Patent Description:
With the tremendous growth in the number of connected devices and the rapid increase in user/network traffic volume, various efforts have been made to improve different aspects of wireless communication for the next-generation wireless communication system, such as fifth-generation (<NUM>) New Radio (NR), by improving data rate, latency, reliability, and mobility.

The <NUM> NR system is designed to provide flexibility and configurability to optimize the network services and types, accommodating various use cases such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC), and Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication (URLLC).

However, as the demand for radio access continues to increase, there is a need for further improvements in wireless communication for the next-generation wireless communication system.

<NPL>, discusses more delay-tolerant re-transmission mechanisms which may include the capability to deactivate the HARQ mechanisms. The document proposes that with refeerence to slots for a PUSCH transmission schedlued by a RAR UL grant, if a UE receives a PDSCH with a RAR message inding in slot nn for a corresponding PRACH transmission from the UE, the UE transmits the PUSCH in slot n + K<NUM> + Δ + Koffset, where Koffset can be configured by network. When the HARQ-ACK corresponds to a PDSCH carrying a MAC-CE command is transmitted in slot n, the corresponding action and the UE assumption on the downlink confiuration indicated by the MAC-CE command shall be applied starting from the first slot that is after slot n + <MAT>, where Koffset can be configured by network. If a UE receives a DCI triggering aperiodic SRS in slot n, the UE transmits aperiodic SRS in each oft he triggered resource set(s) in <MAT>, where Koffset can be configured by network.

<NPL>, discusses more delay-tolerant HARQ for NTN. The document proposes dynamic HARQ disabling via DCI signaling should be supported. Options could be an additional field in DCI to inidcate HARQ disabling, or reuse existing DCI field to indicate HARQ disabling. When HARQ-ACK is disabled for the PDSCH which carrying the MAC CE of beam activation/deactivation command: If the UE received a MAC CE of beam activation/deactivation command for PUCCH/PDCCH at slot n, the UE applies the activation/deactivation command at slot n+m. If the UE received a MAC CE of beam activation/deactivation command for PDSCH at slot n, the UE applies the indicated mapping between beams and the codepoints of the DCI field at slot n+m.

<NPL>, discusses HARQ aspect in NR-NTN system for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite deployment. The document proposes that the number of HARQ processes in NR-NTN system is <NUM>. The scheduling offset values Kl_ntnOffset and K2_ntnOffset broadcast in SIB. In case the scheduling delay needs to be longer to accommodate NR-NTN RTT, the gNB adjusts scheduling delay UL HARQ A/N in PUCCH by n + Kl' slots, where KU = K1 + Kl_ntnOffset. In case the scheduling delay needs to be longer to accommodate NR-NTN RTT, the gNB adjusts scheduling delay for UL scheduling delay for UL data transmission on PUSCH. It is furthermore proposed to support scheduling of multiple DL assignments or multiple UL grants via single DCI.

The above and other objects are achieved by a communication method performed by a User Equipment and a User Equipment as defined in the independent claims, respectively.

Various features are not drawn to scale. Dimensions of various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion.

The following contains specific information pertaining to example implementations in the present disclosure. The drawings and their accompanying detailed disclosure are directed to merely example implementations of the present disclosure. However, the present disclosure is not limited to merely these example implementations. Other variations and implementations of the present disclosure will occur to those skilled in the art. Unless noted otherwise, like or corresponding elements among the figures may be indicated by like or corresponding reference numerals.

For consistency and ease of understanding, like features are identified (although, in some examples, not illustrated) by numerals in the example figures. However, the features in different implementations may differ in other respects, and thus shall not be narrowly confined to what is illustrated in the figures.

References to "one implementation," "an implementation," "example implementation," "various implementations," "some implementations," "implementations of the present disclosure," etc., may indicate that the implementation(s) of the present disclosure may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every possible implementation of the present disclosure necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated use of the phrase "in one implementation," "in an example implementation," or "an implementation," do not necessarily refer to the same implementation, although they may. Moreover, any use of phrases like "implementations" in connection with "the present disclosure" are never meant to characterize that all implementations of the present disclosure must include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic, and should instead be understood to mean "at least some implementations of the present disclosure" includes the stated particular feature, structure, or characteristic. The term "coupled" is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The term "comprising," when utilized, means "including but not necessarily limited to"; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the disclosed combination, group, series, and the equivalent. The terms "system" and "network" in the present disclosure may be used interchangeably.

