Resolving ambiguities resulting from overlapping physical downlink control channel candidates of different aggregation levels

Abstract

In summary, the various formats of this case relate to wireless communication. In some formats, a user equipment (UE) can receive configuration information identifying a plurality of entity downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates to be monitored for downlink control information (DCI). The plurality of PDCCH candidates may include PDCCH candidates with a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates with a second aggregation level for DCI. A PDCCH candidate may overlap with a PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates. The UE can communicate according to one or more rules regarding the overlap between a PDCCH candidate and a PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates. Numerous other formats are provided.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] In general, the contents of this case relate to wireless communication and to techniques and apparatus for resolving ambiguities arising from overlapping entity downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates with different aggregation levels. [Previous Technology]

[0002] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunications services such as telephone, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiplexing access technologies that support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power). Examples of such multiplexing access technologies include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), and Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Enhanced is an enhancement set of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile service standard released by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0003] The wireless network may include one or more base stations supporting communications for one or more user equipment (UE). The UE may communicate with the base station via downlink communications and uplink communications. "Downlink" (or "DL") refers to the communication link from the base station to the UE, and "uplink" (or "UL") refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station.

[0004] The above multiplexing access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunications standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate at the city, country, region, and / or even global levels. New Radio (NR) (which may be referred to as 5G) is an enhancement set of the LTE mobile service standard released by 3GPP. NR is designed to better integrate with other open standards by improving spectrum efficiency, reducing costs, improving service, utilizing new spectrum, and using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with Cyclic Prefix (CP) on the downlink (CP-OFDM), and using CP-OFDM and / or Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as Discrete Fourier Transform Spread Spectrum OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink, thereby better supporting mobile broadband internet access, as well as beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, further improvements to LTE, NR, and other radio access technologies remain useful. [Summary of the Invention]

[0005] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) includes a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors being configured to: receive configuration information identifying a plurality of entity downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates to be monitored for downlink control information (DCI), the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates having a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates having a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates; and communicate according to one or more rules for the overlap of the PDCCH candidate with the one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates.

[0006] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication at a network node includes a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors being configured to: transmit configuration information to a UE identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored by the UE for DCI, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates having a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates having a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one of the PDCCH candidates in the set of linked PDCCH candidates; and communicate according to one or more rules for the overlap of the PDCCH candidate with the one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates.

[0007] In some forms, a method of wireless communication performed by a device for a UE includes: receiving configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored for DCI, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates having a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates having a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates; and communicating according to one or more rules for the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and the one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates.

[0008] In some embodiments, a method of wireless communication performed by a device for a network node includes: transmitting configuration information to a UE identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored by the UE for DCI, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates having a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates having a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates; and communicating according to one or more rules for the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and the one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates.

[0009] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, cause the UE to perform the following operations: receive configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored for DCI, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates having a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates having a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one of the PDCCH candidates in the set of linked PDCCH candidates; and communicate according to one or more rules for the overlap of the PDCCH candidate with the one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates.

[0010] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication includes one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network node, cause the network node to perform the following operations: for a UE, transmitting configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored by the UE for DCI, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates with a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates with a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one of the PDCCH candidates in the set of linked PDCCH candidates; and communicating according to one or more rules for the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and the one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates.

[0011] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication includes: a unit for receiving configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored for DCI, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates having a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates having a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates; and a unit for communicating according to one or more rules for the overlap of the PDCCH candidate with the one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates.

[0012] In some embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication includes: a unit for transmitting configuration information to a UE identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates for DCI monitoring by the UE, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates having a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates having a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates; and a unit for communicating according to one or more rules for the overlap of the PDCCH candidate with the one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates.

[0013] In general, the various types include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, network nodes, wireless communication devices and / or processing systems as fully described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings and description and as shown by reference to the accompanying drawings and description.

[0014] The foregoing has provided a fairly broad overview of the features and technical advantages of examples based on the content of this application, in order to better understand the following detailed description. Additional features and advantages will be described below. The disclosed concepts and specific examples can be readily used as the basis for modifying or designing other structures for achieving the same purpose as the content of this application. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein (both their organization and operation) and the associated advantages will be better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, based on the following description. Each of the accompanying drawings is provided for illustrative and descriptive purposes and is not intended to define or limit the claims.

[0015] Although various forms have been described herein by way of example, it will be understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains that such forms can be implemented in many different arrangements and scenarios. Different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and / or packaging arrangements can be used to implement the innovations described herein. For example, some forms can be implemented by integrating chip embodiments and other devices based on non-modular components (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial devices, retail / purchasing devices, medical devices, and / or artificial intelligence devices). Forms can be implemented in chip-level components, modular components, non-modular components, non-chip-level components, device-level components, and / or system-level components. Devices incorporating the described forms and features may include additional components and features for the implementation and enforcement of the claimed and described forms. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals may include one or more components (e.g., hardware components including antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders, and / or summers) for analog and digital purposes. The innovative intentions described herein can be implemented in a variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, and / or end-user devices with different sizes, shapes, and constructions.

Implementation Method

[0025] Various forms of the present invention are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any particular structure or function presented throughout the present invention. Rather, these forms are provided so that the present invention will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art to which it pertains. It should be understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that the scope of the present invention is intended to cover any form of the present invention disclosed herein, whether that form is implemented independently of any other form of the present invention or in combination with any other form. For example, an apparatus or a method may be implemented using any number of forms set forth herein. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to cover such apparatuses or methods implemented using structures, functions, or structures and functions other than those set forth herein or different from the various forms of the present invention set forth herein. It should be understood that any form of the content of this case as disclosed herein may be represented by one or more elements of the claim.

[0026] Various devices and techniques will now be used to provide several embodiments of a telecommunications system. These devices and techniques will be described in detail below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in the form of various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, programs, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements can be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the entire system.

[0027] Although this document may use terms commonly associated with 5G or New Radio (NR) Radio Access Technology (RAT) to describe the various forms, the various forms of the content herein may be applied to other RATs, such as 3G RAT, 4G RAT and / or RATs after 5G (e.g., 6G).

[0028] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100 according to the present invention. The wireless network 100 may be or may include components of a 5G (e.g., NR) network and / or a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)) network, as well as other examples. The wireless network 100 may include one or more base stations 110 (shown as BS 110a, BS 110b, BS 110c, and BS 110d), user equipment (UE) 120 or multiple UEs 120 (shown as UE 120a, UE 120b, UE 120c, UE 120d, and UE 120e), and / or other network entities. Base stations 110 are entities that communicate with UEs 120. Base station 110 (sometimes referred to as BS) may include, for example, NR base stations, LTE base stations, Node Bs, eNBs (e.g., in 4G), gNBs (e.g., in 5G), access points, and / or Transmit / Receive Points (TRPs). Each base station 110 can provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. In the 3GPP, the term "cell" can represent the coverage area of ​​base station 110 and / or the base station subsystem serving that coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0029] Base station 110 can provide communication coverage for macrocells, picocells, femtocells, and / or another type of cell. Macrocells can cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and can allow unrestricted access by UE 120 with service subscriptions. Picocells can cover a relatively small geographic area and can allow unrestricted access by UE 120 with service subscriptions. Femtocells can cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a residential area) and can allow restricted access by UE 120 associated with that femtocell (e.g., UE 120 in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG)). Base station 110 for macrocells can be referred to as a macro base station. Base station 110 for picocells can be referred to as a pico base station. Base station 110 for femtocells can be referred to as a femto base station or a home base station. In the example shown in Figure 1, BS 110a can be a macro base station for macro cells 102a, BS 110b can be a pico base station for pico cells 102b, and BS 110c can be a femto base station for femto cells 102c. The base station can support one or more (e.g., three) cells.

[0030] In some instances, the cell may not be stationary, and the geographical area of ​​the cell may move depending on the location of the mobile base station 110 (e.g., a mobile base station). In some instances, base stations 110 may be interconnected with each other and / or with one or more other base stations 110 or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network 100 via various types of backhaul interfaces, such as direct physical connections or virtual networks, using any suitable transport network.

[0031] Wireless network 100 may include one or more relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive data transmissions from an upstream station (e.g., base station 110 or UE 120) and send data transmissions to a downstream station (e.g., UE 120 or base station 110). A relay station may be a UE 120 capable of relaying transmissions for other UE 120s. In the example shown in Figure 1, BS 110d (e.g., a relay base station) may communicate with BS 110a (e.g., a macro base station) and UE 120d to facilitate communication between BS 110a and UE 120d. The base station 110 relaying the communication may be referred to as a relay station, relay base station, repeater, etc.

[0032] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network comprising different types of base stations 110 (such as macro base stations, pico base stations, femto base stations, repeater base stations, etc.). These different types of base stations 110 may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and / or different effects on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, macro base stations may have high transmit power levels (e.g., 5 to 40 watts), while pico base stations, femto base stations, and repeater base stations may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts).

[0033] The network controller 130 can be coupled to or communicate with a group of base stations 110, and can provide coordination and control for these base stations 110. The network controller 130 can communicate with the base stations 110 via a backhaul communication link. The base stations 110 can communicate with each other directly or indirectly via wireless or wired backhaul communication links.

[0034] UE 120 may be distributed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile. UE 120 may include, for example, access terminals, terminals, mobile stations, and / or user units. UE 120 may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smartphone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a wireless telephone, a wireless loop (WLL) station, a tablet device, a camera, a gaming device, a laptop, a smart computer, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring or smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, and / or a satellite radio unit, etc.), a vehicle component or sensor, a smart instrument / sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, and / or any other suitable device configured to communicate via wireless media.

[0035] Some UEs 120 may be considered Machine Type Communication (MTC) or Evolved or Enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC UEs and / or eMTC UEs may include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, and / or location tags, which can communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. Some UEs 120 may be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices and / or may be implemented as NB-IoT (Narrowband IoT) devices. Some UEs 120 may be considered customer premises equipment. UE 120 may be included within a housing housing the components of UE 120, such as processor components and / or memory components. In some instances, the processor components and memory components may be coupled together. For example, the processor components (e.g., one or more processors) and memory components (e.g., memory) may be operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and / or electrically coupled.

[0036] Typically, any number of wireless networks 100 can be deployed in a given geographical area. Each wireless network 100 can support a specific RAT and can operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT can be referred to as a radio technology, air interface, etc. A frequency can be referred to as a carrier, channel, etc. Each frequency can support a single RAT in a given geographical area to avoid interference between wireless networks using different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks can be deployed.

[0037] In some instances, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using base station 110 as an intermediary for communication with each other). For example, UE 120 may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, or vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocols, etc.) and / or mesh networks. In such instances, UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations described herein as being performed by base station 110.

