Monitoring of combined downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling transmissions in multiple cells

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques that may be used to configure parameters for monitoring combined downlink control information (DCI), where the combined DCI schedules data and / or reference signal transmissions in multiple cells. An example method generally includes determining a blind decoding (BD) limit and a control channel element (CCE) limit based on a scaling factor less than one, determining physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters for monitoring combined downlink control information (DCI) based on the BD limit and the CCE limit, where the combined DCI schedules at least one of data or reference signal (RS) transmissions in multiple cells; and monitoring the combined DCI based on the determined PDCCH parameters.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communication and, more particularly, to techniques for monitoring information for scheduling transmissions in multiple cells.

[0002] Introduction

[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. These wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access systems include Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, 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, and Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) systems, to name just a few examples.

[0004] In some examples, a wireless multiple access communication system may include several base stations (BSs), each capable of supporting communication with multiple communication devices (also referred to as user equipment (UE)) simultaneously. In an LTE or LTE-A network, a set of one or more base stations may define an evolved Node B (eNB). In other examples (e.g., in a next generation, New Radio (NR), or 5G network), a wireless multiple access communication system may include several distributed units (DUs) (e.g., edge units (EUs), edge nodes (ENs), radio heads (RHs), smart radio heads (SRHs), transmission reception points (TRPs), etc.) in communication with several central units (CUs) (e.g., central nodes (CNs), access node controllers (ANCs), etc.), where a set of one or more distributed units in communication with the central unit may define an access node (e.g., which may be referred to as a base station, 5G NB, next generation Node B (gNB or g B node), TRP, etc.). The base station or distributed unit may communicate with a set of UEs on a downlink channel (e.g., for transmissions from the base station or to the UE) and an uplink channel (e.g., for transmissions from the UE to the base station or distributed unit).

[0005] These multiple access techniques have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at the urban, national, regional, and even global levels. New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G) is an example of an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is an enhanced set of the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. It is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by using OFDMA with cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) to improve spectral efficiency, reduce costs, improve services, utilize new spectrums, and better integrate with other open standards. To this end, NR supports beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

[0006] However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, further improvements to NR and LTE technologies are still useful. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other multiple access techniques and the telecommunication standards that employ these techniques.

[0007] Brief Overview

[0008] The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure each have several aspects, and no single aspect alone is responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the present disclosure as expressed in the appended claims, some features will now be briefly discussed. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled "Detailed Description," it will be understood how the features of the present disclosure provide advantages including improved communication between an access point and a station in a wireless network.

[0009] Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes determining a blind decoding (BD) limit and a control channel element (CCE) limit based on a scaling factor less than one, determining physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters for monitoring combined downlink control information (DCI) based on the BD limit and the CCE limit, the combined DCI scheduling at least one of data or reference signal (RS) transmissions in multiple cells, and monitoring the combined DCI based on the determined PDCCH parameters.

[0010] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication performed by a network entity. The method generally includes determining a blind decoding (BD) limit and a control channel element (CCE) limit based on a scaling factor less than one, determining physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters for a user equipment (UE) to monitor combined downlink control information (DCI), the combined DCI scheduling at least one of data or reference signal (RS) transmissions in multiple cells, and transmitting the combined DCI to the UE based on the determined PDCCH parameters.

[0011] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatuses, devices, processors, and computer-readable media for performing the methods described herein.

[0012] To achieve the foregoing and related purposes, one or more aspects include the features that are fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of one or more aspects. However, these features are merely indicative of the many ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] For a more particular understanding of the manner in which the above-recited features of the present disclosure can be obtained, reference may be made to the aspects described in greater detail below, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the description may admit to other equally effective aspects.

[0015] Figure 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example telecommunications system in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example logical architecture of a distributed radio access network (RAN) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example physical architecture of a distributed RAN in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 4 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating the design of an example base station (BS) and user equipment (UE) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example for implementing a communication protocol stack in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a frame format for a new radio (NR) system in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Figure 7 illustrates an example combined downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling transmissions in multiple cells in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0022] Figure 8 illustrates an example operation for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 9Illustrates example operations for wireless communication by a network entity in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] To facilitate understanding, wherever possible, the same reference numerals have been used to designate the same elements common to the various figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspect may be beneficially utilized in other aspects without specific recitation.

[0025] Detailed Description

[0026] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, devices, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for monitoring and scheduling combined downlink control information (DCI) for transmissions in a plurality of cells.

[0027] The following description provides examples and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or examples set forth in the claims. Changes may be made to the functionality and arrangement of the elements discussed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Various examples may appropriately omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components. For example, the methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Also, features described with reference to some examples may be combined in some other examples. For instance, any number of 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 the claims. The term "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" need not be construed as superior or better than other aspects.

[0028] The techniques described herein can be used in various wireless communication technologies such as LTE, CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and other networks. The terms "network" and "system" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA network may implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. Cdma2000 covers the IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network may implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network can implement radio technologies such as NR (e.g., 5G RA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDMA, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).

[0029] New Radio (NR) is an emerging wireless communication technology being developed in cooperation with the 5G Technology Forum (5GTF). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are UMTS versions that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization called the "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). Cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called the "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The techniques described herein can be used in the wireless networks and radio technologies mentioned above and other wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, while aspects may be described herein using terms typically associated with 3G and / or 4G wireless technologies, aspects of the present disclosure can be applied in communication systems based on other generations including NR technologies such as 5G and later generations.

[0030] New Radio (NR) access (e.g., 5G technology) can support various wireless communication services such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) targeted at wide bandwidths (e.g., 80 MHz or higher), millimeter wave (mmW) targeted at high carrier frequencies (e.g., 25 GHz or higher), massive machine type communication MTC (mMTC) targeted at non-backward compatible MTC technologies, and / or mission critical targeted at ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). These services may include latency and reliability requirements. These services may also have different transmission time intervals (TTIs) to meet the corresponding quality of service (QoS) requirements. Additionally, these services can coexist in the same subframe.

[0031] Example wireless communication system

[0032] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network 100 (e.g., an NR / 5G network) is illustrated in which aspects of the present disclosure may be performed. For example, the wireless network 100 may include a UE 120 that is configured to perform Figure 8 operation 800 to monitor combined downlink control information (DCI) that schedules transmissions for multiple cells. Similarly, a base station 110 (e.g., a gNB) may be configured to perform Figure 9 operation 900 to transmit combined downlink control information (DCI) that schedules transmissions for multiple cells.

[0033] As Figure 1 illustrated, the wireless network 100 may include several base stations (BSs) 110 and other network entities. A BS may be a station that communicates with user equipment (UE). Each BS 110 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of a Node B and / or the Node B subsystem serving that coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In an NR system, the terms "cell" and next-generation Node B (gNB), new radio base station (NRBS), 5G NB, access point (AP), or transmit receive point (TRP) may be interchangeable. In some examples, a cell may not have to be stationary, and the geographic area of a cell may move according to the location of a mobile BS. In some examples, base stations may be interconnected with each other and / or interconnected to one or more other base stations or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless communication network 100 via various types of backhaul interfaces such as direct physical connections, wireless connections, virtual networks, or the like using any suitable transport network.

