Patent Description:
Hybrid automatic retransmission request (HARQ) is a physical layer transmission technique in modem communication systems. With HARQ, upon detecting a transmission error, the receiver requests a retransmission by feeding back a negative acknowledgement (NACK). When receiving the retransmitted copy, the receiver then combines the previous failed block with the retransmitted one, in an attempt to utilize information embedding in both copies.

In LTE/LTE-A systems, if any one of the CBs in a TB fails decoding, a single HARQ NACK is fed back by the receiver. After receiving the HARQ NACK, the transmitter then performs a retransmission by selecting an appropriate redundancy version (RV), assuming the whole TB failed. This is due to the reason that the receiver did not feed back information regarding which CBs have been successfully received, and which CBs failed.

Fifth Generation New Radio (<NUM> NR) supports three usage scenarios: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communications (mMTC). For mMTC, a base station is expected to accommodate a very large number of low-cost user equipments (UEs). The data traffic generated by mMTC UEs is expected to be both light and sporadic. As a result, the scheduling grant-based paradigm for uplink (UL) transmissions adopted in LTE is not ideal for mMTC UEs, as the extra cost incurred by the scheduling grants associated with each UL transmission cannot be justified by the precise tuning of the UL resource made by the base station (BS).

Grant-free UL transmission is a paradigm in which the UEs perform UL transmissions autonomously without being scheduled by the base station. The base station then receives the UL transmissions by a predefined detection and/or decoding method. The concept of grant-free transmissions particularly suits the scenario of mMTC. Understanding the potential benefits brought by grant-free UL transmissions, such concept has also been introduced to URLLC. Implementing a unified framework may enable the technique of grant-free transmissions to be applied to all <NUM> deployment scenarios.

Under the context of grant-free transmissions, a multiple access scheme referred to as non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) has been developed. In NOMA, the UEs perform grant-free UL transmissions with resources that are not necessarily orthogonal to each other. The resource used by a UE for NOMA transmission may be termed multiple access (MA) signature, e.g., orthogonal codes, spreading codes, scrambling codes, mapping pattern, etc. In this way, the number of UEs that can be simultaneously supported can be larger as compared with the case where UL resources have to be orthogonal. For UL detection, the BS has to blindly decode all the possible MA signatures since UL transmissions are not pre-scheduled but autonomously made by the UEs. To lower the decoding complexity, the MA signatures can be associated with preambles and/or demodulation reference symbols based on a predefined mapping mechanism. For example, if preambles and MA signatures have a oneto-one mapping, the BS can simply detect the presence of a particular preamble to see if the associated UE made a UL transmission, instead of making a complete decoding attempt.

<CIT> describes a method, performed by a base station, for performing retransmission with respect to a code block requiring the retransmission among transport blocks. The method includes transmitting, to a terminal, first information related to a number of code block groups (CBGs) included in a transport block (TB); determining the CBGs for the TB based on a number of code blocks (CBs) included in the TB and the first information; and transmitting, to the terminal, the determined CBGs and control information including second information related to transmission of the TB. <CIT> relates to a method of operating a non-orthogonal multiple access, NOMA, communications network. The method comprises receiving from each of a plurality of user equipment, UE, devices at least one radio resource measurement report; processing the radio resource measurements reports to select a group of UE devices of the plurality of UE devices as a NOMA group; for the UE devices in the NOMA group determining a set of control parameters for the UE devices; informing the NOMA group UE devices of the control parameters, wherein the control parameters are transmitted to the NOMA group UE devices using a downlink control information message having a format specific for NOMA messaging.

This document discloses procedures and apparatus for CBG-based NOMA transmission for a wireless network, such as fifth generation new radio. According to aspects of the present invention, there is provided: a method for a user equipment to communicate with a base station, as defined in claim <NUM>; a user equipment, as defined in claim <NUM>; a method for a base station to communicate with a user equipment, as defined in claim <NUM>; and a base station, as defined in claim <NUM>.

This summary is provided to introduce simplified concepts of CBG-based NOMA transmission. The simplified concepts are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Aspects of CBG-based NOMA transmission for a wireless network are described with reference to the following drawings. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components:.

Compared with the conventional orthogonal multiple access scheme, non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) transmission is more liable to bursty or non-uniform interference. Also, retransmissions performed by user equipments (UEs) can persistently interfere with one another, which reduces the spectral efficiency of NOMA transmission schemes.

