Systems and methods for determining the PDCCH monitoring capability of each component carrier in carrier aggregation for span-based PDCCH monitoring.

Abstract

An exemplary method for wireless communication includes: configuring a wireless device to access a wireless network using a set of at least three component carriers (CCs); dividing the at least three component carriers into component carrier groups based on whether the component carriers share a span pattern and an initial span for monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of each component carrier; determining the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) to be monitored for each group of component carriers; and configuring the wireless device to monitor the non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to wireless devices, and more specifically to systems and methods for determining the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring capability in a wireless communication system. Background Technology

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smartphones and tablets have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now offer access to the internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and can operate complex applications that utilize these capabilities. Furthermore, many different wireless communication technologies and standards exist. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A (Advanced LTE), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), and BLUETOOTH. TM wait.

[0003] The introduction of an ever-increasing number of features and functions into wireless communication devices necessitates continuous improvement of both wireless communication and the devices themselves. In addition to the aforementioned communication standards, new wireless communication technologies are under development to increase coverage and better serve the growing demands and scope of intended uses of wireless communication. Therefore, improvements are needed to support these developments and designs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The implementation scheme relates to apparatus, systems, and methods for determining the PDCCH monitoring capability of each component carrier in carrier aggregation for span-based PDCCH monitoring.

[0005] In some situations, User Equipment (UE) has a limited ability to monitor PDCCH messages. When a UE is configured to utilize multiple component carriers (CCs, sometimes also referred to as "cells"), such as in carrier aggregation scenarios, the UE may need to monitor PDCCH across multiple carriers. In some cases, the PDCCH monitoring space can exceed the UE's monitoring capabilities. In some situations, the UE can, for example, indicate its maximum PDCCH monitoring capability to network elements. The PDCCH monitoring capability for each component carrier can be determined to help scale the complexity constraints of each component carrier, thereby helping to reduce the dimensions or space that the UE needs to monitor.

[0006] The technologies described herein can be implemented in and / or used with a variety of different types of devices, including but not limited to any one of cellular phones, wireless devices, tablets, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and various other computing devices.

[0007] The present invention is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subjects described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are merely illustrative and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or substance of the subjects described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subjects described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0008] A better understanding of the subject matter can be obtained by considering the following detailed description of the various embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0009] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system according to some implementation schemes is shown;

[0010] Figure 2 This illustrates a base station (BS) communicating with a user equipment (UE) device according to some implementation schemes;

[0011] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some implementation schemes is shown;

[0012] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a BS according to some implementation schemes is shown;

[0013] Figure 5 An exemplary block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown;

[0014] Figure 6 An exemplary block diagram of network elements according to some implementation schemes is shown;

[0015] Figure 7 An exemplary distribution of PDCCH monitoring timings for a set of component carriers is shown according to aspects of this disclosure;

[0016] Figure 8 An exemplary distribution of PDCCH monitoring timings for a set of component carriers is shown according to aspects of this disclosure;

[0017] Figure 9 An exemplary distribution of PDCCH monitoring timings for a set of component carriers is shown according to aspects of this disclosure;

[0018] Figure 10Techniques for wireless communication according to aspects of this disclosure are shown;

[0019] Figure 11 Techniques for wireless communication according to aspects of this disclosure are shown;

[0020] Figure 12 Techniques for wireless communication according to aspects of this disclosure are shown;

[0021] Figure 13 Techniques for wireless communication according to aspects of this disclosure are shown;

[0022] Figure 14 Techniques for wireless communication according to aspects of this disclosure are shown;

[0023] Figure 15 Techniques for wireless communication according to aspects of this disclosure are shown; and

[0024] Figure 16 Techniques for wireless communication according to aspects of this disclosure are shown.

[0025] Although the features described herein may be subject to various modifications and alternatives, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the accompanying drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and the detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but rather are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the substance and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Implementation

[0026] In certain wireless communication scenarios, component carriers can be associated with specific PDCCH span patterns and start spans. Monitoring of PDCCH messages on component carriers occurs on a defined schedule. For example, PDCCH monitoring timing can be based on span patterns for specific time intervals. As a more detailed example, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Modulation (OFDM) frame can be divided into a set of spans consisting of a predetermined number of consecutive OFDM symbols. The PDCCH span pattern can then be defined for each set of spans based on the predetermined number and position of the spans. For example, the PDCCH span pattern can be of the form (X,Y), where X represents the gap between the first span of a PDCCH monitoring timing and another PDCCH monitoring timing, and Y represents the number of spans for which the PDCCH monitoring timing is monitored. Thus, the PDCCH span pattern (4,3) would, for example, indicate that the PDCCH monitoring timing will last for three spans, with no monitoring in the fourth span. This span pattern is then repeated for said set of spans. In addition to the span pattern, the start span indicates in which span of the set of spans a specific span pattern begins.

[0027] Therefore, component carriers can be classified as "aligned" or "unaligned." For two or more component carriers to be aligned, the component carriers have the same span pattern and starting span. Component carriers with different span patterns or different starting spans are unaligned. It can be understood that, in the context of carrier alignment, the component carriers at least achieve a common time interval. For example, in the case where the UE is configured with a mixed common carrier, the first group of the common carrier has OFDM frames divided into a set of spans, such as fourteen spans, and the second group of the common carrier has OFDM frames divided into two time slots per frame. Whether a set of component carriers is aligned does not refer to whether the first component carrier from the first group is aligned with or misaligned with the second component carrier from the second group.

[0028] According to aspects of this disclosure, different techniques can be used to implement PDCCH monitoring capabilities for allocating UEs based on component carrier alignment. There are three basic scenarios for component carrier alignment. The first scenario is that all component carriers are aligned. The second scenario is that some component carriers are misaligned. If for the components from... Any span on a downlink component carrier starting from one symbol, in the context of... If a span starting from that symbol exists on every other downlink component carrier of a given downlink component carrier, then the first scenario applies. (Note: In this context, in the cases of Rel-15 and Rel-16, μ simply refers to an index of the possible SCS configuration, such as 30kHz, 60kHz, ..., 240kHz.) The number of serving component carriers configured with a common time interval (such as a set of spans (e.g., in Rel-16)) and having PDCCH monitoring capability utilizing the associated PDCCH span pattern (X,Y) of the common subcarrier spacing (SCS) can be referred to as In certain circumstances, if the UE's ability to monitor PDCCH is indicated based on multiple (X,Y) combinations and the configuration of the UE's search space set results in the separation of any two consecutive PDCCH monitoring spans that are equal to or greater than the value of X for two or more (X,Y) combinations, then the UE may have a maximum capability to monitor PDCCH for a specific span pattern (X,Y), which is determined by... This indicates that if the UE is configured with a combination of (X,Y) and SCS configuration μ... downlink component carriers, and among them Then the UE does not need to come from The scheduling of downlink component carriers and the monitoring of the active downlink bandwidth portion (BWP) of each span for more than one downlink component carrier. There are 10 non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs). In this alignment case, Equation 1 below gives the total number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for each span: Here, It indicates the UE's ability to monitor the number of CCs / cells and has Rel-16 PDCCH monitoring capabilities.