[0034] Generally, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular radio access technology (RAT) and may operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, air interface, etc. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, subcarrier, frequency channel, tone, subband, etc. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, an NR or 5G RAT network may be deployed.

[0035] A base station (BS) can provide communication coverage for macro cells, picocells, femtocells, and / or other types of cellular cells. 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), UEs of users in a residence, etc.). 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, BSs 110a, 110b, and 110c can be macro BSs for macro cells 102a, 102b, and 102c, respectively. BS 110x can be a pico BS for picocell 102x. BSs 110y and 110z can be femto BSs for femtocells 102y and 102z, respectively. A BS can support one or more (e.g., three) cellular cells.

[0036] The wireless communication network 100 can also include relay stations. A relay station is a station that receives a transmission of data and / or other information from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) and sends the transmission of the data and / or other information to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station can also be a UE that relays transmissions for other UEs. In Figure 1 the example shown, relay station 110r can communicate with BS 110a and UE 120r to facilitate communication between BS 110a and UE 120r. A relay station can also be referred to as a relay BS, a relay, etc.

[0037] The wireless network 100 can be a heterogeneous network including different types of BSs (e.g., macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, relays, 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., 20 watts), while pico BSs, femto BSs, and relays can have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 1 watt).

[0038] The wireless communication network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, each BS may have a similar frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, each BS may have a different frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for both synchronous and asynchronous operations.

[0039] The network controller 130 may be coupled to a set of BSs and provide coordination and control for these BSs. The network controller 130 may communicate with the BS 110 via a backhaul. The BSs 110 may also communicate with each other via a wireless or wired backhaul (e.g., directly or indirectly).

[0040] UEs 120 (e.g., 120x, 120y, etc.) may be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. UEs may also be referred to as mobile stations, terminals, access terminals, subscriber units, stations, customer premise equipment (CPE), cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), wireless modems, wireless communication devices, handheld devices, laptop computers, cordless phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, tablet computers, cameras, gaming devices, netbooks, smartbooks, ultrabooks, appliances, medical devices or equipment, biometric sensors / devices, wearable devices (such as smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wristbands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart rings, smart bracelets, etc.)), entertainment devices (e.g., music devices, video devices, satellite radios, etc.), vehicle components or sensors, smart meters / sensors, industrial manufacturing equipment, global positioning system devices, gaming devices, reality augmentation devices (augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR) or virtual reality (VR)), or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

[0041] Some UEs may be considered machine type communication (MTC) devices or evolved MTC (eMTC) devices. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., which may communicate with a BS, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node may 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 via a wired or wireless communication link, for example. Some UEs may be considered Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which may be narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices.

[0042] Some wireless networks (e.g., LTE) utilize Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also often referred to as frequency tones, frequency bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Generally speaking, the modulation symbols are transmitted in the frequency domain for OFDM and in the time domain for SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the subcarrier spacing can be 15 kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (referred to as a "resource block" (RB)) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180 kHz). Thus, for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), the nominal Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth can also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband can cover 1.08 MHz (i.e., 6 resource blocks), and for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz, there can be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands, respectively.

[0043] While aspects of the examples described herein may be associated with LTE technology, aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other wireless communication systems such as NR. NR may utilize OFDM with CP on both the uplink and downlink and includes support for half-duplex operation using Time Division Duplexing (TDD). Beamforming may be supported and the beam direction may be configured dynamically. MIMO transmission with precoding may also be supported. The MIMO configuration in the DL may support up to 8 transmit antennas (multi-layer DL transmission with up to 8 streams) and up to 2 streams per UE. Multi-layer transmission with up to 2 streams per UE may be supported. Aggregation of multiple cells may be supported using up to 8 serving cells.

[0044] In some scenarios, access to the air interface can be scheduled. For example, a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station (BS), Node B, eNB, gNB, etc.) can allocate resources for communication among some or all of the devices and equipment within its service area or cell. 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 can utilize the resources allocated by one or more scheduling entities.

[0045] The base station is not the only entity that can serve as a scheduling entity. In some examples, a UE can act as a scheduling entity and can schedule resources for one or more lower-level entities (e.g., one or more other UEs), and the other UEs can utilize the resources scheduled by the UE for wireless communication. In some examples, a UE can act as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network and / or in a mesh network. In a mesh network example, UEs can communicate directly with each other in addition to communicating with a scheduling entity.

[0046] Return to Figure 1 , which illustrates various potential deployments for various deployment scenarios. For example, in Figure 1 , the solid lines with double arrows indicate the desired transmissions between the UE and the serving BS, where the serving BS is the BS designated to serve the UE on the downlink and / or uplink. The thin dashed lines with double arrows indicate interference transmissions between the UE and the BS. The other lines show component-to-component (e.g., UE-to-UE) communication options.

[0047] Figure 2 illustrates an example logical architecture of a distributed radio access network (RAN) 200, which can be implemented in the wireless communication network 100 illustrated in Figure 1 . The 5G access node 206 can include an access node controller (ANC) 202. The ANC 202 can be the central unit (CU) of the distributed RAN 200. The backhaul interface to the next-generation core network (NG-CN) 204 can be terminated at the ANC 202. The backhaul interface to an adjacent next-generation access node (NG-AN) 210 can be terminated at the ANC 202. The ANC 202 can include one or more transmission and reception points (TRP) 208 (e.g., cells, BSs, gNBs, etc.).

[0048] The TRP 208 can be a distributed unit (DU). The TRP 208 can be connected to a single ANC (e.g., ANC202) or more than one ANC (not illustrated). For example, for RAN sharing, radio as a service (RaaS), and service-specific ANC deployments, the TRP 208 can be connected to more than one ANC. Each TRP 208 can include one or more antenna ports. The TRP 208 can be configured to serve traffic to the UE individually (e.g., dynamically selected) or jointly (e.g., joint transmission).

[0049] The logical architecture of the distributed RAN 200 can support various backhaul and fronthaul solutions. Such support can occur via and across different deployment types. For example, the logical architecture can be based on transport network capabilities (e.g., bandwidth, latency, and / or jitter).

[0050] The logical architecture of the distributed RAN 200 may share features and / or components with LTE. For example, the next-generation access node (NG-AN) 210 may support dual connectivity with NR and may share a common fronthaul for LTE and NR.

[0051] The logical architecture of the distributed RAN 200 may enable cooperation between and among the TRPs 208, e.g., within a TRP and / or across TRPs via the ANC 202. An inter-TRP interface may not be used.

[0052] The logical functions may be dynamically distributed in the logical architecture of the distributed RAN 200. As will be described in more detail with reference to Figure 5 the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer may be adaptively placed at the DU (e.g., TRP 208) or the CU (e.g., ANC 202).

