Cross-carrier scheduling technology

Abstract

Techniques for performing cross-carrier scheduling are described. A wireless communication method includes: a network node transmitting control information for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission to a communication node, wherein the control information is transmitted using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers; and transmitting at least two transport blocks including data to the communication node using the at least two shared channels.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to digital wireless communication. Background Art

[0002] Mobile communication technologies are driving the world towards an increasingly interconnected and networked society. Compared with existing wireless networks, next-generation systems and wireless communication technologies will need to support a wider range of use case characteristics and provide a more complex and sophisticated range of access requirements and flexibility.

[0003] Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a wireless communication standard for mobile devices and data terminals developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). LTE Advanced (LTE-A) is a wireless communication standard that enhances the LTE standard. The 5th Generation wireless system (i.e., 5G) advances the LTE and LTE-A wireless standards and aims to support higher data rates, massive connectivity, ultra-low latency, high reliability, and other emerging service requirements. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Techniques for cross-carrier scheduling are disclosed herein. A first exemplary wireless communication method includes: a network node transmitting control information for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission to a communication node, wherein the control information is transmitted using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers; and transmitting at least two transport blocks including data to the communication node using the at least two shared channels.

[0005] In some embodiments of the first exemplary wireless communication method, the control information includes at least one bit indicating to the communication node whether to perform soft combining on the data on the at least two shared channels. In some embodiments of the first exemplary wireless communication method, the method further includes: transmitting radio resource control (RRC) signaling including at least one bit indicating to the communication node whether to perform soft combining on the data on the at least two shared channels. In some embodiments of the first exemplary wireless communication method, the at least two shared channels include a first shared channel and a second shared channel, data of the first shared channel is soft combined with data of the second shared channel associated with a reference component carrier, the reference component carrier includes a primary component carrier, and an identifier of the first shared channel is indicated by signaling transmitted by the network node.

[0006] In some embodiments of the first exemplary wireless communication method, the identification of the first shared channel is indicated by an index value included in the signaling transmitted in the first channel, where the identification was previously associated with the index value. In some embodiments of the first exemplary wireless communication method, the index value is included in the carrier indicator field (CIF) of the downlink control information (DCI). In some embodiments of the first exemplary wireless communication method, the communication between the network node and the communication node supports N transmission modes, and the method further includes: transmitting radio resource control (RRC) signaling including bits, where represents the nearest integer greater than or equal to the square root of N. In some embodiments of the first exemplary wireless communication method, the communication between the network node and the communication node supports N transmission modes, the control information includes bits, and represents the nearest integer greater than or equal to the square root of N.

[0007] The second exemplary wireless communication method includes: a communication node receiving, from a network node, control information scheduling at least two shared channels for data reception, where the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and where the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers, and the transmission modes of the at least two component carriers include transmission based on transport blocks or transmission based on code block groups (CBGs); the communication node receiving, using the at least two shared channels, at least two transport blocks or at least two CBGs including data; and the communication node transmitting to the network node a feedback indicating whether the data received using the at least two shared channels was successfully decoded.

[0008] In some embodiments of the second exemplary wireless communication method, the feedback indicates whether the data received from one of the two shared channels was successfully decoded, the one shared channel being predefined or indicated by radio resource control (RRC) signaling, X represents the number of time-domain symbols between the first symbol of the feedback and the last symbol of the shared channel carrying the data, and X is predefined, or X is configured by the RRC signaling, or X is based on the capabilities of the communication node.

[0009] The third example wireless communication method includes: a communication node receiving control information from a network node for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission, wherein the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers; the communication node receiving at least two transport blocks including data using the two shared channels, wherein the at least two transport blocks are the same; and using a soft combining technique indicated by a plurality of redundancy version (RV) indication fields in the control information to combine the data included in the at least two transport blocks.

[0010] In some embodiments of the third example wireless communication method, the soft combining technique includes a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode. In some embodiments of the third example wireless communication method, in response to each RV indication field being equal, the chase combining mode is employed to combine the data.

[0011] The fourth example wireless communication method includes: a communication node receiving control information from a network node for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission, wherein the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers; the communication node receiving at least two codeblock groups (CBGs) including data using the two shared channels, wherein the at least two transport blocks are different; and performing a soft combining technique on the data at the CBG level based on an indication in the radio resource control (RRC) configuration of each shared channel. In some embodiments of the fourth example wireless communication method, the number of codeblock group transmission information (CBGTI) bits is equal to the total number of CBGs in all of the at least two component carriers scheduled by the control information.

[0012] The fifth example wireless communication method includes: a communication node receiving control information from a network node for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission, wherein the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers; the communication node receiving at least two transport blocks including data using the two shared channels; and performing a soft combining technique on the data received from the at least two transport blocks, wherein the soft combining technique is performed via a shared hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number, and wherein the maximum value of the HARQ process numbers shared by the at least two component carriers is predefined or signaled using radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0013] In some embodiments of the fifth example wireless communication method, the communication node, for a first group A component carrier shares a first HARQ process number to perform the soft combining technique, wherein the communication node performs the soft combining technique by sharing a second HARQ process number for the remaining set of component carriers to perform the soft combining technique, where P is the maximum value among the HARQ process numbers, and where c is the total number of component carriers.

[0014] A sixth example wireless communication method includes: a network node transmitting control information to a communication node for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission, wherein the control information is transmitted using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers operating in at least two scheduling modes, wherein the at least two scheduling modes include a first mode in which each of the at least two component carriers is configured to operate independently, and wherein the at least two scheduling modes include a second mode in which all of the at least two component carriers are configured to operate as a single component carrier; and transmitting at least one transport block including data to the communication node using the two shared channels.

