Method and apparatus for wireless communication

Abstract

The present application provides a wireless communication method and device, the method can include: transmitting, by a processor of a device, a capability report to a network node to indicate a plurality of monitoring combinations of PDCCH monitoring capability; receiving, by the processor, a monitoring combination configured by the network node based on the capability report; determining, by the processor, a monitoring budget by using the configured monitoring combination; and performing, by the processor, PDCCH monitoring according to the monitoring budget, wherein each monitoring combination includes a first supported number of component carriers with a first PDCCH monitoring capability and a second supported number of component carriers with a second PDCCH monitoring capability. By using the present application, wireless communication can be better performed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to mobile communications, and more particularly to the configuration of a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitor for Carrier Aggregation (CA) in relation to User Equipment (UE) and network devices in mobile communications. Background Technology

[0002] Unless otherwise indicated, the methods described in this section are not prior art to the claims and are not acknowledged as prior art by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

[0003] In Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or New Radio (NR), a PDCCH candidate refers to an area in the downlink resource grid that may carry a PDCCH. The UE needs to perform blind decoding on these PDCCH candidates to attempt to find PDCCH data (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI)). The PDCCH candidates to be monitored can be configured to the UE using a search space set. Monitoring a large number of PDCCH candidates increases UE complexity. Therefore, NR can define the maximum number of PDCCH candidates requiring blind decoding and the maximum number of Control Channel Elements (CCEs) requiring channel estimation. By utilizing acceptable limitations on the search space set for PDCCH monitoring, UE complexity can be kept to a reasonable level.

[0004] In the third-generation partnership program (3 rdIn Release 15 (Release-15 or Rel-15) of the 3GPP NR technical specification, the maximum number of PDCCH candidates to be monitored in CA scenarios is limited per slot. The maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs or blind decodings is also defined per slot. In Release 16 (Release-16, Rel-16) of the 3GPP NR technical specification, to improve latency, an enhanced PDCCH monitoring capability for the number of non-overlapping CCEs is proposed. The explicit limit on the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs or blind decodings is defined per monitoring span.

[0005] In scenarios where version 15 and version 16 monitoring capabilities are mixed across different serving cells, the UE can report its ability to support both version 15 and version 16 monitoring capabilities. The UE can report one or more monitoring combinations as its capabilities. Based on the monitoring combinations reported by the UE, network nodes (such as gNBs) can configure a specific number of version 15 and version 16 component carriers (CCs) for the UE.

[0006] However, some issues may arise in the above scenarios that require resolution or definition. For example, how does the UE learn about the monitoring combination selected by the gNB? How should the UE utilize this information? Can the gNB configure a different monitoring combination for the UE than the reported one? The monitoring combination reported by the UE represents the maximum capability the UE can support. The gNB may not always configure the maximum number of component carriers for monitoring. The gNB may configure fewer component carriers for the UE. Therefore, if the number of configured component carriers is greater than or different from the UE's reported capability, the UE needs to know which reported monitoring combination can be used for CCE or blind decoding budget scaling. Therefore, the UE needs to know which reported monitoring combination can be used for scaling and determining the PDCCH monitoring budget.

[0007] Accordingly, in newly developed wireless communication networks, determining or configuring the PDCCH monitoring configuration in a CA scenario for UE to perform PDCCH monitoring becomes an important issue. Therefore, it is necessary to provide the UE with appropriate configurations so that it knows which reported monitoring combinations can be used to scale and determine the PDCCH monitoring budget. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The following description is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the invention in any way. That is, it is provided to introduce the novel and non-obvious technical concepts, highlights, benefits, and advantages described herein. Preferred embodiments will be further described in the Detailed Description section. Therefore, the following description is neither intended to identify the essential features of the claimed subject matter nor to define the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0009] One of the objectives of this invention is to provide a solution or scheme for addressing the problems related to PDCCH monitoring configuration for CA in mobile communications involving UE and network devices, as described above.

[0010] On one hand, a method may include: transmitting a capability report from a processor of the device to a network node to indicate multiple monitoring combinations of physical downlink control channel (PHC) monitoring capabilities; receiving monitoring combinations configured by the network node based on the capability report; determining a monitoring budget by the processor using the configured monitoring combinations; and performing PHC monitoring by the processor according to the monitoring budget using the monitoring combinations configured by the network node in response to a configured number of component carriers being greater than the reported capability, wherein each monitoring combination includes a first number of component carriers having a first PHC monitoring capability and a second number of component carriers having a second PHC monitoring capability, wherein the receiving includes receiving the monitoring combinations via radio resource control signaling for scaling the PHC monitoring capability.