[0029] In the second scenario described above, at least two component carriers are misaligned. That is, if for the component carriers from... Any span on a downlink component carrier starting from one symbol, from... The second scenario applies if all spans on at least one of the other downlink component carriers do not begin from the same symbol. This applies if the UE is configured with a combination of (X,Y) and SCS configuration μ. downlink component carriers, and among them If from The spans on different downlink component carriers of the downlink component carriers are not aligned, where for each group, each scheduled component carrier has at most one span, so the UE does not need to span from... The scheduling of downlink component carriers and the active downlink bandwidth portion (DL BWP) for any group span monitoring more than There are 10 non-overlapping control channel elements. In this misaligned case, Equation 1 below defines the total number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for each span: Where j is the index to the available subcarrier spacing configuration (e.g., only 30kHz and 60kHz are considered in this example).

[0030] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure:

[0031] Memory media—any device of any type of nontransitory memory device or storage device. The term "memory media" is intended to include mounting media such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or magnetic tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, e.g., hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. Memory media may also include other types of nontransitory memory or combinations thereof. Furthermore, memory media may reside in a first computer system executing a program, or may reside in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory media" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations on different computer systems, for example, connected via a network. Memory media may store program instructions (e.g., representing a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0032] Carrier medium - storage media as described above, as well as physical transmission media, such as buses, networks, and / or other physical transmission media for transmitting signals (such as electrical signals, electromagnetic signals, or digital signals).

[0033] Programmable hardware elements encompass a variety of hardware devices that include multiple programmable functional blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (Field-Programmable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). Programmable functional blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinatorial logic units or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units."

[0034] Computer system—any of all types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, networked appliances, internet-connected appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations thereof. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0035] User equipment (UE) (or “UE device”) — any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone). TM Based on AndroidTM Telephones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS) TM PlayStation Portable TM Gameboy Advance TM iPhone TM Laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable internet devices, music players, data storage devices, or other handheld devices, etc. Generally speaking, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic device, computing device, and / or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) that is easily transmitted and capable of wireless communication by a user.

[0036] A wireless device is any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communication. A wireless device can be portable (or mobile), or it can be stationary or fixed in a location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0037] A communication device is any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, which may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or it may be stationary or fixed in a location. A wireless device is one example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0038] Base station—The term “base station” has the full range of its common meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed in a fixed location and is used for communication as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0039] A processing element (or processor) is a component or combination of components capable of performing the functions of a device such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. A processing element may include, for example: a processor and associated memory, portions or circuitry of individual processor cores, an entire processor core, a single processor, a processor array, circuitry such as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), programmable hardware components such as a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and any combination thereof.

[0040] A channel is a medium used to transmit information from a transmitter to a receiver. It should be noted that because the characteristics of the term "channel" can vary depending on different wireless protocols, the term "channel" as used herein can be considered to be used in a standard manner consistent with the type of device to which the term is referenced. In some standards, the channel width can be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE can support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels can be 22 MHz wide, while Bluetooth channels can be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0041] Frequency band—The term “frequency band” has the full range of its general meaning and includes at least a segment of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or reserved for the same purpose.

[0042] Automatic—refers to actions or operations performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g., circuits, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.) without requiring direct user input to specify or perform the action or operation. Therefore, the term "automatic" is the opposite of an operation performed or specified manually by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process can be initiated by user-provided input, but the subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user; that is, they are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out a form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting a checkbox, radio selection, etc.) is considered manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user's actions. The form can be automatically filled out by a computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) which analyzes the fields of the form and fills it out without any user input specifying answers for the fields. As indicated above, the user can invoke the automatic filling of the form but does not participate in the actual filling of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify answers for the fields, but they are completed automatically). This manual provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by the user.

[0043] Approximately—means a value close to the correct or precise value. For example, approximately can refer to a value within 1% to 10% of the precise (or expected) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold (or tolerance) can vary depending on the application. For example, in some implementations, “approximately” may mean within 0.1% of some specified or expected value, while in various other implementations, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of the specific application.

[0044] Concurrency refers to the parallel execution or implementation of tasks, processes, or programs in a manner that at least partially overlaps. For example, concurrency can be achieved using “strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed in parallel (at least partially) on corresponding computing elements; or using “weak parallelism,” where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., through time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0045] "Configured as"—Various components can be described as being "configured as" to perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, "configured as" is a broad expression generally meaning "having" a "structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when it is not currently performing one (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect one module to another, even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured as" can also be a broad expression generally meaning a structure that "has" a "circuit" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when it is not currently powered on. Typically, the circuit forming the structure corresponding to "configured as" can include hardware circuitry.

[0046] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". Statements describing a component as configured to perform one or more tasks are explicitly intended not to invoke the interpretation of 35 U.S.SC §112(f) for that component.

[0047] Now go to Figure 1 This illustrates a simplified example of a wireless communication system according to some implementation schemes. It should be noted that... Figure 1 The system described herein is merely one example of a possible system, and the features of this disclosure can be implemented in any of a variety of systems as needed.

[0048] As shown in the figure, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipments 106A, 106B to 106N, etc., via a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or UE device.

[0049] Base station (BS) 102A may be a transceiver base station (BTS) or a cell site (“cellular base station”), and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with UE 106A to UE 106N.

[0050] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station can be referred to as a "cell". Base station 102A and UE 106 can be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any of a variety of Radio Access Technologies (RATs), also known as wireless communication technologies or telecommunications standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with air interfaces such as WCDMA or TD-SCDMA), LTE, LTE-A Advanced, 5G New Radio (5G-NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. Note that if base station 102A is implemented in an LTE environment, its alternative location can be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if base station 102A is implemented in a 5G NR environment, its alternative location can be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0051] As shown in the figure, base station 102A can also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., in various possibilities, the core network of a cellular service provider, telecommunications networks such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and / or the Internet). Therefore, base station 102A can facilitate communication between user equipments and / or between user equipments and network 100. Specifically, cellular base station 102A can provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0052] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UE 106A-N and similar devices over a geographical area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0053] Therefore, although base station 102A can act as such Figure 1The diagram shows the "serving cell" of UEs 106A-N, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals (and possibly within its communication range) from one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells". Such cells may also facilitate communication between user equipments and / or between user equipments and network 100. These cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pecimen" cells, and / or any other cells of various other granularities providing service area size. For example, in Figure 1 Base stations 102A to 102B shown can be macro cells, while base station 102N can be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0054] In some implementations, base station 102A may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or a “gNB”. In some implementations, the gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. Furthermore, the gNB cell may include one or more transition and receive points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may connect to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, base station 102A and one or more other base stations 102 may support joint transmission, enabling UE 106 to receive transmissions from multiple base stations (and / or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station). For example, as... Figure 1 As shown, both base station 102A and base station 102C are shown as serving UE 106A.

[0055] It should be noted that UE 106 can communicate using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD, etc.), UE 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, UE 106 can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., Advanced Television Systems Committee—Mobile / Handheld (ATSC-M / H)) and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0056] Figure 2The illustration shows a user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with base station 102 according to some embodiments. UE 106 can be a cellular communication-capable device, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer, laptop, tablet, smartwatch, or other wearable device, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0057] UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments of the present invention by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, UE 106 may include programmable hardware elements, such as any of an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), integrated circuit, and / or various other possible hardware components configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the method embodiments described herein or any portion thereof.