[0015] In some embodiments of the sixth example wireless communication method, the method further includes: transmitting a field including at least one bit in radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the at least one bit indicating whether the at least two scheduling modes are indicated by the control information. In some embodiments of the sixth example wireless communication method, the field includes at least a first bit, and the at least two component carriers include a first component carrier and a second component carrier, the first bit indicating a first scheduling mode of the first component carrier and a second scheduling mode of the second component carrier.

[0016] A seventh example wireless communication method includes: a network node transmitting control information to a communication node for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission, wherein the control information is transmitted using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers configured to operate as a single component carrier; and transmitting at least two transport blocks including data to the communication node using the two shared channels.

[0017] In some embodiments of the seventh example wireless communication method, the at least two component carriers include a component carrier having the lowest frequency band or the highest frequency band, wherein the component carrier is a reference component carrier. In some embodiments of the seventh example wireless communication method, the at least two component carriers include a component carrier as a reference component carrier, the at least two component carriers include one or more non-reference component carriers in addition to the reference component carrier, and a first set of configuration parameters for the one or more non-reference component carriers is based on a second set of configuration parameters of the reference component carrier. In some embodiments of the seventh example wireless communication method, the at least two component carriers include a component carrier as a reference component carrier, the at least two component carriers include one or more non-reference component carriers in addition to the reference component carrier, and a frequency-domain resource allocation (FDRA) parameter for the data transmission is based on a concatenated bandwidth part (BWP) of all the at least two component carriers.

[0018] An eighth example wireless communication method includes: a communication node receiving control information from a network node for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission, wherein the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers; the communication node receiving at least two transport blocks or at least two code block groups (CBGs) including data using the two shared channels, wherein the data is received within a bandwidth part (BWP) of one of the at least two component carriers; and the communication node transmitting feedback to the network node indicating whether the data received using the at least two shared channels is successfully decoded, wherein the feedback is transmitted on a reference component carrier or the one component carrier.

[0019] A ninth example wireless communication method includes: a communication node receiving control information from a network node for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission, wherein the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers; the communication node receiving at least two transport blocks or at least two code block groups (CBGs) including data using the two shared channels, wherein the data is received within a bandwidth part (BWP) of more than one of the at least two component carriers; and the communication node transmitting feedback to the network node indicating whether the data received using the at least two shared channels is successfully decoded, wherein the feedback is independently transmitted on each of the at least two component carriers.

[0020] The tenth exemplary wireless communication method includes: a network node transmitting control information for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission to a communication node, wherein the control information is transmitted using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers configured to operate as a single component carrier; transmitting data to the communication node using the two shared channels with at least two transport blocks or at least two code block groups (CBGs); and performing a retransmission operation in which at least one transport block or at least one code block group (CBG) is retransmitted to the communication node.

[0021] In some embodiments of the tenth exemplary wireless communication method, the retransmission operation is performed using a reference component carrier or using a component carrier having an active bandwidth part (BWP). In some embodiments of the first to tenth exemplary wireless communication methods, one or more of the at least two component carriers are the same as the first component carrier. In some embodiments of the first to tenth exemplary wireless communication methods, the control information includes a single downlink control information (DCI), wherein the first channel includes a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and wherein the at least two shared channels include at least two physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs).

[0022] In yet another exemplary aspect, the above method is implemented in the form of processor-executable code and stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The code included in the computer-readable storage medium, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method described in this patent document.

[0023] In yet another exemplary embodiment, a device is disclosed that is configured or operable to perform the above method.

[0024] The above and other aspects and their implementations are described in more detail in the drawings, the specification, and the claims. Description of the Drawings

[0025] Figure 1 An example scenario is shown in which a single downlink control information (DCI) schedules at least two physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs).

[0026] Figure 2 Three example scheduling modes are shown that can be determined according to the transport blocks (TBs) carried by the PDSCH.

[0027] Figures 3A - 3C Three example scenarios for determining a reference component carrier (CC) are shown.

[0028] Figure 4Shows an example two-step DCI for scheduling two PDSCHs.

[0029] Figures 5A - 5J Shows an example flowchart for a wireless communication method.

[0030] Figure 6 Shows an exemplary block diagram of a hardware platform that can be part of a network node or a user equipment. Detailed Description

[0031] With the continuous improvement of the social digitalization level, wireless communication services cover more and more application scenarios. Among them, enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-reliable low-latency communication, and massive machine-type communication have become the three major scenarios supported by the fifth-generation (5G) system. In terms of system performance, the 5G system will have a peak rate of 10 - 20 Gbit / s, one million connections per square kilometer, an air interface latency of 1 ms, a mobility support of 500 km / h, and a traffic of 10 Mbit / s per square meter. The 5G system supports scheduling multiple physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) or two physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) located in multiple component carriers (CCs) through multiple downlink control information (DCIs). This can further improve the system throughput.

[0032] Scheduling multiple PDSCHs or PUSCHs using multiple DCIs can improve the service throughput, but it may increase the number of DCIs in the system cell. This may further lead to congestion of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carrying the DCI. To avoid this situation, a single DCI scheduling scheme is proposed in the next protocol version for scheduling multiple PDSCHs or PUSCHs in different cells to reduce the number of DCIs and the blocking rate of the PDCCH. The new DCI in this scheme needs to schedule at multiple PDSCHs or PUSCHs. The PDSCHs or PUSCHs of the multiple CCs can belong to different transport blocks (TBs), or can belong to the same TB, or one TB is located in multiple CCs. To schedule the PDSCHs or PUSCHs on different CCs according to a single DCI, a new hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) mechanism needs to be supported, otherwise such a single DCI feature may have to be abandoned.

