Avoid repeated monitoring opportunities for monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques for identifying measurement opportunities (MOs) for monitoring and avoiding monitoring for downlink channel repetitions. An example method generally includes: determining that a UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO associated with a first control resource set (CORESET) during a monitoring opportunity (MO) duration associated with decoding a number of physical downlink control channels (PDCCH) repetitions, wherein the MO duration includes multiple MOs in which the UE will monitor repeated PDCCH candidates; avoiding monitoring a first subset of MOs in the MO duration based on the determination; and monitoring a second subset of MOs during the MO duration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques for identifying monitoring opportunities for physical downlink control (PDCCH) channel repetitions to avoid monitoring. Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access systems include 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, Advanced LTE (LTE-A) systems, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) systems, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems, and Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA) systems, to name a few.

[0003] In some examples, a wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple base stations (BS), each of which is capable of simultaneously supporting communications for multiple communication devices (also referred to as user equipment (UE)). In an LTE or LTE-A network, a set of one or more base stations may define an evolved Node B (eNB). In other examples (e.g., in a next generation, new radio (NR) or 5G network), a wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple distributed units (DU) (e.g., edge units (EU), edge nodes (EN), radio heads (RH), smart radio heads (SRH), transmit receive points (TRP), etc.) communicating with multiple central units (CU) (e.g., central nodes (CN), access node controllers (ANC), etc.), wherein a set of one or more distributed units communicating with a central unit may define an access node (e.g., which may be referred to as a base station, 5GNB, next generation Node B (gNB or next generation Node B), TRP, etc.). A base station or distributed unit may communicate with a set of UEs on downlink channels (eg, for transmissions from the base station or distributed unit to the UE) and uplink channels (eg, for transmissions from the UE to the base station or distributed unit).

[0004] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at a city, country, region, and even global level. New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G) is an example of an emerging telecommunication standard. NR is an enhancement set to the LTE mobile standard released by 3GPP. NR is designed to better integrate with other open standards by improving spectrum efficiency, reducing costs, improving services, utilizing new spectrum, and using OFDMA with cyclic prefix (CP) on the downlink (DL) and on the uplink (UL), thereby better supporting mobile broadband Internet access. To this end, NR supports beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation.

[0005] However, as the demand for mobile broadband access continues to grow, there is a need for further improvements to NR and LTE technologies. Preferably, these improvements should be applicable to other multiple access technologies and the telecommunication standards that employ them. Summary of the invention

[0006] The systems, methods, and devices of the present disclosure each have several aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the present disclosure as expressed by the claims, some features will now be briefly discussed. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled "Detailed Description of the Invention," one will understand how the features of the present disclosure provide advantages including improved communication between access points and stations in a wireless network.

[0007] Certain aspects provide a method for wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE). The method generally includes: determining that during a monitoring opportunity (MO) duration associated with decoding a number of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetitions, the UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO associated with a first control resource set (CORESET), wherein the MO duration includes a plurality of MOs in which the UE is to monitor repeated PDCCH candidates; based on the determination, avoiding monitoring a first subset of MOs in the MO duration; and monitoring a second subset of MOs during the MO duration.

[0008] Aspects of the present disclosure provide units, devices, processors and computer-readable media for performing the methods described herein.

[0009] To achieve the above and related ends, one or more aspects include the features fully described below and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the accompanying drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of one or more aspects. However, these features are merely indicative of several different ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] In order that the manner in which the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description briefly summarized above may be had by various aspects, some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the accompanying drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the description may admit to other equally effective aspects.

[0011] Figure 1 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example telecommunications system in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example logical architecture of a distributed radio access network (RAN) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example physical architecture of a distributed RAN in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 4 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating designs of example base stations (BSs) and user equipment (UEs) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example for implementing a communication protocol stack in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 6 An example of a frame format for a New Radio (NR) system is shown in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0017] Figure 7 It is shown how different synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) may be sent using different beams in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 8 Exemplary transmission resource mappings in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0019] Fig. 9 An example quasi-co-located (QCL) relationship is shown in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0020] Fig.10 An example of using a control resource set (CORESET) for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetition is shown in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0021] Fig.11 An example of quasi-co-located (QCL) conflicts in overlapping monitoring opportunities (MOs) in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Fig.12

[0013] Example operations performed by a network entity for wireless communications in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0023] Fig.13 Examples of avoiding monitoring a monitoring opportunity (MO) in an MO duration based on determining that a UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO in the MO duration are shown in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0024] Fig.14 Examples of avoiding monitoring one or more monitoring occasions (MOs) in an MO duration based on determining that a UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO in the MO duration are shown in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0025] Fig.15 An example of avoiding monitoring a conflicting MO in a monitoring opportunity (MO) duration and reordering remaining MOs in the MO duration based on determining that the UE should avoid monitoring a conflicting MO in the MO duration in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] Fig.16 An example of avoiding monitoring a monitoring opportunity (MO) based on a quasi-co-location (QCL) type associated with the MO that the UE should avoid monitoring is shown in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure.

[0027] Fig.17 An example of grouping MOs in a later monitoring opportunity (MO) duration with MOs in a current MO duration based on determining that a UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO in a current MO duration in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in one aspect may be beneficially utilized on other aspects without specific recitation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, devices, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for quasi-co-located (QCL) reference signals for uplink transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states.

[0030] The following description provides examples without limiting the scope, applicability or examples set forth in the claims. Without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the functions and arrangements of the elements discussed may be changed. Various examples may omit, replace or add various processes or components as appropriate. For example, the described method may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted or combined. In addition, the features described with respect to some examples may be combined in some other examples. For example, a device may be implemented, or the method may be practiced using any number of aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods that use other structures, functionality or structures and functionality in addition to or different from the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims. The term "exemplary" is used herein to refer to "as an example, instance or illustration". Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily understood to be preferred or advantageous over other aspects.

[0031] The technology described herein can be used for various wireless communication technologies, such as LTE, CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA and other networks. The terms "network" and "system" are generally used interchangeably. A CDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), cdma2000, etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. A TDMA network can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDMA network can implement radio technologies such as NR (e.g., 5G RA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash OFDMA, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).

[0032] New Radio (NR) is an emerging wireless communication technology being developed in conjunction with the 5G Technology Forum (5GTF). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Advanced LTE (LTE-A) are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents of an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). Cdma2000 and UMB are described in documents of an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The technology described herein can be used for the above-mentioned wireless networks and radio technologies as well as other wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, although various aspects may be described herein using terms commonly associated with 3G and / or 4G wireless technologies, various aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to other communication systems based on generations, such as 5G and higher versions, including NR technology.

[0033] New Radio (NR) access (e.g., 5G technology) can support various wireless communication services, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) for wider bandwidth (e.g., 80 MHz or above), millimeter wave (mmW) for high carrier frequency (e.g., 25 GHz or above), massive machine type communication MTC (mMTC) for non-backward compatible MTC technology, and / or mission critical ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). These services may include latency and reliability requirements. These services may also have different transmission time intervals (TTIs) to meet corresponding quality of service (QoS) requirements. In addition, these services can coexist in the same subframe.