[0058] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As an additional possibility, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna or to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communication. Typically, the radio components may include any combination of baseband processors, analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio components may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more portions of the receive chain and / or transmit chain among various wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0059] In some implementations, UE 106 may include separate transmit and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate therewith. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared among multiple wireless communication protocols, as well as one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include shared radio components for communicating using either LTE or 5G NR (or, in various possibilities, either LTE or 1xRTT, or either LTE or GSM), and separate radio components for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0060] Figure 3 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 3 The block diagram of the communication device is merely one example of possible communication devices. According to the implementation, among other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a set of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system-on-a-chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, the set of components 300 may be implemented as individual components or groups of components for various purposes. This set of components 300 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuitry of the communication device 106.

[0061] For example, communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connection to a computer system; docking station; charging station; input devices such as microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices such as speaker; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with or external to communication device 106, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some embodiments, communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card for Ethernet, for example.

[0062] The wireless communication circuit 330 may (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) be coupled to one or more antennas, such as one or more antennas 335 as shown in the figure. The wireless communication circuit 330 may include cellular communication circuitry and / or medium-to-short-range wireless communication circuitry, and may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0063] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more receive chains of multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communication ground; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). Furthermore, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a single transmit chain that can be switched between radio components dedicated to a particular RAT. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT (e.g., LTE) and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with a second radio component. A second radio component may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a shared transmit chain.

[0064] The communication device 106 may also include one or more user interface elements and / or be configured to be used with one or more user interface elements. User interface elements may include any of a variety of components such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of the touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other components capable of providing information to the user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0065] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 with SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more general purpose integrated circuit cards) 345.

[0066] As shown in the figure, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 and display circuitry 304. The processor executes program instructions for the communication device 106, and the display circuitry performs graphics processing and provides display signals to the display 360. One or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from one or more processors 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)) and / or coupled to other circuitry or devices (such as display circuitry 304, wireless communication circuitry 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0067] As described above, communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuitry. As described herein, communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), processor 302 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in conjunction with one or more of other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, processor 302 of communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0068] Furthermore, as described in this invention, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 302.

[0069] Furthermore, as described herein, the wireless communication circuit 330 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the wireless communication circuit 330. Therefore, the wireless communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit 330. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the wireless communication circuit 330.

[0070] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 4 The base station shown is merely one example of a possible base station. As illustrated, base station 102 may include a processor 404 capable of executing program instructions specific to base station 102. Processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuitry or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0071] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to be coupled to a telephone network and provide access rights as described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The telephone network described herein includes multiple devices such as UE device 106.

[0072] Network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also be configured, or alternatively configured, to be coupled to a cellular network, such as the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as UE device 106. In some cases, network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0073] In some implementations, base station 102 may be a next-generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or a “gNB”. In such implementations, base station 102 may connect to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) / 5G core (5GC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and receive points (TRPs). Additionally, UEs capable of operating according to 5G NR may connect to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0074] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE device 106 via radio component 430. Antenna 434 communicates with radio component 430 via communication link 432. Communication link 432 may be a receive link, a transmit link, or both. Radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0075] Base station 102 can be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communication according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communication according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communication according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0076] As further described herein, BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting specific implementations of the features described herein. The processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in conjunction with one or more of other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, and 470, the processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the features described herein.

[0077] Furthermore, as described in this invention, one or more processors 404 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 404. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 404.

[0078] Furthermore, as described in this invention, the radio component 430 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, the radio component 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the radio component 430. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the radio component 430.

[0079] Figure 5An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown. It should be noted that... Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuit is merely one example of possible cellular communication circuits; other circuits, such as those including or coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using independent antennas, or those including or coupled to fewer antennas, such as those that can be shared among multiple RATs, are also possible. According to some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As mentioned above, among other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices.

[0080] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335a-b and 336 as shown in the figure. In some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to dedicated processors and / or radio components (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, as Figure 5 As shown, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a first modem 510 and a second modem 520. The first modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT (e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A), and the second modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT (e.g., such as 5G NR).

[0081] As shown, the first modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 communicating with the processors 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front-end 530. The RF front-end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front-end 530 may include a receiver circuit (RX) 532 and a transmitter circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receiver circuitry 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front-end 550, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0082] Similarly, the second modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 communicating with the processors 522. The modem 520 may communicate with an RF front-end 540. The RF front-end 540 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front-end 540 may include receiving circuitry 542 and transmitting circuitry 544. In some embodiments, the receiving circuitry 542 may communicate with a DL front-end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335b.

[0083] In some implementations, switch 570 may couple transmitting circuitry 534 to uplink (UL) front-end 572. Additionally, switch 570 may couple transmitting circuitry 544 to UL front-end 572. UL front-end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 336. Therefore, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., supported by a first modem 510), switch 570 may be switched to a first state allowing the first modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmission chain including transmitting circuitry 534 and UL front-end 572). Similarly, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., supported by a second modem 520), switch 570 may be switched to a second state allowing the second modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmission chain including transmitting circuitry 544 and UL front-end 572).

[0084] As described herein, the first modem 510 and / or the second modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processors 512, 522 may be configured as programmable hardware elements, such as FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays) or as ASICs (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits). Alternatively (or in addition), processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein by combining with one or more of other components 530, 532, 534, 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336.

[0085] Furthermore, as described herein, processors 512 and 522 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processors 512 and 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processors 512 and 522. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors 512 and 522.

[0086] In some implementations, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include only one transmit / receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuit 330 may not include modem 520, RF front-end 540, DL front-end 560, and / or antenna 335b. As another example, the cellular communication circuit 330 may not include modem 510, RF front-end 530, DL front-end 550, and / or antenna 335a. In some implementations, the cellular communication circuit 330 may also not include switch 570, and RF front-end 530 or RF front-end 540 may communicate with UL front-end 572, for example, through direct communication.

[0087] Figure 6 An exemplary block diagram of a network element 600 according to some embodiments is shown. According to some embodiments, network element 600 may implement one or more logical functions / entities of a cellular core network, such as a Mobility Management Entity (MME), Serving Gateway (S-GW), Access and Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Network Slice Quota Management (NSQM) function, etc. It should be noted that... Figure 6 Network element 600 is merely one example of a possible network element 600. As shown, core network element 600 may include one or more processors 604 capable of executing program instructions for core network element 600. Processor 604 may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU) 640 (which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 604 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 660 and read-only memory (ROM) 650)) or to other circuitry or devices.

[0088] Network element 600 may include at least one network port 670. Network port 670 may be configured to be coupled to one or more base stations and / or other cellular network entities and / or devices. Network element 600 may communicate with base stations (e.g., eNB / gNB) and / or other network entities / devices by means of any of a variety of communication protocols and / or interfaces.

[0089] As further described herein, network element 600 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting embodiments of the features described herein. The processor 604 of the core network element 600 may be configured to implement or support some or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). Alternatively, processor 604 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or configured as an ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) or a combination thereof.