[0053] Figure 3 An example physical architecture of a distributed radio access network (RAN) 300 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. A centralized core network unit (C-CU) 302 may host core network functions. The C-CU 302 may be centrally deployed. The C-CU 302 functionality may be offloaded (e.g., to an advanced wireless service (AWS)) to attempt to handle peak capacity.

[0054] A centralized RAN unit (C-RU) 304 may host one or more ANC functions. Optionally, the C-RU 304 may locally host core network functions. The C-RU 304 may have a distributed deployment. The C-RU 304 may be close to the network edge.

[0055] The DU 306 may host one or more TRPs (edge node (EN), edge unit (EU), radio head (RH), smart radio head (SRH), etc.). The DU may be located at the edge of the network with radio frequency (RF) functionality.

[0056] Figure 4 An example of (as depicted in Figure 1 the example components of the BS 110 and the UE 120 are illustrated, which may be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure. For example, the antenna 452, processors 466, 458, 464, and / or the controller / processor 480 of the UE 120 may be used to perform Figure 8 operation 800, while the antenna 434, processors 420, 460, 438, and / or the controller / processor 440 of the BS 110 may be used to perform Figure 9 operation 900.

[0057] At BS 110, the transmit processor 420 may receive data from the data source 412 and control information from the controller / processor 440. The control information may be used for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH), physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), physical hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) indicator channel (PHICH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), etc. The data may be used for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. The processor 420 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The processor 420 may also generate reference symbols (e.g., primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and cell-specific reference signal (CRS)). The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 430 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, control symbols, and / or reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide the output symbol streams to the modulators (MOD) 432a through 432t. Each modulator 432 may process its respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signals from the modulators 432a through 432t may be transmitted via the antennas 434a through 434t, respectively.

[0058] At UE 120, the antennas 452a through 452r may receive the downlink signals from the base station 110 and may provide the received signals to the demodulators (DEMOD) 454a through 454r in the transceiver, respectively. Each demodulator 454 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, down-convert, and digitize) the respective received signal to obtain an input sample. Each demodulator may further process the input sample (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. The MIMO detector 456 may obtain the received symbols from all the demodulators 454a through 454r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols, if applicable, and provide the detected symbols. The receive processor 458 may process (e.g., demodulate, de-interleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide the decoded data for the UE 120 to the data sink 460, and provide the decoded control information to the controller / processor 480.

[0059] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 464 may receive and process data from the data source 462 (e.g., data for the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)) and control information from the controller / processor 480 (e.g., control information for the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)). The transmit processor 464 may also generate reference symbols for a reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from the transmit processor 464 may be precoded by the TX MIMO processor 466 when applicable, further processed by the demodulator in the transceiver 454a to 454r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 110. At the BS 110, the uplink signal from the UE 120 may be received by the antenna 434, processed by the modulator 432, detected by the MIMO detector 436 when applicable, and further processed by the receive processor 438 to obtain the decoded data and control information transmitted by the UE 120. The receive processor 438 may provide the decoded data to the data sink 439 and the decoded control information to the controller / processor 440.

[0060] The controller / processors 440 and 480 may direct operations at the base station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. The processor 440 and / or other processors and modules at the BS 110 may execute or direct the execution of the processes of the techniques described herein. The memories 442 and 482 may store data and program codes for the BS 110 and the UE 120, respectively. The scheduler 444 may schedule the UE for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0061] Figure 5 FIG. 500 illustrates a diagram showing an example for implementing a communication protocol stack in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The illustrated communication protocol stack may be implemented by a device operating in a wireless communication system (such as a 5G system (e.g., a system supporting uplink-based mobility)). FIG. 500 illustrates a communication protocol stack including a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer 510, a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer 515, a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer 520, a Media Access Control (MAC) layer 525, and a Physical (PHY) layer 530. In various examples, these layers of the protocol stack may be implemented as separate software modules, parts of a processor or ASIC, parts of non-collocated devices connected by a communication link, or various combinations thereof. Collocated and non-collocated implementations may be used, for example, in the protocol stack for network access devices (e.g., AN, CU, and / or DU) or UEs.

[0062] The first option 505-a shows a split implementation of the protocol stack, where the implementation of the protocol stack is in a centralized network access device (e.g., Figure 2split between the ANC 202) and the distributed network access device (e.g., Figure 2 the TRP208) in. In the first option 505-a, the RRC layer 510 and the PDCP layer 515 can be implemented by the central unit, while the RLC layer 520, the MAC layer 525, and the PHY layer 530 can be implemented by the DU. In various examples, the CU and the DU can be co-located or non-co-located. The first option 505-a can be useful in macrocell, microcell, or picocell deployments.

[0063] The second option 505-b shows a unified implementation of the protocol stack, where the protocol stack is implemented in a single network access device. In the second option, the RRC layer 510, the PDCP layer 515, the RLC layer 520, the MAC layer 525, and the PHY layer 530 can each be implemented by the AN. The second option 505-b can be useful in, for example, femtocell deployments.

[0064] Regardless of whether the network access device implements part or all of the protocol stack, the UE can implement the entire protocol stack (e.g., the RRC layer 510, the PDCP layer 515, the RLC layer 520, the MAC layer 525, and the PHY layer 530) as shown in 505-c.

[0065] The embodiments discussed herein can include various interval and timing deployments. For example, in LTE, the basic transmission time interval (TTI) or packet duration is a 1 ms subframe. In NR, a subframe is still 1 ms, but the basic TTI is called a slot. A subframe contains a variable number of slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16,... slots), depending on the subcarrier spacing. An NR RB is 12 consecutive frequency subcarriers. NR can support a base subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, and other subcarrier spacings can be defined relative to the base subcarrier spacing, e.g., 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, 240 kHz, etc. The symbol and slot lengths scale with the subcarrier spacing. The CP length also depends on the subcarrier spacing.

[0066] Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the frame format 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and the uplink can be divided into radio frames. Each radio frame can have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms), and can be divided into 10 subframes with indices 0 to 9, each subframe being 1 ms. Each subframe can include a variable number of slots, depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot can include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols), depending on the subcarrier spacing. An index can be assigned to the symbol periods in each slot. A mini-slot is a sub-slot structure (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).

[0067] Each symbol in a time slot may indicate a link direction for data transmission (e.g., DL, UL, or flexible), and the link direction for each subframe may be switched dynamically. The link direction may be based on the time slot format. Each time slot may include DL / UL data as well as DL / UL control information.

[0068] In NR, a Synchronization Signal (SS) Block (SSB) is transmitted. The SS block includes a PSS, an SSS, and a two-symbol PBCH. The SS block may be transmitted in a fixed time slot position (such as Figure 6 symbols 0-3 as shown). The PSS and SSS may be used by the UE for cell search and capture. The PSS may provide half-frame timing, while the SSS may provide the CP length and frame timing. The PSS and SSS may provide cell identity. The PBCH carries some basic system information, such as the downlink system bandwidth, timing information within the radio frame, SS burst set periodicity, system frame number, etc.

