Physical Downlink Control Channel Coexistence for Different User Equipment Categories

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may receive a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for UEs of a first category and a second CORESET configured for UEs of a second category associated with the UE, where the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation, and where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation. The UE may monitor the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency domain resource allocation. Numerous other aspects are provided.

Description

[0001] Public domain

[0002] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and relate to techniques and apparatus for physical downlink control channel coexistence for different user equipment categories.

[0003] Background

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. A typical wireless communication system may employ a multiple access technology capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and long term evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is an enhanced set of mobile standards for the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0005] A wireless communication network may include several base stations (BSs) capable of supporting communication of several user equipments (UEs). A user equipment (UE) may communicate with a base station (BS) via a downlink and an uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the BS to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the BS. As will be described in more detail herein, a BS may be referred to as a B node, gNB, access point (AP), radio head, transmission reception point (TRP), new radio (NR) BS, 5G B node, and so on.

[0006] The above multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different user equipments to communicate at the urban, national, regional, and even global levels. New radio (NR) (which may also be referred to as 5G) is an enhanced set of mobile standards for the LTE promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectral efficiency, reducing costs, improving services, utilizing new spectrums, and using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing with cyclic prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink (DL), CP-OFDM and / or SC-FDM (e.g., also referred to as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink (UL), and supporting beamforming, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation to better integrate with other open standards.

[0007] Overview

[0008] In some aspects, a wireless communication method performed by a user equipment (UE) may include receiving a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for UEs of a first category and a second CORESET configured for UEs of a second category associated with the UE, where the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation, and where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation; and monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency domain resource allocation.

[0009] In some aspects, a wireless communication method performed by a user equipment (UE) may include receiving a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for the UE, a second CORESET configured for the UE, and a shared search space (SS) set configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET, where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time; and monitoring one or more physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates on at least one of the first CORESET or the second CORESET according to the shared SS set configuration.

[0010] In some aspects, a wireless communication method performed by a wireless communication device may include dividing a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for user equipment (UEs) of a first category into a first sub-band and a second sub-band, where the first sub-band is not included in the frequency domain resource allocation of a second CORESET configured for UEs of a second category and the second sub-band is included in the frequency domain resource allocation of the second CORESET; mapping a set of control channel elements (CCEs) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate to a set of resource element groups (REGs) of the first CORESET; and repositioning one or more of the REGs to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the second CORESET at least in part based on determining that one or more of the REGs in the REG set are included in the second sub-band.

[0011] In some aspects, a wireless communication method performed by a wireless communication device may include identifying a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for user equipment (UE) of a first category and a second CORESET configured for UE of a second category, where the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation, and where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation; identifying a set of resource element groups (REGs) of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates included in the second frequency-domain resource allocation; and repositioning the set of REGs to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the first CORESET.

[0012] In some aspects, a wireless communication method performed by a base station may include configuring a first control resource set (CORESET) for user equipment (UE) of a first category, where the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation; configuring a second CORESET for UE of a second category, where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation or is mutually exclusive with the first frequency-domain resource allocation; and transmitting an indication of the configurations of the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

[0013] In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to receive an indication of a configuration of a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for UE of a first category and a second CORESET configured for UE of a second category associated with the UE, where the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation, and where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation; and monitor the PDCCH candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency-domain resource allocation.

[0014] In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to receive a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for the UE, a second CORESET configured for the UE, and a shared search space (SS) set configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET, where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time; and monitor one or more physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates on at least one of the first CORESET or the second CORESET according to the shared SS set configuration.

[0015] In some aspects, a wireless communication device for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to divide a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a first category of user equipment (UE) into a first sub-band and a second sub-band, where the first sub-band is not included in the frequency domain resource allocation of a second CORESET configured for a second category of UE and the second sub-band is included in the frequency domain resource allocation of the second CORESET; map a control channel element (CCE) set of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates to a resource element group (REG) set of the first CORESET; and relocate one or more REGs in the REG set to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the second CORESET at least partially based on determining that one or more REGs in the REG set are included in the second sub-band.

[0016] In some aspects, a wireless communication device for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured to identify a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a first category of user equipment (UE) and a second CORESET configured for a second category of UE, where the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation, and where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation; identify a resource element group (REG) set of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates included in the second frequency domain resource allocation; and relocate the REG set to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the first CORESET.

[0017] In some aspects, a base station for wireless communication may include a memory and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory. The memory and the one or more processors may be configured as means for configuring a first control resource set (CORESET) for a first category of user equipment (UE), where the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation; means for configuring a second CORESET for a second category of UE, where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of or mutually exclusive with the first frequency-domain resource allocation; and means for transmitting an indication of the configurations of the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

[0018] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. When executed by one or more processors of a UE, the one or more instructions may cause the one or more processors to: receive an indication of a configuration of a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a first category of UE and a second CORESET configured for a second category of UE associated with the UE, where the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation, and where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation; and monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency-domain resource allocation.

[0019] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. When executed by one or more processors of a UE, the one or more instructions may cause the one or more processors to: receive an indication of a configuration of a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for the UE, a second CORESET configured for the UE, and a shared search space (SS) set configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET, where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time; and monitor one or more physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates on at least one of the first CORESET or the second CORESET according to the shared SS set configuration.

[0020] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. When executed by one or more processors of a wireless communication device, the one or more instructions may cause the one or more processors to perform the following operations: divide a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a first category of user equipment (UE) into a first sub-band and a second sub-band, where the first sub-band is not included in the frequency-domain resource allocation of a second CORESET configured for a second category of UE and the second sub-band is included in the frequency-domain resource allocation of the second CORESET; map a set of control channel elements (CCEs) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate to a set of resource element groups (REGs) of the first CORESET; and relocate one or more of the REGs to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the second CORESET at least partially based on determining that one or more of the REGs in the REG set are included in the second sub-band.

[0021] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. When executed by one or more processors of a wireless communication device, the one or more instructions may cause the one or more processors to perform the following operations: identify a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a first category of user equipment (UE) and a second CORESET configured for a second category of UE, where the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation, and where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation; identify a set of resource element groups (REGs) of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates included in the second frequency-domain resource allocation; and relocate the REG set to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the first CORESET.

[0022] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may store one or more instructions for wireless communication. When executed by one or more processors of a base station, the one or more instructions may cause the one or more processors to: configure a first control resource set (CORESET) for a first category of user equipment (UE), where the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation; configure a second CORESET for a second category of UE, where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation or is mutually exclusive with the first frequency-domain resource allocation; and transmit a configuration indicating the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

[0023] In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication may include means for receiving a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for UEs of a first category and a second CORESET configured for UEs of a second category associated with the UE, where the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation, and where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation; and means for monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency-domain resource allocation.

[0024] In some aspects, a UE for wireless communication may include means for receiving a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for the UE, a second CORESET configured for the UE, and a configuration of a shared search space (SS) set for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET, where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time; and means for monitoring one or more physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates on at least one of the first CORESET or the second CORESET according to the shared SS set configuration.

[0025] In some aspects, a wireless communication device for wireless communication may include means for dividing a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a first category of user equipment (UE) into a first sub-band and a second sub-band, where the first sub-band is not included in the frequency-domain resource allocation of a second CORESET configured for a second category of UE and the second sub-band is included in the frequency-domain resource allocation of the second CORESET; means for mapping a set of control channel elements (CCEs) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate to a set of resource element groups (REGs) of the first CORESET; and means for repositioning one or more REGs in the REG set to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the second CORESET at least in part based on determining that one or more REGs in the REG set are included in the second sub-band.

[0026] In some aspects, a wireless communication device for wireless communication may include means for identifying a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for user equipment (UE) of a first category and a second CORESET configured for UE of a second category, wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation, and wherein the second CORESET overlaps the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation; means for identifying a set of resource element groups (REGs) of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates included in the second frequency-domain resource allocation; and means for repositioning the set of REGs to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the first CORESET.

[0027] In some aspects, a base station for wireless communication may include means for configuring a first control resource set (CORESET) for user equipment (UE) of a first category, wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation; means for configuring a second CORESET for UE of a second category, wherein the second CORESET overlaps the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation or is mutually exclusive with the first frequency-domain resource allocation; and means for transmitting an indication of the configurations of the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

[0028] Aspects generally include methods, apparatus (devices), systems, computer program products, non-transitory computer-readable media, user equipment, base stations, wireless communication devices, and / or processing systems substantially as described with reference to the figures and the specification and as illustrated in the figures and the specification.