[0034] Example Wireless Communication System

[0035] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network 100 (e.g., an NR / 5G network) is shown in which aspects of the present disclosure may be performed. For example, the wireless network 100 may include a UE 120 configured to perform Fig.10 Operation 1200 of identifying an MO within a monitoring opportunity (MO) duration to avoid monitoring. Similarly, the base station 110 (e.g., gNB) can be configured to send a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in one or more repetitions for the UE 120 to attempt to decode in an MO other than the MO identified to avoid monitoring.

[0036] like Figure 1As shown, the wireless network 100 may include multiple base stations (BS) 110 and other network entities. A BS may be a site that communicates with a user equipment (UE). Each BS 110 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. In 3GPP, the term "cell" may refer to the coverage area of ​​a Node B (NB) and / or a Node B subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In the NR system, the term "cell" and the next generation Node B (gNB), new radio base station (NRBS), 5G NB, access point (AP) or transmission reception point (TRP) may be interchangeable. In some examples, the cell may not necessarily be fixed, and the geographical area of ​​the cell may move according to the location of the mobile BS. In some examples, the base station may be connected to each other and / or to one or more other base stations or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless communication network 100 using any suitable transmission network through various types of backhaul interfaces, such as direct physical connections, wireless connections, virtual networks, etc.

[0037] Generally, any number of wireless networks can be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network can support a specific radio access technology (RAT) and can operate on one or more frequencies. RAT can also be referred to as radio technology, air interface, etc. Frequency can also be referred to as carrier, subcarrier, frequency channel, tone, subband, etc. Each frequency can support a single RAT in a given geographic area to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks can be deployed.

[0038] A base station (BS) may provide communication coverage for macro cells, pico cells, femto cells, and / or other types of cells. A macro cell may cover a larger geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access to UEs with service subscriptions. A pico cell may cover a smaller geographic area and may allow unrestricted access to UEs with service subscriptions. A femto cell may cover a relatively smaller geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access to UEs associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs of home users, etc.). A BS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In Figure 1 In the example shown, BSs 110a, 110b, and 110c may be macro BSs for macro cells 102a, 102b, and 102c, respectively. BS 110x may be a pico BS for pico cell 102x. BSs 110y and 110z may be femto BSs for femto cells 102y and 102z, respectively. A BS may support one or more (e.g., three) cells.

[0039] The wireless communication network 100 may also include a relay station. A relay station is a station that receives transmissions of data and / or other information from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or UE) and sends transmissions of data and / or other information to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or BS). A relay station may also be a UE that relays transmissions for other UEs. Figure 1 In the illustrated example, a relay station 110r may communicate with the BS 110a and the UE 120r to facilitate communication between the BS 110a and the UE 120r. A relay station may also be referred to as a relay BS, a relay, or the like.

[0040] The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network including different types of BSs, such as macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, repeaters, etc. These different types of BSs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different effects on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, a macro BS may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 20 watts), while a pico BS, a femto BS, and a repeater may have a low transmit power level (e.g., 1 watt).

[0041] The wireless communication network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the BSs may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may be roughly aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the BSs may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different BSs may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for both synchronous and asynchronous operation.

[0042] A network controller 130 may couple to a set of BSs and provide coordination and control for these BSs. The network controller 130 may communicate with the BSs 110 via a backhaul. The BSs 110 may also communicate with each other (eg, directly or indirectly) via a wireless or wired backhaul.

[0043] UEs 120 (eg, 120x, 120y, etc.) may be dispersed throughout wireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. UE may also be referred to as a mobile station, a terminal, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a site, customer premises equipment (CPE), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet computer, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a home appliance, a medical device or medical equipment, a biosensor / device, a wearable device such as a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring, a smart bracelet, etc.), an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, a satellite radio, etc.), a vehicle-mounted component or sensor, a smart meter / sensor, an industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, a gaming device, an augmented reality device (augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR), or virtual reality (VR)), or any other suitable device configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

[0044] Some UEs may be considered as machine type communication (MTC) devices or evolved MTC (eMTC) devices. For example, MTC and eMTC UEs include robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, location tags, etc., which may communicate with a BS, another device (e.g., a remote device), or some other entity. For example, a wireless node may provide connectivity to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as the Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which may be narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) devices.

[0045] Some wireless networks (e.g., LTE) utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) on the downlink and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) on the uplink. OFDM and SC-FDM divide the system bandwidth into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as tones, frequency bins, etc. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Typically, modulation symbols are sent in the frequency domain using OFDM and in the time domain using SC-FDM. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system bandwidth. For example, the spacing between subcarriers can be 15kHz, and the minimum resource allocation (called a "resource block" (RB)) can be 12 subcarriers (or 180kHz). Therefore, for system bandwidths of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 megahertz (MHz), the nominal fast Fourier transform (FFT) size can be equal to 128, 256, 512, 1024, or 2048, respectively. The system bandwidth can also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband may cover 1.08 MHz (ie, 6 resource blocks), and a system bandwidth of 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, or 20 MHz may have 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands, respectively.

[0046] Although aspects of the examples described herein may be associated with LTE technology, aspects of the present disclosure may be applicable to other wireless communication systems, such as NR. NR may utilize OFDM with CP on uplink and downlink, and include support for half-duplex operation using TDD. Beamforming may be supported, and the beam direction may be dynamically configured. Precoded MIMO transmissions may also be supported. MIMO configurations in the DL may support up to 8 transmit antennas, with up to 8 streams per UE and multi-layer DL transmissions of up to 2 streams. Multi-layer transmissions of up to 2 streams per UE may be supported. Aggregation of multiple cells may be supported by up to 8 serving cells.

[0047] In some scenarios, air interface access can be scheduled. For example, a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station (BS), Node B, eNB, gNB, etc.) can allocate resources for communications between some or all devices in its service area or cell. A scheduling entity can be responsible for scheduling, allocating, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more subordinate entities. That is, for scheduled communications, subordinate entities can utilize resources allocated by one or more scheduling entities.

[0048] The base station is not the only entity that can act as a scheduling entity. In some examples, the UE can act as a scheduling entity and can schedule resources for one or more subordinate entities (e.g., one or more other UEs), and the other UEs can wirelessly communicate using the resources scheduled by the UE. In some examples, the UE can act as a scheduling entity in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network and / or a mesh network. In the mesh network example, the UEs can communicate directly with each other in addition to communicating with the scheduling entity.

[0049] Back to Figure 1 , which illustrates various potential deployment scenarios. For example, in Figure 1 , a solid line with double arrows indicates desired transmissions between a UE and a serving BS, which is a BS designated to serve the UE on a downlink and / or uplink. A thin dashed line with double arrows indicates interfering transmissions between the UE and the BS. Other lines illustrate component-to-component (e.g., UE-to-UE) communication options.

[0050] Figure 2 An example logical architecture of a distributed radio access network (RAN) 200 is shown, which may be Figure 1 200. The 5G access node 206 may include an access node controller (ANC) 202. The ANC 202 may be a central unit (CU) of the distributed RAN 200. The backhaul interface to the next generation core network (NG-CN) 204 may terminate at the ANC 202. The backhaul interface to the adjacent next generation access node (NG-AN) 210 may terminate at the ANC 202. The ANC 202 may include one or more transmission reception points (TRPs) 208 (e.g., cells, BSs, gNBs, etc.).