[0069] Further system information (such as Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI), System Information Block (SIB), Other System Information (OSI)) may be transmitted on the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in certain subframes.

[0070] Some deployment scenarios may include one or two NR deployment options. A certain option may be configured for Non-Standalone (NSA) and / or Standalone (SA) options. A standalone cell may broadcast both the SSB and the Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI) (e.g., using SIB1 and SIB2). A non-standalone cell may broadcast only the SSB and not the RMSI. In a single carrier in NR, multiple SSBs may be transmitted at different frequencies and may include different types of SSBs.

[0071] Example monitoring of combined downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling transmissions in multiple cells

[0072] Aspects of the present disclosure provide an apparatus, method, processing system, and computer-readable medium for monitoring combined downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling transmissions in multiple cells.

[0073] Figure 7An example of a single (combined) DCI used to schedule transmissions in multiple cells is explained. Combined DCI generally refers to a single DCI transmission having one or more common DCI fields that are shared among multiple cells. For example, the common DCI fields of the combined DCI can dynamically schedule UL and / or DL data and / or reference signals in multiple cells. As described herein, the common DCI fields of the combined DCI can also dynamically activate and deactivate frequency resources in multiple cells (e.g., via bandwidth part (BWP) switching to be applied in multiple cells).

[0074] As shown, a single (combined) DCI transmitted by a first cell (in component carrier CC0) can schedule data and / or reference signal (RS) transmissions between the UE and multiple cells (in component carriers CC0, CC1, and CC2). For example, DCI 702 can schedule physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions, physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmissions, channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) transmissions, and sounding reference signal (SRS) transmissions.

[0075] Scenario 710 illustrates an example in which separate DCIs are transmitted on separate component carriers to configure cells operating on those separate component carriers. Scenario 720 illustrates an example in which cross-carrier scheduling (where a separate DCI is transmitted on one component carrier, i.e., CC0) is used to schedule cells operating on CC0, CC1, and CC2. In both examples 710 and 720, the UE can monitor the DCI separately for each cell operating on CC0, CC1, and CC2.

[0076] However, in the case where a combined DCI (e.g., combined DCI 702) is transmitted by a scheduling cell to configure multiple cells, the blind decoding and CCE limitations for the scheduled cells can be reduced because the information for the scheduled cells is carried in the combined DCI. For example, if a cell operating on CC0 transmits a combined DCI for cells operating on CC0, CC1, and CC2, the PDCCH limitations (e.g., blind decoding and CCE limitations) can be reduced for cells other than the cell that transmitted the combined DCI. As shown, by using combined DCI 702, in scenario 710, the UE may not need to monitor DCI 712 transmitted by the cell operating on CC1 or DCI 714 transmitted by the cell operating on CC2, and in scenario 720, the UE may not need to monitor DCI 722 and 724 transmitted by the cell operating on CC0 to configure the cells operating on CC1 and CC2. However, the PDCCH limitations for the cell that transmitted the combined DCI cannot be reduced because that cell still has to decode the DCI. Thus, the parameter calculations described below can be modified to account for the monitoring of the combined DCI from the scheduling cell (i.e., the cell that transmitted the combined DCI) without the need to monitor the individual DCI for the scheduled cells (i.e., the cells scheduled in the combined DCI other than the cell that transmitted the combined DCI).

[0077] Compared to the scenarios illustrated in 710 or 720 where either self-scheduled (each individual DCI is transmitted in the cell that the DCI is scheduling) or cross-scheduled (a DCI transmitted in one cell schedules transmissions in different cells), and individual DCI transmissions are used to schedule transmissions in each cell, the combined DCI can reduce the size of the total PDCCH resources used by sharing some DCI fields that carry the information for scheduling multiple cells. When DCI 702 schedules a PDSCH or PUSCH, DCI 702 can schedule one transport block (TB) across multiple cells, or can separately schedule multiple TBs in multiple cells. When CSI-RS or SRS transmissions are triggered, the DCI can trigger one resource across multiple cells or can separately schedule multiple resources in multiple cells.

[0078] In some cases, the UE may process up to the number of blind decodings up to the blind decoding limit and up to the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) up to the CCE limit within a time duration for PDCCH decoding. When ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) is configured, the time duration may be, for example, a time slot or a PDCCH span having up to several OFDM symbols (e.g., three OFDM symbols). When the UE is configured with carrier aggregation, the blind decoding limit and the CCE limit may be defined per cell as a per-cell limit or as an aggregate limit across multiple cells (e.g., all cells associated with the same parameter set).

[0079] Generally, when a DCI schedules data or reference signal transmission in multiple cells, the single DCI may be decoded in the scheduling cell. However, for data and reference signal transmissions scheduled for other cells, additional DCI decoding may not be required. Therefore, for the scheduled cells (excluding the scheduling cell), the PDCCH limits (e.g., the blind decoding limit and / or the CCE limit) may be reduced.

[0080] Typically, to determine the PDCCH limit, the UE may start from determining which represents the reference number of the configured cells. When the UE is not configured with NR dual connectivity (NR-DC) and the UE reports its PDCCH blind decoding capability (e.g., pdcch-BlindDetectionCA (pdcch-blind detection CA)), may be set to the value of the PDCCH blind decoding capability. Otherwise, may be set to the number of configured downlink cells. However, if the UE is configured with NR-DC, then may be determined for each cell group (e.g., the master cell group, the secondary cell group, etc.) may be set to the value of the reference number of cells in each cell group provided by the network (e.g., set to pdcch-BlindDetectionMCG (pdcch-blind detection MCG) for the master cell group and set to pdcch-BlindDetectionSCG (pdcch-blind detection SCG) for the secondary cell group).

[0081] Then the UE may determine the PDCCH blind decoding and CCE share for the set of cells having a parameter set associated with the parameter set factor μ. The UE may proportionally split across different cell sets having different parameter set factors μ based on the number of cells associated with the parameter set factor μ (i.e., ) such that the reference number of each cell set can be expressed as In some cases, if cell A with parameter set factor μ A is scheduled by cell B with parameter set factor μ B then the PDCCH blind decoding and CCE limitations of cell A can be determined by assuming that the parameter set factor of cell A is μ B to determine the PDCCH blind decoding and CCE limitations of cell A.

[0082] The UE can determine the total PDCCH blind decoding and CCE limitations for each cell set associated with the same parameter set factor μ. The total PDCCH blind decoding limitation (which represents the total number of blind decodings that the UE is expected to handle) can be expressed by the equation where represents the floor operation (i.e., the operation of rounding down to the nearest integer). The total PDCCH CCE limitation (which represents the maximum total number of non-overlapping CCEs that the UE is expected to handle) can be expressed by the equation For a given parameter set factor μ for the bandwidth part (BWP) configuration of the cells used for PDCCH limitation determination, can represent the maximum number of PDCCH candidates to be monitored per time slot (e.g., the maximum number of blind decodings), and and can represent the maximum number of blind decodings and the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs per time slot, as defined in Tables 10.1-2 and 10.1-3 of TS 38.213 Release 15 respectively.

