HARQ-ACK handling with multiple PUCCH in multi-TRP transmission in NR

1. A user equipment, comprising:

a transceiver which, in operation, receives data on a plurality of downlink shared channels, the data received on the plurality of downlink shared channels being respectively the same data; and

circuitry which, in operation, decodes the data on the plurality of downlink shared channels, generates, for each of the plurality of downlink shared channels, a respective indicator which indicates whether or not the data has been successfully decoded using the respective downlink shared channel; wherein

the circuitry, in operation, performs a logical “OR” operation on respective results of the decoding of at least two downlink shared channels among the plurality of downlink shared channels, and generates a common indicator which indicates the result of the logical “OR” operation, the common indicator being a one-bit indicator,

the transceiver, in operation, transmits, on each of a plurality of uplink control channels associated respectively with the plurality of downlink shared channels, the respective indicator indicating the result of decoding the downlink shared channel associated respectively with the uplink control channel before the circuitry accomplishes performing the logical “OR” operation, and

the transceiver, in operation, transmits the common indicator on each of the plurality of uplink control channels.

2. The user equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the transceiver, in operation, receives the plurality of downlink shared channels respectively from a plurality of TRPs, transmission and reception points, and transmits the respective indicator and the common indicator on the plurality of uplink control channels respectively to the plurality of TRPs.

3. The user equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the transceiver, in operation, respectively transmits, on each of the plurality of uplink control channels, an ACK/NACK, acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement, signal including the common indicator and the respective indicator.

4. The user equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the respective indicators are a plurality of bits each of which indicates whether or not the data has been successfully decoded using a respective one of the plurality of downlink shared channels.

5. The user equipment according to claim 1 , wherein the circuitry, in operation, performs soft-combining on the data received on the plurality of downlink shared channels, decodes the combined data obtained by the soft-combining, and generates the respective indicator based on the result of the decoding of the combined data.

6. A network node, comprising:

a transceiver which, in operation,

transmits data on a downlink shared channel from among a plurality of downlink shared channels, the data transmitted on the plurality of downlink shared channels being respectively the same data,

receives, on each of a plurality of uplink control channels respectively associated with the plurality of downlink shared channels, a respective indicator which indicates whether or not the transmitted data has successfully been received and decoded using the respective downlink shared channel, and

after receiving the respective indicator, receives, on each of the plurality of uplink channels, a common indicator which indicates a result of a logical “OR” operation performed on respective decoding results of at least two downlink shared channels among the plurality of downlink shared channels, the common indicator being a one-bit indicator; and

circuitry which, in operation, determines, based on the respective indicator and the common indicator, whether or not the data has been successfully received and decoded.

7. The network node according to claim 6 , wherein said downlink shared channel from among the plurality of downlink shared channels is a first downlink shared channel,

the transceiver comprises a first TRP, transmission and reception point, and, in operation, transmits the data on the first downlink shared channel using the first TRP, receives the respective indicator and the common indicator on the uplink control channel associated with the first downlink shared channel using the first TRP, and

the network node further comprises a backhaul interface and transmits, over the backhaul interface, scheduling information for scheduling transmission of the data on a second downlink shared channel from among the plurality of downlink shared channels by a second TRP.

8. The network node according to claim 6 , wherein said downlink shared channel from among the plurality of downlink shared channels is a first downlink shared channel and the circuitry, in operation, encodes the data for transmission on the first downlink shared channel using a first MCS, modulation and coding scheme, different from a second MCS used for transmitting the data on a second downlink shared channel from among the plurality of downlink shared channels.

9. A communication method for a user equipment, comprising the steps of:

receiving data on a plurality of downlink shared channels, the data received on the plurality of downlink shared channels being respectively the same data;

decoding the data on the plurality of downlink shared channels;

generating, for each of the plurality of downlink shared channels, a respective indicator which indicates whether or not the data has been successfully decoded using the respective downlink shared channel;

performing a logical “OR” operation on respective results of the decoding of at least two downlink shared channels among the plurality of downlink shared channels, and generating a common indicator which indicates the result of the logical “OR” operation, the common indicator being a one-bit indicator;

transmitting, on each of a plurality of uplink control channels associated respectively with the plurality of downlink shared channels, the respective indicator indicating the result of decoding the downlink shared channel associated respectively with the uplink control channel before the performing of the logical “OR” operation is accomplished; and

transmitting the common indicator on each of the plurality of uplink control channels.

10. A communication method for a network node, comprising the steps of:

transmitting data on a downlink shared channel from among a plurality of downlink shared channels, the data transmitted on the plurality of downlink shared channels being respectively the same data;

receiving, on each of a plurality of uplink control channels respectively associated with the plurality of downlink shared channels, a respective indicator which indicates whether or not the transmitted data has successfully been received and decoded using the respective downlink shared channel;

after receiving the respective indicator, receiving, on each of the plurality of uplink channels, a common indicator which indicates a result of a logical “OR” operation performed on respective decoding results of at least two downlink shared channels among the plurality of downlink shared channels, the common indicator being a one-bit indicator; and

determining, based on the respective indicator and the common indicator, whether or not the data has been successfully received and decoded.