Method and apparatus for dynamic PDCCH monitoring group switching

Abstract

The device of wireless communication includes UE and base station. The base station may transmit to the UE the configuration for multiple PDCCH monitoring groups for monitoring different search space sets. The multiple PDCCH monitoring groups may include a first PDCCH monitoring group with a first number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities and a second PDCCH monitoring group with a second number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities different from the first number. The base station may determine which PDCCH monitoring group is to send PDCCH, and transmit PDCCH to the UE. The UE determines the search space of the PDCCH monitoring group to be monitored, and monitors the search space corresponding to the PDCCH monitoring group. The UE may switch between the first and second PDCCH monitoring groups based on a condition or an instruction from a base station.

Description

[0001] background Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for dynamically switching a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring group.

[0003] introduction

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcast. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of such multiple access technologies include 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.

[0005] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide common protocols that enable different wireless devices to communicate at city, country, region, and even global levels. An example telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is a part of the continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g., with the Internet of Things (IoT)) and other requirements. 5GNR includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR can be based on 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standards. There is a need for further improvements to 5G NR technology. These improvements may also be applicable to other multiple access technologies and telecommunication standards that employ these technologies.

[0006] Overview

[0007] A brief summary of one or more aspects is given below to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an exhaustive overview of all conceived aspects, and is neither intended to identify the key or critical elements of all aspects nor to define the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description that will be presented later.

[0008] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a user equipment (UE) and a base station. The base station may transmit to the UE a configuration for multiple PDCCH monitoring groups for monitoring different search space sets. The multiple PDCCH monitoring groups may include a first PDCCH monitoring group having a first number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities and a second PDCCH monitoring group having a second number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities different from the first number. The base station may determine which PDCCH monitoring group is to send a PDCCH, and transmit the PDCCH to the UE using the determined PDCCH monitoring group. The UE may determine the search space for the PDCCH monitoring group to be monitored, and monitor the search space corresponding to the PDCCH monitoring group. The UE may switch between the first and second PDCCH monitoring groups based on a condition or an indication from a base station. The condition may include at least one of a communication traffic volume, an expected communication traffic volume, a characteristic of the communication traffic, a temperature, a time, or a light detection. The indication from the base station may be received in a downlink control information (DCI) or implicitly received by one of the minimum K0 or minimum K2 values. The UE may transmit a request to the base station to change the PDCCH monitoring group to be monitored.

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

[0011] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and an access network.

[0012] Figure 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a first frame according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of downlink (DL) channels within a subframe according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0014] Figure 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of a second frame according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] Figure 2D is a diagram illustrating an example of UL channels within a subframe according to various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base station and a user equipment (UE) in an access network.

[0017] Figure 4 is an example illustrating a buffer status report (BSR) control element (CE) (BSR-CE) according to aspects of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 5 is a diagram of an example DL channel illustrating the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 6 It is a call flow diagram for wireless communication.

[0020] Figure 7 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method.

[0021] Figure 8 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method.

[0022] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an example device.

[0023] Fig.10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an example device.

[0024] Detailed Description

[0025] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. This detailed description includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid diluting such concepts.

[0026] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0027] As an example, an element, or any part of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented as a "processing system" including one or more processors. Examples of processors include: microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on chip (SoCs), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gating logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functionalities described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in a processing system may execute software. Software should be broadly interpreted as meaning instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether it is described in software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or other terms.

[0028] Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, each function may be stored or encoded on a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include computer storage media. Storage media may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. As an example and not limitation, such computer-readable media may include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, a combination of computer-readable media of the above types, or any other medium that can be used to store computer-accessible instructions or data structure forms of computer executable code.

[0029] Figure 1 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and access network 100. The wireless communication system (also referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes a base station 102, a UE 104, an evolved packet core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190 (e.g., a 5G core (5GC)). The base station 102 may include a macro cell (a high-power cellular base station) and / or a small cell (a low-power cellular base station). A macro cell includes a base station. A small cell includes a femto cell, a pico cell, and a micro cell.

[0030] The base station 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) can interface with the EPC 160 via a first backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). The base station 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively referred to as the Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) can interface with the core network 190 via a second backhaul link 184. Among other functions, the base station 102 can also perform one or more of the following functions: delivery of user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN) sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber and equipment tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of alert messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (eg, through the EPC 160 or the core network 190) over a third backhaul link 134 (eg, an X2 interface). The first backhaul link 132, the second backhaul link 184, and the third backhaul link 134 may be wired or wireless.

[0031] Base stations 102 may communicate wirelessly with UEs 104. Each base station 102 may provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network that includes both small cells and macro cells may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home evolved Node B (eNB) (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group referred to as a closed subscriber group (CSG). A communication link 120 between a base station 102 and a UE 104 may include an uplink (UL) (also referred to as a reverse link) transmission from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or a downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmission from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. These communication links may be over one or more carriers. For each carrier allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to Yx MHz (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction, the base station 102 / UE 104 may use a spectrum of up to Y MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400 MHz, etc.) bandwidth. These carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to DL compared to UL). The component carrier may include a primary component carrier and one or more secondary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as a primary cell (PCell), and the secondary component carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).

[0032] Some UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use DL / UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH). The D2D communication may be through a variety of wireless D2D communication systems, such as, for example, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.

[0033] The wireless communication system may further include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 in communication with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154, e.g., in a 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum, etc. When communicating in an unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0034] The small cell 102' may operate in a licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the same unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz, etc.) as used by the Wi-Fi AP 150. The small cell 102' employing NR in the unlicensed spectrum may boost the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network.

