Repetition of physical downlink control channel

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a solution for repetition of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Specifically, a first apparatus determines, based on a repetition factor configured for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission and a multiplexing mode associated with a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block) and the PDCCH transmission, a resource of at least one repetition for the PDCCH transmission within a frame in which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted. A first device monitors at least one repetition of a PDCCH transmission on a resource for obtaining control information from a second device. In this manner, latency of the first device may be reduced and buffer size at the first device may also be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for repetition of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). 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 identify potential problems and enhancements by considering NTN characteristics including large propagation delays and satellite mobility. Summary of the invention

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: determine a resource for at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission within a frame in which a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block SS / PBCH block is transmitted based on a repetition factor configured for physical downlink control channel PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing mode associated with a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block SS / PBCH block and PDCCH transmission; and monitor at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission on the resource for obtaining control information from a second device.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the second device at least: determines a resource for at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission within a frame in which a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block SS / PBCH block is transmitted based on a repetition factor configured for physical downlink control channel PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing mode associated with a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block SS / PBCH block and PDCCH transmission; and transmits at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission to the first device on the resource.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: at a first device, based on a repetition factor configured for physical downlink control channel PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing mode associated with synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block SS / PBCH block and PDCCH transmission, determining a resource for at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission within a frame in which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted; and monitoring at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission on the resource for obtaining control information from a second device.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: at a second device, based on a repetition factor configured for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission and a multiplexing mode associated with synchronization signal physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) blocks and PDCCH transmission, determining a resource for at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission within a frame in which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted; and transmitting at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission to a first device on the resource.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes: a component for determining a resource for at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission within a frame in which a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block SS / PBCH block is transmitted based on a repetition factor configured for physical downlink control channel PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing mode associated with the SS / PBCH block and the PDCCH transmission; and a component for monitoring at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission on the resource for obtaining control information from a second device.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a second device is provided. The second device includes: a component for determining at least one repetition resource for PDCCH transmission within a frame in which a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block SS / PBCH block is transmitted based on a repetition factor configured for physical downlink control channel PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing mode associated with the SS / PBCH block and the PDCCH transmission; and a component for transmitting at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission to the first device on the resource.

[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 or the fourth aspect.

[0010] It should be understood that the invention summary 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 invention will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0012] Figure 1 An example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0013] Figure 2 shows a signaling diagram for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0014] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3CSchematic diagrams of multiplexing modes are shown respectively;

[0015] Figure 3D SS / PBCH block transmission in various cases with different frequency bands and subcarrier spacings is shown;

[0016] Figure 4A and Figure 4B Schematic diagrams showing PDCCH monitoring opportunities associated with SS / PBCH block indices are shown respectively;

[0017] Figure 4C A diagram showing the structure of a time slot in a SS / PBCH block frame;

[0018] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5F Schematic diagrams of transmission resources for PDCCH repetition according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure are respectively shown;

[0019] Figure 6 shows another signaling diagram for communications according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Figure 7 Another schematic diagram showing transmission resources for PDCCH repetition according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 8 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Fig. 9 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0023] Fig.10 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0024] Fig.11 A block diagram illustrating an example computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example implementations. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and to help those skilled in the art understand and implement the present disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the way described below.

[0027] 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.

[0028] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example 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 within the knowledge of those skilled in the art that other embodiments may be combined to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic, whether or not explicitly described.

[0029] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used to describe various elements in this article, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0030] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is combined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0031] 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.

[0032] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprise", "including", "having", "having", "including" and / or "comprising", when used herein, specify the presence of the features, elements and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0033] The term "circuitry" as used in this application may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0034] (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuits only) and

[0035] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0036] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware and

[0037] (ii) any portion of a hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s), software and memory(s) that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions) and

[0038] (c) Hardware circuits and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but which may not be present when the software is not required to operate.

[0039] The definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As yet another 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. The term circuitry also covers, for example (and if applicable to a particular claim element), a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0040] 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 equipment and the network equipment in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, 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) 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 will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that can implement the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be limited to the above-mentioned system.

[0041] As used herein, the term "network device" or "network access 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), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as 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) located at an IAB donor node. The IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) part, which behaves like a UE towards a parent node, and the DU part of the IAB node behaves like a base station towards a next-hop IAB node.

[0042] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device that may be capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a user station (SS), a portable user station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). 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 regional 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 device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless client device (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 the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of an IAB node (eg, a relay node).In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0043] As used herein, the term "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 time domain resources, frequency domain resources, spatial domain resources, code domain resources, or any other resource capable of communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in both the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources to describe some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0044] As used herein, the term "common search space (CSS)" may refer to a search space (i.e., a set of resources) that each UE needs to search for control signals for each UE or for signaling messages applied to each UE before establishing a dedicated channel for a particular UE. The term "control resource set (CORESET)" used herein may refer to a physical resource used to carry a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The term "repetition factor" used herein may refer to the number of repetitions of a PDCCH. The term "bitmap" used herein may refer to a string comprising binary numbers. The term "monitoring opportunity (MO)" used herein may refer to a set of resources used for control channel monitoring.

[0045] As mentioned above, coverage enhancement is one of the important aspects of communication system design. For example, the coverage performance of different uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) channels is evaluated, and the bottleneck channels are identified. In NTN, when satellite power limitations are considered (e.g., due to management requirements or power splitting between satellite beams), the UL and DL channels associated with initial access may need to be enhanced.

[0046] In some mechanisms, UL enhancements are proposed. For example, UL enhancements regarding enhancements to Message 4 (Msg4) Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request-Acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) and enhancements to the Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) bundling framework for the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). It has been argued that the scope of Msg4 HARQ-ACK should be extended to also cover the case of Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) transmission of HARQ-ACK when dedicated PUCCH resources are not configured.

[0047] As mentioned above, coverage enhancement has been studied. It has been discussed that some DL channels also need to be enhanced. For example, when considering satellite power limitations, channels related to initial access also need to be enhanced due to, for example, management requirements or power splitting between satellite beams. In another example, when considering power flux density (PFD) limitations or more generally limitations on satellite output power, coverage enhancement for PDCCH channels may be required.

[0048] In general, three approaches can be considered to improve coverage. These approaches are: (a) reducing interference and noise contributions, (b) increasing transmit power, and (c) increasing the received energy per bit by reducing the payload or by transmitting over a longer time. However, at least some of the approaches may not be feasible for NTN, for example, due to satellite PFD limitations. Approach (c) can be achieved by introducing repetition of the channel to be enhanced. In the current 5G NR specification, repetition of the UE-specific search space (USS) PDCCH has been specified for the multiple transmission reception point (TRP) feature. However, this repetition feature does not apply to PDCCH in initial access, and specifically does not apply to configured Type0-PDCCH. Type0-PDCCH indicates scheduling information for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmissions carrying system information block 1 (SIB1) messages.

[0049] In order to improve the physical layer performance of the channel, a larger number of resources may be allocated for the transmission of data or control channels. For example, data and / or control channels may include a certain number of bits. One method of achieving this is to repeat the transmission of the payload data multiple times to give the receiver the possibility to combine the received signals and improve the reliability of the demodulated and decoded signals (e.g., bits).

[0050] Based on this, in order to enhance the coverage of Type0-PDCCH, the network equipment (e.g., gNB) can be configured to repeat Type0-PDCCH multiple times in the same or different time slots, thereby allowing the terminal device (e.g., UE) to combine the received Type0-PDCCH single transmission. However, in order to be able to combine multiple Type0-PDCCH repetitions, the UE must at least know whether the gNB is transmitting repetitions and how many repetitions are being transmitted, and therefore know the time span of the Type0-PDCCH repetitions. It is not sufficient for the UE to decode Type0-PDCCH with enhanced coverage.

[0051] At least to solve the above and / or other potential problems, an example embodiment of the present disclosure provides a solution for PDCCH repetition. Specifically, a first device (such as a terminal device) determines at least one repeated resource for PDCCH transmission within a frame in which a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block) is transmitted based on a repetition factor configured for PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing mode associated with a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH block) and PDCCH transmission. The first device monitors at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission on the resource for obtaining control information from a second device (e.g., a network device). In this way, the delay of the first device decoding the PDCCH transmission and subsequently starting to decode the scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) can be reduced. The buffer size at the first device can be reduced. Therefore, coverage enhancement can be improved.

[0052] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a second device (such as a network device) determines a resource for at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission within a frame in which an SS / PBCH block is transmitted based on a repetition factor configured for PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing mode associated with the SS / PBCH block and the PDCCH transmission. The second device transmits at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission to a first device (such as a terminal device) on the resource. In this way, coverage enhancement can be improved.

[0053] 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.

[0054] In the following, for the purpose of explanation, some example embodiments are described as the first device 110 operating as a terminal device and the second device 120 operating 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.

