Extending a control reset set for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to extending a control resource set (CORESET) for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). In some embodiments, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the user equipment (UE) comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio configured to perform wireless communication using at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio and configured to cause the UE to: determine configuration information for a CORESET for transmitting a PDCCH from a network (NW) device; and monitoring the PDCCH in the CORESET on the basis of the determined configuration information of the CORESET. A first portion of the configuration information of the CORESET may indicate that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time slot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) design for wireless communication systems. Background Art

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to send data between base stations and wireless communication devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include, for example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs) (commonly referred to within industry organizations as WLANs). ).

[0003] As envisioned by 3GPP, different wireless communication system standards and protocols may use various radio access networks (RANs) to communicate between base stations of the RAN (which may also sometimes be referred to as RAN nodes, network nodes, or simply nodes) and wireless communication devices referred to as user equipment (UE). 3GPP RANs may include, for example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and / or Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).

[0004] Each RAN may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to perform communications between base stations and UEs. For example, GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RAT, UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT (sometimes referred to as LTE), and NG-RAN implements NR RAT (sometimes referred to as 5G RAT, 5G NR RAT, or NR in this document). In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement NRRAT. In some deployments, NG-RAN may also implement LTE RAT.

[0005] The base stations used by the RAN may correspond to the RAN. An example of an E-UTRAN base station is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly denoted as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB). An example of an NG-RAN base station is a Next Generation Node B (sometimes also referred to as a gNode B or gNB).

[0006] The RAN provides its communication services with external entities through its connection to the Core Network (CN). For example, E-UTRAN may utilize the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) while NG-RAN may utilize the 5G Core Network (5GC).

[0007] In some cases, a wireless communication system may include one or more satellites that can relay signals or act as base stations, such as in a non-terrestrial network (NTN). Compared to a terrestrial network (TN), an NTN is characterized by large propagation delays and satellite mobility. When current wireless communication systems are integrated with NTNs, new problems arise. Some recent studies involve evaluating the coverage performance of NTNs and identifying candidate physical radio channels with coverage issues specific to NTNs. Summary of the invention

[0008] Embodiments relate to user equipment, network devices, methods, program products, and media for PDCCH design for coverage enhancement.

[0009] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may include: at least one antenna; at least one radio component configured to perform wireless communications using at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio component and configured to cause the UE to: determine configuration information of a control resource set (CORESET) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a network (NW) device; and monitor the PDCCH in the CORESET based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET. The first part of the configuration information of the CORESET may indicate that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time slot.

[0010] In some aspects, a method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) may include: determining configuration information of a control resource set (CORESET) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a network (NW) device; and monitoring the PDCCH in the CORESET based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET. A first portion of the configuration information of the CORESET may indicate that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time slot.

[0011] In some aspects, a network (NW) device may include: at least one antenna; at least one radio component configured to perform wireless communications using at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio component and configured to cause the NW device to: determine configuration information of a control resource set (CORESET) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a user equipment (UE); and send the PDCCH in the CORESET based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET. The first part of the configuration information of the CORESET may indicate that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time slot.

[0012] In some aspects, a method for wireless communication by a network (NW) device may include: determining configuration information of a control resource set (CORESET) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a user equipment (UE); and sending the PDCCH in the CORESET based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET. A first part of the configuration information of the CORESET may indicate that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time slot.

[0013] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may include: at least one antenna; at least one radio component configured to perform wireless communication using at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio component and configured to cause the UE to: determine configuration information of a time-frequency resource set (TFRS) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a network (NW) device, the time-frequency resource set (TFRS) being located in a data region of a subframe; and monitor the PDCCH in the TFRS based on the determined configuration information of the TFRS. The first part of the configuration information of the TFRS may indicate that a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of the PDCCH is front-loaded.

[0014] In some aspects, a method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) may include: determining configuration information of a time-frequency resource set (TFRS) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a network (NW) device, the time-frequency resource set (TFRS) being located in a data region of a subframe; and monitoring the PDCCH in the TFRS based on the determined configuration information of the TFRS. A first portion of the configuration information of the TFRS may indicate that a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of the PDCCH is front-loaded.