[0083] The UE can determine the per-cell PDCCH blind decoding and CCE limitations for each cell associated with the parameter set factor μ. For a scheduled cell with a given parameter set factor μ, the maximum number of blind decodings that the UE is expected to handle can be For each scheduled cell with a given parameter set factor μ, the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs that the UE is expected to handle can be

[0084] In some cases, when a cell can be scheduled together with other cells for data and RS transmission using combined DCI, the PDCCH limitations of that cell for one or more of blind decoding or non-overlapping CCEs can be reduced. The handling of combined DCI can be accounted for in the PDCCH limitations of the scheduling cell, and thus there may be no need to limit the PDCCH limitations of the scheduling cell.

[0085] Figure 8An example operation 800 of combined DCI that can be performed by a user equipment to monitor and schedule data and / or reference signal (RS) transmissions in multiple cells according to an aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated. As shown, operation 800 begins at 802, where the UE determines blind decoding (BD) limits and control channel element (CCE) limits based on a scaling factor. The scaling factor can be less than one.

[0086] At 804, the UE can determine physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters for monitoring the combined DCI based on the BD limits and the CCE limits, where the combined DCI schedules at least one of data or reference signal (RS) transmissions in multiple cells. The apparatus for performing the functionality of 802 and / or 804 can but does not necessarily include, for example, controller / processor 480, receive processor 458, and / or memory 482 or any combination thereof.

[0087] At 806, the UE monitors the combined DCI based on the determined PDCCH parameters. The apparatus for performing the functionality of 806 can but does not necessarily include, for example, antenna 452, DEMOD / MOD 454, MIMO detector 456, receive processor 458, controller / processor 480, and / or memory 482 or any combination thereof.

[0088] Figure 9 An example operation 900 of combined DCI that can be performed by a cell to transmit and schedule data and / or reference signal (RS) transmissions in multiple cells according to an aspect of the present disclosure is illustrated. As shown, operation 900 begins at 902, where the cell determines blind decoding (BD) limits and control channel element (CCE) limits based on a scaling factor. The scaling factor can be less than one.

[0089] At 904, the cell determines physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters for a user equipment (UE) to monitor combined downlink control information (DCI) based on the BD limits and the CCE limits, where the combined DCI schedules at least one of data or reference signal (RS) transmissions in multiple cells. The apparatus for performing the functionality of 902 and / or 904 can but does not necessarily include, for example, controller / processor 440, transmit processor 420, and / or memory 442 or any combination thereof.

[0090] At 906, the cell transmits the combined DCI based on the determined PDCCH parameters. The apparatus for performing the functionality of 906 can but does not necessarily include, for example, antenna 434, MOD / DEMOD 432, TX MIMO processor 430, transmit processor 420, controller / processor 440, and / or memory 442 or any combination thereof.

[0091] As discussed, in cases where the UE is configured to handle scenarios in which DCI is used to schedule data and / or reference signal (RS) transmissions in multiple cells, for each of the multiple carriers, the per-cell PDCCH limit can be reduced. If x is less than 1, the reduction can be based on the scaling factor x. The per-cell blind decoding limit can thus be defined as Similarly, the per-cell CCE limit can be defined as In some embodiments, the scaled per-cell blind decoding limit and the scaled per-cell non-overlapping CCE limit that the UE is expected to handle for each cell with a given parameter set factor μ may not apply to the scheduling cell (e.g., the cell that transmits the combined DCI to the UE for scheduling). The scaling factor x can be specified a priori, configured by the network, or reported by the UE (e.g., as UE capabilities in the capabilities signaling).

[0092] In some embodiments, the scaling factor can be used to calculate the total PDCCH limit (including the total BD limit and the total CCE limit) for a cell associated with the parameter set factor μ. The term in the equation illustrated above can be replaced with the term where represents the number of configured downlink cells associated with the parameter set factor μ that are not within or among the multiple cells that can be configured by the combined DCI, and represents the number of configured downlink cells associated with the parameter set factor μ that are within or among the multiple cells that can be configured by the combined DCI. The scheduling cell that can transmit the combined DCI can be excluded from but can be included in .

[0093] In some embodiments, if NR-DC is configured for the UE, the per-cell blind decoding limit and the per-cell CCE limit can be determined separately for the cells in the master cell group (MCG) and the secondary cell group (SCG).

[0094] In some embodiments, based on one or more conditions, a UE may report its supported PDCCH blind detection capability (i.e., pdcch-BlindDetectionCA), and the scheduling cell receives the PDCCH blind detection capability from the UE. In one embodiment, when it is possible for the network to configure M+N downlink cells for the UE (where M (the first number) represents the number of downlink cells greater than zero that are not within (or among) the plurality of cells configurable by combined DCI (M≥0), and N (the second number) represents the number of downlink cells greater than zero that are within (or among) the plurality of cells configurable by combined DCI (N≥0)), the one or more conditions are satisfied when M+x·N>4 (or more generally, when M+x·N>thresholdValue (threshold)). The scheduling cell within the cell set that can transmit combined DCI may be excluded from N but included in M. In some embodiments, in the case where the UE is configured for NR-DC, the UE may report (and the scheduling cell may receive) its PDCCH blind detection capability supported commonly for all downlink cells across the MCG and SCG.

[0095] In some embodiments, in the case where the UE is not configured with NR-DC, if the UE reports (and if the scheduling cell receives) the supported PDCCH blind detection capability, the reference number of cells may be the value of the supported PDCCH blind detection capability (i.e., pdcch-BlindDetectionCA).

[0096] In some embodiments, when the UE is not configured with NR-DC and the UE does not report the supported PDCCH blind detection capability (i.e., pdcch-BlindDetectionC), the value may be m+x·n, where m is the number of configured downlink cells that are not within or among the plurality of cells configurable by combined DCI, and n is the number of configured DL cells that are within or among the plurality of cells configurable by combined DCI. The scheduling cell(s) within the plurality of cells that can transmit combined DCI may be excluded from n but included in m.

[0097] If the scaling factor is 1, the UE may use the conventional techniques discussed above to identify the blind decoding and CCE limitations of the cells. For example, the per-cell blind decoding limitation may be represented by the equation and the per-cell CCE limitation may be represented by the equation where...

[0098] The various methods disclosed herein include one or more steps or acts for implementing the methods. These method steps and / or acts may be interchanged with one another without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of the steps or acts is specified, the order and / or use of the specific steps and / or acts may be altered without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0099] As used herein, the phrase reciting "at least one of" 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 identical elements (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).

[0100] As used herein, the term "determine" covers a variety of acts. For example, "determine" may include computing, calculating, processing, deriving, researching, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, database, or another data structure), ascertaining, and the like. Also, "determine" can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. Also, "determine" may include parsing, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like.

