Mechanism for repetition of downlink control information

Abstract

The invention relates to a mechanism for duplication of downlink control information. Specifically, a network device transmits system information to a terminal device, the system information including parameters related to a set of PDCCH common search spaces having duplication. The terminal device determines a configuration with a repeated PDCCH common search space set based on the parameter. The terminal device 110 also monitors the repeated set of PDCCHs based on the configuration. In this way, coverage enhancement may be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to methods, devices, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for repetition of downlink control information transmitted in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) search space set. Background Art

[0002] Coverage enhancement is a hot topic in the field of communications. For example, it can focus on the applicability of solutions developed by General New Radio (NR) coverage enhancement to non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), and consider NTN characteristics including large propagation delay and satellite mobility to identify potential problems and enhancements. It is worth further studying coverage enhancement. Public Content

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device: receives system information from a network device, the system information includes parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetitions; determines a configuration of a PDCCH common search space set with repetitions based on the parameters; and monitors a repetition set of the PDCCH based on the configuration.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device: sends system information to a terminal device, the system information includes parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetition; and based on the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition, sends a repetition set of PDCCH to the terminal device.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving system information from a network device, the system information including parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetitions; determining a configuration of a PDCCH common search space set with repetitions based on the parameters; and monitoring the repetition set of the PDCCH based on the configuration.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method comprises: sending system information to a terminal device, the system information comprising parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetition; and sending a repetition set of PDCCHs to the terminal device based on a configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes: a component for receiving system information from a network device, the system information including parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetitions; a component for determining a configuration of a PDCCH common search space set with repetitions based on the parameters; and a component for monitoring a repetition set of the PDCCH based on the configuration.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus comprises: a component for sending system information to a terminal device, the system information comprising parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetition; and a component for sending a repeated set of PDCCHs to the terminal device based on a configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, and the instructions are used to cause a device to at least execute the method according to the third aspect.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, and the instructions are used to cause a device to at least execute the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the disclosure part is not intended to identify the key features or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easy to understand through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 An example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0014] FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D Schematic diagrams of monitoring timing (MO) are shown respectively;

[0015] Figure 3 shows a signaling diagram for Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) repetition according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C A signaling diagram for PDCCH repetition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is respectively shown;

[0017] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C A schematic diagram showing a MO for PDCCH repetition according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 6 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 7 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 8 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0021] Fig. 9 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration, and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without implying any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the following description.

[0024] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0025] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an exemplary embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to implement such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments (whether or not explicitly described).

[0026] It should be understood that, although the terms "first", "second", etc. in front of nouns etc. can be used in this article to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element, and they do not limit the order of nouns. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment, the first element can be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element can be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more listed items.

[0027] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”, indicate at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0028] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs, and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0029] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that when used herein, the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes" and / or "including" specify the presence of the features, elements and / or parts, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, parts and / or combinations thereof.

[0030] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementation only (e.g., implementation only in analog and / or digital circuits), and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor with software (including a digital signal processor), software and memory that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions; and (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but where the software is not required for operation, the software may not be present.

[0031] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term "circuitry" also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, and if applicable to a particular claim element, the term "circuitry" also covers a baseband integrated circuit or a processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0032] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to the communication protocol of any suitable generation, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there are of course communication technologies and systems of future types that can embody the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the above-mentioned system.

[0033] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node (e.g., a femto, a micro), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device, such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves like a UE toward a parent node, and a DU portion of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward a next-hop IAB node.

[0034] The term "terminal device" refers to any end device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), access terminal (AT) or very small aperture terminal (VSAT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback facility, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer terminal equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) portion of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0035] As used herein, the terms "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication, for example, communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as resources in the time domain, resources in the frequency domain, resources in the spatial domain, resources in the code domain, or any other combination of the time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain and / or code domain that supports communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0036] As described above, the term "common search space (CSS)" may refer to a search space (i.e., a set of resources) in which each UE needs to search for a control signal for each UE or a signaling message applied to each UE before establishing a dedicated channel for a specific UE. The term "repetition factor" used herein may refer to the number of repetitions. The term "bitmap" used herein may refer to a string of binary numbers. The term "monitoring opportunity (MO)" used herein may refer to a set of resources used for control channel monitoring.

[0037] As mentioned above, coverage enhancement is one of the important aspects of communication system design. In NTN, when considering satellite power limitations (due to, for example, regulatory requirements or power splitting between satellite beams), the UL and DL channels related to initial access need to be enhanced. In some solutions, coverage enhancement for PDCCH channels is necessary when considering power flux density (PFD) limitations or more generally limitations on satellite output power.

[0038] In general, to improve coverage, three basic approaches can be considered. These are: (a) reducing interference and noise contributions (not relevant for this use case), (b) increasing transmit power (not feasible for this use case due to satellite PFD limitations), and (c) increasing the received energy per bit (by reducing the payload or transmitting over a longer time). The latter can generally be achieved by introducing repetition of the channel to be enhanced. In the current 5G NR specification, repetition of Type0A / 1 / 2 / 3 common search space (CSS) and UE-specific search space (USS) PDCCH has been specified for the multiple transmit receive point (TRP) feature, and its mechanism can be extended for NTN, at least for PDCCH channels in radio resource control (RRC) connected mode. However, the repetition feature does not apply to PDCCH in initial access, and specifically not to Type1-PDCCH CSS set configuration.

[0039] In order to improve the physical layer performance of the physical layer control channels, a commonly used approach is to allocate a larger number of resources for the transmission of a specific number of bits. One way to achieve this is to repeat the transmitted data (i.e., a given data or control channel) multiple times to give the receiver the possibility to combine the received signals and improve the reliability of the demodulated and decoded bits. Based on this, one of the solutions that can be followed in the enhancement of the coverage of Type1-PDCCH would be to repeat the Type1-PDCCH multiple times in the same or different time slots, and thereby allow the UE receiver to combine the received Type1-PDCCH single transmission. However, in order to be able to combine multiple Type1-PDCCH repetitions, the UE at least needs to know whether the gNB is transmitting the repetitions and how many times, thereby knowing the time span of the Type1-PDCCH repetitions.