[0055] In some example embodiments, if the first device 110 is a terminal device and the second device 120 is a network device, the link from the second device 120 to the first device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from the first device 110 to the second device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In the DL, the second device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and the first device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In the UL, the first device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and the second device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0056] The first device 110 may be capable of receiving downlink control information (DCI) carried by a Type0-PDCCH CCS set with repetition. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may be a UE capable of Type0-PDCCH repetition (e.g., an NTN UE), which may also be referred to as a Type 1 UE. The communication environment 100 may also include other terminal devices that are not capable of receiving DCI carried by a Type0-PDCCH CCS set with repetition, for example, a legacy UE or NTN UE that is not capable of Type0-PDCCH reception with repetition, which may be referred to as a Type 2 UE.

[0057] The communication in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc., and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication may use any suitable 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.

[0058] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 2 , which shows a signaling diagram 200 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown, the signaling diagram 200 involves the first device 110 and the second device 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to Figure 1 Signaling diagram 200 is described.

[0059] In operation, the first device 110 determines (210) at least one repetition of resources for PDCCH transmission within a frame in which an SS / PBCH block is transmitted based on a repetition factor configured for PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing pattern associated with the SS / PBCH block and the PDCCH transmission. As used herein, a frame in which an SS / PBCH block is transmitted may be referred to as a "frame for SS / PBCH transmission" or an "SS / PBCH block frame." The frame may be associated with a system frame number (SFN). The first device 110 monitors (230) on a resource at least one repetition of a PDCCH transmission for obtaining control information from the second device 120. For example, the PDCCH transmission may be a Type 0-PDCCH transmission.

[0060] In example embodiments of the present disclosure, resources for at least one repetition refer to resources for transmitting repetitions of PDCCH transmissions, which may also be referred to as "repetition opportunities" in some example embodiments. The term "repetition candidate" may refer to an opportunity (e.g., one or more time slots) that may be used to transmit repetitions of PDCCH transmissions. In some example embodiments, resources, such as repetition opportunities, may be determined based on repetition candidates.

[0061] In some example embodiments, the resources determined for the at least one repetition at 210 may include one or more time slots, and each time slot does not overlap with a time slot used for an original transmission (also referred to as an initial transmission) of the PDCCH transmission. That is, the at least one repetition is transmitted in a (multiple) time slot that does not overlap with a time slot used for the original transmission of the PDCCH transmission.

[0062] As used herein, a repetition of a PDCCH transmission in a time slot different from the time slot used for the original transmission may be referred to as an "inter-slot repetition of a PDCCH transmission" or a "time domain repetition of a PDCCH transmission". Since the determined resources for at least one repetition are within a frame including an SS / PBCH transmission, the at least one repetition of a PDCCH transmission may be referred to as an "inter-slot repetition within an SS / PBCH block frame" or an "inter-slot repetition within an SS / PBCH block SFN of a PDCCH transmission". As used herein, resources for at least one repetition within a frame for SS / PBCH transmission may be referred to as "inter-slot repetition resources within an SS / PBCH frame".

[0063] Based on the determined resources, the PDCCH common search space (CSS) set in the monitoring opportunity slot in the SS / PBCH block SFN can be extended. Therefore, the extended resources can also be referred to as "extended monitoring opportunity" or "extended monitoring opportunity slot" or "extended repetition slot" or "extended repetition opportunity" or "monitoring opportunity" or "monitoring opportunity slot" or "repetition slot" or "repetition opportunity". As an example, the Type0-PDCCH CSS can be extended for transmission repeated between at least one time slot. The extended inter-time slot repetition CSS can be linked to the original CSS. In an example embodiment in which the first device 110 is a type 1 UE, the first device 110 can monitor (230) repetitions on the extended CSS to improve Type0 PDCCH reception performance. Alternatively or additionally, if the device is a type 2 UE, the device can monitor the original Type0 PDCCH CSS specified, for example, in Release 18 (Rel-18) and ignore the linked extended CSS.

[0064] Similarly, the second device 120 determines (220) resources for at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission within a single frame in which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted based on the repetition factor configured for the PDCCH transmission and the multiplexing mode associated with the SS / PBCH block and the PDCCH transmission. The second device 120 transmits (240) the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission on the resources to the first device 110. The first device 110 may monitor (230) and receive (250) the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission on the resources.

[0065] In this manner, repetitions of PDCCH transmissions may be transmitted on resources within a frame that includes SS / PBCH block transmissions. For purposes of discussion, such a frame is also referred to as an SS / PBCH block SFN. Such inter-slot repetitions within an SS / PBCH block SFN may reduce the latency for the first device 110 to successfully decode the PDCCH and subsequently begin decoding a scheduled physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and thus reduce the buffer size of the first device 110. By doing so, coverage enhancement may be improved.

[0066] In some example embodiments, resources for SS / PBCH block transmission in a frame are associated with an SS / PBCH block index. As used herein, an SS / PBCH block index may also be referred to as an "index of an SS / PBCH block" or an "index." The first device 110 may determine at least one SS / PBCH block index for at least one repetition of resources for PDCCH transmission within an SS / PBCH block frame.

[0067] In some example embodiments, the repetition factor may be configured by the second device 120 for PDCCH transmission. As an example, the configured repetition factor may be associated with one or more factors for inter-slot repetition within a frame for SS / PBCH transmission. For example, some factors may be determined based on the configured repetition factor. Related details will be described by the following example embodiments.

[0068] In some example embodiments, a multiplexing pattern associated with SS / PBCH blocks and PDCCH transmissions may be configured by second device 120. First device 110 may acquire a control resource set (CORESET) and a search space (referring to a time domain location for a PDCCH) for PDCCH transmission. For example, second device 120 may transmit a master information block (MIB) to first device 110. First device 110 may receive the MIB and determine a CORESET and a search space for Type0-PDCCH based on (multiple) MIB parameters and at least one predefined table.

[0069] As an example, if during the cell search, the first device 110 determines from the MIB that there is a CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set, the first device 110 determines the number of consecutive resource blocks and the number of consecutive symbols of the CORESET for the Type0-PDCCH CSS set from controlResourceSetZero in pdcch-ConfigSIB1, as described in Tables 13-1 to 13-10 in Technical Specification (TS) 38.213 for operation without shared spectrum channel access in frequency range 1 (FR1) and frequency range 2-1 (FR2-1), or as described in Tables 13-1A and 13-4A in TS 38.213 for operation with shared spectrum channel access in FR1, or as described in Table 13-10A in TS 38.213 for operation with shared spectrum channel access in FR2-2, and determines the PDCCH monitoring timing from searchSpaceZero in pdcch-ConfigSIB1 included in the MIB, as described in TS As described in Tables 13-11 to 13-15A of 38.213.

[0070] There may be various types of schemes or modes for SS / PBCH blocks (sometimes referred to as SSBs) and CORESET0 multiplexing as so-called multiplexing modes, such as FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C shown. Figure 3A FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing multiplexing mode 1 for SS / PBCH block 320 and CORESET0 310. Multiplexing mode 1 is also referred to as the first scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH block and CORESET. Figure 3A As shown, SS / PBCH block 320 may be transmitted in time slot n, and CORESET0 310 may be in time slot n+0 or a subsequent time slot, where n and 0 are integers. For example, parameter 0 may be offset from the first time slot. SS / PBCH block 320 and CORESET0 310 may overlap in the frequency domain.

[0071] Figure 3B FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing multiplexing mode 2 for SS / PBCH block 320 and CORESET0 310. Figure 3B As shown, the SS / PBCH block 320 may be transmitted in time slot n (where n is an integer), and the CORESET0 310 may be in the same time slot n or in the previous time slot of time slot n, that is, in time slot n-1. Figure 3B In the example of FIG. 3 , the SS / PBCH block 320 and the CORESET0 310 do not overlap in the frequency domain.

[0072] Figure 3CFIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing multiplexing mode 3 for SS / PBCH block 320 and CORESET0 310. Figure 3C As shown, the SS / PBCH block 320 may be transmitted in time slot n, and CORESET0 310 may be in time slot n. The SS / PBCH block 320 and CORESET0 310 may overlap in the time domain. In some embodiments, for SS / PBCH block / CORESET0 multiplexing mode 3, they may be in the same time slot, and for multiplexing mode 2, they may be on the same time slot or on two consecutive time slots according to Tables 13-13 to 13-15A in TS 38.213. As used herein, multiplexing mode 2 may be referred to as a second scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and CORESETs, and multiplexing mode 3 may be referred to as a third scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and CORESETs.