[0101] The foregoing description has been provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein but are to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, where the recitation of a singular element is not intended to mean "one and only one" (unless specifically so stated) but rather "one or more." Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "some / a" refers to one or more. Elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are presently known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art as all structural and functional equivalents are hereby expressly incorporated by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. Additionally, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, whether or not such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. No element of a claim should be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C.§112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase "means for" or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase "step for."

[0102] The various operations of the methods described above can be performed by any suitable means capable of performing the corresponding functions. These means can include various hardware and / or software components and / or modules, including but not limited to circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or processors. Generally, where there are operations illustrated in the figures, these operations may have corresponding paired means plus function components with similar numbers.

[0103] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the present disclosure can be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0104] If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration may include a processing system in a wireless node. The processing system can be implemented with a bus architecture. Depending on the particular application and overall design constraints of the processing system, the bus may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges. The bus can link together various circuits including a processor, machine readable media, and a bus interface. The bus interface can be used to connect a network adapter, etc. to the processing system via the bus. The network adapter can be used to implement the signal processing functions of the PHY layer. In the case of the user terminal 120 (see Figure 1 ), a user interface (e.g., keypad, display, mouse, joystick, etc.) can also be connected to the bus. The bus can also link various other circuits, such as a timing source, peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, and similar circuits, which are well known in the art and will not be described further. The processor can be implemented with one or more general and / or special purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuitry capable of executing software. Depending on the particular application and overall design constraints imposed on the overall system, those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement the functionality described with respect to the processing system.

[0105] If implemented in software, each function can be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Software should be construed broadly to mean instructions, data, or any combination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. The computer-readable medium includes both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. The processor may be responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including executing software modules stored on a machine-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be coupled to the processor such that the processor can read from and write to the storage medium. In an alternative, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. By way of example, the machine-readable medium may include a transmission line, a carrier modulated by data, and / or a computer-readable storage medium with instructions stored thereon separate from a wireless node, all of which may be accessed by the processor via a bus interface. Alternatively or additionally, the machine-readable medium or any part thereof may be integrated into the processor, such as may be the case with a cache and / or a general register file. By way of example, examples of the machine-readable medium may include RAM (Random Access Memory), flash memory, ROM (Read-Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), registers, magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, or any other suitable storage medium, or any combination thereof. The machine-readable medium may be embodied in a computer program product.

[0106] Software modules may include a single instruction or many instructions and may be distributed across several different code segments, among different programs, and across multiple storage media. The computer-readable medium may include several software modules. These software modules include instructions that, when executed by an apparatus such as a processor, cause the processing system to perform various functions. These software modules may include a transmission module and a reception module. Each software module may reside in a single storage device or be distributed across multiple storage devices. By way of example, when a trigger event occurs, a software module may be loaded from a hard drive into RAM. During the execution of a software module, the processor may load some instructions into the cache to improve access speed. One or more cache lines may then be loaded into the general register file for execution by the processor. When referring to the functionality of a software module hereinafter, it will be understood that such functionality is implemented by the processor when the processor executes instructions from the software module.

[0107] Similarly, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is delivered from a web site, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology such as infrared (IR), radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology such as infrared, radio, and microwave is included in the definition of the medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and disc, where disk typically magnetically reproduces data, while disc optically reproduces data with a laser. Thus, in some aspects, a computer-readable medium may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., a tangible medium). Additionally, for other aspects, a computer-readable medium may include a transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., a signal). Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0108] Accordingly, certain aspects may include a computer program product for performing the operations presented herein. For example, such a computer program product may include a computer-readable medium having instructions stored (and / or encoded) thereon, such as, by way of example, memory 442 or memory 482 (referenced Figure 4 ), the instructions being executable by one or more processors such as the transmitting processor 420, controller / processor 440 and / or receiving processor 438 and / or receiving processor 458, controller / processor 480 and / or transmitting processor 464 referenced Figure 4 to perform the operations described herein. Such instructions may include, for example, instructions that when executed cause or direct the one or more processors to perform the operations described and illustrated in Figure 9-1 0.

[0109] Furthermore, it should be appreciated that modules and / or other suitable means for performing the methods and techniques described herein may be downloaded and / or otherwise obtained by a user terminal and / or a base station where applicable. For example, such devices can be coupled to a server to facilitate transfer of means for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, the various methods described herein can be provided via a storage means (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage medium such as a compact disc (CD) or floppy disk, etc.) such that once the storage means is coupled to or provided to the user terminal and / or base station, the device can obtain the various methods. Additionally, any other suitable technology can be utilized that is adapted to provide the methods and techniques described herein to a device.

[0110] It will be understood that the claims are not limited to the exact configurations and components illustrated above. Various modifications, substitutions, and variations can be made in the layout, operation, and details of the methods and apparatuses described above without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment UE, comprising: Determining a blind decoding BD limit and a control channel element CCE limit based on a scaling factor less than one; Determining physical downlink control channel PDCCH parameters for monitoring combined downlink control information DCI based on the BD limit and the CCE limit, the combined DCI scheduling at least one of data or reference signal RS transmissions in a plurality of cells, wherein the combined DCI comprises a single DCI transmission of one or more common DCI fields shared among the plurality of cells; And Monitoring the combined DCI from a scheduling cell among the plurality of cells based on the determined PDCCH parameters, The method further comprises: Reporting the supported physical downlink control channel PDCCH blind detection capability to the scheduling cell based on one or more conditions being met; And Wherein the one or more conditions are met when the sum of a first number of cells that the UE can be configured for and a second number of cells that the UE can be configured for scaled by the scaling factor exceeds a threshold, Wherein the first number represents the number of cells not among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI, and the second number represents the number of cells among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the BD limit and the CCE limit is further based on a parameter set factor associated with each cell among the plurality of cells.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the BD limit is a per-cell BD limit representing the maximum number of BDs to be performed for each cell among the one or more cells, and the CCE limit is a per-cell CCE limit representing the maximum number of CCEs to be decoded for each cell among the one or more cells.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of cells comprises cells including a scheduling cell and one or more cells scheduled by the scheduling cell using the combined DCI.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the BD limit is a total BD limit and the CCE limit is a total CCE limit, and wherein determining the total BD limit and the total CCE limit is further based on: The number of cells associated with the parameter set factor that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI, and The number of cells associated with the parameter set factor among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI scaled by the scaling factor.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the scheduling cell is excluded from the number of cells associated with the parameter set factor among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the BD limit and the CCE limit are determined separately for cells in a primary cell group and cells in a secondary cell group.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the scaling factor includes a predefined scaling factor.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the scaling factor includes a value configured by the network.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the scaling factor includes a value reported to the cell as UE capability.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the scheduling cell is included in the first number of cells and excluded from the second number of cells.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the supported PDCCH blind detection capability is applied to downlink cells in a primary cell group and cells in a secondary cell group.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein if the UE is not configured with dual connectivity, the reference number of cells is equal to the number of cells reported in the supported PDCCH blind detection capability.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein if the UE is not configured with dual connectivity and does not report the supported physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection capability to the scheduling cell, the reference number of cells is based on a first number of configured downlink cells that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI and a second number of configured downlink cells among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI scaled by the scaling factor.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the scheduling cell is included in the first number of cells and excluded from the second number of cells.