[0033] In the current technology, it is not allowed for a single DCI to schedule PDSCHs or PUSCHs on multiple carriers, such as when the scheduled PDSCHs or PUSCHs belong to the same transport block. To support such scheduling, HARQ entity sharing between different CCs needs to be supported. The current wireless protocols do not support shared HARQ for multiple CCs, so relevant problems need to be solved, as further described in at least Embodiments 1 - 5 in Part I of this patent document.

[0034] Current wireless protocols do not support resource scheduling when aggregating multiple CCs into one CC. If a TB is scheduled or retransmitted on multiple CCs, the use of HARQ will become chaotic. To at least solve this technical problem, a mechanism provides this new type of cross-carrier scheduling, as further described in at least Embodiments 6-10 of Part II of this patent document.

[0035] The protocol currently does not support multi-cell PDSCH or PUSCH scheduling through a single DCI. To at least support this feature and reduce implementation difficulty, a potential technical solution includes splitting the DCI into a one-step DCI and a two-step DCI. To solve the technical problems caused by the one-step DCI and the two-step DCI, new solutions need to be further considered, as further described in at least Embodiment 11 of Part III of this patent document. In this patent document, the term "wireless protocol" or "wireless communication technology" may also be referred to as "protocol".

[0036] The example headings in the following sections are used to facilitate understanding of the subject matter of the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the claimed subject matter in any way. Therefore, one or more features of one example section may be combined with one or more features of another example section. In addition, for clarity, 5G terms are used, but the technology disclosed in this document is not limited to 5G technology and can be used in wireless systems implementing other protocols.

[0037] I. Support for HARQ entity sharing among multiple component carriers (CCs)

[0038] Example 1 - Introduction

[0039] This embodiment describes an example method for soft combination indication for different scheduling modes, as further described in Part I(a), and this embodiment describes an example method for indicating a transmission mode, as further described in Section I(b).

[0040] A single DCI scheduling multiple transmission resources is carried by the PDCCH. As Figure 1 shown, as an example, a single DCI schedules at least two PDSCHs. The PDCCH is sent by the gNB on CC#x, and PDSCH1 and PDSCH2 are scheduled by a single DCI on CC#z and CC#y respectively. The number x may be equal to the number y or z. As Figure 2 shown, three scheduling modes can be determined according to the TB carried by the PDSCH. For Figure 2 Mode A, the TBs carried by multiple PDSCHs are different. For Figure 2 Mode B, the TBs carried by multiple PDSCHs are the same. ForFigure 2 In pattern C, the sub-TB is carried by multiple PDSCHs, where the sub-TB belongs to a TB (or a TB includes multiple sub-TBs carried by multiple PDSCHs). From the perspective of the receiver, the TB or sub-TB may need to perform soft combining under patterns B and C.

[0041] Example 1 - Techniques for indicating whether to perform soft combining on data received on multiple CCs

[0042] Example methods for determining whether the receiver may need to perform soft combining on the decoded received information include at least one of the following methods.

[0043] Method 1

[0044] Define a new DCI field, and the field includes at least 1 bit. The value of this / these bits determines whether the receiver performs soft combining on data transmitted between different CCs. For example, the new field includes 1 bit. For example, if the value of this bit is 1, the receiver performs soft combining on data transmitted between different CCs. Otherwise (e.g., if this bit is 0), the receiver does not perform soft combining.

[0045] Method 2

[0046] Define a new radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the signaling is at least 1 bit. The value of this / these bits determines whether the receiver performs soft combining on data transmitted between different CCs. For example, the RRC signaling includes 1 bit. For example, if the value of this bit is 1, the receiver can perform soft combining on data transmitted between different CCs. Otherwise (e.g., if this bit is 0), the receiver cannot perform soft combining.

[0047] Method 3

[0048] Multiple CC pairs that can be soft combined are indicated by a predefined protocol or RRC signaling configuration. When the CarrierIndicatorField (CIF) in the PDCCH indicates the index of one or more CCs in the CC pair, after the receiver receives the multiple transmitted data of the CC pair, it performs soft combining on the data transmitted between different CCs. The CC pair includes at least 2 CCs. Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4 are provided as 4 examples. Taking Table 1 as an example, if the CIF index is 1, the receiver performs soft combining on the data received by CC1 and CC0.

[0049] Table 1

[0050] CIF index CC pair 0 {CC 0, CC 1} 1 {CC 1, CC 0}

[0051] Table 2

[0052] CIF index CC pair 0 {CC 0, CC 1} 1 {CC 1, CC 2} 2 {CC 2, CC 3} 3 {CC 3, CC 0}

[0053] Table 3

[0054] CIF index CC pair 0 {CC 0, CC 1} 1 {CC 1, CC 2} 2 {CC 2, CC 3} 3 {CC 3, CC 4} 4 {CC 4, CC 5} 5 {CC 5, CC 6} 6 {CC 6, CC 7} 7 {CC 7, CC 0}

[0055] Table 4

[0056]

[0057]

[0058] Method 4

[0059] Multiple CC pairs that can be soft combined are defined by a predefined protocol or RRC signaling configuration. When the receiver receives the CIF index indicating the corresponding CC, the receiver performs soft combining on the transmitted data from the CC indicated by the CIF index and the reference CC. In this method of Embodiment 1, the reference CC can be the same as the primary CC in the current radio protocol.

[0060] Method 5

[0061] The DCI format is bound to the CCs that can be soft combined through a predefined protocol. A new DCI format is defined, and the transmitted data from different CCs scheduled by the DCI can be soft combined.