[0011] On the other hand, an apparatus may include a transceiver for wirelessly communicating with a network node in a wireless network. The apparatus may further include a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and performing the following operations: transmitting a capability report via the transceiver to the network node indicating a plurality of monitoring combinations of physical downlink control channel (PHC) monitoring capabilities; receiving via the transceiver a monitoring combination configured by the network node based on the capability report; determining a monitoring budget using the configured monitoring combination; and performing PHC monitoring according to the monitoring budget using the monitoring combination configured by the network node in response to a configured number of component carriers being greater than the reported capability, wherein each monitoring combination includes a first number of component carriers having a first PHC monitoring capability and a second number of component carriers having a second PHC monitoring capability, wherein the receiving includes receiving the monitoring combination via radio resource control signaling for scaling the PHC monitoring capability.

[0012] By utilizing this invention, wireless communication can be improved.

[0013] It is worth noting that, although the description of the present invention may be in the context of specific radio access technologies, networks, and network topologies (such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, 5G), the specific network access technologies, networks, and network topologies described herein may vary. th The invention is provided in the context of Generation (5G), New Radio (NR), Internet of Things (IoT), Narrow Band-IoT (NB-IoT), and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), but the concepts, solutions, and any variations or derivatives thereof proposed in this invention may be implemented, used in, or by other types of radio access technologies, networks, and network topologies. Therefore, the scope of this invention is not limited to the examples described herein. Attached Figure Description

[0014] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this invention. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. It is understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale, as some components may be shown at dimensions that are not proportional to actual dimensions in a practical implementation, in order to clearly illustrate the concepts of the invention.

[0015] Figure 1 This is an exemplary scenario under the scheme of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 This is an exemplary CCE and blind decoding budget table under the scheme of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 This is an exemplary scenario under the scheme of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a block diagram of an exemplary communication device and an exemplary network device according to embodiments of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0020] This invention discloses detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed subject matter. However, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are merely illustrative of the claimed subject matter, which can be implemented in various forms. The invention can be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations described herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided so that the description of the invention is thorough and complete, and can fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the following description, well-known features and technical details may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the embodiments and implementations of the invention.

[0021] Overview

[0022] According to embodiments of the present invention, various techniques, methods, schemes, and / or solutions relate to the PDCCH monitoring configuration for CA in mobile communications involving the UE and network devices. According to the present invention, multiple possible solutions can be implemented individually or in combination. That is, although these possible solutions may be described individually below, two or more of these solutions may be implemented in one combination or another combination.

[0023] In Long-Term Evolution (LTE) or New Radio (NR), a PDCCH candidate refers to an area in the downlink resource grid that may carry a PDCCH. The UE needs to perform blind decoding on these PDCCH candidates to attempt to find PDCCH data (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI)). The PDCCH candidates to be monitored can be configured to the UE using a search space set. Monitoring a large number of PDCCH candidates increases UE complexity. Therefore, NR can define the maximum number of PDCCH candidates requiring blind decoding and the maximum number of Control Channel Elements (CCEs) requiring channel estimation. By utilizing acceptable limitations on the search space set for PDCCH monitoring, UE complexity can be kept to a reasonable level.

[0024] In 3GPP NR specification version 15 (Release-15 or Rel-15), the maximum number of PDCCH candidates to be monitored in CA scenarios is limited per slot. The maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs or blind decodings is also defined per slot. In 3GPP NR specification version 16 (Release-16, Rel-16), to improve latency, an enhanced PDCCH monitoring capability for non-overlapping CCEs is proposed. The explicit limit on the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs or blind decodings is defined per monitoring span.

[0025] Figure 1 An exemplary scenario 100 is illustrated under a scheme according to an embodiment of the present invention. Scenario 100 may include a UE and multiple network nodes, wherein the UE and network nodes may be part of a wireless communication network (such as an LTE network, 5G network, NR network, IoT network, NB-IoT network, or IIoT network). In version 16, span-based monitoring can be used for explicit blind decoding or CCE budgeting. The UE may report one or more combinations (X,Y) of the number of symbols for PDCCH monitoring, where XY. A “span” may be a set of consecutive symbols in a time slot for which the UE is configured to monitor PDCCH candidates. The UE may support the occasion of PDCCH monitoring in any symbol in a time slot (including across time slots), wherein the minimum time separation between the first symbols of two consecutive spans is X symbols. The duration of the span is d. span =max(d CORESET,max ,Y min ), where d CORESET,max Y is the maximum duration among the CORESET durations configured for the UE. min This represents the minimum value of Y in the (X,Y) combination reported by the UE. The last span in a time slot can have a shorter duration than other spans in that time slot. The UE's ability to perform PDCCH monitoring on the active downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP) of the serving cell in each time slot or span can be defined by the maximum number of PDCCH candidates and non-overlapping CCEs that the UE can monitor on the active DL BWP of the serving cell in each time slot or span.