[0051] The TRP 208 may be a distributed unit (DU). The TRP 208 may be connected to a single ANC (e.g., ANC 202) or more than one ANC (not shown). For example, for RAN sharing, radio as a service (RAAS), and service-specific ANC deployments, the TRP 208 may be connected to more than one ANC. The TRPs 208 may each include one or more antenna ports. The TRPs 208 may be configured to serve traffic to the UE individually (e.g., dynamically selected) or jointly (e.g., joint transmission).

[0052] The logical architecture of the distributed RAN 200 can support various backhaul and fronthaul solutions. This support can be done via and through different deployment types. For example, the logical architecture can be based on transport network capabilities (e.g., bandwidth, latency, and / or jitter).

[0053] The logical architecture of the distributed RAN 200 may share features and / or components with LTE. For example, the next generation access node (NG-AN) 210 may support dual connectivity with NR and may share a common fronthaul for LTE and NR.

[0054] The logical architecture of the distributed RAN 200 may enable cooperation between and among TRPs 208, such as within a TRP and / or across TRPs via the ANC 202. An inter-TRP interface may not be used.

[0055] Logical functions can be dynamically distributed in the logical architecture of the distributed RAN 200. Figure 5 Described in more detail, the radio resource control (RRC) layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, the radio link control (RLC) layer, the medium access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer may be appropriately placed at the DU (e.g., TRP 208) or the CU (e.g., ANC 202).

[0056] Figure 3 An example physical architecture of a distributed radio access network (RAN) 300 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. A centralized core network unit (C-CU) 302 may host core network functions. The C-CU 302 may be centrally deployed. To handle peak capacity, C-CU 302 functions may be offloaded (e.g., to Advanced Wireless Services (AWS)).

[0057] A centralized RAN unit (C-RU) 304 may host one or more ANC functions. Optionally, the C-RU 304 may host core network functions locally. The C-RU 304 may have a distributed deployment. The C-RU 304 may be close to the network edge.

[0058] The DU 306 may host one or more TRPs (edge ​​node (EN), edge unit (EU), radio head (RH), smart radio head (SRH), etc.) The DU may be located at the edge of the network with radio frequency (RF) capabilities.

[0059] Figure 4 BS 110 and UE 120 (eg Figure 1 ) example components, which may be used to implement various aspects of the present disclosure. For example, antenna 452, processors 466, 458, 464, and / or controller / processor 480 of UE 120 may be used to perform Fig.12 Operation 1200.

[0060] At BS 110, a transmit processor 420 may receive data from a data source 412 and control information from a controller / processor 440. The control information may be for a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical hybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), etc. The data may be for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc. The processor 420 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and the control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The processor 420 may also generate reference symbols, for example, for a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a cell-specific reference signal (CRS). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 430 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, and / or reference symbols (if applicable), and may provide output symbol streams to modulators (MODs) 432a to 432t. Each modulator 432 may process a corresponding output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signals from modulators 432a through 432t may be transmitted via antennas 434a through 434t, respectively.

[0061] At UE 120, antennas 452a to 452r can receive downlink signals from base station 110 and can provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 454a to 454r, respectively. Each demodulator 454 can condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) the corresponding received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator can further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc.) to obtain received symbols. MIMO detector 456 can obtain received symbols from all demodulators 454a to 454r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. Receive processor 458 can process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 120 to data slot 460, and provide decoding control information to controller / processor 480.

[0062] On the uplink, at the UE 120, the transmit processor 464 may receive and process data from a data source 462 (e.g., for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH)) and control information from a controller / processor 480 (e.g., for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)). The transmit processor 464 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., for a sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from the transmit processor 464 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 466, if applicable, further processed by a demodulator in the transceiver 454a to 454r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc.), and transmitted to the base station 110. At the BS 110, the uplink signal from the UE 120 may be received by the antenna 434, processed by the modulator 432, detected by the MIMO detector 436 (if applicable), and further processed by the receive processor 438 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by the UE 120. Receive processor 438 may provide decoded data to data slot 439 and decoded control information to controller / processor 440 .

[0063] Controllers / processors 440 and 480 may direct the operation at base station 110 and UE 120, respectively. Processor 440 and / or other processors and modules at BS 110 may perform or direct the execution of processes for the techniques described herein. Memories 442 and 482 may store data and program codes for BS 110 and UE 120, respectively. Scheduler 444 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0064] Figure 5 A diagram 500 showing an example for implementing a communication protocol stack according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The communication protocol stack shown can be implemented by a device operating in a wireless communication system such as a 5G system (e.g., a system supporting uplink-based mobility). Diagram 500 shows a communication protocol stack including a radio resource control (RRC) layer 510, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer 515, a radio link control (RLC) layer 520, a medium access control (MAC) layer 525, and a physical (PHY) layer 530. In various examples, the layers of the protocol stack can be implemented as separate modules of software, parts of a processor or ASIC, parts of non-co-located devices connected by a communication link, or various combinations thereof. For example, co-location and non-co-location implementations can be used in a protocol stack for a network access device (e.g., AN, CU, and / or DU) or a UE.

[0065] The first option 505-a illustrates a split implementation of the protocol stack, where the implementation of the protocol stack is performed on a centralized network access device (e.g., Figure 2ANC 202 in the system) and distributed network access equipment (e.g., Figure 2 In the first option 505-a, the RRC layer 510 and the PDCP layer 515 may be implemented by a central unit, and the RLC layer 520, the MAC layer 525, and the PHY layer 530 may be implemented by the DU. In various examples, the CU and the DU may be co-located or non-co-located. The first option 505-a may be used for macro cell, micro cell, or pico cell deployment.

[0066] The second option 505-b shows a unified implementation of the protocol stack, wherein the protocol stack is implemented in a single network access device. In the second option, the RRC layer 510, the PDCP layer 515, the RLC layer 520, the MAC layer 525, and the PHY layer 530 can all be implemented by the AN. The second option 505-b can be used, for example, for femtocell deployment.

[0067] Regardless of whether the network access device implements part or all of the protocol stack, the UE can implement the entire protocol stack, as shown in 505-c (e.g., RRC layer 510, PDCP layer 515, RLC layer 520, MAC layer 525 and PHY layer 530).

[0068] The embodiments discussed herein may include various spacing and timing deployments. For example, in LTE, the basic transmission time interval (TTI) or packet duration is a 1ms subframe. In NR, the subframe is still 1ms, but the basic TTI is called a time slot. The subframe contains a variable number of time slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 time slots) depending on the subcarrier spacing. The NR RB is 12 consecutive frequency subcarriers. NR can support a basic subcarrier spacing of 15KHz, and other subcarrier spacings can be defined relative to the basic subcarrier spacing, for example, 30KHz, 60KHz, 120KHz, 240KHz, etc. The symbol and time slot lengths are proportional to the subcarrier spacing. The CP length also depends on the subcarrier spacing.

