Control channel and reference signal transmission in wireless networks

Abstract

The present application relates to devices and components including apparatus, systems and methods for control signaling and reference signal transmission in wireless networks.

Description

Background Art

[0001] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specifications (TS) define standards for wireless networks. These TSs describe aspects related to control channels and reference signals that can be transmitted in wireless networks. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] Figure 1 A network environment according to some embodiments is shown.

[0003] Figure 2 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0004] Figure 3 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0005] Figure 4 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0006] Figure 5 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0007] Figure 6 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0008] Figure 7 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0009] Figure 8 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0010] Fig. 9 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0011] Fig.10 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0012] Fig.11 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0013] Fig.12 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0014] Fig.13 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0015] Fig.14 Control elements are shown according to some embodiments.

[0016] Fig.15 Downlink control information according to some embodiments is shown.

[0017] Fig.16Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0018] Fig.17 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0019] Fig.18 Transmission resources according to some embodiments are shown.

[0020] Fig.19 An operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0021] Fig. 20 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0022] Fig.21 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0023] Fig. 22 User equipment according to some embodiments is shown.

[0024] Fig.23 A base station according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The following specific embodiments relate to the accompanying drawings. The same figure numbers may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of each embodiment. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from the present disclosure that the various aspects of each embodiment can be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so that the description of the various embodiments will not be obscured by unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0026] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0027] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a hardware component such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) configured to provide the described functions, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable system on chip (SoC)), a digital signal processor (DSP), etc. In some embodiments, the circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functions. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and a program code for performing the functions of the program code (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0028] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuit" may refer to an application processor, a baseband processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes).

[0029] As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to a circuit that enables, is a part of, or includes information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, a network interface card, etc.

[0030] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device that has radio communication capabilities and can describe a remote user of network resources in a communication network. In addition, the terms "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous and may be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. In addition, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0031] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to one another. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to one another and configured to share computing resources or networked resources.

[0032] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a specific device, such as a computer device, a mechanical device, a memory space, a processor / CPU time, a processor / CPU usage, a processor and accelerator load, a hardware time or usage, a power supply, an input / output operation, a port or a network socket, a channel / link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, a network, a database and an application, a unit of work, etc. "Hardware resources" may refer to computing, storage or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "Virtualized resources" may refer to computing, storage or network resources provided by a virtualized infrastructure to an application, a device, a system, etc. The term "network resources" or "communication resources" may refer to resources that a computer device / system can access via a communication network. The term "system resources" may refer to any kind of shared entity that provides a service, and may include computing resources or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services that can be accessed through a server, wherein such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and can be clearly identified.

[0033] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium for transmitting data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent to "communication channel", "data communication channel", "transmission channel", "data transmission channel", "access channel", "data access channel", "link", "data link", "carrier", "radio frequency carrier" or any other similar term representing a path or medium through which data is transmitted. In addition, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection made between two devices for transmitting and receiving information.

[0034] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiate," and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to a specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0035] The term "connected" may mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0036] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure for providing wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, virtualized network function, etc.

[0037] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains the contents. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0038] Figure 1 A network environment 100 according to some embodiments is shown. The network environment 100 may include a UE 104 communicatively coupled to one or more base stations (e.g., a base station 108 and a base station 112). The UE 104 and the base station 108 / 112 may communicate via an air interface compatible with 3GPP TSs such as those defining long term evolution (LTE) and fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) system standards. The base station 108 / 112 may be an evolved Node B (eNB) for providing one or more long term evolution (LTE) evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) cells to provide E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations toward the UE 104; or a next generation Node B (gNB) for providing one or more 5G new radio (NR) cells to provide NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations toward the UE 104.

[0039] Each of the base stations 108 / 112 may provide one or more cells using carrier aggregation (CA) deployment. In carrier aggregation, a base station may provide: a primary serving cell (PCell) for providing some or all of the control signaling through a signaling radio bearer (SRB); and one or more secondary serving cells (SCells) for providing one or more data radio bearers (DRBs) to increase the throughput capability of the system. The PCell may be configured on a primary component carrier (PCC) and the SCell may be configured on a secondary component carrier (SCC).

[0040] In some embodiments, the network environment 100 may support dual connectivity (DC) operation, in which the UE 104 may be configured to utilize radio resources provided by different schedulers located in different base stations 108 / 112. One of the base stations may be configured as a master node (MN) for providing a control plane connection with a core network 116. The MN may be associated with a service cell group referred to as a master cell group (MCG), which includes a PCell deployed with CA and optionally one or more SCells. Other base stations may be configured as secondary nodes (SNs), which may not have a control plane connection with the core network 116. The SN may be used to provide additional resources to the UE 104. The SN may be associated with a service cell group referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG), which includes a primary cell (PSCell) deployed with CA and one or more SCells. The primary cells (e.g., PCell and PSCell) of a DC network may be referred to as special cells (SpCells).

[0041] NR networks can utilize dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) that allows LTE and NR to share the same carrier. The DSS framework allows NR cells to rate match around LTE reference signals that would otherwise cause strong interference and impair spectral efficiency. Physical downlink control channel PDCCH enhancements for cross-carrier scheduling may be considered for improved DSS operation. The PDCCH of the SCell can be used to schedule PDSCH or PUSCH on the PCell or PSCell. When this is configured, the SCell may be referred to as a scheduled SCell (sScell). Further research may be needed to use a single downlink control information (DCI) to determine whether to specify the PDCCH of the PCell / PSCell / SCell that schedules PDSCH on multiple cells. In some scenarios, the number of cells that can be scheduled at one time may be limited to two. It may be desirable to minimize the increase in the size of the DCI used to schedule PDSCH on multiple cells.

[0042] In some cases, it may be assumed that the UE 104 may monitor only the type 0 / 0A / 1 / 2 common search space (CSS) sets (for DCI formats associated with those CSS sets) on the PCell / PSCell and not on the sSCell. When cross-carrier scheduling from sSCell to PCell / PSCell is configured, the UE 104 may be configured to monitor DCI formats 0_1 / 1_1 / 0_2 / 1_2, which schedule PDSCH / PUSCH on the PCell / PSCell, on the PCell / PSCell UE-specific search space (USS) set, or on the sSCell USS set.

[0043] Some embodiments describe how to configure USS sets on PCell / PSCell and sSCell for cross-carrier scheduling on PCell / PSCell; whether and how to switch the configured search space sets on PCell / PSCell and sSCell for PDCCH monitoring; and how to define PDCCH overlimit when PDCCH candidates may be located on two component carriers.

[0044] The embodiments describe various methods for configuring USS search space sets on sSCell and PCell / PSCell for PCell / PSCell. Different types of search space sets for PCell / PSCell may be defined depending on the component carrier on which it is configured for transmission. For PCell / PSCell with self-scheduling operation, type 1 USS may be configured on PCell / PSCell. For PCell / PSCell with cross-carrier scheduling (CCS) operation, type 2 USS may be configured on sSCell.

[0045] Figure 2 A transmission resource 200 is shown according to some embodiments. The transmission resource 200 may include a PCell (or PSCell) and an sSCell.

[0046] The PCell may include a CSS 204 and a type 1 USS. The CSS 204 may be used for broadcast messages or group-specific DCI. For example, the CSS 204 may be used for paging messages, system information, random access responses, etc. The type 1 USS may be used for scheduling PDSCH / PUSCH in the PCell.

[0047] The sSCell may include a type 2 USS 212 and a USS for self-scheduling 216. The type 2 USS 212 may be used to schedule PDSCH / PUSCH in the PCell. The USS for self-scheduling 216 may be used to schedule PDSCH / PUSCH in the sSCell.

[0048] In some embodiments, all configurable parameters of the search space may be the same or repeated between type 1 USS and type 2 USS if they have the same search space set (SSS)-identifier (ID). For example, if type 1 USS 208 and type 2 USS 212 have a common SSS-ID, they may be paired with each other and have the same configurable parameters. Configurable parameters that may be the same between paired SSSs may include, for example, control resource set (CORESET) index, duration, PDCCH blind decoding (BD) candidate number, DCI format for monitoring, PDCCH monitoring periodicity and offset, and PDCCH monitoring span within a time slot. In some embodiments, the BD number may be different for type 1 USS and type 2 USS associated with a common SSS ID.