[0035] The electromagnetic spectrum is typically subdivided into various classes, bands, channels, etc. based on frequency / wavelength. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz–7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz–52.6 GHz). Frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are typically referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is typically (interchangeably) referred to as the “sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. Similar naming issues sometimes arise with respect to FR2, which is typically (interchangeably) referred to as the “millimeter wave” band in various documents and articles, although it is different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz–300 GHz) identified as the “millimeter wave” band by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

[0036] In view of the above aspects, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this article, the term "sub-6 GHz" and the like can broadly represent frequencies that can be less than 6 GHz, can be within FR1, or can include mid-band frequencies. In addition, unless otherwise specifically stated, it should be understood that if used in this article, the term "millimeter wave" and the like can broadly represent frequencies that can include mid-band frequencies, can be within FR2, or can be within the EHF band.

[0037] Whether a small cell 102' or a large cell (e.g., a macro base station), the base station 102 may include and / or be referred to as an eNB, a gB node (gNB), or another type of base station. Some base stations (such as gNB 180) may operate in the traditional sub-6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter wave frequencies, and / or near millimeter wave frequencies to communicate with UE 104. When gNB 180 operates in millimeter wave frequencies or near millimeter wave frequencies, gNB 180 may be referred to as a millimeter wave base station. Millimeter wave base station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with UE 104 to compensate for path loss and short range. Base station 180 and UE 104 may each include multiple antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels, and / or antenna arrays to facilitate beamforming.

[0038] Base station 180 may transmit beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from base station 180 in one or more receive directions 182". UE 104 may also transmit beamformed signals to base station 180 in one or more transmit directions. Base station 180 may receive beamformed signals from UE 104 in one or more receive directions. Base station 180 / UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive direction and transmit direction for each of base station 180 / UE 104. The transmit direction and receive direction of base station 180 may be the same or may be different. The transmit direction and receive direction of UE 104 may be the same or may be different.

[0039] The EPC 160 may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 170, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway 172. The MME 162 may be in communication with a home subscriber server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through the serving gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN gateway 172. The PDN gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The PDN gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to IP services 176. The IP services 176 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a PS streaming service, and / or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS transmissions, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and may be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS traffic to base stations 102 belonging to a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a specific service, and may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting eMBMS related charging information.

[0040] The core network 190 may include an access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a session management function (SMF) 194, and a user plane function (UPF) 195. The AMF 192 may be in communication with a unified data management (UDM) 196. The AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the core network 190. In general, the AMF 192 provides QoS flow and session management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through the UPF 195. The UPF 195 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The UPF 195 is connected to an IP service 197. The IP service 197 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), a packet switching (PS) streaming (PSS) service, and / or other IP services.

[0041] A base station may include and / or be referred to as a gNB, a Node B, an eNB, an access point, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a transmission reception point (TRP), or some other suitable term. The base station 102 provides an access point to the EPC 160 or the core network 190 for the UE 104. Examples of UE 104 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., an MP3 player), a camera, a game console, a tablet device, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a health care device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, or any other similar functional device. Some UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking meters, gas pumps, ovens, vehicles, heart monitors, etc.). UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.

[0042] Refer again Figure 1 In certain aspects, UE 104 and base station 180 may be configured to dynamically switch between physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring groups (198). Although the following description may focus on 5G NR, the concepts described herein may be applicable to other similar areas such as LTE, LTE-A, CDMA, GSM, and other wireless technologies.

[0043] Figure 2A 200 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2B is a diagram 230 illustrating an example of DL channels within a 5G NR subframe. Figure 2C 250 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G NR frame structure. Figure 2D 280 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL channels within a 5G NR subframe. The 5G NR frame structure can be frequency division duplex (FDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the subcarrier set are dedicated to DL or UL; or can be time division duplex (TDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the subcarrier set are dedicated to both DL and UL. Figure 2A , Figure 2CIn the example provided, the 5G NR frame structure is assumed to be TDD, where subframe 4 is configured with slot format 28 (mostly DL) and subframe 3 is configured with slot format 34 (mostly UL), where D is DL, U is UL, and F is for flexible use between DL / UL. Although subframes 3 and 4 are shown as having slot formats 34 and 28, respectively, any particular subframe may be configured with any of the various available slot formats 0-61. Slot formats 0 and 1 are full DL and full UL, respectively. Other slot formats 2-61 include a mixture of DL, UL, and flexible symbols. The UE is configured with a slot format (dynamically configured by DL control information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling) through the received slot format indicator (SFI). Note that the following description also applies to the 5G NR frame structure for TDD.

[0044] Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels. A frame (10ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1ms). Each subframe may include one or more time slots. A subframe may also include mini-slots, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot configuration. For time slot configuration 0, each time slot may include 14 symbols, and for time slot configuration 1, each time slot may include 7 symbols. The symbols on the DL may be cyclic prefix (CP) OFDM (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols on the UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols (also known as single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power-limited scenarios; limited to single stream transmission). The number of time slots within a subframe is based on the time slot configuration and parameter design. For slot configuration 0, different parameter designs μ of 0 to 4 allow 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 slots per subframe, respectively. For slot configuration 1, different parameter designs 0 to 2 allow 2, 4, and 8 slots per subframe, respectively. Accordingly, for slot configuration 0 and parameter design μ, there are 14 symbols per slot and 2 per subframe. μ time slots. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration vary depending on parameter design. The subcarrier spacing can be equal to 2 μ *15kHz, where μ is parameter design 0 to 4. Thus, parameter design μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, while parameter design μ=4 has a subcarrier spacing of 240kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. Figures 2A to 2DAn example of slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and parameter design μ=2 with 4 slots per subframe is provided. The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is about 16.67 μs. Within a frame set, there may be one or more different bandwidth parts (BWPs) that are frequency division multiplexed (see Figure 2B ). Each BWP may have a specific parameter design.