[0038] Devices of the wireless network 100 can communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which can be subdivided into various categories, bands, channels, etc., according to frequency or wavelength. For example, devices of the wireless network 100 can communicate using one or more operating frequency bands. In 5G NR, two initial operating frequency bands have been identified as frequency range names FR1 (410 MHz – 7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz – 52.6 GHz). It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is generally (interchangeably) referred to as the "below 6 GHz" band in various documents and articles. Similar naming issues sometimes arise regarding FR2, although it differs from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz – 300 GHz), it is generally (interchangeably) referred to as the "millimeter wave" band in documents and articles, and the EHF band is identified as the "millimeter wave" band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0039] The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are generally referred to as intermediate frequencies (IFs). Recent 5G NR studies have identified the operating bands of these IFs as the frequency range name FR3 (7.125 GHz – 24.25 GHz). Bands falling within FR3 can inherit FR1 and / or FR2 characteristics, and thus can effectively extend the characteristics of FR1 and / or FR2 to the IF. Furthermore, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating frequency bands have been identified as the frequency range names FR4a or FR4–1 (52.6 GHz – 71 GHz), FR4 (52.6 GHz – 114.25 GHz), and FR5 (114.25 GHz – 300 GHz). Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

[0040] Considering the above examples, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that when the term "below 6 GHz" is used herein, it can broadly refer to frequencies that are less than 6 GHz, within FR1, or may include intermediate frequency band frequencies. Furthermore, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that when the term "millimeter wave" is used herein, it can broadly refer to frequencies that may include intermediate frequency band frequencies, within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1 and / or FR5, or within the EHF band. It is anticipated that the frequencies included in these operating frequency bands (e.g., FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1 and / or FR5) can be modified, and the techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

[0041] In some embodiments, the terms "base station" (e.g., base station 110), "network node," or "network entity" may refer to an aggregation base station, a decentralization base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, and / or one or more of its components. For example, in some embodiments, "base station," "network node," or "network entity" may refer to a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a near-real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC), or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the terms "base station," "network node," or "network entity" may refer to a device configured to perform one or more functions, such as those described herein in conjunction with base station 110. In some embodiments, the terms "base station," "network node," or "network entity" may refer to a plurality of devices configured to perform one or more functions. For example, in some distributed systems, each of multiple different devices (which may be located in the same geographical location or different geographical locations) can be configured to perform at least a portion of the functionality or replicate at least a portion of the functionality, and the terms "base station," "network node," or "network entity" can refer to any one or more of these different devices. In some configurations, the terms "base station," "network node," or "network entity" can refer to one or more virtual base stations and / or one or more virtual base station functions. For example, in some configurations, two or more base station functions can be generated on a single device. In some configurations, the terms "base station," "network node," or "network entity" can refer to one base station function but not another. In this way, a single device can include more than one base station.

[0042] In some configurations, UE 120 may include means for wireless communication at the UE, such as communication manager 140. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, communication manager 140 may receive configuration information identifying a plurality of entity downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates to be monitored for downlink control information (DCI), the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates with a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates with a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidates overlap with one of the PDCCH candidates in the set of linked PDCCH candidates; and / or communicate according to one or more rules for the overlap of PDCCH candidates with one of the PDCCH candidates in the set of linked PDCCH candidates. Additionally or alternatively, communication manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0043] In some configurations, a network node (e.g., base station 110) may include means for wireless communication at the network node, such as a communication manager 150. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 150 may, for the UE, transmit configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored by the UE for DCI, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including a PDCCH candidate with a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates with a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one of the PDCCH candidates in the set of linked PDCCH candidates; and / or communicate according to one or more rules for the overlap of the PDCCH candidate with one of the PDCCH candidates in the set of linked PDCCH candidates. Additionally or alternatively, the communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

[0044] As noted above, Figure 1 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 1.

[0045] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 of communication between a base station 110 and a UE 120 in a wireless network 100 according to the present invention. The base station 110 may be equipped with a set of antennas 234a to 234t, such as T antennas (T ≥ 1). The UE 120 may be equipped with a set of antennas 252a to 252r, such as R antennas (R ≥ 1).

[0046] At base station 110, transmitting processor 220 can receive data intended for UE 120 (or a set of UE 120) from data source 212. Transmitting processor 220 can select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for UE 120 based at least in part on one or more Channel Quality Indicators (CQIs) received from UE 120. Base station 110 can process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for UE 120 and provide data symbols for UE 120 based at least in part on the MCS selected for UE 120. Transmitting processor 220 can process system information (e.g., semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, authorizations, and / or upper-layer signaling), and provide management burden symbols and control symbols. Transmit processor 220 can generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS) or demodulated reference signals (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS) or secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). Transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 can perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding, if applicable) on data symbols, control symbols, management burden symbols, and / or reference symbols, and can provide a set of output symbol streams (e.g., T output symbol streams) to a set of corresponding data machines 232 (e.g., T data machines), denoted as data machines 232a to 232t. For example, each output symbol stream can be provided to a modulator component (denoted as MOD) of data machine 232. Each data machine 232 can use its respective modulator component to process its respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may also use its own modulator component to process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and / or upconvert) the output sampled stream to obtain a downlink signal. Modems 232a to 232t may transmit a set of downlink signals (e.g., T downlink signals) via a set of corresponding antennas 234 (e.g., T antennas) (shown as antennas 234a to 234t).

[0047] At UE 120, an array of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a to 252r) can receive downlink signals from base station 110 and / or other base stations 110, and can provide a set of received signals (e.g., R received signals) to an array of data terminals 254 (e.g., R data terminals) (shown as data terminals 254a to 254r). For example, each received signal can be provided to a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of data terminal 254. Each data terminal 254 can use its own demodulator component to modulate (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and / or digitize) the received signal to obtain an input sample. Each data terminal 254 can use the demodulator component to further process the input sample (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain a received symbol. MIMO detector 256 can obtain the received symbol from modulator 254, perform MIMO detection on the received symbol (if applicable), and can provide the detected symbol. The receiver processor 258 can process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for the UE 120 to the data slot 260, and provide decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The term "controller / processor" can refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. The channel processor can determine Reference Received Power (RSRP) parameters, Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) parameters, Reference Received Quality (RSRQ) parameters, and / or CQI parameters, among others. In some instances, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included within a housing.

[0048] The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292. The network controller 130 may include one or more devices, such as those in the core network. The network controller 130 may communicate with the base station 110 via the communication unit 294.

[0049] One or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234a to 234t and / or antennas 252a to 252r) may include or may be included in the following: one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more antenna element sets, and / or one or more antenna arrays, and other examples. Antenna panels, antenna groups, antenna element sets, and / or antenna arrays may include one or more antenna elements (within a single housing or multiple housings), coplanar antenna element sets, non-coplanar antenna element sets, and / or one or more antenna elements coupled to one or more transmitting and / or receiving components (such as one or more components of FIG. 2).

[0050] On the uplink, at UE 120, the transmitting processor 264 can receive and process data from data source 262 and control information from controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reporting RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and / or CQI). The transmitting processor 264 can also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. Symbols from the transmitting processor 264 can be pre-coded (if applicable) by the TX MIMO processor 266, further processed by the modem 254 (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM), and transmitted to base station 110. In some instances, the modem 254 of UE 120 may include a modulator and demodulator. In some instances, UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmitting processor 264, and / or TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be configured by a processor (e.g., controller / processor 280) and memory 282 to perform various forms of any of the methods described herein (e.g., see Figures 6-10).

[0051] At base station 110, uplink signals from UE 120 and / or other UEs can be received by antenna 234, processed by modem 232 (e.g., demodulator components of modem 232, such as DEMOD), detected by MIMO detector 236 (if applicable), and further processed by receiver processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by UE 120. Receiver processor 238 can provide decoded data to data slot 239 and decoded control information to controller / processor 240. Base station 110 may include communication unit 244 and can communicate with network controller 130 via communication unit 244. Base station 110 may include scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink and / or uplink communication. In some instances, modem 232 of base station 110 may include modulator and demodulator. In some instances, base station 110 includes transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna 234, modem 232, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, transmit processor 220 and / or TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be configured by a processor (e.g., controller / processor 240) and memory 242 to perform various methods described herein (e.g., see Figures 6-10).

[0052] The controller / processor 240 of base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of UE 120, and / or any other component in FIG. 2 may execute one or more techniques associated with resolving ambiguities arising from overlapping PDCCH candidates of different aggregation levels, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of UE 120, and / or any other component in FIG. 2 may execute or direct the operation of, for example, program 700 of FIG. 7, program 800 of FIG. 8, and / or other programs as described herein. Memory 242 and 282 may store data and program code for base station 110 and UE 120, respectively. In some instances, memory 242 and / or memory 282 may include non-transitory computer-readable media storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and / or program code) for wireless communication. For example, when executed by one or more processors of base station 110 and / or UE 120 (e.g., directly, or after compilation, translation, and / or interpretation), one or more instructions may cause one or more processors, UE 120, and / or base station 110 to perform or instruct operations of programs executable as shown in FIG. 7, FIG. 800, and / or other programs as described herein. In some cases, execution instructions may include execution instructions, translation instructions, compilation instructions, and / or interpretation instructions, and other instances.

[0053] In some configurations, the UE or apparatus for the UE includes: a unit for receiving configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored for DCI, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including a PDCCH candidate having a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates having a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one of the PDCCH candidates in the set of linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., using antenna 252, DEMOD 254, MIMO detector 256, receiver processor 258, controller / processor 280, memory 282, etc.); and / or a unit for communicating according to one or more rules for the overlap of the PDCCH candidate with one of the PDCCH candidates in the set of linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., using antenna 252, DEMOD 254, MIMO detector 256, receiver processor 258, controller / processor 280, memory 282, transmitter processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, MOD 254, etc.). The unit for the UE to perform the operations described herein may include one or more of, for example, a communication manager 140, an antenna 252, a demodulator 254, a MIMO detector 256, a receive processor 258, a transmit processor 264, a TX MIMO processor 266, a modulator 254, a controller / processor 280, or a memory 282.

[0054] In some configurations, a network node (e.g., a base station) or an apparatus for a network node includes: a unit for transmitting configuration information for a UE identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored by the UE for DCI, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates having a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates having a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidates overlap with one of the PDCCH candidates in the set of linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., using controller / processor 240, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, MOD 232, antenna 234, memory 242, etc.); and / or a unit for communicating according to one or more rules for the overlap of the PDCCH candidates with one of the PDCCH candidates in the set of linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., using controller / processor 240, transmit processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, MOD 232, antenna 234, memory 242, DEMOD, etc.). 232, MIMO detector 236, receiver processor 238, etc.). Units for a base station to perform the operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of the following: communication manager 150, transmitter processor 220, TX MIMO processor 230, modulator 232, antenna 234, demodulator 232, MIMO detector 236, receiver processor 238, controller / processor 240, memory 242, or scheduler 246.

[0055] Although the blocks in Figure 2 are shown as different components, the functions described above with respect to these blocks can be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combined component, or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and / or the TX MIMO processor 266 can be performed by or under the control of the controller / processor 280.

[0056] As noted above, Figure 2 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 2.

[0057] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example resource structure 300 for wireless communication according to the present invention. Resource structure 300 illustrates examples of various resource groups described herein. As shown, resource structure 300 may include sub-frames 305. Sub-frames 305 may include multiple time slots 310. Although resource structure 300 is shown as including 2 time slots per sub-frame, different numbers of time slots may be included in the sub-frames (e.g., 4 time slots, 8 time slots, 16 time slots, 32 time slots, or another number of time slots). In some instances, different types of transmission time intervals (TTIs) may also be used in addition to sub-frames and / or time slots. Time slots 310 may include multiple symbols 315, for example, each time slot may include 14 symbols.

[0058] The potential control region of time slot 310 may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET) 320 and may be configured to support efficient use of resources, for example, by flexibly configuring or reconfiguring the resources of CORESET 320 for one or more PDCCHs and / or one or more entity downlink shared channels (PDSCHs). In some instances, CORESET 320 may occupy the first symbol 315 of time slot 310, the first two symbols 315 of time slot 310, or the first three symbols 315 of time slot 310. Therefore, CORESET 320 may include multiple resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain and one, two, or three symbols 315 in the time domain. In 5G, the number of resources included in CORESET 320 can be flexibly configured, for example, by using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling to indicate the frequency domain region (e.g., number of resource blocks) and / or time domain region (e.g., number of symbols) of CORESET 320. The UE can be configured in the bandwidth portion of the serving cell (e.g., RRC configuration) with up to three (or up to five) CORESETs. Each CORESET can be associated with an Active Transport Configuration Indicator (TCI) state (e.g., an active beam).

[0059] As shown in the figure, the symbol 315 including CORESET 320 may include one or more Control Channel Elements (CCEs) 325 spanning a portion of the system bandwidth, as an example shown as two CCEs 325. The CCEs 325 may include DCIs for providing control information for wireless communication. The base station may transmit DCIs in multiple CCEs 325 (as shown in the figure), where the number of CCEs 325s used for DCI transmission represents the aggregation level (AL) used by the BS for DCI transmission. In Figure 3, aggregation level two is illustrated as an example, corresponding to two CCEs 325 in time slot 310. In some cases, different aggregation levels may be used, such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or another aggregation level.