[0090] Now go to Figure 7 An exemplary distribution of PDCCH monitoring timings for a set of component carriers 700 according to aspects of this disclosure is shown. As shown, this set of component carriers 700 includes six component carriers, CC1 to CC6, all utilizing a fixed SCS. For this example, the total number of aggregated component carriers is represented by parameter N = 6. Component carriers CC1 and CC2 utilize a (2,2) PDCCH span pattern. In this example, parameter N_DL(2,2) = 2 represents the number of component carriers with a (2,2) span pattern. The other four component carriers CC3-CC6 utilize a (4,3) PDCCH span pattern with various starting spans. In this example, parameter N_DL(4,3) = 4 represents the number of component carriers with a (4,3) span pattern. As shown, component carriers CC3 and CC4 both have the same span pattern and starting span, and are therefore aligned. Similarly, CC1 and CC2 are also aligned. However, because at least one span exists where not all spans of the component carriers have a monitoring period, this set of component carriers is generally misaligned. In this example, the parameters C_max(2,2) = 16 and C_max(4,3) = 36 indicate the maximum non-overlapping CCE that the UE can monitor for each span of a given PDCCH span pattern.

[0091] In some cases, to help reduce the complexity of PDCCH monitoring, the UE can estimate the total limit for monitoring non-overlapping CCEs with the same span pattern and SCS, and then perform a "hard split" of the number of non-overlapping CCEs that need to be monitored across all spans. This results in each component carrier being allocated a fixed number of non-overlapping CCEs for monitoring each span by sharing limited resources evenly among component carriers. For scheduled component carriers, the following Equation 2 defines the number of non-overlapping CCEs that a UE can monitor on an active downlink BWP with a span configuration (X,Y) for SCSμ: In one example, for a component carrier with a span pattern of (2,2), Equation 1 is used to find the total number of non-overlapping CCEs for each span to be monitored, where the exemplary parameter is... Will Substituting into Equation 2 above, the monitoring limit for non-overlapping CCEs for each span of span mode (2,2) is Limit = min(16,10) = 10 for CC1 and CC2. Therefore, the UE monitoring capability for span mode (2,2) is split across component carriers with monitoring modes. Solving Equation 1 for span mode (4,3) can be done as follows: As shown. Substituting into Equation 2 above, the monitoring limit for non-overlapping CCEs for each span in the span pattern (4,3) is for CC3-CC6. Therefore, the monitoring limit for non-overlapping CCEs for each span of the span pattern (4,3) is 12, and the UE monitoring capability for the span pattern is split across the component carriers with the span pattern. In some cases, the above calculation can be repeated for each SCS configuration.

[0092] In some cases, to allocate C_total across CCs in a misaligned manner, assume C(x,y) is a constraint within CC x for spans y, where x = 1, ..., X. Then, within CC x, for all spans y, C(x,y) = C(x), and for X = 1, ..., X, all sums have C(x,y) = C_total. In this case, the CCE values ​​can be non-uniformly distributed across component carriers, but remain constant within each component carrier, and the sum of any set of spans chosen across component carriers equals C_total.

[0093] According to aspects of this disclosure, in a second scenario where the component carriers are generally misaligned but some component carriers are aligned, the complexity of PDCCH monitoring can be further enhanced. For example, grouping can be performed to group them into aligned groups and misaligned groups with the same SCS. Here, the UE can estimate the total number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for each span with the same configuration and SCS. Here, again, the pattern for a given span is determined based on Equation 1 ( The total number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for each span. Additionally, a hard split of C_total between different groups (e.g., aligned and unaligned) can be performed for a given span pattern, as defined in Equation 3: Where i represents the index of the number of groups in (X,Y), μ, and k is the index for totaling across all groups. Then, for the scheduled component carrier, the UE can monitor the number of non-overlapping CCEs for each span on the active downlink BWP with span pattern (X,Y) for SCSμ from the scheduled component carrier of the unaligned downlink component carrier. In the misaligned case, the UE can evenly distribute the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs among component carriers. For aligned groups, for scheduled component carriers, the UE can monitor the number of non-overlapping CCEs per span on the active downlink BWP with a span configuration (X,Y) for SCSμ on the scheduled component carriers from the misaligned downlink component carriers. In alignment cases, the UE can allocate more non-overlapping CCEs to component carriers (such as the primary cell (Pcell)) than to the secondary cell (Scell), as long as the total number does not exceed the limit. In some cases, the above calculation can be repeated for each SCS configuration.

[0094] In some cases, to allocate C_total across CCs in a misaligned situation, assume C(x,y) is a constraint within CC x for spans y, where x = 1, ..., X. Then, within CC x, for all spans y, C(x,y) = C(x), and for x = 1, ..., X, all sums have C(x,y) = C_total. In this case, CCE values ​​can be unevenly distributed across component carrier groups, but remain constant within each component carrier group, and the sum of any set of spans chosen by the span component carriers equals C_total. Note that the value of C(x,y) can be different within a component carrier group.

[0095] Figure 8 An exemplary distribution of PDCCH monitoring timings for a set of component carriers 800 according to aspects of this disclosure is shown. As illustrated, this set of component carriers 800 again comprises six component carriers, CC1 to CC6, all of which utilize [a specific technology / mechanism] with [a specific feature / function]. Figure 7 The example uses the same fixed SCS parameters. In this example, the UE can split each span pattern and SCS into a set of multiple aligned groups and a single misaligned group, and then estimate C_total for each group. This can be described by Equation 4. In this example, the UE performs a hard split within the misaligned group during available monitoring opportunities. For the misaligned downlink component carriers of the scheduled component carriers, the UE can base its decision on Equation 5. On an active downlink DWP with span pattern (X,Y) for SCSμ, multiple non-overlapping CCEs are monitored for each span. For unaligned component carriers, the UE can evenly distribute the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs across component carriers. For aligned span groups, the UE can centrally monitor the limit across all spans of the alignment group. For aligned downlink component carriers with scheduled component carriers, the UE can monitor multiple non-overlapping CCEs for each span on an active downlink BWP with span pattern (X,Y) for SCSμ based on Equation 6. For aligned component carriers, the UE can allocate more non-overlapping CCEs to component carriers, such as Pcells, than to Scells, as long as the total number does not exceed the limit.

[0096] Applying the parameters of this example to solve for the (2,2) span pattern of CC1 and CC2, Equation 4 can be shown as follows: When CC1 and CC2 are aligned component carriers, the solution to Equation 6 can be expressed as Limit = min(16,10) = 10. Therefore, for aligned components with a span pattern (2,2), the monitoring limit for non-overlapping CCEs for each span pattern span is 10, as shown below. Figure 8 As shown for CC1 and CC2.

[0097] In some cases, to allocate C_total across CCs in a misaligned situation, assume C(x,y) is a constraint within CC x for spans y, where x = 1, ..., X. Then, within CC x, for all spans y, C(x,y) = C(x), and for x = 1, ..., X, all sums have C(x,y) = C_total. In this case, CCE values ​​can be unevenly distributed across component carrier groups, but remain constant within each component carrier group, and the sum of any set of spans chosen by the span component carriers equals C_total. Note that the value of C(x,y) can be different within a component carrier group.

