PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9615329-B2
Application Number: US-201414498973-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Delayed and bundled retransmissions for low bandwidth applications

Abstract:
Apparatus and methods are disclosed for performing delayed hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) communications in the downlink (DL) to reduce power consumption for a user equipment (UE) during a connected mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) cycle. An enhanced NodeB can be configured to monitor a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for DL HARQ information to determine when the PUCCH contains a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message, and in response to determining that the PUCCH contains a NACK message, the eNodeB can wait until a next C-DRX ON duration to transmit a HARQ DL retransmission. The eNodeB can also determine whether or not to bundle the HARQ DL retransmission in consecutive transmission time intervals, based on a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) associated with the UE.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of saving power for a user equipment (UE) communicating via a long term evolution (LTE) network, the method comprising:
 by a network base station:
 monitoring a control channel for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) communication from the UE for a downlink (DL) data transmission sent by the network base station to the UE; 
 receiving a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message for the DL data transmission as part of the HARQ communication from the UE; 
 in response to receiving the NACK message, delaying a HARQ DL data retransmission to the UE until a subsequent ON duration of a connected mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) cycle of the UE; and 
 communicating to the UE the HARQ DL data retransmission for the UE bundled with a new DL data transmission within consecutive DL transmission time intervals (TTIs), 
 wherein the UE remains inactive during an OFF duration of the C-DRX cycle after transmitting the NACK message for the DL data transmission. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the HARQ DL data retransmission and the new DL data transmission are communicated to the UE on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the HARQ DL data retransmission comprises a plurality of HARQ DL data retransmissions that employ different modulation and coding schemes (MCSs). 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 by the network base station: 
 determining to communicate the HARQ DL data retransmission bundled with the new DL data transmission based at least in part on one or more signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) conditions of the UE, wherein the one or more SINR conditions comprise radio operating conditions that are degraded when the UE is communicating at a periphery of an LTE network cell. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 by the network base station: 
 lowering a block error rate (BLER) target for the UE to reduce or eliminate HARQ DL data retransmissions for the UE while the UE communicates low-bandwidth periodic application data. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control channel is a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and the NACK message is received from the UE on the PUCCH. 
     
     
       7. A mobile device, comprising:
 at least one transceiver configurable to communicate via a long term evolution (LTE) network; 
 one or more processors; and 
 a storage device storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the mobile device to:
 identify a downlink (DL) transmission from a network base station as erroneous; 
 transmit a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message as part of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) communication to the network base station using the at least one transceiver; 
 in response to a delayed HARQ retransmission, remain inactive during a sleep mode of operation of the mobile device to conserve power; and 
 receive the delayed HARQ retransmission bundled with a new DL transmission within consecutive transmission time intervals (TTIs) after the sleep mode of operation. 
 
 
     
     
       8. The mobile device of  claim 7 , wherein the downlink transmission is identified as erroneous by the mobile device when the mobile device does not receive an expected downlink transmission or when the downlink transmission is received by the mobile device but the received downlink transmission comprises one or more errors. 
     
     
       9. The mobile device of  claim 7 , wherein the sleep mode of operation is an OFF duration of a connected mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) cycle of the mobile device. 
     
     
       10. The mobile device of  claim 7 , wherein execution of the executable instructions further causes the mobile device to receive the delayed HARQ retransmission during a subsequent ON duration of a connected mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) cycle of the mobile device. 
     
     
       11. The mobile device of  claim 7 , wherein the mobile device receives the delayed HARQ retransmission bundled with the new DL transmission on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). 
     
     
       12. The mobile device of  claim 7 , wherein the delayed HARQ retransmission comprises a plurality of HARQ retransmissions that employ different modulation and coding schemes (MCSs). 
     
     
       13. The mobile device of  claim 7 , wherein the mobile device transmits the NACK message to the network base station on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). 
     
     
       14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network base station, cause the network base station to:
 monitor a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) communication from a user equipment (UE) for a downlink (DL) data transmission sent by the network base station to the UE; 
 receive a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message for the DL data transmission as part of the HARQ communication from the UE via the PUCCH; 
 in response to receiving the NACK message, delay a HARQ DL data retransmission to the UE until a subsequent ON duration of a connected mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) cycle of the UE; and 
 communicate to the UE the HARQ DL data retransmission for the UE bundled with a new DL data transmission within consecutive DL transmission time intervals (TTIs), 
 wherein the UE remains inactive during an OFF duration of the C-DRX cycle after transmitting the NACK message for the DL data transmission. 
 
     
     
       15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the HARQ DL data retransmission comprises a plurality of HARQ DL data retransmissions that employ different modulation and coding schemes (MCSs). 
     
     
       16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein execution of the executable instructions further causes the network base station to:
 determine to communicate the HARQ DL data retransmission bundled with the new DL data transmission based at least in part on signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINK) conditions of the UE. 
 
     
     
       17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein execution of the executable instructions further causes the network base station to:
 lower a block error rate (BLER) target for the UE to reduce or eliminate HARQ DL data retransmissions for the UE while the UE communicates low-bandwidth periodic application data. 
 
     
     