[0069] Figure 6 600 for NR. The transmission timeline for each of the downlink and uplink may be divided into units of radio frames. Each radio frame may have a predetermined duration (e.g., 10 ms) and may be divided into 10 subframes, each of 1 ms, with indices from 0 to 9. Each subframe may include a variable number of slots depending on the subcarrier spacing. Each slot may include a variable number of symbol periods (e.g., 7 or 14 symbols) depending on the subcarrier spacing. An index may be assigned to the symbol period in each slot. A microslot is a subslot structure (e.g., 2, 3, or 4 symbols).

[0070] Each symbol in a slot may indicate a link direction (e.g., DL, UL, or flexible) for data transmission, and the link direction for each subframe may be switched dynamically. The link direction may be based on the slot format. Each slot may include DL / UL data and DL / UL control information.

[0071] In NR, a synchronization signal (SS) block (SSB) is transmitted. The SS block includes PSS, SSS, and dual-symbol PBCH. The SS block can be transmitted in a fixed time slot position, such as Figure 6 Symbols 0 to 3 are shown. PSS and SSS can be used by UE for cell search and acquisition. PSS can provide half-frame timing, and SS can provide CP length and frame timing. PSS and SSS can provide cell identification. PBCH carries some basic system information, such as downlink system bandwidth, timing information within a radio frame, SS burst set periodicity, system frame number, etc.

[0072] Other system information, such as Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI), System Information Block (SIB), and Other System Information (OSI), may be sent on the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) in certain subframes.

[0073] like Figure 7 As shown, SS blocks can be organized into SS burst sets to support beam scanning. As shown, each SSB within a burst set can be transmitted using a different beam, which can help the UE quickly capture both the transmit (Tx) beam and the receive (Rx) beam (especially for mmW applications). The physical cell identity (PCI) can still be decoded from the PSS and SSS of the SSB.

[0074] Certain deployment scenarios may include one or two NR deployment options. Some of them may be configured as non-standalone (NSA) and / or standalone (SA) options. Standalone cells may need to broadcast both SSBs and remaining minimum system information (RMSI), for example, using SIB1 and SIB2. Non-standalone cells may only need to broadcast SSBs, but not RMSI. In a single carrier in NR, multiple SSBs may be sent at different frequencies and may include different types of SSBs.

[0075] Control Resource Set (CORESET)

[0076] A control resource set (CORESET) for an OFDMA system (e.g., a communication system that uses an OFDMA waveform to transmit a PDCCH) may include one or more sets of control resources (e.g., time and frequency resources) configured to transmit a PDCCH within the system bandwidth. Within each CORESET, one or more search spaces (e.g., a common search space (CSS), a UE-specific search space (USS), etc.) may be defined for a given UE. A search space is typically an area or portion where a communication device (e.g., a UE) can search for control information.

[0077] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, a CORESET is a set of time domain and frequency domain resources defined in units of resource element groups (REGs). Each REG may include a fixed number (e.g., 12) of tones in one symbol period (e.g., a symbol period of a time slot), wherein one tone in one symbol period is referred to as a resource element (RE). A fixed number of REGs may be included in a control channel element (CCE). A CCE set may be used to transmit a new radio PDCCH (NR-PDCCH), wherein different numbers of CCEs in a set are used to transmit NR-PDCCH using different aggregation levels. Multiple CCE sets may be defined as search spaces for UEs, and therefore, a Node B or other base station may send NR-PDCCH to a UE by sending NR-PDCCH in a CCE set defined as a decoding candidate within the search space for the UE, and the UE may receive the NR-PDCCH by searching in the search space for the UE and decoding the NR-PDCCH sent by the Node B.

[0078] In an NR communication system, the operating characteristics of a Node B or other base station may depend on the frequency range (FR) in which the system operates. The frequency range may include one or more operating bands (e.g., "n1" band, "n2" band, "n7" band, and "n41" band), and the communication system (e.g., one or more Node Bs and UEs) may operate in one or more operating bands. Frequency ranges and operating bands are described in more detail in "Base Station (BS) Radio Transmission and Reception" TS 38.104 (Release 15), which is available from the 3GPP website.

[0079] As described above, a CORESET is a collection of time domain resources and frequency domain resources. A CORESET can be configured to transmit a PDCCH within the system bandwidth. The UE can determine the CORESET and monitor the CORESET for control channels. During initial access, the UE can identify the initial CORESET (CORESET#0) configuration from a field in the master information block (MIB) (e.g., pdcchConfigSIB1). This initial CORESET can then be used to configure the UE (e.g., to configure the UE with other CORESETs and / or bandwidth portions via dedicated (UE-specific) signaling). When the UE detects a control channel in the CORESET, the UE attempts to decode the control channel and communicate with the transmitting BS (e.g., transmitting cell) based on the control data provided in the control channel (e.g., sent via the CORESET).

[0080] According to various aspects of the present disclosure, when a UE is connected to a cell (or BS), the UE may receive a master information block (MIB). The MIB may be located in a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block on a sync raster (e.g., in the PBCH of the SS / PBCH block). In some scenarios, the sync raster may correspond to the SSB. Based on the frequency of the sync raster, the UE may determine the operating frequency band of the cell. Based on the operating frequency band of the cell, the UE may determine the minimum channel bandwidth and subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the channel. The UE may then determine an index based on the MIB (e.g., 4 bits in the MIB, transmitting an index in the range of 0 to 15).

[0081] Given this index, the UE can look up or locate the CORESET configuration (this initial CORESET configured via the MIB is typically referred to as CORESET#0). This can be implemented according to one or more CORESET configuration tables. These configurations (including single table scenarios) may include various subsets of indices indicating valid CORESET configurations for various combinations of minimum channel bandwidth and SCS. In some arrangements, each combination of minimum channel bandwidth and SCS may be mapped to a subset of indices in a table.

[0082] Alternatively or additionally, the UE may select a search space CORESET configuration table from several CORESET configuration tables. These configurations may be based on the minimum channel bandwidth and the SCS. The UE may then look up the CORESET configuration (e.g., Type0-PDCCH search space CORESET configuration) from the selected table based on an index. After determining the CORESET configuration (e.g., from a single table or a selected table), the UE may determine the CORESET to monitor based on the location (in time and frequency) of the SS / PBCH blocks and the CORESET configuration (as described above).

[0083] Figure 8 An exemplary transmission resource mapping 800 according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In the exemplary mapping, a BS (e.g., Figure 1 BS 110a) is shown transmitting a SS / PBCH block 802. The SS / PBCH block includes a MIB that conveys an index to a table that relates the time-frequency resources of a CORESET 804 to the time-frequency resources of the SS / PBCH block.

[0084] The BS may also send control signaling. In some scenarios, the BS may also send control signaling to the UE (e.g., Figure 1 806. The BS then sends the PDSCH to the UE. The UE may receive the MIB in the SS / PBCH block, determine the index, look up the CORESET configuration based on the index, and determine the CORESET based on the CORESET configuration and the SS / PBCH block. The UE may then monitor the CORESET, decode the PDCCH in the CORESET, and receive the PDSCH allocated by the PDCCH.

[0085] Different CORESET configurations may have different parameters defining the corresponding CORESET. For example, each configuration may indicate the number of resource blocks (e.g., 24, 48, or 96), the number of symbols (e.g., 1 to 3), and an offset indicating the position in frequency (e.g., 0 to 38 RB).

