hybrid-ARQ acknowledgement) may either be a negative acknowledgement (NACK), signifying that a transmission error has occurred and that a retransmission is requested, or a positive acknowledgement (ACK) indicating that the transmission was received correctly.

HARQ-ACKs may be transmitted to the eNB by the UE either along with UL data over PUSCH (physical uplink shared channel) or over the PUCCH (physical uplink control channel). The different formats of the PUCCH previously defined by the LTE specifications (i.e., formats <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>) are not capable of conveying the amount of UCI necessary for carrier aggregation (CA) with up to <NUM> CCs as described above. A new PUCCH format, referred to herein as PUCCH format X, is designed to carry this amount of UCI and may be a PUSCH-like PUCCH structure with one demodulation reference signal (DMRS) per slot or a PUCCH-like structure with two DMRSs per slot.

In one embodiment, the total number of HARQ-ACK bits to be transmitted using PUCCH format X in a UL subframe is dynamically indicated to the UE by the eNB using an information element (IE) of a DCI (downlink control information) format used for DL scheduling assignments. The IE for this purpose is referred to as the downlink assignment index (DAI) indicating the total number of serving cell with DL transmission (T-DAI) and may be newly added to the existing DCI format(s) or may be a re-interpretion of an existing IE. More specifically, the value of the T-DAI IE in subframe n may represent the total number of serving cells with PDSCH transmissions and with PDCCH/ EPDCCH indicating downlink SPS (semi-persistent scheduling) release to the UE up to the present DL subframe n. The techncial reason for this is to avoid mandating that the eNB make its scheduling decisions for all configured/activated serving cells and for all subframes in the HARQ-ACK feedback window at the same time instance before the first DL subframe in the HARQ-ACK feedback window.

In another embodiment, the total number of HARQ-ACK bits is signaled by the UE to the eNB in an explicit manner to ensure the same understanding between eNB and UE. In an example, a set of HARQ-ACK codebook size candidates is configured by higher layers for a given UE or predefined in the specification, denoted as {S1, S2, S3. The HARQ-ACK codebook size may be indicated in various manners to ensure the same understanding between the eNB and the UE. One way is that the codebook size determined by the UE based on scheduled CCs is used to modulate the second DMRS in each slot of the PUCCH format X resource if present. QPSK (quadrature phase shift keying) may be used to convey <NUM>-bit information (e.g. <NUM> states). As a result, mapping between four states and codebook sizes may be further implemented as one to multiple. If only one DMRS is present in each slot of the PUCCH format X, the codebook size may be indicated by the DMRS cyclic shift (CS) used by PUCCH format X. For example, a cyclic shift offset of the DMRS is determined based on the codebook size with the CS of the DMRS given as: <MAT> where the nDMRS is either configured by higher layers or determined based on slot index, symbol index or a combination of thereof; and Δshift denotes the CS offset that may be determined according to the HARQ-ACK codebook size. Table <NUM> below lists examples of CS offset values corresponding to different HARQ-ACK codebook sizes.

In another embodiment the HARQ-ACK codebook size is indicated as part of the payload of PUCCH format X. In an example of this embodiment, a HARQ-ACK bit sequence is constructed as follows:
<b0, b1, b2, b3,. , b(N), b(N+<NUM>)>
A first part of the bit sequency such as <b0,b1> is designed to indicate the codebook size within a plurality of candidates predefined by specification. A secondd part of the bit sequence as < b2, b3,. , b(N), b(N+<NUM>)> are the HARQ-ACK bits payload generated by the UE according to scheduled CCs/subframes. Alternatively, the first part of the bit sequence may be used to indicate the number of zero-bit padding with a given codebook size derived from a configured level (e.g.. , transmission mode, CA, bundling window, etc) The encoding for [b0 b1] and [b2 b3. b(N+<NUM>)] can be by joint coding or separate coding.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention as claimed, another IE, referred to as the component carrier (CC)-domain downlink assignment index (DAI) or CC-domain DAI, is added to the DCI format(s) in order to denote the accumulative number of PDCCH/EPDCCH(s) with assigned PDSCH transmission(s) and PDCCH/EPDCCH indicating downlink SPS release up to present subframe and present serving cell, first in the increasing order of serving cell index and then in increasing order of subframe frames, in serving cells in a DL subframe or multiple DL subframes assocaited with one UL subframe for HARQ-ACK feedback (i.e. HARQ-ACK window). After determining the HARQ-ACK payload size, the UE needs to further derive the PDSCH reception that it has missed and how to order the HARQ-ACK bits for the received PDSCHs in a HARQ-ACK bit sequence. In particular, the UE may not know the number of TBs conveyed by a missed PDSCH reception (i.e., <NUM> TB or <NUM> TBs) if different transmission modes are configured in respective CCs. An example of this problem is illustrated in <FIG>. Referring to <FIG>, the UE successfully received the PDCCH in component carriers CC1, CC2, CC3, CC N-<NUM> and CC N but missed the DL SA (scheduling assignment) with DAI = <NUM> in CC5. The UE determines the HARQ-ACK bits number for a missed PDSCH based on the transmission mode of the corresponding CC. As the UE cannot identify which CC the missed PDSCH is transmitted in, it may not know the number of TBs conveyed by the missed PDSCH reception (e.g. it could be <NUM> TBs if the eNB transmitted it on CC N-<NUM> or could be <NUM> TB if transmittied on CC <NUM>). Thus, how to determine the HARQ-ACK bits number for the missed PDSCHs is to be considered.

