Wireless communication method of user equipment, user equipment, and computer readable medium

Abstract

A UE receives a downlink control channel. The UE also receives an aggregation indication indicating that the downlink control channel contains downlink control information (DCI) for one or more resource locations of the UE. The UE further determines a payload size selected from a list of payload sizes is a payload size of the downlink control channel. The UE further determines, based on downlink transmission parameters at the one or more resource locations, an entry size of each of a plurality of DCI entries contained in the payload and corresponding to the one or more resource locations. The UE also locates, from the payload, bits of each of the plurality of DCI entries based on the selected payload size and the entry size of each of the plurality of DCI entries. The present disclosure proposes a wireless communication method of a user equipment and a user equipment, a computer readable medium. The beneficial effect of information block length increase is achieved by concatenating DCI entries into a single payload.

Description

[0001] This application was filed on April 27, 2018, with application number 201880004371.3 and international application number [missing information]. "PCT / CN2018 / 084893", the invention title is "Wireless Communication Method for User Equipment and User Equipment, Computer-Readable Media". A divisional application of a patent application for "quality".

[0002] Cross-referencing

[0003] This application claims priority to the following: U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 490,644, entitled “METHOD OF EFFICIENTDOWNLINK CONTROL INFORMATION TRANSMISSION”, filed April 27, 2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0004] This invention relates generally to communication systems, and more specifically to user equipment (UE) that processes transmitted aggregated downlink control information. Background Technology

[0005] The description in this section provides only background information about the present invention and does not constitute prior art.

[0006] Wireless communication systems can be widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunications services, such as telephone, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies, which enable communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources. Examples of these 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.

[0007] These multiple access technologies are applicable to various telecommunications standards to provide a common protocol enabling different wireless devices to communicate at the city, national, regional, and even global levels. An example telecommunications standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of the continuous evolution of mobile broadband released through 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 others. Some aspects of 5G NR can be based on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. 5G NR technology still requires further improvement. These improvements can also be applied to other multiple access technologies and telecommunications standards that adopt them. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The following is a brief overview of one or more aspects to provide a basic understanding of them. This overview is not a comprehensive overview of all anticipated aspects, and is neither intended to identify key or important elements of all aspects, nor to depict the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to introduce some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form, serving as a prelude to a more detailed description later.

[0009] In one aspect of the invention, a method, a computer-readable medium, and an apparatus are provided. The apparatus may be a UE in a wireless communication system. The UE includes a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory. The UE receives a downlink control channel. The UE also receives an aggregation indication indicating that the downlink control channel includes downlink control information (DCI) for one or more resource locations for the UE. The one or more resource locations may be (a) one or more component carriers scheduled for downlink communication, or (b) one or more time slots on a specific component carrier. The UE further determines that a payload size selected from a list of payload sizes is the payload size of the downlink control channel. The UE further determines, based on downlink transmission parameters at the one or more resource locations, the entry size of each of a plurality of DCI entries contained in the payload and corresponding to the one or more resource locations. The UE also locates bits of each of the plurality of DCI entries from the payload based on the selected payload size and the entry size of each of the plurality of DCI entries.

[0010] The method includes receiving an aggregation indication indicating that a downlink control channel includes a downlink control channel for one or more resource locations of the user equipment, the one or more resource locations being (a) one or more component carriers scheduled for downlink communication, or (b) one or more time slots on a specific component carrier. The method also includes receiving the downlink control channel. The method further includes determining that a payload size selected from a list of payload sizes is the payload size of the downlink control channel. The method further includes determining the entry size of each entry of a plurality of downlink control information entries contained in the payload and corresponding to the one or more resource locations, based on downlink transmission parameters at the one or more resource locations. The method further includes locating bits of each entry of the plurality of downlink control information entries from the payload based on the selected payload size and the entry size of each entry of the plurality of downlink control information entries.

[0011] A computer-readable medium contains code for: receiving an aggregation indication indicating that a downlink control channel includes a downlink control channel for one or more resource locations of the user equipment, the one or more resource locations being (a) one or more component carriers scheduled for downlink communication, or (b) one or more time slots on a particular component carrier; receiving the downlink control channel; determining that a payload size selected from a list of payload sizes is the payload size of the downlink control channel; determining, based on downlink transmission parameters at the one or more resource locations, the entry size of each of a plurality of downlink control information entries contained in the payload and corresponding to the one or more resource locations; and locating bits of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries from the payload based on the selected payload size and the entry size of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries.

[0012] This invention proposes a wireless communication method for user equipment, as well as the user equipment and a computer-readable medium. The beneficial effect of increasing the information block length is achieved by concatenating DCI entries into a single payload.

[0013] To accomplish the foregoing and related objectives, the features included in and specifically pointed out in the claims of the one or more aspects are fully described below. Certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects are set forth in detail in the following description and accompanying drawings. However, these features indicate several of the various ways in which the principles of the aspects are employed, and the description is intended to encompass all such aspects and their equivalents. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communication system and access network.

[0015] Figure 2A , 2B Figures 2C and 2D are schematic diagrams illustrating examples of DL frame structure, DL channel in DL frame structure, UL frame structure, and UL channel in UL frame structure, respectively.

[0016] Figure 3 This is a block diagram showing the base stations that communicate with the UE in the access network.

[0017] Figure 4 An example logical architecture for a distributed radio access network is shown.

[0018] Figure 5 An example physical architecture for a distributed radio access network is shown.

[0019] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a subframe centered on DL.

[0020] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram showing an example of a subframe centered on the UL.

[0021] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating communication between a base station and a UE using cross-carrier scheduling.

[0022] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram illustrating communication between a base station and a UE using cross-timeslot scheduling.

[0023] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the payload of an example downlink control channel using cross-carrier scheduling according to the first technique.

[0024] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the payload of an example downlink control channel using cross-timeslot scheduling according to the first technique.

[0025] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the payload of an example downlink control channel using cross-carrier scheduling according to the second technique.

[0026] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the payload of an example downlink control channel using cross-timeslot scheduling according to the second technique.

[0027] Figure 14 This is a flowchart of the first method (process) for the UE to process the downlink control channel.

[0028] Figure 15 This is a flowchart of the second method (process) for the UE to process the downlink control channel.

[0029] Figure 16 It is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the data flow between different components / devices in an exemplary device.

[0030] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a device employing a processing system. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are intended as descriptions of various configurations and are not intended to represent the only configuration in which the concepts described herein can be practiced. This embodiment includes specific details intended to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts can be practiced without these specific details. In some examples, known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring these concepts.

[0032] Several aspects of a telecommunications system will now be described with reference to various apparatuses and methods. These apparatuses and methods will be described in the embodiments described below and in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, and algorithms (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements can be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether these elements are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0033] Elements, or any part thereof, or any combination thereof, may be implemented as an example of a "processing system" comprising 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 a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functions described throughout this invention. One or more processors in the processing system may execute software. Software should be broadly interpreted as instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subroutines, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, processes, and functions, regardless of whether it is called software, firmware, intermediate software, microcode, hardware description languages, or something else.

[0034] Therefore, in one or more example embodiments, the described functionality can be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality can be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium includes a computer storage medium. The storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer. Examples, but not limited to, such computer-readable media can include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), optical disc storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, and combinations of the above computer-readable medium types, or any other medium for storing computer-executable code in the form of computer-accessible instructions or data structures.

[0035] Figure 1This is a schematic 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 user interface unit (UE) 104, and an evolved packet core (EPC) 160. The base station 102 may include macro cells (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cells (low-power cellular base stations). A macro cell contains a base station. Small cells include femtocells, picocells, and microcells.

[0036] Base station 102 (collectively referred to as the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) is connected to the EPC 160 interface via backhaul link 132 (e.g., S1 interface). Among other functions, base station 102 may perform one or more of the following: user data transmission, 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), user and device tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, location, and alarm message delivery. Base station 102 may communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., via EPC 160) with each other via backhaul link 134 (e.g., X2 interface). The backhaul link 134 can be wired or wireless.

[0037] Base station 102 can wirelessly communicate with UE 104. Each of base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110. Overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 may exist. For example, small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage areas 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network that includes both small cells and macro cells can be called a heterogeneous network. The heterogeneous network may also include home evolved node B (HeNB), where HeNB can provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG). The communication link 120 between base station 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (UL) (also called reverse link) transmission from UE 104 to base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also called forward link) transmission from base station 102 to UE 104. Communication link 120 may use Multiple-Input And Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna technology, which includes spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link may utilize one or more carriers. Base station 102 / UE 104 may use a spectrum of up to Y MHz bandwidth per carrier (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100 MHz), where each carrier is allocated in a total of up to Yx MHz of carrier aggregation (x component carriers) for transmission in each direction. Carriers may be adjacent to each other or not. The allocation of carriers for DL ​​and UL may be asymmetrical (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated to DL than to UL). Component carriers may include primary component carriers and one or more auxiliary component carriers. The primary component carrier may be referred to as the primary cell (PCell), and the auxiliary component carriers may be referred to as secondary cells (SCells).

[0038] The wireless communication system may further include a Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150, wherein the Wi-Fi AP 150 communicates with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in the 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the STA 152 / AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) before communication to determine whether the channel is available.

[0039] Cell 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in unlicensed spectrum, cell 102' can employ NR and use the same 5GHz unlicensed spectrum as Wi-Fi AP 150. Employing NR in unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage and / or increase the capacity of the access network.

[0040] The next-generation node (gNodeB, gNB) 180 can operate at millimeter wave (mmW) frequencies and / or near-mmW frequencies to communicate with UE 104. When gNB 180 operates at mmW or near-mmW frequencies, it can be referred to as an mmW base station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is a portion of the radio frequency (RF) band in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this band can be referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW can extend down to 3 GHz frequencies with wavelengths of 100 mm. The ultra-high frequency (SHF) band ranges from 3 GHz to 30 GHz and is also known as centimeter wave. Communication using mmW / near-mmW RF bands has extremely high path loss and short coverage. Beamforming 184 can be used between the mmW base station gNB 180 and UE 104 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short coverage.

