Control indicator for power conservation in mobile wireless communication devices

Abstract

The present invention relates to a control indicator for power saving in a mobile wireless communication device. The present disclosure provides a wireless communication device (UE) that can receive control indicator information (CII) indicating whether one or more candidate physical control channels (PCCs) are available for decoding by the UE. If the CII indicates that the one or more candidate PCCs are available, the UE can perform corresponding blind decoding to decode the corresponding PCC intended for the UE. The UE can receive the CII in the same time slot in which the PCC is transmitted, or can receive the CII in another time slot (which can be a narrowband time slot). The UE can receive the PCC in the same time slot in which the corresponding physical data channel (PDC) is transmitted, or can receive the PCC in another time slot (e.g., a time slot immediately before the time slot in which the corresponding PDC is transmitted). By eliminating unnecessary blind decoding and receiving the CII over a narrowband, the power consumption of the UE can be greatly reduced.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of PCT international application No. 201880014900.8, which entered the Chinese national phase and whose international filing date is February 28, 2018 and whose invention name is “Control indicator for power saving in mobile wireless communication devices”. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to wireless communications and wireless communication devices, and more particularly, to the use of control indicators to implement power saving in wireless communication devices during, for example, 5G New Radio (5G-NR) communications. Background Art

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functions.

[0004] Long Term Evolution (LTE) has become the technology of choice for most wireless network operators around the world to provide mobile broadband data and high-speed Internet access to their user base. LTE defines multiple downlink (DL) physical channels classified as transport channels or control channels to carry information blocks received from MAC and higher layers. LTE also defines three physical layer channels for uplink (UL).

[0005] The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) is a DL transport channel and is the primary data bearing channel allocated to users on a dynamic and opportunistic basis. The PDSCH carries data in a transport block (TB) corresponding to a media access control protocol data unit (MAC PDU), which is delivered from the MAC layer to the physical (PHY) layer once every transmission time interval (TTI). The PDSCH is also used to transmit broadcast information such as system information blocks (SIBs) and paging messages.

[0006] The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) is a DL control channel that carries the resource allocations for the UE contained in the Downlink Control Information (DCI) message. Multiple PDCCHs can be transmitted in the same subframe using Control Channel Elements (CCEs), each of which is nine groups of four resource elements called Resource Element Groups (REGs). The PDCCH uses Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) modulation, where four QPSK symbols are mapped to each REG. In addition, depending on the channel conditions, 1, 2, 4, or 8 CCEs can be used for the UE to ensure sufficient robustness.

[0007] The Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) is a UL channel shared by all devices (user equipment, UE) in a radio cell to transmit user data to the network. The scheduling of all UEs is under the control of the LTE base station (enhanced Node B or eNB). The eNB uses an uplink scheduling grant (DCI format 0) to inform the UE of the resource block (RB) allocation and the modulation and coding scheme to be used. The PUSCH typically supports QPSK and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM). In addition to user data, the PUSCH also carries any control information required to decode the information, such as the transport format indicator and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) parameters. The control data is multiplexed with the information data before the digital Fourier transform (DFT) is unfolded.

[0008] The Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) is a DL control channel that carries the Control Format Indicator (CFI), which includes the number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols used for control channel transmission in each subframe (usually 1, 2, or 3). The 32-bit long CFI is mapped to 16 resource elements in the first OFDM symbol of each downlink frame using QPSK modulation.

[0009] Therefore, as described above, during data communication by LTE, DL uses the physical channel PDSCH, while UL uses the UL channel PUSCH. As also described above, in addition to some MAC control and system information, these two channels also convey transport blocks of data. In order to support the transmission of DL and UL transport channels, downlink shared channel (DLSCH) and uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) control signaling are required. This control information is sent in PDCCH and contains DL resource allocation and UL authorization information. PDCCH is sent at the beginning of each subframe in the first OFDM symbol. Depending on the level of robustness that the NW needs to achieve and the PDCCH system capacity (the number of users served simultaneously in TTI), PDCCH will be transmitted in the first 1, 2, 3 or 4 OFDM symbols of the subframe. The number of OFDM symbols used in PDCCH is signaled in PCFICH. In order to improve the operation of range-constrained devices and / or devices working in weak coverage areas, blind decoding of PDCCH is developed as a possible mechanism to mitigate the negative effects of poor PCFICH reception.

[0010] The next telecommunication standard proposed to go beyond the current International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) standard is called the 5th Generation Mobile Network or 5th Generation Wireless System, or 5G for short (also called 5G-NR for 5G New Radio, also referred to as NR for short). Compared to the current LTE standard, 5G-NR proposes higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users while supporting device-to-device ultra-reliable and massive machine communications, as well as lower latency and reduced battery consumption. As a result, continued development of 5G-NR is underway to reduce blind decoding attempts by mobile devices, thereby achieving additional power savings. Summary of the invention

[0011] Embodiments described herein relate to user equipment (UE), base stations and / or relay stations, and associated methods for providing control indicators to wireless communication devices to achieve power savings during wireless communications (e.g., during 5G-NR (NR) wireless communications and transmissions).

[0012] In some embodiments, an indication may be transmitted to the UE (e.g., by a base station or gNB) indicating the presence of a PDCCH for the UE, so that non-scheduled UEs can avoid performing unnecessary blind decoding. Depending on the design, the indication may be transmitted per UE or per group. If the indication is transmitted per UE, each UE in the cell may receive an indication indicating the presence of a PDCCH for the UE. All non-scheduled UEs that correctly decode the indication information may avoid unnecessary blind decoding. If the indication is transmitted per group (the group size is at least two UEs), when the UEs in the group receive an indication indicating the presence of a PDCCH for the group, the UEs in the group may all perform blind decoding. In the case of a per-group indication, there may be UEs that do not receive the PDCCH but still receive the indication. If the indication indicates that there is no PDCCH for the group, the UEs in the group may stop decoding and enter a sleep state for the remaining duration of the timeslot. The size of the group and the number of groups may be configurable.