[0040] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for PDCCH repetition is provided. Specifically, a network device sends system information to a terminal device, and the system information includes parameters related to a PDCCH common search space set with repetition. The terminal device determines the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition based on the parameters. The terminal device 110 further monitors the repetition set of the PDCCH based on the configuration. In this way, coverage enhancement can be improved.

[0041] Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the communication environment 100, a plurality of communication devices including a first device 110 and a second device 120 may communicate with each other.

[0042] Hereinafter, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described in which the first device 110 operates as a terminal device and the second device 120 operates as a network device. However, in some example embodiments, the operations described in conjunction with the terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and the operations described in conjunction with the network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0043] The first device 110 is capable of receiving downlink control information (DCI) carried by a Type1-PDCCH CCS set with repetition, that is, a Rel-19 NTN UE capable of Type1-PDCCH repetition, which may also be referred to as a Type 1 UE. The communication environment 100 may also include other terminal devices that cannot receive DCI carried by a Type1-PDCCH CCS set with repetition, including a legacy UE and a Rel-19 NTN UE that cannot perform Type1-PDCCH reception with repetition, which may also be referred to as a Type 2 UE.

[0044] In some example embodiments, if first device 110 is a terminal device and second device 120 is a network device, a link from second device 120 to first device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and a link from first device 110 to second device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, second device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and first device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In UL, first device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and second device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0045] The communication in the communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future.

[0046] The second device 120 may be a PDCCH using resource elements (REs) belonging to a control resource set (CORESET). In particular, the frequency allocation of the PDCCH and the length of the PDCCH (1 to 3 symbols) may be determined based on the corresponding configuration of the CORESET (ControlResourceSet information element (IE)), which is shown in Table 1 below. In particular, the frequency allocation is configured via the parameter frequencyDomainResources, and the length of the PDCCH is configured via the parameter duration in the ControlResourceSet IE. Table 1

[0047] Although the frequency location of the PDCCH and the length of the PDCCH are configured by the CORESET, the potential time instances at which the first device 110 expects to monitor the PDCCH and blindly perform multiple decoding attempts per monitoring opportunity (MO) can be determined by a search space (SS) set. Generally, SS sets can be classified into a common search space (CSS) set that is common to a group of UEs and a UE-specific search space (USS) set that is specific to the UE. Type1-PDCCH can be transmitted in a CSS set that is used by the UE to blindly decode DCI format 1_0 scheduling message 2 (MSG2) and message 4 (MSG4) during a random access procedure. In the 5G NR specification, the SS set configuration is provided by the SearchSpace IE as shown in Table 2. Table 2

[0048] Each SS set may be associated with a specific ControlResourceSetID. In addition, the parameter "monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset" in the SearchSpace IE may determine the period of the time slots (with a certain starting time slot offset) where the first device 110 desires to monitor the PDCCH within the SS set, i.e., where the PDCCH may be sent by the second device 120. For example, Figure 2A As shown, assuming that the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is equal to 30kHz (20 time slots per frame), and the parameter "monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset" in the SearchSpace IE is set to S110 (a period of 10 time slots), where the time slot offset is set to 5, the first device 110 can expect to monitor the PDCCH in the MO with time slot numbers 5 and 15.

[0049] In addition, the parameter "duration" in the SearchSpace IE can provide information about the continuous number of time slots in which the search space (SS) exists / continues in each opportunity as given by the period and offset. Specifically, if the field of the parameter "duration" in the SearchSpace IE does not exist, the first device 110 can apply the value 1 time slot, except for DCI format 2_0. The first device 110 can ignore this field for DCI format 2_0. The maximum valid duration can be period-1 (as given in the parameter "monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset"). For SCS 480kHz and SCS 960kHz, the parameter duration-r17 is used, and the configured duration can be limited to an integer multiple of L time slots and less than the period, where L is the configuration length of the bitmap monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup-r17. If duration-r17 does not exist, the first device 110 can assume that the duration in the time slot is equal to L. The maximum valid duration is period-L.

[0050] In another example embodiment, Figure 2B As shown, assuming that the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is equal to 30kHz (20 time slots per frame), the parameter "monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset" is set to S110 with an offset of 5, and the parameter "duration" is set to 3, the first device 110 can expect each opportunity to exist / last 3 time slots, and the corresponding MO can be time slots 5, 6, 7, 15, 16 and 17.

[0051] In addition, the parameter "monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset" in the SearchSpace IE configured by the second device 120, which is a bit string of size 14, can determine the PDCCH position within the MO time slot (at the OFDM symbol level). For example, the parameter "monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot" can define the first symbol used for PDCCH monitoring in a time slot configured for (multi-slot) PDCCH monitoring (see monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset and duration). The most significant (left) bit can indicate the first OFDM in the time slot, and the second most significant (left) bit can indicate the second OFDM symbol in the time slot, and so on. The bit set to one identifies the first OFDM symbol of the control resource set within the time slot.

[0052] In addition, the first device 110 and the second device 120 can support a multi-slot PDCCH monitoring framework for FR2-2 with large SCS 480kHz and 960kHz. Therefore, due to the reduction of the time slot duration and avoiding frequent PDCCH monitoring at the time slot level (for UE power saving), the first device 110 can perform PDCCH monitoring on a group of time slots. In this case, as shown in Table 3, in the extension of the RRC IE "SearchSpace" (i.e., "SearchSpaceExt-v1700"), monitoring within a group of time slots can be indicated by the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup". Table 3

[0053] The parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" within the SearchSpaceExt-v1700 IE configured by the second device 120 can indicate which time slot(s) within the time slot group are configured for multi-slot PDCCH monitoring. The first (leftmost, most significant) bit indicates the first time slot in the time slot group, the second bit indicates the second time slot in the time slot group, and so on. A bit set to "1" indicates that the corresponding time slot is configured for multi-slot PDCCH monitoring. Specifically, when "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" is provided as follows, the first device 110 identifies the MO.