The term "and/or" herein is only an association relationship for describing associated objects and represents that three relationships may exist, for example, A and/or B may represent that: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. "A and/or B and/or C" may represent that at least one of A, B, and C exists. The character "/" used herein generally represents that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

Additionally, for a non-limiting explanation, specific details, such as functional entities, techniques, protocols, standards, and the like, are set forth for providing an understanding of the disclosed technology. In other examples, detailed disclosure of well-known methods, technologies, systems, architectures, and the like are omitted so as not to obscure the present disclosure with unnecessary details.

Persons skilled in the art will immediately recognize that any network function(s) or algorithm(s) may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. Disclosed functions may correspond to modules that may be software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. The software implementation may comprise computer-executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium such as memory or other types of storage devices. For example, one or more microprocessors or general-purpose computers with communication processing capability may be programmed with corresponding executable instructions and carry out the disclosed network function(s) or algorithm(s). The microprocessors or general-purpose computers may be formed of Application-Specific Integrated Circuitry (ASIC), programmable logic arrays, and/or using one or more Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). Although some of the example implementations disclosed are oriented to software installed and executing on computer hardware, alternative example implementations implemented as firmware or as hardware or combination of hardware and software are well within the scope of the present disclosure.

The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory, Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, or any other equivalent medium capable of storing computer-readable instructions.

A radio communication network architecture (e.g., a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, or an LTE-Advanced Pro system) may typically include at least one Base Station (BS), at least one UE, and one or more optional network elements that provide connection towards a network. The UE may communicate with the network (e.g., a Core Network (CN), an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network, an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a Next-Generation Core (NGC), or an Internet), through a Radio Access Network (RAN) established by the BS.

In the present disclosure, a UE may include, but is not limited to, a mobile station, a mobile terminal or device, a user communication radio terminal. For example, a UE may be a portable radio equipment, which includes, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a sensor, or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with wireless communication capability. The UE may be configured to receive and transmit signals over an air interface to one or more cells in a RAN.

A BS may include, but is not limited to, a Node B (NB) as in the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), an evolved Node B (eNB) as in the LTE-A, a Radio Network Controller (RNC) as in the UMTS, a Base Station Controller (BSC) as in the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)/GSM Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) Radio Access Network (GERAN), a next-generation eNB (ng-eNB) as in an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) BS in connection with the 5GC, a next-generation Node B (gNB) as in the <NUM> Access Network (<NUM>-AN), and any other apparatus capable of controlling radio communication and managing radio resources within a cell. The BS may connect to serve the one or more UEs through a radio interface to the network.

A BS may be configured to provide communication services according to at least one of the following Radio Access Technologies (RATs): Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), GSM (often referred to as <NUM>), GERAN, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), UMTS (often referred to as <NUM>) based on basic Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), LTE, LTE-A, enhanced LTE (eLTE), NR (often referred to as <NUM>), and LTE-A Pro. However, the present disclosure should not be limited to the protocols mentioned above.

The BS may be operable to provide radio coverage to a specific geographical area using a plurality of cells included in the RAN. The BS may support the operations of the cells. Each cell may be operable to provide services to at least one UE within its radio coverage. More specifically, each cell (often referred to as a serving cell) may provide services to serve one or more UEs within its radio coverage (e.g., each cell schedules the Downlink (DL) and optionally Uplink (UL) resources to at least one UE within its radio coverage for DL and optionally UL packet transmissions). The BS may communicate with one or more UEs in the radio communication system through the plurality of cells. A cell may allocate Sidelink (SL) resources for supporting Proximity Service (ProSe), LTE SL services, and LTE/NR Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) services. Each cell may have overlapped coverage areas with other cells. In Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) cases, the primary cell of a Master Cell Group (MCG) or a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) may be referred to as a Special Cell (SpCell). A Primary Cell (PCell) may refer to the SpCell of an MCG. A Primary SCG Cell (PSCell) may refer to the SpCell of an SCG. MCG may refer to a group of serving cells associated with the Master Node (MN), including the SpCell and optionally one or more Secondary Cells (SCells). An SCG may refer to a group of serving cells associated with the Secondary Node (SN), including the SpCell and optionally one or more SCells.