To improve the spectral efficiency of NOMA transmission schemes, code block group (CBG)-based transmission can be employed in NOMA for Fifth Generation New Radio (<NUM> NR) systems. In aspects, one CBG consists of a number of code blocks (CBs) within a transport block (TB). Instead of feeding back a single negative acknowledgement (NACK) if any one of the CBs fails decoding, the receiver indicates which CBGs failed. The transmitter can then perform a retransmission that addresses the failed CBGs only. The overall efficiency thus improves.

In an example, a base station (BS) first instructs a UE to perform CBG-based transmission by at least assigning the UE a maximum number of CBGs. The BS then instructs a UE to perform NOMA transmission by configuring, for the UE, a dedicated MA signature and/or a pool of time-frequency resources. The MA signature can be one or a combination of a bitinterleaving configuration, a bit-scrambling configuration, a modulation-symbol spreading configuration, a modulation-symbol interleaving configuration, and a modulation-symbol scrambling configuration.

To facilitate UE identification, HARQ combining, and adaptive transmission, the UE may transmit uplink control information (UCI) along with its UL data in CBG-based NOMA transmission. In the UCI, the UE specifies one or a combination of its identity, e.g., C-RNTI, modulation and coding scheme (MCS) used for transmitting the UL data, new data indicator (NDI) for indicating whether the UL data is a new transmission or a retransmission, and redundancy version (RV) for correct HARQ combining.

In aspects, the BS may reply to the UE regarding the decoding result of the CBG-base NOMA transmission using a physical channel, e.g., using a downlink control information (DCI). For example, the BS may include a bitmap in a UL grant addressed to the UE, with the bitmap corresponding to binary decoding results of a complete list of CBGs that the UE just transmitted. The bitmap includes an ACK or NACK for each CBG in the bitmap. After receiving the UL grant, the UE may then retransmit those CBGs that are indicated as NACK.

In some instances, the UE may miss one or more of the HARQ feedback messages sent by the BS. Using conventional NOMA transmission, the UE cannot be certain whether it is the BS missing the first UL data transmission made by the UE, or the UE itself missing the HARQ feedback message. If the UE retransmits the same set of CBGs as in the previous transmission, the set of CBGs will likely be different than what the BS is expecting, which can cause errors and reduce efficiency. To increase efficiency and reduce errors, CBG transmission information (CBGTI) can be included in the UCI sent by the UE for indicating to the BS which CBGs are being transmitted or retransmitted in the UL data. The BS can then implement a HARQ-combining scheme (e.g., Chase combining or incremental redundancy combining) to combine successfully-decoded CBGs (CBGs indicated as ACK) from the first UL data transmission with successfully-decoded retransmitted CBGs in the retransmission (e.g., transmission of second UL data).

In aspects, a method for communicating with a base station is disclosed. The method includes a UE receiving, from the base station, a first message including a first configuration for a code block group (CBG)-based transmission scheme. The method also includes the UE receiving, from the base station, a second message including a second configuration for a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) transmission scheme. In addition, the method includes the UE transmitting uplink control information (UCI) to the base station using the NOMA transmission scheme from the second configuration in the second message. Also, the method includes the UE transmitting, to the base station, uplink data associated with the UCI using a CBG-based NOMA transmission scheme based on the first configuration in the first message and the second configuration in the second message. The method further includes the UE receiving, from the base station, a hybrid automatic retransmission request (HARQ) message including one or more HARQ acknowledgements (ACKs) or negative acknowledgements (NACKs) corresponding to a decoding result of the uplink data.

In aspects, a method for configuring and communicating with a UE is disclosed. The method includes a base station transmitting a first message including a first configuration for a code block group (CBG)-based transmission scheme. The method also includes the base station transmitting a second message including a second configuration for a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) transmission scheme. In addition, the method includes the base station receiving uplink control information (UCI) transmitted by the UE using the NOMA transmission scheme. The method also includes the base station decoding the uplink data associated with the UCI to provide a decoding result, the decoding of the uplink data including decoding each CBG of the uplink data. The method further includes the base station receiving uplink data associated with the UCI transmitted by the UE using a CBG-based NOMA transmission scheme. Also, the method includes the base station transmitting a hybrid automatic retransmission request (HARQ) message corresponding to a decoding result of the uplink data for receipt by the UE, the HARQ message including at least one HARQ acknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK).