[0054] For example, the first device 110 may determine the PDCCH monitoring timing on the active DL bandwidth part (BWP) based on the PDCCH monitoring period, PDCCH monitoring offset, and PDCCH monitoring mode within the time slot. When the PDCCH monitoring opportunity exists at n f The frame number is [Refer to Technical Specification (TS) 38.211]. The first device 110 may be configured to receive the time slot from the Starting T s k consecutive time slots to monitor PDCCH candidates for the search space set s, and for the next k s -T s The first device 110 may determine that the PDCCH candidates for the search space set s are not monitored for the consecutive time slots. f The frame number is The time slot [4, TS38.211] is the first group of L s The first time slot of the time slots, and the PDCCH monitoring opportunity exists in T starting from the first group s / L s In a group of consecutive time slots, L s is the size of monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup. The first device 110 can Start monitoring T according to monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup s / L s The search space set s of PDCCH candidates in each of the k consecutive time slot groups and for the next k s -T s The PDCCH candidates for the search space set s are not monitored in consecutive time slots.

[0055] In the example embodiment, it is assumed that the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is equal to 30kHz (20 slots per frame), the parameter "monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset" is set to sl10 (the period is set to "10") and the offset is set to "0" and the "duration" is T s =4, and further assume that the length of the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" is L with bitmap

[1001] S=4, then there is a set of time slots (T s / L s =1). Therefore, if Figure 2C As shown, for time slots between 0 and 19, the first device 110 can be expected to have MOs within time slots 0, 3, 10, and 13.

[0056] In another example embodiment, assuming that the subcarrier spacing (SCS) is equal to 30kHz (20 slots per frame), the parameter "monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset" is set to sl10 (the period is set to "10") and the offset is set to "0" and the "duration" is T s = 8, and further assume that the length of the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" is L with bitmap

[1001] S =4, then for multi-slot MO there are two groups of time slots (T s / L s =2). Therefore, if Figure 2D As shown, it is desired that the first device 110 has MO time slots 0, 3, 4, 7, 10, 13, 14 and 17 for time slots between 0 and 19.

[0057] In addition, when the Type1-PDCCH CSS set is provided by "ra-SearchSpace" in dedicated RRC signaling (i.e., after RRC connection), the number of MOs within the slot group provided by the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" for the Type1-PDCCH CSS set may be different compared to the Type1-PDCCH CSS set provided by "ra-SearchSpace" in SIB1. In particular, for the Type1-PDCCH CSS set provided by ra-SearchSpace in SIB1, the PDCCH monitoring mode may only indicate up to 1 slot in the slot group used for PDCCH monitoring. In other words, only one bit in the bitmap may be set to "1".

[0058] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0059] Reference now Figure 3 , which shows a signaling diagram 300 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 3 As shown, the signaling diagram 300 involves a first device 110 and a second device 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to Figure 1 A signaling diagram 300 is described.

[0060] The second device 120 sends (3010) system information to the first device 110. In other words, the first device 110 receives the system information from the second device 120. The system information includes parameters related to the PDCCH common search space set with repetition. In some example embodiments, the parameters may be in the form of a bitmap. In some other example embodiments, the parameters may be in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length.

[0061] In an example embodiment, the parameters may be existing parameters, such as the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" and / or the parameter "duration". In other words, existing parameters may be reused. For example, the functionality of the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" may be extended such that for Type 1 UEs, the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" may specify not only the monitoring opportunities for multi-slot PDCCHs, but also the configuration of repeated monitoring opportunities for the Type 1-PDCCH common search space set. Extending the monitoring opportunities by repeated monitoring opportunities may be transparent to "legacy" UEs (i.e., Type 2 UEs), as these will simply monitor the regular monitoring opportunities, and the repeated monitoring opportunities may simply be considered to carry data (potentially for other UEs).

[0062] Alternatively, the parameter may be a new parameter. In other words, the parameter may be a dedicated parameter for configuration with a repetitive PDCCH common search space set.

[0063] The first device 110 determines (3020) a configuration of a PDCCH common search space set having repetitions. For example, the first device 110 may determine (3030) a repetition factor for the PDCCH based on a parameter. By way of example, if the parameter is in the form of a bitmap, the repetition factor may be determined based on the length of the bitmap of the parameter. Alternatively or additionally, the first device 110 may determine a repetition factor and a set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set of PDCCH parameters.

[0064] The first device 110 monitors (3040) a repetition set of PDCCH. Downlink control information (DCI) as a payload of the PDCCH may also be repeated. PDCCH repetition may imply DCI repetition (i.e., payload repetition) even though the channel bits may not be completely repeated. The DCI with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) may be scrambled by scheduling message 2 (MSG2) and message 4 (MSG4) via a random access radio network temporary identifier (RA-RNTI) or a temporary cell (TC)-RNTI in a random access procedure. The PDCCH may be a Type 1-PDCCH. Detailed example embodiments of determining a configuration of a PDCCH common search space set with repetitions and monitoring repetitions are described later with reference to different types of parameters.

[0065] In some example embodiments, as described above, the parameter may be a parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" which, when present, is a bitmap of a specific size L for a Type 1 PDCCH CSS set provided in SIB1 (i.e., prior to RRC connection) specifying a PDCCH monitoring pattern / opportunity of at most 1 slot within a slot group indicated by the bitmap for PDCCH monitoring. In other words, not only does the bitmap identify individual monitoring opportunities (non-repeating opportunities), but only up to 1 monitoring opportunity may be indicated via the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup".

[0066] In an example embodiment, the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" may configure the number of repetitions for the PDCCH. In this case, the number of repetitions may be implicitly carried by selecting the length of the bitmap of the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" (i.e., L). In other words, the repetition factor may be determined based on the length of the bitmap of the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup". For example, by setting L=4, the second device 120 may indicate that the repetition factor is 4. In this case, all potential bitmaps with a size of L=4 (i.e., [0000, 0100, 0010, 1000, 0001]) may indicate that the repetition factor is 4. As another example, by setting L=4, the second device 120 may indicate that the repetition factor is αL, where α is a positive number. In this case, all potential bitmaps with a size of L=4 (i.e., [0000, 0100, 0010, 1000, 0001]) may indicate that the repetition factor is αL.

[0067] In an example embodiment, if the length of the bitmap of the parameter is equal to the repetition factor, the first device 110 may monitor (3040) a repetition set of the PDCCH in all slots addressed by the bitmap. In other words, if the size L indicates a repetition factor L, the PDCCH repetition may be found in all slots belonging to the slot group.