As discussed above, the frame structure for NR is to support flexible configurations for accommodating various next-generation (e.g., <NUM>) communication requirements, such as eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC, while fulfilling high reliability, high data rate, and low latency requirements. The orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) technology, as agreed in the <NUM>rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), may serve as a baseline for an NR waveform. The scalable OFDM numerology, such as the adaptive sub-carrier spacing, the channel bandwidth, and the cyclic prefix (CP), may also be used. Additionally, two coding schemes are considered for NR: (<NUM>) low-density parity-check (LDPC) code and (<NUM>) polar code. The coding scheme adaption may be configured based on the channel conditions and/or the service applications.

Moreover, it is also considered that in a transmission time interval of a single NR frame, at least DL transmission data, a guard period, and UL transmission data should be included, where the respective portions of the DL transmission data, the guard period, the UL transmission data should also be configurable, for example, based on the network dynamics of NR. Besides, an SL resource may also be provided in an NR frame to support ProSe services.

Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) refer to networks, or segments of networks, using a spaceborne vehicle for transmission, e.g., using Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) satellites and Geostationary Earth Orbiting (GEO) satellites.

In 3GPP Release <NUM> (Rel-<NUM>), some scenarios have been started with key issues and solutions. For example, a transparent GEO satellite network refers to a relay-based NTN, including radio frequency (RF) functions only. The GEO satellites simply perform amplify-and-forward in space. Moreover, a transparent LEO satellite network refers to a relay-based NTN. In this case, the LEO satellites simply perform amplify-and-forward in space. Furthermore, the regenerative LEO satellite network refers to a network architecture, where LEO satellites have full capability of RAN functions as a base station in NR. In this case, UEs are served directly by the satellites.

MAC CE (MAC control elements) are used for control signaling. It provides a faster way to send control signaling than Radio Link Control (RLC)/Radio Resource Control (RRC), with fewer concerns on the restrictions in terms of payload sizes and reliability as offered by physical-layer control signaling, e.g., Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH). The MAC layer/entity may insert MAC CEs into the Transport Blocks (TBs) to be transmitted over the transport channels.

There are multiple types of MAC CEs, used for various purposes, for example:.

MAC CE latency refers to the latency related to MAC CE parsing and, based on the parsing result, further physical-layer processing and configuration if it is needed. In NR, the MAC CE latency is defined from a device (e.g., UE) perspective: the interval between the time of an ACK (acknowledgment) transmission for a PDSCH carrying a MAC CE message/command and the time that the UE applies/executes the MAC CE command carried in the message.

In NTN, due to long propagation delay, the MAC CE latency may be insufficient to cover the delay. To handle this, in one implementation, the following UE behavior in Table <NUM> is provided.

According to Table <NUM>, scheduling offset Koffset is provided for UL transmission timing enhancement. To compensate for a timing advance (TA) command that may shift UL transmission timing too far along in the time domain, the scheduling offset Koffset between the scheduling DCI and a scheduled PUSCH, e.g., K2 in NR, or between a scheduled PDSCH and the corresponding HARQ ACK on the PUCCH, e.g., K1 in NR, may be used. The introduction of X is associated with a concern that different MAC CE parsing times for different types of UEs, e.g., Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), handheld, or vehicle-mounted, may be needed.

In addition, due to the long Round Trip Time (RTT) in NTN, the HARQ mechanism may be inefficient for a time-urgent service. To handle this, in one implementation, the enabling / disabling of HARQ ACK feedback may be configurable on a per UE and per HARQ process basis. For example, the NW may configure one or more HARQ processes to a UE, whereas the corresponding HARQ ACK feedback can be enabled or disabled. When the HARQ ACK feedback transmission is enabled (which refers to a HARQ ACK feedback-based operation), the HARQ ACK feedback will be sent by the UE; when disabled (which refers to a HARQ ACK feedback-less operation), the HARQ ACK feedback will not be sent by the UE. This may impact MAC CE latency because the latency may be extended to <MAT> for NTN, with the value of <MAT> referring to the number of slots per subframe for subcarrier spacing configuration µ, but the starting time is still based on the HARQ-ACK corresponding to a MAC CE command.

When the HARQ ACK feedback transmission is disabled on a per UE basis, there may be no ACK timing to be used as a reference starting point for calculating application delay of MAC CE commands. Thus, new start timing may be needed.