[0049] Providing Type 1 / Type 2 USSs with common configurable parameters can facilitate detection / decoding of PDCCHs transmitted in these search spaces. Figure 2 As shown, the type 1 USS 208 and the type 2 USS 212 may be configured in the same symbol. This may make the detection / decoding of the PDCCH transmitted in the search space more efficient.

[0050] Providing type 1 / type 2 USS with common configurable parameters may also facilitate configuration of these search spaces. For example, it may be necessary to explicitly configure only one of the type 1 USS or type 2 USS using a radio resource control (RRC) message. The explicitly configured USS may be a type 1 USS on a PCell / PSCell or a type 2 USS on an sSCell. There may be no need to explicitly configure the associated USS as it may be configurable by association. In some embodiments, a one-bit flag information element (IE) may be added for either the type 1 USS or the type 2 USS to indicate the presence of the other type of associated USS.

[0051] An exemplary Abstract Syntax Notation One (ANS.1) code for configuring a search space through a flag indicating the presence of an associated USS may be shown as follows.

[0052]

[0053] This IE may be present in the PCell / PSCell configuration. The Type2-USS-Presence field may be used to indicate the presence (value true) or absence (value false) of a Type 2 USS on the SCell, thereby indicating a grant or assignment for this PCell or PSCell.

[0054] In some embodiments, the search space configuration may include only the PCell / PSCell field. This field may be present in the USS of the PCell / PSCell. If the USS is not a PCell / PSCell, it may not be present.

[0055] The search space configuration above may be used to initially configure a Type 1 USS on a PCell / PSCell and indicate the presence of an associated Type 2 USS on the sSCell by setting a 1-bit flag Type2-USS-Presence to "true". The Type 2 USS may then be configured based on the configuration parameters of the Type 1 USS. In other embodiments, the search space configuration may be used to first configure the Type 2 USS and indicate the presence of the Type 1 USS, which may then be configured by association.

[0056] Figure 3 Transmission resources 300 according to some embodiments are shown. In this embodiment, the PCell may include a first parameter set and the sSCell includes a second parameter set. For example, the PCell may include a 15kHz subcarrier spacing (SCS) and the sSCell includes a 30kHz SCS. Therefore, the time slot of the sSCell may be half the length of the time slot of the PCell.

[0057] The PCell may include a CSS 304 and a type 1 USS 308, and the sSCell may include a type 2 USS 312 and a USS for self-scheduling 316, similar to the above description of Figure 2 However, in order to maintain the alignment between the Type 1 USSs and the Type 2 USSs, the PCell may include an additional Type 1 USS 320 associated with the Type 2 USSs 324 in the second slot of the sSCell.

[0058] In some implementations, Type 1 USS and Type 2 USS for a given SSS-ID may be configured separately for PCell / PSCell. Figure 4 A transmission resource 400 is shown in which Type 1 USSs and Type 2 USSs are configured separately according to some embodiments.

[0059] The PCell may include a CSS 404 and a type 1 USS 408, and the sSCell may include a type 2 USS 412 and a USS for self-scheduling 416, similar to the above description of Figure 2However, in this embodiment, the type 1 USS 408 and type 2 USS 412 that may be associated with the same SSS-ID may be separately configured, for example, by separate RRC signals. For example, the separate configurations may include different time domain configurations. Figure 2 Compared with the configuration of / 3, Figure 4 The Type 1 USS and Type 2 USS are not time aligned.

[0060] Embodiments provide different techniques for switching between Type 1 USS and Type 2 USS monitoring for PCell / PSCell.

[0061] In one embodiment, one of the type 1 USS or type 2 USS may be hard-coded or explicitly configured by RRC signaling as the default USS for PDCCH monitoring. When certain conditions are met, the UE 104 may conditionally switch to monitor another non-default USS. For example, the UE 104 may monitor the non-default USS only when the symbol set is in a time slot in which the default USS is configured for uplink. In some embodiments, the uplink time slot may be provided in a tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon configuration or a tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationDedicated configuration; or may be provided by DCI format 2_0.

[0062] Figure 5 A transmission resource 500 for describing switching between type 1 USS and type 2 USS monitoring according to some embodiments is shown. The transmission resource 500 includes six time slots, time slot 0-time slot 5. Time slots 0, 1, 4, and 5 of the sSCell may be configured for downlink, while time slots 2 and 3 of the sSCell may be configured for uplink. The sSCell may be configured with a type 2 USS and the PCell may be configured with a type 1 USS. In this embodiment, the type 2 USS may be the default USS. Therefore, the UE 104 may monitor the type 2 USS in time slots 0, 1, 4, and 5. However, in time slots 2 and 3, the UE 104 may switch to monitor a non-default USS (e.g., a type 1 USS).

[0063] In some embodiments, a flag may be used to switch monitoring from a first USS type to a second USS type. As described below, the flag may be transmitted via DCI.

[0064] Figure 6A transmission resource 600 is shown for describing DCI-based switching between type 1 USS and type 2 USS monitoring according to some embodiments. The transmission resource 600 includes six time slots, time slot 0-time slot 5. The sSCell may be configured with a type 2 USS and the PCell may be configured with a type 1 USS. In this embodiment, the type 2 USS may be a default USS (or an actively monitored USS). Therefore, the UE 104 may start by monitoring the type 2 USS in time slots 0, 1, 4, and 5. In time slot 1, the DCI in the type 2 USS 604 may include an asserted switching flag. After detecting the asserted switching flag, the UE 104 may switch from monitoring the type 2 USS to monitoring the type 1 USS in the PCell. In some embodiments, the UE 104 may start monitoring the switched USS in a first time slot that is at least P_switch symbols after the last symbol of the PDCCH with a scheduling DCI (e.g., a DCI including a switching flag). As Figure 6 As shown, UE 104 may receive the marker in time slot 1 and begin monitoring in the USS switched to in time slot 2, but in other embodiments, the switching may be delayed by other values.

[0065] In some embodiments, the UE 104 may continue to monitor the PDCCH on the Type 1 USS on the PCell until it receives another asserted switch flag to switch back to monitoring the Type 2 USS on the SCell.

[0066] In some embodiments, the switching flag may be a new flag field added to the scheduling DCI format that is monitored in type 1 / type 2 USS. For example, if the flag field is set to "1" in the scheduling DCI format in a first USS type (e.g., type 1 USS or type 2 USS), the UE 104 may detect the switching flag as asserted and switch to monitoring the second USS type (e.g., type 2 USS or type 1 USS).

[0067] In some embodiments, a timer may be introduced to facilitate switching of USS monitoring. The timer may be used to provide an indication of when the UE 104 will perform an initial switch. For example, the UE 104 may start a timer upon detecting a switch marker in a first USS type. The UE stops monitoring the PDCCH on the first USS type and starts monitoring the PDCCH on the second USS type in a first time slot, which is at least P_switch symbols after the timer expires.

[0068] In some embodiments, a timer may be used to determine the time at which the UE will monitor the USS type to which it is switched. For example, the UE 104 may receive a switching flag in a first USS type. After switching to a second USS type, the UE 104 may start a timer and may monitor the second USS type while the timer is running. When the timer expires, the UE 104 may switch back to monitoring the first USS type.

[0069] In some embodiments, the handover flag may be indicated by a scrambling sequence [w_0, w_1, ..., w_23] used to scramble the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits of the scheduling DCI. Table 1 below shows a scrambling sequence that may be used to indicate a handover flag.

[0070] Codec-state [w_0,w_1,w_2,…,w_n-1] 0 [0,0,0,…,0] 1 [1,1,1,…,1]

[0071] Table 1

[0072] For example, if the CRC is scrambled by [0,0,0,…,0], the switching flag can be considered to be set to "0", e.g., not asserted; and if the CRC is scrambled by [1,1,1,…,1], the switching flag can be considered to be set to "1", e.g., asserted.

[0073] In some embodiments, a new DCI format with a dedicated radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) value in a common search space in a PCell / PSCell may be used to indicate a selected USS type for PCell / PSCell scheduling via the following fields: USS type number 1, USS type number 2, ..., USS type number M. In some examples, a value of "0" may be used to indicate a type 1 USS and a value of "1" may be used to indicate a type 2 USS. The payload size of the new DCI format may be equal to the payload size of DCI format 1_0 including any padding bits attached to this new DCI format. The UE 104 may be configured by a higher layer with a field index to determine an index to a USS type for a given UE. In some designs, DCI format 2_6, which is typically used to notify power saving information beyond a discontinuous reception (DRX) active time, may be used during a DRX active time to indicate a selected USS type for PCell / PSCell scheduling.