[0073] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may assume that a half frame with an SS / PBCH block occurs with a period of two frames. In other words, the minimum period of an SS / PBCH block is two frames (eg, 20 ms), i.e., in It is specified by Table 1 shown below (corresponding to Table 4.3.2-1 in TS 38.211). Specifically, Table 1 shows the number of OFDM symbols per slot, the number of slots per frame, and the number of slots for a normal cyclic prefix per subframe.

[0074] Table 1

[0075]

[0076]

[0077] In some example embodiments, for a half-frame with an SS / PBCH block, a first symbol index for a candidate SS / PBCH block may be determined based on a subcarrier spacing (SCS) μ of the SS / PBCH block.

[0078] The first device 110 may provide a periodicity of half frames for receiving SS / PBCH blocks for the serving cell as provided by ssb-periodicityServingCell per serving cell. If the first device 110 is not configured with a periodicity of half frames for reception of SS / PBCH blocks, the first device 110 may assume a periodicity of half frames. The first device 110 may assume that the periodicity is the same for all SS / PBCH blocks in the serving cell. For initial cell selection, the first device 110 may assume that half frames with SS / PBCH blocks appear with a periodicity of two frames.

[0079] According to Table 2 based on Tables 13-1 to 13-10A in clause 13 (TS 38.213), the supported SCS combinations can be summarized as follows.

[0080] Table 2

[0081]

[0082] It should be noted that, as examples, multiplexing mode 1 may be configured for all PDCCH SCSs, multiplexing mode 2 may be configured for SCSs of 60 kHz and 120 kHz, and multiplexing mode 3 may be configured for 120 kHz, 480 kHz, and 960 kHz.

[0083] Figure 3D SS / PBCH block transmission in various cases with different frequency bands and subcarrier spacings are shown. Figure 3D The SS / PBCH block timing shown in can be configured according to clause 4.1 of TS 38.213. Figure 3D In the example shown, in the half-frame 360 ​​of the SS / PBCH block frame, the SS / PBCH blocks are transmitted in various different modes depending on the subcarrier spacing and frequency range and some other parameters. In the illustrated example, in the half-frame 360 ​​of the SS / PBCH block frame, the SS / PBCH blocks are transmitted in different modes for different situations. For example, for case A where the frequency range is less than or equal to 3 GHz and the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz, multiple SS / PBCH blocks such as SS / PBCH block 365 are transmitted within the half-frame 360. There are some available time slots in the half-frame 360, such as spare time slots. For other situations, there are also some available time slots as shown in the figure. This means that there are available time slots in (multiple) half-frames that can be used for repetition, where the first device 110 can monitor (230) SS / PBCH and PDCCH transmissions (such as Type0-PDCCH).

[0084] Still reference Figure 2 In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may determine (210) resources for at least one repetition based on one or more available time slots in a first half of a frame. The SS / PBCH block is included in the first half of the frame. Similarly, the second device 120 may determine (220) resources for at least one repetition based on one or more available time slots in the first half of the frame. For purposes of illustration, several example embodiments for determining resources for at least one repetition will be described with respect to the first device 110. It should be understood that these example embodiments may also be implemented by the second device 120.

[0085] Taking the first scheme (also referred to as multiplexing mode 1) in which the multiplexing mode is multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and CORESET for PDCCH transmission as an example, the PDCCH monitoring opportunity (n_0) can be determined by Tables 13-11 to 13-12A of TS 38.213. Table 3 below is an example of a multiplexing factor in which the number of time slots in the SFN is 20, O is an offset from the first time slot, and M is an example of how many search space sets corresponding to the SS / PBCH block indexes are in the time slot. The value in the table (in column n_0) indicates which time slot is the PDCCH opportunity associated with SSB index i. As shown in Table 3, there are available time slots in the frame containing the SS / PBCH block in which PDCCH repetitions can be transmitted, for example, in the row of index 0, the PDCCH opportunity time slots are time slots 0 to 7, and the available time slots are time slots 8 to 19. The column "Index" on the left is a configuration index indicating different configuration profiles.

[0086] Table 3

[0087]

[0088]

[0089] In some example embodiments, for a first scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and CORESETs for PDCCH transmission, first device 110 may determine (210) at least one repeated resource for PDCCH transmission in an available time slot based on a first parameter associated with a subcarrier spacing of a CORESET, a total number of time slots in a frame, a maximum number of SS / PBCH block indexes in a cell, an offset from a first time slot in a frame, and a multiplexing factor indicating a number of search space sets corresponding to an SS / PBCH block index in a time slot. The total number of time slots in a frame may be determined based on the first parameter associated with a subcarrier spacing of a CORESET.

[0090] For example, the first device 110 may determine (210) the resource based on the following equation (1):

[0091]

[0092] in represents the j-th repetition time slot in at least one repetition, j∈{0,1,…,K-1}, j=0 indicates the original transmission time slot and j>0 indicates the repeated time slot, K represents the repetition factor (also called the second factor) for the inter-slot repetition within the frame, μ represents the first parameter, i represents the SS / PBCH block index, L max Indicates the maximum number of SS / PBCH block indices in the cell, represents the total number of time slots in a frame, O represents the offset from the first time slot in the frame, and M represents the multiplexing factor.

[0093] Determined may refer to a timeslot index for at least one repetition in an SS / PBCH block frame. K may represent a Type0-PDCCH monitoring opportunity in an SS / PBCH block SFN. The repetition timeslot may be extended based on the original monitoring opportunity specified as a configuration in Tables 13-11 to 13-12A of TS 38.213. In some example embodiments, the first parameter may be μ∈{1,2,3,4,5,6}, O and M may be from at least one predefined table, and the SS / PBCH block index L may be a SS / PBCH block index L. max The maximum number of may be specified in clause 4.1 of TS 38.213. For example, the values ​​of these parameters may be specified in Table 1 shown above.

[0094] Several examples of determined resources for at least one repetition are shown in the following Table 4. These resources in Table 4 are determined by using the above equation (1).

[0095] Table 4

[0096]

[0097]

[0098] In the example of Table 4, assuming that the number of slots in a frame is 20, the maximum number of SS / PBCH block indices is 8. For configuration index 0, the original transmission slots are in {0, 1, ..., 7}, and the repetition opportunities are in {8, 9, ..., 15}. There is no collision.

[0099] In this way, (multiple) PDCCH repetitions can be transmitted after the SS / PBCH block index associated with the PDCCH (240). Available time slots in the half-frame containing the SS / PBCH block can be used for PDCCH repetitions. The system information block 1 (SIB1) symbols transmitted by the PDSCH are not touched and they can remain the same as in the scheme without PDCCH repetition.

[0100] In some example embodiments, one of the available time slots that overlaps with the time slot for the original PDCCH transmission associated with the index of the SS / PBCH block (also referred to as the SS / PBCH block index) is discarded from at least one repeated time slot for PDCCH transmission. That is, for repetition, the extended time slot for repetition that overlaps with the original opportunity time slot can be skipped, which means that the time slot for repetition candidate is invalid. As shown in Table 4, for configuration index 8, the opportunity for the original transmission and the opportunity for the repetition of the transmission overlap. Therefore, due to invalidity, the repetition opportunity can be skipped.

[0101] Alternatively or additionally, in some example embodiments, if a time slot used for one of the at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission associated with an SS / PBCH block index of an SS / PBCH block overlaps with a time slot used for the original transmission of the PDCCH transmission, then one of the at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH block indices is skipped. For example, once an extended time slot for repetition that overlaps with an original opportunity time slot is skipped, the inter-slot repetition factor may fall back to a previous value, such as K=K-1, to avoid resource conflicts.

[0102] Several example embodiments have been described regarding determining resources for at least one repetition in a frame for SS / PBCH transmission for multiplexing mode 1. In some example embodiments, if the multiplexing mode is a second scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and CORESETs for PDCCH transmission (such as multiplexing mode 2 or multiplexing mode 3), there are available time slots for the repetition of PDCCH transmission. For the second scheme, possible PDCCH SCSs may be 60 kHz, 120 kHz, 480 kHz, and 960 kHz. The corresponding It can be 40, 80, 320 and 640.

[0103] For SS / PBCH block / CORESET0 multiplexing mode 3, they are in the same timeslot, and for multiplexing mode 2, they can be on the same timeslot or on two consecutive timeslots according to Tables 13-13 to 13-15A of TS 38.213. Figure 4A A diagram 400 of PDCCH monitoring opportunities is shown when the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the PDCCH is 60 KHz. As shown, for SS / PBCH block transmission, there are multiple original transmission opportunities in a half-frame, such as original transmission opportunity 402 and original transmission opportunity 404. The half-frame may also include several available transmission opportunities (also referred to as repetition opportunities or repetition candidates) for PDCCH repetition, such as repetition candidate 406.