16. A method for wireless communication by a network entity, comprising: determining a blind decoding (BD) limit and a control channel element (CCE) limit based on a scaling factor less than one; determining physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters for a user equipment (UE) to monitor combined downlink control information (DCI) based on the BD limit and the CCE limit, the combined DCI scheduling at least one of data or reference signal (RS) transmission in a plurality of cells, wherein the combined DCI comprises a single DCI transmission of one or more common DCI fields shared among the plurality of cells; and transmitting the combined DCI based on the determined PDCCH parameters, the method further comprising: receiving the supported physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection capability in a scheduling cell based on one or more conditions being satisfied; and wherein the one or more conditions are satisfied when the sum of a first number of cells that the UE can be configured with and a second number of cells that the UE can be configured with scaled by the scaling factor exceeds a threshold. Wherein the first number represents the number of cells that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI, and the second number represents the number of cells among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein determining the BD limit and the CCE limit is further based on a set of parameter factors associated with each of the plurality of cells.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the BD limit is a per-cell BD limit representing the maximum number of BDs to be performed for each of the plurality of cells, and the CCE limit is a per-cell CCE limit representing the maximum number of CCEs to be decoded for each of the plurality of cells.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein the plurality of cells includes cells including a scheduling cell and one or more cells scheduled by the scheduling cell via the combined DCI.

20. The method according to claim 16, wherein the BD limit is a total BD limit and the CCE limit is a total CCE limit, and wherein determining the total BD limit and the total CCE limit is further based on: The number of cells associated with the set of parameter factors that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI, and The number of cells associated with the set of parameter factors among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI, scaled by the scaling factor.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the scheduling cell is excluded from the number of cells associated with the set of parameter factors among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI.

22. The method according to claim 16, wherein the BD limit and the CCE limit are determined separately for cells in the primary cell group and cells in the secondary cell group.

23. The method according to claim 16, wherein the scaling factor includes a predefined scaling factor.

24. The method according to claim 16, wherein the scaling factor includes a value configured by the network.

25. The method according to claim 16, wherein the scaling factor includes a value reported to the cell as UE capability.

26. The method according to claim 16, wherein the scheduling cell is included in the first number of cells and excluded from the second number of cells.

27. The method according to claim 16, wherein the supported PDCCH blind detection capability is applied to downlink cells in the primary cell group and cells in the secondary cell group.

28. The method according to claim 16, wherein if the UE is not configured with dual connectivity, the reference number of cells is equal to the number of cells reported in the supported PDCCH blind detection capability.

29. The method according to claim 16, wherein if the UE is not configured with dual connectivity and does not report the supported physical downlink control channel PDCCH blind detection capability to the scheduling cell, the reference number of cells is based on a first number of configured downlink cells that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI and a second number of configured downlink cells among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI scaled based on the scaling factor.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein the scheduling cell is included in the first number of cells and excluded from the second number of cells.

31. An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment UE, comprising: a memory; and a processor configured to: determine a blind decoding BD limit and a control channel element CCE limit based on a scaling factor less than one, determine physical downlink control channel PDCCH parameters for monitoring combined downlink control information DCI based on the BD limit and the CCE limit, the combined DCI scheduling at least one of data or reference signal RS transmission in a plurality of cells, wherein the combined DCI includes a single DCI transmission of one or more common DCI fields shared among the plurality of cells, and monitor the combined DCI from a scheduling cell among the plurality of cells based on the determined PDCCH parameters, the processor further configured to: report the supported physical downlink control channel PDCCH blind detection capability to the scheduling cell based on one or more conditions being met; and wherein the one or more conditions are met when the sum of a first number of cells that the UE can be configured with and a second number of cells that the UE can be configured with scaled by the scaling factor exceeds a threshold, wherein the first number represents the number of cells that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI, and the second number represents the number of cells among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI.

32. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the processor is configured to further determine the BD limit and the CCE limit based on a parameter set factor associated with each cell among the plurality of cells, wherein the BD limit is a per-cell BD limit representing the maximum number of BDs to be performed for each cell among the one or more cells, and the CCE limit is a per-cell CCE limit representing the maximum number of CCEs to be decoded for each cell among the one or more cells.

33. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the BD limit is a total BD limit and the CCE limit is a total CCE limit, and wherein the processor is configured to further determine the total BD limit and the total CCE limit based on the following: The number of cells associated with a parameter set factor that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI, and The number of cells associated with the parameter set factor among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI, scaled by the scaling factor.

34. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the BD limit and the CCE limit are determined separately for cells in a primary cell group and cells in a secondary cell group.

35. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the scaling factor includes a predetermined scaling factor, a value configured by the network, or a value reported as a UE capability to a cell.

36. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein if the UE is not configured with dual connectivity, the reference number of cells is equal to the number of cells reported in the supported PDCCH blind detection capability.

37. The apparatus according to claim 31, wherein if the UE is not configured with dual connectivity and does not report the supported physical downlink control channel PDCCH blind detection capability to a serving cell, the reference number of cells is based on a first number of configured downlink cells that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI and a second number of configured downlink cells among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI, scaled by the scaling factor.

38. An apparatus for wireless communication by a network entity, comprising: A memory; And A processor configured to: Determine a blind decoding BD limit and a control channel element CCE limit based on a scaling factor less than one, Determine physical downlink control channel PDCCH parameters for a user equipment UE to monitor combined downlink control information DCI based on the BD limit and the CCE limit, where the combined DCI schedules at least one of data or reference signal RS transmissions in a plurality of cells, and where the combined DCI includes a single DCI transmission of one or more common DCI fields shared among the plurality of cells, and Transmit the combined DCI based on the determined PDCCH parameters, The processor is further configured to: Receive the supported physical downlink control channel PDCCH blind detection capability in a serving cell based on one or more conditions being met; And Wherein the one or more conditions are met when the sum of a first number of cells that the UE can be configured with and a second number of cells that the UE can be configured with, scaled by the scaling factor, exceeds a threshold, Wherein the first number represents the number of cells that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI, and the second number represents the number of cells among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI.

39. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the processor is configured to further determine the BD limit and the CCE limit based on a parameter set factor associated with each of the plurality of cells, where The BD limit is a per-cell BD limit representing the maximum number of BDs to be performed for each of the one or more cells, and the CCE limit is a per-cell CCE limit representing the maximum number of CCEs to be decoded for each of the one or more cells.

40. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the plurality of cells includes cells comprising a scheduling cell and one or more cells scheduled by the scheduling cell via the combined DCI.

41. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the BD limit is a total BD limit and the CCE limit is a total CCE limit, wherein the processor is configured to determine the total BD limit and the total CCE limit based on: the number of cells associated with a parameter set factor that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI, and the number of cells associated with the parameter set factor among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI, scaled by the scaling factor.

42. The apparatus according to claim 41, wherein the scheduling cell is excluded from the number of cells associated with the parameter set factor among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI.

43. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the BD limit and the CCE limit are determined separately for cells in a primary cell group and cells in a secondary cell group.

44. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein the scaling factor includes a predefined scaling factor, a value configured by the network, or a value reported as a UE capability to the cell.

45. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein if the UE is not configured with dual connectivity, the reference number of cells is equal to the number of cells reported in the supported PDCCH blind detection capability.

46. The apparatus according to claim 38, wherein if the UE is not configured with dual connectivity and does not report the supported physical downlink control channel PDCCH blind detection capability to the scheduling cell, the reference number of cells is based on a first number of configured downlink cells that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI and a second number of configured downlink cells among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI, scaled by the scaling factor.

47. An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment UE, comprising: means for determining a blind decoding BD limit and a control channel element CCE limit based on a scaling factor less than one; Apparatus for determining physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters for monitoring combined downlink control information (DCI) based on the BD limit and the CCE limit, the combined DCI scheduling at least one of data or reference signal (RS) transmissions in a plurality of cells, wherein the combined DCI comprises a single DCI transmission of one or more common DCI fields shared among the plurality of cells; and Apparatus for monitoring the combined DCI from a scheduling cell among the plurality of cells based on the determined PDCCH parameters, The apparatus further comprises: Apparatus for reporting the supported physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection capability to the scheduling cell based on one or more conditions being met; and wherein the one or more conditions are met when the sum of a first number of cells that the UE can be configured for and a second number of cells that the UE can be configured for after being scaled by the scaling factor exceeds a threshold, wherein the first number represents the number of cells not among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI, and the second number represents the number of cells among the plurality of cells configured by the combined DCI.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein: The apparatus for determining the BD limit and the CCE limit further determines the BD limit and the CCE limit based on a parameter set factor associated with each cell among the plurality of cells, wherein The BD limit is a per-cell BD limit representing the maximum number of BDs to be performed for each cell among the one or more cells, and The CCE limit is a per-cell CCE limit representing the maximum number of CCEs to be decoded for each cell among the one or more cells.

49. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the BD limit is a total BD limit and the CCE limit is a total CCE limit, and wherein the apparatus for determining the total BD limit and the total CCE limit further determines the total BD limit and the total CCE limit based on: The number of cells associated with the parameter set factor that are not among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI, and The number of cells associated with the parameter set factor that are among the plurality of cells configured by the DCI and scaled by the scaling factor.

50. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising: Apparatus for reporting the supported physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection capability to a cell among the plurality of cells based on one or more conditions.

51. An apparatus for wireless communication by a network entity, comprising: Apparatus for determining a blind decoding BD limit and a control channel element (CCE) limit based on a scaling factor less than one; Apparatus for determining physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters for a user equipment (UE) to monitor combined downlink control information (DCI), where the combined DCI schedules at least one of data or reference signal (RS) transmissions in multiple cells, and where the combined DCI comprises a single DCI transmission of one or more common DCI fields shared among the multiple cells; and Apparatus for transmitting the combined DCI based on the determined PDCCH parameters, The apparatus further comprises: Apparatus for receiving the supported physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection capability in a scheduling cell based on one or more conditions being satisfied; and wherein the one or more conditions are satisfied when the sum of a first number of cells in which the UE can be configured and a second number of cells in which the UE can be configured, scaled by the scaling factor, exceeds a threshold, where the first number represents the number of cells not among the multiple cells configured by the combined DCI, and the second number represents the number of cells among the multiple cells configured by the combined DCI.

52. The apparatus according to claim 51, wherein: The apparatus for determining the BD limit and the CCE limit further determines the BD limit and the CCE limit based on a parameter set factor associated with each of the multiple cells, where the BD limit is a per-cell BD limit representing the maximum number of BDs to be performed for each of the one or more cells, and the CCE limit is a per-cell CCE limit representing the maximum number of CCEs to be decoded for each of the one or more cells.

53. The apparatus according to claim 51, wherein the BD limit is a total BD limit and the CCE limit is a total CCE limit, and wherein the apparatus for determining the total BD limit and the total CCE limit further determines the total BD limit and the total CCE limit based on: the number of cells associated with the parameter set factor that are not among the multiple cells configured by the DCI, and the number of cells associated with the parameter set factor that are among the multiple cells configured by the DCI, scaled by the scaling factor.

54. The apparatus according to claim 51, further comprising: Apparatus for receiving the supported physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection capability based on one or more conditions.

55. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, perform operations for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the operations comprising: Determining a blind decoding BD limit and a control channel element (CCE) limit based on a scaling factor less than one; Determine physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters for monitoring combined downlink control information (DCI) based on the BD limit and the CCE limit, where the combined DCI schedules at least one of data or reference signal (RS) transmission in multiple cells, and where the combined DCI includes a single DCI transmission of one or more common DCI fields shared among the multiple cells; and Monitor the combined DCI from a scheduling cell among the multiple cells based on the determined PDCCH parameters; The operation further includes: Report the supported physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection capability to the scheduling cell based on one or more conditions being met; and where the one or more conditions are met when the sum of a first number of cells in which the UE can be configured and a second number of cells in which the UE can be configured, scaled by the scaling factor, exceeds a threshold; where the first number represents the number of cells not among the multiple cells configured by the combined DCI, and the second number represents the number of cells among the multiple cells configured by the combined DCI.

56. The computer-readable medium according to claim 55, wherein the operation further includes the operations of the method according to any one of claims 2 - 15.

57. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, perform operations for wireless communication by a network entity, the operations including: Determine a blind decoding (BD) limit and a control channel element (CCE) limit based on a scaling factor less than one; Determine physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) parameters for a user equipment (UE) to monitor combined downlink control information (DCI), where the combined DCI schedules at least one of data or reference signal (RS) transmission in multiple cells, and where the combined DCI includes a single DCI transmission of one or more common DCI fields shared among the multiple cells, based on the BD limit and the CCE limit; and Transmit the combined DCI based on the determined PDCCH parameters; The operation further includes: Receive the supported physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) blind detection capability in a scheduling cell based on one or more conditions being met; and where the one or more conditions are met when the sum of a first number of cells in which the UE can be configured and a second number of cells in which the UE can be configured, scaled by the scaling factor, exceeds a threshold; where the first number represents the number of cells not among the multiple cells configured by the combined DCI, and the second number represents the number of cells among the multiple cells configured by the combined DCI.

58. The computer-readable medium according to claim 57, wherein the operation further includes the operations of the method according to any one of claims 17 - 30.

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