To address the DAI issue in <FIG>, one way is to perform spatial HARQ-ACK bundling across multiple codewords within a subframe by a logical AND operation for HARQ-ACK transmission based on configuration signaled by higher layer. This method is simple and can effectively resolve the DAI problem, but it results in DL throughput performance loss due to always using HARQ-ACK spatial bundling. In another way, the CC-domain DAI IE may denote the accumulative number of transmission blocks with assigned PDSCH transmission(s) and PDCCH/EPDCCH indicating downlink SPS release in serving cells in subframe (s) associated with one UL subframe for HARQ-ACK transmission. According to the claimed invention, the UE assumes two ACK/NACK bits always for each CC in case at least there is at least one serving cell is configured with a transmission mode with two TBs.

In another embodiment, CCs configured with a transmission mode (TM) having two TBs and those configured with a TM with one TB are divided into two different CC groups (CGs). Referring to <FIG>, two CGs referred to as CG1 and CG2 could be constructed based on TM with CG1 comprising CCs configured with TM with one TB:.

The CC-domain DAI is then counted within each CG, denoting the accumulative number of PDCCH/EPDCCH(s) with assigned PDSCH transmission(s) and PDCCH/EPDCCH indicating downlink SPS release in serving cells of a respective CG in DL subframe (s) associated with one UL subframe for HARQ-ACK transmission. The T-DAI IE indicating the total number of HARQ-ACK bits may also be correspondingly modified to be used within each CG, which represents the total number of scheduled CCs in a given subframe within one CG. An example is shown in <FIG>, where the T-DAI IE indicating total number of HARQ-ACK bits per CG should be set as "<NUM>" and "<NUM>," respectively, in corresponding DCI formats for CG1 and CG2.

Another design consideration for DAI accumulation is to further divide conifgured CCs into different CGs based on licensed band or not in additon to TM configuration information. This is motivated due to the listen-before-talk mechanism being required before transmission on an unlicensed carrier so that DL control channel may be transmitted in the middle of one subframe. Similarly, the value of of the CC-domain DAI IE in DCI formats on different CCs may be accumulated independently within each respective CG. The T-DAI IE indicating the total number of HARQ-ACK bits information in the DCI format may be set independently for each CG according to the total number of PDSCHs scheduled on CCs within a given CG.

In another embodiment, the value of the CC-domain DAI IE is accumulated within each CG, but the total number of HARQ-ACK bits information indicated by T-DAI IE is derived by counting all scheduled CCs/subframes of all CGs in a subframe. To avoid the ambiguity on mapping between HARQ-ACK bits and a scheduled PDSCH between UE and eNB when one or more last scheduled PDSCHs are missed in one CG or both two CGs, a method for HARQ-ACK bits concatenation of multiple CGs may be performed as follows. HARQ-ACK bits are independently mapped per CG according to CG-specific DAI IEs where: a) the HARQ-ACK bit sequence of a first CG is denoted as <MAT>, b) the HARQ-ACK bit sequence of a second CG is denoted as <MAT>, and c) the output bit sequence is denoted as < e<NUM>, e<NUM>, e<NUM>. eS-<NUM> >. For a given codebook size S, the HARQ-ACK bits concatenation is then performed by: a) sequentially mapping the HARQ-ACK bit sequence of a first CG starting from first bit of HARQ-ACK codebook (i.e. e<NUM>), and b) sequentially mapping the HARQ-ACK bit sequence of a second CG from the end bit of HARQ-ACK codebook (i.e. bit eS-<NUM>). This procedure of HARQ-ACK bits concatenation is illustrated in <FIG>. One or a combination of other DAI schemes a described above may also be applied (e.g., as configured by higher layers).