[0086] QCL port and TCI status

[0087] In many cases, it is important for the UE to know which assumptions it can make about the channels corresponding to different transmissions. For example, the UE may need to know which reference signals can be used to estimate the channel in order to decode the transmitted signal (e.g., PDCCH or PDSCH). It is also important for the UE to be able to report relevant channel state information (CSI) to the BS (gNB) for scheduling, link adaptation and / or beam management. In NR, the concepts of Quasi Co-location (QCL) and Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) states are used to convey information about these assumptions.

[0088] The QCL assumption is typically defined based on channel characteristics. According to 3GPP TS 38.214, "Two antenna ports are said to be quasi-co-located if the characteristics of the channel over which symbols are transmitted on one antenna port can be inferred from the channel over which symbols are transmitted on the other antenna port." Different reference signals may be considered quasi-co-located ("QCL'd") if a receiver (e.g., UE) can apply channel characteristics determined by detecting the first reference signal to help detect the second reference signal. The TCI state typically includes, for example, the configuration between the DL RS and PDSCH DMRS ports in one CSI-RS set, such as the QCL relationship.

[0089] In some cases, the UE may be configured with up to M TCI states. The configuration of the M TCI states may be discovered via higher layer signaling, and the UE may be signaled to decode the PDSCH based on a detected PDCCH with a DCI indicating one of the TCI states. Each configured TCI state may include one RS set TCI-RS-SetConfig indicating different QCL assumptions between a particular source signal and a target signal.

[0090] Fig. 9 An example of association of DL reference signals and corresponding QCL types that may be indicated by TCI-RS-SetConfig is shown.

[0091] exist Fig. 9 In the example of , a source reference signal (RS) is indicated in the top block and is associated with a target signal indicated in the bottom block. In this context, a target signal generally refers to a signal for which channel characteristics can be inferred by measuring these channel characteristics for the associated source signal. As noted above, the UE can use the source RS to determine various channel parameters, depending on the associated QCL type, and use those various channel characteristics (determined based on the source RS) to process the target signal. The target RS does not necessarily need to be the DMRS of the PDSCH, but can be any other RS: PUSCH DMRS, CSIRS, TRS, and SRS.

[0092] As shown, each TCI-RS-SetConfig contains parameters. For example, these parameters can configure the quasi-co-location relationship between the reference signals in the RS set and the DM-RS port group of the PDSCH. The RS set contains a reference to one or two DL RSs and an associated quasi-co-location type (QCL type) for each configured by the high-level parameter QCL-Type.

[0093] like Fig. 9 As shown, for the case of two DL RSs, the QCL type can take various arrangements. For example, whether referencing the same DL RS or referencing different DL RSs, the QCL type may be different. In the example shown, SSB is associated with type C QCL for P-TRS, while CSI-RS for beam management (CSIRS-BM) is associated with type D QCL.

[0094] In some scenarios, the QCL information and / or type may depend on or vary with other information. For example, the quasi-co-location (QCL) type indicated to the UE may be based on a higher layer parameter QCL-Type and may be one or a combination of the following types:

[0095] QCL-TypeA: {Doppler shift, Doppler dispersion, average delay, delay dispersion},

[0096] QCL-TypeB: {Doppler shift, Doppler dispersion},

[0097] QCL-TypeC: {average delay, Doppler shift}, and

[0098] QCL-TypeD: {spatial Rx parameters},

[0099] The spatial QCL assumption (QCL-TypeD) may be used to help the UE select the simulated Rx beam (eg, during beam management procedures). For example, the SSB resource indicator may indicate that the same beam used for the previous reference signal should be used for subsequent transmissions.

[0100] The UE (e.g., via a field in the MIB) can identify the initial CORESET (e.g., CORESET ID 0 or CORESET#0 for short) in the NR during initial access. The ControlResourceSet information element (CORESET IE) sent via radio resource control (RRC) signaling can convey information about the CORESET configured for the UE. The CORESET IE typically includes the CORESET ID, an indication of the frequency domain resources (e.g., the number of RBs) assigned to the CORESET, the continuous duration of the CORESET (expressed in the number of symbols), and the transmission configuration indicator (TCI) status.

[0101] As described above, a subset of TCI states provides a quasi-co-location (QCL) relationship between a DL RS and a PDCCH demodulation RS (DMRS) port in one RS set (e.g., TCI-Set). A specific TCI state for a given UE (e.g., for a unicast PDCCH) may be transmitted to the UE by a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE). A specific TCI state is typically selected from a set of TCI states transmitted via a CORESET IE, where the initial CORESET (CORESET#0) is typically configured via the MIB.

[0102] Search space information may also be provided via RRC signaling. For example, SearchSpace IE is another RRC IE that defines how and where to search for PDCCH candidates for a given CORESET. Each search space is associated with a CORESET. The SearchSpace IE identifies the search space configured for the CORESET by the Search Space ID. In one aspect, the Search Space ID associated with CORESET#0 is SearchSpace ID#0. The search space is typically configured via PBCH (MIB).

[0103] Example Avoiding repeated monitoring opportunities for monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)

[0104] Reduced capability UEs may be used in a variety of scenarios, such as smart wearable devices, industrial sensors, video monitoring equipment, etc. Reduced capability UEs may coexist with non-reduced capability UEs and may have a limited number of receive antennas, reduced transmit and receive bandwidths compared to non-reduced capability UEs, and reduced computing power (e.g., processing power, memory, etc.) and longer battery life. Since these UEs may have a limited number of receive antennas, repetition of downlink transmissions (e.g., transmissions on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and / or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)) may be used to compensate for coverage loss on the downlink.

[0105] like Fig.10 As shown, a CORESET may be used for downlink (e.g., PDCCH) repetitions. Repetition 1000 shows a single CORESET-based PDCCH repetition, where the PDCCH repetitions are carried by the same CORESET. In this case, different repetitions may be configured to use different search spaces or different starting symbol indices within the same search space. As shown, the search space may have a period of 20 slots and a monitoring opportunity (MO) duration of 4 slots. Within each slot in the MO duration, 4 CORESET repetitions may be configured.

[0106] Repetition 1010 shows an example of PDCCH repetition based on multiple CORESETs. In this example, different CORESETs are used to carry different PDCCH repetitions via different search spaces. Each PDCCH repetition may have, for example, a different transmission configuration information (TCI) state. For example, CORESET 1 may be associated with a first TCI state and a first repetition set, and CORESET 2 may be associated with a second TCI state and a second repetition set. Each CORESET may be activated via its own medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE).

[0107] Each CORESET may be configured with a TCI state candidate list (e.g., using a tci-StatesPDCCH-ToAddList information element). Downlink signaling (e.g., carried in a MAC-CE) may indicate the TCI state applicable to the CORESET from the TCI state candidate list. If downlink signaling is not received to activate the TCI state for a particular CORESET, the UE may use a default TCI state. For example, the default TCI state may be determined based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) received at the UE.