       18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the HARQ DL data retransmission and the new DL data transmission are communicated to the UE on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application claims the priority filing benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/884,918, filed on Sep. 30, 2013, and entitled “DELAYED AND BUNDLED RETRANSMISSIONS FOR LOW BANDWIDTH APPLICATIONS,” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The described embodiments generally relate to wireless communications and more particularly to procedures for mitigating problems associated with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) scheduling that result in unnecessary power consumption at user equipment. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Fourth generation (4G) cellular networks employing newer radio access technology (RAT) systems that implement the 3 rd  Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE Advanced (LTE-A) standards are rapidly being developed and deployed within the United States and abroad. LTE-A brings with it the aggregation of multiple component carriers (CCs) to enable this wireless communications standard to meet the bandwidth requirements of multi-carrier systems that cumulatively achieve data rates not possible by predecessor LTE versions. 
     One mechanism common to LTE and LTE-A, which allows these 4G telecommunication standards to reliably achieve high data rate throughputs is the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (Hybrid ARQ or HARQ). LTE HARQ processes are achieved through the collaboration of an LTE base station, i.e., an enhanced NodeB or eNodeB, and a wireless mobile communication device, i.e., a user equipment or UE, at a time when error packets or transmission errors are received by a UE in the downlink (DL), or at a time when error packets or transmission errors are received by an eNodeB in the uplink (UL). 
     Hybrid ARQ is a combination of high-rate forward error correction (FEC) coding and ARQ error control. In standard ARQ, redundant bits can be added to data to be transmitted to a receiver using an error detecting code such as a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). Receivers detecting a corrupted message can thereby request a new message from the sender. However, in HARQ, transmission data can be encoded with FEC code, where corresponding parity bits are sent with the transmission data. Alternatively, corresponding parity bits may be transmitted at a subsequent time, upon request, when a receiver detects an erroneous transmission. 
     Further, LTE communications can also employ connected mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) operations and semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) to allow 4G LTE enabled UEs to conserve local device resources (e.g., battery power, processing power, available memory, etc.) during various radio resource control (RRC) Connected mode operations, such as when a UE is engaged in low bandwidth application data communications, e.g., during periodic voice over LTE (VoLTE) communications. However, the power conservation benefits of C-DRX and SPS operations can be compromised by overlaying HARQ retransmissions thereon, which requires a UE to remain awake for extended periods of time in order for the UE to be able to transmit/receive HARQ acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) messages and then process corresponding DL or UL HARQ retransmissions. 
     For certain low bandwidth application data communications, such as VoLTE-type data communications, network-designated LTE HARQ timelines can require a UE to remain awake for longer periods of time than necessary. Accordingly, there exists a need for solutions that can conserve local UE device resources by eliminating or reducing various DL and UL HARQ requirements that necessitate a UE remaining active during time periods when the UE could otherwise enter into a C-DRX or an SPS power saving mode. 
     SUMMARY 
     This summary is provided to introduce (in a simplified form) a selection of concepts that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for a procedure of saving power for a user equipment (UE) communicating via a long term evolution (LTE) network. As part of this procedure a network base station can be configured to monitor a control channel for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information, receive a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message from the UE, and then in response to receiving the NACK message from the UE, the network base station can delay a HARQ retransmission for the UE such that the UE can remain inactive during a sleep mode of operation. 
     In accordance with some aspects, the sleep mode of operation may correspond to an OFF duration of a connected mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) cycle of the UE. Further, the HARQ retransmission may be delayed until a subsequent ON duration of the C-DRX cycle of the UE. 
     In some implementations, the network base station can bundle the HARQ retransmission for the UE within consecutive downlink transmission time intervals (TTIs). 
     In some aspects, the bundled HARQ retransmission can be communicated to the UE along with a new downlink transmission on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The bundled HARQ retransmission can comprise a plurality of HARQ transmissions that employ different modulation and coding schemes (MCSs). 
     In various embodiments, the network base station can determine to bundle the HARQ retransmission based at least in part on one or more signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) conditions of the UE. The one or more SINR conditions of the UE may comprise radio operating conditions that are degraded when the UE is communicating at the periphery of an LTE network cell. 
     In one aspect, the network base station can determine when the UE is communicating low-bandwidth periodic application data (e.g., voice over LTE or VoLTE data), and then lower a block error rate (BLER) target for the UE to reduce or eliminate HARQ retransmissions for the UE while the UE is communicating the low-bandwidth periodic application data. 
     In some aspects, the control channel can be a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and the NACK can be received from the UE on the PUCCH. 
     In some embodiments, the mobile device can include at least one transceiver configurable to communicate via a long term evolution (LTE) network, one or more processors, and a storage device storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, can cause the mobile device to identify a downlink transmission from a network base station as erroneous, transmit a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message as part of a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) communication to the network base station using the at least one transceiver, and in response to a delayed HARQ retransmission, remain inactive during a sleep mode of operation of the mobile device to conserve power. 
     In some implementations, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network base station, can cause the network base station to monitor a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) for hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information, receive a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message from a user equipment (UE) via the PUCCH, and in response to receiving the NACK message, delay a HARQ retransmission for the UE such that the UE can remain inactive during an OFF duration of a connected mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) cycle of the UE. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The described embodiments and the advantages thereof may best be understood with reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. These drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, and they are in no way intended to limit or exclude foreseeable modifications thereto in form and detail that may be made by one having ordinary skill in the art at the time of this disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a wireless communication system including Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE Advanced (LTE-A) network cells supporting multiple user equipment devices (UEs) that may be configured to employ advanced hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) functions, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram depicting a single LTE or LTE-A data frame structure, in accordance with various implementations of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of a network apparatus including a network resource scheduler having a downlink (DL) radio resource assignment component, an uplink (UL) radio resource assignment component, and an DL/UL HARQ scheduler component, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication device including a device resource manager having an advanced HARQ capability component and an SNR determination component, in accordance with some implementations of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a block diagram depicting DL HARQ scheduling procedures in conjunction with semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) procedures for LTE DL communications, in accordance with some embodiments. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a block diagram depicting UL HARQ scheduling procedures for LTE UL communications, in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a block diagram depicting synchronous DL LTE and UL LTE HARQ procedures, in accordance with various implementations of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a flowchart associated with example methods for performing an optimized UL LTE HARQ retransmission, in accordance with various embodiments. 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a network diagram depicting a single LTE or LTE-A cell wherein an eNodeB base station is in communication with user equipment devices (UEs) respectively experiencing different Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) conditions, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 10  illustrates a flowchart associated with example methods for performing delayed DL LTE HARQ retransmissions, in accordance with various embodiments. 
         FIG. 11  illustrates a block diagram depicting delayed DL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures, and synchronous UL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures that include transmission time interval (TTI) bundling, in accordance with various implementations of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 12  illustrates a flowchart associated with example methods for performing bundled DL LTE HARQ transmissions, in accordance with some implementations. 
         FIG. 13  illustrates a block diagram depicting DL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures that include TTI bundling, in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 14  illustrates a flowchart associated with example methods for performing consolidated DL LTE transmissions, in accordance with some implementations of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 15  illustrates a block diagram depicting consolidated DL LTE transmission procedures that include single TTI bundling at the transport block level, in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Representative examples for scheduling and implementing improved LTE downlink (DL) and LTE uplink (UL) hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) retransmissions, for respectively performing reduced HARQ operations in the DL and reduced HARQ operations in the UL, are described within this section. Further, various examples for performing DL and UL HARQ bundled retransmissions are also described herein. These examples are provided to add context to, and to aid in the understanding of, the subject matter of this disclosure. It should be apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced with or without some of the specific details described herein. Further, various modifications and/or alterations can be made to the subject matter described herein, and illustrated in the corresponding figures, to achieve similar advantages and results, without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. 
     References are made in this section to the accompanying figures, which form a part of the disclosure and in which are shown, by way of illustration, various implementations corresponding to the described embodiments herein. Although the embodiments of this disclosure are described in sufficient detail to enable one having ordinary skill in the art to practice the described implementations, it should be understood that these examples are not to be construed as being overly-limiting or all-inclusive. 
     In accordance with various embodiments described herein, the terms “wireless communication device,” “wireless device,” “mobile device,” “mobile station,” and “user equipment” (UE) may be used interchangeably herein to describe one or more common consumer electronic devices that may be capable of performing procedures associated with various embodiments of the disclosure. In accordance with various implementations, any one of these consumer electronic devices may relate to: a cellular phone or a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a personal computer, a netbook computer, a media player device, an electronic book device, a MiFi® device, a wearable computing device, as well as any other type of electronic computing device having wireless communication capability that can include communication via one or more wireless communication protocols such as used for communication on: a wireless wide area network (WWAN), a wireless metro area network (WMAN) a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), a near field communication (NFC), a cellular wireless network, a fourth generation (4G) LTE, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), and/or 5G or other present or future developed advanced cellular wireless networks.
     The wireless communication device, in some embodiments, can also operate as part of a wireless communication system, which can include a set of client devices, which can also be referred to as stations, client wireless devices, or client wireless communication devices, interconnected to an access point (AP), e.g., as part of a WLAN, and/or to each other, e.g., as part of a WPAN and/or an “ad hoc” wireless network. In some embodiments, the client device can be any wireless communication device that is capable of communicating via a WLAN technology, e.g., in accordance with a wireless local area network communication protocol. In some embodiments, the WLAN technology can include a Wi-Fi (or more generically a WLAN) wireless communication subsystem or radio, the Wi-Fi radio can implement an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 technology, such as one or more of: IEEE 802.11a; IEEE 802.11b; IEEE 802.11g; IEEE 802.11-2007; IEEE 802.11n; IEEE 802.11-2012; IEEE 802.11 ac; or other present or future developed IEEE 802.11 technologies.   