[0074] Some embodiments describe PDCCH monitoring operations with respect to Type 1 USS and Type 2 USS, as described below.

[0075] In the first step, UE 104 may determine the maximum number of PDCCH BD candidates for PCell / PSCell and sSCell. and non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) per time slot In some aspects, the PCell and sSCell may be counted as a single “virtual CC” to determine CC BD and non-overlapping CCE budgets.

[0076] If different SCS configurations are used for PCell / PSCell and sSCell, the lowest SES can be used to determine and per CC limit.

[0077] In some aspects, a scaling factor (e.g., α_1, α_2) may be introduced to To determine the BD and CCE of each limit of PCell, where α 1 +α 2 ≤1.

[0078] In a second step, UE 104 may determine PDCCH monitoring for type 1 USS and type 2 USS. Consider M_CSS as the number of PDCCH BDs configured for CSS; M_type1 as the number of PDCCH BDs configured for type 1 USS; M_type2 as the number of PDCCH BDs configured for type 2 USS; and M_USS as the number of BDs that can be used for type 1 USS and type 2 USS without being exceeded, where

[0079] In some implementations, PDCCH overrunning may not be allowed for: PDCCH monitoring for SCell scheduling; or for CSS on PCell / PSCell.

[0080] In one option, PDCCH overrun may not be allowed for Type 1 USS and Type 2 USS. With this option, the following conditions should be met for Type 1 USS and Type 2 USS configuration: Type2 ≤M USS And M Type1 ≤(M USS -M Type1 ).

[0081] In a second option, PDCCH overrun may be allowed for both Type 1 USS and Type 2 USS. The UE 104 may assume that PDCCH overrun occurs if the following conditions are met with respect to one or more of the following four options.

[0082] In the first option, if: M Type2 ≤M USS (guaranteed by gNB through RRC configuration without exceeding the limit) and M Type1 +M Type2 >M USS, then PDCCH overrun may occur. This option may generally not allow Type 2 overruns, but allow total Type 1 / Type 2 overruns.

[0083] In the second option, if: M Type1 +r*M Type2 >M USS or r*M Type1 +M Type2 >M USS , then PDCCH overrun may occur, where r is a scaling factor greater than one and may be predefined by 3GPP TS or reported as part of UE capability signaling.

[0084] In the third option, if r*(M Type1 +M Type2 )>M USS , then PDCCH overrun may occur, where r is a scaling factor greater than one and may be predefined by 3GPP TS or reported as part of UE capability signaling.

[0085] In the fourth option, if r*Max(M Type1 , M Type2 )>M USS , then PDCCH overrun may occur. In some implementations, the value R may be set to one. The fourth option may be used for implementations in which the UE 104 monitors only one type of USS (eg, either Type 1 USS or Type 2 USS) for a given timeslot, rather than monitoring both.

[0086] If an overrun occurs, the UE 104 may proceed to the third step.

[0087] In the third step, the UE 104 may adopt one or more of the following three methods to determine the priority order of allocating PDCCH candidates to monitor up to the per-CC BS limit for Type 1 / Type 2 USSs: and non-overlapping CCEs

[0088] In a first approach, the priority order may be configured by RRC signaling as part of the Type 1 / Type 2 USS configuration.

[0089] In a second approach, the priority order may be predefined in the 3GPP TS. For example, if the UE 104 is required to monitor both Type 2 and Type 1 USSs, Type 2 may always be prioritized.

[0090] For the first and second methods, the search space set with the lowest index may be prioritized over other search space sets within the USS type.

[0091] In a third method, the USS types are prioritized between the actively monitored Type 1 USSs and Type 2 USSs.

[0092] Figures 7 to 12 The determination of PDCCH candidates according to some embodiments is shown. In these embodiments, the following values ​​may be assumed: M CSS =8, as well as

[0093] Figure 7 Transmission resources 700 are shown, where CSS 704, type 1 USS 708, and type 1 USS 712 are in the PCell, and type 2 USS 716, type 2 USS 720, and self-scheduling USS 724 are in the sSCell. PDCCH candidates in virtual CC 728 may be counted against the BD / non-overlapping CCE budget of the PCell. In this embodiment, M CSS =8 from CSS704, M Type1 = 8 from Type 1 USS 708 and Type 1 USS 712, M Type2 =24 from Type 2 USS 716 and Type 2 USS 720.

[0094] The configuration of transmission resources 700 for USS and CSS on PCell and sSCell may occur without allowing PDCCH overrun for CSS, Type 1 USS and Type 2 USS. For example, in Option 1, overrun is only allowed on M Type1 +M Type2 >M USS With respect to the above values, 8+24 is not greater than 32, and thus no overrun occurs. All BD candidates may be monitored by UE 104.

[0095] Figure 8 Transmission resources 800 are shown, where CSS 804, type 1 USS 808, and type 1 USS 812 are in the PCell, and type 2 USS 816, type 2 USS 820, and self-scheduling USS 824 are in the sSCell. PDCCH candidates in virtual CC 828 can be counted against the BD / non-overlapping CCE budget of the PCell. Relative to the previous figure, the candidates on type 1 USS 808 and type 1 USS 812 are each increased to eight to improve scheduling flexibility. In this embodiment, M CSS =8 from CSS 804, M Type1 = 16 from Type 1 USS 808 and Type 1 USS 812, M Type2=24 from Type 2 USS 816 and Type 2 USS 820.

[0096] The configuration of transmission resources 800 for USS and CSS on PCell and sSCell may occur with PDCCH overruns allowed for Type 1 / Type 2 USS. Type1 +M Type2 >M USS Regarding the above values, 16+24 is greater than 32, and thus an overrun does occur. If the Type 2 USS has priority over the Type 1 USS, the UE 104 may be allowed to discard the Type 1 USS 812 and the UE may monitor the remaining BD candidates.

[0097] Fig. 9 Transmission resources 900 are shown, where CSS 904, type 1 USS 908, and type 1 USS 912 are in the PCell, and type 2 USS 916, type 2 USS 920, and self-scheduling USS 924 are in the sSCell. PDCCH candidates in virtual CC 928 can be counted against the BD / non-overlapping CCE budget of the PCell. Relative to the previous figure, the candidates on type 1 USS 908 and type 1 USS 912 are each reduced to two. In this embodiment, M CSS =8 from CSS 904, M Type1 = 4 from Type 1 USS 908 and Type 1 USS 912, and M Type2 =24 from Type 2 USS 916 and Type 2 USS920.

[0098] Considering the determination of PDCCH overlimit based on the second clause of option 2 above and r=2, when

[0099] r*M Type1 +M Type2 >M USS When , an overlimit occurs. Regarding the above values, 2*4+24 is not greater than 32, and therefore an overlimit does not occur. All BD candidates can be monitored by UE 104.

[0100] Fig.10Transmission resources 1000 are shown, where CSS 1004, type 1 USS 1008, and type 1 USS 1012 are in the PCell, and type 2 USS 1016, type 2 USS 1020, and self-scheduling USS 1024 are in the sSCell. PDCCH candidates in virtual CC 1028 can be counted against the BD / non-overlapping CCE budget of the PCell. Relative to the previous figure, the candidates on type 1 USS 1008 and type 1 USS 1012 are each increased to four. In this embodiment, M CSS =8 from CSS1004, M Type1 = 8 from Type 1 USS 1008 and Type 1 USS 1012, and M Type2 =24 from Type 2 USS1016 and Type 2 USS 1020.

[0101] Consider again the determination of PDCCH overlimit based on the second clause of option 2 above and r=2, then when r*M Type1 +M Type2 >M USS When , an overrun occurs. With respect to the above values, 2*8+24 is greater than 32, and thus an overrun does occur. If the Type 2 USS has priority over the Type 1 USS, the UE 104 may be allowed to discard the Type 1 USS 1012 and the UE may monitor the remaining BD candidates.

[0102] Fig.11 Transmission resources 1100 are shown, where CSS 1104, type 1 USS 1108, and type 1 USS 1112 are in the PCell, and type 2 USS 1116, type 2 USS 1120, and self-scheduling USS 1124 are in the sSCell. PDCCH candidates in virtual CC 1128 can be counted against the BD / non-overlapping CCE budget of the PCell. Relative to the previous figure, the candidates on type 2 USS 1116 and type 2 USS 1120 are reduced to four and eight, respectively. In this embodiment, M CSS =8 from CSS 1104, M Type1 = 8 from Type 1 USS 1108 and Type 1 USS 1112, and M Type2 =12 from Type 2 USS1116 and Type 2 USS 1120.