[0026] Scenario 100 illustrates exemplary span determination. The UE can report the spans it can support. For example, the UE can report the supported spans (X,Y) = {(7,3), (4,3)} to the network node. The network node can select at least one of these spans and configure the selected span to the UE. For at least one (X,Y) in the set of candidate values ​​reported by the UE in each time slot (including across time slot boundaries), if the span arrangement satisfies the gap separation, a specific PDCCH monitoring configuration that satisfies the UE's capability limitations can be configured. For example, the network node can determine a span duration of span duration = max{the maximum value of all CORESET durations, the minimum value of Y} = max{3, 3} = 3. This span arrangement does not satisfy the gap separation of (X,Y) = (7,3), but it can satisfy the gap separation of (X,Y) = (4,3). Therefore, the network node can configure a PDCCH monitoring configuration for the UE corresponding to the monitored span (X,Y) = (4,3).

[0027] In version 15, the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs and the maximum number of monitoring PDCCH candidates (e.g., the maximum number of blind decodings) can be defined for each time slot for different sub-carrier spacings (SCS) (e.g., μ = 0, 1, 2, or 3). In version 16, the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs and the maximum number of monitoring PDCCH candidates (e.g., the maximum number of blind decodings) can be defined for each span for (X, Y) combinations and different SCSs (e.g., μ = 0 or 1).

[0028] Figure 2 An exemplary table 200 is illustrated under the scheme of an embodiment of the present invention. Table 200 may illustrate the CCE budget and blind decoding budget corresponding to the slot-based configuration in version 15, and the CCE budget and blind decoding budget corresponding to the span-based configuration in version 16, respectively. In version 16, three monitoring spans may be introduced, including (2, 2), (4, 3), and (7, 3). The UE may be configured to determine the CCE budget and blind decoding budget according to table 200, which may also be defined in the 3GPP NR technical specification.

[0029] Figure 3An exemplary scenario 300 is illustrated under a scheme according to an embodiment of the present invention. Scenario 300 may include a UE and multiple network nodes, wherein the UE and network nodes may be part of a wireless communication network (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, an NR network, an IoT network, an NB-IoT network, or an IIoT network). Scenario 300 may illustrate exemplary CCE or blind decoding budget determination. In version 16, the CCE or blind decoding budget can be defined for each span with an SCS of 15 kHz (e.g., μ = 0) and 30 kHz (e.g., μ = 1). Assuming a PDCCH monitoring configuration corresponding to a monitoring span (X, Y) = 94, 3) and an SCS of 15 kHz is configured, the UE can be configured to determine the CCE or blind decoding budget according to Table 200 defined in the 3GPP NR technical specification. Figure 3 As shown, for (X,Y)=(4,3) and SCS=15kHz, the UE can determine that the CCE budget for each span is equal to 36 and the blind decoding budget is equal to 28.

[0030] In scenarios where version 15 and version 16 monitoring capabilities are mixed across different serving cells, the UE can report its support for both version 15 monitoring capabilities (e.g., PDCCH Blind Detection CA-R15) and version 16 monitoring capabilities (e.g., PDCCH Blind Detection CA-R16). The UE can report one or more monitoring combinations (pdcch-Blind Detection CA-R15, pdcch-Blind Detection CA-R16) as its capabilities. Based on the monitoring combinations reported by the UE, network nodes (e.g., gNBs) can configure a specific number of version 15 and version 16 component carriers for the UE. However, some issues may arise in this scenario that need to be addressed or defined. For example, how does the UE learn about the monitoring combinations selected by the gNB? How should the UE utilize this information? Can the gNB configure a different monitoring combination for the UE than the reported one? The monitoring combination reported by the UE represents the maximum capability the UE can support. The gNB may not always configure the maximum number of component carriers for the UE for monitoring. The gNB may configure fewer component carriers for the UE. Therefore, if the number of configured component carriers is greater than or different from the UE's reported capacity, the UE needs to know which reported monitoring combination can be used for CCE or blind decoding budget scaling. Thus, the UE needs to know which reported monitoring combination can be used for scaling and determining the PDCCH monitoring budget.

[0031] In summary, this invention provides several schemes related to PDCCH monitoring configuration in CA (Client-Server Architecture) for UE and network devices. According to the schemes of this invention, the UE can be configured to transmit capability reports to the network node indicating one or more monitoring combinations of PDCCH monitoring capabilities. The network node can determine or select a monitoring combination based on the monitoring combinations reported by the UE. The network node can configure or signal a specific number of version 15 component carriers and version 16 component carriers for the UE. The UE can then learn the specific monitoring combination used by the network node and use this information to determine the PDCCH monitoring budget and perform PDCCH monitoring accordingly. Accordingly, by introducing additional signaling, the network node can send the monitoring combination determined by the network node to the UE. The UE can correctly perform PDCCH monitoring to avoid uncertainty and ambiguity. It can also reduce and limit the design complexity on the UE side.