[0104] Figure 4BA diagram 410 shows the PDCCH monitoring opportunities when the subcarrier spacing (SCS) of the PDCCH is 120Khz. Figure 4A Similarly, there are multiple original transmission opportunities in a half-frame for SS / PBCH block transmission, such as original transmission opportunity 412 and original transmission opportunity 414. A half-frame may also include several available transmission opportunities (also called repetition opportunities or repetition candidates) for PDCCH repetition, such as repetition candidate 416.

[0105] It should be understood that Figure 4A and Figure 4B And the transmission opportunities or repetition opportunities shown in the following figures may represent one or more transmission opportunities or repetition opportunities. For example, Figure 4A The original transmission opportunity 402 in can represent two transmission opportunities associated with SS / PBCH indexes 0 and 1. The original transmission opportunity 404 can represent two transmission opportunities associated with SS / PBCH indexes 2 and 3. For another example, Figure 4B The original transmission opportunity 412 in may represent two transmission opportunities associated with SS / PBCH indexes 0 to 3. The original transmission opportunity 414 may represent two transmission opportunities associated with SS / PBCH indexes 4 to 7.

[0106] It should be understood that in the example embodiments shown below, the index used for PDCCH transmission may be similar to Figure 4A and Figure 4B Those described above will not be repeated below.

[0107] Figure 4C Figure 420 shows the structure of a time slot (time slot 0) in an SS / PBCH block frame. As shown, symbol 421 and symbol 423 may be used for original transmission opportunities associated with two SS / PBCH block indices, such as SS / PBCH block index 0 and index 1, and symbol 422 and symbol 424 may be used for original transmission opportunities associated with other two SS / PBCH block indices, such as SS / PBCH block index 2 and index 3. For example, symbol 421 and symbol 423 may be used for Figure 4A The original transmission opportunity 402 in, and the symbol 422 and the symbol 424 can be used Figure 4A The original transmission opportunity 404 in.

[0108] like Figure 4A and Figure 4B As shown, there are available time slots between the PDCCH monitoring times and at the end of the half-frame where repetitions can be transmitted. The available time slots (eg, time slot 406 and time slot 416) may be referred to as repetition candidates.

[0109] Still reference Figure 2In some example embodiments, if the multiplexing mode is the second scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and control resource sets for PDCCH transmission, first device 110 may determine whether available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks. If the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, first device 110 may determine that a portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in the frame together with at least one repetition and another portion of the SS / PBCH block is discarded.

[0110] By way of example, when the available time slots to be extended for repetition are insufficient for the entire Type0-PDCCH associated with all SS / PBCH block indices (e.g., 64), a portion of the Type0-PDCCH associated SS / PBCH blocks (60 / 64) may be transmitted with the repetitions. The repetitions for the remaining Type0-PDCCHs are discarded. Figure 5A A schematic diagram 500 of such transmission resources for PDCCH repetition is shown in FIG. As shown, PDCCH repetition is limited to half a frame of a SS / PBCH block. The advantage is that resources and processing power are saved that are suitable for current specifications. Short gaps 504 within a pattern and long gaps 506 within a pattern can be involved, such as Figure 5A shown.

[0111] Return to reference Figure 2 Alternatively or additionally, in some example embodiments, if the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, the first device 110 may determine that the first part of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in a frame together with at least one repetition, and the second part of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in another frame together with at least one repetition. As an example, the first part of the SS / PBCH block and the second part of the SS / PBCH block are transmitted in a polling manner.

[0112] Figure 5B Schematic diagram 510 of such transmission resources for PDCCH repetition is shown in FIG. As shown, the first portion may include a first number of PDCCH opportunities, such as 60 PDCCH opportunities corresponding to SSB indices from 0 to 59. The second portion may include a second number of PDCCH opportunities, such as 60 PDCCH opportunities corresponding to SSB indices from 4 to 63. As shown, the first portion may include repetition opportunities 512 corresponding to SSB indices from 0 to 14, and the second portion may include repetition opportunities 516 corresponding to SSB indices 4 to 18.

[0113] It should be noted that the above examples of the first number of PDCCH opportunities and / or the second number of PDCCH opportunities are discussed only for illustration. In other example embodiments, the first number and / or the second number may have other values, which may be greater than or less than 60, and the first number need not be equal to the second number.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the available time slots to be extended are insufficient for repetition of the entire Type0-PDCCH associated with all SS / PBCH block indices, a portion of the Type0-PDCCH may be transmitted with the repetition, and the remaining Type0-PDCCH associated with one or more SS / PBCH block indices may be transmitted with the repetition in at least one next SS / PBCH block frame. The Type0-PDCCH associated with all SS / PBCH block indices may be transmitted in a polling manner.

[0115] like Figure 5B As shown, the dropped repetitions are allocated to different PDCCH groups associated with SS / PBCH block indices in a round-robin manner. With this method, the repetition opportunities are fairly allocated to different PDCCHs associated with SS / PBCH block indices.

[0116] Return to reference Figure 2 In some example embodiments, if the multiplexing mode is the second scheme and the first device 110 determines that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, the first device 110 may determine an extended time slot for at least one repetition from the available time slots. The extended time slot corresponds to the same repetition pattern as the original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission of the PDCCH transmission.

[0117] As an example, if the available time slots to be extended are sufficient for repetition of the entire Type0-PDCCH associated with all SS / PBCH block indices, the extended time slots may be opportunities with the same pattern as the original opportunities. In other words, the repeated opportunities are filled in the same order as the original opportunities and are distributed over the next multiple available opportunities. The number of repetitions is determined by the available time slots.

[0118] Figure 5C A schematic diagram 520 of such transmission resources for PDCCH repetition is shown in FIG. As shown, a repetition opportunity such as repetition opportunity 522 is copied from the original opportunity pattern and distributed in the next multiple opportunities. With this method, the benefit is that the transmission opportunity determined for repetition is similar to the original PDCCH opportunity, and the implementation complexity of the first device and the second device is reduced.

[0119] Return to reference Figure 2, alternatively or additionally, in some example embodiments, if the first device 110 determines that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH block indices, the first device 110 may determine, from the available time slots, an extended time slot for at least one repetition, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern that is different from an original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission for the PDCCH transmission.

[0120] As an example, if the available time slots to be extended are sufficient for repetition of the entire Type0-PDCCH associated with all SS / PBCH block indices, the extended time slots may be timings with a different pattern compared to the original timings, since there are still some available time slots within the original timing pattern (interstitial time slots). Due to the use of interstitial time slots, the repetition pattern is different from the original pattern. With this approach, the available time slots are fully utilized, thereby reducing transmission delays. The number of repetitions is determined by the available time slots.

[0121] Figure 5D A schematic diagram of such transmission resources for PDCCH repetition is shown in FIG. 530. As shown, inter-slot time slots such as repetition opportunity 532 are used for repetition. Therefore, the inter-slot repetition factor is 3.

[0122] Return to reference Figure 2 In some example embodiments, if the multiplexing mode is the second scheme, the first device 110 may determine (210) resources for at least one repetition based on one or more available time slots in the first half of the frame and / or in the second half of the frame. The SS / PBCH block is included in the first half of the frame and / or in the second half of the frame.

[0123] As an example, available time slots in the first half frame or / and the second half frame containing SS / PBCH blocks are proposed to be extended for repetition. For example, this may be useful in the case where the PDCCH SCS is 60KHz and the number of time slots in a half frame is 20 and the number of available time slots for repetition is insufficient.

[0124] Figure 5E Schematic diagram 540 of such transmission resources for PDCCH repetition is shown in FIG. As shown, there are 60 repetition opportunities, such as repetition opportunity 542, while the original maximum number of transmission opportunities corresponding to SS / PBCH block indices is 64. The SS / PBCH block indices associated with 4 Type0-PDCCHs lack repetition opportunities. Figure 5A compared to, Figure 5E The second half frame in the PDCCH may be extended for repetition. For example, the extended opportunity 544 in the second half frame may be used for PDCCH repetition.

[0125] Return to reference Figure 2In some example embodiments, at least one time domain repetition in a half-frame containing an SS / PBCH block may be transmitted using available slots in the first half-frame. For example, in the case of multiplexing mode 3 (PDCCH SCS is 480kHz or 960kHz), extending the available slots in the first half-frame containing the SS / PBCH block for repetition is proposed. Since there are no gap slots between the original opportunities, the pattern of the extended opportunities for repetition is the same as the original opportunities. If the available opportunities allow, available opportunities may be allocated for multiple repetitions within a half-frame. Fig. 5F A schematic diagram 550 of such transmission resources for PDCCH repetition is shown in FIG. As shown, in the PDCCH transmission pattern, there are no interstitial opportunities available, and for the case where the PDCCH SCS is 480 kHz, the available opportunities such as the repetition opportunity 552 within the half frame are extended for repetition. For the case where the PDCCH SCS is 960 kHz, the available opportunities within the half frame (such as repetition opportunities 554, 556, 558 and 560) are extended for repetition. The inter-slot repetition factor is determined by the number of available resources.