     Additionally, it should be understood that the UEs described herein may be configured as multi-mode wireless communication devices that are also capable of communicating via different third generation (3G) and/or second generation (2G) RATs. In these scenarios, a multi-mode UE can be configured to prefer attachment to LTE networks offering faster data rate throughput, as compared to other 3G legacy networks offering lower data rate throughputs. For instance, in some implementations, a multi-mode UE may be configured to fall back to a 3G legacy network, e.g., an Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) network or a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 Evolution-Data Only (EV-DO) network, when LTE and LTE-A networks are otherwise unavailable. 
       FIG. 1  depicts a wireless communication system  100  that is compliant with the 3GPP Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) air interface, and includes, but is not limited to, one LTE network cell  102  and two LTE-A network cells  104   a - b , respectively having enhanced NodeB (eNodeB) base stations that can communicate between and amongst each other via an X2 interface. Further, the E-UTRA compliant communication system  100  can include any number of mobility management entities (MMES)  108   a - c , serving gateways (S-GWs)  108   a - c , PDN gateways (P-GWs)  110 , etc., which, as part of the evolved packet core (EPC), can communicate with any of the LTE and LTE-A cell eNodeBs,  102  and  104   a - b , via an S1 interface. Additionally, the EUTRA communication system  100  can include any number of UEs that may be provided wireless communications service by one or more of the eNodeBs of the LTE and LTE-A cells,  102  and  104   a - b , at any particular time. 
     By way of example, a UE  106  may be located within an LTE-A cell  104   a - b  and in an LTE radio resource control (RRC) Connected mode when it initiates a voice over LTE (VoLTE) application to establish a voice call. The UE  106  running the VoLTE application can place a VoLTE voice call to an intended recipient by communicating voice data to a serving eNodeB  104   a - b , which forwards the call through the EPC,  108   a - c  and  110 , and thereby connects to the Internet  112  to transfer the VoLTE communications through an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network between the caller UE  106  and a receiving device of the intended recipient, which may be a part of a remote network. Alternatively, the UE  106  can initiate any number of different UE-resident applications that may be respectively associated with a particular data type, e.g., streaming audio data, streaming audio-video data, website data, text data, etc., to attempt to transfer IP-based application data via its serving LTE network  104   a - b  over the Internet  112 . 
     Depending on the data type of a corresponding UE application, a network resource requirement (e.g., associated with network resource blocks or RBs) for communicating the application data may be minimal (e.g., for text or voice data), moderate (e.g., for website webpage data), or substantial (e.g., for streaming audio-video data). Consequently, in some embodiments, a first UE application may be associated with a low-bandwidth data type (e.g., VoLTE-type data); whereas, in other embodiments, a second UE application may be associated with a moderate to high-bandwidth data type (e.g., streaming audio or video data). In some implementations, various improved LTE DL and LTE UL HARQ retransmissions can be employed for respectively performing reduced HARQ operations that minimize communications overhead and UE  106  power consumption when a UE  106  is actively engaged in a VoLTE voice call that is communicated between the UE  106  and an eNodeB of an LTE or an LTE-A cell,  102  and  104   a - b , e.g., at a time when the UE  106  or the eNodeB receives a corresponding error packet or transmission error. 
     In various embodiments, the improved DL HARQ retransmission procedures and/or the improved UL HARQ retransmission procedures can be employed in such a manner to substantially mitigate problems associated with unnecessary power consumption at a UE  106 . This unnecessary power consumption can occur when the UE  106  attempts to monitor and/or decode various LTE communication channels for UL or DL HARQ messages and/or DL/UL transmissions during an LTE RRC Connected mode. In some implementations, these LTE communications channels may include, but are not limited to: the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), the physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), etc. As will be described further herein, the various DL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures, as well as the, various UL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures can occur in conjunction with one or more connected mode discontinuous reception (C-DRX) operations and/or in conjunction with one or more semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) operations in a manner that increase UE  106  sleep durations in the presence of HARQ signaling. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram  200  depicting a single LTE data frame structure  202  in accordance with various implementations of the disclosure. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, one LTE data frame  202  includes 10 subframes, labeled S0 through S9, respectively having a transmission time interval (TTI) of 1 ms. each. Each LTE subframe is composed of two time slots having a TTI of 0.5 ms. each. Accordingly, there are 20 time slots, labeled #0 through #19, within each LTE data frame  202 . For instance, the first subframe S0  204  of the LTE data frame  202  may be composed of 14 orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, which equates to 7 OFDM symbols per time slot, #0 and #1, of subframe S0  204 . 
     A first portion of the OFDM symbols (e.g., the first three OFDM symbols) of subframe S0  204  may be designated for control signaling information (e.g., control information associated with the PDCCH, the PUCCH, the PHICH, etc.), and the remaining portion of the OFDM symbols of subframe S0  204  may be designated for payload data (e.g., payload data associated with the PDSCH or the PUSCH). It should be understood that the number of OFDM symbols in each of the LTE subframes, S0 through S9, can vary depending on a length of a corresponding cyclic prefix (CP). The CP can be transmitted before each OFDM symbol in each subcarrier in the time domain to prevent inter-symbol interference (ISI) due to multipath. 
     In LTE, the CP may correspond to either a normal CP having a duration of 5 μs., or an extended CP having a duration of 17 μs. Therefore, an LTE slot employing a normal CP will typically have 7 OFDM symbols; whereas, an LTE slot employing an extended CP (e.g., intended for use in larger suburban cells) will typically have 6 OFDM symbols. An LTE resource block (RB) is typically associated with 12 OFDM subcarriers transmitting for the duration of one LTE slot. Accordingly, a normal RB (associated with a normal CP) transmitting for 0.5 ms. will comprise 84 OFDM symbols (12 subcarriers×7 OFDM symbols) or resource elements (REs). Likewise, an extended RB (associated with an extended CP) transmitting for 0.5 ms. will comprise 72 REs (12 subcarriers×6 OFDM symbols). 
     In various embodiments, an LTE-A cell  104   a - b  may employ multiple component carriers (CCs), in aggregate, to achieve cumulative bandwidths of up to 100 MHz within various allocated network spectrum bands. A corresponding LTE-A cell may comprise an eNodeB that can designate a PDCCH format or a PUCCH format according to its respective control information, which can be directed at a single UE  106  or multiple UEs  106  residing within the same network cell  104   a - b . By way of example, PDCCH DCI may be associated with a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) directed at a single UE  106 , or alternatively, PDCCH DCI may be associated with a paging RNTI (P-RNTI) or a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI) directed at a group of UEs  106  located within the same cell  104   a - b . In various embodiments, the DCI of a PDCCH may include downlink (DL) grant information (e.g., resource allocations of the PDSCH), as well as, uplink resource grant information (e.g., resource allocations of the PUSCH), Tx power control information, etc. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of a network apparatus  300  (e.g., an LTE eNodeB having RRC functionality) with a network resource scheduler  312  having a DL radio resource assignment component  314 , an UL radio resource assignment component  316 , and a DL/UL HARQ scheduler  318 , in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. In some implementations, the network resource scheduler  312  can be configured to utilize its DL radio resource assignment component  314  to generate and/or issue various DL radio resource assignments (e.g., carrier DL RB grants) to one or more UEs  106  located within its corresponding network cells (e.g., within an LTE cell  102  or within an LTE-A cell  104   a - b ). Further, either of the DL radio resource assignment component  314  or the UL radio resource assignment component  316  may be capable of employing SPS and/or C-DRX processes, as described further herein. 
     In other situations, the network resource scheduler  312  can also be configured to utilize its UL radio resource assignment component  314  to generate and/or issue various UL radio resource assignments (e.g., carrier UL RB grants) to one or more UEs  106  located within its corresponding network cells (e.g., within an LTE cell  102  or within an LTE-A cell  104   a - b ). In this context, the network resource scheduler  312  of the network apparatus  300  may be able to determine which UEs  106  should receive PDCCH, PUCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and PHICH HARQ transmissions, and on what RBs these HARQ transmissions should be received during a respective TTI in the DL or in the UL. 
     Further, the network resource scheduler&#39;s  312  DL/UL HARQ scheduler component  318  may be configured to schedule and/or implement various improved DL HARQ procedures for performing reduced HARQ operations in the DL, as well as, various improved UL HARQ procedures for performing reduced HARQ operations in the UL. The functionality of DL/UL HARQ scheduler  318  will be described further herein with respect to the subject matter of  FIGS. 5-15 . Accordingly, one skilled in the art would be able to readily discern which HARQ scheduling processes may be carried out by the network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB having RRC functionality) acting alone, as well as, which DL HARQ implementations and which UL HARQ implementations can be carried out by the network apparatus  300  acting in collaboration with one or more UEs  106 . 
     In some configurations, the network apparatus  300  can include processing circuitry  302  that can perform various HARQ resource scheduling actions in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosed herein. In this regard, the processing circuitry  302  can be configured to perform and/or control performance of one or more functionalities of the network apparatus  300  in accordance with various implementations, and thus can provide functionality for performing reduced HARQ operations in the DL, reduced HARQ operations in the UL, as well as, other communication procedures of the network apparatus  300  in accordance with various embodiments. The processing circuitry  302  may further be configured to perform data processing, application execution and/or other control and management functions according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
     The network apparatus  300 , or portions or components thereof, such as the processing circuitry  302 , can include one or more chipsets, which can respectively include any number of coupled microchips thereon. The processing circuitry  302  and/or one or more other components of the network apparatus  300  may also be configured to implement functions associated with various reduced HARQ operations in the DL and various reduced HARQ operations in the UL, in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure using multiple chipsets. In some scenarios, the network apparatus  300  may be associated with or employed as an eNodeB of an LTE  102  or an LTE-A cell  104   a - b  to operate within the wireless communication system  100  of  FIG. 1 . In this implementation, the network apparatus  300  may include one or more chipsets configured to enable the apparatus to operate within the wireless communication system  100  as a network base station, providing wireless communications service to any number of UEs  106  located within its corresponding wireless coverage area, e.g., a coverage area associated with either an LTE  102  or an LTE-A network cell  104   a - b.    