[0062] Method 6

[0063] A specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) is bound to (or previously associated with) the CCs that can be soft combined through a predefined protocol. If the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the DCI is scrambled by the specific RNTI, the transmitted data from different CCs scheduled by the DCI can be soft combined.

[0064] Example 1 - Techniques for determining the transmission mode

[0065] Example methods for determining the transmission mode include at least one of the following methods.

[0066] Method 1

[0067] The protocol supports N transmission modes. The receiver determines the transmission mode through RRC configuration. A new RRC signaling is defined, and the signaling can include bits, where represents the nearest (or smallest) integer greater than or equal to the square root of N.

[0068] Method 2

[0069] The protocol supports N transmission modes. The receiver determines the transmission mode according to the DCI indication. A new DCI field is defined, and the field can include bits.

[0070] Method 3

[0071] The DCI format is bound to a transmission mode through a predefined protocol. A new DCI format is defined such that the transmitted data from different CCs scheduled by the DCI with the new format can be soft combined.

[0072] Method 4

[0073] A specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) is bound to a transmission mode through a predefined protocol. If the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the DCI is scrambled by a specific RNTI, the transmitted data from different CCs scheduled by the DCI can be soft combined.

[0074] Example 2

[0075] This embodiment describes an example method for determining the number of CCs used by a receiver to perform HARQ feedback.

[0076] A single DCI schedules PDSCH or PUSCH on multiple CCs. The transmission mode of the CCs scheduled by a single DCI includes TB-based transmission or code block group (CBG)-based transmission. The method for determining how to perform feedback includes at least one of the following methods, where the feedback indicates whether the data received from the multiple CCs is successfully decoded.

[0077] Method 1

[0078] The receiver provides independent feedback for each CC. The number of time-domain symbols between the first symbol of the feedback and the last symbol of the channel carrying the transmission data on each CC is X, where X can be predefined by the protocol, or X can be configured by RRC, or X can be implemented based on the receiver capabilities previously indicated by the receiver to the base station.

[0079] Method 2

[0080] The receiver provides feedback for one CC predefined by the protocol or configured by RRC. The number of time-domain symbols between the first symbol of the feedback and the last symbol of the channel carrying the transmission data on each CC is X, where X can be predefined by the protocol, or X can be configured by RRC, or X can be implemented based on the receiver capabilities previously indicated by the receiver to the base station.

[0081] Example 3

[0082] This embodiment describes an example method for soft combination indication for the same TB.

[0083] The receiver is instructed to perform soft combining, and the transmission mode is B. The receiver determines the transmission mode through RRC configuration or a predefined protocol. For mode B, the TBs carried by multiple PDSCHs are the same. There is at least one soft combining mode. For example, the soft combining modes include the trace combining mode and the incremental redundancy mode. The method for determining which soft combining mode the receiver performs includes at least one of the following methods.

[0084] There are multiple redundancy version (RV) indication fields in a single DCI that schedules multiple transmission resources. Each RV field includes at least 1 bit and indicates an independent indicator. When the values of each RV field are equal, the trace combining mode is used for soft combining. Additionally, when the values of each RV field are not equal, the incremental redundancy method is used for soft combining.

[0085] Example 4

[0086] This embodiment describes an example method for soft combining indication for different TBs.

[0087] A single DCI schedules PDSCH or PUSCH on multiple CCs. The transmission mode of the CCs scheduled by a single DCI includes transmission based on TB or transmission based on codeblock group (CBG). There are two soft combining levels, the TB level and the CBG level. The receiver determines the soft combining level according to the RRC configuration of each CC. When the soft combining level is the CBG level, the method for determining the number of bits of the CBG transmission information (CBGTI) includes at least one of the following methods:

[0088] Method 1

[0089] The number of CBGTI bits is equal to the total number of CBGs in all CCs scheduled by a single DCI. The number of CBGTI bits is defined by the protocol or configured by RRC signaling.

[0090] Method 2

[0091] The number of CBGs in each CC is n i (i = 0,..., I - 1), where I is the number of CCs. The number of CBGTI bits is equal to max[n0,..., n I-1 . The number of CBGTI bits is defined by the protocol or configured by RRC signaling.

[0092] Example 5

[0093] This embodiment describes an example method for determining the HARQ process number mapping on different CCs.

[0094] A single DCI schedules multiple transmission resources on different CCs. Each transmission resource is distributed on one CC. The maximum value of the HARQ process number shared by multiple CCs is P, and the P can be defined by a predefined protocol or RRC signaling configuration. The method for determining the process number of a CC includes at least one of the following methods:

[0095] Method 1

[0096] Take the average value of the HARQ process numbers shared by CCs with the same HARQ entity. The total number of CCs is c. The HARQ process numbers of the first CCs are The HARQ process numbers of the remaining CCs are If P is divisible by c, the HARQ process number of each CC is

[0097] Method 2

[0098] The number p of HARQ process numbers of each CC with the same HARQ entity i (i = 0,..., c - 1) is configured by RRC signaling.

[0099] II. Cross - carrier scheduling

[0100] Example 6

[0101] This embodiment describes a method for mode change for multiple CCs. The reference CC may include the primary CC, or in Embodiments 6 - 10, the reference CC may also be different from the primary CC.