[0041] EPC 160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a Serving Gateway 166, an MBMS Gateway 168, a Broadcast Multicast Service Center (BM-SC) 170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172. MME 162 can communicate with the Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 174. MME 162 is the control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and EPC 160. Typically, MME 162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through Serving Gateway 166, which is itself coupled to PDN Gateway 172. PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. PDN Gateway 172 and BM-SC 170 are coupled to PDN 176. PDN 176 may include the Internet, intranet, IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), packet-switched streaming service (PSS), and / or other IP services. BM-SC 170 can provide functions for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. BM-SC170 can serve as an entry point for MBMS transmissions for content providers, can be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services in a public land mobile network (PLMN), and can be used to schedule MBMS transmissions. MBMS gateway 168 can be used to allocate MBMS services to base stations 102 that belong to broadcast-specific services in a multicast broadcast single-frequency network (MBSFN) area, and can be responsible for session management (start / stop) and collection of payment information related to evolved MBMS (eMBMS).

[0042] A base station may also be referred to as a gNB, Node B (NB), eNB, AP, base transceiver station, radio base station, radio transceiver, transceiver function, basic service set (BSS), extended service set (ESS), or other suitable terms. Base station 102 provides UE 104 with an access point to EPC 160. Examples of UE 104 include cellular phones, smartphones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), satellite radios, global positioning systems, multimedia devices, video devices, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, tablet computers, smart devices, wearable devices, automobiles, meters, air pumps, ovens, or any other similarly functional device. Some UEs 104 may also be referred to as IoT devices (e.g., parking timers, air pumps, ovens, automobiles, etc.). UE104 may also be referred to as station, mobile station, user station, mobile unit, user unit, radio unit, remote unit, mobile device, radio device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile user station, access terminal, mobile terminal, radio terminal, remote terminal, mobile phone, user agent, mobile user, user, or other suitable terms.

[0043] In some respects, UE 104 determines multiple messages via CSI component 192, these messages containing channel state information reported to the base station. UE 104 also determines a priority for each of these messages via reporting module 194 based on at least one predetermined rule. UE 104 further selects one or more messages from the multiple messages based on their priorities. UE 104 then sends the selected one or more messages to the base station.

[0044] In some respects, UE 104 determines a first message and a second message via CSI component 192, the first message and the second message containing channel state information reported to the base station. UE 104 also determines, via reporting module 194, that the first message has a higher priority than the second message based on at least one predetermined rule. UE 104 further maps the information bit set of the first message to a first plurality of input bits of the encoder, and maps the information bit set of the second message to a second plurality of input bits of the encoder. The first plurality of input bits provides a higher level of error protection than the second plurality of input bits.

[0045] Figure 2A This is a schematic diagram 200 showing an example of a DL frame structure. Figure 2B This is a schematic diagram 230 showing an example of a channel in a DL frame structure. Figure 2C This is a schematic diagram 250 showing an example of a UL frame structure. Figure 2D This is a schematic diagram 280 illustrating an example channel in a UL frame structure. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels. A frame (10 ms) can be divided into 10 equal-sized subframes. Each subframe can contain two consecutive time slots. A resource grid can be used to represent two time slots, each containing one or more time-concurrent resource blocks (RBs) (also called physical RBs, PRBs). The resource grid is divided into multiple resource elements (REs). For a normal cyclic prefix, an RB contains 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 7 consecutive symbols in the time domain (or Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols for DL; SC-FDMA symbols for UL), for a total of 84 REs. For an extended cyclic prefix, an RB contains 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and 6 consecutive symbols in the time domain, for a total of 72 REs. The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0046] like Figure 2A As shown, some REs carry DL reference (pilot) signals (DL-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. DL-RS can include cell-specific reference signals (CRS) (sometimes also called shared RS), UE-specific reference signals (UE-RS), and channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS). Figure 2A The diagram shows the CRS (denoted as R0, R1, R2, and R3) for antenna ports 0, 1, 2, and 3, the UE-RS (denoted as R5) for antenna port 5, and the CSI-RS (denoted as R) for antenna port 15. Figure 2BExamples of various channels in a subframe of a DL frame are shown. The Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) is in symbol 0 of time slot 0 and carries a control format indicator (CFI) indicating whether the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) occupies 1, 2, or 3 symbols. Figure 2B The diagram shows a PDCCH occupying 3 symbols. The PDCCH carries DCI within one or more control channel elements (CCEs), each CCE containing nine RE groups (RE groups), and each RE group containing four consecutive REs in OFDM symbols. The UE can be configured to have a UE-specific enhanced PDCCH (ePDCCH) carrying DCI. The ePDCCH can have 2, 4, or 8 RB pairs (…). Figure 2BTwo RB pairs are shown, each subset containing one RB pair. The physical hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) indicator channel (PHICH) is also within symbol 0 of slot 0, and carries a HARQ indicator (HI) indicating HARQ acknowledgment (ACK) / negative ACK (NACK) feedback based on the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The primary synchronization channel (PSCH) can be within symbol 6 of slot 0 in subframes 0 and 5 of the frame. The PSCH carries the primary synchronization signal (PSS), which the UE uses to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identification. The secondary synchronization channel (SSCH) can be within symbol 5 of slot 0 in subframes 0 and 5 of the frame. The SSCH carries a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), which the UE uses to determine the physical layer cell identifier group number and radio frame timing. Based on the physical layer identifier and physical layer cell identifier group number, the UE can determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the aforementioned DL-RS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH), carrying the master information block (MIB), can be logically grouped with the PSCH and SSCH to form a synchronization signal (SS) block. The MIB provides the configuration of multiple RBs, PHICHs, and system frame numbers (SFNs) within the DL system bandwidth. The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information not transmitted via the PBCH (e.g., system information block (SIB)), and paging messages.

[0047] like Figure 2C As shown, some REs carry demodulation reference signals (DM-RS) for channel estimation at the base station. The UE may also additionally transmit a sounding reference signal (SRS) 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 combs. The base station can use the SRS for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL. Figure 2D Examples of various channels in a UL subframe of a frame are shown. The Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) can be configured within one or more subframes of a frame based on the PRACH. A PRACH can contain six consecutive RB pairs within a subframe. The PRACH allows the UE to perform initial system access and achieve UL synchronization. The Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) can be located at the edge of the UL system bandwidth. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicators (CQI), precoding matrix indicators (PMI), rank indicators (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data and can additionally be used to carry buffer status reports (BSR), power headroom reports (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0048] Figure 3This is a block diagram illustrating communication between base station 310 and UE 350 in the access network. In the DL, IP packets from EPC 160 can be provided to controller / processor 375. Controller / processor 375 implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions. Layer 3 includes the radio resource control (RRC) layer, and Layer 2 includes the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, and medium access control (MAC) layer. The controller / processor 375 provides RRC layer functions, PDCP layer functions, RLC layer functions, and MAC layer functions. The RRC layer functions are associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) broadcasting, 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 for UE measurement reporting. The PDCP layer functions are associated with header compression / decompression, security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions. The RLC layer functions are associated with upper-layer packet data unit (PDU) transmission, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), and RLC data packet data units. The re-segmentation of PDUs and the reordering of RLC data PDUs are related; MAC layer functions are related to the mapping between logical channels and transport channels, the multiplexing of MAC SDUs on transport blocks (TBs), the demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority processing, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0049] The transmit (TX) processor 316 and receive (RX) processor 370 implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding on the transport channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping on the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 316 processes 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), and M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The encoded and modulated symbols can then be split into parallel streams. Each stream can then be mapped to an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., a pilot) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to generate a physical channel carrying a stream of time-domain OFDM symbols. The OFDM streams are spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. The channel estimate from channel estimator 374 can be used to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate can be derived from the reference signal transmitted by UE 350 and / or channel state feedback. Each spatial stream can then be provided to different antennas 320 via transmitters (318TX) in respective transmitters and receivers 318. Each transmitter 318TX can modulate an RF carrier using the corresponding spatial stream for transmission.

[0050] In UE 350, each receiver 354RX (transceiver 354 includes receiver 354RX and transmitter 354TX) receives signals through a corresponding antenna 352. Each receiver 354RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to the RX processor 356. The TX processor 368 and RX processor 356 implement Layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 356 performs spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 350. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 350, they can be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by the RX processor 356. The RX processor 356 then uses a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to transform the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain. The frequency domain signal contains the individual OFDM symbol streams for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier are recovered and demodulated by determining the most probable signal constellation point transmitted by base station 310. Soft decision is based on the channel estimate calculated by channel estimator 358. The aforementioned soft decision is then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally transmitted by base station 310 on the physical channel. These data and control signals are then provided to controller / processor 359, which implements Layer 3 and Layer 2 functions.

[0051] The controller / processor 359 may be associated with a memory 360 that stores program code and data. The memory 360 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 359 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transmission and logical channels 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 operation.

[0052] Similar to the functional description related to DL transmission of base station 310, controller / processor 359 provides RRC layer functions, PDCP layer functions, RLC layer functions, and MAC layer functions. The RRC layer functions are associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting. The PDCP layer functions are associated with header compression / decompression and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification). The RLC layer functions are associated with the transmission of upper-layer PDUs, error correction via ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, resegmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs. The MAC layer functions are associated with mapping between logical channels and transport channels, MAC SDU multiplexing on TB, demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TB, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, priority processing, and logical channel priority ordering.