[0045] A resource grid may be used to represent the frame structure. Each slot includes a resource block (RB) (also called a physical RB (PRB)) extending over 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into a number of resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0046] like Figure 2A As illustrated in FIG, some REs carry reference (pilot) signals (RS) for UEs. RSs may include demodulation RSs (DM-RSs) for channel estimation at the UE (indicated as Rx for one specific configuration, where 100x is the port number, but other DM-RS configurations are possible) and channel state information reference signals (CSI-RSs). RSs may also include beam measurement RSs (BRSs), beam refinement RSs (BRRSs), and phase tracking RSs (PT-RSs).

[0047] Figure 2B An example of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame is illustrated. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE including 9 RE groups (REGs), each REG including 4 consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. The PDCCH within one BWP may be referred to as a control resource set (CORESET). Additional BWPs may be located at higher and / or lower frequencies across the channel bandwidth. The primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is used by the UE 104 to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identity. The secondary synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell identity group number, the UE may determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE may determine the location of the aforementioned DM-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block (also referred to as an SS block (SSB)). The MIB provides the number of RBs in the system bandwidth, and the system frame number (SFN). The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted over the PBCH (such as the system information block (SIB)), and paging messages.

[0048] As in Figure 2C As explained in , some REs carry DM-RSs for channel estimation at the base station (indicated as R for one specific configuration, but other DM-RS configurations are possible). The UE may transmit DM-RSs for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and DM-RSs for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the first or first two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in different configurations depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is transmitted and depending on the specific PUCCH format used. The UE may transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS). The SRS may be transmitted in the last symbol of the subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may transmit the SRS on one of the comb teeth. The SRS may be used by the base station for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

[0049] Figure 2D An example of various UL channels within a subframe of an illustration frame. The PUCCH may be located at a position as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicator (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0050] Figure 33 is a block diagram of a base station 310 in communication with a UE 350 in an access network. In the DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 may be provided to a controller / processor 375. The controller / processor 375 implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes a radio resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a media access control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 375 provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of system information (e.g., MIB, SIB), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration of UE measurement reports; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, cipher decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0051] The transmit (TX) processor 316 and the receive (RX) processor 370 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, including the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) coding / decoding of the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 handles the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot) in the time and / or frequency domain, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 374 may be used to determine coding and modulation schemes and for spatial processing. Channel estimates may be derived from reference signals and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 350. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different antenna 320 via a separate transmitter 318TX. Each transmitter 318TX may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0052] At the UE 350, each receiver 354RX receives a signal through its corresponding antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides the information to a receive (RX) processor 356. The TX processor 368 and the RX processor 356 implement layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 can perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial stream destined for the UE 350. If there are multiple spatial streams destined for the UE 350, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the RX processor 356. The RX processor 356 then transforms the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbol on each subcarrier and the reference signal are recovered and demodulated by determining the signal constellation point most likely transmitted by the base station 310. These soft decisions can be based on the channel estimate calculated by the channel estimator 358. These soft decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted on the physical channel by the base station 310. These data and control signals are then provided to the controller / processor 359 which implements layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

[0053] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program codes and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 359 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher interpretation, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the EPC 160. The controller / processor 359 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0054] Similar to the functionality described in conjunction with DL transmissions performed by the base station 310, the controller / processor 359 provides RRC layer functionality associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with header compression / decompression, and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functionality associated with delivery of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0055] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 358 from a reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 310 may be used by a TX processor 368 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 368 may be provided to different antennas 352 via separate transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX may modulate an RF carrier with a corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0056] UL transmissions are processed at the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 350. Each receiver 318RX receives a signal through its respective antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to a RX processor 370.

[0057] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program codes and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 375 provides demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, cipher decoding, header decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 350. The IP packets from the controller / processor 375 may be provided to the EPC 160. The controller / processor 375 is also responsible for error detection using ACK and / or NACK protocols to support HARQ operations.

[0058] At least one of the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 may be configured to perform operations related to Figure 1 At least one of the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 may be configured to perform operations related to Figure 1 The 198 combined aspects.

[0059] The unlicensed spectrum of NR may be referred to as NR-U. In NR-U, dynamic PDCCH monitoring group switching is designed to support the functionality of switching between mini-slot based monitoring outside the channel occupation time (COT) and within the COT. The channel occupation time is the sum of the packet delivery time for each transmission of a packet until the packet is successfully transmitted or the packet is discarded as a result of an undeliverable failure. The packet delivery time is defined as the total time required to deliver a data packet, which may include i) the transmission time of the data packet, ii) the transmission time of the acknowledgement (ACK) packet if necessary, iii) the propagation delay of both the data packet and the ACK packet, and iv) the inter-frame idle period required for the channel to become idle before accessing the channel.

[0060] Radio Resource Control (RRC) may configure multiple PDCCH monitoring groups for transmitting PDCCH to a UE and the UE may dynamically switch between monitoring groups. That is, a base station may transmit an RRC message to a UE to configure multiple PDCCH monitoring groups, and the UE may dynamically switch between monitoring groups. A PDCCH monitoring group may be associated with at least one search space. The search space for receiving a PDCCH may be UE-specific. That is, a UE may be configured to monitor a UE-specific search space associated with a PDCCH monitoring group indicated by an RRC message to receive a PDCCH. A search space set (e.g., a common search space (SS) set) that is not part of a configured group will always be monitored by the UE, regardless of the search space set indication. A single search space set may be part of more than one group.