[0032] Specifically, the UE can be configured to transmit capability reports to network nodes indicating multiple monitoring combinations of PDCCH monitoring capabilities. Each monitoring combination may include a first number of component carriers with a first PDCCH monitoring capability and a second number of component carriers with a second PDCCH monitoring capability. The first PDCCH monitoring capability may include slot-based PDCCH monitoring capabilities. The second PDCCH monitoring capability may include span-based PDCCH monitoring capabilities. For example, the first PDCCH monitoring capability may be a version 15 PDCCH blind detection capability (e.g., pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R15). The second PDCCH monitoring capability may be a version 16 PDCCH blind detection capability (e.g., pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R16).

[0033] After receiving a capability report from the UE, the network node can select or determine a monitoring combination based on the reported monitoring combinations. For example, a configured monitoring combination can be selected from multiple combinations indicated in the UE capability report for scaling up or down PDCCH monitoring capabilities. In another example, the configured monitoring combination for scaling up or down PDCCH monitoring capabilities may differ from the multiple combinations indicated in the UE capability report. The network can then be configured to indicate or configure the determined or selected monitoring combination to the UE. The network node can configure the aforementioned monitoring combination using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling and Physical (PHY) layer signaling.

[0034] The UE can be configured to receive monitoring combinations configured by network nodes based on capability reports. The configured monitoring combinations can be received in response to the number of configured component carriers exceeding the reported PDCCH monitoring capability. The configured monitoring combinations may include a PDCCH blind detection combination indicator for use in CA (e.g., pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-CombIndicator). If the number of serving cells configured for the UE exceeds the reported capability, and if the UE reports multiple monitoring combinations of pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R15 and pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R16 as UE capabilities, the combination indicator can be used to configure one monitoring combination of pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 (for version 15) and pdcch-BlindDetectionCA2 (for version 16) for the UE to scale down PDCCH monitoring capabilities. The pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 and pdcch-BlindDetectionCA2 monitoring combination configured by pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-CombIndicator can come from multiple monitoring combinations of pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 and pdcch-BlindDetectionCA2 reported by the UE.

[0035] The UE can be configured to scale down PDCCH monitoring capabilities by determining a monitoring budget (e.g., the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs or blind decodings) using a configured monitoring combination. The UE can determine a first number of component carriers to utilize a first PDCCH monitoring capability and a second number of component carriers to utilize a second PDCCH monitoring capability. For example, the UE can use the CCE or blind decoding budget formula of version 15 to determine the PDCCH monitoring budget according to pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 (for version 15). The UE can use the CCE or blind decoding budget formula of version 16 to determine the PDCCH monitoring budget according to pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 (for version 15). The UE can then perform PDCCH monitoring based on this monitoring budget.

[0036] In some implementations, the UE can support and be configured with 8 component carriers. However, the UE may not be able to monitor the PDCCH on all 8 cells. The UE can support multiple monitoring combinations and can report the monitoring combinations (A, B) it can support to the network node. A can be the number of component carriers in version 15 (e.g., slot-based monitoring), and B can be the number of component carriers in version 16 (e.g., span-based monitoring). In the 3GPP specification, A can be indicated by the parameter pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R15, and B can be indicated by the parameter pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R16. For example, the UE can report 3 monitoring combinations, including (6, 1), (4, 2), and (2, 3). Monitoring combination (6, 1) means that the UE can support 6 component carriers with version 15 capability and 1 component carrier with version 16 capability. Monitoring combination (4, 2) means that the UE can support 4 component carriers with version 15 capability and 2 component carriers with version 16 capability. The monitoring combination (2, 3) means that the UE can support two component carriers with version 15 capability and three component carriers with version 16 capability.

[0037] Suppose the network node configures the UE with (5,1) or a different monitoring combination than the reported monitoring combination (but the network node still cannot configure a monitoring combination for the UE that exceeds its monitoring capabilities). The UE needs to know which of the reported monitoring combinations can be used for scaling in the CCE or blind decoding budget formula. Therefore, the network node can send or configure one of the reported monitoring combinations for the UE for scaling (e.g., pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-CombIndicator). The pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-CombIndicator can include a first parameter pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 and a second parameter pdcch-BlindDetectionCA2.