[0068] In another example embodiment, if the length of the bitmap of the parameter is not equal to the repetition factor, the first device 110 may monitor (3040) a set of repetitions of the PDCCH in a time slot addressed by the bitmap that is adjacent to a target time slot indicated as a predefined value by the bitmap of the parameter. For example, if the size L indicates a repetition factor αL, the PDCCH repetition may be found at a closest time slot to a time slot indicated as "1" by the bitmap of the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" within the time slot group.

[0069] In some example embodiments, as described above, the repetition factor of the PDCCH and the monitoring opportunity set for the repetition set can be determined based on the parameter. For example, the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" can configure the Typel-PDCCH common search space set, and the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set can carry the repetition factor and indicate the PDCCH repetition monitoring opportunity within the time slot group configured with the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup". Specifically, the configuration can be explicitly indicated by the bitmap of the parameter.

[0070] In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine a repetition factor of the PDCCH based on the number of occurrences of a predefined value in a bitmap of a parameter. A set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set of the PDCCH may be determined based on the position at which the predefined value appears in the bitmap of the parameter. For example, within the bitmap of the parameter, the number "1" may indicate a repetition factor, and the position "1" may indicate a PDCCH monitoring opportunity associated with a repetition candidate. For example, if the bitmap is

[1110] , the repetition factor may be 3, and the PDCCH may be repeated in the first 3 slots in the slot group. Advantageously, a type 1 UE may obtain information for repeating the MO, and will not have to blindly search for PDCCH repetitions, thereby reducing complexity.

[0071] In another example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine the repetition factor of the PDCCH based on a mapping rule. For example, the mapping rule may be based on a function of the number of predefined values ​​in the bitmap of the parameter and the length of the bitmap of the parameter. As an example, the mapping rule may be based on scaling. Alternatively, the mapping rule may be a predefined table. For example, the predefined table may be: L=4 will be mapped to k rep=3; L = 8 will be mapped to k rep =6, where L indicates the length of the parameter. The first device 110 may also determine a monitoring opportunity set for a repetition set of the PDCCH based on the position of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter. For example, the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" may configure a Typel-PDCCH CSS set, where the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set may carry a repetition factor and indicate a potential PDCCH repetition monitoring opportunity within the slot group configured with the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup". In particular, the repetition factor k rep The length / size (ie, L) of the bitmap of the parameter may be indicated by the mapping rule, and the potential PDCCH opportunities associated with the repetition may be configured by the value of the individual bits within the bitmap. As another example, the repetition factor k rep According to the mapping rules The repetition factor can be determined by the bitmap length, and the potential PDCCH repetition monitoring opportunities within the time slot group can be determined by the position of the bit set to "1". For example, if the length of the bitmap is 8 (ie, L=8), the repetition factor can be determined as In addition, depending on the position of the "1" in the bitmap, the first device 110 can monitor the repetition set at a potential PDCCH repetition monitoring opportunity. For example, the bitmap [01101011] specifies that time slot numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8 can be potential repetition PDCCH monitoring opportunities. Advantageously, flexibility can be provided to the scheduler because it is not specified that the second device 120 transmits a PDCCH repetition exactly in a time slot set to "1". In the above example, although k rep =4, but the first device 110 may need to monitor 5 time slots (time slot numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8) for potential 4 PDCCH repetitions.

[0072] In another example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine the repetition factor of the PDCCH based on the predefined offset, the number of predefined values ​​in the bitmap of the parameter, and the length of the bitmap of the parameter. In such a case, the first device 110 may determine the monitoring opportunity set for the repetition set of the PDCCH based on the position of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter. For example, the first device 110 may determine the monitoring opportunity set for the repetition set of the PDCCH based on the position of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter. rep =LS offset Determine the replication factor k rep , where S offset Indicates an offset. Potential PDCCH repetition monitoring opportunities within a slot group can be determined by the position of the bits set to "1".

[0073] In some example embodiments, if the parameter is a dedicated parameter, the parameter may refer to one or more durations. In one example embodiment, the bitmap of the parameter may refer to T in a duration. s time slots (i.e., from time slot Starting T s In another example embodiment, the bitmap of the parameter may refer to time slots in N durations (ie, N×T s time slots).

[0074] In an example embodiment, each duration may include a set of consecutive time slots. For example, the set of consecutive time slots within each duration is enumerated from 0 to the number of consecutive time slots minus 1. For example, a parameter in the form of a bitmap may indicate a first number of time slots in one or more durations. Alternatively, a parameter in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length indicates the number of first and subsequent time slots in one or more durations based on the enumeration. In one embodiment, the T in a duration is s time slots (i.e., from time slot Starting T s consecutive time slots) can be from 0 to T s -1 for enumeration, and this parameter indicates the starting time slot and time slot length based on such enumeration. In one embodiment, the time slots in N durations (i.e., N×T s time slots) are counted from 0 to T s -1 for enumeration, and the parameters indicate the starting time slot and the time slot length based on this enumeration.

[0075] In an example embodiment, the bitmap of the parameter may indicate a starting time slot with a repeated PDCCH common search space set. In such a case, the first device 110 may determine a set of remaining time slots for the repeated PDCCH common search space set. For example, the bitmap of the parameter may indicate only the starting time slot (and monitoring opportunity) for Type1-PDCCH repetition, and the remaining time slots containing the repetition may be determined by the first device 110 based on a predefined rule. For example, the first device 110 may determine the remaining time slots as consecutive time slots after the starting time slot.

[0076] In some exemplary embodiments, if the parameter is in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length, the first device 110 may determine a set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set of the PDCCH based on the starting time slot, the time slot length, and a first number of time slots in one or more time durations. Alternatively, the first device 110 may determine a set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set based on the starting time slot, the time slot length, a system frame number (SFN), and a time slot number. For example, the monitoring opportunity set may be determined based on the SFN and the time slot number (i.e., based on the and n f) to enumerate the time slots, and the parameters can indicate the starting time slot and the time slot length based on such enumeration. By way of example, if the second device 120 can configure time slot 0 as the starting time slot, and the time slot length is 4, this means that 4 PDCCH repetitions can be found in the monitoring opportunities of time slots {0, 1, 2, 3}, where the time slots are enumerated based on the above embodiment.