[0126] Now refer to Figure 2 . As described above, resources for at least one repetition may be determined (210 / 220) based on a repetition factor. In an example, the repetition factor may be associated with a first factor for intra-slot repetition. As used herein, the term "intra-slot repetition" may refer to a repetition of a PDCCH transmission using different OFDM symbol level time or frequency resources in the same slot of the original transmission for the PDCCH transmission. The term "intra-slot repetition" may also be referred to as "OFDM symbol level time domain repetition or OFDM symbol level frequency domain repetition".

[0127] In another example, the repetition factor may be associated with a second factor for inter-slot repetition within a frame. In a further example, the repetition factor may be associated with a third factor for inter-slot repetition across frames. As used herein, the term "inter-slot repetition across frames" may refer to repetition of a PDCCH transmission in a time domain resource, such as a slot in another frame outside of a SS / PBCH block frame.

[0128] The first factor and the second factor may be determined based on (a plurality of) available resources. For example, the first factor may be determined based on available frequency resources within a time slot. For another example, the second factor may be determined based on available resources such as available time slots within an SSB frame. The third factor may be determined based on the first factor and the second factor. Figure 6 Details on the determination of the second factor and the third factor are described.

[0129] The second factor may be determined based on available time domain resources within the SS / PBCH block frame.For example, the second factor may be determined based on the determined resources for at least one inter-slot repetition within the SS / PBCH block frame.

[0130] In some example embodiments, first device 110 and / or second device 120 may determine the second factor based on the configured repetition factor and the first factor. In some example embodiments, the repetition factor may represent the total number of PDCCH transmissions including the original transmission and the repetitions. For example, the repetition factor may be a configured repetition factor (denoted as K c ) such as 8 or any other suitable value. The first factor (denoted as K1) and the second factor (denoted as K2) may represent the number of intra-slot repetitions and the number of inter-slot repetitions within the SS / PBCH block frame, respectively.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the priority of the first factor is higher than the priority of the second factor, and the priority of the second factor is higher than the priority of the third factor. For example, different levels can be prioritized for intra-slot repetition (L1), inter-slot repetition within a SS / PBCH block frame (L2), and inter-slot repetition across SFNs (L3), for example, based on the impact on transmission delay, the first priority is intra-slot repetition, the second priority is inter-slot repetition within a SS / PBCH block frame, and the third priority is inter-slot repetition across SFNs. Different repetition types for the configured repetition factors can be applied based on the corresponding priorities in descending order. For example, the first factor can be applied first, then the second factor, and finally the third factor. That is, intra-slot repetition can be applied first, then inter-slot repetition within a single frame, and finally inter-slot repetition across different frames.

[0132] The first factor K1 may be determined based on the available resource(s). c and K1 determine K2. For example, if the first factor (K1) is 2 and the repeating factor (K c ) is 8, then the second factor (K2) can be determined as follows:

[0133]

[0134] Where K 2max represents the maximum number of repetitions between time slots in a frame, which can be determined based on the available time slots in the frame. 2max =2.

[0135] It should be understood that the example values ​​of these factors are only for illustrative purposes and do not imply any limitation. In further example embodiments of the present disclosure, these factors may have other suitable values.

[0136] Alternatively or additionally, in some example embodiments, the first device 110 and / or the second device 120 may determine the third factor based on the repetition factor, the first factor, and the second factor.

[0137] In the repetition factor (K c ) represents the total number of PDCCH transmissions including original transmissions and repetitions, the first factor (K1), the second factor (K2), and the third factor K3 may represent the number of repetitions within a time slot, the number of inter-time slot repetitions within a SS / PBCH block frame, and the number of inter-time slot repetitions across frames, respectively. K1 and K2 may be determined based on the available resource(s). K c , K1 and K2 determine K3. For example, if the first factor (K1) is 4, the repetition factor (K3) is 8, and the second factor (K2) is 2, then the third factor (K3) can be determined as follows:

[0138]

[0139] It should be understood that the example values ​​of these factors are only for illustrative purposes and do not imply any limitation. In further exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, these factors may have other suitable values.

[0140] Example embodiments have been described regarding determining (210 / 220) resources for at least one repetition in an SS / PBCH block frame. Through these embodiments, the first device 110 and the second device 120 can autonomously determine Type0-PDCCH inter-slot repetition resources within the SS / PBCH block frame via extended available time slot opportunities. Inter-slot repetition within the SS / PBCH block SFN can reduce the latency for the first device 110 to successfully decode the PDCCH and then start decoding the scheduled PDSCH. Therefore, the buffer size in the first device 110 can be reduced. In this way, coverage enhancement can be improved.

[0141] As described above, the repetition factor may be associated with a first factor for intra-slot repetition and a third factor for inter-slot repetition across frames. In some example embodiments, the current inter-slot repetition within a SS / PBCH block frame may be combined with intra-slot repetition and / or inter-slot repetition.

[0142] Figure 6 Another signaling diagram 600 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 6 As shown, the signaling diagram 600 involves the first device 110 and the second device 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to Figure 1 6. The signaling diagram 600 is described. In the signaling diagram 600, inter-slot repetition within a SS / PBCH block frame, intra-slot repetition, and inter-slot repetition across frames may be combined.

[0143] As shown, the second device 120 may transmit (610) a configuration to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (215) the configuration. The configuration may include a repetition factor, CORESET0, and CSS through some parameters in the MIB. In other words, the second device 120 may configure the repetition factor, CORESET0, and CSS. The first device 110 may obtain the MIB and obtain the configured repetition factor, CORESET0, and CSS.

[0144] It should be understood that the configuration of the repetition factor and the configuration of the CORESET and CSS may be transmitted in a single MIB or in two different MIBs (610).The scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0145] The first device 110 may perform (620) a frequency band scan and obtain synchronization, such as frequency and frame synchronization, with the second device 120. The first device 110 as a type 1 UE may obtain (625) intra-slot repetition and inter-slot repetition activated for the first device 110 with a repetition factor of 8 (K c =8). Other devices as type 2 UEs may understand that there is no SS / PBCH block associated with CORESET0 and there is a second SS / PBCH block associated with CORESET0. The first device 110 may determine (630) frequency domain resources via ControlResourceSetZero and SearchSpaceZero.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may determine (635) a first factor, such as K1, for intra-slot repetition. For example, the first device 110 may determine (635) the first factor based on a set of intra-slot repetition (multiple) available transmission resources for PDCCH transmission. In an example, the (multiple) available transmission resources for intra-slot repetition may be determined based on the number of symbols per slot, the number of symbols associated with the search space set of the PDCCH, and the number of search space sets per slot. In another example, the (multiple) available transmission resources for intra-slot repetition may be determined based on the number of symbols per slot, the number of symbols associated with the search space set of the PDCCH, the number of search space sets per slot, and the number of symbols reserved for the transmission of the scheduled PDSCH. In a further example, the (multiple) available transmission resources for intra-slot repetition may be determined based on the number of symbols per slot, the number of symbols associated with the search space set of the PDCCH, the number of search space sets, the number of symbols to be reserved, and the index of the synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block.

[0147] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may determine (640) a second factor (K2) for inter-slot repetition within a SS / PBCH block frame. The determination of the second factor may be similar to that described with respect to Figures 2 to 5F What has been described will not be repeated here.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may determine (645) a third factor, such as K, for repetition between time slots across the frame. For example, the third factor may be determined using Determine (645) the third factor. Assuming the first factor is determined (635) to be 2 and the second factor is determined (640) to be 2, the third factor is determined (645) to be

[0149] It should be understood that, in some example embodiments, the second device 120 may determine the first factor, the second factor, and the third factor in a similar manner.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may determine (650) the intra-slot repetitive resources, for example based on the first factor. The second device 120 may also determine (655) the intra-slot repetitive resources.

[0151] The first device 110 determines (660) the time slot duplication resources in the SS / PBCH block SFN. The second device 120 determines (665) the time slot duplication resources in the SS / PBCH block SFN in a similar manner. Figures 2 to 5F Details regarding determination of inter-slot repetition resources in SS / PBCH block SFN have been described and will not be repeated here.

[0152] In some example embodiments, first device 110 may determine (670) inter-slot repetition resources across frames, such as SFNs, for example, based on a third factor.Second device 120 may also determine (675) inter-slot repetition resources across frames.

[0153] Based on these determined resources, the first device 110 can determine the starting symbol index and offset of each search space set in the time slot, as well as the repetition timing within the SS / PBCH block frame, the cross-SFN (SFN c , n0) repetition timing.

[0154] The first device 110 monitors (680) the repetition of the PDCCH transmission, such as with the system frame number (SFN). c ) / Number of time slots (Slot c ) / starting symbol index / number of symbols corresponding to Type0-PDCCH repetition.