[0029] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of examples in accordance with the present disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The disclosed concepts and specific examples may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes as the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The features of the concepts disclosed herein, both as to their organization and operation methods, as well as the associated advantages, will be better understood when considered in conjunction with the following description taken in connection with the accompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to define a limitation of the claims. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0031] To understand the above-described features of the present disclosure in detail, the content briefly summarized above can be described more specifically with reference to various aspects, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the drawings illustrate only certain exemplary aspects of the present disclosure and should not be considered to limit its scope, as the description may admit other equally effective aspects. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0032] Figure 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a wireless communication network in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a base station and a UE in communication in a wireless communication network in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 3 illustrates an example of an exemplary resource structure for wireless communication in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 4 illustrates an example of a control channel element to resource element group mapping in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figures 5 - 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of physical downlink control channel coexistence for different user equipment categories in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0037] Figures 9 - 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a process related to physical downlink control channel coexistence for different user equipment categories in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0038] Detailed Description

[0039] In 5G, different categories of UEs can operate with different capabilities. For example, compared to UEs of the second category, UEs of the first category can have higher capabilities and / or an advanced feature set. Similarly, compared to UEs of the first category, UEs of the second category can have lower capabilities and / or a reduced feature set. In some aspects, the maximum bandwidth with which a UE of the second category (sometimes referred to herein as a low-end UE) can communicate is narrower than the maximum bandwidth with which a UE of the first category (sometimes referred to herein as a high-end UE) can communicate. In such a case, the base station can independently configure different CORESETs for the high-end UE and the low-end UE. However, this can result in the low-end UE and the high-end UE independently monitoring separate PDCCHs (e.g., on separate time and / or frequency resources), even though these PDCCHs may carry some common control information that will be used by both categories of UEs, thus wasting network resources and channel bandwidth. In addition, since independently configuring different CORESETs for the high-end UE and the low-end UE results in independent interleaving of the CCEs of the PDCCHs of the high-end UE and the low-end UE, the possibility of partial overlap of the PDCCH candidates of different categories of UEs increases, resulting in PDCCH interference and blocking.

[0040] To save network resources and reduce the likelihood of PDCCH interference, the first CORESET configured for the high-end UE and the second CORESET configured for the low-end UE can overlap in frequency, where the second CORESET occupies a subset of the frequency domain resources occupied by the first CORESET. In some cases, the SS set timing for the low-end UE and the high-end UE can be configured to have no overlap in time or to have partial overlap in time (e.g., the SS set for the low-end UE can not overlap with the SS set for the high-end UE or the SS set for the low-end UE can partially overlap with the SS set for the high-end UE). However, this would require separate PDCCH communications for the low-end UE and the high-end UE, thus wasting network resources by preventing the shared control information from being transmitted to both the low-end UE and the high-end UE in the same PDCCH communication.

[0041] Some of the techniques and apparatuses described herein allow the CORESETs for the high-end UE and the low-end UE to be configured using SS set timing that completely overlaps in time. This can allow the shared control information for both the high-end UE and the low-end UE to be transmitted in the same PDCCH communication that can be monitored by both the high-end UE and the low-end UE, thus saving network resources and channel bandwidth. In addition, due to the complete overlap of the PDCCHs of different UE categories, PDCCH interference and blocking caused by partial overlap can be avoided. Some of the techniques and apparatuses described herein also allow for distributed CCE-to-REG mapping, thus increasing resource diversity.

[0042] Aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein, those skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, any number of the aspects set forth herein may be used to implement an apparatus or practice a method. Additionally, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such apparatus or methods practiced using other structures, functionality, or a combination of structures and functionality that supplement or are additional to the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein may be implemented by one or more elements of a claim.

[0043] Certain aspects of a telecommunications system will now be presented with reference to various apparatuses and techniques. These apparatuses and techniques will be described in detail hereinafter and illustrated in the drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0044] It should be noted that although aspects may be described herein using terminology typically associated with 3G and / or 4G wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure may be applied in communication systems based on other generations, such as 5G and later generations, including NR technologies.

[0045] Figure 1 FIG. 100 is a diagram illustrating a wireless network 100 in which aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced. The wireless network 100 may be an LTE network or some other wireless network, such as a 5G or NR network. The wireless network 100 may include several BSs 110 (shown as BS 110a, BS 110b, BS 110c, and BS 110d) and other network entities. A BS is an entity that communicates with user equipment (UE) and may also be referred to as a base station, NR BS, Node B, gNB, 5G Node B (NB), access point, transmission reception point (TRP), etc. Each BS may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of a BS and / or the BS subsystem serving that coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

[0046] The BS can provide communication coverage for macro cells, picocells, femtocells, and / or another type of cell. A macro cell can cover a relatively large geographical area (e.g., with a radius of several kilometers) and can allow unconstrained access by UEs with a service subscription. A picocell can cover a relatively small geographical area and can allow unconstrained access by UEs with a service subscription. A femtocell can cover a relatively small geographical area (e.g., a residence) and can allow constrained access by UEs associated with the femtocell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG)). The BS for a macro cell can be referred to as a macro BS. The BS for a picocell can be referred to as a pico BS. The BS for a femtocell can be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In Figure 1 the example shown in, BS 110a can be a macro BS for macro cell 102a, BS 110b can be a pico BS for picocell 102b, and BS 110c can be a femto BS for femtocell 102c. The BS can support one or more (e.g., three) cells. The terms "eNB", "base station", "NR BS", "gNB", "TRP", "AP", "B node", "5G NB", and "cell" can be used interchangeably herein.

[0047] In some examples, the cell may not have to be stationary, and the geographical area of the cell can move according to the location of the mobile BS. In some examples, the BSs can be interconnected with each other and / or interconnected to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network 100 through various types of backhaul interfaces such as direct physical connections, virtual networks, and / or analogs using any suitable transport network.

[0048] The wireless network 100 can also include relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send the transmission of the data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station can also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In Figure 1 the example shown in, relay station 110d can communicate with macro BS 110a and UE 120d to facilitate communication between BS 110a and UE 120d. A relay station can also be referred to as a relay BS, a relay base station, a relay, etc.

[0049] The wireless network 100 can be a heterogeneous network including different types of BSs (e.g., macro BS, pico BS, femto BS, relay BS, etc.). These different types of BSs can have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro BS can have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts), while pico BSs, femto BSs, and relay BSs can have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts).

[0050] The network controller 130 can be coupled to a set of BSs and can provide coordination and control for these BSs. The network controller 130 can communicate with each BS via a backhaul. These BSs can also communicate with each other directly or indirectly, e.g., via a wireless or wired backhaul.

[0051] UEs 120 (e.g., 120a, 120b, 120c) can be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE can be stationary or mobile. UEs can also be referred to as access terminals, terminals, mobile stations, subscriber units, stations, etc. A UE can be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, a ultrabook, a medical device or equipment, a biometric sensor / device, a wearable device (smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a vehicle-mounted component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, an industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

[0052] Some UEs can be considered machine type communication (MTC) UEs, or evolved or enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC UEs and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., which can communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node can provide connectivity to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) or provide connectivity to the network, e.g., via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs can be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and / or can be implemented as narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices. Some UEs can be considered customer premise equipment (CPE). The UE 120 can be included inside a housing that houses components of the UE 120, such as processor components, memory components, etc.

[0053] Generally, any number of wireless networks can be deployed in a given geographical area. Each wireless network can support a specific RAT and can operate on one or more frequencies. The RAT can also be referred to as radio technology, air interface, etc. The frequency can also be referred to as carrier, frequency channel, etc. Each frequency can support a single RAT in a given geographical area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, an NR or 5G RAT network can be deployed.

[0054] In some examples, access to the air interface can be scheduled, where a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) allocates resources for communication among some or all of the devices and equipment within the service area or cell of the scheduling entity. Within the present disclosure, as further discussed below, the scheduling entity can be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more subordinate entities. That is, for the scheduled communication, the subordinate entities utilize the resources allocated by the scheduling entity.

[0055] A base station is not the only entity that can be used as a scheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE can be used as a scheduling entity to schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more other UEs). In this example, the UE is acting as a scheduling entity, and the other UEs utilize the resources scheduled by the UE for wireless communication. The UE can be used as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network and / or in a mesh network. In the mesh network example, the UEs can optionally communicate directly with each other in addition to communicating with the scheduling entity.

[0056] Thus, in a wireless communication network having scheduled access to time-frequency resources and having a cellular configuration, P2P configuration, and mesh configuration, the scheduling entity and one or more subordinate entities can utilize the scheduled resources to communicate.

[0057] In some aspects, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) can communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., communicate with each other without using the base station 110 as an intermediary). For example, the UEs 120 can communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocols (e.g., which can include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocols, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocols, etc.), mesh networks, etc. In this case, the UEs 120 can perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and / or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by the base station 110.

[0058] In some aspects, base station 110 may serve different UEs 120 of different categories, different UEs 120 with different capabilities, etc. For example, base station 110 may serve a first UE 120f with more advanced capabilities (e.g., higher capabilities) and a second UE 120g with less advanced capabilities (e.g., lower capabilities). For example, the first UE 120f may be a first category of UE 120 (e.g., NR UE) capable of communicating using more bandwidth, and the second UE 120g may be a second category of UE 120 (e.g., NR-Light UE) capable of communicating using less bandwidth (e.g., not capable of operating using the full bandwidth that the first category of UE can operate with). Additionally or alternatively, the second UE 120g may have a reduced feature set compared to the first UE 120f.

[0059] As indicated above, Figure 1 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from the example regarding Figure 1 described.

[0060] Figure 2 FIG. shows a block diagram of a design 200 of base station 110 and UE 120, and base station 110 and UE 120 may be Figure 1 one of the base stations and one of the UEs in. Base station 110 may be equipped with T antennas 234a to 234t, and UE 120 may be equipped with R antennas 252a to 252r, where generally T≥1 and R≥1.

[0061] At base station 110, transmit processor 220 may receive data for one or more UEs from data source 212, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for a UE at least in part based on channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from each UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) data for the UE at least in part based on the MCSs selected for each UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Transmit processor 220 may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI), etc.) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling, etc.), and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRSs)) and synchronization signals (e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). Transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, control symbols, overhead symbols, and / or reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs) 232a through 232t. Each modulator 232 may process its respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The T downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be transmitted via T antennas 234a through 234t, respectively. According to various aspects described in more detail below, position coding may be utilized to generate synchronization signals to convey additional information.