[0060] Each CCE 325 may include a fixed number of resource element groups (REGs) 330, or may include a variable number of REGs 330. In some cases, the number of REGs 330 included in the CCE 325 may be specified by the REG accompanying size. A REG 330 may include a resource block, which may include 12 resource elements (REs) 335 within a symbol 315. A resource element 335 may occupy a subcarrier in the frequency domain and an OFDM symbol in the time domain.

[0061] The search space may include all possible locations where the PDCCH might be located (e.g., in time and / or frequency). CORESET 320 may include one or more search spaces, such as a UE-specific search space, a group common search space, and / or a common search space. The search space may indicate a set of CCE locations where the UE can find a PDCCH that can potentially be used to send control information to the UE. The possible locations of the PDCCH may depend on whether the PDCCH is a UE-specific PDCCH (e.g., for a single UE) or a group common PDCCH (e.g., for multiple UEs) and / or the aggregation level being used. The possible locations of the PDCCH (e.g., in time and / or frequency) may be referred to as PDCCH candidates, and the set of all possible PDCCH locations at the aggregation level may be referred to as the search space. For example, the set of all possible PDCCH locations for a specific UE may be referred to as a UE-specific search space. Similarly, the set of all possible PDCCH locations spanning all UEs may be referred to as a common search space. The set of all possible PDCCH locations for a specific group of UEs may be referred to as a group common search space. One or more search spaces that span an aggregation level can be referred to as a set of search spaces (SS).

[0062] A UE can be configured (e.g., RRC configuration) to have one or more SS sets (e.g., up to ten SS sets in the bandwidth portion of the serving cell), each SS set can be associated with a CORESET (and a CORESET can be associated with multiple SS sets). The configuration of an SS set can indicate: the associated CORESET; the time slot to be monitored and the period and / or offset of the symbols within the time slot to be monitored, which defines the PDCCH monitoring timing of the SS set; the type of SS set (e.g., a public SS set or a UE-specific SS set); one or more DCI formats to be monitored; and the number of PDCCH candidates included in the SS set for each aggregation level (e.g., each number of CCEs). Therefore, the configuration for an SS set indicates a plurality of PDCCH candidates associated with the corresponding aggregation level and the corresponding candidate index.

[0063] As described above, the UE can receive DCI in one or more PDCCH candidates. For example, the UE can monitor PDCCH candidates in a configured SS set. The UE can perform blind decoding in PDCCH candidates to detect DCI in one or more PDCCH candidates. For example, one or more PDCCH candidates successfully decoded by the UE (e.g., via cyclic redundancy check (CRC)) correspond to the decoded DCI. In some instances, PDCCH candidates of different aggregation levels can overlap, and due to the blind decoding performed by the UE, it may be ambiguous for the UE as to which of the overlapping PDCCH candidate DCIs is detected.

[0064] The CORESET 320 can be interleaved or non-interleaved. An interleaved CORESET 320 can have a CCE-to-REG mapping such that adjacent CCEs map to scattered REG appendages in the frequency domain (e.g., adjacent CCEs do not map to consecutive REG appendages of the CORESET 320). A non-interleaved CORESET 320 can have a CCE-to-REG mapping such that all CCEs map to consecutive REG appendages of the CORESET 320 (e.g., in the frequency domain).

[0065] As noted above, Figure 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 3.

[0066] Figure 4 is a diagram of examples 400 and 405 of PDCCH repetition according to the content of this case. As shown in examples 400 and 405, multiple (e.g., two) PDCCH candidates can be linked PDCCH candidates. A "linked PDCCH candidate" refers to a single PDCCH candidate in which corresponding repetitions of the same DCI (e.g., the same DCI payload) can be sent. In other words, for PDCCH repetitions using linked PDCCH candidates, each linked PDCCH candidate is a repetition of the same DCI. Linked PDCCH candidates can have the same aggregation level (e.g., the same number of CCEs). The UE can perform soft combination (e.g., combination of repetitions) to decode the repetitions of the DCI in the linked PDCCH candidates. Alternatively or supplementarily, the UE can attempt to decode the linked PDCCH candidates individually.

[0067] The UE may store information indicating the connection of PDCCH candidates (e.g., the UE knows the connection of PDCCH candidates before decoding). For example, the UE may receive one or more configurations (e.g., RRC configuration) indicating the connection of PDCCH candidates. As an example, the UE may receive configurations indicating the connection of multiple (e.g., two) SS sets. The connection of SS sets may indicate a one-to-one mapping between the monitoring timing of one SS set and the monitoring timing of another SS set. In other words, the first monitoring timing of the first SS set can be mapped to the first monitoring timing of the second SS set, the second monitoring timing of the first SS set can be mapped to the second monitoring timing of the second SS set, and so on. Furthermore, the connection of SS sets may indicate that PDCCH candidates associated with the same aggregation level and the same candidate index of the corresponding SS set are connected. In other words, the PDCCH candidate associated with a specific aggregation level and a specific candidate index of the first SS set is connected to the PDCCH candidate associated with a specific aggregation level and a specific candidate index of the second SS set. Therefore, the linked SS sets can each include the same number of PDCCH candidates for a specific aggregation level.

[0068] In Example 400, the PDCCH candidates of the first SS set in the first monitoring time of the first SS set can be linked to the PDCCH candidates of the second SS set in the first monitoring time of the second SS set. That is, the PDCCH candidates associated with the aggregation level and candidate index in the first monitoring time of the first SS set are linked to the PDCCH candidates associated with the aggregation level and candidate index in the first monitoring time of the second SS set. In Example 405, the PDCCH candidates of the first SS set in the first monitoring time of the first SS set can be linked to the PDCCH candidates of the second SS set in the first monitoring time of the second SS set, and the PDCCH candidates of the first SS set in the second monitoring time of the first SS set can be linked to the PDCCH candidates of the second SS set in the second monitoring time of the second SS set. As shown, the PDCCH candidates can be linked in the same time slot (i.e., PDCCH repetition within the time slot). Alternatively or supplementarily, the PDCCH candidates can be linked in different time slots (i.e., PDCCH repetition between time slots).

[0069] In PDCCH repetition, the repetition of the same DCI transmitted at different monitoring times and in different PDCCH candidates improves the time and frequency diversity of DCI. In addition, the corresponding repetition of DCI can be sent by different TRPs, thereby improving the spatial diversity of DCI.

[0070] As noted above, Figure 4 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 4.

[0071] Figures 5A-5C are figures showing examples 500, 505 and 510 of overlapping PDCCH candidates according to the content of this case.

[0072] In some instances, PDCCH candidates of a first aggregation level may overlap with PDCCH candidates of a second aggregation level (e.g., in terms of time and frequency resources) (e.g., one or more CCEs of the PDCCH candidates may overlap). For example, a PDCCH candidate of aggregation level 8 (AL8) may overlap with a PDCCH candidate of aggregation level 16 (AL16). This may lead to ambiguity in the UE performing blind decoding of the PDCCH candidates. For example, the PDCCH may use polar coding, which uses a mother code length defined by the number of coded bits, the number of coded bits depending on the number of CCEs (i.e., the aggregation level). AL8 PDCCH and AL16 PDCCH may use the same mother code length (e.g., 512 bits). For example, AL8 PDCCH may include 864 coded bits, which may include a mother code and some repeated coded bits until 864 bits are reached; AL16 PDCCH may include 1728 coded bits, which may include a mother code repeated three times and some repeated coded bits until 1728 bits are reached. Therefore, the first eight CCEs of AL16 PDCCH candidates may appear to the UE as AL8 PDCCH candidates, thus causing ambiguity in the UE.

[0073] Ambiguity may occur when the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate have the same starting CCE index. Alternatively, ambiguity may occur when the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate are associated with the same CORESET (otherwise, scrambling can be configured differently for PDCCH candidates associated with different CORESETs to resolve ambiguity). When the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate are associated with the same SS set, they can be associated with the same CORESET. Alternatively, when the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate are associated with different SS sets (which are associated with the same CORESET and have overlapping monitoring times and the same DCI size), they can be associated with the same CORESET. Alternatively or supplementally, ambiguity may occur when the CORESET associated with the AL8 PDCCH candidate and the AL16 PDCCH candidate is a single symbol in the time domain (e.g., otherwise, a frequency-domain first time-domain second mapping of multiple symbols may resolve the ambiguity).

[0074] This ambiguity may lead to further ambiguity regarding PDSCH rate matching. Specifically, if the resources of the DCI carrying the scheduled PDSCH overlap with the resources of the PDSCH, rate matching of the PDSCH is performed around the overlapping resources. Therefore, the UE can use different PDSCH rate matches to receive the PDSCH, depending on whether the PDCCH candidate is an AL8 PDCCH candidate or an AL16 PDCCH candidate (as mentioned above, this is ambiguous for the UE). In some instances, it can be assumed that the resources corresponding to the AL16 PDCCH candidate are unavailable for the PDSCH to resolve the ambiguity in this scenario. That is, the UE can receive the PDSCH with rate matching around the resources corresponding to the AL16 PDCCH candidate (e.g., regardless of whether the DCI of the detected scheduled PDSCH is based on the AL8 candidate or the AL16 candidate) to resolve the ambiguity in this scenario.

[0075] However, the above assumptions may not resolve other scenarios. For example, in the scenario of instance 500 of FIG5A, a single (e.g., non-connected) PDCCH candidate 501 with AL8 may overlap with one of the two connected PDCCH candidates 502a, 502b with AL16, and the AL8 PDCCH candidate 501 may have the same starting CCE as the AL16 connected PDCCH candidate 502a. In the scenario of instance 505 of FIG5B, a single (e.g., non-connected) PDCCH candidate 506 with AL16 may overlap with one of the two connected PDCCH candidates 507a, 507b with AL8, and the AL16 PDCCH candidate 506 may have the same starting CCE as the AL8 connected PDCCH candidate 507a. In the scenario of instance 510 in Figure 5C, one of the two link PDCCH candidates 511a and 511b with AL8 can overlap with one of the two link PDCCH candidates 512a and 512b with AL16, and the AL8 link PDCCH candidate 511a can have the same starting CCE as the AL16 link PDCCH candidate 512a.

[0076] The ambiguity in scenarios 500, 505, and 510 may arise from overlapping PDCCH candidates being associated with the same CORESET having a symbol duration. In some instances, the ambiguity in scenarios 500, 505, and 510 may arise from the CORESET being configured with a non-interleaved CCE-to-REG mapping. Specifically, in scenarios 500, 505, and 510, ambiguity occurs when the UE detects a PDCCH in the AL8 PDCCH candidate, but the PDCCH is transmitted using the AL16 PDCCH candidate, and / or when the UE detects a PDCCH in the AL16 PDCCH candidate, but the PDCCH is transmitted using the AL8 PDCCH candidate.

[0077] In some instances, the UE may perform one or more procedures based at least in part on information associated with a PDCCH candidate used to detect DCI. For example, the UE may use information associated with a PDCCH candidate to determine scheduling information, one or more resources, isochrones, beams, etc. When DCI is detected using one or both of the linked PDCCH candidates, the interpretation of the DCI used to perform one or more procedures differs from the interpretation of the DCI when it is detected in a separate (e.g., non-linked) PDCCH candidate. For example, when DCI is detected using one or both of the linked PDCCH candidates, the UE may use a reference PDCCH candidate from the two linked PDCCH candidates to perform one or more procedures (e.g., regardless of which of the linked PDCCH candidates is decoded). The reference PDCCH candidate is not fixed and may be specified in different ways via different procedures, as described below.