[0098] In this example, CC3 and CC4 are also aligned component carriers, and the solution to Equation 4 can be shown as follows: Furthermore, solving Equation 6 can be expressed as Limit = min(36,24) = 24. Since the UE can allocate up to all monitoring resources to a single component carrier of the alignment component carrier, all 24 monitoring resources are allocated to CC3 here. Therefore, for an alignment component with a span pattern (4,3), the monitoring limit for non-overlapping CCEs for each span pattern span is 24, as shown below. Figure 8 As shown for CC3 and CC4.

[0099] In this example, CC5 and CC6 are unaligned component carriers, and the solution to Equation 4 can be shown as: Furthermore, the solution to equation 5 can be shown as follows: Therefore, for the span pattern (4,3), the monitoring limit for non-overlapping CCEs for each span pattern span is 12. Thus, for alignment components with the span pattern (4,3), the monitoring limit for non-overlapping CCEs for each span pattern span is 12, as... Figure 8 As shown for CC5 and CC6. In some cases, the above calculations can be repeated for each SCS configuration. In some cases, the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for component carriers with a shared span pattern remains constant within each component carrier. In some such cases, determining the PDCCH monitoring limit for a set of component carriers involves determining the minimum of a predetermined maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs for the monitoring pattern and the total number of non-overlapping CCEs shared by multiple component carriers with a shared span pattern.

[0100] In some cases, the "over-prescribing" limit based on per-cell or carrier aggregation (CA) limits—that is, the practice of a radio station (e.g., gNB) configuring more non-overlapping CCEs than allowed—may depend on what type of group the Pcell belongs to. For example, if the Pcell is in an alignment group, then C_limit for Pcell(C_limit(Pcell)) can be described as min(C_limit(Pcell)). total_aligned C_span), and for the corresponding Scell(C_limit(Scell)), C_limit can be described as C total_{aligned} -C_limit(Pcell). If Pcell is in an unaligned group, then C_limit(Pcell) can be equal to min(C_limit(Pcell)). total_{non-aligned} / number(non-aligned), C_max_span). For the corresponding SCell, C_limit(Scell) can be equal to min(C total_{non-aligned} / number(non-aligned),C_max_span).

[0101] According to aspects of this disclosure, the UE can report monitoring gap and span capabilities. For example, the UE can report gap and span capabilities to network elements by reporting a supported Ncap-r16 estimation method. As another example, the UE can receive a PDCCH configuration indicating the expected gap and span capabilities using the Ncap-r16 estimation method. Based on this indication, the UE can process all component carriers as misaligned or perform packetization as described above. In some cases, the UE can estimate the applicable gap and span configuration based on the received PDCCH configuration. The UE can also receive the Ncap-r16 estimation method or use a stored estimation method.

[0102] In some cases, a gNB cell may include one or more Transmit and Receive Points (TRPs), and the UE may be configured to connect via multiple component carriers, some of which are served by a single TRP, while others are served by multiple TRPs. When monitoring component carriers operating in multi-TRP mode, the UE may have to monitor multiple downlink control information (DCI) from multiple TRPs. Here, It can represent the number of cells in a single DCI or a single TRP mode, and This can represent the number of cells in multi-DCI mode. If the UE is configured with... If a downlink component carrier is used for the UE to determine UE capabilities, PDCCH-BlindDetectionCA, then the number of supporting serving component carriers for PDCCH monitoring per time slot is γ is derived from the UE capability R. In some cases, R can be predefined for the UE, for example, stored on the UE as a constant. For multiple TRPs, in Rel-16, the maximum number of total PDCCH candidates and non-overlapping CCEs is scaled by a factor of r compared to Rel-15. If the UE does not report pdcch-BlindDetectionCA to network elements, or if the UE does not have BDFactorR, then r equals 2. Otherwise, r is configured by BDFactorR, which is 1 or r. For Rel-15 capabilities, r = 1. For r > 1, if CORESETPoolIndex is configured and on the primary cell, the set is associated with a CORESET having CORESETPoolIndex = 0. CORESET is a set of physical resources (such as the downlink resource grid) and a set of parameters used to carry PDCCH / DCI.

[0103] UE configuration In the case of one downlink component carrier, if The UE can then be configured to process each time slot on the active downlink DWP of the scheduling cell. There are non-overlapping CCEs, where, according to Equation 7... In this type of configuration, if the UE is configured with In this case, C_total can be estimated, where Z is a predetermined limit, such as 4, using the associated monitoring mode (X,Y) and SCS configuration μ. The UE can monitor each span on the active downlink BWP from the scheduling cell of the downlink cell. There are non-overlapping CCEs. Here, according to Equation 8,

[0104] For a scheduled cell, for the aligned component carrier, the UE can use Equation 9. It monitors non-overlapping CCEs for each span and can monitor each span for CORESETS with the same CORESETPoolIndex value. A non-overlapping CCE. For unaligned component carriers, the UE can refer to Equation 10, It monitors non-overlapping CCEs for each span and can monitor each span for CORESETS with the same CORESETPoolIndex value. Non-overlapping CCE. In some cases, any (X,Y) span mode for a particular SCS may be treated as misaligned for multiple TRP component carriers.

[0105] Figure 9 An exemplary distribution of PDCCH monitoring timings for a set of component carriers 900 is shown according to aspects of this disclosure. In this set of component carriers 900, CC3 is configured for multi-TRP operation with TRP1 and TRP2. In this example, parameter γ = 2, and all other parameters are related to... Figure 7 and Figure 8 The examples discussed are the same. The solution to Equation 8 for the (2,2) span pattern can be shown as follows: Furthermore, the solution to this equation for the (4,3) span pattern can be shown as follows: When the (2,2) span pattern is aligned, Equation 9 applies as Limit = min(16,9) = 9. Therefore, each (2,2) span can include 9 scheduled monitoring instances for CC1 and CC2. In this example, the (4,3) span pattern can be treated as misaligned because there are multiple TRP component carriers with the (4,3) span pattern, and Equation 10 can be applied as follows: As shown, it can be applied in this way. Therefore, each (4,3) span can include 11 monitoring instances for CC3-CC6.

[0106] In other cases, the UE can implement certain procedures to determine whether the multi-DCI / multi-TRP configuration is aligned. This determination can be made in two steps. In the first step, the UE can define intra-TRP alignment and inter-TRP alignment. Intra-TRP alignment can be determined if a span starting from a symbol with a single TRP exists on each downlink component carrier from all TRPs. Inter-TRP alignment can be determined if a span starting from a symbol within a single downlink component carrier exists on every other TRP from all TRPs, and the UE can process PDCCHs from different TRPs substantially simultaneously, for example, where the difference in timing advance between two TRPs is less than a threshold, such as a threshold processing constraint. This threshold can be defined as a UE capability or otherwise predefined.

[0107] In the second step, the UE can classify the transmission as aligned or misaligned based on intra-TRP alignment or inter-TRP alignment. This classification can be based on four scenarios. The first is where both intra-TRP and inter-TRP alignment exist. In this case, the UE can classify the transmission as aligned. In this scenario, based on the alignment span technique described above, a single group can be used to estimate C_total. In the second scenario, intra-TRP alignment may exist, but inter-TRP alignment is misaligned. In this scenario, the UE can create two groups: the first group includes aligned intra-TRP component carriers without multiple DCI modes, and the second group includes misaligned intra-TRP component carriers with multiple DCI modes. Alternatively, in this second scenario, the UE can assume R=1 and revert to basic Rel-15 performance, i.e., PDCCH monitoring based on a single TRP and its associated limitations. In the third scenario, intra-TRP alignment can be misaligned with inter-TRP alignment. In this scenario, the system can be considered misaligned, where R is set to a configuration value. In the fourth scenario, TRPs can be unaligned within each other and also unaligned between each other. In this scenario, the UE can assume R=1 and return to the basic Rel-15 constraint.