[0013] Based on the above, in some embodiments, UEs may be organized into groups (e.g., by a gNB) for indicating the presence or availability of a PDCCH for each group. In the event that a PDCCH is scheduled for any UE in the group, the gNB may indicate the presence or availability of a PDCCH to a group of UEs. The size of the group and the number of groups may be configurable.

[0014] There may be multiple options for the physical channel structure that carries the control indicator information. For example, one or more existing PDCCH structures may be reused. The control indicator information may be transmitted by an existing PDCCH in a common control search space monitored by all UEs. Another option may be to use an existing group-common PDCCH. The control indicator information may be carried in a group-common PDCCH for carrying common information for a group of UEs. Since the group-common PDCCH is transmitted in the first OFDM symbol (e.g., in the first time slot), it may be effective for preventing the UE from performing further processing. Yet another option includes specifying a new physical channel for transmitting the control indicator information.

[0015] Based on the timing of the control indicator information and NR-PDCCH relative to each other, and the timing of NR-PDCCH and NR-PDSCH relative to each other, the transmission of the control indicator information can be performed according to a plurality of different scenarios. In some embodiments, the control indicator information and NR-PDCCH may be transmitted in the same time slot, and NR-PDCCH and NR-PDSCH are transmitted according to the same time slot scheduling. In some other embodiments, the control indicator information and NR-PDCCH may be transmitted in the same time slot, and NR-PDCCH and NR-PDSCH are transmitted according to cross-time slot scheduling. In other embodiments, the control indicator information and NR-PDCCH may be transmitted in different time slots, and NR-PDCCH and NR-PDSCH are transmitted according to the same time slot scheduling. Finally, the control indicator information and NR-PDCCH may be transmitted in different time slots, and NR-PDCCH and NR-PDSCH are transmitted according to cross-time slot scheduling.

[0016] According to the above, a wireless communication device (UE) can achieve considerable power savings during wireless communication. As part of the wireless communication, the UE can receive control indicator information indicating whether one or more candidate physical control channels are available for decoding by the UE. If the control indicator information received by the UE indicates that the candidate physical channel is available, the UE can perform blind decoding on the candidate physical control channel to detect the corresponding physical control channel (of the candidate physical control channel) intended for the UE. If the control indicator information received by the UE indicates that no candidate physical control channel is available for decoding, the UE does not perform blind decoding and can enter a sleep state until the next time slot in which the UE can be scheduled again.

[0017] The UE may receive the control indicator information in a time slot other than the corresponding time slot in which the physical control channel is transmitted. In this case, the time slot in which the control indicator information is received may be a narrowband time slot to achieve further power savings. Alternatively, the UE may receive the control indicator information in the same time slot in which the physical control channel is transmitted. Typically, the UE may receive the control indicator information via a channel that also includes other information, or may receive the control indicator information via a channel dedicated to carrying the control indicator information. The dedicated channel that carries the control indicator information may be a narrowband channel, which allows additional power savings for the UE.

[0018] Upon detecting a corresponding physical control channel intended for the UE, the UE may decode a corresponding physical data channel corresponding to the detected decoded corresponding physical control channel. In this case, the UE may receive the corresponding physical control channel in a time slot other than the corresponding time slot in which the corresponding physical data channel is transmitted, or may receive the corresponding physical control channel in the same time slot in which the corresponding physical data channel is transmitted. The UE may be part of a designated group of devices, wherein the control indicator information received by the UE applies to all devices in the designated group.

[0019] This disclosure is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be interpreted as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown;

[0021] Figure 2 illustrates a base station in communication with a wireless user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

[0022] Figure 3 shows an exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments;

[0023] Figure 4 shows an exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments;

[0024] Figure 5 A block diagram is shown showing both same-time slot scheduling and cross-time slot scheduling according to some embodiments;

[0025] Figure 6 An exemplary timing diagram is shown according to some embodiments, illustrating transmission of control indicator information in a same time slot scheduling, wherein the control indicator information and a physical control channel are transmitted in the same time slot;

[0026] Figure 7 An exemplary timing diagram is shown according to some embodiments, illustrating transmission of control indicator information in cross-slot scheduling, wherein the control indicator information and a physical control channel are transmitted in the same time slot;

[0027] Figure 8 shows an exemplary timing diagram illustrating transmission of control indicator information in a same-time slot scheduling, wherein the control indicator information and a physical control channel are transmitted in different time slots, according to some embodiments;

[0028] Fig. 9 An exemplary timing diagram is shown according to some embodiments, illustrating transmission of control indicator information in cross-slot scheduling, wherein the control indicator information and a physical control channel are transmitted in different time slots; and

[0029] Fig.10 A flow chart is shown illustrating a method for a wireless communication device to perform blind decoding on a physical control channel in accordance with some embodiments.

[0030] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, their purpose is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Acronyms

[0032] Various acronyms are used throughout this application. The definitions of the most prominent acronyms used that may appear throughout this application are as follows:

[0033] ACK: Acknowledgement

[0034] ARQ: Automatic Repeat Request (also: Automatic Repeat Query)

[0035] BPSK: Binary Phase Shift Keying

[0036] BS: Base Station

[0037] CCE: Control Channel Element

[0038] CFI: Control Format Indicator

[0039] CQI: Channel Quality Indicator

[0040] CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check

[0041] DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0042] DL: Downlink (from BS to UE)

[0043] DL-SCH: Downlink Shared Channel

[0044] FDD: Frequency Division Duplex

[0045] FEC: Forward Error Correction

[0046] GPS: Global Positioning System

[0047] GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0048] HARQ: Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0049] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0050] MAC: Media Access Control (layer)