[0078] In the first example procedure, in the case of PDCCH duplication, when the corresponding entity uplink control channel (PUCCH) resource set has a size greater than eight, for the PUCCH resource decision for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK), the starting CCE index and CCE number in the CORESET of a linked PDCCH candidate (e.g., a reference PDCCH candidate) associated with the lowest SS set identifier are applied. Without PDCCH duplication, the PUCCH resource decision depends on the starting CCE index and CCE number in the CORESET of the scheduled PDCCH. In the second example procedure, when a PDSCH with mapping type B is scheduled by DCI for repeatedly linked PDCCH candidates, the UE does not expect the first symbol of the PDSCH to be earlier than the start symbol of a linked PDCCH candidate (e.g., a reference PDCCH candidate) with a later start symbol, and / or when the UE (e.g., configured with ReferenceofSLIV-ForDCIFormat1_2) receives a PDSCH scheduled by DCI format 1_2, the start symbol S is relative to the start symbol S0 of the PDCCH candidate (e.g., a reference PDCCH candidate) with a later start symbol.

[0079] In the third example procedure, when the DCI schedules a PDSCH or Channel Status Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) for repeatedly linked PDCCH candidates, the scheduling offset is based on the later-ending linked PDCCH candidate (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate) among the linked PDCCH candidates to determine the quasi-co-occurrence (QCL) assumption for the PDSCH or CSI-RS. If no DCI is received in the linked PDCCH candidate, and the time offset is less than a threshold (e.g., timeDurationForQCL), a preset QCL assumption (for QCL type D) is used for the PDSCH. In the fourth example procedure, for the entity uplink shared channel (PUSCH) processing isochron (N2) and channel status information (CSI) calculation isochron (Z), the last symbol of the PDCCH is the last symbol of the later-ending linked PDCCH candidate (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate).

[0080] In the fifth example procedure, for a type 2 HARQ-ACK codebook, the PDCCH monitoring timing associated with the downlink assignment index (DAI) or total DAI in the DCI detected for repeatedly linked PDCCH candidates is the monitoring timing of the earlier PDCCH candidate among the linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., the reference PDCCH candidate). In the sixth example procedure, if the PDSCH is scheduled by the DCI for repeatedly linked PDCCH candidates, there is no TCI field in the DCI, and the scheduling offset is equal to or greater than a threshold (e.g., timeDurationForQCL), then the QCL assumption for the PDSCH is based on the CORESET with the lower identifier among the two CORESETs associated with the linked PDCCH candidate (e.g., the CORESET associated with the reference PDCCH candidate). In the seventh example procedure, if the PDSCH is scheduled by DCI for repeatedly linked PDCCH candidates, and the resources of the PDCCH candidates overlap with the resources of the PDSCH, then rate matching of the PDSCH is performed around the resources of the two PDCCH candidates (e.g., both PDCCH candidates are reference PDCCH candidates).

[0081] Therefore, in the scenarios of Examples 500 and 505, it is unclear whether one or more procedures are executed based at least in part on a single PDCCH candidate associated with the overlap or on linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., using a reference PDCCH candidate). In the scenario of Example 510, it is unclear whether one or more procedures are executed based at least in part on a first linked PDCCH candidate associated with the overlap or on a second linked PDCCH candidate. Therefore, due to the ambiguity, the UE may incorrectly execute one or more procedures and deduce incorrect scheduling information, resources, isochrones, beams, etc., resulting in failed communication, increased use of network resources to resolve failed communication, etc.

[0082] Some of the techniques and apparatus described herein resolve ambiguities arising from the overlap of PDCCH candidates of a first aggregation level with linked PDCCH candidates of a second aggregation level (e.g., scenarios 500, 505, and 510 of Figures 5A-5C). In some cases, the UE and the base station can communicate according to one or more rules that resolve ambiguities arising from the overlap of PDCCH candidates with linked PDCCH candidates. In some cases, according to one or more rules, the UE can discard (e.g., to avoid detection) overlapping PDCCH candidates (e.g., the rules can instruct the UE to discard either a PDCCH candidate or a linked PDCCH candidate), thereby enabling the UE to determine whether DCI is detected in the overlapping PDCCH candidates that are not discarded and improving communication efficiency. In some configurations, according to one or more rules, the UE can execute one or more procedures based at least in part on the assumption that DCI is detected in either a PDCCH candidate or a linked PDCCH candidate. This allows the UE to correctly execute such procedures regardless of overlapping PDCCH candidates in which DCI is detected, thereby improving communication performance. In some configurations, according to one or more rules, a first CRC mask is applied to PDCCH candidates at a first aggregation level, and a second CRC mask is applied to PDCCH candidates at a second aggregation level. This allows the UE to distinguish between PDCCH candidates and linked PDCCH candidates, further improving communication performance. In some configurations, according to one or more rules, a first rate matching scheme is applied to PDCCH candidates at a first aggregation level, and a second rate matching scheme is applied to PDCCH candidates at a second aggregation level. This allows the UE to distinguish between PDCCH candidates and linked PDCCH candidates, again improving communication performance. In some configurations, according to one or more rules, a first scrambling scheme is used for the coding bits of PDCCH candidates at a first aggregation level, and a second scrambling scheme is used for the coding bits of PDCCH candidates at a second aggregation level, thereby enabling the UE to distinguish between PDCCH candidates and linked PDCCH candidates and improving communication efficiency.

[0083] In this way, the ambiguity caused by the overlap between PDCCH candidates and connection PDCCH candidates is resolved, thereby improving communication efficiency and saving network resources.

[0084] As noted above, Figures 5A-5C are provided as examples. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figures 5A-5C.

[0085] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example 600 associated with resolving ambiguities arising from overlapping PDCCH candidates of different aggregation levels according to the content of this case. As shown in Figure 6, example 600 includes communication between base station 110 and UE 120. In some cases, base station 110 and UE 120 may be included in a wireless network (such as wireless network 100). Base station 110 and UE 120 may communicate via a radio access link, which may include an uplink and a downlink.

[0086] As shown in component symbol 605, base station 110 can transmit and UE 120 can receive configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored for DCI (e.g., information identifying the locations of the plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored). That is, the plurality of PDCCH candidates can identify PDCCH resources (e.g., time and frequency resources) for which UE 120 will perform blind decoding of DCI. In some cases, the configuration information identifying the plurality of PDCCH candidates may include one or more configurations for UE 120 (e.g., RRC configuration). For example, one or more configurations may include one or more CORESET configurations, one or more SS set configurations, and / or one or more SS set linking configurations for PDCCH repetition, as described above.

[0087] The plurality of PDCCH candidates may include PDCCH candidates having a first aggregation level. The PDCCH candidate may be a single PDCCH candidate (e.g., non-linked) or may be linked with other PDCCH candidates. The plurality of PDCCH candidates may also include a set of linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., two linked PDCCH candidates) having a second aggregation level for the DCI as described above. The first aggregation level and the second aggregation level may be different. For example, the first aggregation level may be one of aggregation level 8 or aggregation level 16, and the second aggregation level may be the other of aggregation level 8 or aggregation level 16. However, other aggregation levels are contemplated herein.

[0088] In some configurations, a PDCCH candidate may overlap with one of the linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., one of the scenarios described above, such as instances 500, 505, and 510). Therefore, in the following description, a PDCCH candidate may be referred to as an overlapping PDCCH candidate, one of the linked PDCCH candidates may be referred to as an overlapping linked PDCCH candidate, and the other of the linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., another linked PDCCH candidate) may be referred to as a non-overlapping linked PDCCH candidate. Depending on one or more configurations, overlapping PDCCH candidates may be included in a first SS set associated with a first CORESET; overlapping linked PDCCH candidates may be included in a second SS set associated with a first CORESET; and non-overlapping linked PDCCH candidates may be included in a third SS set associated with a second CORESET.

[0089] As mentioned above, the overlap of overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates may lead to ambiguity (e.g., UE 120 detects a PDCCH in an overlapping PDCCH candidate of a first aggregation level, but the PDCCH is transmitted using an overlapping linked PDCCH candidate of a second aggregation level, or vice versa). For example, the ambiguity may be at least partially based on the overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates being associated with the same CORESET and that the CORESET having only one symbol duration (e.g., according to one or more configurations). Furthermore, the ambiguity may be at least partially based on the overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates having the same starting CCE (e.g., according to one or more configurations). In some cases, supplementarily or alternatively, the ambiguity may be at least partially based on the overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates having the same DCI size. In some cases, supplementally or alternatively, ambiguity may be at least in part based on the fact that the CORESET is configured with a non-interleaved CCE-to-REG mapping.

[0090] In some cases, UE 120 may determine that the overlap of overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates that cause ambiguity is erroneous (e.g., an error condition has occurred and no rule has been used to resolve the ambiguity). In other words, UE 120 does not expect to be configured with CORESETs, SS sets, PDCCH candidates and / or SS set links that cause overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., when a PDCCH candidate is associated with the same CORESET having a duration of one symbol and the PDCCH candidates have the same starting CCE).

[0091] In some configurations, UE 120 may use one or more rules to resolve ambiguities arising from the overlap of overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping connection PDCCH candidates (e.g., one or more rules for handling the overlap of overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping connection PDCCH candidates). For example, UE 120 may communicate with base station 110 according to one or more rules. Here, communicating with base station 110 may include: monitoring PDCCH candidates for DCI, detecting DCI, decoding DCI, processing DCI, determining information for one or more procedures based at least in part on DCI (e.g., interpreting DCI), executing one or more procedures based at least in part on the information, exchanging communications with base station 110 based at least in part on one or more procedures, etc. In some configurations, base station 110 may send and UE 120 may receive configuration indicating one or more rules, indicating parameters to be used for one or more rules, and / or indicating which of one or more rules to be used by UE 120. In some cases, one or more rules may be fixed at UE 120 (e.g., statically configured for UE 120 or otherwise provided to UE 120).

[0092] In some configurations, base station 110 may also use one or more rules to determine the actions to be used by UE 120 for resolving ambiguity. That is, base station 110 may communicate with UE 120 according to one or more rules. Here, communicating with UE 120 may include: generating DCI, encoding DCI, transmitting DCI, determining information for one or more procedures based at least in part on DCI (e.g., interpreting DCI), determining the results of one or more procedures based at least in part on the information, exchanging communications with UE 120 based at least in part on one or more procedures, etc.

[0093] As shown in component symbol 610, base station 110 can transmit DCI for UE 120 (e.g., group common DCI, UE-specific DCI, etc.). Base station 110 can use overlapping PDCCH candidates to transmit DCI. Alternatively or supplementarily, base station 110 can use overlapping linked PDCCH candidates to transmit DCI. For example, base station 110 (e.g., the first TRP and the second TRP of base station 110) can use linked PDCCH candidates to transmit duplicates of DCI. As another example, base station 110 (e.g., the first TRP) and another base station 110 (e.g., the second TRP) can each use linked PDCCH candidates to transmit duplicates of DCI. Base station 110 can transmit DCI according to one or more rules, as described below.

[0094] As shown in component symbol 615, UE 120 can monitor and detect DCI according to one or more rules. In some cases, UE 120 can discard (e.g., avoid monitoring) one of the overlapping PDCCH candidates or overlapping connection PDCCH candidates according to one or more rules. Similarly, base station 110 can discard (e.g., avoid transmitting) one of the overlapping PDCCH candidates or overlapping connection PDCCH candidates according to one or more rules. In some cases, the discarded one of the overlapping PDCCH candidates or overlapping connection PDCCH candidates is associated with a lower priority (and the monitored one is associated with a higher priority). In this way, UE 120 only monitors one of the overlapping PDCCH candidates or overlapping connection PDCCH candidates (or is used by base station 110 to transmit DCI), thereby resolving ambiguity.

[0095] In some states, the overlapping PDCCH candidate or the overlapping linked PDCCH candidate associated with a lower aggregation level has a lower priority and is discarded. For example, the overlapping PDCCH candidate or the overlapping linked PDCCH candidate with aggregation level 8 is discarded. In some states, the overlapping PDCCH candidate or the overlapping linked PDCCH candidate associated with a higher aggregation level has a lower priority and is discarded. For example, the overlapping PDCCH candidate or the overlapping linked PDCCH candidate with aggregation level 16 is discarded. In other words, the priority can be at least partially based on the aggregation level associated with the PDCCH candidate.