[0108] Figure 10 Techniques for wireless communication 1000 according to aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. At block 1010, the wireless device is configured to access the wireless network using a set of at least three component carriers (CCs). At block 1020, the at least three CCs are divided into CC groups for monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) of each CC, based on whether the CCs share a monitoring mode and an initial span. At block 1030, the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) to be monitored for each CC group is determined. At block 1040, the wireless device is configured to monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group. In some cases, this division is further based on the subcarrier spacing of the CCs.

[0109] Figure 11 Techniques for wireless communication 1100 according to aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. At block 1110, the wireless device is configured to access the wireless network using a group of at least three CCs. At block 1120, the at least three CCs are divided into CC groups for monitoring the PDCCH of each CC, based on whether the CCs share a monitoring mode and a starting span. At block 1130, the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for each CC group is determined. At block 1132, a PDCCH monitoring limit for a group of component carriers is determined. At block 1134, the determined PDCCH monitoring limit is split across the span of the component carriers in the group of component carriers. At block 1140, the wireless device is configured to monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0110] Figure 12 Techniques for wireless communication 1200 according to aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. At block 1210, the wireless device is configured to access a wireless network using a group of at least three CCs. At block 1220, the at least three CCs are grouped into CC groups by grouping component carriers having both a shared span pattern and a shared starting span into a first group and grouping other component carriers into a second group for monitoring PDCCH for each CC. At block 1230, the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for each CC group is determined. At block 1232, PDCCH monitoring limits are determined for component carriers having a shared span pattern. At block 1234, the determined PDCCH monitoring limits for the component carriers of the first group are split based on the shared span pattern. At block 1236, the determined PDCCH monitoring limits are split for the second group of component carriers based on the span of the component carriers across the second group. At block 1240, the wireless device is configured to monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0111] Figure 13 Techniques for wireless communication 1300 according to aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. At block 1310, the wireless device is configured to access the wireless network using a group of at least three CCs. At block 1320, the at least three CCs are grouped into CC groups by grouping component carriers having both a shared span pattern and a shared starting span into a first group of one or more groups, and by grouping other component carriers into a second group of PDDCHs for monitoring each CC. At block 1330, the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for each group is determined. At block 1332, PDDCH monitoring limits for the component carriers are determined based on the grouped component carriers. At block 1340, the wireless device is configured to monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0112] Figure 14 Techniques for wireless communication 1400 according to aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. At block 1410, the wireless device is configured to access a wireless network using a group of at least three CCs. At block 1420, the at least three CCs are grouped into CC groups by grouping component carriers having both a shared span pattern and a shared start span into a first group of one or more groups, and by grouping other component carriers into a second group of PDCCHs used to monitor each CC. At block 1430, the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for each CC group is determined. At block 1432, an excess pre-set limit is determined for each CC, wherein the excess pre-set limit is based on the group to which the excess pre-set CC belongs. At block 1440, the wireless device is configured to monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0113] Figure 15 Techniques for wireless communication 1500 according to aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. At block 1510, the wireless device is configured to access a wireless network using a set of at least three CCs, wherein at least one CC is received from a plurality of transmission points. At block 1520, the at least three CCs are grouped into CC groups by grouping component carriers having both a shared span pattern and a shared start span into a first group and grouping other component carriers into a second group for monitoring each CC using a PDCCH, wherein the at least one CC received from the plurality of transmission points is grouped into the second group. At block 1530, the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for each CC group is determined. At block 1540, the wireless device is configured to monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0114] Figure 16 Techniques for wireless communication 1400 according to aspects of this disclosure are illustrated. At block 1510, the wireless device is configured to access a wireless network using at least one group of CCs, wherein at least one CC is received from a plurality of transmission points. At block 1520, the at least three CCs are grouped into a CC group by grouping component carriers having both a shared span pattern and a shared start span into a first group and grouping other component carriers into a second group for monitoring each CC using a PDCCH, wherein the at least one CC received from the plurality of transmission points is grouped based on the alignment of the plurality of transmission points. At block 1630, the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for each group of CCs is determined. At block 1640, the wireless device is configured to monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0115] Note that while the examples and implementations above primarily focus on methods for calculating the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs in carrier aggregation scenarios, similar methods and formulas can also be applied to calculate the maximum number of PDCCH candidates (i.e., M) in wireless communication scenarios. Similarly, while the examples and implementations above primarily focus on methods for calculating the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs in carrier aggregation scenarios, similar methods and formulas can also be applied to calculate limits on the number of blind decoding (BD) attempts that the UE may attempt in carrier aggregation scenarios.

[0116] Example

[0117] Further exemplary implementations are provided in the following sections.

[0118] According to Embodiment 1, a method is disclosed, comprising: configuring a wireless device to access a wireless network using a set of at least three component carriers (CCs); dividing the at least three component carriers into component carrier groups based on whether the component carriers share a span pattern and an initial span for monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of each component carrier; determining the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) to be monitored for each group of component carriers; and configuring the wireless device to monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0119] Example 2 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the subcarrier spacing is further divided based on component carriers.

[0120] Example 3 includes the subject of Example 1, wherein the determined number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored is a predetermined number.

[0121] Example 4 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein partitioning includes grouping component carriers based on a shared span pattern; and wherein determining the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored includes: determining a PDCCH monitoring limit for a group of component carriers, and splitting the determined PDCCH monitoring limit by the span of the component carriers across the group of component carriers.

[0122] Example 5 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the partitioning includes: grouping component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group and grouping other component carriers into a second group; and wherein determining the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for the second group includes: determining PDCCH monitoring limits for component carriers having a shared span mode, splitting the determined PDCCH monitoring limits for component carriers of the first group based on the shared span mode; and splitting the determined PDCCH monitoring limits for component carriers of the second group based on the span of the component carriers of the second group.

[0123] Example 6 includes the subject matter of Example 5, wherein determining the PDCCH monitoring limit for the component carriers of the second group includes: determining the minimum of a predetermined maximum span number for the monitoring mode and the total number of non-overlapping CCEs of the second group divided by multiple component carriers having a shared span mode.

[0124] Example 7 includes the subject of Example 6, wherein the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for component carriers with a shared span pattern remains constant within each component carrier.

[0125] Example 8 includes the subject matter of Example 5, wherein determining the PDCCH monitoring limit for the second group of component carriers includes: determining the minimum of a predetermined maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs for the monitoring mode and the total number of non-overlapping CCEs of the second group shared by multiple component carriers having a shared span mode.

[0126] Example 9 includes the subject of Example 8, wherein the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for component carriers with a shared span pattern remains constant within each component carrier.

[0127] Example 10 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the partitioning includes: grouping component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group and grouping other component carriers into a second group; and wherein determining the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored includes: determining PDCCH monitoring limits for the component carriers based on the grouped component carriers.