[0103] Considering the determination of PDCCH overlimit based on the third option above and r=2, when r*(M Type1 +M Type2 )>M USS, an overrun occurs. With respect to the above values, 2*(8+12) is greater than 32, and thus an overrun does occur. If the Type 2 USS has priority over the Type 1 USS, the UE 104 may be allowed to discard the Type 1 USS 1112 and the UE may monitor the remaining BD candidates. After discarding the Type 1 USS 1112, an overrun will no longer occur, e.g., 2*(4+12) is not greater than 32.

[0104] Fig.12 Transmission resources 1200 are shown, where CSS 1204, type 1 USS 1208, and type 1 USS 1212 are in the PCell, and type 2 USS 1216, type 2 USS 1220, and self-scheduling USS 1224 are in the sSCell. PDCCH candidates in virtual CC 1228 can be counted against the BD / non-overlapping CCE budget of the PCell. Relative to the previous figure, the candidates on type 1 USS 1208 and type 1 USS 1212 are both increased to eight, the candidates on type 2 USS 1216 are increased to 16, and the candidates on type 2 USS 1220 are increased to eight. In this embodiment, M CSS =8 from CSS 1204, M Type1 = 16 from Type 1 USS 1208 and Type 1 USS 1212, and M Type2 =24 from Type 2 USS 1216 and Type 2 USS 1220.

[0105] Considering the determination of PDCCH overlimit based on the fourth option above and r=1, when r*Mnx(M Type1 , M Type2 )>M USS When , an overrun occurs. With respect to the above values, 1*max(16,24) is not greater than 32, and therefore an overrun does not occur. All BD candidates may be monitored by UE 104. As can be seen, this option may allow for a larger BD / CCE for the base station compared to other options, but may also be a more stringent burden at the UE.

[0106] Embodiments also describe reference signal transmission in wireless communications.

[0107] As NR operation expands to higher frequencies (e.g., up to 71 GHz) and includes higher frequency SCS (e.g., 480 kHz SCS and 960 kHz SCS), reference signal enhancement may be required.

[0108] Fig.13Transmission resources 1300 are shown, where comb-based resource element (RE) mapping is used for demodulation reference signals (DMRS) associated with different antenna ports of configuration 1. In addition to further reducing DMRS overhead, antenna ports can be allowed to be code-division multiplexed (CDM) in the frequency domain (e.g., frequency domain (FD)-CDM) and the time domain (e.g., TD-CDM), as shown in FIG. Fig.13 shown.

[0109] For example, FD-CDM group 1 may be able to map two DMRS sequences on two REs. The first two REs of FD-CDM group 1 may include DMRS sequences associated with two antenna ports AP0 and AP1. A first orthogonal cover code (OCC) (e.g., <1,1>) may be applied to the DMRS sequence for AP0, and a second OCC (e.g., <1,-1>) may be applied to the DMRS sequence for AP1. The first two REs of FD-CDM group 2 may include DMRS sequences associated with two additional antenna ports AP2 and AP3. The first OCC may be applied to the DMRS sequence of AP2, and the second OCC may be applied to the DMRS sequence of AP3. Given the spacing between the first RE and the second RE in the frequency domain, the first / second OCC may be reused.

[0110] Above the 52.6 GHz frequency range, channels with significant time dispersion (e.g., large delay spread) can stand out in frequency selectivity and lead to loss of orthogonality between FD OCCs used for different layers, such as in rank-2 transmission. Poor interpolation and loss of orthogonality between two ports being FD-CDM can degrade the performance of the actual channel estimation.

[0111] Embodiments describe enhancements to DMRS patterns for improved channel estimation and to avoid unnecessary UE complexity. Some embodiments describe maintaining the same number of maximum layers to improve resource spectrum efficiency. This is particularly beneficial for system designs above 52.6 GHz.

[0112] Various approaches may be considered for DMRS resource mapping associated with PDSCH / PUSCH transmission or CSI-RS transmission to mitigate the performance loss caused by the loss of orthogonality between FD OCCs for different ports.

[0113] In a first option, FD-CDM may be disabled for a predefined subcarrier spacing configuration set. The predefined subcarrier spacing configuration set may be defined in 3GPP TS. For example, in some embodiments, the subcarrier spacing configuration set for which FD-CDM is disabled may include a configuration with a 480kHz SCS or a 960kHz SCS.

[0114] In the second option, FD-CDM for a given SCS (e.g., 480kHz SCS) can be controlled and semi-statically disabled by using a new IE in system information (e.g., system information block 1 (SIB-1)) or dedicated RRC signaling for a given UE. This allows the base station to enable / disable FD-CDM for DMRS based on UE-specific channel characteristics (e.g., delay spread profile).

[0115] In a third option, a new MAC CE may be introduced to disable / enable FD-CDM for a CDM group corresponding to a given SCS on a per-UE basis. The MAC CE may be identified by a MAC subheader with a dedicated Logical Channel ID (LCID).

[0116] Fig.14 A MAC CE 1400 that may be used to disable / enable FD-CDM according to some embodiments is shown. The MAC CE 1400 may include an S_i field that indicates whether FD-CDM is enabled or disabled for a DMRS / CSI-RS with a parameter set index i. The S_i field may be set to "1" to indicate that FD-CDM is enabled for a DMRS / CSI-RS with a corresponding SCS i. The S_i field may be set to "0" to indicate that FD-CDM is disabled for a DMRS / CSI-RS with a corresponding SCS i. In one embodiment, a 480 kHz SCS may be configured as SCS 0, and a 960 kHz SCS may be configured as SCS 1. The reserved bit (R) of the MAC CE 1500 may be set to "0".

[0117] In the fourth option, FD-CDM can be enabled or disabled for DMRS RE mapping using the scheduled DCI format. This allows the base station to enable / disable FD-CDM for DMRS based on the actual modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of the scheduled PDSCH. As an example, for higher MCS levels, FD-CDM can be disabled to avoid performance loss. For lower MCS levels, FD-CDM can be enabled to improve system spectral efficiency.

[0118] Fig.15 Two example DCIs are shown that may be used to indicate whether FD-CDM is enabled or disabled according to some embodiments.

[0119] The DCI 1504 may include a new field, namely, an FD-CDM indicator 1508, which is added to the existing DCI field 1512 and CRC 1516. The FD-CDM indicator 1508 may be used to dynamically enable / disable FD-CDM for DMRS mapping. The FD-CDM indicator 1508 may include one bit. In some embodiments, the value may be set to "1" to indicate the disabling of FD-CDM, which may also imply that other UEs are not co-scheduled in the same CDM group.

[0120] DCI 1520 may include existing DCI field 1524 and CRC 1528, but may not include the FD-CDM indicator field. Instead, DCI 1520 may provide an FD-CDM indicator by selecting a scrambling sequence [w_0, w_1, w_2, ... w_23] for scrambling the bits in CRC 1528. In some embodiments, the selection of the scrambling sequence may convey 1-bit enable / disable information, as shown in Table 2.

[0121] 1-digit FD-CDM indicator [w_0,w_1,w_2,…w_23] 0 [0,0,0,…,0] 1 [1,1,1,…,1]

[0122] Table 2

[0123] To accommodate the dynamic enabling / disabling of FD-CDM, some embodiments provide enhancements to DMRS AP signaling. For example, a new AP table may be defined for the "antenna port" field in DCI formats 1_1 and 1_2 to reduce signaling overhead when FD-CDM is disabled for the DMRS port of PDSCH / PUSCH. Specifically, Tables 3 and 4 are developed to more efficiently signal DMRS APs when FD-CDM is disabled.

[0124] Table 3 shows a two-bit table (eg, two bits for providing one of four values) with antenna ports of DMRS type 1 (1000+DMRS port) and a maximum length of one (eg, a DMRS sequence is transmitted by one symbol).

[0125]

[0126] Table 3

[0127] Table 4 shows a four-bit table (eg, four bits for providing one of 12 values, with four values ​​reserved) with antenna ports of DMRS type 1 (1000+DMRS port) and a maximum length of two (eg, a DRMS ​​sequence is transmitted by two symbols).

[0128]

[0129] Table 4

[0130] In developing Tables 3 and 4, the lowest DMRS port within a DMRS group is defined as the front port. Within a CDM group, ports other than the front port may be used in the case where the front port is used. For example, port 0 may be the front port of CDM group 0. Correspondingly, the indication "port 1" is not supported in the length 1 DMRS pattern of rank-1, as shown in Table 3.