[0062] At the UE 120, antennas 252a through 252r may receive downlink signals from the base station 110 and / or other base stations and may provide the received signals to demodulators (DEMOD) 254a through 254r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, down-convert, and digitize) the received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 256 may obtain the received symbols from all R demodulators 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols when applicable, and provide detected symbols. The receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide the decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 260, and provide the decoded control information and system information to the controller / processor 280. The channel processor may determine the reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), channel quality indicator (CQI), etc. In some aspects, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in a housing.

[0063] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from the data source 262 and control information from the controller / processor 280 (e.g., for reports including RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, CQI, etc.). The transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 266 when applicable, further processed by modulators 254a through 254r (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 110. At the base station 110, the uplink signals from the UE 120 and other UEs may be received by the antenna 234, processed by the demodulator 232, detected by the MIMO detector 236 when applicable, and further processed by the receive processor 238 to obtain the decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 239 and provide the decoded control information to the controller / processor 240. The base station 110 may include a communication unit 244 and communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller / processor 290, and a memory 292.

[0064] The controller / processor 240 of the base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2Any other component(s) may perform one or more techniques associated with coexistence of physical downlink control channels for different user equipment categories, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller / processor 240 of the base station 110, the controller / processor 280 of the UE 120, and / or Figure 2 Any other component(s) may perform or direct, for example Figure 9 Process 900 of Figure 10 Process 1000 of Figure 11 Process 1100 of Figure 12 Process 1200 of Figure 13 Process 1300 of, and / or operations of other processes as described herein. The memories 242 and 282 may store data and program codes for the base station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. The scheduler 246 may schedule the UE for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0065] The stored program code, when executed by the processor 280 and / or other processors and modules at the UE 120, may cause the UE 120 to perform operations regarding Figure 9 Process 900 of Figure 10 Process 1000 of Figure 11 Process 1100 of Figure 12 Process 1200 of and / or operations as described for other processes herein. The stored program code, when executed by the processor 240 and / or other processors and modules at the base station 110, may cause the base station 110 to perform operations regarding Figure 11 Process 1100 of Figure 12 Process 1200 of Figure 13 Process 1300 of and / or operations as described for other processes herein. The scheduler 246 may schedule the UE for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0066] In some aspects, the UE 120 may include means for receiving a configuration of a first control resource set (CORESET) indicated for a UE configured for a first category and a second CORESET configured for a UE associated with the UE for a second category, wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation, and wherein the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation; means for monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency domain resource allocation, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 120 may include means for receiving a configuration of a first control resource set (CORESET) indicated for the UE, a second CORESET configured for the UE, and a shared search space (SS) set configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET, wherein the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time; means for monitoring one or more physical downlink control channels (PDCCH) candidates on at least one of the first CORESET or the second CORESET according to the shared SS set configuration, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 120 may include means for dividing a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a first category of user equipment (UE) into a first sub-band and a second sub-band, wherein the first sub-band is not included in the frequency domain resource allocation of a second CORESET configured for a second category of UE and the second sub-band is included in the frequency domain resource allocation of the second CORESET; means for mapping a set of control channel elements (CCEs) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate to a set of resource element groups (REGs) of the first CORESET; means for repositioning one or more REGs in the REG set to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the second CORESET at least in part based on determining that one or more REGs in the REG set are included in the second sub-band, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 120 may include means for identifying a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a first category of user equipment (UE) and a second CORESET configured for a second category of UE, wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation, and wherein the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation; means for identifying a set of resource element groups (REGs) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate included in the second frequency domain resource allocation; means for repositioning the REG set to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the first CORESET, etc. In some aspects, such means may include in combination with Figure 2One or more components of the described UE 120.

[0067] In some aspects, the base station 110 may include means for dividing a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for user equipment (UE) of a first category into a first sub-band and a second sub-band, where the first sub-band is not included in the frequency-domain resource allocation of a second CORESET configured for UE of a second category and the second sub-band is included in the frequency-domain resource allocation of the second CORESET; means for mapping a set of control channel elements (CCEs) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate to a set of resource element groups (REGs) of the first CORESET; means for repositioning one or more of the REGs to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the second CORESET at least in part based on determining that one or more of the REGs in the REG set are included in the second sub-band, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the base station 110 may include means for identifying a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for user equipment (UE) of a first category and a second CORESET configured for UE of a second category, where the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation, and where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation; means for identifying a set of resource element groups (REGs) of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates included in the second frequency-domain resource allocation; means for repositioning the REG set to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the first CORESET, etc. Additionally or alternatively, the base station 110 may include means for configuring a first control resource set (CORESET) for user equipment (UE) of a first category, where the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation; means for configuring a second CORESET for UE of a second category, where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation or is mutually exclusive with the first frequency-domain resource allocation; means for transmitting an indication of the configuration of the first CORESET and the second CORESET, etc. In some aspects, such means may include combined Figure 2 One or more components of the described base station 110.

[0068] Although Figure 2 the boxes in are illustrated as different components, the functions described above with respect to these boxes may be implemented using a single hardware, software, or combined component or 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 may be performed by or under the control of the processor 280.

[0069] As indicated above, Figure 2 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from those Figure 2 described.

[0070] Figure 3 An example of an example resource structure 300 for wireless communication in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. Resource structure 300 shows examples of the various resource groups described herein. As shown, resource structure 300 may include a subframe 305. Subframe 305 may include a plurality of time slots 310. Although resource structure 300 is shown as including 2 time slots per subframe, a different number of time slots may be included in a subframe (e.g., 4 time slots, 8 time slots, 16 time slots, 32 time slots, etc.). In some aspects, different types of transmission time intervals (TTIs) other than subframes and / or time slots may be used. Time slot 310 may include a plurality of symbols 315, such as 7 symbols per time slot (e.g., for LTE) or 14 symbols (e.g., for NR).

[0071] A potential control region of time slot 310 may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET) 320 and may be configured, such as through flexible configuration or reconfiguration of the resources of CORESET 320 for one or more physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs), one or more physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs), etc., to support efficient use of resources. In some aspects, 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. Thus, CORESET 320 may include a plurality of resource blocks in the frequency domain and one, two, or three symbols 315 in the time domain.

[0072] In 5G, the number of resources included in CORESET 320 can be configured flexibly, for example, by using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling to indicate the frequency domain region (e.g., the number of resource blocks) and / or the time domain region (e.g., the number of symbols) of CORESET 320. A CORESET (e.g., CORESET configuration) can define the size of the control region for PDCCH communication, and a Search Space (SS) set (e.g., SS set configuration) can define the position of the control region in the time domain. For example, the CORESET configuration can indicate the frequency domain resource blocks (RBs) occupied by the control region and the time domain duration (e.g., the number of contiguous symbols, such as 1, 2, or 3 symbols). The SS set configuration can indicate the time domain periodicity (e.g., in terms of time slots) for the control region, the number of time slots in the periodicity, and / or the symbol position within the time slot for the control region. In some aspects, more than one control region can be configured in time slot 310. Additionally or alternatively, more than one SS set can be associated with a single CORESET 320.

[0073] As illustrated, symbol 315 including CORESET 320 can include one or more Control Channel Elements (CCEs) 325, shown as two CCEs 325 as an example spanning a part of the system bandwidth. A CCE 325 can include Downlink Control Information (DCI) for providing control information for wireless communication. The base station can transmit DCI during multiple CCEs 325 (as shown), where the number of CCEs 325 used for DCI transmission represents the aggregation level used by the base station for DCI transmission. In Figure 3 an example, an aggregation level of 2 is shown, which corresponds to two CCEs 325 in time slot 310. In some aspects, different aggregation levels can be used, such as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and so on.

[0074] Each CCE 325 includes a group of Resource Element Groups (REGs) 330, for example, 6 REGs. A REG 330 includes a resource block that includes 12 Resource Elements (REs) 335 within symbol 315. A resource element 335 can occupy one subcarrier in the frequency domain and one symbol in the time domain (e.g., an OFDM symbol).

[0075] CORESET 320 may include one or more search spaces, such as UE-specific search spaces, group common search spaces, and / or common search spaces. A search space may indicate a set of CCE locations where a UE may find PDCCHs that may potentially be used to transmit control information to the UE. The possible locations for PDCCHs 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), the aggregation level being used, etc. The possible locations for PDCCHs (e.g., in time and / or frequency) may be referred to as PDCCH candidates, and the set of all possible PDCCH locations may be referred to as a search space. For example, the set of all possible PDCCH locations for a particular UE may be referred to as a UE-specific search space. Similarly, the set of all possible PDCCH locations across all UEs may be referred to as a common search space. Similarly, the set of all possible PDCCH locations for a particular group of UEs may be referred to as a group common search space. A search space may be defined by a combination of a CORESET configuration indicating the size of the control region in time and frequency and an SS set configuration indicating the time-domain location of the search space (e.g., a periodic time-domain location). A set of search spaces may be defined by the set of all search spaces having the same search space ID across all aggregation levels.

[0076] In 5G, different categories of UEs may operate with different capabilities. For example, compared to a second category of UEs, a first category of UEs (e.g., NR UEs, high-end UEs, high-layer UEs, advanced feature set UEs, etc.) may have higher capabilities and / or an advanced feature set. Similarly, compared to a first category of UEs, a second category of UEs (e.g., NR-light UEs, low-end UEs, mid-range UEs, reduced feature set UEs, etc.) may have lower capabilities and / or a reduced feature set. For example, a second category of UEs may support a lower maximum modulation and coding scheme (MCS) than a first category of UEs (e.g., quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) etc. compared to 256 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) etc.), may support a lower transmit power than a first category of UEs, may have less advanced beamforming capabilities than a first category of UEs, may be able to communicate on a narrower maximum bandwidth part than a first category of UEs, may not be able to communicate using a shortened transmission time interval (TTI) (e.g., a slot length of 1 ms or less, 0.5 ms, 0.25 ms, 0.125 ms, 0.0625 ms, etc. depending on the subcarrier spacing) that a first category of UEs can use for communication, and so on.