[0077] In some example embodiments, the functionality of the parameter "duration" may be extended to provide Type 1-PDCCH repetition configuration, which means that the parameter "duration" may be reused. In this case, the parameter "duration" may be interpreted as a legacy function of the parameter "duration" for use with Type 1 UEs for repetition configuration and for use with Type 2 UEs. In an example embodiment, the value of the parameter "duration" may be mapped to the value of the PDCCH repetition within the duration. In another example embodiment, a new parameter called "duration-rel19" may be introduced as a parameter related to the PDCCH common search space set with repetitions. In one example implementation, the parameter "duration-rel19" may be an indication of the repetition factor k. rep and a bitmap of potential PDCCH repetition monitoring opportunities.

[0078] Alternatively, the first device 110 may determine the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition based on a combination of a duration parameter and a monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup parameter indicated in the system information. For example, the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition may be obtained via a combination of a parameter "duration" and a parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup".

[0079] In another embodiment, SIB19 dedicated to NTN operation is used to properly interpret the parameter "duration" by type 1 UE. In other words, type 1 UE that reads SIB19 can consider / interpret the parameter "duration" as a parameter related to the PDCCH common search space set with repetition, and type 2 UE (i.e., legacy UE) that does not read SIB19 can interpret the parameter "duration" as in the legacy behavior.

[0080] The second device 120 may send (3050) a repetition set of the PDCCH to the first device 110. In an example embodiment, if the parameter is a bitmap and the length of the bitmap is equal to the repetition factor, the second device 120 may send the repetition set of the PDCCH in all time slots addressed by the bitmap. Alternatively, if the length of the parameter is not equal to the repetition factor, the second device 120 may send the repetition set of the PDCCH in time slots addressed by the bitmap that are adjacent to the target time slot indicated as a predefined value by the bitmap of the parameter.

[0081] In some example embodiments, second device 120 may send a repetition set of PDCCHs to first device 110 based on a function of a mapping rule, a number of predefined values ​​in a bitmap of parameters, and a length of the bitmap of parameters. In some other example embodiments, second device 120 may send a repetition set of PDCCHs to first device 110 based on a predefined offset, a number of predefined values ​​in a bitmap of parameters, and a length of the bitmap of parameters.

[0082] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C 2 and 3 show signaling diagrams for PDCCH repetition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C To describe FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C .

[0083] like Figure 4A As shown, the first device 110 may perform (4005) the following actions: frequency band search, reading a synchronization signal block (SSB), and obtaining a master information block (MIB). The first device 110 may obtain (4010) resources required to read SIB1 from the MIB.

[0084] The second device 120 may send (4015) SIB1 with a "PDCCH-ConfigCommon" IE that configures a Type 1-PDCCH CSS set with a parameter "ra-SearchSpace" (where the parameter "ra-SearchSpace" specifies an identification number of the Type 1-PDCCH) and its corresponding SS set, which is configured with a "SearchSpace" IE with the following configuration. For example, the SCS may be 30 kHz, and the parameter "monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset" may be S110 with an offset of 5, the parameter "duration" may be set to 4, and the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" may be set to

[0100] .

[0085] The first device 110 may read (4020) SIB1. In this case, because the first device 110 is a type 1 UE, the first device 110 may obtain the repetition factor k from the size L=4 of the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" rep =4, and all monitoring opportunities set by the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" are considered as repeated monitoring opportunities (e.g., time slots 505, 506, 507, 508 and / or time slots 515, 516, 517, and 518). In another implementation, the first device 110 can obtain the repetition factor k from the size of a new parameter dedicated to indicating the PDCCH repetition opportunities to the first device 110 in time slots of one or more durations. rep = 4. Type 2 UEs may consider, according to the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup"

[0100] , that for each monitoring opportunity, there is only one monitoring opportunity slot (slot 506 or 516) within the slot group.

[0086] The first device 110 may perform a RACH procedure and may perform the RACH procedure by performing four repetitions (e.g., Figure 5A For example, the first device 110 may send (4025) a preamble (i.e., message 1) to the second device 120. The second device 120 may receive the DCI scheduling MSG2 at time slots 505, 506, 507, and 508 in the first device 110. Figure 5A The second device 120 may perform (4031) a first transmission of the DCI for scheduling MSG2 on the time slot 505 in Figure 5A The second device 120 may perform (4032) a second transmission of the DCI for scheduling MSG2 on the time slot 506 in Figure 5A The second device 120 may perform (4033) a third transmission of the DCI for scheduling MSG2 on the time slot 507 in Figure 5A The second device 120 may transmit (4040) MSG2 to the first device 110. The first device 110 may transmit (4045) MSG3 to the second device 120. The second device 120 may transmit (4050) MSG4 to the first device 110.

[0087] like Figure 4BAs another example, the parameter "monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup" or the dedicated parameter may be a bitmap of length L=8 set to [11011011], the slot offset may be 0, and the parameter "duration" may be 8. In this case, Figure 4B As shown, the second device 120 may send (4115) SIB1 with a "PDCCH-ConfigCommon" IE, which configures a Type1-PDCCH CSS set with a parameter "ra-SearchSpace" (where the parameter "ra-SearchSpace" specifies the identification number of the Type1-PDCCH) and its corresponding SS set, which is configured with a "SearchSpace" IE with the following configuration. For example, the SCS may be 30kHz, the parameter "monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset" may be set to S110 with an offset of 0, the parameter "duration" may be set to 8, and the bitmap may be set to [11011011]. In some example embodiments, the bitmap may be configured via new parameters in the ra-SearchSpace IE.

[0088] The first device 110 may read (4120) SIB1. In this case, the first device 110 may obtain the repetition factor k from the number of "1"s in the bitmap [11011011]. rep =6. The first device 110 may regard all monitoring opportunities set by the bitmap being set to 1 (ie, the position of the bit "1" within the bitmap) as repeated monitoring opportunities (eg, Figure 5B time slots 500, 501, 503, 504, 506, 507 and / or time slots 510, 511, 513, 514, 516, 517).

[0089] The first device 110 may perform a RACH procedure and may utilize 6 repetitions (e.g., Figure 5B For example, the first device 110 may send (4025) a preamble (i.e., message 1) to the second device 120. The second device 120 may receive the DCI scheduling MSG2 at time slots 500, 501, 503, 504, 506, and 507 in the first device 110. Figure 5BThe second device 120 may send (4140) MSG2 to the first device 110. The first device 110 may send (4145) MSG3 to the second device 120. The second device 120 may send (4150) MSG4 to the first device 110.