[0155] Based on these determined (655 / 665 / 675) resources, the second device 120 may transmit (685) at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (690) the at least one repetition. The at least one repetition may include a combination of intra-slot repetitions, inter-slot repetitions within SS / PBCH block frames, and inter-slot repetitions across frames. The first device 110 may perform reception of Type 0-PDCCH and corresponding SIB 1.

[0156] The corresponding diagram 700 of the repetition timing may be depicted as follows Figure 7 As shown in the figure, in SFN#0, in the beginning half of the half-frame of SS / PBCH block transmission with SS / PBCH block indexes 0 to 7, 8 to 15, 16 to 23, 24 to 31, 32 to 39, 40 to 47, 48 to 55, and 56 to 63, the intra-slot repetition 710 may be transmitted. In SFN#0, in the remaining part of the half-frame with SS / PBCH block indexes 0 to 63, a combined repetition 720 such as an intra-slot repetition combined with an inter-slot repetition within the SS / PBCH block frame may be transmitted by using a shaded slot.

[0157] Similarly, in SFN#2 with SS / PBCH block indices 0 to 7, 8 to 15, 16 to 23, 24 to 31, 32 to 39, 40 to 47, 48 to 55, and 56 to 63, combined repetition 730 such as intra-slot repetition combined with inter-slot repetition across frames or combined repetition 740 may be transmitted.

[0158] By using such combined repetitions of PDCCH repetitions, the delay for the first device 110 to successfully decode the PDCCH and subsequently start decoding the scheduled PDSCH may be reduced. The buffer size in the first device 110 may thus be reduced. In this way, coverage enhancement may be improved.

[0159] Figure 8 FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example method 800 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, Figure 1 The perspective description method 800 of the first device 110 in FIG.

[0160] At block 810 , the first device 110 determines at least one repetitive resource for PDCCH transmission within a frame in which a SS / PBCH block is transmitted based on a repetition factor configured for PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing pattern associated with the SS / PBCH block and the PDCCH transmission.

[0161] At block 820 , the first device 110 monitors at least one repetition of a PDCCH transmission on the resource for acquiring control information from the second device.

[0162] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes determining resources for the at least one repetition based on one or more available time slots in a first half of a frame, wherein the SS / PBCH block is included in the first half of the frame.

[0163] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes determining at least one repeated resource for PDCCH transmission in one or more available time slots based on a first parameter associated with a subcarrier spacing of a control resource set, a total number of time slots in a frame, a maximum number of SS / PBCH block indexes in a cell, an offset from the first time slot in the frame, and a multiplexing factor indicating the number of search space sets corresponding to the SS / PBCH block indexes in the time slot, wherein the total number of time slots in the frame is determined based on the first parameter associated with the subcarrier spacing of a control resource set.

[0164] In some example embodiments, method 800 further comprises: determining the resource based on: in represents the jth repetition time slot in at least one repetition, j∈{0,1,…,K-1}, K represents the repetition factor for the inter-slot repetition within the frame, μ represents the first parameter, i represents the SS / PBCH block index, L max Indicates the maximum number of SS / PBCH block indices in the cell, represents the total number of time slots in a frame, O represents the offset from the first time slot in the frame, and M represents the multiplexing factor.

[0165] In some example embodiments, a time slot of one or more available time slots that overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission for a PDCCH transmission is dropped from at least one repeated time slot to be used for PDCCH transmission, wherein the original transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

[0166] In some example embodiments, if a time slot of one of the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission of the PDCCH transmission, one of the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH block indices is skipped, wherein the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

[0167] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes: if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining that a portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in the frame together with at least one repetition, and another portion of the SS / PBCH block is discarded; or if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining that a first portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in the frame together with at least one repetition, and a second portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in another frame together with the at least one repetition.

[0168] In some example embodiments, the first portion of the SS / PBCH block and the second portion of the SS / PBCH block are transmitted in a polled manner.

[0169] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes: if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining an extended time slot for at least one repetition from the available time slots, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern that is the same as an original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission for the PDCCH transmission; or if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining an extended time slot for at least one repetition from the available time slots, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern that is different from the original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission for the PDCCH transmission.

[0170] In some example embodiments, method 800 further includes determining resources for at least one repetition based on one or more available time slots in a first half of a frame and / or in a second half of a frame, wherein the SS / PBCH block is included in the first half of a frame and / or in the second half of a frame.

[0171] In some example embodiments, the repetition factor is associated with at least one of: a first factor for intra-slot repetition, a second factor for inter-slot repetition within a frame, or a third factor for inter-slot repetition across frames.

[0172] In some example embodiments, the method 800 further includes: determining a second factor based on the repetition factor and the first factor; or determining a third factor based on the repetition factor, the first factor, and the second factor.

[0173] In some example embodiments, the priority of the first factor is higher than the priority of the second factor, and the priority of the second factor is higher than the priority of the third factor.

[0174] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

[0175] Fig. 9 FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example method 900 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, Figure 1 The perspective description method 900 of the second device 120 in FIG.

[0176] At block 910 , the second device 120 determines at least one repetitive resource for PDCCH transmission within a frame in which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted based on a repetition factor configured for PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing pattern associated with the SS / PBCH block and the PDCCH transmission.

[0177] At block 920 , the second device 120 transmits at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission to the first device on the resource.

[0178] In some example embodiments, method 900 further includes determining resources for the at least one repetition based on one or more available time slots in a first half of a frame, wherein the SS / PBCH block is included in the first half of the frame.

[0179] In some example embodiments, method 900 further includes determining at least one repeated resource for PDCCH transmission in one or more available time slots based on a first parameter associated with a subcarrier spacing (μ) of a control resource set, a total number of time slots in a frame, a maximum number of SS / PBCH block indexes in a cell, an offset from the first time slot in the frame, and a multiplexing factor indicating the number of search space sets corresponding to the SS / PBCH block indexes in the time slot, wherein the total number of time slots in the frame is determined based on the first parameter associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control resource set.

[0180] In some example embodiments, method 900 further includes determining the resource based on: in represents the jth repetition time slot in at least one repetition, j∈{0,1,…,K-1}, K represents the repetition factor for the inter-slot repetition within the frame, μ represents the first parameter, i represents the SS / PBCH block index, L max Indicates the maximum number of SS / PBCH block indices in the cell, represents the total number of time slots in a frame, O represents the offset from the first time slot in the frame, and M represents the multiplexing factor.

[0181] In some example embodiments, a time slot of one or more available time slots that overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission for a PDCCH transmission is dropped from at least one repeated time slot to be used for PDCCH transmission, wherein the original transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

[0182] In some example embodiments, if a time slot of one of the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission of the PDCCH transmission, one of the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH block indices is skipped, wherein the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

[0183] In some example embodiments, method 900 further includes: if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining that a portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in the frame together with at least one repetition, and another portion of the SS / PBCH block is discarded; or if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining that a first portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in the frame together with at least one repetition, and a second portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in another frame together with the at least one repetition.

[0184] In some example embodiments, the first portion of the SS / PBCH block and the second portion of the SS / PBCH block are transmitted in a polled manner.

[0185] In some example embodiments, method 900 further includes: if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining an extended time slot for at least one repetition from the available time slots, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern that is the same as an original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission for the PDCCH transmission; or if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining an extended time slot for at least one repetition from the available time slots, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern that is different from the original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission for the PDCCH transmission.

[0186] In some example embodiments, method 900 further includes determining resources for at least one repetition based on one or more available time slots in a first half of a frame and / or in a second half of a frame, wherein the SS / PBCH block is included in the first half of a frame and / or in the second half of a frame.

[0187] In some example embodiments, the repetition factor is associated with at least one of: a first factor for intra-slot repetition, a second factor for inter-slot repetition within a frame, or a third factor for inter-slot repetition across frames.

[0188] In some example embodiments, the method 900 further includes: determining a second factor based on the repetition factor and the first factor; or determining a third factor based on the repetition factor, the first factor, and the second factor.

[0189] In some example embodiments, the priority of the first factor is higher than the priority of the second factor, and the priority of the second factor is higher than the priority of the third factor.

[0190] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

[0191] In some example embodiments, a first device (eg, Figure 1 The first device 110 in the method 800 may include a component for performing each operation of the method 800. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The first device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the first device 110.

[0192] In some example embodiments, the first device includes: a component for determining resources for at least one repetition of PDCCH transmission within a frame in which an SS / PBCH block is transmitted based on a repetition factor configured for PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing pattern associated with the SS / PBCH block and the PDCCH transmission; and a component for monitoring the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission on the resource for obtaining control information from the second device.

[0193] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for determining resources for the at least one repetition based on one or more available time slots in a first half of a frame, wherein the SS / PBCH block is included in the first half of the frame.