[0038] In some implementations, for cases where version 15 and version 16 monitoring capabilities are used on different serving cells (i.e., case 3), the UE can report one or more monitoring combinations (pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R15, pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R16) as UE capabilities. If the UE reports multiple monitoring combinations (pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R15, pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R16), the gNB can configure monitoring combinations that can be used to scale down the PDCCH monitoring capabilities for the UE (if the number of configured component carriers is greater than the reported capabilities).

[0039] Exemplary Implementation

[0040] Figure 4 Block diagram 400 illustrates an exemplary communication device 410 and an exemplary network device 420 according to embodiments of the present invention. The communication device 410 and the network device 420 can perform various functions to implement the schemes, techniques, processes, and methods related to PDCCH monitoring configuration in CA associated with the UE and network device in wireless communication described in this invention, including the scenarios / schemes described above and the processes 500 described below.

[0041] Communication device 410 may be part of an electronic device, which may be a UE (User Equipment), such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, communication device 410 may be implemented in a smartphone, smartwatch, personal digital assistant, digital camera, or computing device (such as a tablet, laptop, or notebook computer). Communication device 410 may also be part of a machine-type device, which may be an IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT device, such as a fixed or static device, a home device, a wired communication device, or a computing device. For example, communication device 410 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart refrigerator, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker, or a home control center. Alternatively, communication device 410 may be implemented as one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processors, or one or more Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processors. Communication device 410 may include... Figure 4At least some of the components shown, such as processor 412. Communication device 410 may also include one or more other components unrelated to the proposed solution (e.g., external power supply, display device, and / or user interface device), therefore, for the sake of brevity, such components of communication device 410 are not... Figure 4 It is shown in the image and will not be described below.

[0042] Network device 420 may be part of an electronic device, which may be a network node such as a base station, small cell, router, or gateway. For example, network device 420 may be implemented in an evolved Node B (eNB) in LTE, LTE-Advanced, or LTE-Enhanced networks, or a next-generation Node B (gNB) in 5G, NR, IoT, NB-IoT, or IIoT networks. Alternatively, network device 420 may be implemented as one or more IC chips, such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more RISC processors, or CISC processors. Network device 420 may include... Figure 4 At least some of the components shown, such as processor 422. Network device 420 may also include one or more other components unrelated to the proposed solution (e.g., external power supply, display device, and / or user interface device), therefore, for the sake of brevity, such components of network device 420 are not... Figure 4 It is shown in the image and will not be described below.

[0043] On the one hand, processors 412 and 422 may be implemented as one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, although the present invention uses the singular term "processor" to refer to processors 412 and 422, according to the present invention, processors 412 and 422 may include multiple processors in some embodiments and a single processor in other embodiments. On the other hand, processors 412 and 422 may be implemented as hardware (and optional firmware) with electronic components, including but not limited to one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors, and / or one or more varactor diodes, which may be configured and arranged to achieve a specific purpose according to the present invention. In other words, in at least some embodiments, processors 412 and 422 may be dedicated machines specifically designed, arranged, and configured to perform specific tasks according to various embodiments of the present invention in devices (e.g., represented by communication device 410) and networks (e.g., represented by network device 420).

[0044] In some embodiments, the communication device 410 may also include a transceiver 416, which may be coupled to the processor 412 and is capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the communication device 410 may also include a storage medium 414, which may be coupled to the processor 412 and can be accessed by the processor 412 to store data. In some embodiments, the network device 420 may also include a transceiver 426, which may be coupled to the processor 422 and is capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the network device 420 may also include a storage medium 424, which may be coupled to the processor 422 and can be accessed by the processor 422 to store data. Accordingly, the communication device 410 and the network device 420 may wirelessly communicate with each other via transceiver 416 and transceiver 426, respectively. To aid in better understanding, the following descriptions of the operation, functions, and capabilities of the communication device 410 and the network device 420 are provided in the context of a mobile communication environment in which the communication device 410 may be implemented in or as a communication device or UE, and the network device 420 may be implemented in or as a network node of a communication network.

[0045] In some embodiments, the storage medium may store program instructions that, when executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the steps of the wireless communication method of the present invention.

[0046] In some implementations, processor 412 may be configured to transmit capability reports to network device 420 via transceiver 416 to indicate multiple monitoring combinations of PDCCH monitoring capabilities. Each monitoring combination may include a first number of component carriers with a first PDCCH monitoring capability and a second number of component carriers with a second PDCCH monitoring capability. The first PDCCH monitoring capability may include a slot-based PDCCH monitoring capability, and the second PDCCH monitoring capability may include a span-based PDCCH monitoring capability. For example, the first PDCCH monitoring capability may be a version 15 PDCCH blind detection capability (e.g., pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R15), and the second PDCCH monitoring capability may be a version 16 PDCCH blind detection capability (e.g., pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R16).