[0096] In some states, one of the overlapping PDCCH candidates or overlapping linked PDCCH candidates that is a separate (e.g., non-linked) PDCCH candidate (e.g., overlapping PDCCH candidate) has a lower priority and is discarded. In some states, one of the overlapping PDCCH candidates or overlapping linked PDCCH candidates that is a linked PDCCH candidate (e.g., overlapping linked PDCCH candidate) has a lower priority and is discarded. In other words, the priority can be at least partially based on whether a PDCCH candidate is linked to other PDCCH candidates.

[0097] In some states, the overlapping PDCCH candidate or the overlapping linked PDCCH candidate associated with the SS set having a higher (or lower) SS set identifier (e.g., index) has a lower priority and is discarded. In other words, the priority can be based at least in part on the SS set identifier of the SS set associated with the PDCCH candidate. For linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., PDCCH candidates associated with an SS set linked to another SS set), the SS set used to determine the priority can be the SS set with the lower (or higher) SS set identifier among the two linked SS sets.

[0098] Therefore, in some instances, UE 120 can discard overlapping connection PDCCH candidates according to one or more rules. Here, in some cases, if overlapping connection PDCCH candidates are discarded, UE 120 can discard (e.g., avoid detection) non-overlapping connection PDCCH candidates (and base station 110 can avoid transmitting DCI in non-overlapping connection PDCCH candidates). Alternatively, in some cases, if overlapping connection PDCCH candidates are discarded, UE 120 can monitor non-overlapping connection PDCCH candidates (and base station 110 can transmit DCI in non-overlapping PDCCH candidates). Here, if UE 120 detects DCI in non-overlapping connection PDCCH candidates, UE 120 can determine, at least in part, the information for executing one or more procedures (e.g., one or more of the first to seventh example procedures described in conjunction with Figures 5A-5C) based on a reference PDCCH candidate in the connection PDCCH candidates, as described above. Alternatively, if UE 120 detects DCI in non-overlapping linked PDCCH candidates, UE 120 may determine information based at least in part on the assumption that the non-overlapping linked PDCCH candidates are not linked to overlapping linked PDCCH candidates (e.g., determining information based at least in part on non-overlapping linked PDCCH candidates and without using reference PDCCH candidates).

[0099] In some configurations, a first aggregation level may be associated with a first CRC mask (e.g., a CRC scrambled using a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI),) and a second aggregation level may be associated with a second (e.g., a different) CRC mask (e.g., a CRC scrambled using a second RNTI). Therefore, according to one or more rules, overlapping PDCCH candidates may use the first CRC mask associated with the first aggregation level, and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates may use the second CRC mask associated with the second aggregation level. In other words, base station 110 may transmit in overlapping PDCCH candidates, and UE 120 may detect / decode a DCI with a CRC scrambled by the first RNTI, and / or base station 110 may transmit in overlapping linked PDCCH candidates, and UE 120 may detect / decode a DCI with a CRC scrambled by the second RNTI. In this way, UE 120 can resolve ambiguity by at least partially based on the RNTI used for decoding DCI to distinguish between overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates.

[0100] In some cases, UE 120 may determine, at least in part, the information (e.g., at least in part, based on the PDCCH candidate in which DCI is received) for performing one or more procedures (e.g., one or more of the first to seventh example procedures described in conjunction with Figures 5A-5C) based at least in part on the PDCCH candidate in which DCI is received.

[0101] In some configurations, supplementarily or alternatively, a first aggregation level may be associated with a first rate matching scheme, and a second aggregation level may be associated with a second (e.g., different) rate matching scheme. Therefore, according to one or more rules, overlapping PDCCH candidates may use the first rate matching scheme associated with the first aggregation level, and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates may use the second rate matching scheme associated with the second aggregation level. In other words, base station 110 may use the first rate matching scheme to transmit overlapping PDCCH candidates, and UE 120 may use the first rate matching scheme to detect / decode overlapping PDCCH candidates, and / or base station 110 may use the second rate matching scheme to transmit overlapping linked PDCCH candidates, and UE 120 may use the second rate matching scheme to detect / decode overlapping linked PDCCH candidates. The first and second rate matching schemes may use different starting points to read coded bits from the master code. In this way, UE 120 can distinguish between overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates because the starting code bits of overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates are not the same code bits, thus resolving ambiguity.

[0102] In some cases, UE 120 may determine, at least in part, the information (e.g., at least in part, based on the PDCCH candidate in which DCI is received) for performing one or more procedures (e.g., one or more of the first to seventh example procedures described in Figures 5A-5C) based at least in part on the PDCCH candidate in which DCI is received.

[0103] In some configurations, supplementarily or alternatively, a first aggregation level may be associated with a first scrambling scheme for encoding bits, and a second aggregation level may be associated with a second (e.g., different) scrambling scheme for encoding bits. Therefore, according to one or more rules, the encoded bits of overlapping PDCCH candidates can use the first scrambling scheme associated with the first aggregation level, and the encoded bits of overlapping linked PDCCH candidates can use the second scrambling scheme associated with the second aggregation level. In other words, base station 110 can use the first scrambling scheme to transmit the encoded bits of overlapping PDCCH candidates, and UE 120 can use the first scrambling scheme to detect / decode the encoded bits of overlapping PDCCH candidates, and / or base station 110 can use the second scrambling scheme to transmit the encoded bits of overlapping linked PDCCH candidates, and UE 120 can use the second scrambling scheme to detect / decode the encoded bits of overlapping linked PDCCH candidates. In this way, UE 120 can resolve ambiguity by at least partially distinguishing between overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates based on the scrambling scheme used for encoding bits.

[0104] In some cases, UE 120 may determine, at least in part, the information (e.g., at least in part, based on the PDCCH candidate in which DCI is received) for performing one or more procedures (e.g., one or more of the first to seventh example procedures described in conjunction with Figures 5A-5C) based at least in part on the PDCCH candidate in which DCI is received.

[0105] As shown in component symbol 620, UE 120 can process DCI according to one or more rules (e.g., if DCI is detected in overlapping PDCCH candidates and / or overlapping linked PDCCH candidates). In some states, according to one or more rules, UE 120 will determine the information for executing one or more procedures (e.g., one or more of the first to seventh example procedures described in conjunction with FIG. 5A-5C) based at least in part on the assumption that DCI is detected in overlapping linked PDCCH candidates. That is, UE 120 will determine the information based at least in part on a reference PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidates. In some states, according to one or more rules, UE 120 will determine the information for executing one or more procedures (e.g., one or more of the first to seventh example procedures described in conjunction with FIG. 5A-5C) based at least in part on the assumption that DCI is detected in non-linked overlapping PDCCH candidates. That is, UE 120 will determine information without using reference PDCCH candidates (e.g., UE 120 will determine information based at least in part on overlapping PDCCH candidates).

[0106] In some configurations, according to one or more rules, if an overlapping connected PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than an overlapping non-connected PDCCH candidate, then UE 120 will determine the information for executing one or more procedures (e.g., one or more of the first to seventh example procedures described in conjunction with Figures 5A-5C) based at least in part on the assumption that DCI is detected in the overlapping connected PDCCH candidate. The priority order of overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping linked PDCCH candidates can be based on one or more of the above-mentioned conditions for determining the priority order of discarding PDCCH candidates.

[0107] UE 120 may determine information (e.g., interpret DCI), as described above, and UE 120 may use this information to perform one or more procedures. For example, UE 120 may determine information based at least in part on the PDCCH candidates in which DCI is detected, based on the above assumptions. As described above, this information may include the starting CCE index and / or number of CCEs of the PDCCH candidate (e.g., for the first instance procedure), the starting symbol of the PDCCH candidate (e.g., for the second instance procedure), the scheduling offset for determining the QCL assumption (e.g., for the third instance procedure), the last symbol of the PDCCH candidate (e.g., for the fourth instance procedure), the PDCCH monitoring timing (e.g., for the fifth instance procedure), the CORESET for determining the QCL assumption (e.g., for the sixth instance procedure), and / or the resources for PDSCH rate matching (e.g., for the seventh instance procedure), and other instances.

[0108] As mentioned above, UE 120 can use this information to execute one or more procedures to determine scheduling information, one or more resources, isochrones, beams, etc., for communication with base station 110. In addition, base station 110 can also determine information according to one or more rules in order to determine the behavior to be used by UE 120.

[0109] In some cases, one of the above rules can be used independently (e.g., to resolve ambiguity in any scenario of instances 500, 505, and 510 of Figures 5A-5C). In some cases, multiple rules can be used in combination (e.g., to resolve ambiguity in any scenario of instances 500, 505, and 510 of Figures 5A-5C). In some cases, different rules or combinations of rules can be used for different scenarios of instances 500, 505, and 510 of Figures 5A-5C. For example, based on the discard rule and / or the rule indicating the assumptions used to determine the information used in the program, the scenario of instance 510 of Figure 5C can be determined as an error, while the scenarios of instances 500 and 505 of Figures 5A and 5B can be resolved respectively.

[0110] As shown in component symbol 625, base station 110 and UE 120 can communicate at least partially based on DCI. In addition, base station 110 and UE 120 can communicate based on scheduling information, one or more resources, isochrones, beams, etc., indicated by one or more procedures.

[0111] In this way, base station 110 and UE 120 can communicate according to one or more rules to resolve ambiguities arising from the overlap of overlapping PDCCH candidates and overlapping connection PDCCH candidates. Therefore, the efficiency of communication between base station 110 and UE 120 can be improved, network resources used to resolve failed communications can be saved, and so on.

[0112] As noted above, Figure 6 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from those described with respect to Figure 6.

[0113] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating, for example, an example procedure 700 executed by a UE according to the content of this case. Example procedure 700 is an example in which a UE (e.g., UE 120) performs operations associated with resolving ambiguities arising from overlapping PDCCH candidates of different aggregation levels.

[0114] As shown in FIG7, in some configurations, procedure 700 may include: receiving configuration information from a base station identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored for DCI, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates with a first aggregation level and linked PDCCH candidates with a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidates overlap with one of the linked PDCCH candidates (block 710). For example, a UE (e.g., using the communication manager 140 and / or receiver 902 illustrated in FIG9) may receive configuration information from a base station identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored for DCI, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates with a first aggregation level and linked PDCCH candidates with a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidates overlap with one of the linked PDCCH candidates, as described above, for example with FIG6.

[0115] As further shown in FIG7, in some configurations, procedure 700 may include: communicating with the base station according to one or more rules that resolve ambiguities arising from overlap between a PDCCH candidate and a connected PDCCH candidate (block 720). For example, the UE (e.g., using the communication manager 140, receiving unit 902, and / or transmitting unit 904 illustrated in FIG9) may communicate with the base station according to one or more rules that resolve ambiguities arising from overlap between a PDCCH candidate and a connected PDCCH candidate, as described above, for example, with reference to FIG6.

[0116] Procedure 700 may include additional patterns, such as any single pattern or any combination thereof described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other patterns described elsewhere herein.

[0117] In the first state, the first aggregation level is one of 8 or 16, and the second aggregation level is the other of 8 or 16.

[0118] In the second state sample, either alone or in combination with the first state sample, the ambiguity arising from the overlap of the PDCCH candidate and one of the linked PDCCH candidates is at least partly based on the fact that the PDCCH candidate and one of the linked PDCCH candidates have the same starting control channel element and that the PDCCH candidate and one of the linked PDCCH candidates are associated with the same set of control resources with a duration of one symbol.

[0119] In the third state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states in the first and second states, procedure 700 includes: determining that the overlap of one of the PDCCH candidates and the linked PDCCH candidates is an error.

[0120] In the fourth state sample, communicating with the base station according to one or more state samples from the first to the third state samples, either alone or in combination with one or more state samples, includes: discarding a PDCCH candidate or connecting one of the PDCCH candidates to a PDCCH candidate.

[0121] In the fifth state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the fourth state samples, the PDCCH candidate or the discarded one of the linked PDCCH candidates has a lower priority.