[0061] For example, the multiple PDCCH monitoring groups may include group 0 and group 1. When group 0 is active, the UE may monitor UE-specific search spaces associated only with group 0. When group 1 is active, the UE may monitor UE-specific search spaces associated only with group 1. UE-specific search spaces associated with both group 0 and group 1, or a common set of search spaces not associated with group 0 or group 1, may always be monitored by the UE.

[0062] An example of dynamic switching of PDCCH monitoring groups is illustrated in Table A provided below. Table A illustrates an example DL channel, including three different search spaces SSA, SSB, and SSC, and two PDCCH monitoring groups: Group 0 and Group 1.

[0063]

[0064]

[0065] Table A has examples of search spaces and DL channels for PDCCH monitoring groups.

[0066] For the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial IoT terminals may have variable service modes. For example, at a specific time, a large number of terminals may need to be connected in the same time slot, or each terminal may require low latency service. For another example, multiple sensors may share a single transmitter / receiver, and different sensors may have different grouping modes.

[0067] Dynamic PDCCH monitoring group switching (or automatic PDCCH monitoring group switching) can be used for industrial IoT to improve service quality. The automatic PDCCH monitoring group switching mode may have a predetermined time pattern based on a use case (such as a deterministic traffic mode). That is, the automatic PDCCH monitoring group switching may be based on various conditions. For example, the dynamic PDCCH monitoring group switching may be based on one of the communication traffic volume, the expected communication traffic volume, the characteristics of the communication traffic, temperature, time or light detection. The UE may also provide a request to the base station for switching triggered by UL traffic based on the use case that the UE knows that there is an upcoming emergency traffic. Here, emergency traffic may refer to delay-sensitive traffic, and therefore the base station and the UE may switch to a PDCCH monitoring group with a shorter periodicity to transmit PDCCH and monitor to receive PDCCH.

[0068] Different types of sensors are used in industrial IoT systems. Different types of sensors may have different communication modes with different parameters and functions (such as measured temperature and light detection, etc.). Dynamically switching monitoring groups in an event-based manner can improve communication performance.

[0069] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a PDCCH monitoring group can be automatically switched based on a predetermined pattern. For example, there may be a deterministic traffic pattern, in which the traffic volume is changed from a first traffic volume to a second traffic volume. That is, the base station can determine the search space corresponding to one of the PDCCH monitoring groups based on the pattern of transmitting PDCCH to the UE, and the UE can determine to monitor the search space corresponding to the one of the PDCCH monitoring groups based on the pattern. For example, the data traffic volume can change with a deterministic pattern, and the base station and the UE can select one of the monitoring groups based on certain characteristics or requirements of the data traffic volume. Both the base station and the UE can know the predetermined pattern. That is, the UE and the base station can share the predetermined pattern so that the UE and the base station can switch between the PDCCH monitoring groups without using any signaling to initiate the switch between the monitoring groups. Accordingly, the PDCCH monitoring group can be dynamically switched without the increased signaling overhead.

[0070] In another example, the base station may transmit to the UE an indication of the dynamic switching of the triggering PDCCH monitoring group. The indication from the base station to the UE may be implemented to overwrite the predetermined mode. The indication from the base station to the UE may help avoid or reduce the mismatch between the base station and the UE regarding the monitoring group and / or when to switch the monitoring group. For example, at a specific time, the base station and the UE may know that there is an upcoming emergency traffic, which requires the UE and the base station to switch to a search space with a shorter periodicity. However, if the UE does not receive an indication of the switching search space from the base station (because the base station does not decide to switch for some reason (such as resource limitations)), the UE may continue to use the original search space with a longer periodicity. That is, when the base station determines that there are not enough resources to switch to other search spaces, the indication is used to allow the base station and the UE to continue to use the existing search space.

[0071] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, the UE may send a switching request to the base station. That is, the switching of the search space may be triggered by the UE based on UL traffic. For example, when the UE knows that there is an upcoming emergency traffic, the UE may determine to switch to a PDCCH monitoring group with a shorter periodicity and more PDCCH monitoring opportunities.

[0072] For example, the UE may transmit a switching request using a new format of a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE). The new MAC-CE may carry information known by the UE or indicating that the UE detects that delay-sensitive DL data is coming. The new MAC-CE may be used to signal the base station to switch to a more frequent DL scheduling to detect delay-sensitive DL data.

[0073] In another example, the UE may transmit a request to switch search space via a BSR-CE. Figure 4 An example of a BSR-CE in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0074] Reference Figure 4 , the UE may use a short BSR-CE or a long BSR-CE to transmit a switching request. The short BSR-CE 410 may include 3 bits for a logical channel group (LCG) ID (LCG ID) and 5 bits for a buffer size. The UE may use one bit to transmit a switching request to the base station, for example, the 5th bit after the 4 bits allocated for the buffer size. Since industrial IoT devices may not require a large buffer size, the UE may use the remaining bits to indicate which PDCCH monitoring group the UE wants to switch to. Figure 4 It is illustrated that the UE may transmit the handover request in the 4th bit of the short BSR-CE 410 , but embodiments are not limited thereto and the UE may use any one of the 5 bits allocated for the buffer size in the short BSR-CE 410 .

[0075] The long BSR-CE 420 may include 8 bits for the LCG ID. The UE may transmit a handover request via the bits allocated to the LCG. For example, the long BSR-CE 420 illustrates that a handover request may be transmitted in both LCG7 and LCG6 to support handover between more than two groups. Since industrial IoT devices may not require a large number of LCG IDs, the UE may use the remaining bits in the unused LCG identification to indicate which PDCCH monitoring group the UE wishes to be in without changing the buffer field. Figure 4 It is illustrated that the UE may transmit the handover request in the LCG6 and LCG7 bits of the LCG ID of the long BSR-CE 420 , but embodiments are not limited thereto and the UE may use any bit of the LCG-ID of the long BSR-CE 420 .