On the other hand, when the HARQ ACK feedback transmission is enabled (e.g., the HARQ ACK feedback will be sent by the UE), the start timing for calculating the application delay of MAC CE commands may be later than the time that the NW receives the ACK. Specifically, the gap between the time that the NW receives the ACK and the time the MAC CE is applied by the UE may be more than one propagation delay, which may be up to <NUM> milliseconds (ms) for GEO and <NUM> for LEO with transparent payloads, due to the use of Koffset. This long MCE CE latency may break some NR features, e.g., Discontinuous Reception (DRX), CG scheduling, timing-advance control, CSI reporting, or SRS transmission. The reason behind this issue is that the scheduling offset Koffset is always greater than (or equal to) the TA value, which is an RTT. This is used to prevent scheduling disorder, e.g., the UE may be asked to transmit the HARQ ACK feedback before receiving any PDSCH data if the new scheduling offset is not long enough.

In addition, for consistency between ACK feedback and ACK feedback-less operations, the same timing for UE to apply a MAC CE command may be considered regardless of HARQ ACK feedback types. If there is no consistency, DL scheduling may be more complicated than an NR Uu interface.

To handle these issues, various features/implementation/examples are proposed in the present disclosure.

Before that, notations used for defining the DL reception timeline at the UE side are provided as follows.

<FIG> illustrates a MAC CE scheduling timeline in a transparent-LEO-based access NW, in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. As illustrated in <FIG>, in UE DL slot n, the UE receives DCI <NUM> in a PDCCH that schedules a PDSCH <NUM> and carries the scheduling offsets K0 and K1. The PDSCH <NUM> carries at least one MAC CE command.

In UE DL slot m = n + K0, the UE receives the scheduled PDSCH <NUM>. After N_1 OFDM symbols of the processing time for the PDSCH, PDSCH <NUM> is decoded by the UE, and the corresponding HARQ ACK feedback is being generated. Then <MAT> slot later, e.g., <NUM>, the MAC CE command is parsed, and the corresponding configuration is ready to be applied.

In UE DL or UL slot k = m + K1 + Koffset, the UE transmits the HARQ ACK feedback <NUM> (e.g., ACK / Negative ACK (NACK)) corresponding to the PDSCH <NUM> carrying the MAC CE command, if the HARQ ACK feedback transmission is enabled. The transmission of the HARQ ACK feedback <NUM> in DL or UL slot k may be subject to a TA value.

In one example, in the case of LEO with transparent payload, the propagation delay Tp may be around <NUM>, and the scheduling offset of Koffset + K1 may be more than <NUM>.

In some situations, the corresponding UL time for the MAC CE command to be applied should not be earlier than the time of receiving PDSCH (e.g., PDSCH <NUM>) after TA compensation; otherwise, some UL procedures, e.g., SP-CSI reporting and SP-SRS transmission, may have to be triggered before receiving the corresponding MAC CE command, which would be non-causal.

When the HARQ ACK feedback corresponding to a PDSCH carrying a MAC CE command is disabled, the following implementations/examples may be applied. The following implementations/examples may be applied when the HARQ ACK feedback transmission is enabled as well.

In one implementation, the UE may apply the MAC CE command after receiving the corresponding DCI. The parsing time for the MAC CE command may be included or not. Based on this principle, if the DCI is received in DL slot n, the MAC CE command may be applied at the time starting from the first slot that is after one of the following UE DL slot numbers (<NUM>) to (<NUM>):.

In one implementation, the application/execution of a MAC CE command may be harmonized to be the same for the HARQ-ACK feedback-based and HARQ-ACK feedback-less operation. Denoting the slot timing for DCI reception as slot n, the MAC CE command may be applied by the UE starting from slot <MAT>, where K0, Np, and <MAT> follow the definition above.

In one implementation, Np may be either (Koffset/<NUM>) or (common TA value)/<NUM>. It is noted that <MAT> is to take into account factors such as PDSCH decoding latency. In this sense, its value is small compared to Koffset. In one example, <MAT> may be a single-digit value. In another, the value of <MAT> may be zero.

In one implementation, the application/execution delay of a MAC CE command may be different for HARQ-feedback-based and HARQ-less operations/transmissions. Denoting the slot timing for DCI reception as slot n, for HARQ-feedback-based transmission, the application/execution time of a MAC CE command may follow one of the slot numbers (<NUM>) to (<NUM>):.