[0015] In some aspects, a network (NW) device may include: at least one antenna; at least one radio component configured to perform wireless communication using at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors, the one or more processors coupled to the at least one radio component and configured to cause the NW device to: determine configuration information of a time-frequency resource set (TFRS) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from the network (NW) device, the time-frequency resource set (TFRS) being located in a data region of a subframe; and send the PDCCH in the TFRS based on the determined configuration information of the TFRS. The first part of the configuration information of the TFRS may indicate that a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of the PDCCH is front-loaded.

[0016] In some aspects, a method for wireless communication by a network (NW) device may include: determining configuration information of a time-frequency resource set (TFRS) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from the network (NW) device, the time-frequency resource set (TFRS) being located in a data region of a subframe; and monitoring the PDCCH in the TFRS based on the determined configuration information of the TFRS. A first portion of the configuration information of the TFRS may indicate that a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of the PDCCH is front-loaded.

[0017] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may store program instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a user equipment (UE) to perform the methods described above.

[0018] In some aspects, a computer program product includes a computer program that, when executed by a processor of a user equipment (UE), causes the UE to perform the method as described above.

[0019] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may store program instructions that can be executed by one or more processors to cause a network (NW) device to perform the method described above.

[0020] In some aspects, a computer program product includes a computer program that, when executed by a processor of a network (NW) device, causes the network (NW) device to perform the method described above.

[0021] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a plurality of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, any of cellular base stations, cellular telephones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and a variety of other computing devices.

[0022] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or action, the most significant digit(s) in a reference number refers to the drawing number that first introduces the element.

[0024] Figure 1 An example architecture of a wireless communication system according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0025] Figure 2 A system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0026] Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of time-frequency allocation for EPDCCH.

[0027] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for wireless communications based on a CORESET extension according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0028] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C Three different examples of REG formation in a CORESET according to embodiments disclosed herein are illustrated.

[0029] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for wireless communications based on a CORESET extension according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0030] Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for wireless communications based on a PDCCH in a data region according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0031] FIG. 8A to FIG. 8B Two different examples of REG formation in a TFRS according to embodiments disclosed herein are illustrated.

[0032] Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating an example method for wireless communications based on a PDCCH in a data region according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0033] Fig.10is a flow chart illustrating an example method for joint channel estimation of PDCCH in the data region according to embodiments disclosed herein.

[0034] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] Acronyms

[0036] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. Definitions of the most commonly used acronyms that may appear throughout this disclosure are provided below:

[0037] 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0038] UE: User Equipment

[0039] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0040] NR: New Radio

[0041] NTN: Non-terrestrial network

[0042] TN: Terrestrial Network

[0043] IE: Information Element

[0044] ●PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0045] ●PDSCH: Physical downlink shared channel

[0046] ●RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0047] CORESET: Control resource set

[0048] ●DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0049] OFDM: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

[0050] RE: Resource Element

[0051] ●REG: Resource Element Group

[0052] ●CCE: Control Channel Element

[0053] DM-RS: Demodulation Reference Signal

[0054] Various embodiments are described with respect to UE. However, reference to UE is provided for illustrative purposes only. The example embodiments may be used with any electronic component that can establish a connection with a network and is configured with hardware, software and / or firmware for exchanging information and data with the network. Therefore, UE as described herein is used to represent any appropriate electronic component. Examples of UE may include mobile devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computers, laptop computers, personal computers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, or machine type communication (MTC) devices, etc., which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances or vehicles, meters, etc.

[0055] Figure 1 An example architecture of a wireless communication system 100 according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated. The description provided below is for an example wireless communication system 100 operating in conjunction with the LTE system standard and / or the 5G or NR system standard provided in the 3GPP technical specifications.

[0056] like Figure 1 As shown, wireless communication system 100 includes satellite 101, UE 102 and UE 104 (however, any number of UEs may be used), and base station 112. In this example, UE 102 is illustrated as a smartphone (e.g., a handheld touch screen mobile computing device capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), and UE 104 is illustrated as a vehicle, but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device configured for wireless communication.

[0057] UE 102 and UE 104 may be configured to be communicatively coupled to RAN 106. In an embodiment, RAN 106 may be NG-RAN, E-UTRAN, etc. UE 102 and UE 104 utilize connections (or channels) (shown as connection 108 and connection 110, respectively) with RAN 106, where each connection (or channel) includes a physical communication interface. RAN 106 may include one or more base stations (such as base station 112) that enable connection 108 and connection 110.