[0053] The TX processor 368 can use the channel estimate derived from the reference signal or feedback transmitted by the channel estimator 358 from the base station 310 to select a suitable coding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing. The spatial stream generated by the TX processor 368 can be provided to different antennas 352 via the respective transmitters 354TX. Each transmitter 354TX can modulate the RF carrier using the corresponding spatial stream for transmission. UL transmission is processed in the base station 310 in a manner similar to that described in relation to the receiver function in the UE 350. Receivers (318RX) in each transmitter and receiver 318 receive signals via a corresponding antenna 320. Each receiver 318RX recovers the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provides this information to the RX processor 370.

[0054] The controller / processor 375 may be associated with a memory 376 that stores program code and data. The memory 376 may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the controller / processor 375 provides demultiplexing, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing between the transmission and logical channels to recover IP packets from the UE 350. 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 operation.

[0055] NR refers to a radio configured to operate under a new air interface (e.g., in addition to OFDMA-based air interfaces) or a fixed transport layer (e.g., in addition to IP). NR can use OFDM with a cyclic prefix (CP) in both UL and DL, and can include support for half-duplex operation using Time Division Duplexing (TDD). NR can include tasks for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services with wide bandwidths (e.g., exceeding 80 MHz), millimeter wave (mmW) services with high carrier frequencies (e.g., 60 GHz), massive MTC (mMTC) services for non-backward-compatible Machine Type Communication (MTC) technologies, and / or services for Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC).

[0056] It can support single-component carriers with a bandwidth of 100MHz. In one example, the NR RB can span 12 subcarriers, with a subcarrier bandwidth of 75kHz over a duration of 0.1ms or 15kHz over a duration of 1ms. Each radio frame can have 10 or 50 subframes, with a length of 10ms. Each subframe can be 1ms or 0.2ms long. Each subframe can indicate the link direction for data transmission (e.g., DL or UL), and the link direction of each subframe can be dynamically switched. Each subframe can contain DL / UL data and DL / UL control data. (About...) Figure 6 and 7 The UL and DL subframes used for NR can be described in more detail below.

[0057] It supports beamforming, and the beam direction can be dynamically configured. It also supports MIMO transmission with precoding. MIMO configuration in DL can support up to 8 transmit antennas with up to 8 streams, and multi-layer DL transmission with up to 2 streams per UE. Multi-layer transmission with up to 2 streams per UE is supported. Multiple cell aggregation of up to 8 serving cells is supported. Alternatively, NR can support different air interfaces besides the OFDMA-based air interface.

[0058] An NR RAN can contain a central unit (CU) and distributed units (DU). NR base stations (e.g., gNB, 5G Node B, Node B, Transmission Reception Point (TRP), AP) can correspond to one or more base stations. NR cells can be configured as access cells (ACells) or data-only cells (DCells). For example, a RAN (e.g., a central unit or a distributed unit) can configure cells. A DCell can be a cell used for carrier aggregation or dual connectivity and cannot be used for initial access, cell selection / reselection, or handover. In some cases, a DCell may not transmit a Service Message Signal (SS). In some cases, a DCell may transmit an SS. An NRBS can send a DL signal to the UE to indicate the cell type. Based on the cell type instruction, the UE can communicate with the NR BS. For example, the UE can determine the NR base station based on the indicated cell type to consider for cell selection, access, handover, and / or measurement.

[0059] Figure 4An example logical architecture of a distributed RAN 400 is illustrated according to various aspects of the present invention. A 5G access node (AN) 406 may include an access node controller (ANC) 402. The ANC may be a CU of the distributed RAN 400. The backhaul interface to the next-generation core network (NG-CN) 404 may terminate at the ANC. The backhaul interface to the adjacent next-generation access node (NG-AN) 410 may terminate at the ANC. The ANC may include one or more TRPs 408 (also referred to as base stations, NR base stations, node B, 5GNB, AP, or some other terminology). As mentioned above, TRPs can be used interchangeably with "cells".

[0060] Each TRP 408 can be a DU. A TRP can be coupled to one ANC (ANC 402) or more ANCs (not shown). For example, for RAN sharing, serving radio (RaaS), and service-specific ANC deployments, a TRP can be coupled to more than one ANC. A TRP can contain one or more antenna ports. TRPs can be configured to provide services to the UE independently (e.g., dynamically selected) or jointly (e.g., jointly transported).

[0061] The local architecture of the distributed RAN 400 can be used to illustrate the fronthaul definition. The architecture can be defined as supporting fronthaul solutions across different deployment types. For example, the architecture can be based on transport network capabilities (e.g., bandwidth, latency, and / or jitter). The architecture can share features and / or components with LTE. Depending on various aspects, the NG-AN 410 can support dual connectivity with NR. The NG-AN can share a common fronthaul for both LTE and NR.

[0062] This architecture can enable collaboration between TRPs 408. For example, collaboration can be pre-configured within a TRP and / or across TRPs via ANC 402. Depending on the aspects, an inter-TRP interface may not be required or may not exist.

[0063] Depending on various factors, the dynamic configuration of separate logical functions can be achieved within a distributed RAN 400 architecture. PDCP, RLC, and MAC protocols can be adaptively placed in the ANC or TRP.

[0064] Figure 5An example physical architecture of a distributed RAN 500 is illustrated according to various aspects of the present invention. A centralized core network unit (C-CU) 502 can host core network functions. The C-CU can be deployed centrally. C-CU functions can be offloaded (e.g., to Advanced Wireless Service (AWS)) to handle peak capacity. A centralized RAN unit (C-RU) 504 can host one or more ANC functions. Optionally, the C-RU can host core network functions locally. The C-RU can be deployed distributedly. The C-RU can be located closer to the network edge. A DU 506 can host one or more TRPs. The DU can be located at the network edge with RF functionality.

[0065] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram 600 illustrating an example of a subframe centered on the DL (Depth-Low) element. The DL-centered subframe may include a control section 602. The control section 602 may exist in the initial or beginning portion of the DL-centered subframe. The control section 602 may contain various scheduling and / or control information corresponding to different portions of the DL-centered subframe. In some configurations, the control section 602 may be a PDCCH (Programmable Controller Center), such as... Figure 6 As shown in the diagram. The DL-centric subframe may also contain a DL data portion 604. The DL data portion 604 may sometimes be referred to as the payload of the DL-centric subframe. The DL data portion 604 may contain communication resources for transmitting DL data from a scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS) to a subordinate entity (e.g., UE). In some configurations, the DL data portion 604 may be a PDSCH.

[0066] The DL-centered subframe may also include a shared UL portion 606. The shared UL portion 606 may sometimes be referred to as a UL burst, a shared UL burst, and / or various other suitable terms. The shared UL portion 606 may contain feedback information corresponding to other portions of the DL-centered subframe. For example, the shared UL portion 606 may contain feedback information corresponding to control portion 602. Non-limiting examples of feedback information may include ACK signals, NACK signals, HARQ indicators, and / or various other suitable types of information. The shared UL portion 606 may contain additional or alternative information, such as information regarding the random access channel (RACH) process, scheduling requests (SR), and various other suitable types of information.

[0067] like Figure 6 As shown, the end of the DL data portion 604 may be temporally separated from the beginning of the common UL portion 606. This time interval may sometimes be referred to as a gap, guard period, guard interval, and / or various other suitable terms. This interval provides time for the switch from DL communication (e.g., reception operation of a lower-level entity (e.g., UE)) to UL communication (e.g., transmission of a lower-level entity (e.g., UE)). Those skilled in the art will understand that the foregoing is merely one example of a DL-centric subframe, and alternative structures with similar characteristics may exist without departing from the various aspects described herein.

[0068] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram 700 illustrating an example of a subframe centered on UL. The UL-centered subframe may contain a control section 702. The control section 702 may be present in the initial or beginning portion of the UL-centered subframe. Figure 7 The control section 702 in the reference above can be similar to the one mentioned above. Figure 6 The control portion 602 is described. The UL-centric subframe may also contain a UL data portion 704. The UL data portion 704 may sometimes be referred to as the payload of the UL-centric subframe. The UL portion refers to the communication resources used to transmit UL data from a lower-level entity (e.g., the UE) to a scheduling entity (e.g., the UE or the BS). In some configurations, the control portion 702 may be a PDCCH.

[0069] like Figure 7 As shown, the end of control section 702 may be temporally separated from the start of UL data section 704. This time interval may sometimes be referred to as a gap, protection period, protection interval, and / or various other suitable terms. This interval provides time for switching from DL communication (e.g., receiving operations of a scheduling entity) to UL communication (e.g., transmitting operations of a scheduling entity). UL-centric subframes may also contain a shared UL section 706. Figure 7 The common UL part 706 in the reference above is similar. Figure 6 The common UL portion 606 is described. The common UL portion 706 may additionally or alternatively contain information regarding CQI, SRS, and various other suitable types of information. Those skilled in the art will understand that the foregoing is merely one example of a UL-centric subframe, and alternative structures with similar features may exist without departing from the various aspects described herein.

[0070] In some cases, two or more subordinate entities (e.g., UEs) can communicate with each other using sidelink signaling. Practical applications of this type of sidelink communication can include public safety, proximity services, UE-to-network relay, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, Internet of Everything (IoE) communication, IoT communication, mission-critical mesh, and / or various other suitable applications. Typically, sidelink signaling refers to the transmission of a signal from one subordinate entity (e.g., UE1) to another (e.g., UE2) without requiring relay communication through a scheduling entity (e.g., UE or BS), even if the scheduling entity could be used for scheduling or control purposes. In some examples, licensed spectrum can be used to transmit sidelink signaling (unlike wireless LANs that typically use unlicensed spectrum).