[0076] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, the base station may use a minimum K0 value and / or a minimum K2 value to indicate the switching of the PDCCH monitoring group. In NR-U, the base station may use explicit and implicit conditions to trigger the switching of the PDCCH monitoring group. Specifically, the base station may use a dedicated bit included in the DCI sent via the PDCCH or the group common (GC) PDCCH (GC-PDCCH) to explicitly instruct the UE to switch the PDCCH monitoring group. The base station may use COT start detection and COT end to implicitly instruct the UE to switch the PDCCH monitoring group. In addition to using the above mechanism to trigger switching, the minimum K0 value and / or the minimum K2 value may also be used to trigger switching.

[0077] The minimum K0 value and / or the minimum K2 value may be configured by 1 bit in the RRC and / or DCI per bandwidth part (BWP) to indicate a change between up to 2 preconfigured values. K0 may be used to calculate the time domain allocation for the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). K2 may be used to calculate the time domain allocation for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). Accordingly, a low minimum K0 value and / or a minimum K2 value translates into more frequent channel scheduling. Therefore, the base station may transmit a low minimum K0 value and / or a minimum K2 value to the UE to notify that delay-sensitive DL data will be transmitted, thereby implicitly instructing the UE to switch to the PDCCH monitoring group and monitor the search space associated with the PDCCH monitoring group. Further, based on the minimum K0 value and / or the minimum K2 value, the base station may use at least one bit in the DCI to explicitly indicate the PDCCH monitoring group switching.

[0078] Figure 5 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example DL channel of the present disclosure. The example DL channel 500 may include group 0 and group 1. Group 0 may include search space A 502 and search space A 504 having a longer periodicity. Group 1 may include search space B 506 and search space B 508 having a shorter periodicity. The DCI may include bit I to indicate a minimum K0 value. For example, I=0 may indicate a small minimum K0 value, while I=1 may indicate a large minimum K0 value. Upon receiving a DCI with a value of I=0, the UE may determine that the UE should be in group 1. Upon receiving a DCI value with I=1 (indicating a larger minimum K0 value), the UE may determine that the UE should be in group 0.

[0079] Specifically, in the first search space A 502, the UE may receive a DCI with I=1, which indicates that the UE may stay in the search space A corresponding to group 0. In the second search space A 504 thereafter, the UE may receive a DCI with I=0, which indicates that the UE may switch to the search space B corresponding to group 1. Accordingly, the UE may switch to monitoring the search space B 506 corresponding to group 1. In the third search space B 508, the UE may receive a DCI with I=0, which indicates that the UE may stay in the search space B corresponding to group 1. In the fifth search space B 510, the UE may receive a DCI with I=1, which indicates that the UE may switch to the search space A corresponding to group 0. Accordingly, the UE may switch to monitoring the search space A 512 corresponding to group 0 in a timely manner.

[0080] Figure 6 is a call flow diagram 600 for wireless communications.

[0081] At 606, the base station 604 may transmit a configuration for multiple PDCCH monitoring groups. That is, the base station 604 may transmit a configuration for multiple PDCCH monitoring groups to the UE 602 to monitor different search space sets. For example, the multiple PDCCH monitoring groups may include a first PDCCH monitoring group having a first number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities and a second PDCCH monitoring group having a second number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities different from the first number. The configuration for multiple PDCCH monitoring groups may be sent via an RRC message.

[0082] At 608, the base station 604 may determine a search space corresponding to one of the PDCCH monitoring groups for transmitting the PDCCH to the UE 602. For example, when the plurality of PDCCH monitoring groups include a first PDCCH monitoring group and a second PDCCH monitoring group, the base station 604 may determine whether to transmit the PDCCH to the UE within a search space corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group.

[0083] At 612, the UE 602 may determine to monitor a search space corresponding to one of the PDCCH monitoring groups for receiving a PDCCH transmitted from the base station 604. For example, when the plurality of PDCCH monitoring groups include a first PDCCH monitoring group and a second PDCCH monitoring group, the UE 602 may determine to monitor a search space corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group to detect and receive the PDCCH.

[0084] At 616, the base station 604 may transmit a PDCCH in a search space corresponding to one of the determined multiple PDCCH monitoring groups to the UE 602. For example, when the multiple PDCCH monitoring groups include a first PDCCH monitoring group and a second PDCCH monitoring group, the base station 604 may transmit a PDCCH in the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group based on determining in 608 the search space corresponding to one of the PDCCH monitoring groups to transmit the PDCCH to the UE 602 in the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group.

[0085] At 618, UE 602 may monitor a search space associated with the PDCCH monitoring group received from base station 604 to receive a PDCCH from base station 604. For example, when the plurality of PDCCH monitoring groups include a first PDCCH monitoring group and a second PDCCH monitoring group, UE 602 may monitor a search space corresponding to one of the PDCCH monitoring groups to which base station 604 transmits a PDCCH to UE 602. That is, the UE monitors the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group in 616 based on determining the search space corresponding to one of the PDCCH monitoring groups.

[0086] At 610, the base station 604 may transmit an indication to trigger dynamic switching of the PDCCH monitoring group to the UE 602. The indication from the base station 604 to the UE 602 may help avoid or reduce mismatches in the PDCCH monitoring groups between the base station 604 and the UE 602.