[0102] A single DCI that schedules multiple transmission resources in at least two CCs operates in at least two scheduling modes. For example, there are two modes, Mode 1 and Mode 2. For Mode 1, each CC operates independently, and the scheduling information in all CCs is carried by a single DCI. For Mode 2, all CCs are regarded as a single CC and are operated together by a single DCI. The CC mode can be determined by a predefined protocol or RRC signaling configuration. For example, in a CC group, there are 4 CCs, including 2 intra-band CCs and 2 inter-band CCs, and as predefined by the protocol, the intra-band CCs support both Mode 1 and Mode 2, while the inter-band CCs only support Mode 1. The method for indicating the mode of a CC includes at least one of the following methods.

[0103] Method 1

[0104] Define a new DCI field, and the field includes at least 1 bit. The value of this / these bits determines the mode of the CCs scheduled by a single DCI. For example, the new field includes 1 bit, and the total number of CCs is at least 1. If the value of this bit is 1, the mode of the CCs scheduled by a single DCI is Mode 1. Otherwise, the mode of the CCs scheduled by a single DCI is Mode 2. For another example, the new field includes 2 bits, and the total number of CCs is 2. If the values of these bits are 1 and 0 respectively, the mode of CC0 scheduled by a single DCI is Mode 1, and the mode of CC1 scheduled by a single DCI is Mode 2.

[0105] Method 2

[0106] Define a new radio resource control (RRC) signaling, and the signaling is at least 1 bit. The value of this / these bits determines the mode of the CCs scheduled by a single DCI. For example, the RRC signaling includes 1 bit, and the total number of CCs is at least 1. If the value of this bit is 1, the mode of the CCs scheduled by a single DCI is Mode 1. Otherwise, the mode of the CCs scheduled by a single DCI is Mode 2. For another example, the RRC signaling includes 2 bits, and the total number of CCs is 2. If the values of these bits are 1 and 0 respectively, the mode of CC0 scheduled by a single DCI is Mode 1, and the mode of CC1 scheduled by a single DCI is Mode 2.

[0107] Method 3

[0108] The DCI format is bound to the CCs supporting Mode 2 through a predefined protocol. Define a new DCI format, and the (multiple) CCs scheduled by the format DCI support Mode 2.

[0109] Method 4

[0110] The RNTI is bound to the CCs supporting Mode 2 through a predefined protocol. If the CRC of the DCI is scrambled by a specific RNTI, the (multiple) CCs scheduled by the format DCI support Mode 2.

[0111] Example 7

[0112] This embodiment describes an example method for determining which CC is the reference CC when at least 2 CCs are regarded as a single CC and operate together through a single DCI.

[0113] A single DCI schedules multiple transmission resources in at least two CCs. All CCs are regarded as a single CC and are operated together by a single DCI. For example, there are two CCs scheduled by a single DCI. CC0 is regarded as the reference CC, and CC1 is regarded as the non-reference CC. The method for determining which CC is the reference CC includes at least one of the following methods.

[0114] Method 1

[0115] The reference CC is predefined by the protocol, and the remaining CCs are non-reference CCs. For the Figure 3A example in, the CC with the lowest or highest frequency band is predefined as the reference CC. For the Figure 3B another example in, the CC with the lowest or highest index is the reference CC. Also for example, the CC with a single transmitted DCI is predefined as the reference CC. For the Figure 3C another example in, the CC closest to the CC with a single transmitted DCI is predefined as the reference CC. The closest CC can be the CC with the frequency closest to the frequency of the CC on which the DCI is transmitted.

[0116] Method 2

[0117] The reference CC is configured by RRC signaling, and the remaining CCs are non-reference CCs. For example, there are 4 CCs in a CC group, and the reference CC indicates 2 bits of RRC signaling. If the decimal value of the signaling bits is 2, then CC2 is the reference CC, and CC0, 1, and 3 are non-reference CCs. Also for example, there are 4 CCs in a CC group, and the reference CC indicates 4 bits of RRC signaling. Each bit represents a CC. If the value represents the reference CC and the value of the signaling bits is 0010, then CC2 is the reference CC, and CC0, 1, and 3 are non-reference CCs.

[0118] Example 8

[0119] This embodiment describes an example method for determining the parameter configuration (also referred to as configuration parameters) for each CC in the case where at least 2 CCs are regarded as a single CC and jointly operated by a single DCI.

[0120] A single DCI schedules multiple transmission resources in at least two CCs. All CCs are regarded as a single CC and jointly operated by a single DCI. According to the method of Embodiment 7, the reference CC has been determined. The method for determining the parameter configuration for each CC includes at least one of the following methods.

[0121] Method 1

[0122] The configuration parameters are determined based on one of the CCs (e.g., the reference CC). For example, there are 2 CCs in the CC group and the reference CC is CC0. The Time Domain Resource Allocation (TDRA) table is different between CC0 and CC1. Then, the TDRA table is configured based on CC0. Similarly, the Multiple-Input Multiple-Output related parameters (demodulation reference signal, transmission configuration indication, physical resource block binding, and channel state information reference signal) and the PDSCH data related parameters (Frequency Domain Resource Allocation (FDRA), scrambling ID, resource block group (RBG), modulation and coding scheme table, maximum codeword, rate matching, code block group, HARQ, physical uplink control channel cell, and maximum layer) can be determined according to the reference CC.

[0123] Method 2

[0124] The FDRA parameters are determined based on the concatenated bandwidth parts (BWPs) in all CCs. For example, the FDRA field is configured by RRC signaling according to the concatenated BWP in all CCs. First, the BWPs of multiple CCs are concatenated to form a large-sized BWP. Then, the RBG is divided according to the relationship predefined in the protocol between the BWP and the RBG granularity. If the RBG spans at least two CCs, the RBG is split according to the CC of the RBs. The number of the split RBGs is equal to the number of CCs that the RBG spans. The allocation type can also be configured by RRC signaling according to the concatenated BWP.