[0128] Example 11 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the partitioning includes: grouping component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group of one or more groups and grouping other component carriers into a second group; and wherein the over-prescribing limit is based on the group in which the over-prescribing CC is located.

[0129] Example 12 includes the subject matter of Example 1, and further includes: transmitting a non-overlapping CCE to be monitored to a wireless station.

[0130] Example 13 includes the subject matter of Example 1, wherein the non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored are determined based on configuration information received from the wireless station.

[0131] Example 14 includes the subject of Example 1, wherein at least one CC from the group of CCs is received from multiple transmission points.

[0132] Example 15 includes the subject matter of Example 14, wherein the partitioning includes: grouping the component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group of one or more groups and grouping other component carriers into a second group, wherein at least one CC received from multiple transmission points is partitioned into the second group.

[0133] Example 16 includes the subject matter of Example 14, and further includes: grouping CCs received from multiple transmission points based on the alignment of multiple transmission points.

[0134] According to embodiment 17, a wireless device is disclosed, comprising: an antenna; a radio component operatively coupled to the antenna; and a processor operatively coupled to the radio component; wherein the wireless device is configured to: access a wireless network using at least three component carriers (CCs); divide the at least three component carriers into component carrier groups based on whether the component carriers share a monitoring mode for monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of each component carrier; determine the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) to be monitored for each group of component carriers; and monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0135] Example 18 includes the subject matter of Example 17, wherein the wireless device is configured to divide the at least three component carriers by grouping the component carriers based on a shared span pattern; and wherein determining the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored includes: determining a PDCCH monitoring limit for a group of component carriers, and splitting the determined PDCCH monitoring limit by the span of the component carriers across the group of component carriers.

[0136] Example 19 includes the subject matter of Example 17, wherein the wireless device is configured to: divide the at least three component carriers by grouping component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group and grouping other component carriers into a second group; and wherein the wireless device is configured to determine the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for the second group by: determining a PDCCH monitoring limit for component carriers having a shared span mode, splitting the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for the component carriers of the first group based on the shared span mode; and splitting the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for the component carriers of the second group by the span of the component carriers across the second group.

[0137] Example 20 includes the subject matter of Example 17, wherein the wireless device is configured to divide the at least three component carriers by grouping component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group of one or more groups and grouping other component carriers into a second group; and wherein the wireless device is configured to determine the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored by: determining PDCCH monitoring limits for the component carriers based on the grouped component carriers.

[0138] Example 21 includes the subject matter of Example 17, wherein the wireless device is configured to divide the at least three component carriers by grouping component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group of one or more groups and grouping other component carriers into a second group; and wherein the excess pre-determined limit is based on the group in which the excess pre-determined CC is located.

[0139] Example 22 includes the subject of Example 17, wherein at least one CC from the group of CCs is received from multiple transmission points.

[0140] According to embodiment 23, an apparatus is disclosed, comprising: a processor configured to: configure a wireless device to access a wireless network using at least three component carriers (CCs); divide the at least three component carriers into component carrier groups based on whether the component carriers share a monitoring mode for monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of each component carrier; determine the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) to be monitored for each group of component carriers; and configure the wireless device to monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0141] Example 24 includes the subject matter of Example 23, wherein the processor is further configured to: divide the at least three component carriers by grouping the component carriers based on a shared span pattern; and wherein determining the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored includes: determining a PDCCH monitoring limit for a set of component carriers, and splitting the determined PDCCH monitoring limit by the span of the component carriers across the set of component carriers.

[0142] Example 25 includes the subject matter of Example 23, wherein the processor is further configured to: divide the at least three component carriers by grouping component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group and grouping other component carriers into a second group; and wherein the processor is further configured to configure the wireless device to determine the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for the second group by: determining a PDCCH monitoring limit for component carriers having a shared span mode, splitting the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for the component carriers of the first group based on the shared span mode; and splitting the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for the component carriers of the second group by the span of the component carriers across the second group.

[0143] Example 26 includes the subject matter of Example 23, wherein the processor is further configured to: divide the at least three component carriers by grouping component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group of one or more groups and grouping other component carriers into a second group; and wherein the processor is further configured to configure the wireless device to be configured to determine the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored by: determining PDCCH monitoring limits for the component carriers based on the grouped component carriers.

[0144] Example 27 includes the subject matter of Example 23, wherein the processor is further configured to: divide the at least three component carriers by grouping component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group of one or more groups and grouping other component carriers into a second group; and wherein the over-predetermined limit is based on the group in which the over-predetermined CC is located.

[0145] Example 28 includes the subject matter of Example 23, wherein the apparatus is configured to emit at least one of the group of CCs from a plurality of emission points.

[0146] Example 29 includes a method comprising any action or combination of actions as substantially described herein in the detailed description.

[0147] Example 30 includes a method, which is substantially described herein with reference to each or any combination of the accompanying drawings or paragraphs in the detailed description.

[0148] Example 31 includes a wireless device configured to perform any action or combination of actions as substantially described herein in the specific embodiments included in the wireless device.

[0149] Example 32 includes a wireless station configured to perform any action or combination of actions as substantially described herein in the specific embodiments included in the wireless station.

[0150] Example 33 includes a non-volatile computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause to perform any action or combination of actions as substantially described herein in the detailed description.

[0151] Example 34 includes an integrated circuit configured to perform any action or combination of actions as substantially described herein in the detailed description.

[0152] Example 35 includes the subject of Example 17, wherein the subcarrier spacing is further divided based on component carriers.

[0153] Example 36 includes the subject of Example 17, wherein the determined number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored is a predetermined number.

[0154] Example 37 includes the subject of Example 19, wherein determining the PDCCH monitoring limit for the second group of component carriers includes: determining the minimum of a predetermined maximum number of spans for a monitoring mode and the total number of non-overlapping CCEs in the second group divided by multiple component carriers having a shared span mode.

[0155] Example 38 includes the subject of Example 37, wherein the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for component carriers with a shared span pattern remains constant within each component carrier.

[0156] Example 39 includes the subject matter of Example 37, wherein determining the PDCCH monitoring limit for the second group of component carriers includes: determining the minimum of a predetermined maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs for the monitoring mode and the total number of non-overlapping CCEs of the second group shared by multiple component carriers having a shared span mode.

[0157] Example 40 includes the subject of Example 39, wherein the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for component carriers with a shared span pattern remains constant within each component carrier.

[0158] Example 41 includes the subject matter of Example 17, wherein the wireless device is further configured to transmit non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored to the wireless station.

[0159] Example 42 includes the subject of Example 17, wherein the non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored are determined based on configuration information received from the wireless station.

[0160] Example 43 includes the subject matter of Example 22, wherein the wireless device is further configured to: divide at least three component carriers by grouping component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group and other component carriers into a second group, wherein at least one CC received from multiple transmission points is divided into the second group.

[0161] Example 44 includes the subject matter of Example 22, wherein the wireless device is further configured to group CCs received from multiple transmitters based on alignment of multiple transmitters.

[0162] Example 45 includes the subject of Example 23, wherein the subcarrier spacing is further divided based on component carriers.

[0163] Example 46 includes the subject of Example 23, wherein the determined number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored is a predetermined number.