[0087] At 614, UE 602 may send a request to change the PDCCH monitoring group to base station 604. That is, UE 602 may send a request to switch the PDCCH monitoring group to base station 604. For example, when the UE knows that there is upcoming emergency traffic, the UE may determine to switch to a PDCCH monitoring group with shorter periodicity and more PDCCH monitoring opportunities.

[0088] Figure 7 700 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method. The method may be performed by a UE (eg, UE 104; device 902). At 702, the UE may receive a configuration with multiple PDCCH monitoring groups from a base station (606). For example, 702 may be performed by a PDCCH monitoring group management component 940.

[0089] At 704, the UE can receive an indication of a PDCCH monitoring group from the base station (610). 704 can be performed by PDCCH monitoring group management component 940, for example.

[0090] At 706, the UE may determine to monitor a search space associated with the indicated PDCCH monitoring group (612). 706 may be performed by PDCCH monitoring group management component 940, for example.

[0091] At 708, the UE may transmit a request to the base station to change the PDCCH monitoring group (614). 708 may be performed by PDCCH monitoring group management component 940, for example.

[0092] Finally, at 710, the UE can monitor the search space corresponding to the PDCCH monitoring group (618). 706 can be performed by search space monitoring component 942, for example.

[0093] Figure 8 800 is a flow chart of a wireless communication method. The method can be performed by a base station (e.g., base station 102 / 180; device 802). At 802, the base station can transmit a configuration for multiple PDCCH monitoring groups to a UE (606). For example, 802 can be performed by PDCCH monitoring group management component 1040.

[0094] At 804, the base station can determine a search space for a PDCCH monitoring group to transmit a PDCCH to the UE (608). 804 can be performed by PDCCH monitoring group management component 1040, for example.

[0095] At 806, the base station can transmit an indication of the PDCCH monitoring group (610). 806 can be performed by PDCCH monitoring group management component 1040, for example.

[0096] At 808, the base station can receive a request from the UE to change the PDCCH monitoring group (614). 808 can be performed by PDCCH monitoring group management component 1040, for example.

[0097] Finally, at 810, the base station can transmit the PDCCH in the PDCCH monitoring group to the UE (616). 810 can be performed by PDCCH management component 1042, for example.

[0098] Fig. 9 900 is an example of a hardware implementation of an illustrative device 902. The device 902 is a UE and includes a cellular baseband processor 904 (also referred to as a modem) coupled to a cellular RF transceiver 922 and one or more subscriber identity modules (SIM) cards 920, an application processor 906 coupled to a secure digital (SD) card 908 and a screen 910, a Bluetooth module 912, a wireless local area network (WLAN) module 914, a global positioning system (GPS) module 916, and a power supply 918. The cellular baseband processor 904 communicates with the UE 104 and / or BS 102 / 180 through the cellular RF transceiver 922. The cellular baseband processor 904 may include a computer-readable medium / memory. The computer-readable medium / memory may be non-transient. The cellular baseband processor 904 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the cellular baseband processor 904, causes the cellular baseband processor 904 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by the cellular baseband processor 904 when executing software. The cellular baseband processor 904 further includes a receiving component 930, a communication manager 932, and a transmission component 934. The communication manager 932 includes the one or more illustrated components. The components within the communication manager 932 may be stored in a computer-readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware within the cellular baseband processor 904. The cellular baseband processor 904 may be a component of the UE 350 and may include a memory 360 and / or at least one of the following: a TX processor 368, an RX processor 356, and a controller / processor 359. In one configuration, the device 902 may be a modem chip and include only the baseband processor 904, and in another configuration, the device 902 may be the entire UE (e.g., see Figure 3 350) and includes the aforementioned additional modules of device 902.

[0099] The communication manager 932 includes a PDCCH monitoring group management component 940 configured to receive a configuration for a plurality of PDCCH monitoring groups from a base station, receive an indication of a PDCCH monitoring group from a base station, determine to monitor a search space associated with a PDCCH monitoring group, or transmit a request to a base station to change a PDCCH monitoring group, e.g., as described in connection with 702, 704, 706, or 708. The communication manager 932 further includes a search space monitoring component 942 configured to monitor a search space corresponding to a PDCCH monitoring group to receive a PDCCH, e.g., as described in connection with 710. Components 940 and 942 may be configured to communicate with each other.

[0100] The apparatus may include executing Figure 4 , 5 , 6 and 7. Thus, Figure 4 , 5 Each block in the aforementioned flow charts of , 6 and 7 may be performed by a component, and the device may include one or more of those components. These components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0101] In one configuration, the device 902, and in particular the cellular baseband processor 904, includes: means for receiving from a base station a configuration for a PDCCH monitoring group for monitoring different search space sets, means for determining to monitor a search space corresponding to a first PDCCH monitoring group or a second PDCCH monitoring group, means for monitoring a search space corresponding to one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group based on determining to monitor the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group, means for receiving from the base station an indication to the UE to monitor the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group, and means for transmitting to the base station a request indicating a request to change to monitor one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components in the device 902 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described above, the device 902 may include a TX processor 368, an RX processor 356, and a controller / processor 359. As such, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX processor 368, the RX processor 356, and the controller / processor 359 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

[0102] Fig.101000 is an example of a hardware implementation of an illustrated device 1002. The device 1002 is a BS and includes a baseband unit 1004. The baseband unit 1004 can communicate with the UE 104 via a cellular RF transceiver. The baseband unit 1004 may include a computer-readable medium / memory. The baseband unit 1004 is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory. The software, when executed by the baseband unit 1004, causes the baseband unit 1004 to perform the various functions described above. The computer-readable medium / memory may also be used to store data manipulated by the baseband unit 1004 when executing the software. The baseband unit 1004 further includes a receiving component 1030, a communication manager 1032, and a transmission component 1034. The communication manager 1032 includes the one or more illustrated components. The components within the communication manager 1032 may be stored in a computer-readable medium / memory and / or configured as hardware within the baseband unit 1004. The baseband unit 1004 may be a component of the BS 310 and may include a memory 376 and / or at least one of: the TX processor 316 , the RX processor 370 , and the controller / processor 375 .