[0131] If UE 104 receives a DCI with an AP field value set to 2 (eg, a bit value of

[10] ) for a length 1 DMRS pattern of rank 1, it may refer to Table 3 to determine that the base station will use DMRS port 2 to schedule data.

[0132] Disabling FD-CDM within the same CDM group for larger SCSs may degrade the peak data rate performance since up to two layers are supported for single-symbol DMRS and up to four layers are supported for dual-symbol DMRS. To address this, the following options may be considered.

[0133] In a first option, a new DMRS pattern for configuring Type 1 DMRS may be used such that a DMRS sequence associated with a single DMRS port is mapped to consecutive REs in the frequency domain (k,l)_p,u according to the following equation:

[0134] k=4n+k′+Δ, where k′=0,1; n=0,1,…; and Δ=0,1.

[0135] In the second option, the DMRS sequence can be mapped to the resource element (k, l)_p,u across the paired DMRS opportunities, which can be represented by Fig.16 The transmission resources 1600 are indexed by i=0,1 according to some embodiments and according to the following equation:

[0136] k = (4n + k' + Δ) mod 12, where

[0137]

[0138] n=0,1,…, and

[0139]

[0140] Table 5 shows the OCC (ω t (l′))), which can be applied to different antenna ports (p) and CDM groups.

[0141]

[0142] Table 5

[0143] Mapping DMRS sequences to REs as described with respect to the second option may support up to eight layers of data transmission.

[0144] With R representing the number of PDSCH / PUSCH layers, the position of a dual-symbol DMRS opportunity in a DMRS opportunity pair may be determined according to one of the following three options.

[0145] In the first option, only when for PDSCH mapping type A, data duration l d >9 and for PDSCH mapping type A, data duration l d PDSCH / PUSCH with R>4 is allowed only when R>7, as shown in Table 6 below.

[0146]

[0147]

[0148] Table 6

[0149] When for PDSCH mapping type A, data duration l d >9 or for PDSCH mapping type A, data duration l d >7 occurs, UE 104 may assume that the DMRS opportunity pair is for PDSCH / PUSCH. represents the first DMRS symbol of DMRS opportunity i, and is provided in Table 6 for PDSCH mapping type A / B The value of .

[0150] Fig.17 1700 is shown with a transmission resource 1704 having a DMRS pair 1704 according to some embodiments. Specifically, the transmission resource 1700 is shown for a transmission resource having a DMRS pair 1704. d = 8 PDSCH mapping type B DMRS position With this design, the paired dual-symbol DMRS timing is aligned with the first symbol Transfer together. Fig.16 The patterns in may be used for DMRS pairs.

[0151] A second option for determining the location of dual-symbol DMRS opportunities in a DMRS opportunity pair may be as follows: When R>4 is detected in a DCI format, the UE 104 may assume that DMRS opportunities entering consecutive PDSCHs or PUSCH opportunities scheduled by a single DCI format are aggregated together to form a DMRS opportunity pair.

[0152] Fig.18Transmission resources 1800 with DMRS pairing aggregated across consecutive PDSCH opportunities to support high RANK PDSCH transmissions according to some embodiments are shown. In this embodiment, the DCI may schedule two consecutive PDSCHs, namely PDSCH 1804 and PDSCH 1808.

[0153] Transmission resource 1800 provides an example of supporting R>4 for multiple PDSCH scheduling by utilizing double symbol front-loaded DMRS in two consecutive PDSCH transmissions 1804 and 1808. It may be noted that in some embodiments, Fig.16 The frequency-shifted DMRS pattern depicted in FIG. 1804 may be used in the DMRS pairs in PDSCH 1804 and 1808 .

[0154] For example, when there are additional DMRS opportunities in a single PDSCH transmission within multiple PDSCHs, the DMRS opportunity pair may be as described above with respect to Fig.18 The formation of DMRS opportunities within a single PDSCH transmission is described.

[0155] A third option for determining the location of a dual-symbol DMRS opportunity in a DMRS opportunity pair may be to increase the number of front-loaded DMRSs. For example, the number of front-loaded DMRSs may be increased to B symbols, where B>2, to enable R>4 transmissions. In some embodiments, for 480kHz SCS and 960kHz SCS, B=4 instead of 2, as described above with respect to Fig.18 shown.

[0156] Fig.19 An operational flow / algorithm structure 1900 is shown according to some embodiments. The operational flow / algorithm structure 1900 may be performed or implemented by a base station (e.g., base station 108, 112, or 2300); or a component thereof, such as baseband processor 2304A.

[0157] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1900 may include configuring a first type of USS on the PCell / PSCell at 1904. The first type of USS may be a type 1 USS, which may be used to transmit a PDCCH that schedules a PUSCH or PDSCH on the PCell / PSCell. The first type of USS may be a type 1 USS, which may be used to transmit a PDCCH that schedules a PUSCH or PDSCH on the PCell / PSCell.

[0158] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1900 may also include, at 1908, configuring a second type of USS on the sSCell. The second type of USS may be a type 2 USS, which may be used to transmit a PDCCH that schedules a PUSCH or PDSCH on a PCell / PSCell. The base station may configure a first type of USS and a second type of USS that share an SSS-ID with the same configuration parameters. The same parameters may include a CORESET index, a duration, a PDCCH BD candidate, a DCI format for monitoring, a PDCCH monitoring periodicity and offset, or a PDCCH monitoring span within a time slot. In some embodiments, the same parameters configured for the first type of USS and the second type of USS may enable the USS to be fully aligned in the time domain.

[0159] In some embodiments, the base station may configure the first type of USS and the second type of USS by explicitly configuring the first of the first / second type of USS and configuring the second of the first / second type of USS by association. For example, in the configuration of the first of the first / second type of USS, the base station may provide an indication that the first is associated with the second of the first / second type of USS. This may be accomplished by including a USS presence flag of the appropriate type in the configuration signaling.

[0160] Fig. 20 An operational flow / algorithm structure 2000 is shown according to some embodiments. The operational flow / algorithm structure 2000 may be performed or implemented by a UE (eg, UE 104 or 2200); or a component thereof such as the baseband processor 2204A.

[0161] The operational flow / algorithm structure 2000 may include, at 2004, determining a maximum number of BD candidates for a PCell or PScell. This value may be given as As discussed above.

[0162] The operational flow / algorithm structure 2000 may further include determining a number of BD candidates to be monitored for the Type 1 USS and the Type 2 USS, at 2008. The determined number of BD candidates to be monitored for the Type 1 USS and the Type 2 USS may be considered as a number of BD candidates to be monitored for a virtual component carrier including a portion of a primary component carrier where the Type 1 USS is located and a portion of a secondary component carrier where the Type 2 USS is located.

[0163] The operation flow / algorithm structure 2000 may also include: at 2012, determining whether an overrun occurs. The UE may determine whether an overrun occurs based on the maximum number of beams of the BD candidates of the PCell / PSCell and the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for type 1 USS and type 2 USS. In some embodiments, the UE may first determine the maximum number of BD candidates that can be monitored for USS on the virtual component carrier. This may be the maximum number of BD candidates of the PCell / PSCell minus the number of BD candidates to be monitored for the CSS. The UE may then compare the number of BD candidates to be monitored for type 1 USS and type 2 USS with the maximum number of BD candidates that can be monitored for USS. In some embodiments, such as those described above with respect to the second, third, and fourth options for determining whether a PDCCH overrun occurs, a scaling factor may be applied to the number of BD candidates to be monitored for type 1 USS; the number of BD candidates to be monitored for type 2 USS, the number of BD candidates to be monitored for both type 1 USS and type 2 USS, or the maximum number of BD candidates for type 1 USS or type 2 USS.

[0164] In some embodiments, the maximum number of BD candidates that may be monitored for a USS on a virtual component carrier may be determined based on a value derived from the sum of the maximum number of BD candidates for a PCell / PSCell multiplied by a first scaling factor and the maximum number of BD candidates for a SCell multiplied by a second scaling factor, where the sum of the first scaling factor and the second scaling factor is less than or equal to 1. For example, the maximum number of BD candidates that may be monitored for a Type 1 / Type 2 USS may then be equal to this value minus the number of BD candidates to be monitored for a CSS on a PCell / PSCell.