<FIG> illustrates an example environment <NUM>, which includes a user equipment <NUM> (UE <NUM>) that can communicate with base stations <NUM> (illustrated as base stations <NUM> and <NUM>) through wireless communication links <NUM> (wireless link <NUM>), illustrated as wireless links <NUM> and <NUM>. For simplicity, the UE <NUM> is implemented as a smartphone but may be implemented as any suitable computing or electronic device, such as a mobile communication device, modem, cellular phone, gaming device, navigation device, media device, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet computer, smart appliance, vehicle-based communication system, or an Internet-of Things (IoT) device such as a sensor or an actuator. The base stations <NUM> (e.g., an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network Node B, E-UTRAN Node B, evolved Node B, eNodeB, eNB, Next Generation Node B, gNode B, gNB, or the like) may be implemented in a macrocell, microcell, small cell, picocell, and the like, or any combination thereof.

The base stations <NUM> communicate with the user equipment <NUM> using the wireless links <NUM> and <NUM>, which may be implemented as any suitable type of wireless link. The wireless links <NUM> and <NUM> include control and data communication, such as downlink of data and control information communicated from the base stations <NUM> to the user equipment <NUM>, uplink of other data and control information communicated from the user equipment <NUM> to the base stations <NUM>, or both. The wireless links <NUM> may include one or more wireless links (e.g., radio links) or bearers implemented using any suitable communication protocol or standard, or combination of communication protocols or standards, such as 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long-Term Evolution (3GPP LTE), Fifth Generation New Radio (<NUM> NR), and so forth. Multiple wireless links <NUM> may be aggregated in a carrier aggregation to provide a higher data rate for the UE <NUM>. Multiple wireless links <NUM> from multiple base stations <NUM> may be configured for Coordinated Multipoint (CoMP) communication with the UE <NUM>.

The base stations <NUM> are collectively a Radio Access Network <NUM> (e.g., RAN, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, E-UTRAN, <NUM> NR RAN or NR RAN). The base stations <NUM> and <NUM> in the RAN <NUM> are connected to a core network <NUM>. The base stations <NUM> and <NUM> connect, at <NUM> and <NUM> respectively, to the core network <NUM> through an NG2 interface for control-plane signaling and using an NG3 interface for user-plane data communications when connecting to a <NUM> core network, or using an S1 interface for control-plane signaling and user-plane data communications when connecting to an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network. The base stations <NUM> and <NUM> can communicate using an Xn Application Protocol (XnAP) through an Xn interface, or using an X2 Application Protocol (X2AP) through an X2 interface, at <NUM>, to exchange user-plane and control-plane data. The user equipment <NUM> may connect, via the core network <NUM>, to public networks, such as the Internet <NUM> to interact with a remote service <NUM>.

<FIG> illustrates an example device diagram <NUM> of the UE <NUM> and the base stations <NUM>. The UE <NUM> and the base stations <NUM> may include additional functions and interfaces that are omitted from <FIG> for the sake of clarity. The UE <NUM> includes antennas <NUM>, a radio frequency front end <NUM> (RF front end <NUM>), an LTE transceiver <NUM>, a <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM>, and a <NUM> transceiver <NUM> for communicating with base stations <NUM> in the RAN <NUM>. The RF front end <NUM> of the UE <NUM> can couple or connect the LTE transceiver <NUM>, the <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM>, and the <NUM> transceiver <NUM> to the antennas <NUM> to facilitate various types of wireless communication. The antennas <NUM> of the UE <NUM> may include an array of multiple antennas that are configured similarly to or differently from each other.

The antennas <NUM> and the RF front end <NUM> can be tuned to, and/or be tunable to, one or more frequency bands defined by the 3GPP LTE, <NUM> NR, and <NUM> communication standards and implemented by the LTE transceiver <NUM>, the <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM>, and/or the <NUM> transceiver <NUM>. Additionally, the antennas <NUM>, the RF front end <NUM>, the LTE transceiver <NUM>, the <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM>, and/or the <NUM> transceiver <NUM> may be configured to support beamforming for the transmission and reception of communications with the base stations <NUM>. By way of example and not limitation, the antennas <NUM> and the RF front end <NUM> can be implemented for operation in sub-gigahertz bands, sub-<NUM> bands, and/or above <NUM> bands that are defined by the 3GPP LTE, <NUM> NR, and <NUM> communication standards.