[0103] The communication manager 1032 includes a PDCCH monitoring group management component 1040 configured to transmit a configuration for a plurality of PDCCH monitoring groups to a UE, determine a search space for a PDCCH monitoring group to transmit a PDCCH to the UE, transmit an indication of a PDCCH monitoring group, and receive a request from the UE to change the PDCCH monitoring group, e.g., as described in connection with 802, 804, 806, and 808. The communication manager 1032 further includes a PDCCH management component 1042 configured to transmit a PDCCH to the UE in a PDCCH monitoring group, e.g., as described in connection with 810. Components 1040 and 1042 may be configured to communicate with each other.

[0104] The apparatus may include executing Figure 4 , 5 , 6 and 8. Thus, Figure 4 , 5 Each block in the aforementioned flow charts of , 6 and 8 may be performed by a component, and the device may include one or more of those components. These components may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0105] In one configuration, the device 1002 and in particular the baseband unit 1004 include: means for transmitting to the UE a configuration for multiple PDCCH monitoring groups for monitoring different search space sets, means for determining to transmit a PDCCH to the UE in a search space corresponding to a first PDCCH monitoring group or a second PDCCH monitoring group, means for transmitting a PDCCH to the UE in a search space corresponding to one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group based on determining to transmit the PDCCH in the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group, means for transmitting to the UE an indication to the UE indicating to the UE whether to monitor the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group, and means for receiving from the UE a request indicating a request to change to transmitting the PDCCH in one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the device 1002 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described above, the device 1002 may include the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375. As such, in one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX processor 316, the RX processor 370, and the controller / processor 375 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means.

[0106] The device may be a user equipment (UE) and a base station. The base station may transmit to the UE a configuration for a plurality of PDCCH monitoring groups for monitoring different search space sets. The PDCCH monitoring group may include a first PDCCH monitoring group with a first number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities and a second PDCCH monitoring group with a second number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities different from the first number. The base station may determine which PDCCH monitoring group is to send a PDCCH, and transmit the PDCCH to the UE. The UE determines the search space to monitor the PDCCH monitoring group, and monitors the search space corresponding to the PDCCH monitoring group. The UE may switch between the first and second PDCCH monitoring groups based on a condition or an indication from a base station. The condition may include at least one of a communication traffic volume, an expected communication traffic volume, a characteristic of the communication traffic, a temperature, a time, or a light detection. The indication from the base station may be received in a downlink control information (DCI) or implicitly received by one of the minimum K0 or minimum K2 values. The UE may transmit to the base station a request to change the PDCCH monitoring group to be monitored. The communication performance of the UE and the base station may be improved by dynamically switching the PDCCH monitoring group in an event-based manner.

[0107] Further disclosure is included in the appendix.

[0108] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of each box in the disclosed process / flowchart is an illustration of an example approach. It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of each box in these process / flowcharts can be rearranged based on design preferences. In addition, some boxes can be combined or omitted. The attached method claims present the elements of various boxes in an exemplary order and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0109] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be easily understood by those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined in this article can be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown in this article, but should be granted the full scope consistent with the claims in language, wherein the singular reference of the elements is not intended to represent "there is and only one", but "one or more", unless otherwise stated. Terms such as "if", "when..." and "when..." should be interpreted as meaning "under the condition", rather than implying a direct time relationship or reaction. That is, these phrases (e.g., "when...") do not imply an immediate action in response to the occurrence of an action or during the occurrence of an action, but only imply that an action will occur when the condition is met, and no specific or immediate time constraints are required for the action to occur. The wording "exemplary" is used in this article to represent "used as an example, instance, or explanation". Any aspect described as "exemplary" herein need not be interpreted as being superior to or superior to other aspects. Unless otherwise stated, the term "some / certain" refers to one or more. Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" include any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiple A, multiple B, or multiple C. Specifically, combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" may be only A, only B, only C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, wherein any such combination may include one or more members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout the present disclosure that are currently or hereafter known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public, regardless of whether such disclosure is expressly recited in the claims. The terms “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” etc. may not be substitutes for the term “means.” Thus, no claim element should be construed as means-plus-function unless the element is explicitly recited using the phrase “means for….”

[0110] The following examples are merely illustrative and may be combined with other embodiments or aspects of the teachings described herein without limitation.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method of a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving, from a component of a base station, a configuration for a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring groups for monitoring different search space sets, the plurality of PDCCH monitoring groups comprising a first PDCCH monitoring group having a first number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities and a second PDCCH monitoring group having a second number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities different from the first number; receiving, from a component of the base station, an indication to the UE to monitor the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group; determining, based on the received indication, whether to monitor a search space corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group; as well as monitoring a search space corresponding to one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group based on determining that the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group is to be monitored, wherein the indication is received implicitly by: (i) a minimum K0 value from a component of the base station that is less than a K0 threshold, the minimum K0 value being used to calculate a time domain allocation for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); or (ii) A minimum K2 value from a component of the base station that is less than a K2 threshold, the minimum K2 value being used to calculate a time domain allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a search space for receiving the PDCCH is UE-specific.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the search space comprises switching from monitoring the first PDCCH monitoring group to monitoring the second PDCCH monitoring group, or switching from monitoring the second PDCCH monitoring group to monitoring the first PDCCH monitoring group.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether to monitor a search space corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group is based on at least one of communication traffic volume, expected communication traffic volume, characteristics of the communication traffic, temperature, time, or light detection.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is received in downlink control information (DCI).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication is received implicitly by detecting at least one of a volume of communication traffic, an expected volume of communication traffic, a characteristic of communication traffic, temperature, time, or light detection.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: A request to change to monitoring one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group is transmitted to a component of the base station.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the UE transmits the request on a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE).