[0090] Alternatively, the repetition factor may be determined according to a predetermined rule, such as k rep = In this case, the first device 110 may still consider all time slots set to 1 in the bitmap as potential repetitive monitoring opportunities. The first device 110 may have the flexibility to send four PDCCH repetitions within 6 monitoring opportunities. For example, the second device 120 may perform (4130) repetitions of the DCI scheduling MSG2 on four time slots from time slots 500, 501, 503, 504, 506, and 507.

[0091] like Figure 4C As shown, the parameter "duration-rel19" can configure Type1-PDCCH repetition. In this case, Figure 4C As shown, the second device 120 may send (4215) SIB1 with a "PDCCH-ConfigCommon" IE, which configures a Type1-PDCCH CSS set with a parameter "ra-SearchSpace" (where the parameter "ra-SearchSpace" specifies the identification number of the Type1-PDCCH) and its corresponding SS set, which is configured with a "SearchSpace" IE with the following configuration. For example, the SCS may be 30kHz, and the parameter "monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset" may be set to S110 with an offset of 5, the parameter "duration" may be set to 1, and the parameter "duration-rel19" may be set to 4.

[0092] The first device 110 may read (4220) SIB1. In this case, the first device 110 may obtain the repetition factor k from the parameter "duration-rel19". rep = 4, and treat all monitoring opportunities set by the parameter "duration-rel19" as repeated monitoring opportunities (for example, Figure 5CType 2 UEs may obtain the monitoring opportunity pattern from the "SearchSpace" IE and may consider that there is only one monitoring opportunity slot (either slot 506 or 516) in the slot group for each monitoring opportunity.

[0093] The first device 110 may perform a RACH procedure and may utilize 4 repetitions (e.g., Figure 5C 505, 506, 507, 508 and / or time slots 515, 516, 517, and 518 in the first device 110). For example, the first device 110 may send (4025) a preamble (i.e., Message 1) to the second device 120. The second device 120 may receive the DCI scheduling MSG2 at time slots 505, 506, 507, 508 and / or time slots 515, 516, 517, and 518 in the second device 120. Figure 5C The second device 120 may send (4240) MSG2 to the first device 110. The first device 110 may send (4245) MSG3 to the second device 120. The second device 120 may send (4250) MSG4 to the first device 110.

[0094] Figure 6 600 is a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, Figure 1 The method 600 is described from the perspective of the first device 110 in FIG.

[0095] At block 610, the first device 110 receives system information from a network device, the system information including parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetition. In some example embodiments, the parameters are in the form of a bitmap. In some example embodiments, the parameters are in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length.

[0096] At block 620, the first device 110 determines a configuration of a PDCCH common search space set with repetition based on the parameter. In some example embodiments, the method 600 further includes determining a repetition factor of the PDCCH based on the parameter.

[0097] At block 630, first device 110 monitors the repetition set of PDCCH based on the configuration.In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes monitoring the repetition set of PDCCH in all slots addressed by the bitmap based on determining that the parameter is a bitmap and the length of the bitmap is equal to the repetition factor.

[0098] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes, based on determining that the parameter is a bitmap and the length of the bitmap is not equal to the repetition factor, monitoring a repetition set of PDCCHs in time slots addressed by the bitmap adjacent to a target time slot indicated as a predefined value by the bitmap of the parameter.

[0099] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes determining a repetition factor of the PDCCH and a set of monitoring occasions for a repetition set of the PDCCH based on the parameter.

[0100] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes determining a repetition factor of the PDCCH based on the number of occurrences of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter; and determining a set of monitoring opportunities for the repetition set of the PDCCH based on the position of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter.

[0101] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes: determining a repetition factor of the PDCCH based on a mapping rule, wherein the mapping rule is based at least on a function of the number of predefined values ​​in a bitmap of the parameter and a length of the bitmap of the parameter; and determining a set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set of the PDCCH based on a position of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter.

[0102] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes: determining a repetition factor of the PDCCH based on a predefined offset, the number of predefined values ​​in a bitmap of the parameter, and a length of the bitmap of the parameter; and determining a set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set of the PDCCH based on a position of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the parameter is the parameter monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup, or wherein the parameter is the parameter duration. In some example embodiments, the parameter is a dedicated parameter for configurations with repetitions of a PDCCH common search space set.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the parameter refers to one or more durations, and each duration includes a set of consecutive time slots. In some example embodiments, the set of consecutive time slots within each duration is enumerated from 0 to the number of consecutive time slots minus 1. In some example embodiments, the parameter in the form of a bitmap indicates a first number of time slots within the one or more durations. In some example embodiments, based on the enumeration, the parameter in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length indicates the number of first time slots and subsequent time slots in the one or more durations.

[0105] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes determining a remaining set of time slots for a PDCCH common search space set with repetitions.

[0106] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes: determining a set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set of PDCCH based on a starting time slot, a time slot length, and a first number of time slots in one or more time durations; or determining a set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set based on a starting time slot, a time slot length, a system frame number, and a time slot number.

[0107] In some example embodiments, method 600 further includes: determining a configuration of a PDCCH common search space set having repetitions based on a combination of a parameter duration and a parameter monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup indicated in the system information; or determining a configuration of a PDCCH common search space set having repetitions based on a parameter duration in the system information according to a determination made by the device receiving another system information block.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the PDCCH is a Type 1-PDCCH.

[0109] Figure 7 FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, Figure 1 The method 700 is described from the perspective of the second device 120 in FIG.

[0110] At block 710, the second device 120 sends system information to the terminal device, the system information including parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetition. In some example embodiments, the parameter indicates a repetition factor of the PDCCH. In some example embodiments, the PDCCH is a Type 1-PDCCH.

[0111] At block 720, the second device 120 sends a repeated set of PDCCHs to the terminal device based on the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetitions. In some example embodiments, the method 700 further includes: based on a determination that the parameter is a bitmap and the length of the bitmap is equal to the repetition factor, sending a repeated set of PDCCHs in all time slots addressed by the bitmap.