[0165] If it is determined at 2012 that an overrun has occurred, the operational flow / algorithm structure 2000 may proceed to selecting a PDCCH BD candidate for monitoring from a subset of type 1 USS and type 2 USS based on a priority rule at 2016. The priority rule may be configured by RRC signaling as part of the search space configuration, or it may be predefined in the 3GPP TS. In some embodiments, the USS that is actively monitored may be a prioritized USS. Within a specific USS type, the search space set may be prioritized based on its index, where a lower index is associated with a higher priority. When an overrun occurs, the UE may exclude BD candidates from a number of lowest priority USSs required to prevent an overrun condition.

[0166] If it is determined at 2012 that an overrun does not occur, then the operational flow / algorithm structure 2000 may proceed to selecting, at 2020, a PDCCH BD candidate from among all Type 1 USSs and Type 2 USSs for monitoring.

[0167] After 2016 or 2020, the operation flow / algorithm structure may proceed to monitoring the selected PDCCH BD candidates.

[0168] Fig.21 An operational flow / algorithm structure 2100 is shown according to some embodiments. The operational flow / algorithm structure 2100 may be performed or implemented by a base station (eg, base station 108, 112, or 2300); or a component thereof, such as baseband processor 2304A.

[0169] The operational flow / algorithm structure 2100 may include identifying an SCS for reference signal transmission at 2104. The SCS may be a 120 kHZ SCS, a 480 kHZ SCS, a 960 kHZ SCS, or some other SCS.

[0170] The operational flow / algorithm structure 2100 may also include determining whether FD-CDM is enabled for the identified SCS at 2108. FD-CDM may be disabled for higher SCS configurations (e.g., 480 kHZ SCS or 960 kHZ CS or based on channel conditions).

[0171] The operational flow / algorithm structure 2100 may also include, at 2112, mapping reference signals to resource elements based on whether FD-CDM is enabled for the identified SCS. The mapping of reference signals to resource elements may be similar to that described above with respect to Figures 16 to 19 The mapping described.

[0172] The operational flow / algorithm structure 2100 may also include: at 2116, transmitting a reference signal.

[0173] In some embodiments, the base station may provide an indication to the UE whether FD-CDM is enabled for the SCS. This may be via scheduling (or some other) DCI, system information, RRC signaling, MAC CE, or some combination thereof.

[0174] Fig. 22 UE 2200 according to some embodiments is shown. UE 2200 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 104 and is substantially interchangeable therewith.

[0175] UE 2200 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet computer, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a carbon dioxide sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, a laser scanner, a fluid level sensor, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, an actuator, etc.), a video surveillance / monitoring device (e.g., a camera, a camcorder, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), an Internet of Things device.

[0176] UE 2200 may include a processor 2204, an RF interface circuit 2208, a memory / storage device 2212, a user interface 2216, a sensor 2220, a driving circuit 2222, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 2224, an antenna structure 2226, and a battery 2228. The components of UE 2200 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), a portion of an integrated circuit, a discrete electronic device or other module, logical component, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. Fig. 22 The block diagram of UE 2200 is intended to show a high-level view of some of the components of UE 2200. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0177] Components of UE 2200 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 2232, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc., which allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

[0178] The processor 2204 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 2204A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 2204B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 2204C. The processor 2204 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program codes, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 2212) to cause the UE 2200 to perform operations as described herein.

[0179] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuit 2204A can access the communication protocol stack 2236 in the memory / storage device 2212 to communicate through a 3GPP compatible network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 2204A can access the communication protocol stack to perform the following operations: perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access layer. In some embodiments, the PHY layer operations can be additionally / alternatively performed by components of the RF interface circuit 2208.

[0180] The baseband processor circuit 2204A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in a 3GPP-compatible network. In some embodiments, the waveforms used for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0181] The memory / storage 2212 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions (e.g., the communication protocol stack 2236) that may be executed by one or more processors in the processor 2204 to enable the UE 2200 to perform various operations described herein. The memory / storage 2212 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 2200. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage 2212 may be located on the processor 2204 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage 2212 is located outside the processor 2204 but is accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 2212 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0182] The RF interface circuit 2208 may include a transceiver circuit and a radio frequency front end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 2200 to communicate with other devices through a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 2208 may include various elements arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, control circuits, etc.

[0183] In the receive path, the RFEM may receive the radiated signal from the air interface via the antenna structure 2226 and proceed to filter and amplify the signal (using a low noise amplifier). The signal may be provided to the transceiver's receiver, which converts the RF signal down to a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of the processor 2204.

[0184] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides an RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before the signal is radiated across the air interface via the antenna 2226.

[0185] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit 2208 may be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0186] Antenna 2226 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and convert received radio waves into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 2226 may have an antenna panel that is omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to achieve beamforming and multiple input / multiple output communications. Antenna 2226 may include a microstrip antenna, a printed antenna manufactured on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, a patch antenna, a phased array antenna, etc. Antenna 2226 may have one or more panels that are designed for a specific frequency band included in a band in FR1 or FR2.

[0187] The user interface circuit 2216 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with the UE 2200. The user interface circuit 2216 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit includes any physical or virtual device for accepting input, and in particular includes one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., reset button), physical keyboard, keypad, mouse, touch pad, touch screen, microphone, scanner, headset, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual device for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuit may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, in particular including one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators (such as light emitting diodes LED) and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs, such as display devices or touch screens (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCD), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the UE 2200.

[0188] Sensors 2220 may include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in their environment, and to send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit including an accelerometer, gyroscope, or magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system or nanoelectromechanical system including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, or a magnetometer; a liquid level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.); a depth sensor; an ambient light sensor; an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; etc.

[0189] The driver circuit 2222 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in the UE 2200, attached to the UE 1100, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 2200. The driver circuit 2222 may include various drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 2200. For example, the driver circuit 2222 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensor circuit 2220 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 2220, a driver for obtaining an actuator position of an electromechanical component or controlling and allowing access to an electromechanical component, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0190] The PMIC 2224 may manage the power provided to various components of the UE 2200. Specifically, with respect to the processor 2204, the PMIC 2224 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0191] In some embodiments, the PMIC 2224 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 2200, including DRX, as discussed herein.

[0192] The battery 2228 can power the UE 2200, but in some examples, the UE 2200 can be installed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 2228 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 2228 can be a typical lead-acid car battery.

[0193] Fig.23 2 shows a base station 2300 according to some embodiments. The base station 2300 may be similar to Figure 1 base station 108 or 112 and are substantially interchangeable therewith.

[0194] Base station 2300 may include a processor 2304 , an RF interface circuit 2308 , a core network (CN) interface circuit 2312 , a memory / storage device circuit 2316 , and an antenna structure 2326 .

[0195] Components of base station 2300 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 2328 .

[0196] The processor 2304, RF interface circuit 2308, memory / storage circuit 2316 (including communication protocol stack 2310), antenna structure 2326 and interconnect 2328 may be similar to those of reference Fig.10 Like named elements are shown and described.

[0197] The CN interface circuit 2312 may provide connectivity to a core network, e.g., a 5th generation core network (5GC) using a 5GC-compatible network interface protocol, such as a carrier Ethernet protocol, or some other suitable protocol. Network connectivity may be provided to / from the base station 2300 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit 2312 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN controller circuit 2312 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0198] In some embodiments, the base station 2300 may be coupled to a transmit receive point (TRP) using antenna structures 2326, CN interface circuits, or other interface circuits.

[0199] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining 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 the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0200] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the following example section. For example, the baseband circuit described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the following examples. For another example, the circuits associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the example section below.

[0201] Example

[0202] In the following sections, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0203] Embodiment 1 includes a method for operating a base station, the method comprising: configuring a first type of user equipment (UE) specific search space (USS) on a primary service cell (PCell) or a primary secondary cell (PSCell) for scheduling data in the PCell or the PSCell; and configuring a second type of USS on a scheduling secondary cell (sSCell) for scheduling data in the PCell or the PSCell, wherein the first type of USS and the second type of USS are configured with the same search space set (SSS) identifier (ID) and the same configuration parameters.

[0204] Embodiment 2 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the same configuration parameters include a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring periodicity and an offset or a PDCCH monitoring span within a time slot.

[0205] Embodiment 3 includes the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the same configuration parameters completely align monitoring opportunities for the first type of USS and the second type of USS in the time domain.

[0206] Embodiment 4 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein configuring the first type USS and the second type USS comprises: transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) signal to a user equipment (UE) to configure a first one of the first type USS or the second type USS, wherein the RRC signal comprises a flag for indicating the presence of a second one of the first type USS or the second type USS associated with the first one.