The UE <NUM> also includes processor(s) <NUM> and computer-readable storage media <NUM> (CRM <NUM>). The processor <NUM> may be a single core processor or a multiple core processor composed of a variety of materials, such as silicon, polysilicon, high-K dielectric, copper, and so on. The computer-readable storage media described herein excludes propagating signals. CRM <NUM> may include any suitable memory or storage device such as random-access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or Flash memory useable to store device data <NUM> of the UE <NUM>. The device data <NUM> includes user data, multimedia data, beamforming codebooks, applications, and/or an operating system of the UE <NUM>, which are executable by processor(s) <NUM> to enable user-plane communication, control-plane signaling, and user interaction with the UE <NUM>.

In some implementations, the CRM <NUM> may also include a communication manager <NUM>. Alternately or additionally, the communication manager <NUM> may be implemented in whole or part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the UE <NUM>. In at least some aspects, the communication manager <NUM> can communicate with the antennas <NUM>, the RF front end <NUM>, the LTE transceiver <NUM>, the <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM>, and/or the <NUM> transceiver <NUM> to monitor the quality of the wireless communication links <NUM>. Additionally, the communication manager <NUM> can configure the antennas <NUM>, the RF front end <NUM>, the LTE transceiver <NUM>, the <NUM> NR transceiver, and/or the <NUM> transceiver <NUM> to implement the techniques for CBG-based NOMA transmission described herein.

The device diagram for the base stations <NUM>, shown in <FIG>, includes a single network node (e.g., a gNode B). The functionality of the base stations <NUM> may be distributed across multiple network nodes or devices and may be distributed in any fashion suitable to perform the functions described herein. The base stations <NUM> include antennas <NUM>, a radio frequency front end <NUM> (RF front end <NUM>), one or more LTE transceivers <NUM>, one or more <NUM> NR transceivers <NUM>, and/or one or more <NUM> transceivers <NUM> for communicating with the UE <NUM>. The RF front end <NUM> of the base stations <NUM> can couple or connect the LTE transceivers <NUM>, the <NUM> NR transceivers <NUM>, and/or the <NUM> transceivers <NUM> to the antennas <NUM> to facilitate various types of wireless communication. The antennas <NUM> of the base stations <NUM> may include an array of multiple antennas that are configured similarly to or differently from each other.

The antennas <NUM> and the RF front end <NUM> can be tuned to, and/or be tunable to, one or more frequency band defined by the 3GPP LTE, <NUM> NR, and <NUM> communication standards, and implemented by the LTE transceivers <NUM>, one or more <NUM> NR transceivers <NUM>, and/or one or more <NUM> transceivers <NUM>. Additionally, the antennas <NUM>, the RF front end <NUM>, the LTE transceivers <NUM>, one or more <NUM> NR transceivers <NUM>, and/or one or more <NUM> transceivers <NUM> may be configured to support beamforming, such as Massive-MIMO, for the transmission and reception of communications with the UE <NUM>.

The base stations <NUM> also include processor(s) <NUM> and computer-readable storage media <NUM> (CRM <NUM>). The processor <NUM> may be a single core processor or a multiple core processor composed of a variety of materials, such as silicon, polysilicon, high-K dielectric, copper, and so on. CRM <NUM> may include any suitable memory or storage device such as random-access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or Flash memory useable to store device data <NUM> of the base stations <NUM>. The device data <NUM> includes network scheduling data, radio resource management data, beamforming codebooks, applications, and/or an operating system of the base stations <NUM>, which are executable by processor(s) <NUM> to enable communication with the UE <NUM>.

CRM <NUM> also includes a base station manager <NUM>. Alternately or additionally, the base station manager <NUM> may be implemented in whole or part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the base stations <NUM>. In at least some aspects, the base station manager <NUM> configures the LTE transceivers <NUM>, the <NUM> NR transceivers <NUM>, and the <NUM> transceiver(s) <NUM> for communication with the UE <NUM>, as well as communication with a core network, such as the core network <NUM>, and routing user-plane and control-plane data for joint communication.

The base stations <NUM> include an inter-base station interface <NUM>, such as an Xn and/or X2 interface, which the base station manager <NUM> configures to exchange user-plane and control-plane data between other base stations <NUM>, to manage the communication of the base stations <NUM> with the UE <NUM>. The base stations <NUM> include a core network interface <NUM> that the base station manager <NUM> configures to exchange user-plane and control-plane data with core network functions and/or entities.