[0077] In some aspects, the maximum bandwidth with which a second category of UEs (sometimes referred to herein as low-end UEs) can communicate is narrower than the maximum bandwidth with which a first category of UEs (sometimes referred to herein as high-end UEs) can communicate. In such a case, the base station may independently configure different CORESETs for high-end UEs and low-end UEs. However, this can result in low-end UEs and high-end UEs independently monitoring separate PDCCHs (e.g., on separate time and / or frequency resources), even though these PDCCHs may carry some common control information that will be used by both categories of UEs, thereby wasting network resources and channel bandwidth. Additionally, since independently configuring different CORESETs for high-end UEs and low-end UEs results in independent interleaving of the CCEs of the PDCCHs of high-end UEs and low-end UEs (as described in more detail below in connection with Figure 4 ), the likelihood of partial overlap of PDCCH candidates for different categories of UEs increases, resulting in PDCCH interference and blocking.

[0078] To save network resources and reduce the likelihood of PDCCH interference, a first CORESET configured for high-end UEs and a second CORESET configured for low-end UEs may overlap in frequency, where the second CORESET occupies a subset of the frequency domain resources occupied by the first CORESET. In some cases, the SS set timing for low-end UEs and high-end UEs may be configured to have no overlap in time or partial overlap in time (e.g., the SS set for low-end UEs may not overlap with the SS set for high-end UEs or the SS set for low-end UEs may partially overlap with the SS set for high-end UEs). However, this would require separate PDCCH communications for low-end UEs and high-end UEs, thereby wasting network resources by preventing shared control information from being transmitted to both low-end UEs and high-end UEs in the same PDCCH communication.

[0079] Some of the techniques and apparatuses described herein allow for configuring CORESETs for high-end UEs and low-end UEs using SS set timing that is completely overlapping in time. This can allow for conveying shared control information for both high-end UEs and low-end UEs in the same PDCCH communication, which can be monitored by both high-end UEs and low-end UEs, thereby saving network resources and channel bandwidth. Additionally, due to the complete overlap of the PDCCHs for different UE categories, PDCCH interference and blocking due to partial overlap can be avoided. Some of the techniques and apparatuses described herein also allow for distributed CCE-to-REG mapping (as described in more detail below in connection with Figure 4 ), thereby increasing resource diversity.

[0080] As indicated above, Figure 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from those regarding Figure 3The described example.

[0081] Figure 4 Example 400 of the mapping of control channel elements to resource element groups in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0082] As shown by reference numeral 405, in order to allocate resources for the PDCCH, a wireless communication device (e.g., a base station) may perform a CCE index to allocate one or more CCEs to each PDCCH candidate in a CCE domain. As shown by reference numeral 410, in the CCE domain, a contiguous set of CCEs (shown as two contiguous CCEs in Figure 4 is allocated to the PDCCH candidate. The number of contiguous CCEs allocated to the PDCCH candidate is defined by the aggregation level. For example, an aggregation level of 1 indicates that one CCE is allocated to the PDCCH candidate, an aggregation level of 2 indicates that two contiguous CCEs are allocated to the PDCCH candidate, an aggregation level of 4 indicates that four contiguous CCEs are allocated to the PDCCH candidate, and so on. As shown by reference numeral 415, a CCE offset may define a starting CCE from a CCE resource pool in the CCE domain for the first PDCCH candidate. The CCE offset may be a function of the number of time slots. As further shown, the PDCCH candidates may be spaced evenly in the CCE domain.

[0083] As shown by reference numeral 420, after performing the CCE index, if distributed CCE to REG mapping is enabled (e.g., if the CCE to REG mapping type is configured in an interleaved mode), the wireless communication device may then map different CCEs of the PDCCH candidate to different REG bundles that are frequency-dispersed in a physical resource domain (e.g., in the frequency domain). A REG bundle may refer to a set of indivisible resources, and adjacent CCEs may be distributed to non-contiguous REG bundles. As shown by reference numeral 425, if distributed CCE to REG mapping is disabled (e.g., if the CCE to REG mapping type is configured in a non-interleaved mode), the wireless communication device may then map different CCEs of the PDCCH candidate to different REG bundles that are contiguous in frequency in a physical resource domain (e.g., in the frequency domain). Thus, distributed CCE to REG mapping provides resource diversity (e.g., frequency diversity) in the physical resource domain. After performing the CCE to REG mapping, the wireless communication device may perform RE mapping (e.g., in a first-by-RE-index and second-by-symbol-index manner) by mapping the modulation symbols of the PDCCH candidate (e.g., the PDCCH payload) to the REs included in the allocated REGs.

[0084] As indicated above, Figure 4 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from the example described with respect to Figure 4 The described example.

[0085] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating Example 500 for PDCCH coexistence for different UE categories according to various aspects of the present disclosure. As Figure 5 shown, the base station 110 and the UE 120 can communicate with each other.

[0086] As shown by reference numeral 505, the base station 110 can configure a first CORESET for a first category of UEs (such as, high-end UEs). As shown by reference numeral 510, the first CORESET can have a first frequency-domain resource allocation.

[0087] As shown by reference numeral 515, the base station 110 can configure a second CORESET for a second category of UEs (such as, low-end UEs). As shown by reference numeral 520, the second CORESET can have a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation. For example, the first frequency-domain resource allocation can include a first set of subcarriers and / or RBs. The second frequency-domain resource allocation can include a second, smaller set of subcarriers and / or RBs, and all of the subcarriers and / or RBs included in the second set can also be included in the first set.

[0088] As shown by reference numeral 525, the search space occasion associated with the second CORESET can completely overlap in time with the search space occasion associated with the first CORESET. For example, the first CORESET and the second CORESET can be assigned the same set of symbols, and all of the symbols of each CORESET can also be included in the other CORESET, as opposed to only some of the symbols of one of the CORESETs partially overlapping in time with the symbols of the other CORESET. For example, the base station 110 can configure the first SS set occasion of the first CORESET and the second SS set occasion of the second CORESET to completely overlap in time. Additionally or alternatively, the base station 110 can configure the first CORESET and the second CORESET to have the same duration (e.g., having the same number of symbols). Thus, the first CORESET and the second CORESET can have the same time-domain duration (e.g., according to the CORESET configuration), and can occur at the same time-domain position (e.g., according to the SS set configuration). In this way, shared control information for both high-end UEs and low-end UEs can be conveyed in the same PDCCH communication, thereby saving network resources. Furthermore, due to the complete overlap of the PDCCHs for different UE categories, PDCCH interference and blocking caused by partial overlap can be avoided.

[0089] As shown by reference numeral 530, base station 110 may transmit to UE 120 an indication of the configuration of a first CORESET and a second CORESET. As Figure 5 shown, in some aspects, UE 120 may be a second type of UE (e.g., a low-end UE). In some aspects, the configuration may indicate (e.g., in one or more CORESET configurations) a first frequency domain allocation for the first CORESET and a second frequency domain allocation for the second CORESET. The first frequency domain allocation may be indicated using, for example, a resource block bitmap. Additionally or alternatively, the second frequency domain allocation may be indicated using a resource block bitmap, a starting resource block, an ending resource block, a range of resource blocks, etc. In some aspects, the configuration is transmitted in a radio resource control (RRC) message (such as an RRC configuration message, an RRC reconfiguration message, etc.).

[0090] In some cases, since the second frequency domain allocation is a subset of the first frequency domain allocation, the starting RB and / or ending RB of the second frequency domain allocation may be indicated as an offset from the starting RB and / or ending RB of the first frequency domain allocation, which may save signaling overhead compared to indicating absolute (rather than relative) RBs or an RB bitmap. Additionally or alternatively, the second frequency domain allocation may be indicated as a starting or ending resource block and the number of resource blocks spanning the second frequency domain resource allocation (e.g., a start and length indicator value, etc.).

[0091] As shown by reference numeral 535, in some aspects, base station 110 may use the first frequency domain resource allocation to perform frequency mapping for PDCCH candidates. For example, base station 110 may use the first frequency domain resource allocation of the first CORESET as the physical resource domain to which REGs are mapped from CCEs to perform CCE-to-REG mapping (as described above in connection with Figure 4 ). As shown by reference numeral 540, a subset of the PDCCH candidates mapped to the first frequency domain resource allocation may be included in the second frequency domain resource allocation. As shown by reference numeral 545, in some aspects, another subset of the PDCCH candidates mapped to the first frequency domain resource allocation may not be included in the second frequency domain resource allocation. In this way, one or more PDCCH candidates (e.g., as shown by reference numeral 540) may be used to convey shared control information to be used by both low-end UEs and high-end UEs, while still allowing high-end UEs to use a larger frequency domain resource allocation than the frequency domain resource allocation assigned to low-end UEs to monitor PDCCH candidates (e.g., as shown by reference numeral 545).