[0207] Embodiment 5 includes a method for operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information to configure a first UE-specific search space (USS), the first USS being the first of the following: a first type of USS configured on a primary serving cell (PCell) or a primary secondary cell (PSCell) for scheduling data in the PCell or the PSCell; or a second type of USS configured on a scheduling secondary cell (sSCell) for scheduling data in the PCell or the PSCell; determining a configuration of a second USS based on the configuration information, the second USS being the second of the first type of USS or the second type of USS.

[0208] Embodiment 6 includes a method according to embodiment 5 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the configuration information includes a flag for indicating the presence of the second USS.

[0209] Embodiment 7 includes a method according to embodiment 5 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the first USS is a default USS and the second USS is a non-default USS, and the method further includes: determining whether a trigger condition exists; if the trigger condition does not exist, monitoring the default USS for downlink control information; and if the trigger condition exists, monitoring the non-default USS for downlink control information.

[0210] Embodiment 8 includes the method according to embodiment 7 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: when the default USS is in an uplink timeslot, determining that the trigger condition exists.

[0211] Embodiment 9 includes the method according to embodiment 7 or some other embodiment of the present invention, and also includes: detecting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission in the default USS of the first time slot, the PDCCH transmission including a mark; and determining based on the mark that the trigger condition exists in one or more symbols after the last symbol of the PDCCH transmission.

[0212] Embodiment 10 includes a method according to embodiment 9 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the PDCCH transmission includes downlink control information (DCI), and the marker is: a sequence for scrambling cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits of the DCI; or one or more bits in a field of the DCI.

[0213] Embodiment 11 includes the method according to embodiment 7 or some other embodiment of the present invention, and also includes: determining that the trigger condition exists; setting a timer based on the determination that the trigger condition exists; and determining that the trigger condition no longer exists when the timer expires.

[0214] Embodiment 12 includes the method according to embodiment 7 or some other embodiment of the present invention, and also includes: detecting downlink control information (DCI) in a common search space, the DCI including a mark; and determining the presence of the trigger condition based on the mark.

[0215] Embodiment 13 includes the method according to embodiment 12 or some other embodiment of the present invention, further comprising: receiving an indication of a field index via radio resource control (RRC) or medium access control (MAC) signaling; and detecting the tag in the DCI based on the field index.

[0216] Embodiment 14 includes a method according to embodiment 12 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the DCI includes DCI format 2_6 received in a discontinuous reception (DRX) active time.

[0217] Embodiment 15 includes a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: determining a maximum number of blind decoding (BD) candidates for a primary service cell (PCell) or a primary secondary service cell (PSCell); determining a number of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) BD candidates to be monitored for a type 1 UE-specific search space (USS) and a type 2 USS, wherein the type 1 USS is configured on a scheduling secondary cell (sSCell) for scheduling data in the PCell or the PSCell, and the type 2 USS is configured on the PCell or the PSCell for scheduling data on the PCell or the PSCell; and determining whether an overlimit occurs based on the maximum number of BD candidates and the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the type 1 USS and the type 2 USS.

[0218] Embodiment 16 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiment of the present invention, wherein the PCell or the PSCell is configured with a first subcarrier spacing (SCS), the sSCell is configured with a second subcarrier spacing (SCS), and the method further includes: determining the maximum number of BD candidates based on the lower SCS of the first SCS and the second SCS.

[0219] Embodiment 17 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiment of the present invention, wherein the maximum number is a first maximum number and the method further includes: determining a second maximum number of BD candidates for the sSCell; and determining a third maximum number of BD candidates for the virtual component carrier based on the sum of the first maximum number multiplied by a first scaling factor and the second maximum number multiplied by a second scaling factor, wherein the first scaling factor plus the second scaling factor is less than or equal to one.

[0220] Embodiment 18 includes the user equipment according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiment of the present invention, and further includes: determining that PDCCH overlimit is not allowed for PDCCH monitoring for the sSCell; determining that PDCCH overlimit is not allowed for the common search space on the PCell or the PSCell; or determining that PDCCH overlimit is not allowed for type 1 USS or type 2 USS.

[0221] Embodiment 19 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiment of the present invention, wherein the method further includes: determining the number of PDCCH candidates that can be used for type 1 USS and type 2 USS without exceeding the limit by subtracting the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for a common search space (CSS) from the maximum number of BD candidates for the PCell or the PSCell.

[0222] Embodiment 20 includes a method according to embodiment 19 or some other embodiment herein, wherein determining whether an overlimit occurs includes: determining that an overlimit occurs based on determining that a first value is greater than the number of PDCCH candidates that can be used for type 1 USS and type 2 USS without overlimit, wherein the first value includes: the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the type 1 CSS and the type 2 CSS; the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the type 1 CSS plus the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the type 2 CSS multiplied by a scaling factor; the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the type 2 CSS plus the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the type 1 CSS multiplied by a scaling factor; the scaling factor multiplied by the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the type 1 CSS and the type 2 CSS; or a maximum value selected from the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the type 1 CSS and the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the type 2 CSS.

[0223] Embodiment 21 includes the method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: determining that an overrun occurs; and selecting one or more PDCCH BD candidates that are not to be monitored based on a priority rule based on the determination that an overrun occurs.

[0224] Embodiment 22 includes a method according to embodiment 21 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the priority rule is configured or predefined by radio resource control signaling.

[0225] Embodiment 23 includes a method according to embodiment 21 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the priority rule: prioritizes PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for type 2 USS over PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for type 1 USS; prioritizes PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for either type 1 USS or type 2 USS that the UE actively monitors over PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for either type 1 USS or type 2 USS that the UE does not actively monitor.

[0226] Embodiment 24 includes a method according to embodiment 21 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the priority rule: prioritizes PDCCHD candidates of a first type of USS with a relatively lower index over PDCCHD candidates of the first type of USS with a relatively higher index, wherein the first type is type 1 USS or type 2 USS.

[0227] Embodiment 25 includes a method for operating a base station, the method comprising: identifying a subcarrier spacing (SCS) for reference signal transmission; determining whether frequency domain (FD)-code division multiplexing (CDM) is enabled for the SCS; mapping the reference signal to a resource element based on whether FD-CDM is enabled; and transmitting the reference signal.

[0228] Embodiment 26 includes a method according to embodiment 25 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the reference signal is a demodulation reference signal or a channel state information reference signal.

[0229] Embodiment 27 includes the method according to embodiment 25 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: accessing predefined SCS configuration information; and determining whether to enable FD-CDM for the SCS based on the predefined SCS configuration information.

[0230] Embodiment 28 includes a method according to embodiment 27 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the SCS configuration information is used to indicate that FD-CDM is disabled for an SCS configuration set including an SCS configuration with a 480 kilohertz (KHz) or 960 KHz SCS.

[0231] Embodiment 29 includes the method according to embodiment 25 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: transmitting SCS configuration information in a system information message or radio resource control (RRC) signaling, the SCS configuration information being used to indicate whether FD-CDM is enabled for the SCS.

[0232] Embodiment 30 includes a method according to embodiment 25 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: transmitting SCS configuration information in a bitmap of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), the bitmap including a value corresponding to the SCS and indicating whether FD-CDM is enabled for the SCS.

[0233] Embodiment 31 includes a method according to embodiment 25 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: transmitting downlink control information (DCI) having an indication of whether FD-CDM is enabled for the SCS, wherein the indication is a sequence for scrambling a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bit of the DCI or one or more bits in a field of the DCI.

[0234] Embodiment 32 includes a method according to embodiment 25 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: transmitting downlink control information (DCI) including a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) antenna port indication, wherein the DMRS antenna port indication refers to a first table if FD-CDM is enabled or refers to a second table if FD-CDM is not enabled, wherein the first table is larger than the second table.

[0235] Embodiment 33 includes a method as described in embodiment 32 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the second table includes only the front antenna ports.

[0236] Embodiment 34 comprises a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: mapping a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence associated with a single DMRS port to consecutive resource elements in a frequency domain; and transmitting the DMRS sequence.

[0237] Embodiment 35 includes the method according to embodiment 34 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: transmitting the DMRS sequence via frequency domain code division multiplexing (FD-CDM).

[0238] Embodiment 36 includes the method according to embodiment 34 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: mapping DMRS sequences associated with different DMRS ports to consecutive resource elements in the time domain using orthogonal cover codes; and transmitting the DMRS sequence.