[0058] In this example, connection 108 and connection 110 are air interfaces that enable such communicative coupling and may conform to the RAT used by RAN 106 , such as, for example, LTE and / or NR.

[0059] In some embodiments, UE 102 and UE 104 may also directly exchange communication data via the side link interface. UE 104 is shown as being configured to access an access point (shown as AP 118) via connection 120. By way of example, connection 120 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 118 may include In this example, AP 118 may be connected to another network (eg, the Internet) without going through CN 124.

[0060] In an embodiment, UE 102 and UE 104 may be configured to communicate with each other or with base station 112 over a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communications) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. OFDM signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers. In some embodiments, all or part of base station 112 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network.

[0061] The RAN 106 is shown as being communicatively coupled to the CN 124. The CN 124 may include one or more network elements 126 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., UE 102 and users of UE 104) connected to the CN 124 via the RAN 106. The components of the CN 124 may be implemented in one physical device or separate physical devices including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium).

[0062] In an embodiment, CN 124 may be an EPC, and RAN 106 may be connected to CN 124 via an S1 interface 128. In an embodiment, S1 interface 128 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface, which carries traffic data between base station 112 and a serving gateway (S-GW); and an S1-MME interface, which is a signaling interface between base station 112 and a mobility management entity (MME).

[0063] In an embodiment, CN 124 may be a 5GC, and RAN 106 may be connected to CN 124 via an NG interface 128. In an embodiment, NG interface 128 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries traffic data between base station 112 and a user plane function (UPF); and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface, which is a signaling interface between base station 112 and an access and mobility management function (AMF).

[0064] Generally speaking, application server 130 may be an element that provides applications (e.g., packet-switched data services) that use Internet Protocol (IP) bearer resources with CN 124. Application server 130 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, group communication sessions, etc.) for UE 102 and UE 104 via CN 124. Application server 130 may communicate with CN 124 via IP communication interface 132.

[0065] In an embodiment, satellite 101 may communicate with base station 112 and UE 102 and UE 104. Satellite 101 may be any suitable type of communication satellite configured to relay communications between different end nodes in a wireless communication system. Satellite 101 may be an example of a space satellite, a balloon, a spacecraft, an airplane, a drone, an unmanned aerial vehicle, etc. In some examples, satellite 101 may be in a geosynchronous or geostationary earth orbit, a low earth orbit, or a medium earth orbit. Satellite 101 may be a multi-beam satellite configured to provide services for multiple service beam coverage areas in a predefined geographic service area. Satellite 101 may be any distance away from the surface of the earth.

[0066] In an embodiment, satellite 101 may perform the functions of base station 112, act as a bent-pipe satellite, or may act as a regenerative satellite, or a combination thereof. In other cases, satellite 112 may be an example of an intelligent satellite or a satellite with intelligence. For example, an intelligent satellite may be configured to perform more functions than a regenerative satellite. A bent-pipe satellite may be configured to receive signals from a ground station and send those signals to a different ground station. A regenerative satellite may be configured to relay signals, like a bent-pipe satellite, but may also use onboard processing to perform other functions. In the case of a regenerative satellite, the satellite may be used as a base station for wireless communications.

[0067] Figure 2 A system 200 for performing signaling 234 between a wireless device 202 and a network device 218 according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated. The system 200 may be part of a wireless communication system as described herein. The wireless device 202 may be, for example, a UE of a wireless communication system. The network device 218 may be, for example, a base station (e.g., an eNB or a gNB) of a wireless communication system.

[0068] The wireless device 202 may include one or more processors 204. The processor 204 may execute instructions to cause various operations of the wireless device 202 to be performed, as described herein. The processor 204 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0069] The wireless device 202 may include a memory 206. The memory 206 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 208 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 204). The instructions 208 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 206 may also store data used by the processor 204 and results calculated by the processor.