[0092] In Example 500, the base station 110 may disable distributed CCE-to-REG mapping. For example, the configuration transmitted to the UE 120 may indicate the CCE-to-REG mapping type (e.g., using the cce-REG-MappingType parameter) set to non-interleaved mode (e.g., nonInterleaved value) for the first CORESET and for the second CORESET. Using distributed CCE-to-REG mapping in Example 500 spreads the CCEs of PDCCH candidates across the first frequency-domain resource allocation of the first CORESET, which may result in some RBs of a PDCCH candidate being included in the second frequency-domain resource allocation of the second CORESET and other RBs of the same PDCCH candidate being excluded from the second frequency-domain allocation. In this case, a low-end UE will not be able to monitor all RBs of the PDCCH candidate. Thus, the base station 110 may disable distributed CCE-to-REG mapping in the scenario of Example 500 (e.g., where the second CORESET overlaps in time with the first CORESET and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation).

[0093] As shown by reference numeral 550, the UE 120 (e.g., a low-end UE and / or a UE of a second category) may monitor a PDCCH candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency-domain resource allocation. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 120 may refrain from monitoring a PDCCH candidate that is not fully contained within the second frequency-domain resource allocation. In Figure 5 , the UE 120 may monitor the PDCCH candidate represented by reference numeral 540 and may refrain from monitoring the PDCCH candidate represented by reference numeral 545. In some aspects, if all resource blocks of a PDCCH candidate are within the second frequency-domain resource allocation, the UE 120 may determine that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency-domain resource allocation.

[0094] In some aspects, a high-end UE (or a UE of a first category) may monitor PDCCH candidates in the first frequency-domain resource allocation regardless of whether the PDCCH candidates are fully contained within or not fully contained within the second frequency-domain resource allocation. In Figure 5Among them, high-end UEs can monitor the PDCCH candidates indicated by reference numeral 540 and can also monitor the PDCCH candidates indicated by reference numeral 545. In this way, shared control information for both high-end UEs and low-end UEs can be conveyed in the same PDCCH communication (e.g., using PDCCH candidates that are fully contained within the second frequency-domain resource allocation), thus saving network resources. In addition, due to the complete temporal overlap of PDCCH candidates for different UE categories, PDCCH interference and blocking caused by partial PDCCH candidate overlap can be avoided.

[0095] As indicated above, Figure 5 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from the example regarding Figure 5 described.

[0096] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating another example 600 for PDCCH coexistence for different UE categories according to various aspects of the present disclosure. As Figure 6 shown, the base station 110 and the UE 120 can communicate with each other.

[0097] As shown by reference numeral 605, the base station 110 can configure a first CORESET for a first category of UEs (such as high-end UEs). As shown by reference numeral 610, the first CORESET can have a first frequency-domain resource allocation.

[0098] As shown by reference numeral 615, the base station 110 can configure a second CORESET for a second category of UEs (such as low-end UEs). In some aspects, the base station 110 can also configure a second CORESET for the first category of UEs. In this way, the second CORESET can be used to transmit shared control channel information to be used by both low-end UEs and high-end UEs, thus saving network resources. In addition, high-end UEs can monitor PDCCH candidates using a larger frequency-domain resource allocation (e.g., using both the first CORESET and the second CORESET) than the frequency-domain resource allocation assigned to low-end UEs (e.g., using only the second CORESET).

[0099] As shown by reference numeral 620, the second CORESET may have a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is mutually exclusive with the first frequency-domain resource allocation. For example, the first frequency-domain resource allocation may include a first set of subcarriers and / or RBs. The second frequency-domain resource allocation may include a second set of subcarriers and / or RBs. All subcarriers and / or RBs included in the first set may be excluded from the second set, and all subcarriers and / or RBs included in the second set may be excluded from the first set. As shown, in some aspects, the subcarriers and / or RBs of the first frequency-domain resource allocation may be non-contiguous. For example, the first frequency-domain resource allocation in Example 600 includes two parts separated by the second frequency-domain resource allocation. As described above in connection with Figure 5 As described, the second CORESET may completely overlap with the first CORESET in time. In this way, due to the complete overlap of the PDCCHs for different UE categories, PDCCH interference and blocking caused by partial overlap can be avoided.

[0100] As shown by reference numeral 625, the base station 110 may transmit to the UE 120 an indication of the configurations of the first CORESET and the second CORESET. As Figure 6 shown, in some aspects, the UE 120 may be a UE of a first category (e.g., a high-end UE). In some aspects, the configuration is transmitted in a radio resource control (RRC) message (such as an RRC configuration message, an RRC reconfiguration message, etc.).

[0101] In some aspects, the configuration may indicate a shared SS set configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET. For example, the first CORESET and the second CORESET may share one or more SS set parameters indicated in the shared SS set configuration, such as shared SS set periodicity, shared symbol bitmap (e.g., for SS set timing), shared aggregation level set, etc. In some aspects, one or more SS set parameters may be different between the first CORESET and the second CORESET. For example, the first CORESET and the second CORESET may be configured with a different number of PDCCH candidates per aggregation level.

[0102] Additionally or alternatively, the configuration may indicate a shared CORESET configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET. For example, the first CORESET and the second CORESET may share one or more CORESET parameters indicated in the CORESET configuration, such as a shared demodulation reference signal (DMRS) configuration, a shared SS set symbol duration, a shared transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, etc. In some aspects, one or more CORESET parameters may be different between the first CORESET and the second CORESET. For example, the first CORESET and the second CORESET may be configured with different CORESET identifiers, different resource block bitmaps, etc.

[0103] In example 600, base station 110 may enable distributed CCE to REG mapping. For example, the configuration sent to UE 120 may indicate the CCE to REG mapping type (e.g., using the cce-REG-MappingType parameter) set to an interleaved mode (e.g., interleaved value) for the first CORESET and for the second CORESET. Base station 110 may apply the CCE to REG mapping in the same way for the second CORESET for both high-end UEs and low-end UEs. In this way, since the first and second CORESETs are mutually exclusive in the frequency domain, CCE to REG mapping may be enabled in the scenario of example 600 (e.g., where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is mutually exclusive with the first frequency domain resource allocation). In this way, resource diversity may be achieved, thus improving performance.

[0104] As shown by reference numeral 630, UE 120 (e.g., high-end UE) may monitor one or more PDCCH candidates on the first CORESET and / or the second CORESET according to the shared SS set configuration. In this way, signaling overhead may be saved by indicating the shared SS set parameters and / or the shared CORESET configuration for the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

[0105] In some aspects, the UE 120 may not be configured with more than a maximum number of CORESETs. For example, the UE 120 may not be allowed to be configured with more than a maximum of three CORESETs. However, since the first CORESET and the second CORESET overlap in time (and thus cannot have different beam configurations) and share some common configurations (e.g., SS set configuration, CORESET configuration, etc.), in some aspects, the first CORESET and the second CORESET may be counted as a single CORESET towards the maximum number (e.g., limit) of CORESETs allowed to be configured for the UE 120. In this way, in addition to the first CORESET and the second CORESET, up to two additional CORESETs may be configured for the UE 120, thereby providing frequency diversity for PDCCH communication.

[0106] As indicated above, Figure 6 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from the example regarding Figure 6 described.

[0107] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating another example 700 for PDCCH coexistence for different UE categories according to various aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 7 The operations of

[0108]

[0109] Figure 5 As shown by reference numeral 705, the wireless communication device may divide a first CORESET 710 configured for a first category of UE (e.g., a high-end UE) into a first subband 715 (shown as "Subband (subband) 0") and a second subband 720 (shown as "subband 1"). The first subband 715 may not be included in the frequency domain resource allocation of a second CORESET 725 configured for a second category of UE (e.g., a low-end UE), and the second subband 720 may be included in the frequency domain resource allocation of the second CORESET 725. Figure 5As described, the second CORESET 725 can be completely overlapped in time with the first CORESET 710. In this way, due to the complete overlap of the PDCCHs for different UE categories, PDCCH interference and blocking caused by partial overlap can be avoided.

[0110] As shown by reference numeral 730, a wireless communication device can map a set of CCEs of PDCCH candidates to a set of REGs of the first CORESET. For example, the wireless communication device can use the first frequency-domain resource allocation of the first CORESET as the physical resource domain to which the REGs are mapped from the CCEs to perform the mapping of CCEs to REGs (as described above in connection with Figure 4 ). As shown by reference numeral 735, a subset of the REGs in the first frequency-domain resource allocation can be included in the second frequency-domain resource allocation of the second CORESET. As shown by reference numeral 740, in some aspects, another subset of the REGs in the first frequency-domain resource allocation may not be included in the second frequency-domain resource allocation.

[0111] As shown by reference numeral 745, the wireless communication device can relocate one or more REGs in the REG set of the first CORESET to be frequency-aligned with the corresponding REGs configured for the second CORESET. In some aspects, the wireless communication device can relocate one or more REGs at least partially based on determining that the one or more REGs are included in the second subband 720. For example, the wireless communication device can relocate a first subset of the REGs in the first frequency-domain resource allocation that are also included in the second frequency-domain resource allocation (e.g., as represented by Figure 7 reference numeral 735 in ). In contrast, the wireless communication device can refrain from relocating one or more REGs in the REG set that are included in the first subband 715. For example, the wireless communication device can refrain from relocating a second subset of the REGs in the first frequency-domain resource allocation that are excluded from the second frequency-domain resource allocation (e.g., as represented by Figure 7 reference numeral 740 in ).

[0112] The relocated REGs from the first CORESET can be frequency-aligned with the corresponding REGs of the PDCCH candidates of the second CORESET such that the relocated REGs occupy the same frequency resources as the corresponding REGs. In some aspects, one or more REGs are relocated at least partially based on at least one of the following: the aggregation level supported by UEs of a second category, the PDCCH candidate index associated with the REG being relocated, the PDCCH candidate index associated with the REG configured for the second CORESET, the frequency-domain distance (e.g., shortest distance, shortest combined distance, etc.) between the REG being relocated and the REG configured for the second CORESET, etc.