[0122] In the sixth state sample, communicating with the base station according to one or more rules, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the fifth state samples, also includes: if one of the connected PDCCH candidates is discarded, then another connected PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidates is discarded.

[0123] In the seventh state sample, communicating with the base station according to one or more state samples from the first to the sixth state samples, either alone or in combination with one or more state samples, also includes: if one of the connected PDCCH candidates is discarded, monitoring another connected PDCCH candidate among the connected PDCCH candidates, wherein the DCI is detected in the other connected PDCCH candidate among the connected PDCCH candidates.

[0124] In the eighth state sample, information for executing one or more programs, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the seventh state samples, is at least partially based on reference PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidates.

[0125] In the ninth state, information for executing one or more programs, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the eighth state, is based at least in part on the assumption that another linked PDCCH candidate among the linked PDCCH candidates is not linked to one of the linked PDCCH candidates.

[0126] In the tenth state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the ninth state samples, the information used to execute one or more procedures is based, at least in part, on the assumption that the DCI is detected by the UE in one of the connected PDCCH candidates.

[0127] In the eleventh state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the tenth state samples, the information used to execute one or more procedures is based at least in part on the assumption that the DCI is detected by the UE in a non-connected PDCCH candidate, according to one or more rules.

[0128] In the twelfth state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the eleventh state samples, according to one or more rules, if a connected PDCCH candidate among the connected PDCCH candidates is associated with a higher priority than a non-connected PDCCH candidate, then the information used to execute one or more procedures is at least partially based on the assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE in a connected PDCCH candidate among the connected PDCCH candidates, or if a PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than a connected PDCCH candidate among the connected PDCCH candidates, then the information used to execute one or more procedures is at least partially based on the assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE in a non-connected PDCCH candidate.

[0129] In the thirteenth state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the twelfth state samples, according to one or more rules, the PDCCH candidate uses a first cyclic redundancy check mask associated with the first aggregation level, and one of the PDCCH candidates uses a second cyclic redundancy check mask associated with the second aggregation level.

[0130] In the fourteenth state, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the thirteenth state, the PDCCH candidate uses a rate matching scheme associated with the first aggregation level according to one or more rules, and one of the linked PDCCH candidates uses a rate matching scheme associated with the second aggregation level.

[0131] In the fifteenth state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourteenth state samples, according to one or more rules, the coded bits of the PDCCH candidate use a scrambling scheme associated with the first aggregation level, and the coded bits of one of the PDCCH candidates use a scrambling scheme associated with the second aggregation level.

[0132] Although FIG7 illustrates an example block of program 700, in some versions, program 700 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner compared to those illustrated in FIG7. Alternatively or additionally, two or more blocks in program 700 may be executed in parallel.

[0133] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating an example program 800 executed by a network node (e.g., a base station) according to the content of this case. Example program 800 is an example in which a network node (e.g., base station 110) performs operations associated with resolving ambiguities arising from overlapping PDCCH candidates of different aggregation levels.

[0134] As shown in FIG8, in some configurations, procedure 800 may include sending configuration information to the UE identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates for DCI monitoring by the UE, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates with a first aggregation level and linked PDCCH candidates for DCI with a second aggregation level, wherein the PDCCH candidates overlap with one of the linked PDCCH candidates (block 810). For example, a base station (e.g., using the communication manager 150 and / or transmission unit 1004 illustrated in FIG10) may send configuration information to the UE identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates for DCI monitoring by the UE, the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates with a first aggregation level and linked PDCCH candidates for DCI with a second aggregation level, wherein the PDCCH candidates overlap with one of the linked PDCCH candidates, as described above, for example with FIG6.

[0135] As further shown in FIG8, in some configurations, procedure 800 may include: communicating with the UE according to one or more rules that resolve ambiguities arising from the overlap of a PDCCH candidate with a connected PDCCH candidate (block 820). For example, a base station (e.g., using the communication manager 150, receiving unit 1002, and / or transmitting unit 1004 illustrated in FIG10) may communicate with the UE according to one or more rules that resolve ambiguities arising from the overlap of a PDCCH candidate with a connected PDCCH candidate, as described above, for example, with FIG6.

[0136] Program 800 may include additional patterns, such as any single pattern or any combination thereof described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other patterns described elsewhere herein.

[0137] In the first state, the first aggregation level is one of 8 or 16, and the second aggregation level is the other of 8 or 16.

[0138] In the second state sample, either alone or in combination with the first state sample, the ambiguity arising from the overlap of the PDCCH candidate and one of the linked PDCCH candidates is at least in part based on the fact that the PDCCH candidate and one of the linked PDCCH candidates have the same starting control channel element and that the PDCCH candidate and one of the linked PDCCH candidates are associated with the same set of control resources with a duration of one symbol.

[0139] In the third state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states in the first and second states sample, the procedure 800 includes: determining that the overlap of one of the PDCCH candidates and the linked PDCCH candidates is an error.

[0140] In the fourth state sample, communicating with the UE according to one or more state samples from the first to the third state samples, either alone or in combination with one or more state samples, includes: discarding a PDCCH candidate or connecting one of the PDCCH candidates to a PDCCH candidate.

[0141] In the fifth state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the fourth state samples, the PDCCH candidate or one of the PDCCH candidates linked to the discarded PDCCH candidate has a lower priority.

[0142] In the sixth state sample, communicating with the UE according to one or more rules, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the fifth state samples, also includes: if one of the connected PDCCH candidates is discarded, then another connected PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidates is discarded.

[0143] In the seventh state sample, communicating with the UE according to one or more rules, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the sixth state samples, also includes: if one of the connected PDCCH candidates is discarded, then another connected PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidates is used to send the DCI.

[0144] In the eighth state sample, information for executing one or more programs, either alone or in combination with one or more state samples from the first to the seventh state samples, is at least partially based on reference PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidates.

[0145] In the ninth state, information for executing one or more programs, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the eighth state, is based at least in part on the assumption that another linked PDCCH candidate among the linked PDCCH candidates is not linked to one of the linked PDCCH candidates.

[0146] In the tenth state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the ninth state samples, the information used to execute one or more procedures is based, at least in part, on the assumption that the DCI is detected by the UE in one of the connected PDCCH candidates.

[0147] In the eleventh state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the tenth state samples, the information used to execute one or more procedures is based, at least in part, on the assumption that the DCI is detected by the UE in a non-connected PDCCH candidate, according to one or more rules.

[0148] In the twelfth state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the eleventh state samples, according to one or more rules, if a connected PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than a non-connected PDCCH candidate, then the information used to execute one or more procedures is at least partially based on the assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE in a connected PDCCH candidate, or if a PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than a connected PDCCH candidate, then the information used to execute one or more procedures is at least partially based on the assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE in a non-connected PDCCH candidate.

[0149] In the thirteenth state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the twelfth state samples, according to one or more rules, the PDCCH candidate uses a first cyclic redundancy check mask associated with the first aggregation level, and one of the PDCCH candidates uses a second cyclic redundancy check mask associated with the second aggregation level.

[0150] In the fourteenth state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the thirteenth state samples, the PDCCH candidate uses a rate matching scheme associated with the first aggregation level according to one or more rules, and one of the PDCCH candidates uses a rate matching scheme associated with the second aggregation level.

[0151] In the fifteenth state sample, either alone or in combination with one or more states from the first to the fourteenth states, according to one or more rules, the coded bits of the PDCCH candidate use a scrambling scheme associated with the first aggregation level, and the coded bits of one of the PDCCH candidates use a scrambling scheme associated with the second aggregation level.

[0152] Although FIG8 illustrates an example block of program 800, in some versions, program 800 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged in a different manner compared to those illustrated in FIG8. Alternatively or additionally, two or more blocks in program 800 may be executed in parallel.

[0153] Figure 9 is a block diagram of an example device 900 for wireless communication. Device 900 may be a UE, or a UE may include device 900. In some embodiments, device 900 includes a receiving component 902 and a transmitting component 904, which can communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, device 900 can use the receiving component 902 and the transmitting component 904 to communicate with another device 906 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device). As further shown, device 900 may include a communication manager 140. Communication manager 140 may include a rule component 908 and other instances.

[0154] In some embodiments, device 900 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in conjunction with FIG. 6. Alternatively or additionally, device 900 may be configured to perform one or more programs (such as program 700 of FIG. 7) or combinations thereof described herein. In some embodiments, device 900 and / or one or more components shown in FIG. 9 may include one or more components of the UE described above in conjunction with FIG. 2. Alternatively or additionally, one or more components shown in FIG. 9 may be implemented within one or more components described above in conjunction with FIG. 2. Alternatively or additionally, one or more components in the set of components may be implemented at least partially as software stored in memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of a component.

[0155] The receiving unit 902 may receive communications from the device 908, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof. The receiving unit 902 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 900. In some embodiments, the receiving unit 902 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, and other instances), and may provide the processed signal to one or more other components of the device 900. In some embodiments, the receiving unit 902 may include one or more antennas, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiver processors, controllers / processors, memory, or combinations thereof of the UE described above in conjunction with FIG. 2.

[0156] The transmitting component 904 can transmit communications to the device 906, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, one or more other components of the device 900 can generate communications and provide the generated communications to the transmitting component 904 for transmission to the device 906. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 904 can perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, and other instances), and can transmit the processed signals to the device 906. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 904 may include one or more antennas, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memory, or combinations thereof, as described above in conjunction with FIG. 2. In some embodiments, the transmitting component 904 may be co-located with the receiving component 902 in a transceiver.

[0157] The receiving unit 902 can receive configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored for DCI. In some cases, the plurality of PDCCH candidates includes PDCCH candidates with a first aggregation level and linked PDCCH candidates with a second aggregation level for DCI. In some cases, the PDCCH candidates overlap with one of the linked PDCCH candidates. The receiving unit 902 and / or the transmitting unit 904 can communicate according to one or more rules to resolve ambiguities arising from the overlap of the PDCCH candidates with one of the linked PDCCH candidates. For example, the receiving unit 902 and / or the transmitting unit 904 can monitor PDCCH candidates for DCI, detect DCI, decode DCI, and communicate at least in part based on one or more procedures, etc.

[0158] Rule component 908 can determine that the overlap between a PDCCH candidate and a linked PDCCH candidate is an error. Rule component 908 can decide to discard either a PDCCH candidate or a linked PDCCH candidate. If a linked PDCCH candidate is discarded, rule component 908 can decide to discard the other linked PDCCH candidate. If a linked PDCCH candidate is discarded, rule component 908 can decide to monitor the other linked PDCCH candidate.

[0159] Rule component 908 may determine that the information used to execute one or more programs will be at least partially based on a reference PDCCH candidate among the linked PDCCH candidates. Rule component 908 may determine that the information used to execute one or more programs will be at least partially based on the assumption that another linked PDCCH candidate among the linked PDCCH candidates is not linked to one of the linked PDCCH candidates. Rule component 908 may determine that the information used to execute one or more programs will be at least partially based on the assumption that DCI is detected in one of the linked PDCCH candidates. Rule component 908 may determine that the information used to execute one or more programs will be at least partially based on the assumption that DCI is detected in a non-linked PDCCH candidate. If a connected PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than a non-connected PDCCH candidate, then rule component 908 may determine that the information used to execute one or more procedures will be based at least in part on the assumption that the DCI was detected in a connected PDCCH candidate; or if a PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than a connected PDCCH candidate, then rule component 908 may determine that the information used to execute one or more procedures will be based at least in part on the assumption that the DCI was detected in a non-connected PDCCH candidate. In some cases, rule component 908 may execute one or more procedures.

[0160] Rule component 908 can determine that a PDCCH candidate uses a first cyclic redundancy check mask associated with a first aggregation level, and that one of the linked PDCCH candidates uses a second cyclic redundancy check mask associated with a second aggregation level. Rule component 908 can determine that a PDCCH candidate uses a rate matching scheme associated with a first aggregation level, and that one of the linked PDCCH candidates uses a rate matching scheme associated with a second aggregation level. Rule component 908 can determine that the encoded bits of a PDCCH candidate use a scrambling scheme associated with a first aggregation level, and that the encoded bits of one of the linked PDCCH candidates use a scrambling scheme associated with a second aggregation level.