     In some scenarios, the processing circuitry  302  of the network apparatus  300  may include one or more processor(s)  304  and a memory component  306 . The processing circuitry  302  may be in communication with, or otherwise coupled to, a radio frequency (RF) circuit  308  having an LTE compliant modem and one or more wireless communication transceivers  310 . In some implementations, the RF circuit  308  including the modem and the one or more transceivers  310  may be configured to communicate using different LTE RAT types. For instance, in some embodiments the RF circuit  308  may be configured to communicate using an LTE RAT, and in other embodiments, the RF circuit  308  may be configured to communicate using an LTE-A RAT. 
     In various implementations, the processor(s)  304  may be configured and/or employed in a variety of different forms. For example, the processor(s)  304  may be associated with any number of microprocessors, co-processors, controllers, or various other computing or processing implements, including integrated circuits such as, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or any combination thereof. In various scenarios, multiple processors  304  can be coupled to and/or configured in operative communication with each other and these components may be collectively configured to perform one or more procedures of the network apparatus  300  as described herein in the form of an eNodeB having RRC control functionality. 
     In some scenarios, the processors  304  can be configured to execute instructions that may be stored in the memory  306  or that can be otherwise accessible to the processors  304  in some other device memory. As such, whether configured as, or in conjunction with, hardware or a combination of hardware and software, the processors  304  of the processing circuitry  302  may be capable of performing operations according to various implementations described herein when configured accordingly. 
     In various embodiments, the memory  306  of the processing circuitry  302  may include multiple memory devices that can be associated with any common volatile or non-volatile memory type. In some scenarios, the memory  306  may be associated with a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that can store various computer program instructions which may be executed by the processor(s)  304  during normal program executions. In this regard, the memory  306  can be configured to store information, data, applications, instructions, or the like, for enabling the network apparatus  300  to carry out various functions in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure. In some implementations, the memory  306  may be in communication with, and coupled to, the processor(s)  304  of the processing circuitry  302 , as well as one or more system buses for passing information between and amongst the different device components of the network apparatus  300 . 
     It should be appreciated that not all of the components, device elements, and hardware illustrated in and described with respect to the network apparatus  300  of  FIG. 3  may be essential to this disclosure, and thus, some of these items may be omitted, consolidated, or otherwise modified within reason. Additionally, in some implementations, the subject matter associated with the network apparatus  300  can be configured to include additional or substitute components, device elements, or hardware, beyond those that are shown within  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a block diagram of a communication device  400  (e.g., an LTE or LTE-A compliant UE) including an RF circuit  408  having one or more transceiver(s) and an LTE modem  410 , as well as, a device resource manager  412  including an advanced HARQ capability component  414  and a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) determination component  418 , in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure, which will be described further herein. In various configurations, the communication device  400  can include processing circuitry  402  that can perform various reduced HARQ operations in the DL, as well as, various reduced HARQ operations in the UL. 
     Further, the processing circuitry  402  of the communication device  400  can employ the advanced HARQ capability component  414  to perform advanced HARQ capability signaling to a network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB) in accordance with various embodiments. The advanced HARQ capability signaling procedures will become more apparent after reviewing the ensuing descriptions associated with the procedures of  FIGS. 8-13 . In some configurations, the processing circuitry  402  of the communication device  400  can employ the SINR determination component  418  to measure various network radio operating conditions and report these measurements or a dynamically determined SINR to an eNodeB  300  (having RRC functionality) to allow the eNodeB  300  to evaluate the SINR conditions associated with one or more UEs  400  to determine how to implement corresponding reduced HARQ retransmissions, in accordance with other embodiments, which will be describe further herein with respect to  FIGS. 8-13 . 
     In this regard, the processing circuitry  402  can be configured to perform and/or control performance of one or more functionalities of the communication device  400  in accordance with various implementations, and thus, the processing circuitry  402  can provide functionality for performing one or more DL HARQ and/or UL HARQ processes (in conjunction with optional signaling form a network apparatus  300 ), in accordance with various scenarios that are described further herein. The processing circuitry  402  may further be configured to perform data processing, application execution and/or other control and management functions according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. 
     The communication device  400 , or portions or components thereof, such as the processing circuitry  402 , can include one or more chipsets, which can respectively include any number of coupled microchips thereon. The processing circuitry  402  and/or one or more other components of the communication device  400  may also be configured to implement functions associated with various device power conservation procedures of the disclosure using multiple chipsets. In some scenarios, the communication device  400  may be associated with or employed as a multi-mode UE  106  of an LTE  102  or an LTE-A cell  104   a - b  to operate within the wireless communication system  100  of  FIG. 1 . In this implementation, the communication device  400  may include one or more chipsets configured to enable the apparatus to communicate within the LTE or LTE-A cells,  102  and  104   a - b , of the wireless communication system  100 . 
     In various scenarios, the processing circuitry  402  of the communication device  400  may include one or more processor(s)  404  and a memory component  406 . The processing circuitry  402  may be in communication with, or otherwise coupled to, a radio frequency (RF) circuit  408  having an LTE compliant modem and one or more wireless communication transceivers  410 . In some implementations, the RF circuit  408  including the modem and the one or more transceivers  410  may be configured to communicate using different LTE RAT types. For instance, in some embodiments the RF circuit  408  may be configured to communicate using an LTE RAT, and in other embodiments, the RF circuit  408  may be configured to communicate using an LTE-A RAT. 
     In some embodiments, the processor(s)  404  may be configured in a variety of different forms. For example, the processor(s)  404  may be associated with any number of microprocessors, co-processors, controllers, or various other computing or processing implements, including integrated circuits such as, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or any combination thereof. In various scenarios, multiple processors  404  of the communication device  400  can be coupled to and/or configured in operative communication with each other, and these components may be collectively configured to perform one or more procedures of the communication device  400  as described herein in the form of an LTE compliant UE  106 . 
     In some implementations, the processors  404  can be configured to execute instructions that may be stored in the memory  406  or that can be otherwise accessible to the processors  404  in some other device memory. As such, whether configured as, or in conjunction with, hardware or a combination of hardware and software, the processors  404  of the processing circuitry  402  may be capable of performing operations according to various implementations described herein when configured accordingly. 
     In various embodiments, the memory  406  of the processing circuitry  402  may include multiple memory devices that can be associated with any common volatile or non-volatile memory type. In some scenarios, the memory  406  may be associated with a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that can store various computer program instructions which may be executed by the processor(s)  404  during normal program executions. In this regard, the memory  406  can be configured to store information, data, applications, instructions, or the like, for enabling the communication device  400  to carry out various functions in accordance with one or more embodiments of the disclosure. In some implementations, the memory  406  may be in communication with, and coupled to, the processor(s)  404  of the processing circuitry  402 , as well as one or more system buses for passing information between and amongst the different device components of the communication device  400 . 
     It should be appreciated that not all of the components, device elements, and hardware illustrated in and described with respect to the communication device  400  of  FIG. 4  may be essential to this disclosure, and thus, some of these items may be omitted, consolidated, or otherwise modified within reason. Additionally, in some implementations, the subject matter associated with the communication device  400  can be configured to include additional or substitute components, device elements, or hardware, beyond those depicted within  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a block diagram depicting DL HARQ scheduling  500  occurring in conjunction with SPS procedures for LTE communications (e.g., VoLTE communications), according to some embodiments of the disclosure. It should be understood that in various embodiments, the DL LTE HARQ processes  500  shown in  FIG. 5  may also occur in conjunction with various C-DRX power savings operations. In general, LTE HARQ processes can be performed by an eNodeB  300  in conjunction with a UE  400  to attempt to retransmit failed transport block (TB) communications in the DL and/or in the UL. 
     As would be understood by those skilled in the art, SPS routines may be employed by a network resource scheduler  312  of a network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB having RRC functionality) to reduce control channel signaling requirements for a UE  400  communicating periodic application data having a relatively low duty cycle, such as VoLTE-type application data. In this manner, control signaling overhead relating to DL and/or UL resource assignments for a single UE or a group of UEs  400 , which would typically be communicated via the PDCCH, may be significantly reduced or eliminated for a period of time when SPS is active. 
     By way of example, in VoLTE communications a DL frame can occur every 10 to 20 ms., and as such, a significant amount of system bandwidth would be required to issue control signaling information for every VoLTE DL frame on a frame-by-frame basis. In this regard, SPS can allow a single SPS resource allocation for a UE  400  to persist for an unspecified duration, until modified or otherwise changed by a controlling network service provider entity  300 . In some implementations, a resource allocation change that could overwrite an existing SPS allocation may be issued by a network apparatus  300  employing a network resource scheduler  312  (e.g., an eNodeB having RRC functionality), to instruct a UE  400  to again monitor a control channel (e.g., the PDCCH) for new resource allocations or grants. As noted above, SPS is configurable for both DL communications and UL communications; however, SPS is often more effectively employed in the DL, where control information overhead problems can be more pronounced. 