<FIG> illustrates an air interface resource that extends between a user equipment and a base station and with which various aspects of a CBG-based NOMA transmission can be implemented. The air interface resource <NUM> can be divided into resource units <NUM>, each of which occupies some intersection of frequency spectrum and elapsed time. A portion of the air interface resource <NUM> is illustrated graphically in a grid or matrix having multiple resource blocks <NUM>, including example resource blocks <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>. An example of a resource unit <NUM> therefore includes at least one resource block <NUM>. As shown, time is depicted along the horizontal dimension as the abscissa axis, and frequency is depicted along the vertical dimension as the ordinate axis. The air interface resource <NUM>, as defined by a given communication protocol or standard, may span any suitable specified frequency range, and/or may be divided into intervals of any specified duration. Increments of time can correspond to, for example, milliseconds (mSec). Increments of frequency can correspond to, for example, megahertz (MHz).

In example operations generally, the base stations <NUM> allocate portions (e.g., resource units <NUM>) of the air interface resource <NUM> for uplink and downlink communications. Each resource block <NUM> of network access resources may be allocated to support respective wireless communication links <NUM> of multiple user equipment <NUM>. In the lower left corner of the grid, the resource block <NUM> may span, as defined by a given communication protocol, a specified frequency range <NUM> and comprise multiple subcarriers or frequency sub-bands. The resource block <NUM> may include any suitable number of subcarriers (e.g., <NUM>) that each correspond to a respective portion (e.g., <NUM>) of the specified frequency range <NUM> (e.g., <NUM>). The resource block <NUM> may also span, as defined by the given communication protocol, a specified time interval <NUM> or time slot (e.g., lasting approximately one-half millisecond or <NUM> orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols). The time interval <NUM> includes subintervals that may each correspond to a symbol, such as an OFDM symbol. As shown in <FIG>, each resource block <NUM> may include multiple resource elements <NUM> (REs) that correspond to, or are defined by, a subcarrier of the frequency range <NUM> and a subinterval (or symbol) of the time interval <NUM>. Alternatively, a given resource element <NUM> may span more than one frequency subcarrier or symbol. Thus, a resource unit <NUM> may include at least one resource block <NUM>, at least one resource element <NUM>, and so forth.

In example implementations, multiple user equipment <NUM> (one of which is shown) are communicating with the base stations <NUM> (one of which is shown) through access provided by portions of the air interface resource <NUM>. The base station manager <NUM> (shown in <FIG>) may determine a respective data-rate, type of information, or amount of information (e.g., data or control information) to be communicated (e.g., transmitted) by the user equipment <NUM>. For example, the base station manager <NUM> can determine that each user equipment <NUM> is to transmit at a different respective data rate or transmit a different respective amount of information. The base station manager <NUM> then allocates one or more resource blocks <NUM> to each user equipment <NUM> based on the determined data rate or amount of information.

Additionally, or in the alternative to block-level resource grants, the base station manager <NUM> may allocate resource units at an element-level. Thus, the base station manager <NUM> may allocate one or more resource elements <NUM> or individual subcarriers to different user equipment <NUM>. By so doing, one resource block <NUM> can be allocated to facilitate network access for multiple user equipment <NUM>. Accordingly, the base station manager <NUM> may allocate, at various granularities, one or up to all subcarriers or resource elements <NUM> of a resource block <NUM> to one user equipment <NUM> or divided across multiple user equipment <NUM>, thereby enabling higher network utilization or increased spectrum efficiency.

The base station manager <NUM> can therefore allocate air interface resource <NUM> by resource unit <NUM>, resource block <NUM>, frequency carrier, time interval, resource element <NUM>, frequency subcarrier, time subinterval, symbol, spreading code, some combination thereof, and so forth. Based on respective allocations of resource units <NUM>, the base station manager <NUM> can transmit respective messages to the multiple user equipment <NUM> indicating the respective allocation of resource units <NUM> to each user equipment <NUM>. Each message may enable a respective user equipment <NUM> to queue the information or configure the LTE transceiver <NUM>, the <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM>, and/or the <NUM> transceiver <NUM> to communicate via the allocated resource units <NUM> of the air interface resource <NUM>.