[0161] The number and arrangement of components shown in Figure 9 are provided as examples. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged differently compared to those shown in Figure 9. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Figure 9 may be implemented within a single component, or the single component shown in Figure 9 may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, a group (one or more) of components shown in Figure 9 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another group of components shown in Figure 11.

[0162] FIG10 is a block diagram of an example device 1000 for wireless communication. Device 1000 may be a network node (e.g., a base station), or a network node (e.g., a base station) may include device 1000. In some embodiments, device 1000 includes a receiving component 1002 and a transmitting component 1004, which can communicate with each other (e.g., via one or more buses and / or one or more other components). As shown, device 1000 may use the receiving component 1002 and the transmitting component 1004 to communicate with another device 1006 (such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device). As further shown, device 1000 may include a communication manager 150. Communication manager 150 may include a rule component 1008 and other embodiments.

[0163] In some embodiments, device 1000 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in conjunction with FIG. 6. Alternatively or additionally, device 1000 may be configured to perform one or more programs (such as program 800 of FIG. 8) or combinations thereof described herein. In some embodiments, device 1000 and / or one or more components shown in FIG. 10 may include one or more components of the base station described above in conjunction with FIG. 2. Alternatively or additionally, one or more components shown in FIG. 10 may be implemented within one or more components described above in conjunction with FIG. 2. Alternatively or additionally, one or more components in the set of components may be implemented at least partially as software stored in memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or processor to perform the function or operation of a component.

[0164] The receiving unit 1002 may receive communications from the device 1006, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof. The receiving unit 1002 may provide the received communications to one or more other components of the device 1000. In some embodiments, the receiving unit 1002 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, demapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, and other instances), and may provide the processed signal to one or more other components of the device 1000. In some embodiments, the receiving unit 1002 may include one or more antennas, demodulators, MIMO detectors, receiver processors, controllers / processors, memory, or combinations thereof from the base station described above in conjunction with FIG2.

[0165] Transmitting component 1004 can transmit communications to device 1006, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, one or more other components of device 1000 can generate communications and transmit the generated communications to transmitting component 1004 for transmission to device 1006. In some embodiments, transmitting component 1004 can perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, and other instances), and can transmit the processed signals to device 1006. In some embodiments, transmitting component 1004 may include one or more antennas, modulators, transmit MIMO processors, transmit processors, controllers / processors, memory, or combinations thereof from the base station described above in conjunction with FIG2. In some embodiments, transmitting component 1004 may be co-located with receiving component 1002 in a transceiver.

[0166] The transmitting unit 1004 can transmit configuration information identifying a plurality of PDCCH candidates to be monitored for DCI. In some cases, the plurality of PDCCH candidates includes PDCCH candidates with a first aggregation level and linked PDCCH candidates with a second aggregation level for repeated DCI. In some cases, a PDCCH candidate overlaps with one of the linked PDCCH candidates. The transmitting unit 1004 and / or the receiving unit 1002 can communicate according to one or more rules to resolve ambiguities arising from the overlap of a PDCCH candidate with one of the linked PDCCH candidates. The transmitting unit 1004 and / or the receiving unit 1002 can encode DCI, transmit DCI, communicate at least in part based on one or more procedures, etc.

[0167] Rule component 1008 can determine that the overlap of a PDCCH candidate and a linked PDCCH candidate is an error. Rule component 1008 can decide to discard either a PDCCH candidate or a linked PDCCH candidate. If a linked PDCCH candidate is discarded, rule component 1008 can decide to discard the other linked PDCCH candidate. If a linked PDCCH candidate is discarded, rule component 1008 can decide to use the other linked PDCCH candidate to send the DCI.

[0168] Rule component 1008 may determine that the information used to execute one or more programs will be at least partially based on a reference PDCCH candidate among the linked PDCCH candidates. Rule component 1008 may determine that the information used to execute one or more programs will be at least partially based on the assumption that another linked PDCCH candidate among the linked PDCCH candidates is not linked to one of the linked PDCCH candidates. Rule component 1008 may determine that the information used to execute one or more programs will be at least partially based on the assumption that DCI is detected in one of the linked PDCCH candidates. Rule component 1008 may determine that the information used to execute one or more programs will be at least partially based on the assumption that DCI is detected in a non-linked PDCCH candidate. If a connected PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than a non-connected PDCCH candidate, then rule component 1008 may determine that the information used to execute one or more procedures will be based at least in part on the assumption that the DCI was detected in a connected PDCCH candidate; or if a PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than a connected PDCCH candidate, then rule component 1008 may determine that the information used to execute one or more procedures will be based at least in part on the assumption that the DCI was detected in a non-connected PDCCH candidate. In some cases, rule component 1008 may execute one or more procedures.

[0169] Rule component 1008 can determine that a PDCCH candidate uses a first cyclic redundancy check mask associated with a first aggregation level, and that one of the PDCCH candidates uses a second cyclic redundancy check mask associated with a second aggregation level. Rule component 1008 can determine that a PDCCH candidate uses a rate matching scheme associated with a first aggregation level, and that one of the PDCCH candidates uses a rate matching scheme associated with a second aggregation level. Rule component 1008 can determine that the encoded bits of a PDCCH candidate use a scrambling scheme associated with a first aggregation level, and that the encoded bits of one of the PDCCH candidates use a scrambling scheme associated with a second aggregation level.

[0170] The number and arrangement of components shown in Figure 10 are provided as examples. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or components arranged differently compared to those shown in Figure 10. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Figure 10 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Figure 10 may be implemented as multiple distributed components. Additionally or alternatively, a group (one or more) of components shown in Figure 10 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another group of components shown in Figure 10.

[0171] The following provides a summary of some aspects of the case:

[0172] Sample 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a device for a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information identifying a plurality of entity downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates to be monitored for downlink control information (DCI), the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates having a first aggregation level and linked PDCCH candidates having a second aggregation level for repeated DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with a PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set; and communicating according to one or more rules for the overlap of the PDCCH candidate with the PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

[0173] State 2: According to the method of State 1, wherein the first aggregation level is one of 8 or 16, and the second aggregation level is the other of 8 or 16.

[0174] State 3: The method according to any one of States 1-2, wherein the PDCCH candidate and the PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set have the same starting control channel element; and wherein the PDCCH candidate and the PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set are associated with the same set of control resources having a duration of one symbol.

[0175] State 4: The method according to any one of states 1-3 also includes: if the PDCCH candidate and the PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set have the same starting control channel element, then it is determined that the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and the PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set is an error.

[0176] State 5: The method according to any one of states 1-4, wherein communication according to one or more rules includes: discarding the PDCCH candidate or the one PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

[0177] State 6: According to the method of State 5, the PDCCH candidate or the discarded one of the PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set has a lower priority.

[0178] State 7: The method according to any one of states 5-6, wherein communication according to one or more rules also includes: if the one PDCCH candidate in the connection PDCCH candidate set is discarded, then discard the other PDCCH candidates in the connection PDCCH candidate set.

[0179] State 8: The method according to any one of states 5-6, wherein communicating according to one or more rules also includes: if the one PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidate set is discarded, then monitoring other PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set, wherein the DCI is detected among the other PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set.

[0180] State 9: According to the method of State 8, the information for executing one or more programs is at least partially based on reference PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

[0181] State 10: According to the method of State 8, the information for executing one or more programs is based at least in part on the assumption that the other PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set is not linked to the one PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

[0182] State 11: The method according to any one of states 1-10, wherein the information for performing one or more procedures according to the one or more rules is based at least in part on the assumption that the DCI is detected by the UE in the one PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidate set.

[0183] State 12: The method according to any one of states 1-10, wherein the information for performing one or more procedures according to the one or more rules is based at least in part on the assumption that the DCI is detected by the UE in the non-connected PDCCH candidate.

[0184] State 13: The method according to any one of states 1-10, wherein, according to the one or more rules, if the PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidate set is associated with a higher priority than the non-connected PDCCH candidate, the information for performing one or more procedures is at least partially based on the assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE in the one PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidate set, or if the PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than the one PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidate set, the information for performing one or more procedures is at least partially based on the assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE in the non-connected PDCCH candidate.

[0185] State 14: The method according to any one of states 1-13, wherein the PDCCH candidate uses a first cyclic redundancy check mask associated with the first aggregation level according to the one or more rules, and the one PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set uses a second cyclic redundancy check mask associated with the second aggregation level.

[0186] State 15: The method according to any one of states 1-14, wherein the PDCCH candidate uses a rate matching scheme associated with the first aggregation level according to the one or more rules, and the one PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set uses a rate matching scheme associated with the second aggregation level.

[0187] State 16: The method according to any one of states 1-15, wherein the coded bits of the PDCCH candidate use a scrambling scheme associated with the first aggregation level according to the one or more rules, and the coded bits of the one PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set use a scrambling scheme associated with the second aggregation level.

[0188] Sample 17: A method of wireless communication performed by an apparatus for a network node, the method comprising: transmitting configuration information for a user equipment (UE) identifying a plurality of entity downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates to be monitored by the UE for downlink control information (DCI), the plurality of PDCCH candidates including PDCCH candidates having a first aggregation level and a set of linked PDCCH candidates having a second aggregation level for DCI, wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates; and communicating according to one or more rules for the overlap of the PDCCH candidate with the one PDCCH candidate in the set of linked PDCCH candidates.

[0189] State 18: According to the method of state 17, wherein the first aggregation level is one of 8 or 16, and the second aggregation level is the other of 8 or 16.

[0190] State 19: The method according to any one of States 17-18, wherein the PDCCH candidate and the PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set have the same starting control channel element; and the PDCCH candidate and the PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set are associated with the same set of control resources having a duration of one symbol.

[0191] State 20: The method according to any one of states 17-19 also includes: if the PDCCH candidate and the PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set have the same start control channel element, then determine that the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and the PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set is an error.

[0192] State 21: The method according to any one of states 17-20, wherein communication according to one or more rules includes: discarding the PDCCH candidate or the one PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

[0193] State 22: According to the method of State 21, the PDCCH candidate or the discarded one of the PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set has a lower priority.

[0194] State 23: The method according to any one of states 21-22, wherein communication according to one or more rules also includes: if the one PDCCH candidate in the connection PDCCH candidate set is discarded, then discard the other PDCCH candidates in the connection PDCCH candidate set.

[0195] State 24: The method according to any one of states 21-22, wherein communication according to one or more rules also includes: if the one PDCCH candidate in the connection PDCCH candidate set is discarded, then using other PDCCH candidates in the connection PDCCH candidate set to send the DCI.

[0196] State 25: According to the method of State 24, the information for executing one or more programs is at least partially based on reference PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

[0197] State 26: According to the method of State 24, the information for executing one or more programs is based at least in part on the assumption that the other PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set is not linked to the one PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

[0198] State 27: The method according to any one of states 17-26, wherein the information for performing one or more procedures according to the one or more rules is based at least in part on the assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE in the one PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidate set.

[0199] State 28: The method according to any one of states 17-26, wherein the information for performing one or more procedures according to the one or more rules is based at least in part on the assumption that the DCI is detected by the UE in the non-connected PDCCH candidate.

[0200] State 29: The method according to any one of States 17-26, wherein, according to the one or more rules, if the PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidate set is associated with a higher priority than the non-connected PDCCH candidate, the information for performing one or more procedures is at least partially based on the assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE in the one PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidate set, or if the PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than the one PDCCH candidate in the connected PDCCH candidate set, the information for performing one or more procedures is at least partially based on the assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE in the non-connected PDCCH candidate.

[0201] State 30: The method according to any one of states 17-29, wherein the PDCCH candidate uses a first cyclic redundancy check mask associated with the first aggregation level according to one or more rules, and the one PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set uses a second cyclic redundancy check mask associated with the second aggregation level.