[0113] For example, the first CORESET may include REG A and REG B in the second sub-band 720, and the frequency range of REG A may be greater than the frequency range of REG B. The second CORESET may include REG C and REG D, and the frequency range of REG C may be greater than the frequency range of REG D. In this case, the wireless communication device may determine the shortest distance for repositioning the REG by: identifying the PDCCH candidate with the minimum value of the first absolute value of the RB index of the second CORESET having REG A (e.g., the lowest RB index, the highest RB index, etc.) minus the RB index of REG C (e.g., the lowest RB index, the highest RB index, etc.) plus the second absolute value of the RB index of REG B minus the RB index of REG D. For example, the wireless communication device may determine the corresponding REG on the second CORESET as the REG having the minimum combined distance between the REGs to be repositioned, such as by calculating |the lowest RB index of REG A – the lowest RB index of REG C| + |the lowest RB index of REG B – the lowest RB index of REG D|, where |x| is the absolute value of the number x. This example can be extended to the case where there are more than two REGs in the second sub-band 720. In some aspects, the lowest RB index may be used to calculate the minimum combined distance because multiple PDCCH candidates of the second CORESET may have the shortest distance to REG A and REG B.

[0114] In some aspects, such as when the aggregation level of the second CORESET is less than the aggregation level of the first CORESET, the PDCCH candidates of the second CORESET may not include enough corresponding REGs for the REGs of the first CORESET to be repositioned. In this case, the base station 110 will not be able to transmit the PDCCH candidates allocated for the first CORESET (e.g., for high-end UEs). To overcome this problem, the wireless communication device may reposition the REGs of the first CORESET to the REGs of the multiple PDCCH candidates of the second CORESET. For example, the wireless communication device may reposition the REGs from the first CORESET to the REGs of the PDCCH candidates (of the second CORESET) whose indexes are the same as the high-end UE PDCCH candidate index, the same as the high-end UE PDCCH candidate index + 1, and so on until all REGs are repositioned. Additionally or alternatively, the wireless communication device may reposition the REGs of the first CORESET to the REGs of the low-end PDCCH candidates with the shortest combined distance, then to the REGs of the low-end PDCCH candidates with the second shortest combined distance, and so on until all REGs are repositioned.

[0115] In this way, due to the complete overlap of PDCCHs for different UE categories, PDCCH interference and blocking caused by partial overlap can be avoided. Additionally, distributed CCE-to-REG mapping (as described elsewhere herein) can be enabled in Example 700 to provide resource diversity. Although Example 700 has been described in connection with dividing the first CORESET into two subbands, the operations described herein can also be applied to scenarios where the first CORESET is divided into more than two subbands.

[0116] As indicated above, Figure 7 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from the example regarding Figure 7 described.

[0117] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating another Example 800 for PDCCH coexistence for different UE categories in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 8 The operations of

[0118] can be performed by a wireless communication device, such as base station 110 and / or UE 120 (e.g., a low-end UE). As shown by reference numeral 805, the wireless communication device can identify a first CORESET configured for a first category of UE (e.g., a high-end UE) and a second CORESET configured for a second category of UE (e.g., a low-end UE). The first CORESET can have a first frequency-domain resource allocation. As described elsewhere herein, the second CORESET can have a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation. As also described elsewhere herein, the second CORESET can be completely overlapped with the first CORESET in time.

[0119] As shown by reference numeral 810, the wireless communication device can identify a set of REGs of PDCCH candidates included in the second frequency-domain resource allocation (e.g., in the second CORESET). As shown by reference numeral 815, the wireless communication device can relocate the set of REGs to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the first CORESET in a similar manner as described above in connection with Figure 7 described, except that in Example 800, the REGs of the second CORESET are relocated to be frequency-aligned with the corresponding REGs of the first CORESET (instead of relocating the REGs of the first CORESET to be frequency-aligned with the corresponding REGs of the second CORESET). In some aspects, at least partially based on the PDCCH candidate index associated with the REGs configured for the first CORESET, the frequency-domain distance (e.g., the shortest distance, the shortest combined distance, etc.) between the REGs being relocated and the REGs configured for the first CORESET, etc., in a similar manner as described above in connection with Figure 7Relocate the REG set in a similar manner as described.

[0120] In this way, due to the complete overlap of the PDCCHs for different UE categories, PDCCH interference and blocking caused by partial overlap can be avoided. Additionally, distributed CCE-to-REG mapping (as described elsewhere herein) can be enabled in Example 800, thereby providing resource diversity.

[0121] As indicated above, Figure 8 is provided as an example. Other examples may be different from the example regarding Figure 8 described.

[0122] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating an example process 900, e.g., performed by a UE, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process 900 is an example in which a UE (e.g., UE 120, etc.) performs operations associated with coexistence of physical downlink control channels for different user equipment categories.

[0123] As Figure 9 shown, in some aspects, process 900 may include receiving a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a UE of a first category and a second CORESET configured for a UE of a second category associated with the UE, where the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation, and where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation (block 910). For example, as described above, a UE (e.g., using receive processor 258, controller / processor 280, memory 282, etc.) may receive a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a UE of a first category and a second CORESET configured for a UE of a second category associated with the UE. In some aspects, the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation. In some aspects, the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation.

[0124] As Figure 9 further shown therein, in some aspects, process 900 may include monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency domain resource allocation (block 920). For example, as described above, a UE (e.g., using receive processor 258, controller / processor 280, memory 282, etc.) may monitor the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency domain resource allocation.

[0125] The process 900 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0126] In a first aspect, the timing of a first set of search spaces (SS) configured for a first CORESET overlaps in time completely with the timing of a second set of SS configured for a second CORESET.

[0127] In a second aspect, either alone or in combination with the first aspect, a resource block bitmap is used to indicate a first frequency domain resource allocation.

[0128] In a third aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, at least one of a resource block bitmap, a starting resource block, an ending resource block, a number of resource blocks spanning a second frequency domain resource allocation, a range of resource blocks, or a combination thereof is used to indicate a second frequency domain resource allocation.

[0129] In a fourth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the frequency mapping for a PDCCH candidate set is at least partially based on the first frequency domain resource allocation, and a subset of the PDCCH candidate set is included in the second frequency domain resource allocation.

[0130] In a fifth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, if all resource blocks of a PDCCH candidate are within the second frequency domain resource allocation, it is determined that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency domain resource allocation.

[0131] In a sixth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, for the first CORESET and the second CORESET, the control channel element (CCE) to resource element group (REG) mapping type is set to a non-interleaved mode.

[0132] Although Figure 9 example blocks of process 900 are shown, in some aspects, process 900 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks compared to the blocks depicted in Figure 9 . Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks of process 900 may be executed in parallel.

[0133] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1000, such as performed by a UE, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process 1000 is an example where a UE (e.g., UE 120, etc.) performs operations associated with coexistence of physical downlink control channels for different user equipment classes.

[0134] As Figure 10As shown, in some aspects, process 1000 may include receiving a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a UE, a second CORESET configured for the UE, and a shared search space (SS) set configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET, where the second CORESET overlaps in time with the first CORESET (block 1010). For example, as described above, a UE (e.g., using receive processor 258, controller / processor 280, memory 282, etc.) may receive a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for the UE, a second CORESET configured for the UE, and a shared search space (SS) set configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET. In some aspects, the second CORESET overlaps in time with the first CORESET.

[0135] As Figure 10 further shown, in some aspects, process 1000 may include monitoring one or more physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates on at least one of the first CORESET or the second CORESET according to the shared SS set configuration (block 1020). For example, as described above, a UE (e.g., using receive processor 258, controller / processor 280, memory 282, etc.) may monitor one or more physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates on at least one of the first CORESET or the second CORESET according to the shared SS set configuration.

[0136] Process 1000 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in combination with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0137] In a first aspect, the UE is in a first category of UEs, and the second CORESET is also configured for a second category of UEs.

[0138] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, for the first CORESET and the second CORESET, the control channel element (CCE) to resource element group (REG) mapping type is set to an interleaved pattern.

[0139] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, the shared SS set configuration indicates a different number of PDCCH candidates per aggregation level for the first CORESET (compared to the second CORESET).

[0140] In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, the shared SS set configuration includes at least one of a shared SS set period, a shared symbol bitmap, a shared aggregation level set, or a combination thereof.

[0141] In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, the configuration further indicates a shared CORESET configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

[0142] In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, the shared CORESET configuration indicates at least one of a different resource block bitmap or a different CORESET identifier for the first CORESET (compared to the second CORESET).

[0143] In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixth aspects, the shared CORESET configuration includes at least one of a shared demodulation reference signal configuration, a shared SS set symbol duration, a shared transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, or a combination thereof.

[0144] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, the first CORESET and the second CORESET are counted as a single CORESET towards the limit on the number of CORESETS that can be configured for a UE.

[0145] Although Figure 10 example boxes of process 1000 are shown, in some aspects, process 1000 may include additional boxes, fewer boxes, different boxes, or boxes arranged differently compared to the boxes depicted in Figure 10 Additionally or alternatively, two or more boxes of process 1000 may be executed in parallel.

[0146] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1100, such as may be performed by a wireless communication device, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process 1100 is an example where a wireless communication device (e.g., base station 110, UE 120, etc.) performs operations associated with coexistence of physical downlink control channels for different user equipment classes.