[0051] MIMO: Multiple Input Multiple Output

[0052] NACK: Negative Acknowledgement

[0053] NW:Network

[0054] OFDM: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

[0055] PCFICH: Physical Control Format Indicator Channel

[0056] PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0057] PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0058] PDU: Protocol Data Unit

[0059] PHICH: Physical HARQ Indicator Channel

[0060] PUSCH: Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0061] PHY: Physical (layer)

[0062] QPSK: Quadrature Phase Shift Keying

[0063] REG: Resource Element Group

[0064] RNTI: Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0065] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0066] RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power

[0067] RSSI: Reference Signal Strength Indicator

[0068] RX: Receive

[0069] SINR: Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio

[0070] TB: Transport Block

[0071] TDD: Time Division Duplex

[0072] TTI: Transmission Time Interval

[0073] TX: Transmission

[0074] UE: User Equipment

[0075] UL: Uplink (from UE to BS)

[0076] ULSCH: Uplink Shared Channel

[0077] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0078] the term

[0079] The following is a glossary of terms that will appear in this application:

[0080] Memory medium - any of various types of memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk, or tape device; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-transitory memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, for example, hard disk drive or optical storage device; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of memory or their combinations. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system executing the program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system through a network such as the Internet. In the latter example, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer system for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, through a network.

[0081] Carrier Medium—storage media as described above, and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that transport signals such as electrical, electromagnetic or digital signals.

[0082] Computer system (or computer)—any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. 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.

[0083] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that can be easily transmitted by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0084] Base Station (BS)—The term “base station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0085] Processing element - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device (e.g., a user equipment device or a cellular network device). Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0086] Automatic—refers to an action or operation performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the need for user input to directly specify or perform the action or operation. Thus, the term "automatic" is in contrast to a user manually performing or specifying an action, where the user provides input to directly perform the action. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0087] DCI—refers to Downlink Control Information. There are various DCI formats used in LTE in PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel). DCI format is a predefined format in which downlink control information is packaged / formed and transmitted in PDCCH.

[0088] Figure 1 and Figure 2 —Communications systems

[0089] Figure 1 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system is shown. Note that Figure 1 The system is only an example of a possible system, and the embodiment can be implemented in any of the various systems as needed. As shown in the figure, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102, which communicates with one or more user equipments 106A to 106N via a transmission medium. Each user equipment can be referred to as a "user device" (UE) or UE device in this article. Therefore, user equipment 106A-106N is referred to as UE or UE device. In addition, when a single UE is usually mentioned, the user equipment is also referred to as UE 106 or simply UE in this article.

[0090] Base station 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site, and may include hardware for enabling wireless communication with UEs 106A to 106N. Base station 102 may also be equipped to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, as well as various possibilities). Therefore, base station 102 may facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". Also as used herein, with respect to UEs, sometimes a base station may be considered to represent a network in consideration of uplink and downlink communications of the UE. Therefore, a UE communicating with one or more base stations in a network may also be interpreted as a UE communicating with the network. It should also be noted that a "cell" may also refer to a logical identity for a given coverage area at a given frequency. Generally, any independent cellular wireless coverage area may be referred to as a "cell". In such a case, a base station may be located at a specific intersection of three cells. In this uniform topology, a base station may serve three 120-degree beamwidth areas called cells. Moreover, for carrier aggregation, small cells, relays, etc. may all represent cells. Thus, particularly in carrier aggregation, there may be primary cells and secondary cells that may serve at least partially overlapping coverage areas but on different respective frequencies. For example, a base station may serve any number of cells, and the cells served by a base station may or may not be collocated (e.g., a remote radio head).

[0091] The base station 102 and the user equipment may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, WiMAX, etc. In some embodiments, the base station 102 communicates with at least one UE or a group of UEs using control indicators for (or associated with) a physical control channel as disclosed herein.

[0092] UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any one or both of a 3GPP cellular communication standard (such as LTE) or a 3GPP2 cellular communication standard (such as a cellular communication standard in the CDMA2000 series of cellular communication standards), or a newer communication standard such as 5G-NR (NR). In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate with base station 102 using a control indicator for (or corresponding to / associated with) a physical control channel as described herein. Base station 102 and other similar base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may therefore be provided as one or more cell networks that may provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UE 106 and similar devices over a wide geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0093] The UE 106 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using WLAN, Bluetooth, one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), etc. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0094] Figure 2 An exemplary system is shown, in which a user device 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicates with a base station 102. UE 106 may be a device with wireless network connectivity, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a wearable device, a computer or a tablet, or substantially any type of wireless device. UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may execute any of the method implementations described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), which is configured to perform any of the method implementations for providing a control indicator for (or corresponding to / associated with) a physical control channel as described herein, or any part of any of the method implementations for providing a control indicator for (or corresponding to / associated with) a physical control channel as described herein. UE 106 may be configured to communicate using any of a plurality of wireless communication protocols. For example, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using two or more of CDMA2000, LTE, LTE-A, WLAN, 5G-NR (NR), or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are also possible.

[0095] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols. In some embodiments, UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain between multiple wireless communication standards. The shared radio component may include a single antenna, or may include multiple antennas for performing wireless communication (e.g., for MIMO). Alternatively, UE 106 may include an independent transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including independent antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate with it. As another alternative, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, as well as one or more radio components used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include a radio component for communicating using any one of LTE or CDMA2000 1xRTT or 5G-NR (NR) and / or using Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH. TM Each of the radio circuits for communicating. Other configurations are also possible.

[0096] Figure 3 —Exemplary block diagram of UE

[0097] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of UE 106 is shown. As shown, UE 106 may include a system on chip (SOC) 300, which may include parts for various purposes. For example, as shown, SOC 300 may include one or more processors 302 that can execute program instructions for UE 106, and display circuit 304 that can perform graphics processing and provide display signals to 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 convert those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310) and / or other circuits or devices, such as display circuit 304, radio component 330, connector I / F 320 and / or display 360. MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table conversion or setup. In some embodiments, MMU 340 may be included as part of one or more processors 302.