     The DL HARQ scheduling procedures  500  of  FIG. 5  depict signaling interactions amongst the PDSCH  502 , the PDCCH  504 , and the PUCCH  506 , during various DL HARQ processes. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, the PDCCH  504  may include downlink control information (DCI), e.g., control information emanating from an eNodeB, that informs a UE  400  of various DL resource allocations for the PDSCH  502 , HARQ information relating to the PDSCH  502 , various UL scheduling grants for the PUSCH  602 , etc. The PUCCH  506  can carry DL HARQ acknowledgements (e.g., ACK/NACKs) that are transmitted by a UE  400  to a network apparatus  300  in response to the UE  400  receiving, or not receiving, various DL data transmissions via the PDSCH  502 . 
     In some situations, a DL allocation  508  may be transmitted from a network apparatus  300  employing a network resource scheduler  312  having DL HARQ capability  318  (e.g., an eNodeB having RRC functionality) within the PDCCH  504  to a UE  400  to identify a particular set of designated DL resource blocks (RBs) where the UE  400  should attempt to decode the PDSCH  502  for DL information. Upon acquiring, or attempting to acquire, the identified DL information from the PDSCH  502  corresponding to the DL allocation  508 , an intended recipient UE  400  can send a positive DL HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) message  510  or a negative DL HARQ acknowledgement (NACK) message  514  to the network apparatus  300  via the PUCCH  506 . 
     The DL HARQ ACK/NACK acknowledgements can indicate to the network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB having RRC functionality) whether or not the DL information was received or acquired by the UE  400  and/or whether DL information that was acquired by the UE  400  is free from errors, e.g., according to a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) result,  526  or  528 . In some scenarios, a DL CRC success result  526  can indicate that DL information was acquired by a UE  400  without error or that scheduled DL information was received by the UE  400  with minimal error, in accordance with a predetermined error tolerance threshold (e.g., a CRC threshold designated by an eNodeB  300 ). 
     Alternatively, a DL CRC failure result  528  may indicate that scheduled DL information was not acquired by a UE  400 , or that scheduled DL information was acquired by the UE  400 , but that the acquired DL information contains errors that exceed a predetermined error tolerance threshold (e.g., a CRC threshold designated by an eNodeB). As would be understood by those skilled in the art, a UE  400  will typically issue a DL HARQ ACK message to a network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB) via the PUCCH  506  in response to receiving a DL CRC success result  526 . Likewise, a UE  400  will typically issue a DL HARQ NACK message to a network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB) in response to receiving a DL CRC failure result  528 . 
     In accordance with the DL HARQ SPS example  500 , an ongoing SPS DL resource allocation  512  may be sent by a network apparatus  300  employing the DL HARQ scheduler  318  (e.g., an eNodeB having RRC functionality) to a UE  400  to instruct the UE  400  to attempt to decode the PDSCH  502  for known, recurring DL information on a periodic basis (e.g., every 20 or 40 ms. for VoLTE data), such that the UE  400  is not required to further decode the PDCCH  504  until a change to the ongoing SPS allocation  512  is detected. Accordingly, at every designated SPS interval (e.g., every 20 or 40 ms.) a UE  400  can attempt to decode the PDSCH  502  for prescheduled DL information. Depending on whether or not the DL information has been successfully acquired by the UE  400  via the PDSCH  502  and/or whether or not the DL information was acquired without errors, the UE  400  can send a DL HARQ ACK message  510 ,  520 ,  522 , and  524 , or a DL HARQ NACK message  514  to the network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB) via the PUCCH  506 . 
     In various implementations, upon receiving a DL HARQ NACK  514  message via the PUCCH  506  that indicates a DL transmission failure or error (e.g., corresponding to a CRC failure result  528 ), a network apparatus  300  employing the DL HARQ scheduler  318  (e.g., an eNodeB having RRC functionality) can attempt to retransmit the DL information and/or a portion of the DL information  516  to the UE  400  at a later time, in accordance with a designated retransmission interval/duration. In various scenarios, a total retransmission time or round trip time (RTT) for the UE  400  to receive the correct and/or complete DL information may be scheduled to occur within a particular number of TTIs to account for anticipated network communication and device processing delays. 
     In some scenarios, a network apparatus  300  employing the DL HARQ scheduler  318  can evaluate a DL HARQ NACK  514  received via the PUCCH  506  to determine when to schedule a DL retransmission  516  based on various network considerations, including an application data type being communicated in the DL. The UE  400  can thereafter be informed of the DL retransmission schedule  516  by receiving a supplemental DL allocation  518  for the retransmission within the PDCCH  504 , as designated by the network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB having RRC functionality). As would be understood by those skilled in the art, this DL HARQ retransmission can occur on top of ongoing SPS operations, such that the DL HARQ procedures  500  requiring the UE  400  to decode the PDCCH  504  for retransmit control information will supersede SPS PDCCH “do not decode” durations (described above). 
     Notably, the designated DL RTT for DL HARQ operations  500  requires a UE  400  to expend local device resources (e.g., battery power, processing power, available memory, etc.) for an extended duration in order to reattempt acquiring the DL information from the PDSCH  502 . When these DL HARQ procedures  500  occur during existing SPS power saving operations or during existing C-DRX power saving operations, the DL HARQ processes will interrupt a UE&#39;s  400  power conservation mode (e.g., a device sleep mode) by requiring the UE  400  to: identify a DL CRC failure event  528 , respond to the network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB) with a DL HARQ NACK message  516  over the PUCCH  506 , and then listen for DL retransmit (ReTx) control information  518  over the PDCCH  504 , to be able to decode the PDSCH  502  for one or more DL retransmissions. During these DL HARQ processes, a UE  400  will typically need to remain awake for the entire duration of the designated DL HARQ RRT. Accordingly, by reducing DL HARQ procedures, a UE  400  will be able to remain asleep/inactive for longer periods of time during SPS power saving mode operations and/or C-DRX power saving mode operations. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a block diagram depicting UL LTE HARQ scheduling procedures  600  in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. Although not depicted in  FIG. 6 , it should be understood that in some implementations UL HARQ processes  600  can occur in conjunction with SPS and/or C-DRX power saving routines. As described above, HARQ processes are configured to occur on top of SPS and C-DRX procedures, thereby preempting designated UE  400  power savings modes associated with SPS and/or C-DRX by requiring a UE  400  to remain awake long enough to perform requisite HARQ processing functions. 
     The UL HARQ scheduling procedures  600  of  FIG. 6  depict signaling interactions amongst the PUSCH  602 , the PDCCH  604 , and the PHICH  606 , during various UL HARQ processes. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, the PHICH  606  is configured to carry UL HARQ acknowledgements (e.g., ACK/NACKs) that can be transmitted by a network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB) in response to receiving, or not receiving, various expected UL data transmissions from a UE  400  that it provides LTE or LTE-A communications service to. 
     In some embodiments, an UL grant  608  may be transmitted from a network apparatus  300  employing a network resource scheduler  312  having UL HARQ capability  318  (e.g., an eNodeB having RRC functionality) within the PDCCH  604  to a UE  400  to identify a particular set of designated UL RBs where the UE  400  should attempt to transmit UL information to the network apparatus  300  in accordance with a predefined TTI interval (e.g., every 4 TTIs=4 ms.). In this configuration, there will be a TTI delay between a time when the UE  400  receives the UL grant  608  via the PDCCH  604  and a time when the UL RBs allocated to UE  400  for the UL transmission become available. The TTI delay is intended to give the UE  400  sufficient time to dequeue and determine how best to transmit a corresponding UL transport block (TB), e.g., in accordance with various network-designated quality of service (QoS) requirements. 
     Upon receiving, or attempting to receive, an UL transmission via the PUSCH  602  corresponding to an UL grant,  608  or  612 , a recipient network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB) can transmit either a positive UL HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) message  610  or a negative UL HARQ acknowledgement (NACK) message  614  to the sending UE  400  via the PHICH  606 , e.g., on the DL from the network apparatus  300 . The UL HARQ ACK/NACK acknowledgements,  610  and  614 , can indicate to the UE  400  whether or not an UL TB was received or acquired by the network apparatus  300  and/or whether information of the UL TB that was acquired by the network apparatus  300  is free from errors, e.g., according to a corresponding cyclic redundancy check (CRC) result,  620  or  622 . 
     In various embodiments, an UL CRC success result  620  can indicate that the UL TB was received by the network apparatus  300  without error, or that the UL TB was received by the network apparatus  300  with minimal error. Alternatively, an UL CRC failure result  622  may indicate that the UL TB was not received by the network apparatus  300 , or that the UL TB was received by the network apparatus  300 , but that the received UL TB contains errors that exceed a predetermined threshold. 
     As would be understood by those skilled in the art, a network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB having RRC functionality) will typically issue an UL HARQ ACK message to a corresponding UE  400  via the PHICH  606  in response to an UL CRC success result  620 . Similarly, a network apparatus  300  (e.g., an eNodeB having RRC functionality) will typically issue an UL HARQ NACK message to a UE  400  via the PHICH  606  in response to an UL CRC failure result  622 . 
     In some implementations, upon receiving an UL HARQ NACK  614  via the PHICH  606  from a network apparatus  300  that indicates an UL transmission failure or error (e.g., corresponding to an UL CRC failure result  622 ), a UE  400  can attempt to retransmit the UL TB and/or a portion of the UL TB information  616  to the network apparatus  300  at a later time, in accordance with a designated retransmission interval (e.g., within 4TTIs=4 ms.). In various scenarios, a total retransmission time or round trip time (RTT) for the network apparatus  300  to receive the correct and/or complete UL TB from the UE  400  may be scheduled to occur within a designated number of TTIs associated with an UL HARQ RTT to account for anticipated network communication and device processing delays (e.g., an UL RTT of 8TTIs=8 ms.). 
     In various instances, a network apparatus  300  employing the UL HARQ scheduler  318  can evaluate a failed UL transmission (e.g., an UL CRC failure  622  corresponding the UL NACK message  614 ) to determine how and when to schedule an UL retransmission  616  based on various network considerations, including an application data type being communicated in the UL (e.g., a VoLTE application data type). The UE  400  can thereafter be informed of the UL retransmission allocation  616  by receiving a supplemental UL grant  618  for the UL retransmission within the PDCCH  604 . 