Example methods <NUM> and <NUM> are described with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, respectively, in accordance with one or more aspects of CBG-based NOMA transmission. The method <NUM>, described with respect to <FIG>, is performed by a UE <NUM> for communicating with a base station. The method <NUM>, described with respect to <FIG>, is performed by a base station <NUM> for configuring and communicating with a UE.

<FIG> illustrates an example method of CBG-based NOMA transmission in accordance with aspects of the techniques described herein. The order in which the method blocks are described are not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement a method, or an alternate method.

At block <NUM>, the UE receives, from the base station, a first message including a first configuration for a code block group (CBG)-based transmission scheme. For example, UE <NUM> receives the first message from base station <NUM>. The first message may assign the UE a maximum number of CBGs.

At block <NUM>, the UE receives, from the base station, a second message including a second configuration for a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) transmission scheme. For example, the UE <NUM> receives the second message from the base station <NUM>. The second message may include a dedicated multiple access signature and/or a pool of time-frequency resources, as described above.

At block <NUM>, the UE transmits uplink control information (UCI) to the base station using a NOMA transmission scheme from the second configuration in the second message. For example, the UE <NUM> specifies its identity in the UCI and utilizes NOMA transmission to transmit the UCI to the base station <NUM>.

At block <NUM>, the UE transmits to the base station uplink data associated with the UCI using a CBG-based NOMA transmission based on the first configuration in the first message and the second configuration in the second message. For example, the UE <NUM> transmits the uplink data to the base station <NUM> using the CBG-based NOMA transmission scheme.

At block <NUM>, the UE receives, from the base station, a hybrid automatic retransmission request (HARQ) message that includes one or more HARQ acknowledgements (ACKs) or negative acknowledgements (NACKs) corresponding to a decoding result of the uplink data. For example, the UE <NUM> may receive the HARQ message from the base station <NUM>. The HARQ message may include any number of HARQ ACKs and HARQ NACKs, such as a number equal to the maximum number of CBGs.

<FIG> illustrates an example method <NUM> for configuring and communicating with a UE. The order in which the method blocks are described are not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement a method, or an alternate method.

At block <NUM>, a base station transmits a first message including a first configuration for a code block group (CBG)-based transmission scheme. For example, the base station <NUM> may transmit the first message to the UE <NUM> to instruct the UE to perform CBG-based transmission.

At block <NUM>, the base station transmits a second message including a second configuration for a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) transmission scheme. For example, the base station <NUM> may transmit the second message to the UE <NUM> to instruct the UE to perform NOMA transmission. As described above, the base station <NUM> may assign a dedicated multiple access signature or a pool of time-frequency resources to the UE <NUM> using the second message.

At block <NUM>, the base station receives uplink control information (UCI) transmitted by the UE is received using the NOMA transmission scheme. For example, the base station <NUM> may receive the UCI, from the UE, formatted in the NOMA transmission scheme.

At block <NUM>, the base station receives uplink data transmitted by the UE using CBG-based NOMA transmission scheme associated with the UCI. For example, the base station <NUM> may receive the uplink data, from the UE <NUM>, formatted in the CBG-based NOMA transmission scheme. The base station <NUM> also decodes the uplink data associated with the UCI to provide a decoding result. In aspects, the decoding of the uplink data includes decoding each CBG of the uplink data.

At block <NUM>, the base station transmits a hybrid automatic retransmission request (HARQ) message corresponding to a decoding result of the uplink data for receipt by the UE. For example, the base station <NUM> may transmit the HARQ message to the UE <NUM>. The HARQ message may include at least one HARQ acknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK), which are usable by the UE <NUM> to determine which CBGs failed transmission and require re-transmission.

Generally, any of the components, modules, methods, and operations described herein can be implemented using software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combination thereof. Some operations of the example methods may be described in the general context of executable instructions stored on computer-readable storage memory that is local and/or remote to a computer processing system, and implementations can include software applications, programs, functions, and the like. Alternatively or in addition, any of the functionality described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components, such as, and without limitation, Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SoCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and the like.

<FIG> illustrates an example communication device <NUM> that can be implemented as the user equipment <NUM> in accordance with one or more aspects of CBG-based NOMA Transmission for a wireless network as described herein. The example communication device <NUM> may be any type of mobile communication device, computing device, client device, mobile phone, tablet, communication, entertainment, gaming, media playback, and/or other type of device.