[0098] As shown, SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of UE 106. For example, UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), a connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system), a display 360, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, 5G-NR (NR), CDMA2000, BLUETOOTH TM , Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.). The UE device 106 may include at least one antenna 335, and may include multiple antennas 335, for performing wireless communications with base stations and / or other devices. For example, the UE device 106 may use the antenna 335 to perform wireless communications. As described above, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards.

[0099] As further described later herein, both the UE 106 and the base station 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing a method of providing a control indicator for (or corresponding to or associated with) a physical control channel for wireless communications (e.g., 5G-NR (NR) communications). For example, the processor 302 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the method of providing a control indicator for (or corresponding to or associated with) a physical control channel as described herein for wireless communications, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). In addition, according to various embodiments disclosed herein, the processor 302 may be coupled to a processor such as a processor such as a processor such as a processor 102. Figure 3 The other components of the radio component 330 are shown and / or interoperate therewith to enable providing a control indicator for (or corresponding to or associated with) a physical control channel.

[0100] Figure 4 —Exemplary block diagram of a base station

[0101] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 is shown. Note that Figure 4 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include one or more processors 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The one or more processors 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450)) or other circuits or devices.

[0102] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a plurality of devices such as the UE device 106 of the telephone network described in the embodiment of the present invention. The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also be configured or alternatively configured to be coupled to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to the telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (for example, in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider). The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to the telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (for example, in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0103] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas 434. One or more antennas 434 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may also be configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio component 430. The antenna 434 communicates with the radio component 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both (e.g., a transceiver). The radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless telecommunication standards, including but not limited to LTE, LTE-A, WCDMA, CDMA2000, 5G-NR (NR), etc. Therefore, the base station 102 may be an eNB, a gNB, etc. The one or more processors 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement part or all of the method of providing a control indicator for (or corresponding to or associated with) a physical control channel as described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, one or more processors 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. In general, the components (460, 450, 440, 404, 430, 432, 470, and 434) of BS 102 may interoperate to implement at least part or all of the method of providing a control indicator for (or corresponding to / associated with) a physical control channel as described herein.

[0104] Blind decoding in wireless communications (e.g. NR communications)

[0105] As previously mentioned, in the proposed transition to NR communications, efforts are being made to reduce blind decoding attempts by wireless communication devices (UEs) to save power for the UEs. A typical UE using applications for text messaging, video streaming, and web browsing (to name just a few) consumes a large amount of time and power decoding the PDCCH without actually receiving data. The amount of time / power used for data reception is relatively small compared to the time used only for PDCCH decoding. For example, a large portion of the battery power is used to decode the PDCCH without subsequently decoding the PDSCH. Therefore, the large number of blind decoding attempts that the UE may make is a contributing factor to the high power consumption of the UE.

[0106] The impact of downlink (DL) reception energy consumption may be considered in the context of the overall power consumption of the UE. For example, the power consumption of a UE may be considered in the following context:

[0107] Decoding power consumption in the physical layer for DL ​​control blind decoding, which does not generate grants;

[0108] Decoding power consumption in time slots with data;

[0109] Decoding power consumption during the data reception process;

[0110] Decoding power consumption during the measurement period;

[0111] • Decoding power consumption in the search space (SS).

[0112] Efforts are also being made to reduce blind decoding attempts in group-common PDCCH designs. The fact that a group-common PDCCH can carry information common to multiple UEs can be used to reduce potential blind decoding attempts by UEs.

[0113] The PDCCH may be transmitted in a common search space and / or a UE-specific search space. Common control information for all UEs is transmitted in a common search space via the PDCCH. UE-specific control information is transmitted via the PDCCH in a UE-specific search space. When the UE is in connected mode (e.g., with / without connected mode discontinuous reception or C-DRX, communication), the UE is expected to monitor the PDCCH in each time slot to check whether there is a corresponding PDSCH. That is, the UE may monitor the PDCCH in each time slot to determine whether there is a corresponding PDSCH for the UE to decode (e.g., a PDSCH corresponding to the UE or a PDSCH associated with the UE). Monitoring the PDCCH requires the UE to perform blind decoding in a common space and a UE-specific search space (where the UE-specific search space corresponds to the UE performing the decoding or is associated with the UE performing the decoding). The UE may perform a specified number (e.g., a specified maximum number) of blind decoding attempts, which may cause the UE to consume a large amount of power (never receiving any data) if there is actually no PDCCH scheduled for the UE.

[0114] Therefore, various methods are disclosed herein to reduce the probability that a UE performs blind decoding on a PDCCH (or simply reduce the situation where a UE performs blind decoding on a PDCCH) when a PDCCH / PDSCH is not scheduled for the UE. This can reduce power consumption and increase the battery life of a battery (or multiple batteries) powering the UE.

[0115] Time slot scheduling

[0116] The various embodiments disclosed herein can utilize different time slot scheduling mechanisms to reduce unnecessary blind decoding performed by the UE. In cellular radio communications, signals and data transmissions can be organized according to designated time units of a specific duration for individual transmissions. For example, in LTE, transmissions are divided into radio frames, each of which has an equal (time) duration (e.g., each radio frame can last for 10ms). Each radio frame in LTE can be further divided into ten subframes, each of which has an equal duration, and the subframe is designated as a minimum (minimum) scheduling unit, or a designated time unit for transmission. Similarly, the minimum (or minimum) scheduling unit or the designated time unit for 5G-NR (NR) transmission is referred to as a "time slot". Therefore, as used herein, the term "time slot" is used to refer to the minimum (or minimum) scheduling time unit or designated time unit for the transmission of the described wireless communication. However, as described above, in different communication protocols, such scheduling time units may be named differently (e.g., "subframes" in LTE), and in addition, such scheduling time units may be more generally referred to as transmission time intervals (TTIs).