In one implementation, the application/execution time of a MAC CE command may be <MAT>, where n' denotes the HARQ ACK transmission time corresponding to the PDSCH carrying an associated MAC CE command. For HARQ-less transmissions, the application/execution time of a MAC CE command may also follow one of the examples (<NUM>) to (<NUM>) disclosed above. For example, the UE may apply the MAC CE command in slot <MAT> (if example (<NUM>) is adopted). The HARQ-less transmission may indicate a per-UE based HARQ-less operation or a per-HARQ-process based operation. In a per-UE based HARQ-less operation, for example, RRC signaling may be used to indicate to the UE that the HARQ ACK feedback is not needed to be performed, except for some specifically defined cases/messages or for some preserved HARQ process IDs. In a per-HARQ-process based HARQ-less operation, RRC signaling may be used to indicate a set of HARQ process IDs to a UE. When the set of HARQ process IDs are indicated in, for example, DCI, HARQ ACK feedback is not required.

According to the invention, a UE applies a MAC CE command in the first (upcoming) slot that is after slot X'. For example, in the cases that the HARQ ACK feedback transmission is disabled or enabled, the value X' may be one of the following values (<NUM>) to (<NUM>), where the case when the HARQ ACK is enabled and the value (<NUM>) are according to the invention, and the remaining cases are examples not covered by the claims, but are useful for understanding the invention:.

where the value of X related to the MAC CE parsing time that may be X = <NUM> or X = <NUM> or other values configured by the NW, and Np refers to an approximation for the propagation delay Tp which can be provided by the NW by at least one of the following manners (<NUM>) to (<NUM>), where the value (<NUM>) is according to the invention, and the remaining manners are examples not covered by the claims, but useful for understanding the invention:.

In one implementation, with reference to slots for PUCCH transmissions, when a UE receives in a PDSCH an activation (MAC CE) command for a secondary cell ending in slot n+K0, the UE applies the corresponding actions to apply this MAC CE command no later than the minimum requirement and no earlier than the first slot that is after one of the following UE DL slot number X'.

In one implementation, if a UE transmits a PUCCH on an active UL Bandwidth Part (BWP) in the primary cell using PUCCH power control adjustment state, the UE may determine the PUCCH transmission power based on the parameters Po_PUCCH and PL, associated with spatial relation information of the PUCCH provided by an RRC Information Element (IE) pucch-SpatialRelationInfoId.

In one implementation, if the UE is provided more than one value for pucch-SpatialRelationInfoId and the UE receives an activation (MAC CE) command indicating a value of pucch-SpatialRelationInfoId, the UE may determine the p0-PUCCH-Value value through the link to a corresponding p0-PUCCH-Id index provided by the activated pucch-SpatialRelationInfoId. The UE may apply the activation command in the first slot that is after slot X'.

In one implementation, if the UE is provided with multiple values for pucch-SpatialRelationInfo, the UE may determine a spatial setting for the PUCCH transmission provided by a MAC CE command. The UE applies corresponding actions in the MAC CE command and a corresponding setting for a spatial domain filter to transmit PUCCH in the first slot that is after slot X'.

In one implementation, for a UE configured with a list of Zero Power (ZP)-CSI-RS-resource-set (e.g., which is corresponding to an IE denoted as ZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSet(s)) provided by higher layer parameter sp-ZP-CSI-RS-ResourceSetsToAddModList, at least one of the following actions (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) may be performed:.

In one implementation, the UE may receive an activation command, used to map up to <NUM> TCI (Transmission Configuration Indication) states to the codepoints of the DCI field 'Transmission Configuration Indication. ' When the HARQ ACK corresponding to the PDSCH carrying the activation command is transmitted or generated, the indicated mapping between TCI states and codepoints of the DCI field 'Transmission Configuration Indication' may be applied at the time starting from the first slot that is after slot X'.

In one implementation, when the number of configured CSI triggering states in CSI-AperiodicTriggerStateList is greater than <NUM>NTS - <NUM>, where NTS is the number of bits in the DCI CSI request field configured by higher layers, the UE receives a subselection indication, used to map up to <NUM>NTS - <NUM> trigger states to the codepoints of the CSI request field in DCI.