[0047] In some implementations, after receiving a capability report from communication device 410, processor 422 can select or determine a monitoring combination based on the reported monitoring combination. For example, processor 422 can select the monitoring combination from a plurality of monitoring combinations indicated by communication device 410. In another example, the monitoring combination determined by processor 422 may be different from the plurality of monitoring combinations indicated by communication device 410. Processor 422 can then be configured to indicate or configure the determined or selected monitoring combination to communication device 410 via transceiver 426. Processor 422 can use RRC signaling and physical layer signaling to configure the aforementioned monitoring combination.

[0048] In some implementations, processor 412 may be configured to receive, via transceiver 416, a monitoring combination configured by network device 420 based on capability reports. Processor 412 may receive the configured monitoring combination in response to a number of configured component carriers exceeding the reported PDCCH monitoring capability. The configured monitoring combination may include a PDCCH blind detection combination indicator for use in CA (e.g., pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-CombIndicator). If the number of serving cells configured for communication device 410 exceeds the reported capability, and if communication device 410 reports multiple monitoring combinations of pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R15 and pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R16 as UE capabilities, the combination indicator may be used by communication device 410 to configure one monitoring combination of pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 (for version 15) and pdcch-BlindDetectionCA2 (for version 16) for communication device 410 to scale PDCCH monitoring capabilities. The monitoring combination of pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 and pdcch-BlindDetectionCA2 configured by pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-CombIndicator can come from multiple monitoring combinations of pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 and pdcch-BlindDetectionCA2 reported by communication device 410.

[0049] In some implementations, processor 412 can be configured to scale PDCCH monitoring capabilities by determining a monitoring budget (e.g., the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs or blind decodes) using a configured monitoring combination. Processor 412 can determine a first number of component carriers to monitor using a first PDCCH monitoring capability, and a second number of component carriers to monitor using a second PDCCH monitoring capability. For example, processor 412 can use the CCE or blind decode budget formula of version 15 to determine the PDCCH monitoring budget according to pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 (for version 15). Processor 412 can use the CCE or blind decode budget formula of version 16 to determine the PDCCH monitoring budget according to pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 (for version 15). Processor 412 can then perform PDCCH monitoring via transceiver 416 based on this monitoring budget.

[0050] In some implementations, processor 412 may support and be configured with eight component carriers. However, processor 412 may not be able to monitor the PDCCH on all eight cells. Processor 412 may support multiple monitoring combinations and may report the monitoring combinations (A, B) it can support to the network node. A may be the number of component carriers in version 15 (e.g., slot-based monitoring), and B may be the number of component carriers in version 16 (e.g., span-based monitoring). In the 3GPP specification, A can be indicated by the parameter pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R15, and B can be indicated by the parameter pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-R16. For example, processor 412 may report three monitoring combinations, including (6, 1), (4, 2), and (2, 3). Monitoring combination (6, 1) refers to the six component carriers with version 15 capability and the one component carrier with version 16 capability that processor 412 can support. Monitoring combination (4, 2) means that processor 412 can support 4 component carriers with version 15 capability and 2 component carriers with version 16 capability. Monitoring combination (2, 3) means that processor 412 can support 2 component carriers with version 15 capability and 3 component carriers with version 16 capability.

[0051] In some implementations, it is assumed that network device 420 configures processor 412 with (5, 1) or a different monitoring combination than the reported monitoring combination (but network device 420 still cannot configure processor 412 with a monitoring combination beyond its monitoring capabilities). Processor 412 needs to know which of the reported monitoring combinations can be used for scaling in CCE or blind decoding budget formulas. Therefore, network device 420 can send or configure one of the reported monitoring combinations for processor 412 for scaling (e.g., pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-CombIndicator). The pdcch-BlindDetectionCA-CombIndicator may include a first parameter pdcch-BlindDetectionCA1 and a second parameter pdcch-BlindDetectionCA2.

[0052] Indicative processing

[0053] Figure 5An exemplary process 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. Process 500 may be an exemplary implementation of the above-described scheme, which is partially or wholly related to the PDCCH monitoring configuration in a CA according to the present invention. Process 500 may represent one aspect of the features of communication device 410. Process 500 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions illustrated by one or more blocks 510, 520, 530, and 540. Although illustrated as separate blocks, the various blocks of process 500 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, the blocks of process 500 may be arranged according to Figure 5 The process 500 can be executed in the order shown, or it can be executed in a different order. Process 500 can be implemented by communication device 410, any suitable UE, or machine-type device. Process 500 is described below in the context of communication device 410, but this is merely illustrative and not limiting. Process 500 may begin at block 510.