[0071] Figure 8This is a schematic diagram illustrating a communication network 800 between base station 102 and UE 804 located in a cell of base station 102. Base station 102 and UE 804 can establish multiple component carriers 820-1, 820-2, ..., 820-H. In this example, component carrier 820-1 is the primary component carrier, while the other component carriers are secondary component carriers. In a particular configuration, as described below, base station 102 can send aggregated DCIs to UE 804. Specifically, base station 102 can initially send a DCI aggregation indication 840 in time slot 827 (e.g., via signaling). The DCI aggregation indication 840 indicates that subsequent PDCCHs contain an aggregation (e.g., a combination of more than one) of DCI entries 814. Subsequently, base station 102 can send a PDCCH 812 directed to UE 804 on primary component carrier 820-1 in time slot 828. PDCCH 812 may include a DCI for one or more of multiple component carriers 820-1, 820-2, ..., 820-H in time slot 830, or include a DCI for a single component carrier 820-x in one or more time slots, where x is 1, 2, ..., H. In one example, the start timing of time slot 828 is the same as the start timing of time slot 830. In another example, the start timing of time slot 828 may be earlier than the start timing of time slot 830. Furthermore, in this example, time slots 830 on different component carriers 820-1, 820-2, ..., 820-H are aligned. In other words, the start of each time slot 830 is at the same time point, and the end of each time slot 830 is at another same time point. In another example, when the component carriers have different subcarrier spacings, time slots 830 on different component carriers 820-1, 820-2, ..., 820-H may be misaligned.

[0072] The payload of PDCCH 812 may contain aggregated DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G (collectively referred to as DCI entries 814), where G is the number of aggregated DCI entries. Each DCI entry 814 is mapped to a resource location of UE 804. The resource location may be defined by component carriers and time slots. When a particular DCI entry 814 is mapped to a resource location, the DCI contained in that DCI entry provides control information for that resource location.

[0073] The DCI aggregation indication 840 can be provided to the UE 804, for example, as an RRC parameter. The DCI aggregation indication 840 can further indicate whether the aggregated DCI entry 814 is mapped to the component carrier 820 or the time slot 830. The base station 102 can form DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G in bit form and aggregate the DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G into the PDCCH 812.

[0074] According to a specific technology, base station 102 can provide UE 804 with a set of candidate payload sizes 850, or can provide candidate payload sizes 850 to UE 804 via, for example, by configuring UE 804 through configuration signals sent by higher-layer signaling (e.g., RRC or MAC control element (CE)). UE 804 stores candidate payload sizes 850 in UE 804's storage device.

[0075] In addition, UE 804 can be configured by base station 102 or other higher-layer signaling with configuration information, which informs UE 804 via DCI entry 814 of primary component carrier 820-1 which possible secondary component carriers 820 or time slots 830 are mapped to; whether the component carriers 820 (e.g., primary component carrier 820-1 and secondary component carriers 820-2-820H (if present)) use FDD or TDD; the channel bandwidth of the component carriers 820; and the transmission mode (TM) configured for each component carrier 820.

[0076] UE 804 receives downlink communication only via primary component carrier 820-1 or via primary component carrier 820-1 and / or one or more subcomponent carriers 820-2...820-H, where H is the total number of component carriers. When UE 804 utilizes cross-carrier scheduling, UE 804 can receive DCI of a subcomponent carrier via primary component carrier 820-1 or via another subcomponent carrier.

[0077] exist Figure 8In the specific configuration shown, aggregation indicator 840 indicates the existence of aggregated DCI entries 814 mapped to multiple component carriers 820 for cross-carrier scheduling. DCI entries 814 are mapped to primary component carrier 820-1 and one or more secondary component carriers 820-2—820-H. Arrow 822-1 indicates a mapping of one of the DCI entries 814 to primary component carrier 820-1. Arrow 822-2 indicates a mapping of a different one of the DCI entries 814 to secondary component carrier 820-2. Arrow 822-G indicates a mapping of yet another different one of the DCI entries 814 to secondary component carrier 820-H. It is understood that the number of DCI entries (e.g., G) and the number of secondary component carriers (e.g., H) can vary from one another and can be different relative to the other.

[0078] Reference Figure 9 , Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a communication network 900 with a specific configuration is shown, in which an aggregation indicator 840 indicates the presence of aggregated DCI entries 814 mapped to multiple time slots 830 for cross-time slot scheduling. When cross-time slot scheduling is used, PDSCH is scheduled across multiple time slots 830. DCI entries 814 can be mapped to time slots 830-1, 830-2, ... 830-J, where J is the number of time slots in the downlink communication. Arrow 902-1 indicates a mapping of one DCI entry 814 to time slot 830-1, arrow 902-2 indicates a mapping of a different DCI entry 814 to time slot 830-2, and arrow 902-3 indicates a mapping of yet another different DCI entry 814 to time slot 830-3. It is understood that the number of time slots (e.g., J) is variable, and the number of time slots (e.g., J) can be different from the number of DCI entries 814 (e.g., G).

[0079] Figure 10 An example downlink control channel (e.g., according to the first technique) is shown. Figure 8 The diagram illustrates the payload 1000 of PDCCH 812 provided from base station 102 to UE 804. In this example, UE 804 is configured for cross-carrier scheduling using DCI entry aggregation. PDCCH 812 is transmitted via primary component carrier 820-1.

[0080] In this technology, the payload 1000 generated by base station 102 includes information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G that form corresponding DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G. The number of bits in each of the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G determines the entry size of each of the corresponding DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G, wherein the entry sizes of each DCI entry 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G can have different lengths. Base station 102 concatenates (or aggregates) the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G together to generate combined bits.

[0081] In this example, base station 102 may further generate a carrier indicator field (CIF) 1010 and include it in the payload 1000. CIF 1010 indicates the component carrier 820 to which each DCI entry 814-1, 814-2...814-G is mapped. CIF 1010 may contain a pre-configured number of bits (e.g., 1 bit, 2 bits, 3 bits, etc.). In one example, CIF 1010 may be configured for bit mapping, with each bit corresponding to one component carrier 820. Each bit in CIF 1010 set to "1" indicates that the component carrier 820 corresponding to that bit is used for downlink communication, and maps one of the DCI entries 814-1, 814-2,...814-G to that component carrier 820. Each bit in CIF 1010 set to "0" indicates that the component carrier 820 corresponding to that bit is not used for downlink communication. Regarding time slot aggregation, it means that UL licenses and DL assignments for the same UE can be sent in the same time slot.

[0082] In one example, CIF 1010 has four bits indicating that DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G can be mapped to four active component carriers 820 allocated for use by UE 804. In this example, CIF 1010 is provided with the value "1001", indicating that DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G correspond to the first component carrier 820-1 and the fourth component carrier 820-4 (not shown) of the four allocated active component carriers. The size of CIF 1010 can be fixed, for example, the maximum number of active component carriers allowed to be used across carrier scheduling, or it can be dynamic, for example, the number of active component carriers used across carrier scheduling.

[0083] In addition, base station 102 generates aggregated protection bits 1014 of the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G for protecting CIF 1010 and connections (e.g., Figure 10 The example shown illustrates a CRC (but is not limited to a specific error detection code). Base station 102 obtains the Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) of UE 804 and uses the obtained RNTI to scramble the CRC to generate aggregate protection bits 1014. In one example, base station 102 may apply an XOR operation to the CRC and RNTI to generate aggregate protection bits 1014. Base station 102 appends aggregate protection bits 1014 to CIF 1010 and the set of connected information bits 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G, all of which are included in payload 1000. Base station 102 may further add padding bits 1016 to occupy unused bits in PDCCH 812, and padding bits 1016 are included in payload 1000. Since the number of information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G occupying each DCI entry 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G of PDCCH 812 is initially unknown to UE 804, UE 804 does not know the size of padding bit 1016. Therefore, the number of bits contained in padding bit 1016 can be unknown until the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G are determined.

[0084] Subsequently, in this example, base station 102 inputs at least a portion of the combined bits (e.g., information bit set 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G) to an encoder, such as a polar code encoder, to generate coded bits containing DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ..., 814-G. Then, base station 102 maps the coded bits to symbols carried in one or more CCEs of primary component carrier 820-1 and transmits these symbols to UE 804 via primary component carrier 820-1.

[0085] In one example illustrating the beneficial effects achieved by this technique, when using polar codes, the coding gain is proportional to the length of the information block, for example, the information block contained in the payload of PDCCH 812. By concatenating DCI entries into a single payload, the length of the information block increases, and the channel coding gain is thus improved due to the benefits provided by polar codes. Other beneficial effects include reduced guard bit overhead and reduced blind decoding, as described below.

[0086] Figure 11An example downlink control channel (e.g., according to the first technique) is shown. Figure 9 The diagram illustrates the payload 1100 of the PDCCH 812 (provided from base station 102 to UE 804). In this example, UE 804 is configured for cross-slot scheduling using DCI entry aggregation. Similar to... Figure 10 The example shown transmits PDCCH812 via primary component carrier 820-1.

[0087] Similar to Figure 10 In the example shown, the payload 1000 generated by base station 102 contains a set of information bits 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G that are connected (or aggregated) together to generate combined bits.

[0088] In this example, instead of CIF 1010 for example payload 1000, base station 102 generates a slot indicator field (SIF) 1110 and includes SIF 1110 in payload 1100. SIF 1110 indicates that each DCI entry 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G is mapped to time slot 830. Similar to CIF 1010, SIF 1110 may contain a pre-configured number of bits (e.g., 1 bit, 2 bits, 3 bits, etc.), and SIF 1110 can be configured for bit mapping, with each bit corresponding to a different time slot 830. Each bit of SIF 1110 set to "1" indicates that time slot 830 is used to schedule downlink communication data, such as PDSCH, and that one of DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G is mapped to time slot 830. Each bit of SIF 1110 set to "0" indicates that slot 830 corresponds to a bit that was not used to schedule downlink communication data. When UE 804 is configured for cross-slot scheduling, UE 804's UL authorization and DL allocation can be sent in the same slot 830. In one example, SIF 1110 has four bits indicating that DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G can be mapped to four available slots 830 that can be used by UE 804 to schedule downlink data. In this example, SIF 1110 is provided with a value of "1010", indicating that DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G correspond to slots 830-1 and 830-3 of the four available slots 830. Available slots can be slots as described above, or they can be microslots, where a microslot is a portion of a slot. The size of SIF 1110 can be fixed, for example, the maximum number of available time slots or time slot aggregations allowed using cross-time slot scheduling, or it can be dynamic, for example, the number of available time slots with cross-time slot aggregations.