     Similar to the DL HARQ procedures  500  described above with respect to  FIG. 5 , the UL HARQ procedures  600  can occur during existing SPS power saving operations or during existing C-DRX power saving operations. In these scenarios, the UL HARQ processes  600  will interrupt a UE&#39;s  400  power conservation mode (e.g., a device sleep mode) by requiring the UE  400  to listen for UL retransmit (ReTx) control information  618  on the PDCCH  604  to determine when to attempt to retransmit the information associated with the failed UL TB via the PUSCH  602 . During these UL HARQ processes  600 , a UE  400  will typically need to remain awake for the entire duration of a designated UL HARQ RRT. Accordingly, by reducing UL HARQ procedures, a UE  400  will be able to remain asleep/inactive for longer periods of time during SPS power saving mode operations and/or a C-DRX power saving mode operations. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a simplified block diagram  700  depicting synchronous DL LTE  704  and UL LTE  708  HARQ procedures occurring, in part, during a C-DRX OFF duration, in accordance with various implementations of the disclosure. The synchronous HARQ procedures  700  represent HARQ communications between an eNodeB  300  and a UE  400  in accordance with some embodiments. It should be understood that, although the simplified block diagram  700  shows synchronous DL and UL HARQ procedures, without reference to any SPS procedures, these UE power conservation processes could be included within the context of the synchronous DL and UL HARQ procedures,  704  and  708 , e.g., in a similar manner to that which was described above with respect to  FIG. 5 . The various transmission and retransmission communications of the DL HARQ  704  and UL HARQ  708  processes are represented within the shaded DL/UL communications key  702 , which is provided herewith for reference. 
     During an initial TTI, associated with a first DL subframe (1S0), an eNodeB  300  can employ its DL radio resource assignment component  314  of its network resource scheduler  312  to transmit a first DL transmission to a corresponding UE  400  via the PDSCH. Four TTIs later, associated with a fifth UL subframe (1S4), a recipient UE  400  can send the eNodeB  300  a HARQ NACK message via the PUCCH to indicate that the first DL transmission was received with one or more errors. Thereafter, the eNodeB  300  can employ its DL HARQ scheduler  318  to process the received NACK message from the UE  400 , and subsequently retransmit the failed DL transmission via the PDSCH at the ninth DL subframe (1S8), four TTIs later. Assuming these DL HARQ retransmission procedures occur during a C-DRX OFF duration  706 , a corresponding UE  400  inactivity period (e.g., a UE C-DRX sleep mode) associated with the DL HARQ retransmission is shortened to accommodate for UE  400  DL HARQ processing (e.g., as represented by the empty DL subframes, from 1S9 through 2S8, over the duration of 10 TTIs). 
     In the uplink, a UE  400  can transmit a first UL transmission via the PUSCH to a corresponding eNodeB  300  at a third TTI associated with a third UL subframe (1S2). Four TTIs later, associated with a seventh DL subframe (1S6), a recipient eNodeB  300  can send the UE  400  a HARQ NACK message via the PHICH to indicate that the first UL transmission was received with one or more errors. Thereafter, the eNodeB  300  can employ its UL HARQ scheduler  318  to coordinate an UL retransmission with the UE  400  via the PDCCH, for the failed UL transmission, which can be scheduled to occur at the eleventh UL subframe (2S0), four TTIs later. Assuming these UL HARQ retransmission procedures occur during a C-DRX OFF duration  710 , a corresponding UE  400  inactivity period (e.g., a UE C-DRX sleep mode) associated with the UL HARQ retransmission is shortened to accommodate for UE  400  UL HARQ processing (e.g., as represented by the empty UL subframes, from 2S1 through 3S0, over the duration of 10 TTIs). 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a flowchart associated with various procedures  800  for performing an optimized UL LTE HARQ retransmission, in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. In this regard, it should be understood that any or all of the procedures  800  depicted in  FIG. 8  may be associated with a method, or methods, that can be implemented by the execution of computer program instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable memory  406  of a UE  400 , in conjunction with the execution of computer program instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable memory  306  of an eNodeB  300 . 
     Initially, at operation block  802 , after an initial UL transmission over the PUSCH, a sender UE  400  having advanced HARQ capability  414  can monitor only the first PHICH for associated HARQ ACK/NACK information sent from the recipient eNodeB  300 , relating to its initial UL transmission. Subsequently, at decision block  804 , the UE  400  can determine if the first PHICH received from the eNodeB  300  contains a HARQ NACK message, which indicates that the initial UL transmission over the PUSCH was received with one or more errors. In a scenario where the UE  400  determines that the PHICH contains a HARQ ACK message, as opposed to a HARQ NACK message, that indicates that the first UL transmission was successfully received by the eNodeB  300 , the UE  400  can be configured to enter into a power saving mode, at operation block  806 , such that the UE  400  will sleep until the next C-DRX ON duration. 
     Alternatively, in a scenario where the UE  400  determines that the PHICH contains a HARQ NACK message that indicates that the first UL transmission was received with one or more errors by the eNodeB  300 , the UE  400  can be configured to identify a subframe location where to decode the PUSCH for the UL HARQ retransmission, e.g., after decoding a corresponding PDCCH from the eNodeB  300  comprising ReTx control information, at operation block  808 . Subsequently, the UE  400  can transmit the corresponding UL HARQ retransmission to the eNodeB  300  via the PUSCH at the identified PUSCH subframe location, during the next C-DRX ON duration. In this manner, the UE  400  can conserve power by only monitoring a single PHICH for HARQ ACK/NACK information during a C-DRX OFF duration, to thereby increase the number of TTIs that the UE can remain inactive during the C-DRX OFF duration. 
       FIG. 9  illustrates a network diagram depicting a single LTE or LTE-A cell  900  wherein an eNodeB base station  902  is in communication with multiple UEs,  910 ,  912 , and  914 , that respectively experience different SINR conditions (e.g., SINR_1, SINR_2, and SINR_3), in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, a first UE  910  communicating within a first coverage region  904  that is close to the location of the eNodeB  902  will typically experience good SINR conditions (e.g., high Rx power, low noise, and potentially low signal interference). Similarly, a second UE  912  communicating within a second coverage region  906  that is further away from the location of the eNodeB  902  (e.g., within the middle of the LTE cell  900 ) will typically experience moderate SINR conditions (e.g., medium Rx power, increased noise, and potentially increased signal interference), with respect to the conditions experienced by the first UE  910 . 
     Likewise, a third UE  914  communicating within a third coverage region  908  that is even further away from the location of the eNodeB  902  (e.g., near and edge or periphery region of the LTE cell  900 ) will typically experience poor SINR conditions (e.g., low Rx power, high noise, and potentially high signal interference), with respect to the conditions experienced by the first UE  910  and the second UE  912 . As will be described further herein, depending on whether a respective UE,  910 ,  912 , or  914 , experiences good (SINR_1), moderate (SINR_2), or poor (SINR_3) SINR conditions within the different coverage regions,  904 ,  906 , or  908 , of the LTE cell  900 , it may be beneficial for the eNodeB  902  to preemptively schedule one or more bundled DL/UL HARQ retransmissions, to improve the likelihood of HARQ retransmission success, and to further reduce a number of consecutive TTIs when a UE  400  must remain awake to process HARQ signaling and HARQ retransmissions during various C-DRX OFF durations. 
       FIG. 10  illustrates a flowchart associated with various procedures  1000  for performing delayed DL LTE HARQ retransmissions, in accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure. In this regard, it should be understood that any or all of the procedures  1000  depicted in  FIG. 10  may be associated with a method, or methods, that can be implemented by the execution of computer program instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable memory  306  of an eNodeB  300 , in conjunction with the execution of computer program instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable memory  406  of a UE  400 . 
     Initially, at operation block  1002 , during LTE DL communications between an eNodeB  300  and a UE  400 , the eNodeB  300  employing its DL HARQ scheduler component  318  of its network resource scheduler  312  can be configured to monitor the PUCCH for HARQ acknowledgement information (e.g., ACK/NACKs) following to a particular DL transmission. Next, at decision block  1004 , the eNodeB  300  will determine whether or not the corresponding PUCCH contains a HARQ NACK message emanating from the UE  400 . In a scenario where the PUCCH contains an ACK message, as opposed to a NACK message, which indicates that the DL transmission was successfully received by the UE  400 , at operation block  1006 , the eNodeB  300  will wait until the next C-DRX ON duration to transmit a new DL transmission via the PDSCH. 
     Alternatively, in a scenario where the PUCCH contains a HARQ NACK message which indicates that the DL transmission was received by the UE  400  with one or more errors, at operation block  1008 , the eNodeB  300  will evaluate one or more SINR conditions associated with the UE  400  to determine whether to employ additional DL retransmission redundancy procedures. Next, at decision block  1010 , the eNodeB  300  will determine whether to bundle a DL retransmission based on the evaluated SINR conditions for the UE  400 . For example, as described above, with respect to  FIG. 9 , when a UE  400  is operating close to an edge region  908  within a network cell  900  it may be necessary for the eNodeB  300  to schedule multiple DL or UL HARQ retransmissions during consecutive TTIs (optionally employing different MCSs for each successive retransmission) to ensure that the corresponding HARQ retransmission is successfully received (e.g., by the UE  400  in the DL or by the eNodeB  300  in the UL), preferably on the first retransmission attempt. 
     In a scenario, where the eNodeB  300  determines it is necessary to bundle a DL retransmission based on the evaluated SINR conditions for the UE  400  (e.g., when the UE&#39;s  400  SINR conditions are poor or moderate, as described above), at operation block  1012 , the eNodeB  300  will wait until the next C-DRX ON duration to transmit a bundled DL transmission (e.g., over consecutive TTIs) alongside a new DL transmission (e.g., over consecutive TTIs) via the PDSCH. Alternatively, in a scenario, where the eNodeB  300  determines that it is not necessary to bundle a DL retransmission based on the evaluated SINR conditions for the UE  400  (e.g., when the UE&#39;s  400  SINR conditions are good or moderate, as described above), at operation block  1014 , the eNodeB  300  will wait until the next C-DRX ON duration to transmit a single DL transmission alongside a new DL transmission (e.g., over consecutive TTIs) via the PDSCH. 
       FIG. 11  illustrates a simplified block diagram  1100  depicting delayed DL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures  1104 , and synchronous UL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures  1108  that include TTI bundling, in accordance with various implementations of the disclosure. In accordance with various embodiments, the delayed DL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures  1104  and the synchronous UL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures  1108  can occur, in part, during a C-DRX OFF duration. Further, it should be understood that, although the simplified block diagram  1100  shows DL and UL HARQ procedures, without reference to any SPS procedures, these UE power conservation processes could be included within the context of the delayed DL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures  1104  and the synchronous UL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures  1108 , e.g., in a similar manner to that which was described above with respect to  FIG. 5 . The various transmission and retransmission communications of the DL HARQ  1104  and UL HARQ  1108  processes are represented within the shaded DL/UL communications key  1102 , which is provided herewith for reference. 