When the HARQ ACK corresponding to the PDSCH carrying the subselection indication is transmitted or generated, the corresponding action and UE assumption on the mapping of the selected CSI trigger state(s) to the codepoint(s) of the DCI CSI request field may be applied at the time starting from the first slot that is after slot X'.

In one implementation, for semi-persistent reporting on a PUCCH, the PUCCH resource used for transmitting the CSI report may be configured by an IE reportConfigType. Semi-persistent reporting on PUCCH may be activated by an activation (MAC CE) command, which selects one of the semi-persistent Reporting Settings for use by the UE on the PUCCH. When the HARQ ACK feedback corresponding to the PDSCH carrying the activation command is transmitted or generated, the indicated semi-persistent Reporting Setting may be applied at the time starting from the first slot that is after slot X'.

In one implementation, for a UE configured with CSI resource setting(s) where the higher layer parameter resourceType set to 'semiPersistent,' at least one of the following actions (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) may be applied:.

In one implementation, for a UE configured with one or more SRS resource configuration(s), and when the higher layer parameter resourceType in the IE SRS-Resource is set to 'semi-persistent,' at least one of the following actions (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) may be applied:.

<FIG> illustrates a flowchart for a communication method performed by a UE for MAC CE latency control.

In action <NUM>, the UE may receive DCI on a PDCCH from a BS, where the DCI indicates/schedules a PDSCH.

In one implementation, the DCI may be received from the BS via an NTN. For example, a transparent GEO satellite network may be used to relay the DCI from the BS to the UE.

In action <NUM>, the UE may receive a MAC CE command on the PDSCH.

In action <NUM>, the UE may determine, according to the DCI, whether a HARQ ACK feedback for data reception on the PDSCH is needed to be transmitted.

In action <NUM>, if the HARQ ACK feedback is needed to be transmitted (e.g., HARQ ACK feedback transmission is enabled), the UE may apply the MAC CE command after a slot identified by a first value of n+K0+K1+Np+M, where n is an index of a slot in which the DCI is received, K0 is a first slot offset between the PDCCH and the PDSCH, K1 is a second slot offset between the PDSCH and a PUCCH for transmitting the HARQ ACK feedback, Np indicates an approximated delay determined by a TA value of the UE, and M indicates a processing delay of the UE. For example, after the UE determines that the HARQ ACK feedback is needed to be transmitted, the UE may apply the MAC CE command in the first (upcoming) slot after the slot identified by the first value of n+K0+K1+Np+M.

In one implementation, the value of Np is <MAT>, where P is a positive number larger than <NUM>, and ┌ ┐<NUM> refers to a ceiling function. In one implementation, P is <NUM>. In one implementation, the TA value may be the latest UE-specific TA value applied by the UE before the UE applies the MAC CE command. In one implementation, the TA value may be a cell-specific TA value that is included in system information broadcast by the BS.

In one implementation, the processing delay may be determined by the numerology of the PUCCH. For example, the processing delay may be determined by <MAT>, where <MAT> represents the number of slots per subframe for subcarrier spacing configuration and X may be <NUM> or <NUM>. The value of "M" described in actions <NUM> and <NUM> may be determined as the product of X and <MAT>, i.e., <MAT>.

In one implementation, the processing delay may be configured by the BS as <NUM> milliseconds (ms) or zero ms.

In action <NUM>, if the HARQ ACK feedback is not needed to be transmitted (e.g., HARQ ACK feedback transmission is disabled), the UE may apply the MAC CE command after a slot identified by a second value of n+K0+M. For example, after the UE determines that the HARQ ACK feedback is not needed to be transmitted, the UE may apply the MAC CE command in the first (upcoming) slot after the slot identified by the second value n+K0+M.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating the timing of applying a MAC CE command by a UE in the case that HARQ ACK feedback transmission is enabled.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the UE may receive PDCCH <NUM> in slot n, where the PDCCH <NUM> carries the information (e.g., DCI) that indicates or schedules PDSCH <NUM>. In slot m, the UE may receive a MAC CE command on the scheduled PDSCH <NUM>. The slot offset between slot n and slot m is determined by parameter K0.

In slot p, the UE may transmit a HARQ ACK feedback for the data reception on the PDSCH <NUM> to the BS. For example, the HARQ ACK feedback may be an ACK when the data reception on the PDSCH <NUM> is successful, or a NACK when the data reception on the PDSCH <NUM> is not successful. The slot offset between slot m and slot p is determined by parameter K1.