[0070] The wireless device 202 may include one or more transceivers 210, which may include radio frequency (RF) transmitters and / or receiver circuits that use an antenna 212 of the wireless device 202 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 234) to and / or from the wireless device 202 with other devices (e.g., network device 218) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0071] The wireless device 202 may include one or more antennas 212 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). For embodiments with multiple antennas 212, the wireless device 202 may utilize the spatial diversity of such multiple antennas 212 to transmit and / or receive multiple different data streams on the same time-frequency resources. This behavior may be referred to as, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) behavior (referring to the multiple antennas used at each of the transmitting device and the receiving device to implement this aspect). MIMO transmission by the wireless device 202 may be implemented based on precoding (or digital beamforming) applied at the wireless device 202, which multiplexes the data streams across the antennas 212 based on known or assumed channel characteristics, so that each data stream is received at an appropriate signal strength relative to the other streams and at a desired location in the spatial domain (e.g., the location of the receiver associated with the data stream). Certain embodiments may use a single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) approach (where the data streams are all directed to a single receiver) and / or a multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) approach (where separate data streams may be directed to separate (different) receivers in different locations in the spatial domain).

[0072] In certain embodiments with multiple antennas, the wireless device 202 may implement analog beamforming techniques whereby the phases of signals transmitted by the antennas 212 are relatively adjusted so that the (joint) transmissions of the antennas 212 can be directed (this is sometimes referred to as beam steering).

[0073] The wireless device 202 may include one or more interfaces 214. The interfaces 214 may be used to provide input to or output from the wireless device 202. For example, a wireless device 202 that is a UE may include an interface 214, such as a microphone, a speaker, a touch screen, buttons, etc., to allow a user of the UE to provide input and / or output to the UE. Other interfaces of such a UE may be composed of transmitters, receivers, and other circuits that allow communication between the UE and other devices (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 210 / antenna 212 described above), and may be based on known protocols (e.g., etc.) to perform the operation.

[0074] The network device 218 may include one or more processors 220. The processor 220 may execute instructions to cause various operations of the network device 218 to be performed, as described herein. The processor 204 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0075] The network device 218 may include a memory 222. The memory 222 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 224 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 220). The instructions 224 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 222 may also store data used by the processor 220 and results calculated by the processor.

[0076] The network device 218 may include one or more transceivers 226, which may include RF transmitter and / or receiver circuits that use an antenna 228 of the network device 218 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 234) to and / or from the network device 218 with other devices (e.g., wireless device 202) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0077] The network device 218 may include one or more antennas 228 (eg, one, two, four, or more). In embodiments with multiple antennas 228, the network device 218 may perform MIMO, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, beamsteering, etc. as described.

[0078] The network device 218 may include one or more interfaces 230. The interface 230 may be used to provide input to or output from the network device 218. For example, the network device 218 as a base station may include an interface 230 composed of a transmitter, a receiver, and other circuits (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 226 / antenna 228 described above), which enables the base station to communicate with other equipment in the core network and / or enables the base station to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc., in order to achieve the purpose of performing operations, management, and maintenance of the base station or other equipment operably connected to the base station.

[0079] PDCCH coverage enhancement

[0080] In 3GPP Release 18 (Rel-18) NR, the NTN work item description has a goal of coverage enhancement. The Rel-18 NTN goal focuses on the applicability of solutions developed through general NR coverage enhancement to NTN, as well as identifying potential issues and enhancements where necessary, taking into account the characteristics of NTN, including large propagation delays and satellite mobility. This work needs to cover use cases for voice and low data rate services using commercial smartphones and adopt more realistic assumptions for antenna gain rather than the 0dBi currently assumed in link budget analysis for non-terrestrial networks. The assessment should also take into account any relevant regulatory requirements, such as ITU limits on power flux density.

[0081] A recent study in this regard focused on evaluating the coverage performance of NTNs and identifying candidate physical radio channels with NTN-specific coverage issues while considering the following target services: VoIP and low data rate services for commercial mobile terminals.

[0082] To be compatible with the hybrid pairing of 1610MHz-1618.725MHz uplink (UL) (L-band) and 2483.5MHz-2500MHZ downlink (DL) (S-band) already used in many terrestrial networks (TNs), the NR NTN may use the same hybrid pairing. For the S-band 2483.5MHz-2500MHz DL for mobile satellite services, the power flux density (PFD) limits for different types of space stations can be calculated based on some ITU radio regulations. For example, in the S-band, a geostationary orbit (GSO) space station can have a power flux density of -146dB (W / m 2 ) and -128dB(W / m 2) where the angle of arrival δ satisfies 0°≤δ≤5°. For other angles of arrival, the PFD limit can be calculated as P+r(δ-5) for 5°<δ≤25°, or P+20r for 25°≤δ≤90°, where r=0.5. In addition, in the S-band, a non-GSO space station may have a PFD limit of -144dB(W / m 2 ) and -126dB(W / m 2 ) where 0°≤δ≤5°. Depending on the region, the PFD limit may be equal to P of -142.5dB(W / m 2 ) (in the 4kHz band) and -124.5dB (W / m 2 ) (in the 1 MHz band), where 0°≤δ≤5°. For other arrival angles, the PFD limit can be calculated as P+r(δ-5) for 5°<δ≤25°, or P+20r for 25°≤δ≤90°, where r=0.65.