[0089] Payload 1100 can also include information about Figure 10 The aggregated protection bit 1014 and padding bit 1016 are described in the document. Similar to... Figure 10 As described in the text, the aggregate protection bit 1014 protects SIF 1110 and the set of information bits 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G.

[0090] Similar to Figure 10 In the example shown, base station 102 can also input at least a portion of combined bits (e.g., information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G) to an encoder (e.g., a polar code encoder) to generate coded bits containing DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G. Base station 102 can then map the coded bits onto symbols carried in one or more CCEs of primary component carrier 820-1 and transmit these symbols to UE 804 via primary component carrier 820-1.

[0091] Figure 12 It is shown according to the second technology Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the payload 1200 of example PDCCH 812 provided by base station 102 to UE 804. In this example, UE 804 is configured for cross-carrier scheduling using DCI entry aggregation. PDCCH 812 is transmitted via primary component carrier 820-1.

[0092] In this second technique, the payload 1200 generated by the base station 102 includes information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G that form corresponding DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814. The number of bits in each information bit set 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G determines the entry size of each of the corresponding DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G, wherein the entry sizes of each DCI entry 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G can have different lengths.

[0093] Base station 102 further generates individual protection bits 1202-1, 1202-2, ..., 1202-G, such as CRC (not limited to a specific type of protection bit), wherein each individual protection bit 1202-1, 1202-2, ..., 1202-G is associated with each of the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G of each DCI entry 814-1, 814-2, ..., 814-G. In the example shown, base station 102 generates a CRC for each of the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G. Base station 102 concatenates paired information bit sets and individual protection bits (1012-1, 1202-1), (1012-2, 1202-2)...(1012-G, 1202-G) to generate combined bits, all of which are contained in payload 1200.

[0094] Similar to Figure 10 In the example provided, base station 102 generates CIF 1010 and includes it in payload 1200, wherein CIF 1010 indicates the component carrier 820 to which each DCI entry 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G is mapped.

[0095] A payload of 1200 can also include information about Figure 10 The aggregated protection bit 1014 and padding bit 1016 described herein are similar to those in the previous section. Figure 10 The description states that the aggregated protection bit 1014 protects CIF 1010 and the connected information bit set 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G and the individual protection bits (1012-1, 1202-1), (1012-2, 1202-2)...(1012-G, 1202-G).

[0096] Similar to Figure 10 In the example shown, base station 102 can also input at least a portion of the combined bits (e.g., information bit set 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G) to an encoder (e.g., a polar code encoder) to generate coded bits containing DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ..., 814-G. Base station 102 can map the coded bits onto symbols carried in one or more CCEs of primary component carrier 820-1 and transmit these symbols to UE 804 via primary component carrier 820-1.

[0097] Figure 13 An exemplary downlink control channel (e.g., according to the second technique) is shown. Figure 9The diagram shows a schematic of the payload 1300 of PDCCH 812 provided to UE 804 from base station 102. In this example, UE 804 is configured for cross-slot scheduling using DCI entry aggregation. PDCCH 812 is transmitted via primary component carrier 820-1.

[0098] In this second technique, the payload 1300 generated by the base station 102 includes a set of information bits 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G forming corresponding DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G. The number of bits in each of the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G determines the entry size of each of the corresponding DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G, wherein the entry sizes of each DCI entry 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G can have different lengths.

[0099] Base station 102 further generates individual protection bits 1202-1, 1202-2, ..., 1202-G, such as CRC (not limited to a specific type of protection bit), wherein each individual protection bit 1202-1, 1202-2, ..., 1202-G is associated with each of the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G of the corresponding DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ..., 814-G. In the example shown, base station 102 generates the CRC for each of the individual information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G. Base station 102 concatenates the paired information bit sets and the individual protection bits (1012-1, 1202-1), (1012-2, 1202-2)...(1012-G, 1202-G) together to generate combined bits, all of which are included in the payload 1300.

[0100] Similar to Figure 11 In the example provided, base station 102 generates SIF 1110 and includes it in payload 1300, wherein SIF 1110 indicates the time slot 830 to which the corresponding DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G are mapped.

[0101] A payload of 1300 can also include information about Figure 10 The aggregated protection bit 1014 and padding bit 1016 described herein are similar to those in the previous section. Figure 10 The description states that the aggregate protection bit 1014 protects CIF 1010 and the set of information bits 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G.

[0102] Similar to Figure 10 In the example shown, base station 102 can also input at least a portion of the combined bits (e.g., information bit set 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G) to an encoder (e.g., a polar code encoder) to generate coded bits containing DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ..., 814-G. Base station 102 can map the coded bits onto symbols carried in one or more CCEs of primary component carrier 820-1 and transmit these symbols to UE 804 via primary component carrier 820-1.

[0103] Return to reference Figure 8 , Figure 9 , Figure 10 and Figure 11 As described in the first embodiment of the technology above, UE 804 receives at least one downlink communication from base station 102, which includes DCI aggregation indication 840 and PDCCH 812 containing coded bits. UE 804 determines from DCI aggregation indication 840 whether PDCCH 812 contains an aggregation of DCI entry 814. If UE 804 determines that DCI entry 814 is aggregated, then UE 804 further determines from DCI aggregation indication 840 whether the aggregated DCI entry 814 is mapped to a component carrier 820 for cross-carrier scheduling or a timeslot 830 for cross-timeslot scheduling. (See reference...) Figure 8 and Figure 10 When UE 804 determines from DCI aggregation instruction 840 that aggregated DCI entry 814 is mapped to one or more component carriers 820, it implements a first technique to handle cross-carrier scheduling. (See reference...) Figure 9 and Figure 11 When UE 804 determines from DCI aggregation instruction 840 that aggregated DCI entry 814 is mapped to one or more time slots 830, it implements the first technique to handle cross-time slot scheduling.

[0104] UE 804 decodes the encoded bits of PDCCH 812 and the bits contained therein. Figure 10 The bits in the payload 1000 shown Figure 11 The bits in payload 1100 are shown. Payload 1000 or payload 1100 includes bits corresponding to CIF 1010 or SIF 1110, information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G corresponding to DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G, padding bits 1016, and aggregation protection bits 1014. The bits included in payload 1000 or payload 1100 can be generated by base station 102 according to the above-described technique.

[0105] UE 804 determines the payload size of PDCCH 812 from its stored list of candidate payload sizes 850. In this example, the list of candidate payload sizes 850 stored by UE 804 contains (in bits) {45, 90, 135}. Furthermore, UE 804 has already established one or more component carriers 820 with base station 102. For example, UE 804 may have already established three component carriers CC#1, CC#2, and CC#3 with base station 102. UE 804 knows whether the available component carriers 820 use FDD or TDD and knows the respective bandwidth and TM of each component carrier. In this example, CC#1-CC#3 use FDD, the channel bandwidths of CC#1-CC#3 are 10MHz, 10MHz, and 5MHz respectively, and CC#1-CC#3 use TM3, TM3, and TM8 respectively. In one example, LTE version 10 is implemented. Furthermore, based on the scheduling constraints applied in this example, only DCI entries with non-backoff TMs can be included in PDCCH 812, and DCI entry 814 has a related TM included in the set {1, 2A, 2, 1D, 1B, 2B, 2C}. UE 804 is further configured to know the size of CIF 1010 or SIF 1110. For example, the size of CIF 1010 or SIF 1110 can be three bits.

[0106] UE 804 tests the payload sizes listed in candidate payload sizes 850 to determine which stored candidate payload sizes 850 are feasible. For each payload size included in the list of candidate payload sizes 850, UE 804 may assume that the payload size of the received PDCCH 812 is a candidate payload size, locate the bits for potential protection bits of the payload with a candidate payload size, and attempt to descramble the located protection bits using UE 804's RNTI to generate descrambled bits and calculate a CRC. If the calculated CRC matches the descrambled bits, UE 804 can determine that the candidate payload size being tested is an empirically validated size of the received payload of the received PDCCH 812. If the calculated CRC does not match the descrambled bits, the next candidate is tested until a candidate is determined to be a validated size. In the current example, a payload size of 90 bits is determined to be a validated size. Once the aggregated protection bit 1014 is successfully applied, for example, a successful match between the calculated CRC and the descrambling bit, the CIF 1010 or SIF 1110 bits and the information bit set 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G can be accessed.

[0107] UE 804 further determines the entry size of each DCI entry 814-1, 814-2, ..., 814-G in the payload of PDCCH 812 based on downlink transmission parameters, scheduling constraints, and determined payload size, wherein the downlink transmission parameters are the downlink transmission parameters corresponding to one or more resource locations of DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ..., 814-G.

[0108] Based on the TM configured for each component carrier 820 and the channel bandwidth of the component carrier 820, the UE 804 can determine the candidate entry size for various combinations of DCI entries 814.

[0109] Return to reference Figure 8 and Figure 10 In an example of a first technique using DCI aggregation to indicate cross-carrier scheduling, Table I shows candidate combinations of one or more component carriers 820 determined based on the current example. For example, based on known downlink transmission parameters and applying scheduling constraints, UE 804 can determine potential entry sizes of 41 bits, 41 bits, and 36 bits corresponding to CC#1, CC#2, and CC#3, respectively.