     During an initial TTI, associated with a first DL subframe (1S0), an eNodeB  300  can employ its DL radio resource assignment component  314  of its network resource scheduler  312  to transmit a first DL transmission to a corresponding UE  400  via the PDSCH. Four TTIs later, associated with a fifth UL subframe (1S4), a recipient UE  400  can send the eNodeB  300  a HARQ NACK message via the PUCCH to indicate that the first DL transmission was received with one or more errors. Thereafter, the eNodeB  300  can employ its DL HARQ scheduler  318  to process the received NACK message from the UE  400 , and subsequently retransmit the failed DL transmission via the PDSCH at the twentieth DL subframe (2S9), fifteen TTIs later. In this manner the eNodeB  300  will effectively wait until the next C-DRX ON duration to transmit a single DL transmission (at 2S9) alongside a new DL transmission (3S0), over consecutive TTIs, via the PDSCH. 
     As the delayed DL HARQ retransmission (at 2S9) occurs after the C-DRX OFF duration  706  (e.g., during the next C-DRX ON duration), a corresponding UE  400  inactivity period (e.g., a UE C-DRX sleep mode) associated with the DL HARQ retransmission is lengthened with respect to the previous example described above for  FIG. 7 . Specifically, the new DL inactivity period for the UE  400  is increased to 18 TTIs (from 10 TTIs), as represented by the empty DL subframes ranging from 1S1 through 2S8. 
     In the UL, LTE HARQ retransmission procedures  1108  with TTI bundling, a UE  400  can transmit a TTI-bundled UL HARQ transmission that includes both an initial UL transmission and an UL retransmission such that the initial UL transmission and the UL retransmission are bundled within consecutive TTIs (e.g., associated with consecutive UL subframes 1S0 and 1S1), via the PUSCH to a corresponding eNodeB. Four TTIs later, associated with a sixth DL subframe (1S5), a recipient eNodeB  300  will presumably send the UE  400  a HARQ ACK message via the PHICH to indicate that the TTI-bundled UL HARQ transmission was received successfully. However, in a scenario where a recipient eNodeB  300  sends the UE  400  a HARQ NACK message via the PHICH to indicate that the TTI-bundled UL HARQ transmission was not received successfully, the UE can retransmit the failed UL HARQ transmission within another TTI-bundled UL HARQ transmission during the next C-DRX ON duration (e.g., at 3S0). 
     As the TTI-bundled UL HARQ retransmission procedures  1100  occur outside of the C-DRX OFF duration  1106  (e.g., during the preceding C-DRX ON duration or optionally during a subsequent C-DRX ON duration), a corresponding UE  400  inactivity period (e.g., a UE C-DRX sleep mode) associated with the TTI-bundled UL HARQ transmission is lengthened with respect to the previous example described above for  FIG. 7 . Specifically, the new UL inactivity period for the UE  400  is increased to 17 TTIs (from 10 TTIs), as represented by the empty DL subframes ranging from 1S2 through 2S8. 
       FIG. 12  illustrates a flowchart associated with various procedures  1200  for performing bundled DL LTE HARQ transmissions, in accordance with some implementations of the disclosure. In this regard, it should be understood that any or all of the procedures  1200  depicted in  FIG. 12  may be associated with a method, or methods, that can be implemented by the execution of computer program instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable memory  306  of an eNodeB  300 , in conjunction with the execution of computer program instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable memory  406  of a UE  400 . 
     Initially, at operation block  1202 , an eNodeB  300  may be configured to employ its DL radio resource assignment component  314  (optionally in conjunction with its DL HARQ scheduler component  318 ) of its network resource scheduler  312  to evaluate various SINR conditions (e.g., as described above with respect to  FIG. 9 ) associated with one or more UEs  400  to determine whether or not it should ignore various HARQ messages (e.g., a HARQ ACK message or a HARQ NACK message) received from a UE  400  during DL communications. 
     As described above, when an eNodeB  300  determines SINR conditions to be poor (e.g., when a UE  914  is communicating near and edge or periphery region of the LTE cell  900 , as shown in  FIG. 9 ), it may be beneficial for the eNodeB  300  to preemptively schedule one or more bundled DL HARQ retransmissions, to improve the likelihood of HARQ retransmission success, and to reduce a number of consecutive TTIs when a UE  400  must remain awake to process HARQ communications during a C-DRX OFF duration. At decision block  1204 , the eNodeB  300  can determine if bundled DL transmissions are required, e.g., based on the evaluated SINR conditions which may be transmitted to the eNodeB  300  from the UE  400 . 
     In a scenario where the eNodeB  300  determines that bundled DL transmissions are not required, e.g., when the evaluated SINR conditions are good, at operation block  1206 , the eNodeB  300  can transmit a single DL transmission via the PDSCH and perform normal HARQ processing, while continuing to evaluate changing SINR conditions at operation block  1202 . Alternatively, in a scenario where the eNodeB  300  determines that bundled DL transmissions are required, e.g., when the evaluated SINR conditions are poor, at operation block  1208 , the eNodeB  300  can transmit bundled DL transmission via the PDSCH to prevent single DL transmission failure during poor SINR conditions. 
       FIG. 13  illustrates a block diagram  1300  depicting DL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures  1304  with TTI bundling, which can occur outside of a C-DRX OFF duration  1306 . Further, it should be understood that, although the simplified block diagram  1300  shows DL HARQ procedures, without reference to any SPS procedures, these UE power conservation processes could be included within the context of the DL LTE HARQ retransmission procedures with TTI transmission bundling, e.g., in a similar manner to that which was described above with respect to  FIG. 5 . The various transmission and retransmission communications of the DL HARQ  1304  processes are represented within the shaded DL communications key  1302 , which is provided herewith for reference. 
     Initially, an eNodeB  300  may be configured to employ its DL radio resource assignment component  314  of its network resource scheduler  312  to preemptively schedule a TTI-bundled DL HARQ transmission that includes both an initial DL transmission (at 1S0) and a DL retransmission (at 1S1), during consecutive TTIs, and prior to a corresponding C-DRX OFF duration. In this manner, the eNodeB  300  can improve the likelihood of HARQ retransmission success, while simultaneously reducing a requisite number of consecutive TTIs when a UE  400  must remain awake to process HARQ communications during a C-DRX OFF duration  1306 . As described above, when the eNodeB  300  decides to preemptively transmit a TTI-bundled DL HARQ transmission via the PDSCH, it can significantly increase the likelihood of DL transmission success, which can be particularly important during poor SINR conditions. 
     As the TTI-bundled DL HARQ transmission occurs before the C-DRX OFF duration  1306 , a corresponding UE  400  inactivity period (e.g., a UE C-DRX sleep mode) associated with the TTI-bundled DL HARQ transmission is lengthened with respect to the previous example described above for  FIG. 7 . Specifically, the new DL inactivity period for the UE  400  is increased to 17 TTIs (from 10 TTIs), as represented by the empty DL subframes ranging from 1S2 through 2S8. 
       FIG. 14  illustrates a flowchart associated with various procedures  1400  for performing consolidated DL LTE transmissions, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In this regard, it should be understood that any or all of the procedures  1400  depicted in  FIG. 14  may be associated with a method, or methods, that can be implemented by the execution of computer program instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable memory  306  of an eNodeB  300 . 
     Initially, at operation block  1402 , during LTE DL communications between an eNodeB  300  and a UE  400 , the eNodeB  300  employing its DL radio resource assignment component  314  (optionally in conjunction with its DL HARQ scheduler component  318 ) of its network resource scheduler  312  can be configured to initiate (e.g., based on evaluating any of the SINR conditions described above) a consolidated DL transmission (e.g., as described further herein with respect to  FIG. 15 ) for a current DL transmission. At operation block  1404 , the eNodeB  300  can encode both a new DL transmission and a DL retransmission within different transport blocks of the same consolidated DL transmission, such that the new Tx TB and the ReTx TB are included within a single LTE subframe associated with a single TTI. 
     Subsequently, at operation block  1406 , the eNodeB  300  can transmit the consolidated DL transmission within the PDSCH of the single LTE subframe to a corresponding UE  400 . In this manner, the consolidated DL transmission (including a DL retransmission) can occur before a C-DRX OFF duration  1306 . As such, a corresponding UE  400  inactivity period can be extended (with reference to the DL HARQ procedures described above for  FIG. 7 ) to allow a UE  400  to conserve power. 
       FIG. 15  illustrates a simplified block diagram  1500  depicting a consolidated DL LTE transmission  1500  that includes both an initial DL transmission and a DL retransmission within the PDSCH of a single LTE subframe (at 1S0), as depicted in the exploded representation of the PDSCH  1508 . The various transmission and retransmission communications of the DL HARQ  1504  processes are represented within the shaded DL communications key  1502 , which is provided herewith for reference. Notably, the consolidated DL transmission can include the initial DL transmission within a first TB of the PDSCH  1508  that is associated with a first cyclic redundancy check (CRC1), as well as, a DL retransmission within a second TB of the PDSCH  1508  that is associated with a second cyclic redundancy check (CRC2). 
     Further, in this consolidated configuration, the initial DL transmission of the first TB can be associated with a first modulation and coding scheme (MCS1), and the DL retransmission of the second TB may be associated with a second modulation and coding scheme (MCS2) that is different from the first MCS1. In accordance with various implementations, the DL retransmission may correspond to either a previously sent DL packet transmission or a current DL packet transmission, e.g., such that the DL retransmission is a duplicate DL packet transmission having a different order MCS. In this manner, the consolidated DL LTE transmission could improve redundancy for a given DL transmission. 
     In accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure, it may be advantageous for a network service provider to be able to establish a decreased block error rate (BLER) in accordance with various network conditions and/or during different application data-type communications. In this manner, a UE  400  may be able to track C-DRX or SPS patterns of an eNodeB  300  more closely. During HARQ processing, this can result in the UE  400  not having to monitor control channels for ACK/NACK messaging or HARQ retransmissions. As would be understood by those skilled in the art, current BLER targets are set by network operators at 10%. 
     However, in various implementations, an eNodeB  300  can be configured employ different order MCSs for select application communications (e.g., for VoLTE-type application data communications), using the same SINR values, to establish a decreased target BLER that can be set at a level of 5% or less. In some exemplary embodiments, a target BLER can be set as low as 1%, when an eNodeB  300  is configured to employ the corresponding MCSs for achieving substantially error-free data communications, e.g., for VoLTE communications. By implementing a significantly reduced target BLER for VoLTE, HARQ retransmissions can be significantly reduced or eliminated for these voice communications. 
     It should be appreciated that by employing this procedure in conjunction with the DL and UL TTI bundling solutions described herein, the necessity of HARQ ACK/NACK messaging and HARQ retransmission may be completely removed for VoLTE communications. Additionally, a UE  400  employing any of the above described procedures, alone or in combination, will advantageously be able to save a significant amount of battery power during VoLTE communications. Specifically, a UE  400  operating in accordance with a reduced BLER target may not need to monitor for HARQ signaling from the LTE network 