[0083] Calculations of the PFD limits for the S-band indicate that the downlink transmit power (or equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP)) in the S-band may not be sufficient to cover the entire cell of a space station satellite (whether GSO or non-GSO). Therefore, the downlink channel from the satellite to the UE on Earth may require coverage enhancement.

[0084] Among all physical downlink channels, the present disclosure focuses on coverage enhancement of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) because the inventors of the present disclosure recognize that due to the short time resources allocated to the PDCCH, the coverage problem of the PDCCH may be more serious compared with other physical downlink channels such as the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0085] PDCCH is a control channel for sending downlink control information (DCI), which is used to indicate that the UE correctly receives the PDSCH carrying downlink data and the uplink grant for allocating uplink resources for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In LTE or LTE Advanced protocols, PDCCH is usually sent via the traditional downlink control region of the subframe. In order to increase the control channel capacity to support busy cells, enhanced PDCCH (EPDCCH) was introduced in 3GPP Rel-11. The concept of EPDCCH is to use traditional data resources (such as resources of PDSCH used to carry downlink data) for control information transmission. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of time-frequency allocation for EPDCCH. Figure 3As shown, EPDCCH 301 shares the time resources for PDSCH 302, that is, the EPDCCH is frequency multiplexed with the PDSCH. EPDCCH 301 can be located on the same bearer as the traditional control region 303, which usually occupies up to 3 OFDM symbols at the beginning of the time slot of the subframe. EPDCCH is carried via a certain number of continuous enhanced control channel elements (eCCE). This number is called the aggregation level, which can be a value of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32. Each eCCE has 4 enhanced resource element groups (eREGs) or 8 eREGs. Each eREG has 9 resource elements (REs), and therefore each physical resource block (PRB) pair has 16 eREGs. There are two different ways to map eREGs to REs, namely a "distributed" method and a "localized" method. In a localized mapping (or transmission type), REs in the same eREG are aggregated in the same frequency resource block. In the distributed mode (or transmission type), the REs in the same eREG are scattered in a very random manner. Some additional REs are allocated to demodulation reference signals (DM-RS), which can be referred to as DM-RS REs. Figure 3 As shown, DM-RS REs 304 are scattered (or distributed) at fixed positions in EPDCCH REs 305. They do not occupy any separate and complete OFDM symbol in the time domain.

[0086] In the NR protocol, the PDCCH is sent via a control resource set (CORESET) in a time slot. CORESET is an equipment of the traditional control region in the LTE / LTE Advanced subframe, except that CORESET is allocated based on the bandwidth part (BWP) in the frequency domain, while the control region of LTE / LTE Advanced occupies the total system bandwidth. In addition, in LTE / LTE Advanced, CORESET is allocated based on time slots rather than subframes. NR PDCCH supports aggregation levels 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16, which indicates how many consecutive CCEs the NR PDCCH is allowed to use. Each CCE consists of 6 REGs. The CCE to REG mapping can be interleaved or non-interleaved. Each REG has 12 REs, of which 9 REs are used to carry DCI and 3 REs are used to carry PDCCH DM-RS. The DM-RS pattern is designed so that there is 1 DM-RS RE in every 4 REs. Each RE has the frequency dimension of an OFDM symbol and the time domain of a subcarrier, and is the smallest unit for time-frequency resource allocation. 2, 3 or 6 REGs are bundled together to form a REG bundle, where the same precoding is applied to the REGs in the REG bundle. The duration of a CORESET can be 1, 2 or 3 OFDM symbols. In the frequency domain, a CORESET includes one or more units of 6 PRBs.