[0202] State 31: The method according to any one of states 17-30, wherein the PDCCH candidate uses a rate matching scheme associated with the first aggregation level according to the one or more rules, and the one PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set uses a rate matching scheme associated with the second aggregation level.

[0203] State 32: The method according to any one of states 17-31, wherein the coded bits of the PDCCH candidate use a scrambling scheme associated with the first aggregation level according to the one or more rules, and the coded bits of the one PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set use a scrambling scheme associated with the second aggregation level.

[0204] State 33: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method according to one or more of states 1-16.

[0205] State 34: A device for wireless communication, comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or more processors being configured to perform the method according to one or more of the states 1-16.

[0206] State 35: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one unit for performing the method according to one or more states 1-16.

[0207] Format 36: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by a processor to perform the method described according to one or more of formats 1-16.

[0208] Style 37: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions including one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform the method according to one or more of the styles 1-16.

[0209] Style 38: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the device to perform the method according to one or more of the styles 17-32.

[0210] State 39: A device for wireless communication includes a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or more processors being configured to perform the method according to one or more states of states 17-32.

[0211] State 40: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one unit for performing the method according to one or more states 17-32.

[0212] Format 41: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code including instructions executable by a processor to perform the method described in accordance with one or more formats 17-32.

[0213] State 42: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions including one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform the method according to one or more states 17-32.

[0214] The foregoing disclosure provides explanation and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the various forms to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations can be made in accordance with the foregoing disclosure, or modifications and variations can be derived from practice with the various forms.

[0215] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be interpreted broadly as hardware and / or a combination of hardware and software. Whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other names, "software" should be interpreted broadly as meaning instructions, instruction sets, code, code fragments, code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, norms, sub-norms, objects, executable files, threads of execution, programs and / or functions, and other instances thereof. As used herein, processors are implemented using hardware and / or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented using various forms of hardware and / or combinations of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods is not a limitation on the variety. Therefore, this document describes the operation and behavior of the system and / or method without referencing any specific software code, as those skilled in the art to which this invention pertain will understand that the software and hardware can be designed to implement the system and / or method at least in part based on the description herein.

[0216] As used herein, depending on the context, "meets the threshold" can mean a value greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, etc.

[0217] Even if a specific combination of features is described in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, such combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of each variant. Many features may be combined in a manner not specifically described in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of each variant includes combinations of each dependent claim with other claims in each of the claim sets. As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” in the list of items means any combination of those items, including a single member. For example, “at least one of a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a+b, a+c, b+c, and a+b+c, and any combination of multiples of the same element (e.g., a+a, a+a+a, a+a+b, a+a+c, a+b+b, a+c+c, b+b, b+b+b, b+b+c, c+c, and c+c+c or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0218] None of the elements, actions, or instructions used herein should be construed as essential or necessary unless explicitly stated otherwise. Furthermore, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced by the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “collection” and “group” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is anticipated, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” etc., are intended to be open-ended terms that do not limit the elements they modify (e.g., an element “having” A may also have B). Furthermore, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “at least partially based on.” Furthermore, as used herein, the term "or" is intended to be inclusive when used in a series, and may be used interchangeably with "and / or" unless otherwise expressly stated (e.g., when used in conjunction with "any" or "only one of them"). [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0016] In order to fully understand the above-described features of the present invention, a more specific description of the invention briefly summarized above can be obtained by referring to various embodiments (some of which are shown in the accompanying drawings). However, it should be noted that the drawings only illustrate certain typical embodiments of the present invention and are therefore not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, as other equally valid embodiments are permissible in this description. The same element symbols in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0017] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network according to the contents of this case.

[0018] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of communication between a base station and a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network according to the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example resource structure for wireless communication according to the content of this case.

[0020] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of entity downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetition according to the content of this case.

[0021] Figures 5A-5C are example diagrams of PDCCH candidates with overlapping content according to this case.

[0022] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating an example related to resolving ambiguities arising from overlapping PDCCH candidates due to different aggregation levels, according to the content of this case.

[0023] Figures 7-8 are diagrams illustrating an example procedure related to resolving ambiguities arising from overlapping PDCCH candidates due to different aggregation levels, according to the content of this case.

[0024] Figures 9-10 are block diagrams of an example device for wireless communication according to the contents of this case. [Biomaterial Storage]

[0220] Domestic storage information (please note in order of storage institution, date, and number): None. International storage information (please note in order of storage country, institution, date, and number): None.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: One memory; and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors being configured to: receive configuration information identifying an entity downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate to be monitored for downlink control information (DCI) and a set of connected PDCCH candidates; wherein the PDCCH candidate has a first aggregation level and the set of connected PDCCH candidates has a second aggregation level; and wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one or more PDCCH candidates in the set of connected PDCCH candidates and is associated with the same set of control resources; and communicate according to one or more rules for the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and the one or more PDCCH candidates in the set of connected PDCCH candidates.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first aggregation level is one of 8 or 16, and the second aggregation level is the other of 8 or 16.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the PDCCH candidate and the one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set have a common starting control channel element; and wherein the common control resource set has a duration of a symbol.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the same set of control resources is configured with a non-interleaved control channel element to resource element group mapping.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are also configured to: determine that the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and the one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set is an error if the PDCCH candidate and the one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set have the same start control channel element.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the PDCCH candidate is linked to other PDCCH candidates.

7. The apparatus according to request item 1, wherein the information for performing one or more procedures according to the one or more rules is at least in part based on an assumption that the DCI is detected by the UE from one or more PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set.

8. The apparatus according to request item 1, wherein, in order to communicate according to the one or more rules, the one or more processors are configured to: discard the PDCCH candidate or the one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the PDCCH candidate or one of the discarded PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set has a lower priority.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, in order to communicate according to the one or more rules, the one or more processors are configured to: if the one or more PDCCH candidates in the connection PDCCH candidate set are discarded, then discard another PDCCH candidate in the connection PDCCH candidate set.

11. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, in order to communicate according to the one or more rules, the one or more processors are configured to: if the one or more PDCCH candidates in the connection PDCCH candidate set are discarded, monitor another PDCCH candidate in the connection PDCCH candidate set, wherein the DCI is detected among the other PDCCH candidates in the connection PDCCH candidate set.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein information for performing one or more programs is based at least in part on a reference PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein information for performing one or more programs is based at least in part on an assumption that the other PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set is not linked to the one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

14. The apparatus according to request item 1, wherein the information for performing one or more procedures according to the one or more rules is based at least in part on an assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE in the non-connected PDCCH candidate.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, according to one or more rules, if the one or more PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set are associated with a higher priority than the non-connected PDCCH candidates, then the information for performing one or more procedures is at least partially based on an assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE from among the one or more PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set, or if the PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than among the one or more PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set, then the information for performing one or more procedures is at least partially based on an assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE from among the non-connected PDCCH candidates.

16. An apparatus for wireless communication at a network node, the apparatus comprising: One memory; and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors being configured to: transmit configuration information for a user equipment (UE) identifying an entity downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate to be monitored by the UE for downlink control information (DCI) and a set of connected PDCCH candidates; wherein the PDCCH candidate has a first aggregation level and the set of connected PDCCH candidates has a second aggregation level; and wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one or more PDCCH candidates in the set of connected PDCCH candidates and is associated with the same set of control resources; and communicate according to one or more rules for the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and the one or more PDCCH candidates in the set of connected PDCCH candidates.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the first aggregation level is one of 8 or 16, and the second aggregation level is the other of 8 or 16.

18. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the PDCCH candidate and one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set have a common starting control channel element; and wherein the common control resource set has a duration of a symbol.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the same set of control resources is configured with a non-interleaved control channel element to resource element group mapping.

20. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the one or more processors are also configured to: determine that the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and the one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set is an error if the PDCCH candidate and the one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set have the same start control channel element.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the PDCCH candidate is linked to another PDCCH candidate.

22. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein information for performing one or more procedures according to the one or more rules is based at least in part on an assumption that the DCI is detected by the UE from one or more PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set.

23. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein, in order to communicate according to the one or more rules, the one or more processors are configured to: discard the PDCCH candidate or the one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

24. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the PDCCH candidate or one of the discarded PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set has a lower priority.

25. The apparatus according to claim 23, wherein, in order to communicate according to the one or more rules, the one or more processors are configured to: if the one or more PDCCH candidates in the connection PDCCH candidate set are discarded, then discard another PDCCH candidate in the connection PDCCH candidate set.

26. The apparatus according to request item 23, wherein, in order to communicate according to the one or more rules, the one or more processors are configured to: if the one or more PDCCH candidates in the connection PDCCH candidate set are discarded, then use another PDCCH candidate in the connection PDCCH candidate set to send the DCI.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein information for performing one or more programs is based at least in part on a reference PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

28. The apparatus according to claim 26, wherein information for performing one or more programs is based at least in part on an assumption that the other PDCCH candidate in the linked PDCCH candidate set is not linked to the one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set.

29. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein information for performing one or more procedures, according to the one or more rules, is at least in part based on an assumption that the DCI is detected by the UE in the non-connected PDCCH candidate.

30. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein, according to one or more rules, if the one or more PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set are associated with a higher priority than the non-connected PDCCH candidates, then the information for performing one or more procedures is at least partially based on an assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE from among the one or more PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set, or if the PDCCH candidate is associated with a higher priority than among the one or more PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set, then the information for performing one or more procedures is at least partially based on an assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE from among the non-connected PDCCH candidates.

31. A method of wireless communication performed by an apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the method comprising the steps of: receiving configuration information identifying an entity downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate to be monitored for downlink control information (DCI) and a set of connected PDCCH candidates; wherein the PDCCH candidate has a first aggregation level and the set of connected PDCCH candidates has a second aggregation level; and wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one or more PDCCH candidates in the set of connected PDCCH candidates and is associated with the same set of control resources; and communicating according to one or more rules for the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and the one or more PDCCH candidates in the set of connected PDCCH candidates.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the first aggregation level is one of 8 or 16, and the second aggregation level is the other of 8 or 16.

33. The method of request item 31, wherein the PDCCH candidate and one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set have the same starting control channel element; and wherein the same control resource set has a duration of a symbol.

34. The method of request item 33, wherein the same set of control resources is configured with a non-interleaved control channel element to resource element group mapping.

35. The method according to request item 31 also includes the following steps: If the PDCCH candidate and one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set have the same start control channel element, then determine that the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set is an error.

36. The method of request item 35, wherein the PDCCH candidate is linked to another PDCCH candidate.

37. The method according to request item 31, wherein the information for performing one or more procedures, according to one or more rules, is at least in part based on an assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE from one or more PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set.

38. A method of wireless communication performed by an apparatus for a network node, the method comprising the steps of: transmitting configuration information for a user equipment (UE) identifying an entity downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate to be monitored by the UE for downlink control information (DCI) and a set of connected PDCCH candidates; wherein the PDCCH candidate has a first aggregation level and the set of connected PDCCH candidates has a second aggregation level; and wherein the PDCCH candidate overlaps with one or more PDCCH candidates in the set of connected PDCCH candidates and is associated with the same set of control resources; and communicating according to one or more rules for the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and the one or more PDCCH candidates in the set of connected PDCCH candidates.

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein the first aggregation level is one of 8 or 16, and the second aggregation level is the other of 8 or 16.

40. The method of request item 38, wherein the PDCCH candidate and one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set have the same starting control channel element; and wherein the same control resource set has a symbol duration.

41. The method of request item 40, wherein the same set of control resources is configured with a non-interleaved control channel element to resource element group mapping.

42. The method according to request item 38 also includes the following steps: If the PDCCH candidate and one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set have the same start control channel element, then determine that the overlap between the PDCCH candidate and one or more PDCCH candidates in the linked PDCCH candidate set is an error.

43. The method of request 42, wherein the PDCCH candidate is linked to another PDCCH candidate.

44. The method according to request item 38, wherein the information for performing one or more procedures, according to the one or more rules, is at least in part based on an assumption that the DCI was detected by the UE from one or more PDCCH candidates in the connected PDCCH candidate set.

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