[0108] Fig.11An example CORESET configuration 1100 is shown in which CORESETs collide in overlapping monitoring occasions (MOs). In this example, PDCCH repetitions on CORESET 1 and CORESET 2 overlap each other, resulting in quasi-co-location (QCL) collisions in overlapping MOs. In general, if a UE is configured for single-cell operation or for operation with carrier aggregation within the same frequency band, and the UE monitors PDCCH candidates in multiple CORESETs in overlapping PDCCH monitoring occasions, the multiple CORESETs having the same or different QCL characteristics on an activated downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP) of one or more cells, the UE may monitor PDCCH in a first CORESET and in any other CORESETs having the same QCL characteristics as the CORESET on an activated DL BWP of a cell from the one or more cells. The CORESET may correspond to a common search space (CSS) set having the lowest index in the cell having the lowest index containing the CSS, if any, or otherwise to a UE-specific search space (USS) having the lowest index in the cell having the lowest index. The lowest USS set index can be determined among all USS sets that have at least one PDCCH candidate in overlapping PDCCH monitoring opportunities. A synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block may have a QCL characteristic different from that of a CSI-RS. A first CSI-RS associated with an SS or PBCH block in a first cell and a second CSI-RS in a second cell associated with the same SS or PBCH block may be assumed to have the same QCL characteristic. The allocation of non-overlapping CCEs and PDCCH candidates for PDCCH monitoring may be based on a search space set associated with multiple CORESETs configured for activated DL BWPs for one or more cells, and the number of activated TCI states may be determined based on multiple CORESETs.

[0109] In such Fig.11 In the case shown, the UE may avoid monitoring certain MOs during the MO duration for various reasons. For example, when a measurement gap overlaps with at least one MO, or when the MO duration overlaps with one or more signals, if BWP hopping is activated, the UE may avoid monitoring certain MOs based on QCL conflicts with overlapping CORESETs, slot format changes based on dynamic or semi-persistent signaling (SPS), conflicts between the slot format used for the MO during the MO duration and the slot format of the existing RRC configuration. In these cases, the UE may need to determine how to handle monitoring of PDCCH repetitions in some MOs during the MO duration and how to avoid monitoring of PDCCH repetitions in other MOs during the MO duration.

[0110] Fig.12 Example operations that a user equipment (UE) may perform to avoid monitoring PDCCH repetitions in one or more MOs of an MO duration in accordance with certain aspects described herein are shown. As shown, operations 1200 may begin at block 1202, where the UE determines that, during a monitoring opportunity (MO) duration associated with decoding a number of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetitions, the UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO associated with a first control resource set (CORESET).

[0111] At block 1204, the UE avoids monitoring the first subset of MOs in the MO duration based on the determination.

[0112] At block 1206, the UE monitors a second subset of MOs for the MO duration.

[0113] When identifying MOs in which the UE is to avoid monitoring PDCCH repetitions and MOs in which the UE is to monitor PDCCH repetitions, the UE may assume that different PDCCH repetitions may be carried on the same CORESET or on different CORESETs. Different MOs regarding a particular PDCCH repetition set may be associated with the same or different QCL configurations. Typically, an MO comprising one or more PDCCH repetitions may constitute an MO duration, and different PDCCH repetition sets may have different or the same number of repetitions using the same or different MOs.

[0114] Fig.13 An example 1300 of avoiding monitoring all MOs in an MO duration based on determining that the UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO in the MO duration in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In this example, the UE may be configured to monitor a minimum number of PDCCH repetitions, and thereby may be configured to monitor an MO duration with a minimum number of MOs. As shown, the UE may determine that it wants to avoid monitoring PDCCH repetitions in MO#3 (e.g., due to QCL conflicts with other CORESETs, TDD slot format changes in MO#3, conflicts between the slot format in MO#3 and the previously configured slot format, etc.). Since the number of MOs that the UE is able to monitor is less than the configured minimum number of PDCCH repetitions, the UE may determine that it wants to avoid monitoring all MOs in the MO duration.

[0115] Avoiding monitoring all MOs in an MO duration as shown in Example 1300 may be activated based on signaling received from a network entity (e.g., a next generation Node B, a transmission reception point (TRP), etc.) indicating that the UE is in poor coverage. The signaling may be received via one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, MAC-CE signaling, or downlink control information (DCI) signaling. In some embodiments, the UE may avoid monitoring all MOs in an MO duration based on a threshold number of MOs in the MO duration, and the threshold may be signaled to the UE by the network or may be defined a priori. For example, if the UE is configured with a threshold of 4 MOs in an MO duration, and the UE determines that it wants to avoid monitoring at least one MO in the MO duration, the UE may determine that monitoring the remaining MOs in the MO duration may not result in successful decoding of the PDCCH, and may thereby avoid monitoring all MOs in the MO duration.

[0116] Fig.14 An example 1400 of selectively avoiding monitoring one or more MOs in an MO duration based on determining that the UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO in the MO duration according to certain aspects of the present disclosure is shown. As shown, each configured PDCCH repetition (i.e., for each CORESET) may start from the first MO in the MO duration. In this example, if the UE avoids monitoring the MO associated with the repetition, the UE may avoid monitoring all MOs associated with the repetition. For example, if the UE determines that it is to avoid monitoring the first MO in the MO duration, the UE may determine to avoid monitoring all MOs in the MO duration. Otherwise, for an MO duration of n MOs, if the UE determines that it is to avoid monitoring the kth MO, where k<n, the UE may monitor the first to k-1th MOs, and may avoid monitoring the kth to nth MOs. As shown in example 1400, for an MO duration of 4 MOs and a determination that the UE is to avoid monitoring the second MO, the UE may avoid monitoring the second to fourth MOs in the MO duration. Similarly, for an MO duration of 4 MOs and a determination that the UE wants to avoid monitoring the third MO, the UE may avoid monitoring the third and fourth MOs in the MO duration. Finally, for an MO duration of 4 MOs and a determination that the UE wants to avoid monitoring the fourth MO, the UE may monitor the first to third MOs and may avoid monitoring the fourth MO.

[0117] Fig.15An example 1500 is shown of avoiding monitoring conflicting MOs in an MO duration and reordering remaining MOs in the MO duration based on determining that the UE should avoid monitoring conflicting MOs in the MO duration in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure. As shown, the UE may remove from the MO duration the MOs identified as being for which the UE is to avoid monitoring. For example, if the UE determines that there is a conflict for MO#1, and thus the UE will avoid monitoring the PDCCH in MO#1, MO#1 may be removed from the MO duration, leaving MO#2, MO#3, and MO#4 in the MO duration. In another example, if the UE determines that it is to avoid monitoring the PDCCH in MO#1 and MO#3, MO#1 and MO#3 may be removed from the MO duration, leaving MO#2 and MO#4 in the MO duration.

[0118] Subsequently, the UE may reorder the remaining MOs in the MO duration so that the MO numbers are from 1 to nm, where n represents the initial number of MOs in the MO duration, and m represents the number of MOs that the UE wants to avoid monitoring. For example, when MO#1 is removed from the MO duration, MO#2 may be reassigned as MO#1; MO#3 may be reassigned as MO#2; and MO#4 may be reassigned as MO#3. In another example, when MO#1 and MO#3 are removed from the MO duration, MO#2 may be reassigned as MO#1, and MO#4 may be reassigned as MO#2. By removing the MOs that the UE wants to avoid monitoring and reordering the remaining MOs, the UE may avoid monitoring certain MOs and may monitor a subset of MOs within the MO duration, thereby reducing the number of combinations that the UE may assume.