[0054] At 510, processing 500 may include: the processor 412 of device 410 transmitting capability reports to network nodes to indicate multiple monitoring combinations of PDCCH monitoring capabilities. Each monitoring combination includes a first number of component carriers with a first PDCCH monitoring capability and a second number of component carriers with a second PDCCH monitoring capability. Processing 500 can proceed from 510 to 520.

[0055] At 520, processing 500 may include: processor 412 receiving a monitoring combination configured by the network node based on the capability report. Processing 500 can proceed from 520 to 530.

[0056] At 530, processing 500 may include: processor 412 determining a monitoring budget using the configured monitoring combination. Processing 500 can proceed from 530 to 540.

[0057] In 540, processing 500 may include: processor 412 performing PDCCH monitoring according to the monitoring budget.

[0058] In some implementations, the monitoring combination configured to scale the PDCCH monitoring capability may be selected from the plurality of monitoring combinations indicated in the capability report.

[0059] In some implementations, the first PDCCH monitoring capability may include a time-slot-based PDCCH monitoring capability, and the second PDCCH monitoring capability may include a span-based PDCCH monitoring capability.

[0060] In some implementations, the first PDCCH monitoring capability may include the PDCCH blind detection capability of version 15, and the second PDCCH monitoring capability may include the PDCCH blind detection capability of version 16.

[0061] In some implementations, in response to the number of configured component carriers being greater than the reported PDCCH monitoring capability, the configured monitoring combination is received to scale the PDCCH monitoring capability.

[0062] In some implementations, processing 500 may include: processor 412 receiving the monitoring combination via at least one of RRC signaling and physical layer signaling for scaling up or down the PDCCH monitoring capability.

[0063] In some implementations, processing 500 may include: processor 412 scaling the PDCCH monitoring capability by using the configured monitoring combination to determine the monitoring budget.

[0064] In some implementations, the configured monitoring combination may differ from the multiple monitoring combinations indicated in the capability report.

[0065] In some implementations, the configured monitoring combination may include a combination indicator for PDCCH blind detection under carrier aggregation.

[0066] In some implementations, process 500 may include: processor 412 determining a first number of component carriers to monitor using the first PDCCH monitoring capability, and a second number of component carriers to monitor using the second PDCCH monitoring capability.

[0067] Additional notes

[0068] The subject matter described in this invention sometimes illustrates different components contained in or connected to different other components. It should be understood that the architectures described in this way are merely exemplary, and other architectures capable of achieving the same functionality can actually be implemented. Conceptually, the arrangement of any components that achieve the same function is effectively “associated” to achieve the desired function. Therefore, regardless of the architecture or intermediate components, any two components combined herein to achieve a particular function can be considered “associated” with each other to achieve the desired function. Similarly, any two such associated components can also be considered “operably connected” or “operably coupled” to each other to achieve the desired function, and any two components that can be suchly associated can also be considered “operably coupled” to each other to achieve the desired function. Specific examples of operability and coupling include, but are not limited to, physically matchable and / or physically interactive components and / or wirelessly interactive and / or logically interactive components.

[0069] Furthermore, regarding the use of virtually any plural and / or singular terms in this invention, those skilled in the art can appropriately transform plurals into singulars and / or singulars into plurals depending on the context and / or application. For clarity, various singular / plural substitutions are explicitly described in this invention.

[0070] Furthermore, those skilled in the art should understand that, in general, the terminology used in this invention, especially in the claims (compared to the body of the claims), is typically intended as “open-ended” terms. For example, the term “comprising” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “at least having,” and the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” etc. Those skilled in the art should also understand that if there is an intent to refer to a specific number of claim statements, that intent will be explicitly stated in the claims, and if such a statement is absent, then such an intent does not exist. For example, to aid understanding, a claim may include the use of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce a claim statement. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed as implying that introducing a claim statement with the indefinite article “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing that introduced claim statement to an embodiment containing only one of that statement, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and such indefinite articles as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and / or “an” should be interpreted as meaning “at least one” or “one or more”); this also applies to the use of definite articles introducing claim statements. Furthermore, even when the specific number of claims to which are introduced is explicitly stated, those skilled in the art should recognize that such statements should be interpreted as indicating at least the number stated (e.g., the statement "two statements" without other modifiers means at least two statements or two or more statements). Additionally, in instances where the customary usage of phrases like "at least one of A, B, and C" is used, such a construction is generally intended to express the meaning of the customary usage as understood by those skilled in the art; for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" will include, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and / or systems having A, B, and C, etc. In instances where the customary usage of phrases like "at least one of A, B, or C" is used, such a construction is generally intended to express the meaning of the customary usage as understood by those skilled in the art; for example, "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" will include, but is not limited to, systems having only A, only B, only C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and / or systems having A, B, and C, etc. Those skilled in the art will also understand that virtually any transition words and / or phrases presenting two or more options, whether in the specification, claims, or drawings, should be understood to include the possibility of one, either, or both. For example, the term "A or B" should be understood to include the possibility of "A" or "B" or "A and B".