Then, the UE may apply the MAC CE command after slot X'. As illustrated in <FIG>, the MAC CE command may be applied/executed by the UE in slot X'+<NUM>. As described previously, the value X' is the following value (<NUM>) according to the invention, and the remaining values are examples not covered by the claims, but useful for understanding the invention:.

where the value of <MAT> may be denoted as "M," and Np is determined by the following manner (<NUM>), while the remaining following manners are examples not covered by the claims, but useful for understanding the invention:.

<FIG> is a schematic diagram illustrating the timing of applying a MAC CE command by a UE in the case that HARQ ACK feedback transmission is disabled.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the UE may receive PDCCH <NUM> in slot n, where the PDCCH <NUM> carries information (e.g., DCI) that indicates or schedules PDSCH <NUM>. In slot m, the UE may receive a MAC CE command on the scheduled PDSCH <NUM>. The slot offset between slot n and slot m is determined by parameter K0.

In the implementation illustrated in <FIG>, the UE may not transmit the HARQ ACK feedback for the data reception on the PDSCH <NUM> because the HARQ ACK feedback transmission for the PDSCH <NUM> is disabled. In this situation, the UE may apply the MAC CE command received on the PDSCH <NUM> after slot X'= n+K0+M, where <MAT>. For example, the MAC CE command may be applied/executed by the UE in slot X'+<NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>.

The following disclosure may be used to further elaborate the terms, examples, implementations, actions, behaviors, alternatives, aspects, or examples described herein:.

Cell: Radio network object that can be uniquely identified by a User Equipment from a (cell) identification that is broadcasted over a geographical area from one UTRAN Access Point. A Cell is either Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) or Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode.

Serving Cell: For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED not configured with Carrier Aggregation (CA)/Dual Connectivity (DC), there is only one serving cell comprising of the primary cell. For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED configured with CA/DC, the term 'serving cells' is used to denote the set of cells comprising of the Special Cell(s) and all secondary cells.

HARQ: A functionality ensures delivery between peer entities at Layer <NUM> (i.e., Physical Layer). A single HARQ process supports one Transport Block (TB) when the physical layer is not configured for downlink/uplink spatial multiplexing, and when the physical layer is configured for downlink/uplink spatial multiplexing, a single HARQ process supports one or multiple TBs. There is one HARQ entity per serving cell. Each HARQ entity supports a parallel (number) of the DL and UL HARQ processes.

Hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK): A HARQ-ACK information bit value of <NUM> represents a negative acknowledgment (NACK) while a HARQ-ACK information bit value of <NUM> represents a positive acknowledgment (ACK).

Timer: A MAC entity can setup one or more timers for individual purposes, for example, triggering some uplink signaling retransmission or limiting some uplink signaling retransmission period. A timer is running once it is started, until it is stopped or until it expires; otherwise, it is not running. A timer can be started if it is not running or restarted if it is running. A Timer is always started or restarted from its initial value. The initial value can be, but is not limited to be, configured by the gNB via downlink RRC signaling.

BWP: A subset of the total cell bandwidth of a cell is referred to as a Bandwidth Part (BWP), and Bandwidth Adaptation (BA) is achieved by configuring the UE with BWP(s) and telling the UE which of the configured BWPs is currently the active one. To enable BA on the PCell, the gNB configures the UE with UL and DL BWP(s). To enable BA on SCells in case of CA, the gNB configures the UE with DL BWP(s) at least (i.e., there may be none in the UL). For the PCell, the initial BWP is the BWP used for initial access. For the SCell(s), the initial BWP is the BWP configured for the UE to first operate at SCell activation. UE may be configured with a first active uplink BWP by a firstActiveUplinkBWP IE. If the first active uplink BWP is configured for an SpCell, the firstActiveUplinkBWP IE field contains the ID of the UL BWP to be activated upon performing the RRC (re-)configuration. If the field is absent, the RRC (re-)configuration does not impose a BWP switch. If the first active uplink BWP is configured for an SCell, the firstActiveUplinkBWP IE field contains the ID of the uplink bandwidth part to be used upon MAC-activation of an SCell.

PDCCH: In the downlink, the gNB can dynamically allocate resources to UEs via the C-RNTI/Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS)-C-RNTI/Configured Scheduling (CS)-RNTI on PDCCH(s). A UE always monitors the PDCCH(s) in order to find possible assignments when its downlink reception is enabled (activity governed by DRX when configured). When CA is configured, the same C-RNTI applies to all serving cells.