[0110] Table I. Comparison of Aggregated DCI Payload Size with Scheduled Component Carriers

[0111]

[0112] UE 804 initially assumes a payload size of 45 bits. In this example, assuming a 45-bit payload, the received bits did not pass the CRC check (as described above). Therefore, UE 804 subsequently assumes a payload size of 90 bits and performs a CRC check similarly. In this example, assuming a 90-bit payload, the received bits passed the CRC check (as described above).

[0113] Once the correct payload size is determined, UE 804 can obtain CIF 1010 from the payload. The specific carrier to which DCI entries 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G are mapped can be determined based on the information in CIF 1010. In the current example, CIF 1010 contains three bits "101" indicating scheduling CC#1 and CC#3, and the payload contains information bit sets 1012-1 and 1012-2 corresponding to the two DCI entries 814-1 and 814-2. UE 804 knows from the downlink transmission parameters that CC#1 and CC#3 use TM3 and TM8, respectively. Based on the known TM and scheduling constraints, UE 804 determines that the possible DCI formats for the two respective DCI entries 814-1 and 814-2 are 2A and 2B. UE 804 determines the entry size of each of the two DCI entries 814-1 and 814-2 based on its candidate DCI format and the empirically verified payload size of PDCCH 812, as shown in the fourth entry of Table I. The verified payload size of PDCCH 812 is 77 bits (excluding guard bits, padding bits, and CIF / SIF).

[0114] Return to reference Figure 9 and Figure 11 In the continuing example, with a verified payload size of 90 bits and using a first technique that indicates cross-slot scheduling via DCI aggregation, UE 804 determines aggregated DCI entries for multiple slots on the same carrier, where the aggregated DCI entries are received on that same carrier. UE 804 knows the transmission parameters (e.g., TM) for each slot and can therefore determine the size of the DCI entries for those slots. For example, on CC#1, based on the transmission parameters used in slots 830-1, 830-2, and 830-3, UE 804 can determine the potential DCI entry sizes for slots 830-1, 830-2, and 830-3 to be 41 bits, 41 bits, and 41 bits, respectively.

[0115] Using the available information in SIF 1110, UE 804 can identify the specific time slot to which DCI entry 814, contained in PDCCH 812, is directed. In the current example, SIF 1110 contains three bits "101" indicating that payload 1100 contains information bit sets 1012-1 and 1012-2 mapped to the two time slots 830-1 and 830-3.

[0116] Return to reference Figure 8 , Figure 9 , Figure 10 and Figure 11Once the entry size of DCI entry 814 is determined (i.e., the number of bits in each of 1012-1 and 1012-2), UE 804 can determine the number of padding bits 1016, which are contained in PDCCH 812 and can be ignored.

[0117] In the cross-carrier scheduling example, the aggregated information bit sets 1012-1 and 1012-2 contain 77 bits, as shown in the fourth entry in Table I, totaling 80 bits including the CIF. The remaining ten bits of the payload (90 bits) are determined as padding bit 1016. Padding bit 1016 can be determined similarly in the cross-slot scheduling example. When locating information bit sets 1012-1 and 1012-2 corresponding to the two DCI entries 814-1 and 814-2, UE 804 can ignore these padding bits 1016.

[0118] UE 804 can now locate information bit sets 1012-1 and 1012-2 from the payload of PDCCH 812 based on the empirically validated payload size of PDCCH 812 and the entry sizes of the two individual DCI entries 814 (ignoring the 1016-bit padding). Specifically, UE 804 positions information bit set 1012-1 starting at the fourth bit after CIF 1010 and positions information bit set 1012-2 starting at the end of information bit set 1012-1, which corresponds to the first DCI entry 814-1 and is known in both examples (from downlink transmission parameters) to be 41 bits in length. The number of information bit sets 1012-2 corresponding to the second DCI entry 814-2 (from downlink transmission parameters) is known to be 36 bits in the cross-carrier scheduling example and 41 bits in the cross-timeslot scheduling example. The 1016 padding bits can be ignored.

[0119] Return to reference Figure 8 , Figure 9 , Figure 12 and Figure 13In accordance with the second technology described above, UE 804 receives at least one downlink communication from base station 102, which includes a DCI aggregation indication 840 and a PDCCH 812 containing coded bits. UE 804 determines from the DCI aggregation indication 840 whether the PDCCH 812 contains an aggregation of DCI entries 814. If UE 804 determines that DCI entries 814 are aggregated, UE 804 further determines from the DCI aggregation indication 840 whether the aggregated DCI entries 814 are mapped to a component carrier 820 for cross-carrier scheduling or a time slot 830 for cross-time slot scheduling. When UE 804 determines from the DCI aggregation indication 840 that the aggregated DCI entries 814 are mapped to one or more component carriers 820, the second technology is implemented to handle cross-carrier scheduling, see [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 8 and Figure 12 When UE 804 determines from DCI aggregation instruction 840 that aggregated DCI entry 814 is mapped to one or more time slots 830, a second technique is implemented to handle cross-time slot scheduling, referencing Figure 9 and Figure 13 .

[0120] UE 804 decodes the encoded bits of PDCCH 812 and the bits contained therein. Figure 12 The bits in the payload 1200 shown Figure 13 The bits in payload 1300 are shown. Payload 1200 or payload 1300 includes bits corresponding to CIF 1010 or SIF 1110, information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G corresponding to each DCI entry 814-1, 814-2, ... 814-G, individual protection bits 1202-1, 1202-2, ... 1202-G corresponding to each information bit set 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G, padding bits 1016, and aggregate protection bits 1014. The bits included in payload 1200 or 1300 can be generated by base station 102 according to the above-described technique.

[0121] According to the second technique, the stored list of candidate payload sizes 850 is optional. If the UE 804 does store the list of candidate payload sizes 850, the payload size can be determined and verified in the same manner as described for the first technique. If the UE 804 does not store the list of candidate payload sizes 850, a significantly larger number of blind detection hypotheses can be added. The aggregated guard bit 1014 can be used to exclude at least a portion of the candidate DCI formats. Individual guard bits 1202-1, 1202-2, ... 1202-G associated with the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G can be used to distinguish the remaining candidates.

[0122] UE 804 is further configured to be aware of the available component carriers 820. In one example, UE 804 is aware that CC#1 and CC#2 are available as component carriers 820 for downlink communication. UE 804 is configured to know whether the available component carriers 820 use FDD or TDD and to know the individual bandwidths and TMs of each available component carrier. In this example, CC#1 and CC#2 use FDD, the channel bandwidths of CC#1 and CC#3 are both 10MHz, and both CC#1 and CC#3 use TM3. No specific scheduling constraints are applied.

[0123] If UE 804 stores candidate payload sizes 850, it tests the payload sizes listed in the candidate payload sizes 850 to determine which stored candidate payload sizes 850 are feasible candidates as described above.

[0124] UE 804 can first determine the payload size of PDCCH 812 by determining the payload size of each schedulable component carrier 820 and the potential combinations of available DCI formats that can be used, and then applying aggregate protection bits 1014 and / or individual protection bits 1202-1, 1202-2, ... 1202-G to select the combination of component carriers 820 and formats to be used in the received PDCCH 812.

[0125] Then, UE 804 can select a subset of the determined payload size by using aggregate protection bit 1014, for example, by applying a CRC check procedure. According to the current example, Table II shows examples of payload sizes for potential combinations of component carriers CC#1 and CC#2, where each entry (case ID 1-8) represents the schedulable component carrier 820 and different potential combinations of available DCI formats. Once aggregate protection bit 1014 is successfully applied, for example, a successful match between the calculated CRC and the descrambling bits, CIF 1010 or SIF 1110 bits and information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G can be accessed.

[0126] Table II. Payload Size of Aggregated DCI Comparison Scheduled Component Carriers

[0127]

[0128]

[0129] Return to reference Figure 8 and Figure 12In an example of a second technique where DCI aggregation indicates cross-carrier scheduling, CIF 1010 can be decoded and indicate which component carriers 820 to use, which eliminates some entries in Table II.

[0130] Return to reference Figure 9 and Figure 13 In the example using the second technique where DCI aggregation indicates cross-timeslot scheduling, UE 804 knows the component carrier via its receiving downlink transmission. Entries using other component carriers in Table II can be eliminated. It is assumed that in the current example, if cross-timeslot scheduling were used, entries 5-8 would be eliminated. However, the current example is described as using cross-carrier scheduling.

[0131] Table II is determined based on the known available component carrier 820 and its downlink transmission parameters. As shown in the current example, Table II is determined based on the available component carriers CC#1 and CC#2 and their respective downlink transmission parameters. Table II shows eight cases of different scheduling and available format combinations for component carriers CC#1 and / or CC#2. For each of the eight cases, the payload size of the aggregated DCI entry is shown (excluding CIF 1010 or SIF1110 and individual protection bits 1202-1 and 1202-2, and aggregated protection bit 1014). The payload size of the aggregated DCI entry is based on... Figure 13 The size of the information bit sets (1012-1) and (1012-2) shown.

[0132] In the example of DCI aggregation indicating cross-carrier scheduling, once aggregation protection bit 1014 is applied, for example by performing CRC check processing for eight different cases, excluding cases 1-5 and 8, cases 6 and 7 are reserved as candidate combinations for component carriers CC#1 and / or CC#2 and available DCI formats. In this case, cases 6 and 7 include both CC#1 and CC#2, but using different formats, with a payload size of 67 bits for each case.

[0133] After successfully applying aggregated protection bit 1014, CIF 1010 and individual protection bits 1202-1, 1202-2, ... 1202-G can be accessed. UE 804 can determine the possible number of bits for each of the remaining information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G for each of the remaining cases. As shown in the current example, for case 6, UE 804 can infer that one set of information bits, 1012-1 or 1012-2, has 26 bits and the other set has 41 bits (67 bits in total).