[0147] As Figure 11As shown, in some aspects, process 1100 may include dividing a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for user equipment (UE) of a first category into a first sub-band and a second sub-band, where the first sub-band is not included in the frequency-domain resource allocation of a second CORESET configured for UE of a second category, and the second sub-band is included in the frequency-domain resource allocation of the second CORESET (block 1110). For example, as described above, a wireless communication device (e.g., using controller / processor 240, controller / processor 280, memory 242, memory 282, etc.) may determine that a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for user equipment (UE) of a first category can be divided into a first sub-band and a second sub-band. In some aspects, the first sub-band is not included in the frequency-domain resource allocation of a second CORESET configured for UE of a second category, and the second sub-band is included in the frequency-domain resource allocation of the second CORESET.

[0148] As Figure 11 Further shown, in some aspects, process 1100 may include mapping a set of control channel elements (CCEs) of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates to a set of resource element groups (REGs) of the first CORESET (block 1120). For example, as described above, a wireless communication (e.g., using controller / processor 240, controller / processor 280, memory 242, memory 282, etc.) may map a set of control channel elements (CCEs) of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates to a set of resource element groups (REGs) of the first CORESET.

[0149] As Figure 11 Further shown, in some aspects, process 1100 may include repositioning one or more of the REGs to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the second CORESET based at least in part on determining that one or more of the REGs in the REG set are included in the second sub-band (block 1130). For example, as described above, a wireless communication device (e.g., using controller / processor 240, controller / processor 280, memory 242, memory 282, etc.) may reposition one or more of the REGs to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for the second CORESET based at least in part on determining that one or more of the REGs in the REG set are included in the second sub-band.

[0150] Process 1100 may include additional aspects, such as any individual aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in combination with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0151] In a first aspect, process 1100 includes inhibiting relocation of one or more REGs included in the REG set and within a first subband.

[0152] In a second aspect, either alone or in combination with the first aspect, relocate one or more REGs based at least in part on at least one of the following: the aggregation level supported by UEs of a second category, the PDCCH candidate index associated with the REG being relocated, the PDCCH candidate index associated with the REGs configured for a second CORESET, the frequency domain distance between the REG being relocated and the REGs configured for a second CORESET, or a combination thereof.

[0153] Although Figure 11 illustrates example blocks of process 1100, in some aspects, process 1100 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged differently compared to the blocks depicted in Figure 11 . Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks of process 1100 may be executed in parallel.

[0154] Figure 12 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1200, such as may be performed by a wireless communication device, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process 1200 is an example in which a wireless communication device (e.g., base station 110, UE 120, etc.) performs operations associated with coexistence of physical downlink control channels for different user equipment categories.

[0155] As Figure 12 shown, in some aspects, process 1200 may include identifying a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for user equipment (UE) of a first category and a second CORESET configured for UE of a second category, where the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation, and where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation (block 1210). For example, as described above, a wireless communication device (e.g., using controller / processor 240, controller / processor 280, memory 242, memory 282, etc.) may identify a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for user equipment (UE) of a first category and a second CORESET configured for UE of a second category. In some aspects, the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation. In some aspects, the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation.

[0156] As Figure 12Further shown in, in some aspects, process 1200 may include identifying a set of resource element groups (REGs) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates included in a second frequency domain resource allocation (block 1220). For example, as described above, a wireless communication device (e.g., using controller / processor 240, controller / processor 280, memory 242, memory 282, etc.) may identify a set of resource element groups (REGs) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates included in a second frequency domain resource allocation.

[0157] As Figure 12 Further shown in, in some aspects, process 1200 may include repositioning the set of REGs to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for a first CORESET (block 1230). For example, as described above, a wireless communication device (e.g., using controller / processor 240, controller / processor 280, memory 242, memory 282, etc.) may reposition the set of REGs to be frequency-aligned with corresponding REGs configured for a first CORESET.

[0158] Process 1200 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in combination with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0159] In a first aspect, the set of REGs is repositioned based at least in part on a PDCCH candidate index associated with the REGs configured for the first CORESET, a frequency domain distance between the REGs being repositioned and the REGs configured for the first CORESET, or a combination thereof.

[0160] Although Figure 12 illustrates example blocks of process 1200, in some aspects, process 1200 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks compared to the blocks depicted in Figure 12 Additional or alternatively, two or more blocks of process 1200 may be executed in parallel.

[0161] Figure 13 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1300, e.g., performed by a base station, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process 1300 is an example in which a base station (e.g., base station 110, etc.) performs operations associated with coexistence of physical downlink control channels for different user equipment classes.

[0162] As Figure 13As shown, in some aspects, process 1300 may include configuring a first control resource set (CORESET) for a first category of user equipment (UE), where the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation (block 1310). For example, as described above, a base station (e.g., using a transmit processor 220, a controller / processor 240, a memory 242, etc.) may configure a first control resource set (CORESET) for a first category of user equipment (UE). In some aspects, the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation.

[0163] As Figure 13 Further shown, in some aspects, process 1300 may include configuring a second CORESET for a second category of UE, where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation or mutually exclusive with the first frequency-domain resource allocation (block 1320). For example, as described above, a base station (e.g., using a transmit processor 220, a controller / processor 240, a memory 242, etc.) may configure a second CORESET for a second category of UE. In some aspects, the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation or mutually exclusive with the first frequency-domain resource allocation.

[0164] As Figure 13 Further shown, in some aspects, process 1300 may include transmitting a configuration indicating the first CORESET and the second CORESET (block 1330). For example, as described above, a base station (e.g., using a transmit processor 220, a controller / processor 240, a memory 242, etc.) may transmit a configuration indicating the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

[0165] Process 1300 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and / or in conjunction with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

[0166] In a first aspect, the configuration is transmitted to one or more UEs in the second category of UEs.

[0167] In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, the timing of the first search space (SS) set configured for the first CORESET completely overlaps in time with the timing of the second SS set configured for the second CORESET.

[0168] In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, a resource block bitmap is used to indicate the first frequency-domain resource allocation.

[0169] In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to third aspects, at least one of a resource block bitmap, a starting resource block, an ending resource block, a number of resource blocks spanning a second frequency domain resource allocation, a range of resource blocks, or a combination thereof is used to indicate the second frequency domain resource allocation.

[0170] In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourth aspects, the frequency mapping for a PDCCH candidate set is at least partially based on a first frequency domain resource allocation, and a subset of the PDCCH candidate set is included in the second frequency domain resource allocation.

[0171] In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifth aspects, the configuration further indicates a control channel element (CCE) to resource element group (REG) mapping type set to a non-interleaved mode for a first CORESET and a second CORESET.

[0172] In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to sixth aspects, the configuration is transmitted to one or more UEs in a first category of UEs.

[0173] In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to seventh aspects, the second CORESET is also configured for a first category of UEs.

[0174] In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eighth aspects, the configuration further indicates a control channel element (CCE) to resource element group (REG) mapping type set to an interleaved mode for a first CORESET and a second CORESET.

[0175] In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to ninth aspects, the configuration further indicates a shared search space (SS) set configuration for both a first CORESET and a second CORESET.

[0176] In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to tenth aspects, the shared SS set configuration indicates a different number of PDCCH candidates per aggregation level for the first CORESET compared to the second CORESET.

[0177] In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first to eleventh aspects, the shared SS set configuration includes at least one of a shared SS set periodicity, a shared symbol bitmap, a shared aggregation level set, or a combination thereof.

[0178] In a thirteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to twelfth aspects, the configuration further indicates a shared CORESET configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

[0179] In a fourteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to thirteenth aspects, the shared CORESET configuration indicates at least one of a different resource block bitmap or a different CORESET identifier for the first CORESET as compared to the second CORESET.

[0180] In a fifteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fourteenth aspects, the shared CORESET configuration includes at least one of a shared demodulation reference signal configuration, a shared SS set symbol duration, a shared transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, or a combination thereof.

[0181] In a sixteenth aspect, either alone or in combination with one or more of the first to fifteenth aspects, the first CORESET and the second CORESET are counted as a single CORESET towards a limit on the number of CORESETS that can be configured for UEs in a first category of UEs.

[0182] Although Figure 13 example blocks of process 1300 are shown, in some aspects, process 1300 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or blocks arranged differently than those depicted in Figure 13 . Additionally or alternatively, two or more blocks of process 1300 may be executed in parallel.

[0183] The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be obtained by practicing the aspects.

[0184] As used herein, the term "component" is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. As used herein, a processor is implemented with hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software.

[0185] Some aspects are described herein in connection with a threshold. As used herein, meeting a threshold may mean that a value is greater than a threshold, greater than or equal to a threshold, less than a threshold, less than or equal to a threshold, equal to a threshold, not equal to a threshold, and so forth.

[0186] It will be apparent that the systems and / or methods described herein can be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, or a combination of hardware and software. The actual special control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and / or methods does not limit the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of these systems and / or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code - understanding that software and hardware can be designed to implement these systems and / or methods at least in part based on the description herein.

[0187] Although specific feature combinations are recited in the claims and / or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of the aspects. In fact, many of these features can be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and / or not disclosed in the specification. Although each of the following dependent claims may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of the aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with each other claim in this set of claims. The phrase "at least one of" in reference to a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including a single member. As an 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, as well as any combination having multiple 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).