[0087] In order to enhance the coverage of PDCCH when NR is integrated with NTN, the inventors of the present disclosure envision increasing the aggregation level of PDCCH from 16 to a higher number. However, if the duration of CORESET is still limited to 3 symbols as in the current 3GPP specification, the number of PRBs will be too large to support aggregation levels exceeding 16. Therefore, some first aspects of the present disclosure propose to extend the OFDM symbol duration of CORESET to more than 3 OFDM symbols. In these aspects, the configuration of CORESET will be modified, including the configuration of the relevant search space. Some second aspects of the present disclosure propose to transmit PDCCH using time-frequency resources (i.e., data region) used for data transmission. That is, PDCCH can be transmitted outside CORESET, thereby alleviating the limitation of PDCCH by the duration of CORESET. In these aspects, since the proposed PDCCH is very different from the PDCCH transmitted in CORESET, the configuration of the resource set for the new PDCCH is designed in detail.

[0088] It should be appreciated that although NTN has coverage issues and the solutions, techniques and implementations of the present disclosure can be applied to NTN, they are not limited to NTN but can be applied to various wireless networks that require coverage enhancement for PDCCH.

[0089] CORESET extension

[0090] Figure 4 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 400 for wireless communication based on CORESET extensions according to embodiments disclosed herein. Aspects of the method 400 may be performed by a UE (such as a UE described herein). Figure 1 UE 102 or UE 104 or Figure 2 The method may be implemented by the UE 202 illustrated in the figure, and / or more generally, may be implemented in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the above figures as needed. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements.

[0091] The method 400 begins at block 402: the UE determines configuration information of a CORESET for transmitting a PDCCH from a NW device. The first part of the configuration information of the CORESET indicates that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three OFDM symbols in a slot.

[0092] At block 404, the method 400 continues with the UE monitoring the PDCCH in the CORESET based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET. The configuration information of the CORESET describes how the CORESET is configured to carry the PDCCH. With the configuration information of the CORESET for the PDCCH determined, the UE can know where and how to blindly detect the PDCCH.

[0093] In some embodiments, the configuration information of the CORESET may be statically or semi-statically set at least in part by a network specification known in advance to both parties of the wireless communication (i.e., the UE and the network device). In this case, the UE and the network device may determine the configuration information of the CORESET separately based on the network specification. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the configuration information of the CORESET may be dynamically set at least in part by the network device. In this case, the network device may determine the configuration information of the CORESET and send the determined configuration information of the CORESET to the UE so that the UE may know how to detect potential PDCCHs. The network device may configure the CORESET to transmit the PDCCH based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET. Accordingly, the UE may blindly detect the PDCCH based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET.

[0094] In some embodiments, before block 402, method 400 may further include: the UE receiving at least a first portion of configuration information of the CORESET from the NW device. The first portion of the configuration information may be sent from the NW device to the UE via at least one of a master information block (MIB), a system information block (SIB), a radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or a UE-specific signaling from the NW device.

[0095] In some embodiments, the maximum number of OFDM symbols that a CORESET is allowed to occupy, as indicated in the first part of the configuration information of the CORESET, may not be greater than the number of OFDM symbols that constitute a time slot. In other words, a CORESET used to send a PDCCH cannot span a time slot. According to the existing 3GPP NR specification, a time slot consists of 14 OFDM symbols, so a CORESET can occupy up to 14 OFDM symbols.

[0096] In some embodiments, the indication that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three OFDM symbols means that the CORESET can occupy more than three consecutive OFDM symbols, making it compatible with the existing 3GPP NR specification, in which the CORESET is usually allocated 1 to 3 consecutive OFDM symbols. However, in some other embodiments, the first part of the configuration information of the CORESET may indicate that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three OFDM symbols, whether these symbols are consecutive or non-consecutive.

[0097] The first part of the configuration information may indicate in various ways that the CORESET is allowed to span more than 3 OFDM symbols. In some embodiments, the first part of the configuration information of the CORESET may include a duration of the CORESET, which is allowed to be greater than three OFDM symbols. For example, the duration of the CORESET may be the "duration" field in the ControlResourceSet information element (IE) of the RRC signaling defined in the existing 3GPP NR specification. In some examples, the "duration" field may be 6 consecutive OFDM symbols or 12 consecutive OFDM symbols. In some other examples, the "duration" field may be configured to any number of consecutive OFDM symbols between 1 and 14. Since the maximum duration is 14 OFDM symbols, which is greater than 3 OFDM symbols, the "duration" field configured in this way also indicates that the CORESET is allowed to span more than 3 OFDM symbols.