[0194] In some example embodiments, the multiplexing pattern is a first scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and a control resource set for PDCCH transmission, and the first device also includes: a component for determining at least one repeated resource for PDCCH transmission in one or more available time slots based on a first parameter associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control resource set, a total number of time slots in a frame, a maximum number of SS / PBCH block indexes in a cell, an offset from the first time slot in the frame, and a multiplexing factor indicating the number of search space sets corresponding to the SS / PBCH block index in the time slot, wherein the total number of time slots in the frame is determined based on the first parameter associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control resource set.

[0195] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining the resource based on: in represents the jth repetition time slot in at least one repetition, j∈{0,1,…,K-1}, K represents the repetition factor for the inter-slot repetition within the frame, μ represents the first parameter, i represents the SS / PBCH block index, L max Indicates the maximum number of SS / PBCH block indices in the cell, represents the total number of time slots in a frame, O represents the offset from the first time slot in the frame, and M represents the multiplexing factor.

[0196] In some example embodiments, a time slot of one or more available time slots that overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission for a PDCCH transmission is dropped from at least one repeated time slot to be used for PDCCH transmission, wherein the original transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

[0197] In some example embodiments, if a time slot of one of the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission of the PDCCH transmission, one of the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH block indices is skipped, wherein the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

[0198] In some example embodiments, the multiplexing mode is a second scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and a set of control resources for PDCCH transmission, and the first device further includes: a component for determining that a portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in the frame together with at least one repetition and another portion of the SS / PBCH block is discarded if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks; or a component for determining that a first portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in the frame together with at least one repetition and a second portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in another frame together with at least one repetition if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks.

[0199] In some example embodiments, the first portion of the SS / PBCH block and the second portion of the SS / PBCH block are transmitted in a polled manner.

[0200] In some example embodiments, the multiplexing pattern is the second scheme or the third scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and a set of control resources for PDCCH transmission, and the first device further includes: a component for determining, from the available time slots, at least one repeated extended time slot if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern that is the same as an original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission for the PDCCH transmission; or a component for determining, from the available time slots, at least one repeated extended time slot if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern that is different from the original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission for the PDCCH transmission.

[0201] In some example embodiments, the multiplexing pattern is a second scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and control resource sets, and the first device also includes: a component for determining resources for at least one repetition based on one or more available time slots in a first half of a frame and / or in a second half of a frame, wherein the SS / PBCH blocks are included in the first half of the frame and / or in the second half of the frame.

[0202] In some example embodiments, the repetition factor is associated with at least one of: a first factor for intra-slot repetition, a second factor for inter-slot repetition within a frame, or a third factor for inter-slot repetition across frames.

[0203] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further includes: means for determining the second factor based on the repetition factor and the first factor; or means for determining the third factor based on the repetition factor, the first factor, and the second factor.

[0204] In some example embodiments, the priority of the first factor is higher than the priority of the second factor, and the priority of the second factor is higher than the priority of the third factor.

[0205] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing the method 800 or other operations in some example embodiments of the first apparatus 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.

[0206] In some example embodiments, a second device (eg, Figure 1 The second device 120 in the method 900 may include a component for performing each operation of the method 900. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The second device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the second device 120.

[0207] In some example embodiments, the second device includes: a component for determining at least one repetition of resources for PDCCH transmission within a frame in which a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block SS / PBCH block is transmitted based on a repetition factor configured for physical downlink control channel PDCCH transmission and a multiplexing pattern associated with the SS / PBCH block and the PDCCH transmission; and a component for transmitting at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission to the first device on the resource.

[0208] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for determining resources for the at least one repetition based on one or more available time slots in a first half of a frame, wherein the SS / PBCH block is included in the first half of the frame.

[0209] In some example embodiments, the multiplexing pattern is a first scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and a control resource set for PDCCH transmission, and the second device also includes: a component for determining at least one repeated resource for PDCCH transmission in one or more available time slots based on a first parameter associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control resource set, a total number of time slots in a frame, a maximum number of SS / PBCH block indexes in a cell, an offset from the first time slot in the frame, and a multiplexing factor indicating the number of search space sets corresponding to the SS / PBCH block index in the time slot, wherein the total number of time slots in the frame is determined based on the first parameter associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control resource set.

[0210] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for determining the resource based on: in represents the jth repetition time slot in at least one repetition, j∈{0,1,…,K-1}, K represents the repetition factor for the inter-slot repetition within the frame, μ represents the first parameter, i represents the SS / PBCH block index, L max Indicates the maximum number of SS / PBCH block indices in the cell, represents the total number of time slots in a frame, O represents the offset from the first time slot in the frame, and M represents the multiplexing factor.

[0211] In some example embodiments, a time slot of one or more available time slots that overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission for a PDCCH transmission is dropped from at least one repeated time slot to be used for PDCCH transmission, wherein the original transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

[0212] In some example embodiments, if a time slot of one of the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission of the PDCCH transmission, one of the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH block indices is skipped, wherein the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

[0213] In some example embodiments, the multiplexing mode is a second scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and a set of control resources for PDCCH transmission, and the second device further includes: a component for determining that a portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in the frame together with at least one repetition and another portion of the SS / PBCH block is discarded if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks; or a component for determining that a first portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in the frame together with at least one repetition and a second portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in another frame together with at least one repetition if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks.

[0214] In some example embodiments, the first portion of the SS / PBCH block and the second portion of the SS / PBCH block are transmitted in a polled manner.

[0215] In some example embodiments, the multiplexing pattern is the second scheme or the third scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and a set of control resources for PDCCH transmission, and the second device further includes: a component for determining, from the available time slots, at least one repeated extended time slot if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern that is the same as an original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission for the PDCCH transmission; or a component for determining, from the available time slots, at least one repeated extended time slot if it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern that is different from the original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission for the PDCCH transmission.

[0216] In some example embodiments, the multiplexing pattern is a second scheme for multiplexing SS / PBCH blocks and control resource sets, and the second device also includes: a component for determining resources for at least one repetition based on one or more available time slots in the first half of the frame and / or in the second half of the frame, wherein the SS / PBCH blocks are included in the first half of the frame and / or in the second half of the frame.

[0217] In some example embodiments, the repetition factor is associated with at least one of: a first factor for intra-slot repetition, a second factor for inter-slot repetition within a frame, or a third factor for inter-slot repetition across frames.

[0218] In some example embodiments, the second device further comprises: means for determining the second factor based on the repetition factor and the first factor; or means for determining the third factor based on the repetition factor, the first factor and the second factor.

[0219] In some example embodiments, the priority of the first factor is higher than the priority of the second factor, and the priority of the second factor is higher than the priority of the third factor.

[0220] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

[0221] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing the method 900 or other operations in some example embodiments of the second apparatus 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 the execution of the second apparatus.

[0222] Fig.10 1 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1000 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 1000 may be configured 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 1000 includes one or more processors 1010, one or more memories 1020 coupled to the processor 1010, and one or more communication modules 1040 coupled to the processor 1010.

[0223] The communication module 1040 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 1040 has one or more communication interfaces to support communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 1040 may include at least one antenna.

[0224] Processor 1010 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 1000 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-slaved to the clock of a synchronized master processor.

[0225] The memory 1020 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) 1024, 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. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 1022 and other volatile memories that do not persist over the duration of a power outage.

[0226] The computer program 1030 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 1010. The instructions of the program 1030 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1030 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 1024. The processor 1010 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 1030 into the RAM 1022.

[0227] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of 1030 so that the device 1000 can perform the above-mentioned Figures 2 to 9 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. Example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0228] In some exemplary embodiments, the program 1030 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 1000 (such as in the memory 1020) or in other storage devices accessible to the device 1000. The device 1000 may load the program 1030 from the computer-readable medium into the RAM 1022 for execution. In some exemplary 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 the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0229] Fig.11 An example of a computer readable medium 1100 is shown which may be in the form of a CD, DVD, or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 1100 has a program 1030 stored thereon.

[0230] 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, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, 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-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0231] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium (such as a non-transient computer-readable medium). The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as those included in a program module executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor 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 and remote storage media.

[0232] 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 of 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 implemented. 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 entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0233] 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.

[0234] 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 floppy 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.

[0235] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or to perform all of the operations shown, 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 interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0236] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first 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 first device to at least: determining, based on a repetition factor configured for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission and a multiplexing pattern associated with a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH) block and the PDCCH transmission, at least one repetition resource for the PDCCH transmission within a frame in which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted; as well as The at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission is monitored on the resources for acquiring control information from a second device.

2. The first device according to claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to: The resources for the at least one repetition are determined based on one or more available time slots in a first half of the frame in which the SS / PBCH block is included.