[0112] In some example embodiments, method 700 further includes, based on a determination that the parameter is a bitmap and the length of the bitmap is not equal to the repetition factor, sending a repetition set of PDCCHs in time slots adjacent to a target time slot indicated as a predefined value by the bitmap of the parameter addressed by the bitmap.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the parameters indicate a repetition factor of the PDCCH and a set of monitoring occasions for a repetition set of the PDCCH.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the number of occurrences of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter indicates a repetition factor of the PDCCH, and the position at which the predefined value appears in the bitmap of the parameter indicates a set of monitoring occasions for a repetition set of the PDCCH.

[0115] In some example embodiments, method 700 further comprises: sending a repetition set of the PDCCH to the terminal device based on a function of the mapping rule, the number of predefined values ​​in the bitmap of the parameter, and the length of the bitmap of the parameter.

[0116] In some example embodiments, method 700 further comprises: sending a repetition set of the PDCCH to the terminal device based on the predefined offset, the number of predefined values ​​in the bitmap of the parameter, and the length of the bitmap of the parameter.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the parameter is the parameter monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup, or wherein the parameter is the parameter duration. In some example embodiments, the parameter is a dedicated parameter for configurations with repetitions of a PDCCH common search space set.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the parameter is in the form of a bitmap. In some example embodiments, the parameter is in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the parameter refers to one or more durations, and each duration includes a set of consecutive time slots. In some example embodiments, the set of consecutive time slots within each duration is enumerated from 0 to the number of consecutive time slots minus 1. In some example embodiments, the parameter in the form of a bitmap indicates a first number of time slots within the one or more durations. In some example embodiments, based on the enumeration, the parameter in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length indicates the number of first time slots and subsequent time slots in the one or more durations.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the bitmap of the parameter indicates a starting time slot for a PDCCH common search space set with repetition.In some example embodiments, the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition is indicated based on a combination of a parameter duration and a parameter monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup indicated in the system information.

[0121] In some example embodiments, a first device (eg, Figure 1 The first device 110 in the embodiment may include components for performing the corresponding operations of method 600. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The first device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the first device 110.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus includes: a component for receiving system information from a network device, the system information including parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetitions; a component for determining a configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetitions based on the parameters; and a component for monitoring the repetition set of the PDCCH based on the configuration.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for determining a repetition factor of the PDCCH based on a parameter.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for monitoring the repetition set of PDCCHs in all slots addressed by the bitmap in accordance with a determination that the parameter is a bitmap and a length of the bitmap is equal to the repetition factor.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the first device further comprises means for monitoring the repetition set of PDCCHs in time slots addressed by the bitmap adjacent to a target time slot indicated as a predefined value by the bitmap of the parameter, based on a determination that the parameter is a bitmap and the length of the bitmap is not equal to the repetition factor.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for determining a repetition factor of the PDCCH and a set of monitoring occasions for a repetition set of the PDCCH based on the parameter.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the first device further comprises: a component for determining the repetition factor of the PDCCH based on the number of occurrences of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter; and a component for determining a set of monitoring opportunities for the repetition set of the PDCCH based on the position at which the predefined value appears in the bitmap of the parameter.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes: a component for determining a repetition factor of the PDCCH based on a mapping rule, wherein the mapping rule is based on at least a function of the number of predefined values ​​in a bitmap of the parameter and a length of the bitmap of the parameter; and a component for determining a set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set of the PDCCH based on a position of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes: a component for determining a repetition factor of the PDCCH based on a predefined offset, a number of predefined values ​​in a bitmap of the parameter, and a length of the bitmap of the parameter; and a component for determining a set of monitoring opportunities for the repetition set of the PDCCH based on a position of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the parameter is the parameter monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup, or wherein the parameter is the parameter duration.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the parameter is a dedicated parameter for a configuration with a repetitive PDCCH common search space set.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the parameter is in the form of a bitmap.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the parameters are in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the parameters reference one or more time durations, and each time duration comprises a set of consecutive time slots.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the set of consecutive time slots within each time duration is enumerated from 0 to the number of consecutive time slots minus one.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the parameter in the form of a bitmap indicates a first number of time slots within one or more time durations.

[0137] In some example embodiments, parameters in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length indicate the number of first time slots and subsequent time slots in one or more time durations based on enumeration.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the bitmap of parameters indicates a starting time slot for a PDCCH common search space set with repetition, and wherein the first apparatus further comprises means for determining a remaining set of time slots for a PDCCH common search space set with repetition.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the first device also includes: a component for determining a set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set of PDCCH based on a starting time slot, a time slot length, and a first number of time slots in one or more time durations; or a component for determining a set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set based on a starting time slot, a time slot length, a system frame number, and a time slot number.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the first device also includes a component for: determining a configuration of a PDCCH common search space set with repetitions based on a combination of a parameter duration and a parameter monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup indicated in the system information; or determining a configuration of a PDCCH common search space set with repetitions based on the parameter duration in the system information according to a determination made by the device receiving another system information block.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the PDCCH is a Type 1-PDCCH.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is a terminal device.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing the method 600 or other operations in some example embodiments of the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the execution of the first apparatus.

[0144] In some example embodiments, a second device (eg, Figure 1 The second device 120 in the method 700 may include components for performing the corresponding operations of the method 700. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The second device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the second device 120.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus includes a component for sending system information to a terminal device, the system information including parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetitions; and a component for sending a repeated set of PDCCHs to the terminal device based on a configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetitions.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the parameter indicates a repetition factor of the PDCCH.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for transmitting a repetition set of the PDCCH in all slots addressed by the bitmap in accordance with a determination that the parameter is a bitmap and a length of the bitmap is equal to the repetition factor.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the second device further comprises means for transmitting, based on a determination that the parameter is a bitmap and the length of the bitmap is not equal to the repetition factor, a repetition set of the PDCCH in a time slot addressed by the bitmap adjacent to a target time slot indicated as a predefined value by the bitmap of the parameter.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the parameters indicate a repetition factor of the PDCCH and a set of monitoring occasions for a repetition set of the PDCCH.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the number of occurrences of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter indicates a repetition factor of the PDCCH, and the position at which the predefined value appears in the bitmap of the parameter indicates a set of monitoring occasions for a repetition set of the PDCCH.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for sending a repetition set of the PDCCH to the terminal device based on a function of a mapping rule, a number of predefined values ​​in the bitmap of the parameter and a length of the bitmap of the parameter.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for sending a repetition set of the PDCCH to the terminal device based on the predefined offset, the number of predefined values ​​in the bitmap of the parameter, and the length of the bitmap of the parameter.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the parameter is the parameter monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup, or wherein the parameter is the parameter duration.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the parameter is a dedicated parameter for a configuration with a repetitive PDCCH common search space set.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the parameter is in the form of a bitmap.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the parameters are in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the parameters reference one or more time durations, and each time duration comprises a set of consecutive time slots.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the set of consecutive time slots within each time duration is enumerated from 0 to the number of consecutive time slots minus one.