[0098] In some embodiments, the first part of the configuration information of the CORESET may include configuration information of the search space of the PDCCH. The CORESET defines the time-frequency resources for carrying the PDCCH, and the search space defines information about the PDCCH candidates, in particular, information about when and where the UE monitors or detects the PDCCH candidates based on which aggregation level. The configuration information of the search space of the PDCCH may indicate that the number of OFDM symbols to be monitored for the PDCCH in the time slot is greater than three. For example, the configuration information of the PDCCH may be the "monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot" field in the SearchSpace IE of the RRC signaling defined in the existing 3GPP NR specification. In some examples, the "monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot" field includes one or more start symbol indicators and a monitoring length corresponding to the corresponding start symbol indicator to indicate the number of OFDM symbols to be monitored for the PDCCH. In the case of an extended CORESET, the monitoring length is greater than 3 OFDM symbols. In some examples, the "monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot" field includes a bitmap to indicate the number of OFDM symbols to be monitored for the PDCCH. The first bit of the bitmap corresponds to the first OFDM symbol of the slot where the CORESET associated with the search space is located, and the following bits correspond to the following OFDM symbols of the slot. In this way, using the configuration information of the search space (such as the "monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot" field), it can also be indicated whether the CORESET is allowed to span more than 3 OFDM symbols.

[0099] In some embodiments, in addition to the first part, the configuration information of the CORESET may also include an aggregation level of the PDCCH, which is greater than sixteen. Like in LTE / LTE Advanced or NR, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the aggregation level indicates how many CCEs are used to carry a single PDCCH. The network specification or NW equipment may define a set of aggregation levels that the PDCCH is allowed to use, and notify the UE of the set of aggregation levels. For a specific PDCCH, which aggregation level will be used can be determined in real time based on actual radio conditions. Compared to the existing 3GPP NR specification, since the CORESET is extended to more than 3 OFDM symbols, the aggregation level according to the embodiments disclosed herein can be improved. For example, the aggregation level of the PDCCH can be indicated in the "nrofCandidates" field in the SearchSpace IE of the RRC signaling as defined in the existing 3GPP NR specification. For both common search space (CSS) and UE-specific search space (USS), the "nrofCandidates" field may be extended to aggregation levels greater than sixteen, such as "aggregationLevel32", "aggregationLevel64", and "aggregationLevel128", etc.

[0100] In some embodiments, in order to specifically describe the organization of REs of a CORESET for carrying a PDCCH, the configuration information of the CORESET may also include a frame structure of the CORESET. The frame structure of the CORESET may indicate: REG formation, which refers to grouping REs into REGs; and CCE to REG mapping, which refers to mapping one or more CCEs for carrying a PDCCH to a REG.

[0101] For REG formation, all REs in a REG may be limited to be located on one time slot (e.g., 14 consecutive OFDM symbols) within a physical resource block (PRB, e.g., 12 subcarriers). Traditionally, as in the existing 3GPP NR specification, a REG consists of 12 REs on one OFDM symbol within one PRB. However, since the duration of the CORESET is extended according to various aspects of the present disclosure, REG formation is not limited to the traditional way, but can be more flexible.

[0102] FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C Three different examples of REG formation in a CORESET according to embodiments disclosed herein are illustrated. In some embodiments, REGs are formed such that all REs in a REG are located on one OFDM symbol within a PRB in a CORESET (referred to as "localized REG formation"). Figure 5AAs shown, each REG (REG 1 to REG 12) occupies one column of the resource grid, which means that all REs in the REG are located within one OFDM symbol. In some embodiments, the REG is formed so that all REs in the REG are distributed over different OFDM symbols within the PRBs in the CORESET (referred to as "distributed REG formation"). Figure 5B As shown, each REG (REG 1 to REG 12) occupies one row of the resource grid, which means that all REs in a REG are located on different OFDM symbols and have no overlap in the time domain. Figure 5C As shown, one REG can be distributed over three OFDM symbols, each OFDM symbol having four REs. It should be appreciated that FIG. 5A to FIG. 5C This is just an example of REG formation, and the number of REs in REG and the duration of CORESET are not specifically limited.