[0119] In some aspects, different PDCCH repetitions may start from different arbitrarily selected MOs. In this case, the maximum number of PDCCH repetitions may be reduced by the number of MOs that the UE wants to avoid monitoring. The remaining repetitions in the MO duration may start from any remaining MO in the MO duration.

[0120] Fig.16An example 1600 of avoiding monitoring a MO based on a quasi-co-located (QCL) type associated with a MO that the UE should avoid monitoring in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure is shown. As shown, a first repetition set may be associated with a first QCL and a second repetition set may be associated with a second QCL. The repetition may include a first and a second MO associated with the first QCL and a third and a fourth MO associated with a second QCL type. The UE may avoid monitoring the PDCCH in one or more MOs based on the QCL of the MO that the UE is to avoid measuring. For example, if the UE determines that it is to avoid monitoring the PDCCH in the first MO, the UE may also avoid monitoring the PDCCH in the second MO, but may monitor the PDCCH in the third and fourth MOs. Similarly, if the UE determines that it is to avoid monitoring the PDCCH in the third MO, the UE may also avoid monitoring the PDCCH in the fourth MO. In this case, because transmitting a single PDCCH repetition without further time domain bundling may not provide sufficient performance, the UE may avoid monitoring the MO associated with a particular QCL.

[0121] Fig.17 An example 1700 of various techniques for grouping MOs in a later MO duration with MOs in a current MO duration based on determining that the UE should avoid monitoring PDCCH in at least one MO in the current MO duration in accordance with certain aspects of the present disclosure is shown. In general, grouping MOs in a later MO duration with MOs in the current MO duration can be used to create a virtual MO duration having a number of MOs that matches or exceeds the number of MOs before removing the MOs that the UE should avoid monitoring.

[0122] The virtual MO duration 1702 may have the same duration as the current MO duration before the MO that the UE should avoid monitoring is removed. As shown, the UE may determine that it will not monitor the PDCCH in MO#3 of the current MO duration. MO#3 may be removed from the current MO duration, and MO#4 in the current MO duration may be reassigned as MO#3. The first MO in the subsequent MO duration may be reassigned as MO#4 in the virtual MO duration, thereby creating a virtual MO duration that includes three MOs from the current MO duration and one MO from the subsequent MO duration.

[0123] The virtual MO duration 1704 may have more MOs than the current MO duration had before removing the MOs that the UE should avoid monitoring. As shown, the UE may determine that it will not monitor the PDCCH in MO#3 of the current MO duration. MO#3 may be removed from the current MO duration, and MO#4 in the current MO duration may be reassigned as MO#3. Each MO in a subsequent MO duration may be added to the remaining MOs in the current MO duration and reassigned accordingly (e.g., from MO 1 to 4 to MO 4 to 7), thereby forming an MO duration with an increased maximum number of PDCCH repetitions.

[0124] The method disclosed herein includes one or more steps or actions for implementing the method. The method steps and / or actions can be interchangeable with each other without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific steps and / or actions can be modified without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0125] As used herein, a term referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. For example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other ordering of a, b, c).

[0126] As used herein, the term "determining" encompasses various actions. For example, "determining" may include computing, calculating, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, a database, or another data structure), ascertaining, etc. Also, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), etc. Also, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, etc.

[0127] The above description is provided to enable those skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects are obvious to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not limited to the aspects shown herein, but are given a full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein, unless otherwise specified, references to singular elements do not refer to "one and only one", but to "one or more". Unless otherwise specifically stated, the term "some" refers to one or more. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of various aspects known or later known to those of ordinary skill in the art described throughout the present disclosure are expressly incorporated herein by reference, and are intended to be included in the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be provided specifically for the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly stated in the claims. Unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase "unit for...", or in the case of a method claim, the element is stated using the phrase "step for...", otherwise the claim element shall not be interpreted according to the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112 (f).

[0128] The various operations of the above methods can be performed by any suitable unit capable of performing the corresponding functions. The methods may include various hardware and / or software components and / or modules, including but not limited to circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or processors. Generally, in the operations illustrated in the figures, these operations may have corresponding unit-plus-function components with similar numbers.

[0129] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0130] If implemented in hardware, an example hardware configuration may include a processing system in a wireless node. The processing system may be implemented using a bus architecture. Depending on the specific application of the processing system and the overall design constraints, the bus may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges. The bus may link together various circuits including a processor, a machine-readable medium, and a bus interface. The bus interface may be used to connect a network card, etc., to the processing system via the bus. The network card may be used to implement the signal processing functions of the PHY layer. In the user terminal 120 (see Figure 1 ), a user interface (e.g., keyboard, display, mouse, joystick, etc.) may also be connected to the bus. The bus may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, power management circuits, etc., which are well known in the art and, therefore, are not described in detail. The processor may be implemented using one or more general and / or special purpose processors. Examples include microprocessors, microcontrollers, DSP processors, and other circuit systems capable of executing software. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the described functionality of the processing system depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the entire system.

[0131] If implemented in software, the function may be stored on or transmitted through a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Software should be broadly understood to mean instructions, data, or any combination thereof, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or other. Computer-readable media include computer storage media and communication media, including any media that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. The processor may be responsible for managing the bus and general processing, including executing software modules stored on a machine-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium may be coupled to a processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integrated with the processor. For example, a machine-readable medium may include a transmission line, a carrier modulated by data, and / or a computer-readable storage medium on which instructions separated from a wireless node are stored, all of which may be accessed by the processor through a bus interface. Alternatively or in addition, a machine-readable medium or any part thereof may be integrated into a processor, such as a case where a cache and / or a general register file may be provided. For example, examples of machine-readable storage media may include RAM (random access memory), flash memory, ROM (read-only memory), PROM (programmable read-only memory), EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), registers, magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, or any other suitable storage media, or any combination thereof. Machine-readable media may be embodied in a computer program product.

[0132] A software module may include a single instruction or multiple instructions, and may be distributed over several different code segments, in different programs, and in multiple storage media. A computer-readable medium may include multiple software modules. A software module includes instructions that, when executed by a device such as a processor, cause a processing system to perform various functions. A software module may include a transmission module and a reception module. Each software module may be located in a single storage device, or distributed in multiple storage devices. For example, when a triggering event occurs, a software module may be loaded from a hard disk into a RAM. During the execution of a software module, a processor may load some instructions into a cache to increase access speed. Then, one or more cache lines may be loaded into a general register file for execution by the processor. When referring to the functionality of the following software modules, it should be understood that this functionality is implemented by the processor when executing instructions from the software module.