[0164] Example 47 includes the subject of Example 25, wherein determining the PDCCH monitoring limit for the second group of component carriers includes: determining the minimum of a predetermined maximum number of spans for a monitoring mode and the total number of non-overlapping CCEs in the second group divided by multiple component carriers having a shared span mode.

[0165] Example 48 includes the subject matter of Example 23, wherein the wireless device is further configured to transmit non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored to the wireless station.

[0166] Example 49 includes the subject of Example 23, wherein the non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored are determined based on configuration information received from the wireless station.

[0167] Example 50 includes the subject matter of Example 28, wherein the wireless device is further configured to divide at least three component carriers by grouping component carriers having both a shared monitoring mode and a shared starting span into a first group and other component carriers into a second group, wherein at least one CC received from multiple transmission points is divided into the second group.

[0168] Example 51 includes the subject matter of Example 28, wherein the wireless device is further configured to group CCs received from multiple transmitters based on an alignment of multiple transmitters.

[0169] According to embodiment 52, a method is disclosed, comprising: configuring a wireless device to access a wireless network using a set of component carriers (CCs); dividing the set of CCs into component carrier groups based on whether the component carriers share a span pattern and an initial span for monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of each component carrier; determining the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) to be monitored for each group of component carriers; and configuring the wireless device to monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0170] Example 53 includes the subject of Example 49, wherein the group of CCs includes at least three CCs.

[0171] According to embodiment 54, a wireless device is disclosed, comprising: an antenna; a radio component operatively coupled to the antenna; and a processor operatively coupled to the radio component; wherein the wireless device is configured to: access a wireless network using a set of component carriers (CCs); divide the set of CCs into CC groups based on whether the CCs share a span pattern for monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of each component carrier; determine the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) to be monitored for each set of component carriers; and monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0172] Example 55 includes the subject matter of Example 51, wherein the group of CCs includes at least three CCs.

[0173] According to embodiment 56, an apparatus is disclosed, comprising: a processor configured to: configure a wireless device to access a wireless network using a set of component carriers (CCs); divide the set of CCs into CC groups based on whether the CCs share a span pattern for monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of each CC; determine the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) to be monitored for each CC group; and configure the wireless device to monitor non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

[0174] Example 57 includes the subject matter of Example 52, wherein the group of CCs includes at least three CCs.

[0175] Another exemplary implementation may include a method comprising: having the device perform any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0176] Another exemplary embodiment may include a nontransitory computer-accessible memory medium comprising program instructions that, when executed at a device, cause the device to perform any or all portions of any of the embodiments in the foregoing examples.

[0177] Another exemplary embodiment may include a computer program that includes instructions for performing any or all portions of any of the embodiments in the foregoing examples.

[0178] Another exemplary embodiment may include an apparatus comprising means for performing any or all elements of any of the examples in the foregoing embodiments.

[0179] Another exemplary embodiment may include an apparatus comprising a processor configured to cause the apparatus to perform any or all elements of any of the embodiments described in the foregoing examples.

[0180] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0181] Embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0182] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system performs a method, such as any method embodiment of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0183] In some implementations, the device (e.g., UE 106, BS 102, network element 600) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, and the processor is configured to read from the memory medium and execute the program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementations of method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of a variety of forms.

[0184] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the disclosure is fully understood. This disclosure is intended to render the following claims as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: Configure the wireless device to access the wireless network using a set of at least three component carriers (CCs); The at least three component carriers are divided into component carrier groups for monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) of each component carrier, wherein the division includes: The component carriers that share both a monitoring mode and a starting span are grouped into a first group of one or more groups, and the other component carriers are grouped into a second group. Determining the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) to be monitored for each group of fractional carriers, wherein determining the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for the second group includes: Determine the PDCCH monitoring limits for component carriers with shared span patterns. Based on the shared span pattern, the determined PDCCH monitoring limit is split for the component carriers of the first group; and The span of the component carriers across the second group is used to decompose the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for the component carriers of the second group; and The wireless device is configured to monitor the non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the division is further based on the subcarrier spacing of the component carriers.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determined number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored is a predetermined number.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the PDCCH monitoring limit for the component carriers of the second group comprises determining the minimum of a predetermined maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs for the monitoring mode and the total number of non-overlapping CCEs of the second group divided by multiple component carriers having a shared span mode.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for component carriers having a shared span pattern remains constant within each component carrier.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the PDCCH monitoring limit for the component carriers of the second group comprises determining the minimum of a predetermined maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs for the monitoring mode and the total number of non-overlapping CCEs of the second group shared by multiple component carriers having a shared span mode.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for component carriers having a shared span pattern remains constant within each component carrier.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the over-booking limit is based on the group to which the over-booking CC belongs.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the determined non-overlapping CCE monitoring method for monitoring to a wireless station.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determined non-overlapping CCE monitoring method for monitoring is based on configuration information received from the wireless station.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one CC from the set of CCs is received from a plurality of transmission points.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one CC received from a plurality of transmission points is assigned to the second group.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising grouping CCs received from the plurality of transmission points based on the alignment of the plurality of transmission points.

14. A wireless device, comprising: antenna; A radio component, the radio component being operatively coupled to the antenna; as well as A processor, the processor being operatively coupled to the radio component; The wireless device is configured as follows: Use at least three component carriers (CCs) to access wireless networks; The at least three component carriers are divided into component carrier groups for monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) of each component carrier, wherein the division includes: The component carriers that share both a monitoring mode and a starting span are grouped into a first group of one or more groups, and the other component carriers are grouped into a second group. Determining the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) to be monitored for each group of fractional carriers, wherein determining the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for the second group includes: Determine the PDCCH monitoring limits for component carriers with shared span patterns. Based on the shared span pattern, the determined PDCCH monitoring limit is split for the component carriers of the first group; and The span of the component carriers across the second group is used to decompose the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for the component carriers of the second group; and The non-overlapping CCEs are monitored based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

15. The wireless device of claim 14, wherein the over-prescription limit is based on the group to which the over-prescription CC belongs.

16. The wireless device of claim 14, wherein at least one CC from the set of CCs is received from a plurality of transmitting points.

17. An electronic device comprising: Processor, the processor being configured to: Configure the wireless device to access the wireless network using at least three component carriers (CCs); The at least three component carriers are divided into component carrier groups for monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) of each component carrier, wherein the division includes: The component carriers that share both a monitoring mode and a starting span are grouped into a first group of one or more groups, and the other component carriers are grouped into a second group. Determining the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) to be monitored for each group of fractional carriers, wherein determining the number of non-overlapping CCEs to be monitored for the second group includes: Determine the PDCCH monitoring limits for component carriers with shared span patterns. Based on the shared span pattern, the determined PDCCH monitoring limit is split for the component carriers of the first group; and The span of the component carriers across the second group is used to decompose the determined PDCCH monitoring limit for the component carriers of the second group; and The wireless device is configured to monitor the non-overlapping CCEs based on the determined number to be monitored for each group.

18. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the excess pre-determining limit is based on the group to which the excess pre-determining CC belongs.

19. The electronic device of claim 17, wherein the device is configured to emit at least one of the group of CCs from a plurality of emission points.

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