3. The first apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the multiplexing mode is a first scheme for multiplexing the SS / PBCH blocks and a set of control resources for the PDCCH transmission, and the first apparatus is caused to: Based on a first parameter associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control resource set, the total number of time slots in the frame, the maximum number of SS / PBCH block indexes in a cell, an offset from the first time slot in the frame, and a multiplexing factor indicating the number of search space sets corresponding to the SS / PBCH block indexes in the time slot, determine the at least one repeated resource in the one or more available time slots for the PDCCH transmission, wherein the total number of time slots in the frame is determined based on the first parameter associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control resource set.

4. The first device according to claim 3, wherein the first device is caused to: The resource is determined based on: in represents the j-th repetition time slot in the at least one repetition, j∈{0,1,…,K-1}, K represents the repetition factor for the inter-slot repetition in the frame, μ represents the first parameter, i represents the SS / PBCH block index, L max represents the maximum number of SS / PBCH block indices in a cell, represents the total number of time slots in the frame, O represents the offset from the first time slot in the frame, and M represents the multiplexing factor.

5. A first device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein a time slot of the one or more available time slots that overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission for the PDCCH transmission is discarded from the at least one repeated time slot to be used for the PDCCH transmission, wherein the original transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

6. The first device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein if a time slot of one of the at least one repetitions for the PDCCH transmission overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission for the PDCCH transmission, skipping one of the at least one repetitions of the PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH block indices, wherein the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

7. The first apparatus of claim 2, wherein the multiplexing mode is a second scheme for multiplexing the SS / PBCH blocks and a set of control resources for the PDCCH transmission, and the first apparatus is caused to: If it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining that a portion of the SS / PBCH blocks is transmitted in the frame with the at least one repetition and another portion of the SS / PBCH blocks is dropped; or If it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determine that a first portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in the frame together with the at least one repetition, and a second portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in another frame together with the at least one repetition.

8. The first device of claim 7, wherein the first portion of the SS / PBCH block and the second portion of the SS / PBCH block are transmitted in a polling manner.

9. The first device according to claim 2, wherein the multiplexing mode is the second scheme or the third scheme for multiplexing the SS / PBCH block and the control resource set for the PDCCH transmission, and the first device is caused to: If it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining an extended time slot for the at least one repetition from the available time slots, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern that is the same as an original pattern corresponding to an opportunity for original transmission of the PDCCH transmission; or If it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, an extended time slot for the at least one repetition is determined from the available time slots, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern different from an original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission of the PDCCH transmission.

10. The first apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the multiplexing mode is a second scheme for multiplexing the SS / PBCH blocks and control resource sets, and the first apparatus is caused to: The resources for the at least one repetition are determined based on one or more available time slots in a first half of the frame and / or in a second half of the frame, wherein the SS / PBCH block is included in the first half of the frame and / or in the second half of the frame.

11. The first apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the repetition factor is associated with at least one of: The first factor for repetition within a time slot, a second factor for repetition between slots within the frame, or A third factor for inter-slot repetition across frames.

12. The first device according to claim 11, wherein the first device is caused to: determining the second factor based on the repetition factor and the first factor; or The third factor is determined based on the repetition factor, the first factor, and the second factor. 13 . The first device according to claim 11 , wherein a priority of the first factor is higher than a priority of the second factor, and the priority of the second factor is higher than a priority of the third factor.

14. The first apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

15. A second 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 second device to at least: determining, based on a repetition factor configured for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission and a multiplexing pattern associated with a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH) block and the PDCCH transmission, at least one repetition resource for the PDCCH transmission within a frame in which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted; as well as The at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission is transmitted to a first device on the resources.

16. The second device of claim 15, wherein the second device is caused to: The resources for the at least one repetition are determined based on one or more available time slots in a first half of the frame in which the SS / PBCH block is included.

17. The second apparatus of claim 16, wherein the multiplexing mode is a first scheme for multiplexing the SS / PBCH blocks and a set of control resources for the PDCCH transmission, and the second apparatus is caused to: Based on a first parameter associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control resource set, the total number of time slots in the frame, the maximum number of SS / PBCH block indexes in a cell, an offset from the first time slot in the frame, and a multiplexing factor indicating the number of search space sets corresponding to the SS / PBCH block indexes in the time slot, determine the at least one repeated resource in the one or more available time slots for the PDCCH transmission, wherein the total number of time slots in the frame is determined based on the first parameter associated with the subcarrier spacing of the control resource set.

18. The second device of claim 17, wherein the second device is caused to: The resource is determined based on: in represents the j-th repetition time slot in the at least one repetition, j∈{0,1,…,K-1}, K represents the repetition factor for the inter-slot repetition in the frame, μ represents the first parameter, i represents the SS / PBCH block index, L max represents the maximum number of SS / PBCH block indices in a cell, represents the total number of time slots in the frame, O represents the offset from the first time slot in the frame, and M represents the multiplexing factor.

19. A second device according to claim 17 or 18, wherein a time slot of the one or more available time slots that overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission for the PDCCH transmission is discarded from the at least one repeated time slot to be used for the PDCCH transmission, wherein the original transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

20. The second device according to claim 17 or 18, wherein if a time slot of one of the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission overlaps with a time slot of an original transmission of the PDCCH transmission, skipping one of the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH block indices, wherein the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission is associated with an SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block.

21. The second apparatus of claim 16, wherein the multiplexing mode is a second scheme for multiplexing the SS / PBCH blocks and a set of control resources for the PDCCH transmission, and the second apparatus is caused to: If it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining that a portion of the SS / PBCH blocks is transmitted in the frame with the at least one repetition and another portion of the SS / PBCH blocks is dropped; or If it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are insufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determine that a first portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in the frame together with the at least one repetition, and a second portion of the SS / PBCH block is transmitted in another frame together with the at least one repetition.

22. The second device of claim 21, wherein the first portion of the SS / PBCH block and the second portion of the SS / PBCH block are transmitted in a polling manner.

23. The second device according to claim 16, wherein the multiplexing mode is the second scheme or the third scheme for multiplexing the SS / PBCH block and the control resource set for the PDCCH transmission, and the second device is caused to: If it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, determining an extended time slot for the at least one repetition from the available time slots, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern that is the same as an original pattern corresponding to an opportunity for original transmission of the PDCCH transmission; or If it is determined that the available time slots in the first half of the frame are sufficient for the entire PDCCH transmission associated with all SS / PBCH blocks, an extended time slot for the at least one repetition is determined from the available time slots, wherein the extended time slot corresponds to a repetition pattern different from an original pattern corresponding to the timing of the original transmission of the PDCCH transmission.

24. The second apparatus of claim 15, wherein the multiplexing mode is a second scheme for multiplexing the SS / PBCH blocks and control resource sets, and the second apparatus is caused to: The resources for the at least one repetition are determined based on one or more available time slots in a first half of the frame and / or in a second half of the frame, wherein the SS / PBCH block is included in the first half of the frame and / or in the second half of the frame.

25. The second apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the repetition factor is associated with at least one of: The first factor for repetition within a time slot, a second factor for repetition between slots within the frame, or A third factor for inter-slot repetition across frames.

26. The second device of claim 25, wherein the second device is caused to: determining the second factor based on the repetition factor and the first factor; or The third factor is determined based on the repetition factor, the first factor, and the second factor. 27 . The second device according to claim 25 , wherein a priority of the first factor is higher than a priority of the second factor, and the priority of the second factor is higher than a priority of the third factor.

28. The second apparatus according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

29. A method for communication, comprising: At the first device, based on a repetition factor configured for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission and a multiplexing pattern associated with a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH) block and the PDCCH transmission, determining at least one repetition resource for the PDCCH transmission within a frame in which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted; as well as The at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission is monitored on the resources for acquiring control information from a second device.

30. A method for communication, comprising: At the second device, based on a repetition factor configured for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission and a multiplexing pattern associated with a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH) block and the PDCCH transmission, determining at least one repetition resource for the PDCCH transmission within a frame in which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted; as well as The at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission is transmitted to a first device on the resources.

31. A first device for communication, comprising: means for determining, based on a repetition factor configured for a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, transmission and a multiplexing pattern associated with a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block, SS / PBCH block, and the PDCCH transmission, at least one repetition resource for the PDCCH transmission within a frame in which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted; as well as Means for monitoring the at least one repetition of the PDCCH transmission on the resource for acquiring control information from a second device.

32. A second device for communication, comprising: means for determining, based on a repetition factor configured for a physical downlink control channel, PDCCH, transmission and a multiplexing pattern associated with a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel block, SS / PBCH block, and the PDCCH transmission, at least one repetition resource for the PDCCH transmission within a frame in which the SS / PBCH block is transmitted; as well as The at least one repeated means for transmitting the PDCCH transmission to a first device on the resource.

33. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of claim 29 or the method of claim 30.

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