[0133] Furthermore, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared (IR), radio and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and diskette include compact disk (CD), laser disk, optical disk, digital versatile disk (DVD), floppy disk and Optical disks, where magnetic disks typically reproduce data magnetically, and magnetic disks reproduce data optically using lasers. Thus, in some aspects, computer-readable media can include non-transitory computer-readable media (e.g., tangible media). Additionally, in other aspects, computer-readable media can include transient computer-readable media (e.g., signals). Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0134] Thus, certain aspects may include a computer program product for performing the operations presented herein. For example, such a computer program product may include a computer-readable medium having instructions stored (and / or encoded) thereon, the instructions being executable by one or more processors to perform the operations described herein. For example, in the embodiments described herein and Figure 10 to Figure 11 Instructions for performing operations described in .

[0135] In addition, it should be understood that the modules and / or other suitable units for performing the methods and techniques described herein can be downloaded and / or otherwise obtained by the user terminal and / or base station (if applicable). For example, such a device can be coupled to a server to facilitate the transmission of units for performing the methods described herein. Alternatively, the various methods described herein can be provided via a storage unit (e.g., RAM, ROM, physical storage media, such as a compact disc (CD) or a floppy disk, etc.), so that the user terminal and / or base station can obtain the various methods when the storage unit is coupled or provided to the device. In addition, any other suitable technology for providing the methods and techniques described herein to the device can be utilized.

[0136] It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the precise configuration and components described above. Various modifications, changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus described above without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining that the UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO associated with a first control resource set (CORESET) during a monitoring opportunity (MO) duration associated with decoding a number of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetitions, wherein the MO duration includes a number of MOs in which the UE is to monitor repeated PDCCH candidates; Based on the determination, refraining from monitoring a first subset of MOs during the MO duration; and Monitoring a second subset of MOs within the MO duration, wherein monitoring the second subset of MOs comprises removing the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring, and extending the MO duration to include MOs in subsequent MO durations.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining that the UE should avoid monitoring the at least one MO includes determining the following: The quasi-colocation (QCL) associated with the first CORESET conflicts with other CORESETs, The time domain duplex (TDD) timeslot format has changed, There is a conflict between the time slot format for the at least one MO and the initially configured time slot format, Bandwidth Part (BWP) hopping is activated, The measurement gap overlaps with the at least one MO; or The MO duration overlaps with one or more other signals.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Monitoring the second MO subset further includes: The MOs are reordered within the MO duration.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: Reordering the MOs in the MO duration includes renumbering the MOs in the MO duration based on a number of MOs in the first MO subset.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Avoiding monitoring the first subset of MOs during the MO duration includes avoiding monitoring all MOs during the MO duration.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The UE avoids monitoring all MOs in the MO duration based on signaling received from a network entity indicating poor coverage.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The UE avoids monitoring all MOs in the MO duration based on a number of repetitions in the MO duration exceeding a threshold.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Avoiding monitoring the first subset of MOs in the MO duration includes: selecting MOs in the MO duration to avoid monitoring MOs corresponding to the same repetition number as the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring based on the identification of the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Avoiding monitoring the first subset of MOs in the MO duration includes avoiding monitoring only MOs that conflict with the MO associated with a second CORESET and reordering the MOs in the MO duration, wherein the second subset of MOs includes a number of MOs less than the number of MOs in the MO duration.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Different PDCCH repetition sets start from the first MO in the MO duration.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Based on the number of the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring, the number of MOs configured in the MO duration is reduced.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The several PDCCH repetitions can start at any MO in the MO duration.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Avoid monitoring MOs associated with a quasi-co-located (QCL) type that is the same as the QCL type of the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring.

14. An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: The processor is configured as: determining that the UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO associated with a first control resource set (CORESET) during a monitoring opportunity (MO) duration associated with decoding a number of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetitions, wherein the MO duration includes a number of MOs in which the UE is to monitor repeated PDCCH candidates; Based on the determination, refraining from monitoring a first subset of MOs during the MO duration; and monitoring a second subset of MOs within the MO duration, wherein the processor is configured to monitor the second subset of MOs by removing the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring, and extending the MO duration to include MOs in subsequent MO durations; and Memory.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein: The processor is configured to determine that the UE should avoid monitoring the at least one MO by determining: The quasi-colocation (QCL) associated with the first CORESET conflicts with other CORESETs, The time domain duplex (TDD) timeslot format has changed, There is a conflict between the time slot format for the at least one MO and the initially configured time slot format, Bandwidth Part (BWP) hopping is activated, The measurement gap overlaps with the at least one MO, or The MO duration overlaps with one or more other signals.

16. The device according to claim 14, wherein: The processor is configured to monitor the second MO subset by: The MOs are reordered within the MO duration.

17. The device according to claim 16, wherein: Reordering the MOs in the MO duration includes renumbering the MOs in the MO duration based on a number of MOs in the first MO subset.

18. The device according to claim 14, wherein: The processor is configured to refrain from monitoring the first subset of MOs in the MO duration by refraining from monitoring all MOs in the MO duration.

19. The device according to claim 18, wherein: The UE avoids monitoring all MOs in the MO duration based on signaling received from a network entity indicating poor coverage.

20. The device according to claim 18, wherein The UE avoids monitoring all MOs in the MO duration based on a number of repetitions in the MO duration exceeding a threshold.

21. The device according to claim 14, wherein: The processor is configured to avoid monitoring the first subset of MOs in the MO duration by selecting MOs in the MO duration to avoid monitoring MOs corresponding to MOs having the same repetition number as the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring based on an identification of the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring.

22. The device according to claim 14, wherein: The processor is configured to avoid monitoring the first subset of MOs in the MO duration by avoiding monitoring only MOs that conflict with the MO associated with a second CORESET and reordering the MOs in the MO duration, wherein the second subset of MOs includes a number of MOs that is less than the number of MOs in the MO duration.

23. The device according to claim 14, wherein: Different PDCCH repetition sets start from the first MO in the MO duration.

24. The device according to claim 14, wherein: The processor is further configured to: Based on the number of the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring, the number of MOs configured in the MO duration is reduced.

25. The device according to claim 24, wherein: The several PDCCH repetitions may start at any MO in the MO duration.

26. The device according to claim 14, wherein: The processor is further configured to: Avoid monitoring MOs associated with a quasi-co-located (QCL) type that is the same as the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring.

27. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE) to perform wireless communication, comprising: means for determining that the UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO associated with a first control resource set (CORESET) for a monitoring opportunity (MO) duration associated with decoding a number of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetitions, wherein the MO duration includes a number of MOs in which the UE is to monitor repeated PDCCH candidates; means for refraining from monitoring a first subset of MOs during the MO duration based on the determining; and and means for monitoring a second subset of MOs within the MO duration, wherein the means for monitoring the second subset of MOs comprises means for removing the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring, and means for extending the MO duration to include MOs in subsequent MO durations.

28. A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising: determining that the UE should avoid monitoring at least one MO associated with a first control resource set (CORESET) during a monitoring opportunity (MO) duration associated with decoding a number of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetitions, wherein the MO duration includes a number of MOs in which the UE is to monitor repeated PDCCH candidates; Based on the determination, refraining from monitoring a first subset of MOs during the MO duration; and Monitoring a second subset of MOs within the MO duration, wherein the processor is configured to monitor the second subset of MOs by removing the at least one MO that the UE should avoid monitoring, and extending the MO duration to include MOs in subsequent MO durations.

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