[0125] Example 9

[0126] This embodiment describes a method for a receiver to determine HARQ feedback according to the scheduled transmission.

[0127] The transmission mode of the CCs scheduled by a single DCI includes transmission based on TB or transmission based on CBG. All CCs are regarded as a single CC and are operated together by a single DCI. The method for determining how to perform feedback includes at least one of the following methods.

[0128] Method 1

[0129] The scheduled transmission resources are within the BWP range of one CC, and the receiver performs fallback scheduling. The feedback is performed on the reference CC or the CC including the active BWP.

[0130] Method 2

[0131] The scheduled transmission resources are within the BWP ranges of more than one CC, and the receiver provides independent feedback for each CC.

[0132] Example 10

[0133] This embodiment describes an example method for a receiver to determine retransmission.

[0134] The transmission mode of the CCs scheduled by a single DCI includes TB-based transmission or CBG-based transmission. All CCs are regarded as a single CC and are operated together by a single DCI. The method for determining how to perform retransmission includes at least one of the following methods.

[0135] Method 1

[0136] Perform retransmission on the reference CC or the CC including the active BWP. The reference CC is predefined by the protocol or configured by RRC signaling. In one example, for TB-based transmission, the retransmission may include the entire transport block. In another example, for CBG-based transmission, the retransmission may include the CBG that was mis-transmitted for the first time.

[0137] Method 2

[0138] Perform retransmission on each CC.

[0139] Method 3

[0140] Perform retransmission on the CC on which feedback has been performed.

[0141] III. Techniques for implementing two - step DCI

[0142] Example 11

[0143] This embodiment describes an example method for a two-step DCI implementation.

[0144] The two-step DCI is divided into two sub-DCIs, the first DCI and the second DCI. The first DCI schedules transmission resources on the scheduling CC. The second DCI is carried by the transmission resources on the scheduling CC (e.g., the MAC control unit). The second DCI schedules multiple transmission resources on the scheduled CC. As Figure 4 shown, as an example, the two-step DCI schedules two PDSCHs. The first DCI schedules PDSCH1 on the scheduling CC, while the second DCI schedules PDSCH2 on the scheduled CC. When decoding PDSCH1, the receiver obtains the second DCI. The method for two-step DCI implementation includes at least one of the following methods.

[0145] Method 1

[0146] The DCI field is divided into a shared indication field and a separate indication field through pre - defined protocols or RRC signaling configurations. The resource of the first DCI carries shared indication information. The resource of the second DCI carries separate indication information. The shared indication information is valid for both PDSCHs, and the separate indication information is valid for PDSCH2. The second DCI is located on the first d time - domain symbols of PDSCH1. The number of d is pre - defined by the protocol or configured by RRC signaling.

[0147] Method 2

[0148] The resource of the first DCI carries scheduling information of the scheduled CC, and the resource of the second DCI carries scheduling information of the CC to be scheduled. The second DCI is located on the first d time - domain symbols of PDSCH1. The number of d is pre - defined by the protocol or configured by RRC signaling.

[0149] Figure 5A An exemplary flowchart of a wireless communication method 500A is shown. Operation 502A includes: a network node transmits control information for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission to a communication node, wherein the control information is transmitted using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers. Operation 504A includes: transmitting at least two transport blocks including data to the communication node using the at least two shared channels.

[0150] In some embodiments of method 500A, the control information includes at least one bit indicating to the communication node whether to perform soft combining on the data on the at least two shared channels. In some embodiments of method 500A, the method further includes: transmitting radio resource control (RRC) signaling, which includes at least one bit indicating to the communication node whether to perform soft combining on the data on the at least two shared channels. In some embodiments of method 500A, the at least two shared channels include a first shared channel and a second shared channel, the data of the first shared channel is soft - combined with the data of the second shared channel associated with a reference component carrier, the reference component carrier includes a primary component carrier, and the identity of the first shared channel is indicated by signaling transmitted by the network node.

[0151] In some embodiments of method 500A, the identification of the first shared channel is indicated by an index value included in the signaling transmitted in the first channel, where the identification was previously associated with the index value. In some embodiments of method 500A, the index value is included in the Carrier Indicator Field (CIF) of the Downlink Control Information (DCI). In some embodiments of method 500A, the communication between the network node and the communication node supports N transmission modes, where the method further includes: transmitting Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling including bits, where represents the nearest integer greater than or equal to the square root of N. In some embodiments of method 500A, the communication between the network node and the communication node supports N transmission modes, the control information includes bits, and represents the nearest integer greater than or equal to the square root of N.

[0152] Figure 5B FIG. shows an exemplary flowchart of a wireless communication method 500B. Operation 502B includes: a communication node receiving control information from a network node scheduling at least two shared channels for data reception, where the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and where the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers, and the transmission modes of the at least two component carriers include transmission based on transport blocks or transmission based on Code Block Groups (CBGs). Operation 504B includes: the communication node receiving at least two transport blocks or at least two CBGs including data using the at least two shared channels. Operation 506B includes: the communication node transmitting feedback to the network node indicating whether the data received using the at least two shared channels was successfully decoded. In some embodiments of method 500B, the feedback indicates whether the data received from one of the two shared channels was successfully decoded, the one shared channel being predefined or indicated by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, X represents the number of time-domain symbols between the first symbol of the feedback and the last symbol of the shared channel carrying the data, and X is predefined, or X is configured by the RRC signaling, or X is based on the capabilities of the communication node.