[0071] It should be understood from the foregoing statements that various embodiments of the invention have been described for illustrative purposes, and various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, and the true scope and spirit of protection are indicated by the claims.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: Multiple monitoring combinations that indicate the physical downlink control channel monitoring capability are transmitted by the device's processor to network nodes; The processor receives a monitoring combination configured by the network node based on the capability report; The processor determines the monitoring budget by using the configured monitoring combination; as well as In response to the number of configured component carriers exceeding the reported capacity, the processor performs physical downlink control channel monitoring by using the monitoring combination configured by the network node according to the monitoring budget. Each monitoring combination includes a first number of component carriers with a first physical downlink control channel monitoring capability and a second number of component carriers with a second physical downlink control channel monitoring capability. The receiving includes receiving the monitoring combination via radio resource control signaling for scaling up or down the physical downlink control channel monitoring capability.

2. The wireless communication method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The monitoring combination configured for scaling the physical downlink control channel monitoring capability is selected from the plurality of monitoring combinations indicated in the capability report.

3. The wireless communication method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first physical downlink control channel monitoring capability includes time slot-based physical downlink control channel monitoring capability, and the second physical downlink control channel monitoring capability includes span-based physical downlink control channel monitoring capability.

4. The wireless communication method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first physical downlink control channel monitoring capability includes the physical downlink control channel blind detection capability of version 15, and the second physical downlink control channel monitoring capability includes the physical downlink control channel blind detection capability of version 16.

5. The wireless communication method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In response to the number of configured component carriers being greater than the reported physical downlink control channel monitoring capability, the configured monitoring combination is received to scale the physical downlink control channel monitoring capability.

6. The wireless communication method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The determination includes: The monitoring budget is determined by scaling the physical downlink control channel monitoring capability using the configured monitoring combination.

7. The wireless communication method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The configured monitoring combination is different from the multiple monitoring combinations indicated in the capability report.

8. The wireless communication method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The configured monitoring combination includes a combined indicator for blind detection of the physical downlink control channel under carrier aggregation.

9. The wireless communication method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The determination includes: A first number of component carriers are determined for monitoring using the first physical downlink control channel monitoring capability, and a second number of component carriers are determined for monitoring using the second physical downlink control channel monitoring capability.

10. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: A transceiver is used to communicate wirelessly with network nodes in a wireless network. as well as The processor, communicatively coupled to the transceiver, performs the following operations: Multiple monitoring combinations that indicate the physical downlink control channel monitoring capability are transmitted to the network node via the transceiver; The transceiver receives a monitoring combination configured by the network node based on the capability report. The monitoring budget is determined by using the configured monitoring combination; as well as In response to the number of configured component carriers exceeding the reported capacity, physical downlink control channel monitoring is performed using the monitoring combination configured by the network node according to the monitoring budget. Each monitoring combination includes a first number of component carriers with a first physical downlink control channel monitoring capability and a second number of component carriers with a second physical downlink control channel monitoring capability. When receiving the monitoring combination, the processor receives the monitoring combination via radio resource control signaling to scale the physical downlink control channel monitoring capability.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The monitoring combination configured for scaling the physical downlink control channel monitoring capability is selected from the plurality of monitoring combinations indicated in the capability report.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The first physical downlink control channel monitoring capability includes time slot-based physical downlink control channel monitoring capability, and the second physical downlink control channel monitoring capability includes span-based physical downlink control channel monitoring capability.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The first physical downlink control channel monitoring capability includes the physical downlink control channel blind detection capability of version 15, and the second physical downlink control channel monitoring capability includes the physical downlink control channel blind detection capability of version 16.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, In response to the number of configured component carriers being greater than the reported physical downlink control channel monitoring capability, the configured monitoring combination is received to scale the physical downlink control channel monitoring capability.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, When determining the monitoring budget, the processor scales the physical downlink control channel monitoring capability by using the configured monitoring combination to determine the monitoring budget.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The configured monitoring combination is different from the multiple monitoring combinations indicated in the capability report.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, The configured monitoring combination includes a combined indicator for blind detection of the physical downlink control channel under carrier aggregation.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that, When determining the monitoring budget, the processor determines a first number of component carriers to monitor using the first physical downlink control channel monitoring capability, and a second number of component carriers to monitor using the second physical downlink control channel monitoring capability.

19. A storage medium storing program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the wireless communication method according to any one of claims 1-9.

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