     In accordance with some embodiments, a method for bundling HARQ downlink transmissions within an LTE network, may comprise, at a network base station: evaluating at least one radio operating condition of a UE; determining when the at least one radio operating condition is below a radio operating threshold; and in response to determining, ignoring one or more HARQ messages of the UE for a predetermined period of time and bundling a downlink transmission for the UE, where the bundled downlink transmission includes a HARQ retransmission for the UE and a new downlink transmission for the UE. 
     In some embodiments, the at least one radio operating condition can include an SINR value of the UE. The method may further comprise the network base station ignoring one or more NACK messages or one or more HARQ ACK messages of the UE during the predetermined period of time when the SINR value is determined to be below an SINR threshold value. The method may also comprise transmitting the bundled downlink transmission to the UE after a sleep mode of operation for the UE to allow the UE to conserve power. 
     In some implementations, the sleep mode of operation for the UE can be an OFF duration of a C-DRX cycle of the UE and the bundled downlink transmission can be transmitted to the UE during a subsequent ON duration of the C-DRX cycle. The method may further involve continuing to bundle HARQ retransmissions for the UE with new downlink transmissions for the UE until the at least one radio operating condition of the UE improves to a point where the radio operating condition is no longer below the radio operating threshold. In various embodiments, the method may include determining when the at least one radio operating condition is no longer below the radio operating threshold and in response to determining, listening for HARQ messages from the UE and periodically evaluating the radio operating condition of the UE. 
     In some configurations, a network base station, may comprise: at least one transceiver configurable to communicate via an LTE network; one or more processors; and a storage device storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the network base station to: evaluate at least one radio operating condition of a UE; determine when the at least one radio operating condition is below a radio operating threshold; and in response to determining, ignore one or more HARQ messages of the UE for a predetermined period of time and bundling a downlink transmission for the UE, where the bundled downlink transmission includes a HARQ retransmission for the UE and a new downlink transmission for the UE. 
     In various embodiments, the at least one radio operating condition can include an SINR value of the UE, and the execution of the executable instructions may further cause the network base station to ignore one or more HARQ NACK messages or one or more HARQ ACK messages of the UE during the predetermined period of time when the SINR value is determined to be below an SINR threshold value. 
     In some implementations, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network base station, may cause the network base station to: evaluate an SINR value of a UE; determine when the SINR value of the UE is below an SINR threshold value; and in response to determining, ignore one or more HARQ messages of the UE for a predetermined period of time and bundling a downlink transmission for the UE, where the bundled downlink transmission includes a HARQ retransmission for the UE and a new downlink transmission for the UE. 
     In some embodiments, a method for consolidating a downlink transmission for a UE communicating within an LTE network, can comprise, at a network base station: identifying a HARQ retransmission to send to the UE; encoding a new downlink transmission within a first transport block of a consolidated downlink transmission; encoding the HARQ retransmission within a second transport block of the consolidated downlink transmission; and sending the consolidated downlink transmission to the UE within a single TTI. 
     In some aspects, the first transport block and the second transport block of the consolidated downlink transmission may be associated with the same LTE subframe. Further, the consolidated downlink transmission may be transmitted to the UE on the PDSCH. In some configurations, the consolidated downlink transmission can be transmitted to the UE prior to an OFF duration of a C-DRX cycle of the UE to extend an inactivity period for the UE and conserve power. 
     In some implementations, the new downlink transmission encoded within the first transport block may be associated with a first cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and the HARQ retransmission encoded within the second transport block may be associated with a second CRC. Further, the new downlink transmission of the first transport block can be encoded using a first MCS and the HARQ retransmission of the second transport block can be encoded using a second MCS. In other aspects, the HARQ retransmission may be a duplicate transmission of the new downlink transmission having a different order MCS, such that the second MCS is of a different order than the first MCS. 
     In various embodiments, a network base station can comprise at least one transceiver configurable to communicate via an LTE network, one or more processors, and a storage device storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the network base station to: identify a HARQ retransmission to send to a UE; encode a new downlink transmission within a first transport block of a consolidated downlink transmission; encode the HARQ retransmission within a second transport block of the consolidated downlink transmission; and send the consolidated downlink transmission to the UE within a single TTI. 
     In some configurations, the first transport block and the second transport block of the consolidated downlink transmission may be associated with the same LTE subframe and the consolidated downlink transmission can be transmitted to the UE on the PDSCH. In other aspects, the new downlink transmission encoded within the first transport block can be associated with a first CRC and the HARQ retransmission encoded within the second transport block may be associated with a second CRC. Further, the new downlink transmission of the first transport block may be encoded using a first MCS and the HARQ retransmission of the second transport block may be encoded using a second MCS having a different order than the first MCS. 
     In some implementations, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network base station, can cause the network base station to: identify a HARQ retransmission to send to a UE; encode a new downlink transmission within a first transport block of a consolidated downlink transmission; encode the HARQ retransmission within a second transport block of the consolidated downlink transmission; and send the consolidated downlink transmission to the UE within a single TTI. 
     In various embodiments, a method for performing a HARQ uplink communication via an LTE network, can comprise, a mobile device: monitoring a PHICH for an initial communication; receiving a NACK message from the LTE network within the initial communication on the PHICH; in response to receiving the NACK message, identifying a PUSCH resource for sending a HARQ retransmission to the LTE network; and waiting until a next ON duration of a C-DRX cycle to send the HARQ retransmission to the LTE network using the PUSCH resource. 
     In various aspects, the PUSCH resource can be a subframe location on the PUSCH for sending the HARQ retransmission to the LTE network and the subframe location on the PUSCH may be scheduled for sending the HARQ retransmission after a next OFF duration of the C-DRX cycle. The method may further comprise, receiving a HARQ retransmission allocation on a PDCCH from the LTE network and identifying the PUSCH resource based on the received HARQ retransmission allocation. 
     In some embodiments, a mobile device can comprise at least one transceiver configurable to communicate via an LTE network, one or more processors, and a storage device storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, can cause the mobile device to: monitor a PHICH for an initial communication; receive a NACK message from the LTE network within the initial communication on the PHICH; in response to receiving the NACK message, identify a PUSCH resource for sending a HARQ retransmission to the LTE network; and wait until a next ON duration of a C-DRX cycle to send the HARQ retransmission to the LTE network using the PUSCH resource. 
     In various implementations, the PUSCH resource can be a subframe location on the PUSCH for sending the HARQ retransmission to the LTE network after a next OFF duration of the C-DRX cycle. Further, in some aspects, execution of the executable instructions further causes the mobile device to: receive a HARQ retransmission allocation on a PDCCH from the LTE network and identify the PUSCH resource based on the received HARQ retransmission allocation. 
     In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a mobile device, can cause the mobile device to: monitor a PHICH for an initial communication; receive a NACK message from the LTE network within the initial communication on the PHICH; receive a HARQ retransmission allocation on a PDCCH from the LTE network; in response to receiving the NACK message, identify a PUSCH resource for sending a HARQ retransmission to the LTE network based on the received HARQ retransmission allocation; and wait until a next ON duration of a C-DRX cycle to send the HARQ retransmission to the LTE network using the PUSCH resource. 
     The various aspects, embodiments, implementations or features of the described embodiments can be used separately or in any combination. Further, some aspects of the described embodiments may be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of hardware and software. The described embodiments can also be embodied as computer program code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer-readable-medium may be associated with any data storage device that can store data which can thereafter be read by a computer or a computer system. Examples of the computer-readable medium include read-only memory, random-access memory, CD-ROMs, HDDs, DVDs, magnetic tape, and optical data storage devices. The computer-readable medium can also be distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computer program code may be executed in a distributed fashion. 
     The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the described embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that some of the specific details are not required in order to practice the described embodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments are presented herein for purposes of illustration and description. These descriptions are not intended to be exhaustive, all-inclusive, or to limit the described embodiments to the precise forms or details disclosed. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings, without departing from the spirit and the scope of the disclosure.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20140926
Publication Date: 20170404
Grant Date: 20170404
Priority Date: 20130930
Inventors: TABET TARIK
MAJJIGI VINAY R.
MUJTABA SYED A.
MUCKE CHRISTIAN W.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "Y02B60/50", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0222", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1812", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1825", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1671", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1887", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y02D30/70", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1887", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1887", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1854", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1825", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1812", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1864", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1887", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1671", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1812", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/28", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1825", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1671", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0222", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/28", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1812", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0222", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y02D30/70", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L1/1825", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0222", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y02D30/70", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 52740096