[0153] Figure 5CAn exemplary flowchart of a wireless communication method 500C is shown. Operation 502C includes: a communication node receiving control information from a network node that schedules at least two shared channels for data transmission, where the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and where the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers. Operation 504C includes: the communication node receiving at least two transport blocks including data using the two shared channels, where the at least two transport blocks are the same. Operation 506C includes: using a soft combining technique indicated by a plurality of redundancy version (RV) indication fields in the control information to combine the data included in the at least two transport blocks.

[0154] In some embodiments of method 500C, the soft combining technique includes a chase combining mode or an incremental redundancy mode. In some embodiments of method 500C, in response to each RV indication field being equal, the chase combining mode is employed to combine the data.

[0155] Figure 5D An exemplary flowchart of a wireless communication method 500D is shown. Operation 502D includes: a communication node receiving control information from a network node that schedules at least two shared channels for data transmission, where the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and where the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers. Operation 504D includes: the communication node receiving at least two codeblock groups (CBGs) including data using the two shared channels, where the at least two transport blocks are different. Operation 506D includes: performing a soft combining technique on the data at the CBG level based on an indication in the radio resource control (RRC) configuration of each shared channel. In some embodiments of method 500D, the number of codeblock group transmission information (CBGTI) bits is equal to the total number of CBGs in all of the at least two component carriers scheduled by the control information.

[0156] Figure 5EAn exemplary flowchart of a wireless communication method 500E is shown. Operation 502E includes: a communication node receiving control information from a network node for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission, where the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, where the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers, and where one of the at least two component carriers included is different from another. Operation 504E includes: the communication node receiving at least two transport blocks including data using the two shared channels. Operation 506E includes: performing a soft combining technique on the data received from the at least two transport blocks, where the soft combining technique is performed by sharing a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number, where the maximum value among the HARQ process numbers shared by the at least two component carriers is predefined or signaled using radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0157] In some embodiments of method 500E, the communication node performs the soft combining technique by sharing a first HARQ process number for a first set of component carriers, where the communication node performs the soft combining technique by sharing a second HARQ process number for the remaining set of component carriers , where P is the maximum value among the HARQ process numbers, and where c is the total number of component carriers.

[0158] Figure 5F An exemplary flowchart of a wireless communication method 500F is shown. Operation 502F includes: a network node transmitting control information to a communication node for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission, where the control information is transmitted using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, where the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers operating in at least two scheduling modes, where the at least two scheduling modes include a first mode in which each of the at least two component carriers is configured to operate independently, and where the at least two scheduling modes include a second mode in which all of the at least two component carriers are configured to operate as a single component carrier. Operation 504F includes: transmitting at least one transport block including data to the communication node using the two shared channels.

[0159] In some embodiments of method 500F, the method further includes: transmitting, in radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a field including at least one bit, the at least one bit indicating whether the at least two scheduling modes are indicated by the control information. In some embodiments of method 500F, the field includes at least a first bit, and the at least two component carriers include a first component carrier and a second component carrier, the first bit indicating a first scheduling mode of the first component carrier and a second scheduling mode of the second component carrier.

[0160] Figure 5G An exemplary flowchart of a wireless communication method 500G is shown. Operation 502G includes: a network node transmitting control information for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission to a communication node, wherein the control information is transmitted using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers configured to operate as a single component carrier. Operation 504G includes: transmitting at least two transport blocks including data to the communication node using the two shared channels.

[0161] In some embodiments of method 500G, the at least two component carriers include a component carrier having the lowest frequency band or the highest frequency band, wherein the component carrier is a reference component carrier. In some embodiments of method 500G, the at least two component carriers include a component carrier as a reference component carrier, the at least two component carriers include one or more non-reference component carriers in addition to the reference component carrier, and a first set of configuration parameters for the one or more non-reference component carriers is based on a second set of configuration parameters of the reference component carrier. In some embodiments of method 500G, the at least two component carriers include a component carrier as a reference component carrier, the at least two component carriers include one or more non-reference component carriers in addition to the reference component carrier, and the frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) parameters for the data transmission are based on the concatenated bandwidth parts (BWPs) of all the at least two component carriers.

[0162] Figure 5HAn exemplary flowchart of a wireless communication method 500H is shown. Operation 502H includes: a communication node receives control information for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission from a network node, wherein the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers. Operation 504H includes: the communication node receives at least two transport blocks or at least two code block groups (CBGs) including data using the two shared channels, wherein the data is received within a bandwidth part (BWP) of one of the at least two component carriers. Operation 506H includes: the communication node transmits feedback indicating whether the data received using the at least two shared channels is successfully decoded to the network node, wherein the feedback is transmitted on a reference component carrier or the one component carrier.

[0163] Figure 5I An exemplary flowchart of a wireless communication method 500I is shown. Operation 502I includes: a communication node receives control information for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission from a network node, wherein the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers. Operation 504I includes: the communication node receives at least two transport blocks or at least two code block groups (CBGs) including data using the two shared channels, wherein the data is received within a bandwidth part (BWP) of more than one of the at least two component carriers. Operation 506I includes: the communication node transmits feedback indicating whether the data received using the at least two shared channels is successfully decoded to the network node, wherein the feedback is independently transmitted on each of the at least two component carriers.

[0164] Figure 5J An exemplary flowchart of a wireless communication method 500J is shown. Operation 502J includes: a network node transmits control information for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission to a communication node, wherein the control information is transmitted using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers configured to operate as a single component carrier. Operation 504J includes: transmitting data to the communication node using the two shared channels with at least two transport blocks or at least two code block groups (CBGs). Operation 506J includes: performing a retransmission operation in which at least one transport block or at least one code block group (CBG) is retransmitted to the communication node.