[0239] Embodiment 37 includes the method according to embodiment 34 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: transmitting four data layers associated with the DMRS sequence.

[0240] Embodiment 38 comprises a method of operating a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: mapping a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence to resource elements across paired DMRS opportunities; and transmitting the DMRS sequence.

[0241] Embodiment 39 includes a method according to embodiment 38 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the mapping DMRS sequence includes: mapping the DMRS sequences associated with the first and second antenna ports to a first resource element in a first DMRS opportunity of the paired DMRS opportunity and a second resource element in a second DMRS opportunity of the paired DMRS opportunity, wherein the first resource element is adjacent in the time domain, the second resource element is adjacent in the time domain, and the second resource element is offset from the first resource element in the frequency domain.

[0242] Embodiment 40 includes a method according to embodiment 39 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the second resource element is offset by two subcarriers.

[0243] Embodiment 41 includes the method according to embodiment 39 or some other embodiment of the present invention, and also includes: encoding the DMRS sequence mapped to the first resource element and the DMRS sequence mapped to the second resource element by a first pair of orthogonal cover codes.

[0244] Embodiment 42 includes the method according to embodiment 39 or some other embodiment of the present invention, and also includes: determining the length of the data duration in the symbol; determining the physical data shared channel (PDSCH) mapping type; and determining the time domain separation between the first DMRS opportunity and the second DMRS opportunity based on the length and the PDSCH mapping type.

[0245] Embodiment 43 includes the method according to embodiment 39 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: detecting downlink control information (DCI) to schedule a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and a second PDSCH, wherein the second PDSCH is continuous with the first PDSCH in the time domain, and the first resource element is in the first two symbols of the first PDSCH, and the second resource element is in the first two symbols of the second PDSCH.

[0246] Embodiment 44 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 43, or any other method or process described herein.

[0247] Embodiment 45 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when one or more processors of an electronic device execute the instructions, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 43 or any other method or process described herein.

[0248] Embodiment 46 may include an apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of a method as described or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 43, or any other method or process described herein.

[0249] Example 47 may include a method, technique or process as described or related to any one of Examples 1 to 43, or a portion or component thereof.

[0250] Embodiment 48 may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 43, or a portion thereof.

[0251] Embodiment 49 may include a signal as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 43, or a portion or component thereof.

[0252] Embodiment 50 may include a datagram, information element, packet, frame, fragment, PDU or message, or a portion or component thereof, as described or associated with any of Embodiments 1 to 43 or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0253] Embodiment 51 may include a signal encoded with data as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 43 or otherwise described in this disclosure, or a portion or component thereof.

[0254] Embodiment 52 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message, or a portion or component thereof, as described in accordance with or in connection with any of Embodiments 1 to 43 or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0255] Embodiment 53 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 43, or a portion thereof.

[0256] Embodiment 54 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 43.

[0257] Embodiment 55 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0258] Embodiment 56 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0259] Embodiment 57 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0260] Embodiment 58 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0261] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings or may be obtained from the practice of the various embodiments.

[0262] 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 method for operating a base station, the method comprising: configuring a first type of user equipment (UE) specific search space (USS) on a primary serving cell (PCell) or a primary secondary cell (PSCell) for scheduling data in the PCell or the PSCell; as well as A second type USS is configured on a scheduling secondary cell (sSCell) for scheduling data in the PCell or the PSCell, wherein the first type USS and the second type USS are configured with the same search space set (SSS) identifier (ID) and the same configuration parameters.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the same configuration parameters include a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring periodicity and an offset or a PDCCH monitoring span within a time slot. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the same configuration parameters enable monitoring opportunities for the first type of USS and the second type of USS to be fully aligned in the time domain.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein configuring the first type USS and the second type USS comprises: A radio resource control (RRC) signal is transmitted to a user equipment (UE) to configure a first one of the first type USS or the second type USS, wherein the RRC signal includes a flag for indicating the presence of a second one of the first type USS or the second type USS associated with the first one.

5. One or more computer-readable media having instructions which, when executed, cause a user equipment (UE) to: Receiving configuration information to configure a first UE-specific search space (USS), the first USS being a first one of: a first type USS configured on a primary serving cell (PCell) or a primary secondary cell (PSCell) for scheduling data in the PCell or the PSCell; or a second type USS on a scheduling secondary cell (sSCell) for scheduling data in the PCell or the PSCell; Configuration of a second USS is determined based on the configuration information, the second USS being a second one of the first type USS or the second type USS.

6. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein the configuration information includes a flag for indicating the presence of the second USS.

7. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 5 or 6, wherein the first USS is a default USS and the second USS is a non-default USS, and the instructions when executed further cause the UE to: determining whether a triggering condition exists; If the trigger condition does not exist, monitoring the default USS for downlink control information; as well as If the triggering condition exists, the non-default USS is monitored for downlink control information.

8. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: When the default USS is in an uplink timeslot, it is determined that the trigger condition exists.

9. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: detecting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission in the default USS of a first time slot, the PDCCH transmission comprising a signature; and The trigger condition is determined to exist in one or more symbols after the last symbol of the PDCCH transmission based on the flag.

10. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 9, wherein the PDCCH transmission includes downlink control information (DCI), and the marker is: a sequence for scrambling cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits of the DCI; or one or more bits in a field of the DCI.

11. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: determining that the trigger condition exists; setting a timer based on the determining that the triggering condition exists; and It is determined that the triggering condition no longer exists upon expiration of the timer.

12. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: detecting downlink control information (DCI) in a common search space, the DCI comprising a flag; and A determination is made based on the flag that the trigger condition exists.

13. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: receiving an indication of a field index via radio resource control (RRC) or medium access control (MAC) signaling; and The flag in the DCI is detected based on the field index.

14. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising: A memory, wherein the memory is used to store search space configuration information; and A processing circuit, the processing circuit is coupled to the memory, and the processing circuit is used to: Determine a maximum number of blind decoding (BD) candidates for a primary serving cell (PCell) or a primary secondary serving cell (PSCell); determining, based on the search space configuration information, a number of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) BD candidates to be monitored for a type 1 UE-specific search space (USS) and a type 2 USS, wherein the type 1 USS is configured on a scheduling secondary cell (sSCell) for scheduling data in the PCell or the PSCell, and the type 2 USS is configured on the PCell or the PSCell for scheduling data on the PCell or the PSCell; as well as Whether an overlimit occurs is determined based on the maximum number of BD candidates and the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the type-1 USS and the type-2 USS.

15. The UE according to claim 14, wherein the PCell or the PSCell is configured with a first subcarrier spacing (SCS), the sSCell is configured with a second subcarrier spacing (SCS), and the processing circuit is further configured to: The maximum number of BD candidates is determined based on a lower SCS of the first SCS and the second SCS.

16. The UE of claim 14, wherein the maximum number is a first maximum number and the processing circuit is further configured to: determining a second maximum number of BD candidates for the sSCell; and A third maximum number of BD candidates for the virtual component carrier is determined based on a sum of the first maximum number multiplied by a first scaling factor and the second maximum number multiplied by a second scaling factor, wherein the first scaling factor plus the second scaling factor is less than or equal to one.

17. The UE according to claim 14, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: Determining that PDCCH monitoring for the sSCell does not allow PDCCH overlimit; Determine that PDCCH overrun is not allowed for a common search space on the PCell or the PSCell; or It is determined that PDCCH overrun is not allowed for type 1 USS or type 2 USS.

18. The UE according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: The number of PDCCH candidates available for Type 1 USS and Type 2 USS without overrun is determined by subtracting the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for a common search space (CSS) from the maximum number of BD candidates for the PCell or the PSCell.

19. The UE of claim 18, wherein determining whether an overrun occurs comprises: An overrun is determined to have occurred based on determining that the first value is greater than the number of PDCCH candidates available for type 1 USSs and type 2 USSs without overrun.

20. The UE of claim 19, wherein the first value comprises: said number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for said Type-1 CSS and said Type-2 CSS; The number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the Type 1 CSS plus the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the Type 2 CSS multiplied by a scaling factor; The number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the Type 2 CSS plus the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the Type 1 CSS multiplied by a scaling factor; A scaling factor multiplied by the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the Type 1 CSS and the Type 2 CSS; or is selected from a maximum value of the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the Type-1 CSS and the number of PDCCH BD candidates to be monitored for the Type-2 CSS.

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