[0117] Figure 5A block diagram is shown according to some embodiments, showing co-slot scheduling 152 and cross-slot scheduling 154 for PDCCH and PDSCH transmissions. In the case of co-slot scheduling 152, PDCCH 110 and corresponding or associated PDSCH 112 are transmitted in the same slot (or during the same slot). In the case of cross-slot scheduling 154, each PDCCH (114, 118, and 122) is transmitted before its corresponding or associated PDSCH (120, 124, and not shown, respectively). Figure 5 As shown, PDSCH 116 is associated with the PDCCH transmitted in the previous time slot (i.e., time slot n-2). Thus, PDCCH 114 is transmitted in time slot n-1, while its associated PDSCH 120 is transmitted in time slot n, and similarly, PDCCH 118 is transmitted in time slot n, while its associated PDSCH 124 is transmitted in time slot n+1. The PDSCH corresponding to PDCCH 122 and the PDCCH corresponding to PDSCH 116 are not shown.

[0118] For cross-slot scheduling 154, the UE may reduce its PDCCH monitoring bandwidth (BW), which may save UE power due to the reduction in sampling rate and processing overhead. When receiving PDSCH, the UE may receive data at a specified (e.g., maximum) radio frequency (RF) bandwidth to achieve high data rate transmission / reception (TX / RX). PDCCH is usually transmitted in a narrow bandwidth or narrowband (NB), while PDSCH is transmitted in a wide bandwidth or wideband (WB) to support higher data rates. By reducing the bandwidth (BW) used to monitor PDCCH, the UE can save power. Cross-slot scheduling allows the UE to monitor the PDCCH in the NB because if there is an associated PDSCH, the PDSCH is transmitted in the next slot. If there is no associated PDSCH for a given decoded PDCCH, the UE can continue to operate in the NB, thereby saving power. If there is an associated PDSCH, the BW can be widened to receive the PDSCH. It takes some time to turn on the BW, which may be difficult to find in a single slot. However, for cross-slot scheduling, the UE may turn on the BW in a slot after a slot in which the PDSCH is to be decoded and the PDCCH has been decoded.

[0119] PDCCH indication

[0120] As previously mentioned, if no PDCCH is scheduled for an LTE UE, the UE may make many unnecessary blind decoding attempts. The number of decoding attempts made on PDCCH candidates (e.g., up to 44 times) and the corresponding computational overhead may vary depending on the communication level / channel conditions and the presence (or availability) of the PDCCH. If a PDCCH intended for the UE is transmitted, the UE may perform blind decoding on the available candidate PDCCHs one candidate PDCCH at a time until a PDCCH associated with (intended for or corresponding to) the UE is detected. Therefore, if a PDCCH for the UE is not transmitted, the UE makes a specified number (e.g., a maximum number) of possible blind decoding attempts because it cannot identify whether a PDCCH intended for the UE has been transmitted, and those blind decoding attempts performed by the UE are considered unnecessary.

[0121] Therefore, in NR communications, one goal is to reduce unnecessary blind decoding attempts. In some embodiments, unnecessary blind decoding attempts by the UE can be avoided by introducing a certain type of signal from the base station (e.g., from the gNB) to the UE, which indicates that there is a PDCCH scheduled for the UE in the time slot, such as there is a PDCCH intended for the UE in the time slot. Therefore, if the UE recognizes that an indicator associated with the UE (or corresponding to or intended for the UE) indicates to the UE that there is a PDCCH for the UE in the time slot, the UE can perform blind decoding to detect any PDCCH between different PDCCH candidates in (or during) the time slot. If the UE finds that the indicator actually indicates that there is no PDCCH for the UE, the UE can stop decoding and / or enter a sleep state until the next time slot when the UE can be scheduled again. Using this method, the UE can avoid making unnecessary PDCCH decoding attempts, thereby saving energy.

[0122] The indication (or indicator) may be transmitted by the base station per UE or per group. If the indication (indicator) is transmitted per UE, each UE in the cell may receive an indicator indicating the presence (or absence) of a PDCCH for the UE. Therefore, all non-scheduled UEs (UEs for which PDCCH is not transmitted) that correctly decode the indication information (or indicator) may therefore avoid unnecessary blind decoding. If the indication (indicator) is transmitted per group (wherein the group includes at least two UEs), the UEs in the group may perform blind decoding upon receiving an indication (indicator) indicating the presence of a PDCCH for the group. Since such an indicator is a group indicator, some UEs in the group may receive control information even if PDCCH for those UEs is not transmitted. If the indicator indicates (or indicates) that there is no PDCCH for the group, the UEs in the group may stop decoding and / or enter a sleep state for the remaining duration of the time slot.

[0123] Thus, in some embodiments, UEs communicating with a network may be arranged into groups, for example, by a base station (such as a gNB), where each group may include one or more UEs. In each time slot, control indicator information may be transmitted to each group (e.g., by a gNB), where the control indicator information indicates the presence (or absence) of a PDCCH in an associated time slot for any UE in a given group. If a UE determines that the indicator for its group indicates the presence of a PDCCH, the UE may perform a blind decoding attempt in the associated time slot. If a given (or corresponding) UE identifies a PDCCH intended for a given UE, the given UE may decode the corresponding or associated PDSCH (a PDSCH associated with or corresponding to the decoded PDCCH). If the UE determines that the indicator for its group indicates that a PDCCH is not present in the associated time slot, the UE may skip blind decoding in the associated time slot.