Another design consideration may be whether to introduce a bit-level channel interleaver for HARQ-ACK bits before applying the TBCC (tail-biting convolutional code) encoder. It is well known that TBCC decoding performance is dependent on the number as well as the positions of known bits. For example, consecutive known bits in the HARQ-ACK codebook cannot help improve the decoding performance. This motivates consideration of a way to distribute the known bits evenly over the HARQ-ACK codebook to achieve a better TBCC performance. In accordance with one embodiment, a channel interleaver operates such that the sequence of HARQ-ACK bits is first obtained as result of the concatenation of multiple CGs HARQ-ACK bits according to the value of CG-specific DAI field for different CCs/subframes, denoting the sequence of bits <O<NUM>, O<NUM>, O<NUM>,. ON >, For a given HARQ-ACK codebook size S, the output bit sequence from the channel interleaver is derived as follows: a) sssign Cmux = N to be the number of columns of the matrix. The columns of the matrix are numbered <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>,. ,Cmux -<NUM> from left to right, b) the number of rows of the matrix is <MAT>, the rows of the rectangular matrix are numbered <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>,. , Rmux -<NUM> from top to bottom, c) write the input bits sequence starting from the last row and moving upwards in a row by row order (i.e. row-wise), and d) the output of the block interleaver is the bit sequence is read out column by column from the (Rmux × C"mux) matrix.

In an example of this embodiment, N = <NUM> bits, S = <NUM> bits, , Cmux = N = <NUM> and <MAT>. <FIG> illustrates an example of the HARQ-ACK bits channel interleaver <NUM> evenly distributing the known HARQ-ACK bits across the codebook.

In another embodiment, error detection for UCI(s) on PUCCH format X is provided through a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) for each UCI. Various schemes may be used to attach the CRC for UCI transmission which may include one or more of the following schemes. In a first example scheme, <NUM>-bits CRC parity bits may be always attached to the HARQ-ACK bits information regardless of the number of HARQ-ACK bits. In a second example scheme, <NUM>-bits CRC parity bits are attached to HARQ-ACK bits when OACK > O<NUM>, where OACK is the number of HARQ-ACK bits and SR bit, regardless of transmission on PUCCH or PUSCH channel. One motivation behind is to minimize the signaling overhead in case of small UCI payload size. In a third example scheme, CRC attachment may be conditionally attached depending on the corresponding L1 channel which the UCI is transmitted on. This scheme is illustrated in <FIG> where, as an example, O<NUM> = <NUM>. If OACK > O<NUM> as determined at stage <NUM>, CRC attachment is always performed as shown at stage <NUM>. If OACK < O<NUM>, CRC attachment is performed based on the physical channel carrying tge HARQ-ACK/SR. The CRC attachment is performed if it is transmitted on the PUCCH as determined at stage <NUM>. CRC attachment is not done if the HARQ-ACK/SR is transmitted on the PUSCH as shown at stage <NUM>. In the case of the PUSCH, UL-SCH REs are punctured by HARQ-ACK symbols so that minimizing the UCI payload by omitting CRC bits can benefit UL-SCH performance.

In one embodiment, the modulation scheme of UCI on PUCCH format X is fixed to QPSK. Altenatively, it may be semi-statically configured by higher layers, e.g., according to a UE measurment report. Alternatively, the modulation scheme may be dynamically signaled by means of an IE in DCI formats.

In another embodiment, HARQ-ACK symbols may be mapped to REs in accordance with any of the following schemes. In a first example scheme, the mapping of the HARQ-ACK symbols to REs corresponding to the physical resource blocks assigned for transmission shall be in increasing order of first the symbol index in time domain and then frequency index, starting with the first slot in the subframe. Alternatively, it can be mapped in increasing order of first frequency index and then symobl index in time domain. In a second example scheme, the HARQ-ACK symbols are first mapped to consecutive SC-FDMA symbols close to RS as the channel estimates are of better quality close to the reference symbols. The maximum number of resources for HARQ-ACK symbols can be extended to more than four symbols. In a third example scheme, the mapping of HARQ-ACK symbols to REs depends on whether there is periodic CSI for at least one serving cell together with HARQ-ACK bits on PUCCH channel: <NUM>) If there is simutaneous periodic CSI (P-CSI) and HARQ-ACK transmission, the second example scheme is used, and <NUM>) Otherwise, the first example scheme is used (e.g., when sending HARQ-ACK bits themselves without P-CSI on PUCCH using PUCCH format X).