[0134] For each remaining case, using the known number of possible bits in each of the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G, UE 804 can apply a single protection bit 1202-1, 1202-2, ... 1202-G to the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ... 1012-G of the remaining case. Once a single protection bit 1202-1, 1202-2, ... 1202-G is successfully applied to one of the cases, UE 804 can distinguish that case from the remaining cases as the correctly identified DCI entry 814.

[0135] In one example of DCI aggregation indicating cross-slot scheduling, hypothetical combinations of bit counts for each set in information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G are assumed to be determined based on known component carriers used for downlink transmission, available TMs, and available formats (as determined for Table II, but using only one component carrier). Some hypothetical combinations that exceed the validated payload size are eliminated. A single guard bit can be applied to select one of the hypothetical combinations. The selected hypothetical combination informs UE 804 of the number of bits for each of information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G.

[0136] As shown in the current example, UE 804 can apply single protection bits 1202-1 and 1202-2 to the information bit sets 1012-1 and 1012-2 in cases 6 and 7. In case 6, information bit sets 1012-1 and 1012-2 have 26 bits and 41 bits, respectively. In case 7, information bit sets 1012-1 and 1012-2 have 41 bits and 26 bits, respectively. In this example, single protection bits 1201-1 and 1202-2 were successfully applied in case 6.

[0137] Once the number of bits in each of the information bit sets 1012-1, 1012-2, ..., 1012-G is determined, and the size of CIF 1010 or SIF 1110 and the size of the individual guard bits 1202-1, 1202-2, ..., 1202-G are known, UE 804 can locate information bit sets 1012-1 and 1012-2 from the payload of PDCCH 812. As shown in the current example, CIF 1010 or SIF 1110 is known to have three bits. UE 804 locates the fourth bit after CIF 1010 or SIF 1110 as the beginning of information bit set 1012-1. UE 804 can access information bit set 1012-1 using the number of bits it knows (e.g., 26 bits). UE 804 can skip a single protection bit 1202-1 (using the known number of bits in a single protection bit 1202-1) and use the known number of bits (e.g., 41 bits) to access the adjacent information bit set 1012-2.

[0138] When UE 804 stores a set of candidate payload sizes 850, UE 804 can use this knowledge to determine the verified payload size, as described below with respect to the first technique, and thus may eliminate some entries in Table II. UE 804 can determine to append a known sequence of X bits (X≥0), such as padding bits 1016, after a single guard bit 1202-G to produce the verified payload size and ignore these bits.

[0139] Figure 14 It is based on the first technique used to process the downlink control channel (e.g., Figure 8 and Figure 9 The flowchart 1400 shows the method (procedure) of PDCCH812. This method is performed by UE 804, device 1602, and device 1602'. In operation 1402, the UE receives an aggregation indication indicating that the downlink control channel contains a DCI for one or more resource locations for the UE. The one or more resource locations are one or more component carriers or one or more time slots on a specific component carrier scheduled for downlink communication. In operation 1404, the UE receives the downlink control channel. In operation 1406, the UE obtains a list of payload sizes from the base station or the UE's configuration. In operation 1408, the UE locates the guard bit entry associated with the payload from the payload based on the selected payload size. In operation 1410, the UE determines that the payload size selected from the list of payload sizes is the payload size of the downlink control channel, wherein the selected payload size is determined based on the guard bit entry.

[0140] In operation 1412, the UE determines the mapping from each of a plurality of DCI entries to one or more resource locations based on the mapping indication in the payload. This mapping indication can be CIF or SIF, for example, Figure 10 The CIF 1010 or shown Figure 11 The SIF 1110 is shown. In operation 1414, the UE determines the entry size of each of a plurality of DCI entries contained in the payload and corresponding to the one or more resource locations based on downlink transmission parameters at one or more resource locations. The entry size of each of the plurality of DCI entries is further determined based on mapping and scheduling constraints (i.e., restricting the multiple possible formats of each DCI entry to one format or a set of formats). The downlink transmission parameters may include transmission modes at one or more resource locations. Scheduling constraints may include restrictions on whether the transmission mode is a non-backoff mode or a backoff mode.

[0141] In operation 1416, the UE locates the bits of each of the multiple DCI entries from the payload based on the selected payload size and the entry size of each of the multiple DCI entries. Locating the multiple DCI entries may include determining padding bits to be included in the payload based on the selected payload size and the entry size of each of the multiple DCI entries. Padding bits may be ignored.

[0142] Figure 15 It is based on the second technique used to process the downlink control channel (e.g., Figure 8 and 9 The flowchart 1500 shows the method (procedure) of PDCCH812. This method is performed by UE 804, device 1602, and device 1602'. In operation 1502, the UE receives an aggregation indication indicating that the downlink control channel contains DCIs for one or more resource locations for the UE. These one or more resource locations are one or more component carriers or one or more time slots on a specific component carrier scheduled for downlink communication. In operation 1504, the UE receives the downlink control channel.

[0143] In operation 1506, the UE determines the possible DCI entry size corresponding to the DCI entry for the resource location adopted by the UE based on the downlink transmission parameters at the adopted resource location, wherein the adopted resource location includes one or more resource locations. In operation 1508, the UE determines a list of payload sizes based on combinations of possible DCI entry sizes. In operation 1510, the UE determines that the payload size selected from the list of payload sizes is the payload size of the downlink control channel.

[0144] In operation 1512, the UE locates the protection bit entry associated with the payload from the payload based on the selected payload size, wherein the selected payload size is determined based on the protection bit entry. In operation 1514, the UE determines the mapping of multiple DCI entries to one or more resource locations based on mapping indications in the payload. The mapping indications can be CIF or SIF, for example, Figure 12 The CIF 1010 or shown Figure 13 The SIF 1110 shown is shown.

[0145] In operation 1516, the UE selects a possible DCI entry size for a single DCI entry from multiple DCI entries based on downlink transmission parameters at a resource location mapped to a single DCI entry. In operation 1518, the UE determines whether the selected possible DCI entry size is the entry size of a single DCI entry based on the protection bit entry associated with the single DCI entry for each entry of the multiple DCI entries. The UE determines the entry size of each entry of the multiple DCI entries contained in the payload and corresponding to the one or more resource locations based on downlink transmission parameters at one or more resource locations.

[0146] In operation 1520, the UE locates the bits of each of the multiple DCI entries from the payload based on the selected payload size and the entry size of each of the multiple DCI entries.

[0147] Figure 16 This is a conceptual data flow diagram 1600 illustrating the data flow between different components / devices in an exemplary device 1602. Device 1602 may be a UE. Device 1602 includes a receiving component 1604, a decoder 1606, a downlink control channel component 1612, a control implementation component 1608, and a transmitting component 1610. The receiving component 1604 may receive a transmission signal 1662 containing the downlink control channel from a base station 1650.

[0148] In one aspect, decoder 1606 decodes signal 1662 to access aggregation indication. Downlink control channel component 1612 determines whether the aggregation indication indicates that the downlink control channel contains DCI for one or more resource locations of the UE. The one or more resource locations may be (a) one or more component carriers scheduled for downlink communication, or (b) one or more time slots on a particular component carrier.

[0149] Downlink control channel component 1612 determines that the payload size selected from the list of payload sizes is the payload size of the downlink control channel. Based on downlink transmission parameters at one or more resource locations, downlink control channel component 1612 determines the entry size of each of a plurality of DCI entries contained in the payload and corresponding to those resource locations. Based on the selected payload size and the entry size of each of the plurality of DCI entries, downlink control channel component 1612 locates the bits of each of the plurality of DCI entries from the payload. Downlink control channel component 1612 transmits downlink control information contained in the bits of the DCI entries to control implementation component 1608, which then operates the UE according to the downlink control information.

[0150] In one aspect, decoder 1606 decodes signal 1662 to access aggregation indication. Downlink control channel component 1612 determines whether the aggregation indication indicates that the downlink control channel contains DCI for one or more resource locations for the UE. The one or more resource locations may be (a) one or more component carriers scheduled for downlink communication, or (b) one or more time slots on a particular component carrier.

[0151] Downlink control channel component 1612 obtains a list of payload sizes from the configuration of the base station or UE. Downlink control channel component 1612 locates the protection bit entry associated with the payload from the payload based on the selected payload size. Downlink control channel component 1612 determines that the payload size selected from the list of payload sizes is the payload size of the downlink control channel, wherein the determination of the selected payload size is based on the protection bit entry.

[0152] Downlink control channel component 1612 determines the mapping of each of a plurality of DCI entries to one or more resource locations based on mapping indications in the payload. The mapping indications can be CIF or SIF, for example, Figure 10 The CIF1010 or shown Figure 11 The SIF 1110 shown is shown.

[0153] The downlink control channel component 1612 determines the entry size of each of a plurality of DCI entries contained in the payload and corresponding to the one or more resource locations, based on downlink transmission parameters at one or more resource locations. Specifically, the downlink control channel component 1612 determines the entry size of each of the plurality of DCI entries based on scheduling constraints that map and restrict multiple possible formats of each DCI entry to one format or a set of formats. In particular, the downlink transmission parameters may include transmission modes at one or more resource locations. The scheduling constraints may include restrictions on whether the transmission mode is a non-backoff mode or a backoff mode.

[0154] Downlink control channel component 1612 locates the bits of each of the multiple DCI entries in the payload based on the selected payload size and the entry size of each of the multiple DCI entries. Locating the multiple DCI entries may include determining padding bits to be included in the payload based on the selected payload size and the entry size of each of the multiple DCI entries. Downlink control channel component 1612 may ignore padding bits. Downlink control channel component 1612 sends downlink control information contained in the bits of the DCI entries to control implementation component 1608, which then operates the UE according to the downlink control information.