[0124] Bearer (transmission) control indicator information

[0125] Multiple options for physical channel structures that carry control indicator information during transmission are possible and are contemplated. In some embodiments, the control indicator information (bits) may be added in one or more pre-existing (other) channels to the information already included in those other channels. For example, a "group common PDCCH" (GCP) is an independent channel transmitted on pre-configured time-frequency resources. The GCP carries slot format indicator information, and because it is decoded by all UEs before they decode other channels, it may be feasible to include a control indicator in this channel.

[0126] In some embodiments, a separate channel may be designated for carrying control indicator information. For example, a channel structure like PDCCH may be used, which may be monitored by all UEs. In some embodiments, an entire new channel may be designed and transmitted over a narrowband (NB). The newly designed channel may be transmitted in the same time slot as the PDCCH or in a different time slot. If the new channel is transmitted by the NB in ​​a time slot different from (or separated from) the time slot in which the PDCCH is transmitted, the UE may receive a narrowband signal in a separate time slot and determine whether to continue receiving the PDCCH in the next time slot. This not only allows the UE to avoid unnecessary blind decoding, but also allows the UE to save power by minimizing the monitoring BW utilized by the UE. In some embodiments, the UE may have an independent circuit dedicated to monitoring the NB to further save power.

[0127] Control indicator information transmission options

[0128] In some embodiments, at least four different transmission schemes or options may be defined and used to transmit the control indicator information. The transmission schemes or options may be based on the timing of the control indicator information and the physical control channel (e.g., NR-PDCCH) relative to each other, and the timing of the physical control channel (e.g., NR-PDCCH) and the physical data channel (e.g., NR-PDCCH) relative to each other. Thus, four transmission options may be defined:

[0129] Option 1: The control indicator information and the physical control channel are transmitted in the same time slot, and the physical control channel and the physical data channel are transmitted according to the same time slot scheduling (e.g., according to Figure 6 )

[0130] Option 2: The control indicator information and the physical control channel are transmitted in the same time slot, and the physical control channel and the physical data channel are transmitted according to cross-time slot scheduling (e.g., according to Figure 7 )

[0131] Option 3: The control indicator information and the physical control channel are transmitted in different time slots, and the physical control channel and the physical data channel are transmitted according to the same time slot scheduling (e.g., according to Figure 8 )

[0132] Option 4: The control indicator information and the physical control channel are transmitted in different time slots, and the physical control channel and the physical data channel are transmitted according to cross-time slot scheduling (e.g., according to Fig. 9 ).

[0133] Option 1

[0134] Figure 6 An exemplary timing diagram is shown according to some embodiments, illustrating the transmission of control indicator information in a time slot scheduling, wherein the control indicator information and the physical control channel are transmitted in the same time slot. Figure 6 As shown, by way of example, the UEs have been arranged into three groups. Figure 6 In the exemplary embodiment shown, the network may currently include three groups of UEs: Group A = {UE1, UE2}, Group B = {UE5}, and Group C = {UE10}. Figure 6As shown, the data of UE1, UE2 and UE5 are scheduled (e.g., by a network or base station) in time slot n (202). The corresponding PDCCH for UE1, UE2 and UE5 is transmitted in the control resource set (part 204) of time slot 202. The control indicator information for group A, group B and group C is set to ON, ON and OFF respectively. In other words, the control indicator information for group A and group B indicates that there is a PDCCH for the group, while the control indicator information for group C indicates that there is no PDCCH for the group. UE1 and UE2 detect that the corresponding indicator for group A of which (or corresponding to) UE1 and UE2 are parts is ON, and similarly, UE5 also detects that the corresponding indicator for group B of which (or corresponding to) UE5 is part is ON. Therefore, UE1, UE2 and UE5 all perform blind decoding to receive their corresponding PDCCH. On the other hand, UE10 detects that the indicator for group C of which (or corresponding to) UE10 is part is OFF, thereby avoiding unnecessary blind decoding. The UE 10 may enter a sleep mode until the next time slot in which the UE 10 may be scheduled again. Figure 6 As shown, all UEs use a wideband filter in each time slot. Figure 6 As shown, after performing blind decoding and receiving their corresponding PDCCHs, UE1, UE2, and UE5 may then decode their corresponding (associated) PDSCHs in the data region (portion 206) of time slot 202. Figure 6 As shown, example physical channels that can carry indicator information may include group common PDCCH, NR-PDCCH and / or a newly designated channel specifically used to carry indicator (information). Example physical channels are also applicable to Figure 7-Figure 9 These scenarios are described in further detail below.

[0135] Option 2

[0136] Figure 7 An exemplary timing diagram is shown according to some embodiments, illustrating the transmission of control indicator information in cross-slot scheduling, where the control indicator information and the physical control channel are transmitted in the same time slot 702. Since the control channel and the data channel are transmitted according to (or in) the cross-slot scheduling, the data region (portion 708) of the time slot 702 does not contain a transmission corresponding to the control channel as shown. Figure 7As shown, by way of example, UEs have been arranged into three groups again. That is, the network may include three groups of UEs again. Group A = {UE1, UE2}, Group B = {UE5} and Group C = {UE10}. The PDCCH for UE1, UE2 and UE5 is transmitted in time slot n (702) in the control resource set (part 706) of time slot 702 using narrowband BW2 (e.g., by the network or base station). Therefore, the control indicator information for group A, group B and group C is set to ON, ON and OFF in time slot n (702), respectively. In other words, the control indicator information for group A and group B indicates that there is a PDCCH for the group, while the control indicator information for group C indicates that there is no PDCCH for the group.