[0159] In some example embodiments, a parameter in the form of a bitmap indicates a first number of time slots within one or more time durations.

[0160] In some example embodiments, based on the enumeration, parameters in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length indicate the number of first time slots and subsequent time slots in one or more time durations.

[0161] In some example embodiments, a bitmap of parameters indicates a starting time slot for a PDCCH common search space set with repetitions.

[0162] In some example embodiments, a configuration of a PDCCH common search space set with repetitions is indicated based on a combination of a parameter duration and a parameter monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup indicated in the system information.

[0163] In some example embodiments, the PDCCH is a Type 1-PDCCH.

[0164] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is a network device.

[0165] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing the method 700 or other operations in some example embodiments of the second device 120. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause execution of the second apparatus.

[0166] Figure 8 8 is a simplified block diagram of a device 800 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 800 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The first device 110 or the second device 120 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 820 coupled to the processor 810, and one or more communication modules 840 coupled to the processor 810.

[0167] The communication module 840 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 840 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may indicate any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 840 may include at least one antenna.

[0168] Processor 810 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. Device 800 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0169] The memory 820 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 824, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 822 and other volatile memories that will not persist during a power outage.

[0170] The computer program 830 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 810. The instructions of the program 830 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 830 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 824. The processor 810 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 830 into the RAM 822.

[0171] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 830 so that the device 800 may execute the steps of FIG. Figure 7 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0172] In some example embodiments, the program 830 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 800 (such as in the memory 820) or in other storage devices accessible by the device 800. The device 800 may load the program 830 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 822 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. The term "non-transitory" as used herein is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0173] Fig. 9 An example of a computer readable medium 900 is shown, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 900 has a program 830 stored thereon.

[0174] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or illustrated and described using some other graphical indications, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the boxes, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0175] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium (such as, non-volatile computer-readable medium). The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as those computer executable instructions executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor included in a program module, to perform any method as described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local storage media and remote storage media.

[0176] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller in a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device, so that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be realized. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0177] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0178] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or apparatuses, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0179] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specified for a particular embodiment. On the contrary, unless expressly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in a sub-combination in a single embodiment.

[0180] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receiving system information from a network device, the system information including parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetition; Determining a configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition based on the parameter; and A repetition set of the PDCCH is monitored based on the configuration.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to: A repetition factor of the PDCCH is determined based on the parameter.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus is configured to: Based on a determination that the parameter is a bitmap and a length of the bitmap is equal to the repetition factor, monitoring the repetition set of the PDCCH in all slots addressed by the bitmap.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus is configured to: Based on the determination that the parameter is a bitmap and the length of the bitmap is not equal to the repetition factor, monitoring the repetition set of the PDCCH in a time slot addressed by the bitmap adjacent to a target time slot indicated as a predefined value by the bitmap of the parameter.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to: A repetition factor of the PDCCH and a monitoring opportunity set for a repetition set of the PDCCH are determined based on the parameters.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the apparatus is configured to: determining the repetition factor of the PDCCH based on the number of occurrences of a predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter; and The set of monitoring opportunities for the repetition set of the PDCCH is determined based on a position where the predefined value appears in the bitmap of the parameter.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the apparatus is configured to: determining the repetition factor of the PDCCH based on a mapping rule, wherein the mapping rule is based on at least a function of the number of predefined values ​​in the bitmap of the parameter and the length of the bitmap of the parameter; and The set of monitoring opportunities for the repetition set of the PDCCH is determined based on a position of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the apparatus is configured to: determining a repetition factor of the PDCCH based on a predefined offset, a number of predefined values ​​in the bitmap of the parameter, and a length of the bitmap of the parameter; and The set of monitoring opportunities for the repetition set of the PDCCH is determined based on a position of the predefined value in the bitmap of the parameter.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the parameter is a parameter monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup, or The parameter is the duration parameter.

10. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the parameter is a dedicated parameter for configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the parameter is in the form of a bitmap.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the parameter is in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length.

13. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the parameter refers to one or more time durations, and each time duration comprises a set of consecutive time slots.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the set of consecutive time slots within each time duration is enumerated from 0 to the number of consecutive time slots minus 1.

15. The apparatus of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the parameter in the form of a bitmap indicates a first number of time slots within the one or more time durations.

16. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the parameters in the form of a starting time slot and a time slot length indicate the number of first time slots and subsequent time slots in the one or more time durations based on the enumeration.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the bitmap of the parameter indicates a starting time slot for the PDCCH common search space set with repetition, and wherein the apparatus is caused to: A remaining set of time slots for the PDCCH common search space set with repetitions is determined.

18. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the apparatus is configured to: determining a set of monitoring opportunities for a repetition set of the PDCCH based on the starting time slot, the time slot length, and a first number of time slots in the one or more time durations; or The set of monitoring opportunities for the repetition set is determined based on the starting time slot, the time slot length, a system frame number, and a time slot number.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is caused to: Determine the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition based on a combination of parameters duration and monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup indicated in the system information; or According to a determination that the apparatus receives another system information block, the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition is determined based on a parameter duration in the system information.

20. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the PDCCH is a Type 1-PDCCH.

21. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the apparatus is a terminal device.

22. An apparatus for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: sending system information to a terminal device, the system information comprising parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set with repetition; and Based on the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetitions, the repetition set of the PDCCH is sent to the terminal device.

23. A method for communication, comprising: receiving, at an apparatus and from a network device, system information including parameters related to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search space set having repetition; Determining a configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetition based on the parameter; and A repetition set of the PDCCH is monitored based on the configuration.

24. A method for communication, comprising: sending, at an apparatus and to a terminal device, system information including parameters related to a set of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) common search spaces with repetition; as well as Based on the configuration of the PDCCH common search space set with repetitions, the repetition set of the PDCCH is sent to the terminal device.

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