The communication device <NUM> can be integrated with electronic circuitry, microprocessors, memory, input output (I/O) logic control, communication interfaces and components, as well as other hardware, firmware, and/or software to implement the device. Further, the communication device <NUM> can be implemented with various components, such as with any number and combination of different components as further described with reference to the user equipment <NUM> shown in <FIG> and <FIG>.

In this example, the communication device <NUM> includes one or more microprocessors <NUM> (e.g., microcontrollers or digital signal processors) that process executable instructions. The device also includes an input-output (I/O) logic control <NUM> (e.g., to include electronic circuitry). The microprocessors can include components of an integrated circuit, programmable logic device, a logic device formed using one or more semiconductors, and other implementations in silicon and/or hardware, such as a processor and memory system implemented as a system-on-chip (SoC). Alternatively or in addition, the device can be implemented with any one or combination of software, hardware, firmware, or fixed logic circuitry that may be implemented with processing and control circuits.

The one or more sensors <NUM> can be implemented to detect various properties such as acceleration, temperature, humidity, supplied power, proximity, external motion, device motion, sound signals, ultrasound signals, light signals, global-positioning-satellite (GPS) signals, radio frequency (RF), other electromagnetic signals or fields, or the like. As such, the sensors <NUM> may include any one or a combination of temperature sensors, humidity sensors, accelerometers, microphones, optical sensors up to and including cameras (e.g., charged coupled-device or video cameras), active or passive radiation sensors, GPS receivers, and radio frequency identification detectors.

The communication device <NUM> includes a memory device controller <NUM> and a memory device <NUM> (e.g., the computer-readable storage media <NUM>), such as any type of a nonvolatile memory and/or other suitable electronic data storage device. The communication device <NUM> can also include various firmware and/or software, such as an operating system <NUM> that is maintained as computer executable instructions by the memory and executed by a microprocessor. The device software may also include a communication manager application <NUM> that implements aspects of CBG-based NOMA transmission for a wireless network. The communication manager application <NUM> may be implemented as the communication manager <NUM> of the UE <NUM> or as the base station manager <NUM> of the base station <NUM>. The computer-readable storage media described herein excludes propagating signals.

The device interface <NUM> may receive input from a user and/or provide information to the user (e.g., as a user interface), and a received input can be used to determine a setting. The device interface <NUM> may also include mechanical or virtual components that respond to a user input. For example, the user can mechanically move a sliding or rotatable component, or the motion along a touchpad may be detected, and such motions may correspond to a setting adjustment of the device. Physical and virtual movable user-interface components can allow the user to set a setting along a portion of an apparent continuum. The device interface <NUM> may also receive inputs from any number of peripherals, such as buttons, a keypad, a switch, a microphone, and an imager (e.g., a camera device).

The communication device <NUM> can include network interfaces <NUM>, such as a wired and/or wireless interface for communication with other devices via Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), wireless Personal Area Networks (PANs), and for network communication, such as via the Internet. The network interfaces <NUM> may include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth™, BLE, and/or IEEE <NUM>. The communication device <NUM> also includes wireless radio systems <NUM> for wireless communication with cellular and/or mobile broadband networks. Each of the different radio systems can include a radio device, antenna, and chipset that is implemented for a particular wireless communications technology, such as the antennas <NUM>, the RF front end <NUM>, the LTE transceiver <NUM>, and/or the <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM>. The communication device <NUM> also includes a power source <NUM>, such as a battery and/or to connect the device to line voltage. An AC power source may also be used to charge the battery of the device.

Claim 1:
A method for a user equipment, UE (<NUM>), to communicate with a base station (<NUM>), the method comprising:
receiving, by the UE (<NUM>) and from the base station (<NUM>), a first message including a first configuration for a code block group-based, CBG-based, transmission scheme;
receiving, by the UE (<NUM>) and from the base station (<NUM>), a second message including a second configuration for a non-orthogonal multiple access, NOMA, transmission scheme;
transmitting, by the UE (<NUM>) and to the base station (<NUM>), uplink data using a CBG-based NOMA transmission scheme based on the first configuration in the first message and the second configuration in the second message; and
receiving, by the UE (<NUM>) and from the base station (<NUM>), a decoding result of the CBG-based NOMA transmission, the decoding result including an indication of which CBGs failed to be decoded by the base station (<NUM>).