[0165] In some embodiments of method 500J, the retransmission operation is performed using a reference component carrier or using a component carrier having an active bandwidth part (BWP). In some embodiments of methods 500A - 500J, one or more of the at least two component carriers are the same as the first component carrier. In some embodiments of methods 500A - 500J, the control information includes a single downlink control information (DCI), wherein the first channel includes a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and wherein the at least two shared channels include at least two physical downlink shared channels (PDSCH).

[0166] Figure 6 An exemplary block diagram of a hardware platform 600 that can be part of a network node or a user equipment is shown. Hardware platform 600 includes at least one processor 610 and a memory 605 having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed by processor 610, configure hardware platform 600 to perform Figures 1 to 5J the operations described in and the operations described in various embodiments described in this patent document. A transmitter 615 transmits or sends information or data to another node. For example, a network node transmitter can send a message to a user equipment. A receiver 620 receives information or data transmitted or sent by another node. For example, a user equipment can receive a message from a network node.

[0167] As used herein, the term "exemplary" is used to mean "an example of...", and unless otherwise stated, does not mean an ideal or preferred embodiment.

[0168] Some of the embodiments described herein are described in the general context of a method or process that, in one embodiment, can be implemented by a computer program product embodied in a computer - readable medium that includes computer - executable instructions executed by a computer in a networked environment, such as program code. The computer - readable medium can include removable and non - removable storage devices including, but not limited to, read - only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc. Thus, the computer - readable medium can include non - transitory storage media. Generally, program modules can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer or processor - executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of program code for performing the steps of the methods disclosed herein. A particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represents an example of the corresponding actions for implementing the functions described in such steps or processes.

[0169] Some of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented as devices or modules using hardware circuits, software, or a combination thereof. For example, a hardware circuit implementation may include discrete analog and / or digital components, which are, for example, integrated as part of a printed circuit board. Alternatively or additionally, the disclosed components or modules may be implemented as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and / or field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices. Some implementations may additionally or alternatively include a digital signal processor (DSP), which is a specialized microprocessor whose architecture is optimized for the operations of digital signal processing associated with the functions disclosed in this application. Similarly, the various components or sub-components within each module may be implemented in software, hardware, or firmware. Connections between modules and / or components within a module may be provided using any of the connection methods and media known in the art, including but not limited to communication over the Internet, wired networks, or wireless networks using appropriate protocols.

[0170] Although this document contains many specific details, these details should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention or what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features described in the context of individual embodiments in this document may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented separately in multiple embodiments, or in any suitable sub-combination. Additionally, although features may have been described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, in some cases, one or more features in a claimed combination may be deleted from that combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or a variation of a sub-combination. Similarly, although operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood to require that the operations must be performed in the particular order or sequence shown, or that all of the illustrated operations must be performed, in order to achieve the desired result.

[0171] This disclosure only describes some implementations and examples, and based on what is described and illustrated in this disclosure, other implementations, improvements, and variations may be made.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: A network node transmits control information for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission to a communication node, wherein the control information is transmitted using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers; and Transmit at least two transport blocks including data to the communication node using the at least two shared channels, wherein the at least two shared channels include a first shared channel and a second shared channel, wherein data of the first shared channel is soft combined with data of the second shared channel associated with a reference component carrier, wherein the reference component carrier includes a primary component carrier, and wherein an identifier of the first shared channel is indicated by signaling transmitted by the network node.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The control information includes at least one bit indicating to the communication node whether to perform soft combining on the data on the at least two shared channels.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Transmit radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the signaling including at least one bit indicating to the communication node whether to perform soft combining on the data on the at least two shared channels.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The identifier of the first shared channel is indicated by an index value included in the signaling transmitted in the first channel, wherein the identifier was previously associated with the index value.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The index value is included in a carrier indicator field (CIF) in downlink control information (DCI).

6. The method according to claim 1, Among them, Communication between the network node and the communication node supports N transmission modes, and wherein the method further comprises: The transmission includes bits of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, where represents the nearest integer greater than or equal to the square root of N.

7. The method according to claim 1, Among them, Communication between the network node and the communication node supports N transmission modes, Among them, the control information includes bits, and Among them, represents the nearest integer greater than or equal to the square root of N.

8. A wireless communication method, comprising: A communication node receives control information for scheduling at least two shared channels for data transmission from a network node, wherein the control information is received using a first channel associated with a first component carrier, and wherein the at least two shared channels are associated with at least two component carriers; The communication node receives at least two transport blocks including data using the two shared channels, wherein the at least two shared channels include a first shared channel and a second shared channel, wherein data of the first shared channel is soft combined with data of the second shared channel associated with a reference component carrier, wherein the reference component carrier includes a primary component carrier, and wherein an identifier of the first shared channel is indicated by signaling transmitted by the network node.

9. The method according to claim 8 further comprises: Perform a soft combining technique on the data received from the at least two transport blocks, wherein the soft combining technique is performed by sharing a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number, and wherein a maximum value of the HARQ process numbers shared by the at least two component carriers is predefined or signaled using radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

10. The method according to claim 9, Among them, The communication node performs the soft combining technique by sharing a first HARQ process number for a first set of component carriers ​ Among them, the communication node performs the soft combining technique by sharing a second HARQ process number for the remaining set of component carriers to perform the soft combining technique wherein P is the maximum value among the HARQ process numbers, and Where c is the total number of component carriers.

11. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising a processor configured to implement the method according to one or more of claims 1 to 10.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable program storage medium having stored thereon code which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the method according to one or more of claims 1 to 10.

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