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the UE transmits the request on a buffer status report (BSR) control element (CE) (BSR-CE).

10. An apparatus for wireless communication of a user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving, from a component of a base station, a configuration for a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring groups for monitoring different search space sets, the plurality of PDCCH monitoring groups comprising a first PDCCH monitoring group having a first number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities and a second PDCCH monitoring group having a second number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities different from the first number; means for receiving, from a component of the base station, an indication to the UE whether to monitor the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group; means for determining, based on the received indication, whether to monitor a search space corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group; as well as means for monitoring a search space corresponding to one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group based on determining that the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group is to be monitored, wherein the indication is received implicitly by: (i) a minimum K0 value from a component of the base station that is less than a K0 threshold, the minimum K0 value being used to calculate a time domain allocation for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); or (ii) A minimum K2 value from a component of the base station that is less than a K2 threshold, the minimum K2 value being used to calculate a time domain allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

11. An apparatus for wireless communication of a user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: receiving, from a component of a base station, a configuration for a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring groups for monitoring different search space sets, the plurality of PDCCH monitoring groups comprising a first PDCCH monitoring group having a first number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities and a second PDCCH monitoring group having a second number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities different from the first number; receiving, from a component of the base station, an indication to the UE to monitor the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group; determining, based on the received indication, whether to monitor a search space corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group; as well as monitoring a search space corresponding to one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group based on determining that the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group is to be monitored, wherein the indication is received implicitly by: (i) a minimum K0 value from a component of the base station that is less than a K0 threshold, the minimum K0 value being used to calculate a time domain allocation for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); or (ii) A minimum K2 value from a component of the base station that is less than a K2 threshold, the minimum K2 value being used to calculate a time domain allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein a search space for receiving the PDCCH is UE-specific.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine whether to monitor a search space corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group based on at least one of communication traffic volume, expected communication traffic volume, characteristics of communication traffic, temperature, time, or light detection.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the indication is received implicitly by detecting at least one of a volume of communication traffic, an expected volume of communication traffic, a characteristic of communication traffic, temperature, time, or light detection.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: A request to change to monitoring one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group is transmitted to a component of the base station.

16. A method of wireless communication of a component of a base station, comprising: transmitting a configuration for a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring groups for monitoring different search space sets, the plurality of PDCCH monitoring groups comprising a first PDCCH monitoring group having a first number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities and a second PDCCH monitoring group having a second number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities different from the first number; transmitting an indication to a user equipment UE indicating whether to monitor the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group; determining, based on the transmitted indication, to transmit a PDCCH in a search space corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group; as well as transmitting the PDCCH in a search space corresponding to one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group based on determining that the PDCCH is to be transmitted in the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group, Wherein the indication is implicitly conveyed by: (i) a minimum K0 value from a component of the base station that is less than a K0 threshold, the minimum K0 value being used to calculate a time domain allocation for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); or (ii) A minimum K2 value from a component of the base station that is less than a K2 threshold, the minimum K2 value being used to calculate a time domain allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a search space used to transmit the PDCCH is UE-specific.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein transmitting the PDCCH within the search space comprises switching from transmitting the PDCCH in the first PDCCH monitoring group to transmitting the PDCCH in the second PDCCH monitoring group, or switching from transmitting the PDCCH in the second PDCCH monitoring group to transmitting the PDCCH in the first PDCCH monitoring group.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein determining whether to transmit a PDCCH in a search space corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group is based on at least one of communication traffic volume, expected communication traffic volume, characteristics of the communication traffic, temperature, time, or light detection.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the indication is transmitted in downlink control information (DCI).

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the indication is conveyed implicitly by at least one of communication traffic volume, expected communication traffic volume, characteristics of communication traffic, temperature, time, or light detection.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising: A request is received to change to transmitting the PDCCH in one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the request is received on a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) (MAC-CE).

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the request is received on a buffer status report (BSR) control element (CE) (BSR-CE).

25. An apparatus for wireless communication of a component of a base station, comprising: Memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: transmitting a configuration for a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring groups for monitoring different search space sets, the plurality of PDCCH monitoring groups comprising a first PDCCH monitoring group having a first number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities and a second PDCCH monitoring group having a second number of PDCCH monitoring opportunities different from the first number; transmitting an indication to a user equipment UE indicating whether to monitor the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group; determining, based on the transmitted indication, to transmit a PDCCH in a search space corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group; as well as transmitting the PDCCH in a search space corresponding to one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group based on determining that the PDCCH is to be transmitted in the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group, Wherein the indication is implicitly conveyed by: (i) a minimum K0 value from a component of the base station that is less than a K0 threshold, the minimum K0 value being used to calculate a time domain allocation for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); or (ii) A minimum K2 value from a component of the base station that is less than a K2 threshold, the minimum K2 value being used to calculate a time domain allocation for a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein a search space used to transmit the PDCCH is UE-specific.

27. An apparatus as claimed in claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine whether to transmit a PDCCH in a search space corresponding to the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group based on at least one of communication traffic volume, expected communication traffic volume, characteristics of communication traffic, temperature, time, or light detection.

28. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: A request is received to change to transmitting the PDCCH in one of the first PDCCH monitoring group or the second PDCCH monitoring group.

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