[0137] The corresponding PDSCH for UE1, UE2 and UE5 is transmitted in time slot n+K 704 (where K=1, 2, 3, etc.). Similarly, UE1 and UE2 detect that the corresponding indicator for (or corresponding to) group A of which UE1 and UE2 are part is ON, and similarly, UE5 also detects that the corresponding indicator for (or corresponding to) group B of which UE5 is part is ON. Therefore, UE1, UE2 and UE5 all perform blind decoding to receive their corresponding PDCCH. On the other hand, UE10 detects that the indicator for (or corresponding to) group C of which UE10 is part is OFF, thereby avoiding unnecessary blind decoding. UE10 may enter sleep mode again until the next time slot in which UE10 may be scheduled again. In addition, UE10 saves additional power by receiving the signal carrying control indicator information with a narrow bandwidth (BW2). In addition, as Figure 7 As shown, after performing blind decoding and receiving their corresponding PDCCHs, UE1, UE2, and UE5 may then decode their corresponding (associated) PDSCHs in the data region (portion 712) of the next time slot 704. Figure 7 As shown, no transmission occurs in the control resource set (portion 710) of time slot 704.

[0138] Option 3

[0139] Figure 8 An exemplary timing diagram is shown according to some embodiments, illustrating the transmission of control indicator information in a time slot scheduling, wherein the control indicator information and the physical control channel are transmitted in different time slots. Figure 8As shown, by way of example, the UEs have been arranged into three groups again. That is, the network may include three groups of UEs again. Group A = {UE1, UE2}, Group B = {UE5} and Group C = {UE10}. In time slot n 804, more specifically, data for UE1, UE2 and UE5 is scheduled (e.g., by the network or base station) in the data region (part 808) of time slot n 804. The corresponding PDCCH for UE1, UE2 and UE5 is transmitted in the control resource set (part 806) of time slot n 804. However, in time slot n-1 802, that is, in a time slot (802) outside (or independent of) the time slot (804) in which the PDCCH is transmitted, the control indicator information is transmitted. Therefore, the control indicator information for groups A, B and C (set to ON, ON and OFF, respectively) is transmitted by a narrowband (bandwidth BW1). In some embodiments, the control indicator information may be in the form of a sequence of energy detection or control information with a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) in a small number of subcarriers. Each UE may know the precise narrowband location of bandwidth BW1 where its control indicator is transmitted. Each UE may use a corresponding narrowband filter to filter out a narrowband of its bandwidth BW1 and may thus receive the control indicator information of its corresponding group.

[0140] Likewise, UE1 and UE2 detect that the corresponding indicator for group A, of which UE1 and UE2 are part, is ON, and similarly, UE5 also detects that the corresponding indicator for group B, of which UE5 is part, is ON. That is, U1, U2, and U5 detect that the control indicator information for their respective groups indicates that there is a PDCCH for the group. Therefore, UE1, UE2, and UE5 all perform blind decoding to receive their corresponding PDCCHs. On the other hand, UE10 detects that the indicator for group C, of ​​which UE10 is part, is OFF. That is, U10 detects that the control indicator information for its corresponding group indicates that there is no PDCCH for the group, thereby avoiding unnecessary blind decoding. Therefore, UE10 may enter sleep mode until the next time slot in which UE10 may be scheduled again. Figure 8 As shown in FIG. 1 , BW1 is less than or equal to BW3. Therefore, in addition to avoiding unnecessary blind decoding, UE 10 can also use a narrower frequency band (bandwidth BW1 is smaller than BW3). Figure 7 Additional power can be saved by receiving the signal within the narrower BW2 shown for Option 2.

[0141] Option 4

[0142] Fig. 9An exemplary timing diagram is shown according to some embodiments, showing the transmission of control indicator information in cross-slot scheduling, where the control indicator information and the physical control channel are transmitted in different time slots. Since the control channel and the data channel are transmitted according to (or in) cross-slot scheduling, the data region (portion 510) of the time slot 504 does not contain a transmission corresponding to the control channel as shown. Fig. 9 As shown, by way of example, the UEs have been arranged into three groups again. That is, the network may include three groups of UEs again. Group A = {UE1, UE2}, Group B = {UE5} and Group C = {UE10}. The PDCCH for UE1, UE2 and UE5 is transmitted in the control resource set (part 508) of time slot n 504. In time slot nL 502 (where L = 1, 2, 3, etc.), that is, in a time slot (502) other than (or independent of) the time slot (504) in which the PDCCH is transmitted and also different from the time slot (506) in which the corresponding PDSCH (or data) is transmitted, the control indicator information is transmitted. As shown, the corresponding PDSCH for UE1, UE2 and UE5 is transmitted in time slot n+K 506 (where K = 1, 2, 3, etc.).

[0143] The control indicator information for group A, group B, and group C is set to ON, ON, and OFF, respectively. That is, the control indicator information for group A and group B indicates that there is a PDCCH for the group, while the control indicator information for group C indicates that there is no PDCCH for the group. Similarly, UE1 and UE2 detect that the corresponding indicator for group A, of which UE1 and UE2 are part, is ON, and similarly, UE5 also detects that the corresponding indicator for group B, of which UE5 is part, is ON. Therefore, UE1, UE2, and UE5 all perform blind decoding to receive their corresponding PDCCHs. On the other hand, UE10 detects that the indicator for group C, of ​​which UE10 is part, is OFF, thereby avoiding unnecessary blind decoding.

[0144] During time slot nL 502, each UE may receive a narrower bandwidth (BW1) signal to receive control indicator information. During time slot n 504, each UE may receive a narrowband (BW2) signal to receive PDCCH. During time slot n+K (specifically in / during data region portion 514), each UE may receive a full bandwidth signal (BW3) to receive PDSCH. Fig. 9 As shown, BW1<=BW2<=BW3. Therefore, a UE 10 that does not schedule any PDCCH / PDSCH can minimize power consumption by avoiding unnecessary blind decoding while operating at a narrower bandwidth (bandwidth of BW1). Fig. 9As shown, no transmission occurs in the control resource set (portion 512) of time slot 506.

[0145] It should also be noted that the above methods and options are applicable to UEs operating in IDLE mode as well as UEs operating in Connected DRX mode. Figures 6 to 9 The control indicator is shown to be transmitted within a bandwidth where the UE may receive data, but the above methods and options may also be applicable to situations where the bandwidth used for potential control indicator transmission does not overlap with the bandwidth used for potential data transmission.