PDSCH/PUSCH: The PDCCH can be used to schedule DL transmissions on PDSCH and UL transmissions on PUSCH.

Transport Block: The data from the upper layer (or MAC) given to the physical layer is basically referred to as a transport block.

<FIG> illustrates a block diagram of a node <NUM> for wireless communication, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As illustrated in <FIG>, the node <NUM> may include a transceiver <NUM>, a processor <NUM>, a memory <NUM>, one or more presentation components <NUM>, and at least one antenna <NUM>. The node <NUM> may also include an RF spectrum band module, a BS communications module, a network communications module, a system communications management module, Input/Output (I/O) ports, I/O components, and a power supply (not explicitly illustrated in <FIG>). Each of these components may be in communication with each other, directly or indirectly, over one or more buses <NUM>. In one implementation, the node <NUM> may be a UE or a BS that performs various functions described herein, for example, with reference to <FIG>.

The transceiver <NUM> having a transmitter <NUM> (e.g., transmitting/transmission circuitry) and a receiver <NUM> (e.g., receiving/reception circuitry) may be configured to transmit and/or receive time and/or frequency resource partitioning information. In one implementation, the transceiver <NUM> may be configured to transmit in different types of subframes and slots, including, but not limited to, usable, non-usable and flexibly usable subframes and slot formats.

The node <NUM> may include a variety of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by the node <NUM> and include both volatile (and non-volatile) media and removable (and non-removable) media. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media may include computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media may include both volatile (and/or non-volatile) and removable (and/or non-removable) media implemented according to any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or data.

Computer storage media may include RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory (or other memory technology), CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disks (DVD) (or other optical disk storage), magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage (or other magnetic storage devices), etc. Computer storage media do not include a propagated data signal. Communication media may typically embody computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanisms and include any information delivery media. The term "modulated data signal" may mean a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

The memory <NUM> may include computer storage media in the form of volatile and/or non-volatile memory. The memory <NUM> may be removable, non-removable, or a combination thereof. For example, the memory <NUM> may include solid-state memory, hard drives, optical-disc drives, etc. As illustrated in <FIG>, the memory <NUM> may store computer-readable and/or computer-executable instructions <NUM> (e.g., software codes) that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor <NUM> to perform various functions described herein, for example, with reference to <FIG>. Alternatively, the instructions <NUM> may not be directly executable by the processor <NUM> but may be configured to cause the node <NUM> (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform various functions described herein.

The processor <NUM> (e.g., having processing circuitry) may include an intelligent hardware device, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, etc. The processor <NUM> may include memory. The processor <NUM> may process the data <NUM> and the instructions <NUM> received from the memory <NUM>, and information through the transceiver <NUM>, the baseband communications module, and/or the network communications module. The processor <NUM> may also process information to be sent to the transceiver <NUM> for transmission through the antenna <NUM>, to the network communications module for transmission to a CN.

One or more presentation components <NUM> may present data indications to a person or other devices. Examples of presentation components <NUM> may include a display device, speaker, printing component, vibrating component, etc..

Claim 1:
A communication method performed by a User Equipment, UE (<NUM>), the communication method comprising:
receiving, from a Base Station, BS, Downlink Control Information, DCI, on a Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH that schedules a Physical Downlink Shared Channel, PDSCH (<NUM>) and carries a value of KO and a value of K1, wherein KO is a first slot offset between the PDCCH and the PDSCH, and K1 is used to determine a second slot offset between the PDSCH and a Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH, for transmitting a Hybrid Automatic Repeat request, HARQ, Acknowledgement, ACK, feedback corresponding to a data reception on the PDSCH;
receiving a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE, command on the PDSCH (<NUM>); and
in a case that a transmission of the HARQ ACK feedback is enabled, applying the MAC CE command in a first upcoming slot after a first slot identified by a first value of n+K0+K1+Np+M (<NUM>),
where n is an index of a slot in which the DCI is received, Np indicates an approximation for a propagation delay, and M indicates a MAC CE parsing time,
wherein Np is determined as ┌ a common Timing Advance, TA, value/<NUM>┐, , where ┌ ┐refers to a ceiling function, and the common TA value is included in system information broadcast by the BS.