[0188] Elements, acts, or instructions used herein should not be construed as critical or essential unless expressly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles "a" and "an" are intended to include one or more items and can be used interchangeably with "one or more." Additionally, as used herein, the terms "set" and "group" are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, combinations of related and unrelated items, etc.) and can be used interchangeably with "one or more." Where only one item is intended, the phrase "only one" or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms "having," "containing," "including," etc. are intended to be open - ended terms. Additionally, the phrase "based on" is intended to mean "at least partially based on" unless otherwise expressly stated.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for UEs of a first category and a second CORESET configured for UEs of a second category associated with the UE, wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation, and wherein the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation, wherein a first search space (SS) set timing configured for the first CORESET overlaps completely in time with a second SS set timing configured for the second CORESET; and monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate at least partially based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is completely included within the second frequency-domain resource allocation.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the first frequency-domain resource allocation is indicated using a resource block bitmap.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the second frequency-domain resource allocation is indicated using at least one of a resource block bitmap, a starting resource block, an ending resource block, a number of resource blocks spanning the second frequency-domain resource allocation, a range of resource blocks, or a combination thereof.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, a frequency mapping for a PDCCH candidate set is at least partially based on the first frequency-domain resource allocation, and wherein a subset of the PDCCH candidate set is included within the second frequency-domain resource allocation.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, if all resource blocks of the PDCCH candidate are within the second frequency-domain resource allocation, the PDCCH candidate is determined to be completely included within the second frequency-domain resource allocation.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, for the first CORESET and the second CORESET, a control channel element (CCE) to resource element group (REG) mapping type is set to a non-interleaved mode.

7. A wireless communication method performed by a network entity, comprising: configuring a first control resource set (CORESET) for user equipment (UEs) of a first category, wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation; configuring a second CORESET for UEs of a second category, wherein the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation or mutually exclusive with the first frequency-domain resource allocation, wherein a first search space (SS) set timing configured for the first CORESET overlaps completely in time with a second SS set timing configured for the second CORESET; and transmitting an indication of the configuration of the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, the configuration is transmitted to one or more UEs of the second category.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The first frequency domain resource allocation is indicated using a resource block bitmap.

10. The method according to claim 7, wherein, the second frequency domain resource allocation is indicated using at least one of a resource block bitmap, a starting resource block, an ending resource block, a number of resource blocks spanning the second frequency domain resource allocation, a range of resource blocks, or a combination thereof.

11. The method according to claim 7, wherein, the frequency mapping for the PDCCH candidate set is at least partially based on the first frequency domain resource allocation, and wherein a subset of the PDCCH candidate set is included in the second frequency domain resource allocation.

12. The method according to claim 7, wherein, the configuration further indicates a control channel element (CCE) to resource element group (REG) mapping type set to non-interleaved mode for the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

13. The method according to claim 7, wherein, the configuration is transmitted to one or more UEs in the first category of UEs.

14. The method according to claim 7, wherein, the second CORESET is also configured for the first category of UEs.

15. The method according to claim 7, wherein, the configuration further indicates a control channel element (CCE) to resource element group (REG) mapping type set to interleaved mode for the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

16. The method according to claim 7, wherein, the configuration further indicates a shared search space (SS) set configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein, the shared SS set configuration indicates a different number of PDCCH candidates per aggregation level for the first CORESET compared to the second CORESET.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein, the shared SS set configuration includes at least one of a shared SS set periodicity, a shared symbol bitmap, a shared aggregation level set, or a combination thereof.

19. The method according to claim 7, wherein, the configuration further indicates a shared CORESET configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein, the shared CORESET configuration indicates at least one of a different resource block bitmap or a different CORESET identifier for the first CORESET compared to the second CORESET.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein, the shared CORESET configuration includes at least one of a shared demodulation reference signal configuration, a shared SS set symbol duration, a shared transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, or a combination thereof.

22. The method according to claim 7, wherein, The first CORESET and the second CORESET are counted as a single CORESET towards the limit on the number of CORESETs that can be configured for UEs in the first category of UEs.

23. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or more processors being configured to: receive a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for UEs in a first category of UEs and a second CORESET configured for UEs in a second category of UEs associated with the UE, wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation, and wherein the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation, wherein a first search space (SS) set timing configured for the first CORESET overlaps completely in time with a second SS set timing configured for the second CORESET; and monitor the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is fully contained within the second frequency domain resource allocation.

24. The UE of claim 23, wherein, the first frequency domain resource allocation is indicated using a resource block bitmap.

25. The UE of claim 23, wherein, the second frequency domain resource allocation is indicated using at least one of a resource block bitmap, a starting resource block, an ending resource block, a number of resource blocks spanning the second frequency domain resource allocation, a range of resource blocks, or a combination thereof.

26. The UE of claim 23, wherein, a frequency mapping for the PDCCH candidate set is at least partially based on the first frequency domain resource allocation, and wherein a subset of the PDCCH candidate set is included in the second frequency domain resource allocation.

27. The UE of claim 23, wherein, if all resource blocks of the PDCCH candidate are within the second frequency domain resource allocation, the PDCCH candidate is determined to be fully contained within the second frequency domain resource allocation.

28. The UE of claim 23, wherein, for the first CORESET and the second CORESET, a control channel element (CCE) to resource element group (REG) mapping type is set to a non-interleaved mode.

29. A network entity for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or more processors being configured to: configure a first control resource set (CORESET) for user equipment (UEs) in a first category, wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation; Configure a second CORESET for UEs of a second category, where the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of or mutually exclusive with the first frequency-domain resource allocation, and where a first search space (SS) set timing configured for the first CORESET overlaps completely in time with a second SS set timing configured for the second CORESET; And Transmit an indication of the configurations of the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

30. The network entity according to claim 29, Wherein, The configuration is transmitted to one or more UEs of the second category.

31. The network entity according to claim 29, Wherein, The first frequency-domain resource allocation is indicated using a resource block bitmap.

32. The network entity according to claim 29, Wherein, The second frequency-domain resource allocation is indicated using at least one of a resource block bitmap, a starting resource block, an ending resource block, a number of resource blocks spanning the second frequency-domain resource allocation, a range of resource blocks, or a combination thereof.

33. The network entity according to claim 29, Wherein, The frequency mapping for the PDCCH candidate set is at least partially based on the first frequency-domain resource allocation, and a subset of the PDCCH candidate set is included in the second frequency-domain resource allocation.

34. The network entity according to claim 29, Wherein, The configuration further indicates a control channel element (CCE) to resource element group (REG) mapping type set to a non-interleaved mode for the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

35. The network entity according to claim 29, Wherein, The configuration is transmitted to one or more UEs of the first category.

36. The network entity according to claim 29, Wherein, The second CORESET is also configured for UEs of the first category.

37. The network entity according to claim 29, Wherein, The configuration further indicates a control channel element (CCE) to resource element group (REG) mapping type set to an interleaved mode for the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

38. The network entity according to claim 29, Wherein, The configuration further indicates a shared search space (SS) set configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

39. The network entity according to claim 38, Wherein, The shared SS set configuration indicates a different number of PDCCH candidates per aggregation level for the first CORESET compared to the second CORESET.

40. The network entity according to claim 38, Wherein, The shared SS set configuration includes at least one of a shared SS set periodicity, a shared symbol bitmap, a shared aggregation level set, or a combination thereof.

41. The network entity according to claim 29, Wherein, The configuration further indicates a shared CORESET configuration for both the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

42. The network entity according to claim 41, wherein, the shared CORESET configuration indicates at least one of a different resource block bitmap or a different CORESET identifier for the first CORESET compared to the second CORESET.

43. The network entity according to claim 41, wherein, the shared CORESET configuration includes at least one of a shared demodulation reference signal configuration, a shared SS set symbol duration, a shared transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, or a combination thereof.

44. The network entity according to claim 29, wherein, the first CORESET and the second CORESET are counted as a single CORESET towards a limit on the number of CORESETS that can be configured for UEs in the first category of UEs.

45. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions for wireless communication, the one or more instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the one or more processors to perform the following operations: receiving a configuration indicating a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a UE in a first category of UEs and a second CORESET configured for a UE associated with the UE, wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation, and wherein the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation, wherein a first search space (SS) set occasion configured for the first CORESET overlaps completely in time with a second SS set occasion configured for the second CORESET; and monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is completely contained within the second frequency domain resource allocation.

46. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions for wireless communication, the one or more instructions comprising: one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a network entity, cause the one or more processors to perform the following operations: configuring a first control resource set (CORESET) for a first category of user equipment (UEs), wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency domain resource allocation; configuring a second CORESET for a second category of UEs, wherein the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency domain resource allocation or is mutually exclusive with the first frequency domain resource allocation, wherein a first search space (SS) set occasion configured for the first CORESET overlaps completely in time with a second SS set occasion configured for the second CORESET; and Transmit an indication of the configurations of the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

47. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: means for receiving an indication of a configuration of a first control resource set (CORESET) configured for a first category of UEs and a second CORESET configured for a second category of UEs associated with the UE, wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation, and wherein the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation, wherein a first search space (SS) set occasion configured for the first CORESET overlaps completely in time with a second SS set occasion configured for the second CORESET; and means for monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate at least in part based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is completely contained within the second frequency-domain resource allocation.

48. A network entity for wireless communication, comprising: means for configuring a first control resource set (CORESET) for a first category of user equipment (UEs), wherein the first CORESET has a first frequency-domain resource allocation; means for configuring a second CORESET for a second category of UEs, wherein the second CORESET overlaps with the first CORESET in time and has a second frequency-domain resource allocation that is a subset of the first frequency-domain resource allocation or is mutually exclusive with the first frequency-domain resource allocation, wherein a first search space (SS) set occasion configured for the first CORESET overlaps completely in time with a second SS set occasion configured for the second CORESET; and means for transmitting an indication of the configurations of the first CORESET and the second CORESET.

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