[0155] In another aspect, decoder 1606 decodes signal 1662 to access aggregation indication. Downlink control channel component 1612 determines whether the aggregation indication indicates that the downlink control channel contains DCI for one or more resource locations of the UE. The one or more resource locations may be (a) one or more component carriers scheduled for downlink communication, or (b) one or more time slots on a particular component carrier.

[0156] Downlink control channel component 1612 determines possible DCI entry sizes corresponding to the DCI entry used by the UE based on downlink transmission parameters at the adopted resource location, wherein the adopted resource location includes one or more resource locations. Downlink control channel component 1612 determines a list of payload sizes based on combinations of possible DCI entry sizes. Downlink control channel component 1612 determines the payload size selected from the list of payload sizes as the payload size of the downlink control channel.

[0157] Downlink control channel component 1612 locates the protection bit entry associated with the selected payload from the payload based on the selected payload size, wherein the selected payload size is determined based on the protection bit entry. Downlink control channel component 1612 determines the mapping of multiple DCI entries to one or more resource locations based on mapping indications in the payload. The mapping indications can be CIF or SIF, for example... Figure 12 The CIF 1010 or shown Figure 13 The SIF 1110 shown is shown.

[0158] Downlink control channel component 1612 selects the possible DCI entry size for a single DCI entry of multiple DCI entries based on downlink transmission parameters mapped to a resource location of a single DCI entry. By determining whether the selected possible DCI entry size is the entry size of a single DCI entry based on the protection bit entry associated with each of the multiple DCI entries for each entry of the multiple DCI entries, downlink control channel component 1612 determines the entry size of each entry of the multiple DCI entries contained in the payload and corresponding to one or more resource locations based on downlink transmission parameters at one or more resource locations.

[0159] Downlink control channel component 1612 locates the bits of each of the multiple DCI entries from the payload based on the selected payload size and the entry size of each of the multiple DCI entries. Downlink control channel component 1612 sends downlink control information contained in the bits of the DCI entry to control implementation component 1608, which then operates the UE according to the downlink control information.

[0160] Figure 17 This is a schematic diagram 1700 illustrating a hardware implementation of a device 1602' employing a processing system 1714. The processing system 1714 can be implemented using a bus architecture, typically represented by a bus 1724. The bus 1724 can contain any number of interconnect buses and bridges, the number depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system 1714. The bus 1724 connects various circuits containing one or more processors and / or hardware components, and can be represented by one or more processors 1704, a receiving component 1604, a decoder 1606, a downlink control channel component 1612, a control implementation component 1608, a transmitting component 1610, and a computer-readable medium / memory 1706. The bus 1724 can also connect various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits.

[0161] The processing system 1714 may be coupled to transceiver 1710, which may be one or more transceivers 354. Transceiver 1710 may be coupled to one or more antennas 1720, which may be communication antennas 352.

[0162] Transceiver 1710 provides means for communicating with various other devices via a transmission medium. Transceiver 1710 receives signals from one or more antennas 1720, extracts information from the received signals, and provides the extracted information to processing system 1714, specifically receiving component 1604. Furthermore, transceiver 1710 receives information from processing system 1714, specifically transmitting component 1610, and generates signals applicable to one or more antennas 1720 based on the received information.

[0163] Processing system 1714 includes one or more processors 1704 coupled to computer-readable medium / memory 1706. The one or more processors 1704 are responsible for overall processing, including the execution of software stored on computer-readable medium / memory 1706. When executed by the one or more processors 1704, the software can cause processing system 1714 to perform the various functions described above for any particular device. Computer-readable medium / memory 1706 can also be used to store data manipulated by the one or more processors 1704 during software execution. Processing system 1714 further includes at least one of a receiving component 1604, a decoder 1606, a downlink control channel component 1612, a control implementation component 1608, and a transmitting component 1610. Components can be software components running in the one or more processors 1704 and residing / stored in computer-readable medium / memory 1706, one or more hardware components coupled to the one or more processors 1704, or combinations thereof. The processing system 1714 may be a component of the UE 804 and may include at least one of memory 360 and / or TX processor 368, RX processor 356 and control / processor 359.

[0164] In one configuration, device 1602 / device 1602' for wireless communication includes means for performing Figure 15 and Figure 14 Each of the devices in operation. The aforementioned devices may be components of one or more of the aforementioned devices 1602 and / or processing systems 1714 of devices 1602' configured to perform the functions described above. As described above, processing system 1714 may include TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and control / processor 359. Therefore, in one configuration, the aforementioned devices may be TX processor 368, RX processor 356, and control / processor 359 configured to perform the functions described above.

[0165] It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the blocks in the flowchart / flowchart of this invention is an example of an exemplary method. Therefore, it should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of the blocks in the flowchart / flowchart can be rearranged based on design preferences. Furthermore, some blocks can be further combined or omitted. The appended method claims present the elements of each block in a simplified order; however, this does not imply limitation to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0166] The foregoing is provided to enable those skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined in this invention can also be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to limit themselves to the aspects shown herein, but rather to conform to the full scope of the language claims, in which references to singular elements are not intended to mean “one and only one” but rather “one or more” unless specifically stated otherwise. The term “exemplary” in this invention means “as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described as “exemplary” in this invention is not necessarily more preferred or advantageous than other aspects. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” means 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. More 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" can 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, or members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described in this invention are known to or will subsequently be known to those skilled in the art, and are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be contained within the claims. Moreover, regardless of whether the invention is expressly stated in the claims, the disclosure of this invention is not intended for public use only. The terms "module", "mechanism", "element", "device", etc., may not be alternatives to the term "device". Therefore, no element in the claims is to be interpreted as a device plus a function unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase "device for...".

Claims

1. A wireless communication method for a user equipment, comprising: Receive aggregation indication, which indicates that the downlink control channel contains downlink control information for one or more resource locations for the user equipment, the one or more resource locations being (a) one or more component carriers scheduled for downlink communication, or (b) one or more time slots on a particular component carrier; Receive the downlink control channel; Determine the size of the payload of the downlink control channel; Based on the transmission mode at the one or more resource locations, determine the entry size of each entry in the plurality of downlink control information entries contained in the payload and corresponding to the one or more resource locations; and Locate the bits of each of the multiple downlink control information entries in the payload; Based on the payload size and the size of each entry in the plurality of downlink control information entries, locate the bits of each entry in the plurality of downlink control information entries.

2. The wireless communication method for user equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, Further includes: Based on the mapping indication in the payload, the mapping of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries to the one or more resource locations is determined, wherein the size of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries is further determined based on the mapping and scheduling constraints, wherein the scheduling constraints restrict the multiple possible formats of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries to a single format or a set of formats.

3. The wireless communication method for user equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that, The scheduling constraint includes a restriction on whether the transmission mode is a non-backoff mode or a backoff mode.

4. The wireless communication method for user equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, Further includes: The possible downlink control information entry size is determined based on the downlink transmission parameters at the adopted resource location, which includes the one or more resource locations.

5. The wireless communication method for user equipment according to claim 4, characterized in that, Further includes: Based on the mapping indication in the payload, the mapping of the plurality of downlink control information entries to the one or more resource locations is determined, wherein determining the entry size of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries includes: Based on the downlink transmission parameters mapped to the resource location of a single downlink control information entry, the possible downlink control information entry size of the plurality of downlink control information entries is selected; and Based on the protection bit entries associated with the single downlink control information entry, determine whether the selected possible downlink control information entry size is the entry size of the single downlink control information entry.

6. The wireless communication method for a user equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, Further includes: Based on the determined payload size and the size of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries, the padding bits to be included in the payload are determined.

7. A user equipment for a wireless communication system, comprising: Memory; and At least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: Receive aggregation indication, which indicates that the downlink control channel contains downlink control information for one or more resource locations for the user equipment, the one or more resource locations being (a) one or more component carriers scheduled for downlink communication, or (b) one or more time slots on a particular component carrier; Receive the downlink control channel; Determine the size of the payload of the downlink control channel; Based on the transmission mode at the one or more resource locations, determine the entry size of each of the multiple downlink control information entries contained in the payload and corresponding to the one or more resource locations; Locate the bits of each of the multiple downlink control information entries in the payload; as well as Based on the payload size and the size of each entry in the plurality of downlink control information entries, locate the bits of each entry in the plurality of downlink control information entries.

8. The user equipment of the wireless communication system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The at least one processor is further configured to: Based on the mapping indication in the payload, the mapping of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries to the one or more resource locations is determined, wherein the size of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries is further determined based on the mapping and scheduling constraints, wherein the scheduling constraints restrict the multiple possible formats of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries to a single format or a set of formats.

9. The user equipment of the wireless communication system according to claim 8, characterized in that, The scheduling constraint includes a restriction on whether the transmission mode is a non-backoff mode or a backoff mode.

10. The user equipment of the wireless communication system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The at least one processor is further configured to: The possible downlink control information entry size is determined based on the downlink transmission parameters at the adopted resource location, which includes one or more resource locations.

11. The user equipment of the wireless communication system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The at least one processor is further configured to: Based on the mapping indication in the payload, the mapping of the plurality of downlink control information entries to the one or more resource locations is determined, wherein determining the entry size of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries includes: Based on the downlink transmission parameters mapped to the resource location of a single downlink control information entry, the possible downlink control information entry size of the plurality of downlink control information entries is selected; and Based on the protection bit entries associated with the single downlink control information entry, determine whether the selected possible downlink control information entry size is the entry size of the single downlink control information entry.

12. The user equipment of the wireless communication system according to claim 7, characterized in that, The at least one processor is further configured to: Based on the determined payload size and the size of each of the plurality of downlink control information entries, the padding bits to be included in the payload are determined.

13. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for a wireless communication system including a user equipment, wherein when the code is executed, it causes the user equipment to perform the steps of the wireless communication method according to any one of claims 1-6.

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