[0146] Wireless communication device performing blind decoding

[0147] According to the above, Fig.10 A flowchart according to some embodiments is shown, illustrating a method for a wireless communication device to perform blind decoding on a physical control channel. A wireless communication device that performs wireless communication according to any of a variety of wireless communication standards (e.g., according to an NR cellular standard) may, for example, receive control indicator information from a base station, the control indicator information indicating whether one or more candidate physical control channels are available for decoding by the wireless communication device (1002). If the received control indicator indicates that one or more candidate physical control channels are available (taking the "yes" branch at 1004), the wireless communication device may perform blind decoding on the candidate physical control channels to detect and receive the corresponding physical control channels intended for the wireless communication device (1006). If the received control indicator indicates that no candidate physical control channels are available (taking the "no" branch at 1004), the wireless communication device does not perform blind decoding on the candidate physical control channels (1008) and may enter a sleep state until the next time slot in which the wireless communication device can be scheduled again (1010).

[0148] Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, in some embodiments, the present invention may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable storage medium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs may be used to implement the present invention. In other embodiments, one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs may be used to implement the present invention.

[0149] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory memory element) may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any 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.

[0150] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium (or a memory element), wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementations described herein or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0151] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A device for wireless communication, the device comprising: A processor, the processor being configured to: enabling the base station to communicate wirelessly with the wireless device; causing the base station to transmit control indicator information in a first time slot as part of the wireless communication, the control indicator information indicating to the wireless device whether the wireless device is to perform blind decoding on one or more candidate physical control channels in a subsequent time slot after the first time slot; When the control indicator information indicates that the device is to perform the blind decoding, causing the base station to send a first physical control channel in the subsequent time slot, the first physical control channel being one of the one or more candidate physical control channels and intended for the wireless device; as well as When the control indicator information indicates that the device does not perform the blind decoding, the base station is caused not to send a first physical control channel in the subsequent time slot.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more candidate physical control channels are transmitted in the subsequent time slot and are not transmitted in the first time slot.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to: The base station is enabled to send a corresponding physical data channel corresponding to the first physical control channel after sending the first physical control channel.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to cause the base station to send the corresponding physical data channel in one of the following: a third time slot different from the subsequent time slot; or the subsequent time slot.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is part of a designated group of wireless devices, wherein the control indicator information applies to all wireless devices in the designated group.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to cause the base station to send the control indicator information by one of the following: A channel that also includes other information; or A channel dedicated to carrying the control indicator information. 7 . The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the processor is configured to cause the base station to transmit the channel dedicated to carrying the control indicator information through a narrowband.

8. A base station, comprising: a radio circuit configured to implement wireless communication between the base station and a communication device; and a processor communicatively coupled to the radio circuitry and configured to cooperate with the radio circuitry to: transmitting control indicator information in a first time slot as part of the wireless communication, the control indicator information indicating to the wireless device whether the wireless device is to perform blind decoding on one or more candidate physical control channels in a subsequent time slot following the first time slot; When the control indicator information indicates that the device is to perform the blind decoding, transmitting a first physical control channel in the subsequent time slot, the first physical control channel being one of the one or more candidate physical control channels and intended for the wireless device; and When the control indicator information indicates that the device does not perform the blind decoding, a first physical control channel is not sent in the subsequent time slot.

9. The base station of claim 8, wherein the one or more candidate physical control channels are transmitted in the subsequent time slot and are not transmitted in the first time slot.

10. The base station of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to further cooperate with the radio circuitry to: After sending the first physical control channel, a corresponding physical data channel corresponding to the first physical control channel is sent.

11. The base station of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to further cooperate with the radio circuit to send the corresponding physical data channel in one of the following: a third time slot different from the subsequent time slot; or the subsequent time slot.

12. The base station of claim 8, wherein the wireless device is part of a designated group of wireless devices, wherein the control indicator information applies to all wireless devices in the designated group.

13. The base station of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to further cooperate with the radio circuit to send the control indicator information by one of: A channel that also includes other information; or A channel dedicated to carrying the control indicator information.

14. The base station of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to further cooperate with the radio circuit to transmit the channel dedicated for carrying the control indicator information through a narrowband.

15. A non-transitory memory element storing programming instructions executable by a processor to: enabling the base station to communicate wirelessly with the wireless device; causing the base station to transmit control indicator information in a first time slot as part of the wireless communication, the control indicator information indicating to the wireless device whether the wireless device is to perform blind decoding on one or more candidate physical control channels in a subsequent time slot after the first time slot; When the control indicator information indicates that the device is to perform the blind decoding, causing the base station to send a first physical control channel in the subsequent time slot, the first physical control channel being one of the one or more candidate physical control channels and intended for the wireless device; as well as When the control indicator information indicates that the device does not perform the blind decoding, the base station is caused not to send a first physical control channel in the subsequent time slot.

16. The non-transitory memory element of claim 15, wherein the one or more candidate physical control channels are transmitted in the subsequent time slot and are not transmitted in the first time slot.

17. The non-transitory memory element of claim 15, wherein the programming instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the base station to send a corresponding physical data channel corresponding to the first physical control channel after sending the first physical control channel.

18. The non-transitory memory element of claim 17, wherein the programming instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the base station to send the corresponding physical data channel in one of the following: a third time slot different from the subsequent time slot; or the subsequent time slot.

19. The non-transitory memory element of claim 15, wherein the wireless device is part of a designated group of wireless devices, wherein the control indicator information applies to all wireless devices in the designated group.

20. The non-transitory memory element of claim 15, wherein the programming instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the base station to send the control indicator information by one of: A channel that also includes other information; or A narrowband channel dedicated to carrying the control indicator information.

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