In one embodiment, frequency hopping is always implemented for PUCCH format X at the two edges of the total system bandwidth between slots, between subframes, between CCs or any combination of slots, subframes and CCs, to achieve maximum frequency diversity experienced by the UCI (which may including CQI/PMI/RI and/or HARQ-ACK information). In another embodiment, in order to avoid unnecessary UL spectrum fragmentation, frequency hopping of PUCCH format X can be enabled or disabled by means of a UE-specific parameter provided by higher layers. In another embodiment, frequency hopping enabling for PUCCH format X is dynamically controlled by explicit information provided in the DCI formats. For example, the UE may be configured with a set of PUCCH format X resources with each resource having frequency hopping semi-statically enabled or disabled by higher layer signaling. The UE may determine the PUCCH resource value from one of multiple resource values configured by higher layers according to the HARQ-ACK resource indication field (e.g., the TPC field) in the corresponding PDCCH.

In one example, a UE can be configured by higher layers with four PUCCH resources for UCI transmission on PUCCH format X, denoted as PUCCH resource RES1 through RES4. Frequency hopping is then independently set for each PUCCH resource to be enabled or disabled. As illustrated in <FIG>, PUCCH resource RES1 and RES2 are enabled with frequency hopping (FH) by higher layers. FH for PUCCH resource RES3 and RES4 is disabled. The UE may then use PUCCH format X with a PUCCH resource value that is determined from one of the four PUCCH resource values configured by higher layers according to the HARQ-ACK resource offset field or the TPC field in the DCI format of the corresponding PDCCH assignment with mapping defined in Table <NUM> below.

In another example, FH for PUCCH format X may be explicitly indicated by a single bit frequency hopping information field in the corresponding DCI formats used for DL assignments.

In one embodiment, for a UE configured with more than <NUM> CCs, a PUCCH resource is determined according to higher layer configuration and the value of the HARQ-ACK resource indication field in DCI format (e.g., by re-interpreting the TPC field). Multi-PRBs PUCCH resource(s) may be configured by the eNB through higher layer signaling with the one cyclic shift of one root sequence. One sequence of length 12N is generated for all of PRBs, where "N" is the number of RBs for PUCCH format X transmission. Alternatively, the UE might be assigned with one PUCCH resource with a set of RBs with more cyclic shifts of the same root sequence. The cyclic shifts assignment for respective PRBs may be preformed by L1 or L2/L3 signaling or may be pre-determined by an implicit mapping rule.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. <FIG> illustrates, for one embodiment, example components of a User Equipment (UE) device <NUM>. In some embodiments, the UE device <NUM> may include application circuitry <NUM>, baseband circuitry <NUM>, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry <NUM>, front-end module (FEM) circuitry <NUM> and one or more antennas <NUM>, coupled together at least as shown.

The baseband circuitry <NUM> may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM> and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM>. Baseband processing circuity <NUM> may interface with the application circuitry <NUM> for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry <NUM>. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include a second generation (<NUM>) baseband processor 104a, third generation (<NUM>) baseband processor 104b, fourth generation (<NUM>) baseband processor 104c, and/or other baseband processor(s) 104d for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (<NUM>), <NUM>, etc.). The baseband circuitry <NUM> (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 104a-d) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry <NUM>. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol including, for example, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or radio resource control (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 104e of the baseband circuitry <NUM> may be configured to run elements of the protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 104f. The audio DSP(s) 104f may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry <NUM> and the application circuitry <NUM> may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the RF circuitry <NUM> may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM> may include mixer circuitry 106a, amplifier circuitry 106b and filter circuitry 106c. The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM> may include filter circuitry 106c and mixer circuitry 106a. RF circuitry <NUM> may also include synthesizer circuitry 106d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry <NUM> based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 106d. The amplifier circuitry 106b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 106c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry <NUM> for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 106a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 106d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry <NUM>. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry <NUM> and may be filtered by filter circuitry 106c. The filter circuitry 106c may include a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 106a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 106a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 106a may be arranged for direct downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 106a of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 106d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+<NUM> synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 106d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 106d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 106a of the RF circuitry <NUM> based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 106d may be a fractional N/N+<NUM> synthesizer.

Synthesizer circuitry 106d of the RF circuitry <NUM> may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+<NUM> (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 106d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry <NUM> may include an IQ/polar converter.

In some embodiments, the UE device <NUM> may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/or input/output (I/O) interface.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of an example machine <NUM> upon which any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussed herein may perform. The machine <NUM> may be a user equipment (UE), evolved Node B (eNB), Wi-Fi access point (AP), Wi-Fi station (STA), personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine.

The machine <NUM> may include an output controller <NUM>, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

The term "machine readable medium" may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the machine <NUM> and that cause the machine <NUM> to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Nonlimiting machine readable medium examples may include solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, machine readable media may include non-transitory machine readable media. In some examples, machine readable media may include machine readable media that is not a transitory propagating signal.

The instructions <NUM> may further be transmitted or received over a communications network <NUM> using a transmission medium via the network interface device <NUM> utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) <NUM> family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE <NUM> family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE <NUM>. <NUM> family of standards, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device <NUM> may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network <NUM>. In an example, the network interface device <NUM> may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interface device <NUM> may wirelessly communicate using Multiple User MIMO techniques. The term "transmission medium" shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the machine <NUM>, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium to facilitate communication of such software.

The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments that may be practiced. " Such examples may include elements in addition to those shown or described. However, also contemplated are examples that include the elements shown or described. Moreover, also contemplate are examples using any combination or permutation of those elements shown or described (or one or more aspects thereof), either with respect to a particular example (or one or more aspects thereof), or with respect to other examples (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or described herein.

In the appended claims, the terms "including" and "in which" are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms "comprising" and "wherein. " Also, in the following claims, the terms "including" and "comprising" are open-ended, that is, a system, device, article, or process that includes elements in addition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still deemed to fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the following claims, the terms "first," "second," and "third," etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to suggest a numerical order for their objects.

The embodiments as described above may be implemented in various hardware configurations that may include a processor for executing instructions that perform the techniques described. Such instructions may be contained in a machine-readable medium such as a suitable storage medium or a memory or other processor-executable medium.

The embodiments as described herein may be implemented in a number of environments such as part of a wireless local area network (WLAN), 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), or Long-Term-Evolution (LTE) or a Long-Term-Evolution (LTE) communication system, although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect. An example LTE system includes a number of mobile stations, defined by the LTE specification as User Equipment (UE), communicating with a base station, defined by the LTE specifications as an eNB.

Antennas referred to herein may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some embodiments, instead of two or more antennas, a single antenna with multiple apertures may be used. In these embodiments, each aperture may be considered a separate antenna. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, antennas may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result between each of antennas and the antennas of a transmitting station. In some MIMO embodiments, antennas may be separated by up to <NUM>/<NUM> of a wavelength or more.

In some embodiments, a receiver as described herein may be configured to receive signals in accordance with specific communication standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards including IEEE <NUM> standards and/or proposed specifications for WLANs, although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect as they may also be suitable to transmit and/or receive communications in accordance with other techniques and standards. In some embodiments, the receiver may be configured to receive signals in accordance with the IEEE <NUM>-<NUM>, the IEEE <NUM>(e) and/or IEEE <NUM>(m) standards for wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs) including variations and evolutions thereof, although the scope of the invention is not limited in this respect as they may also be suitable to transmit and/or receive communications in accordance with other techniques and standards. In some embodiments, the receiver may be configured to receive signals in accordance with the Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) LTE communication standards. For more information with respect to the IEEE <NUM> and IEEE <NUM> standards, please refer to "IEEE Standards for Information Technology -- Telecommunications and Information Exchange between Systems" - Local Area Networks - Specific Requirements - Part <NUM> "Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY), ISO/IEC <NUM>-<NUM>: <NUM>", and Metropolitan Area Networks - Specific Requirements - Part <NUM>: "Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems," May <NUM> and related amendments/versions. For more information with respect to UTRAN LTE standards, see the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards for UTRAN-LTE, including variations and evolutions thereof.

Claim 1:
An apparatus of a user equipment, UE, (<NUM>) the apparatus comprising:
processing circuitry (<NUM>); and memory,
the UE (<NUM>) configured with more than one serving cell including a primary cell, Pcell, and at least one secondary cell, Scell, the UE (<NUM>) further configured with a transmission mode supporting receipt of two transport blocks, TBs in at least one of the serving cells, the processing circuitry (<NUM>) configured to:
determine a number of HARQ- Acknowledgement, ACK, feedback bits to be transmitted in a subframe based on a downlink assignment index, DAI, wherein a value of the DAI in a downlink control information, DCI, format indicates an accumulative number of the serving cells with PDSCH transmissions associated with a PDCCH or an enhanced PDCCH, EPDCCH, and serving cells with the PDCCH or the EPDCCH indicating a downlink semi-persistent scheduling, SPS, release, up to a present serving cell in increasing order of serving cell index;
calculate the HARQ-ACK feedback bits based on decoding of transport blocks of a received physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH, of the serving cells including the primary cell and the at least one secondary cell, wherein two HARQ-ACK bits are always generated for each PDSCH or SPS release according to the value of the DAI in each serving cell regardless of whether the UE (<NUM>) is configured with a transmission mode supporting two TBs or one TB in the serving cell; and
encode a PUCCH in accordance with the PUCCH format for transmission of uplink control information, UCI.