[0103] In some embodiments, at a single CORESET level, all REGs may be uniformly formed from the same number of REs. Furthermore, in some embodiments, all REGs may be formed from REs in the same manner (localized REG formation or distributed REG formation). In other embodiments, the REGs in a CORESET may have different numbers of REs and / or may not be formed in the same localized or distributed manner.

[0104] For example, a REG may consist of 12 REs, of which 9 REs are used to carry DCI and 3 REs are used for PDCCH DM-RS. The PDCCH DM-RS pattern may be 1 DM-RS RE in every 4 REs.

[0105] For CCE to REG mapping, CCE can be composed of various numbers of REGs based on localized mapping or distributed mapping in the frequency domain. Localized mapping means that all REGs of CCE are located in time slots on a single PRB in CORESET. For example, CCE#1 consists of REGs {1, 2, 3, ..., 6} in the first PRB. Distributed mapping means that the REs of CCE are located in time slots on different PRBs in CORESET. For example, CCE#1 consists of REGs {1, 5, 9} from the first PRB and REGs {3, 7, 11} from the second PRB. For example, each CCE can be composed of 6 REGs, each of which includes 12 REs, and therefore each CCE can be composed of 72 REs. In some embodiments, at a single CORESET level, all CCEs can be uniformly composed of the same number of REGs. In addition, in some embodiments, all REGs can have the same localized or distributed CCE to REG mapping. In other embodiments, the CCEs of a CORESET may have a different number of REGs and / or may not be mapped to the REGs in the same localized or distributed manner.

[0106] It is possible to choose to bundle multiple REGs together so that the NW device can apply the same pre-coding to the bundled REGs, and the UE can assume that the NW device has applied the same pre-coding to the bundled REGs. The number of bundled REGs is called the REG bundling size. The REG bundling size can be fixed or can vary depending on the duration of the associated CORESET. In some embodiments, the REG bundling size can be 2, or can be greater than 3, such as 6. In some embodiments, the REG bundling size can be greater than 6. In this case, the CCE size (the number of REGs in a CCE) will increase accordingly.

[0107] A set of REGs that are bundled together is called a REG bundle. In some embodiments, a REG bundle may consist of two or more consecutive REGs in a PRB. Continuous REGs means that these REGs are continuous in the frequency domain and / or time domain. For example, REG bundle #1 may consist of Figure 5A and Figure 5B The REGs in the PRB shown in FIG. 1 are composed of {1, 2, 3, ..., 6}, and REG bundle #2 may be composed of Figure 5A and Figure 5B, 12} in the PRB shown in . If the REG bundling size is greater than 3, the REG bundling mode will be very different from the existing NR specification, because the existing NR specification supports a maximum of 3 REGs in a PRB due to CORESET duration limitations, and therefore cannot support a REG bundling size greater than 3. In some embodiments, a REG bundle may consist of interleaved REGs in a PRB. Interleaved REGs means that these REGs are not continuous in the frequency domain or time domain. For example, REG bundle #1 may consist of Figure 5A and Figure 5B The REGs in the PRB shown in FIG. 1 are composed of {1, 3, 5, ..., 11}, and REG bundle #2 may be composed of Figure 5A and Figure 5B The REG bundling mode is very special because the existing NR specification does not support REG bundling consisting of REGs that are not continuous in time or frequency domain.

[0108] In some embodiments, all REGs or REG bundles within the same PRB of a CORESET may be further defined or configured to use the same precoding. That is, the actual REG bundle size may be equal to the number of REGs in the PRB of a CORESET.

[0109] Figure 6 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 600 for wireless communication based on CORESET extensions according to embodiments disclosed herein. Aspects of the method 600 may be performed by a network device such as a Figure 1 The satellite 101 or base station 112 or Figure 2 The method may be implemented by the network device 218 illustrated in the figure, and / or more generally, may be implemented in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the above figures as needed. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements.

[0110] In the wireless communication between the UE and the network device, the method 400 performed on the UE side and the method 600 performed on the network device side can be implemented in a collaborative manner. Since the features of the method 400 have been described in detail, the features that can be shared by both the network side and the UE side in the method 600 can refer to the description of the reference method 400. Only the features specific to the network side will be discussed below.

[0111] At block 602, method 600 begins: a network device determines configuration information of a CORESET for transmitting a PDCCH to a UE. A first portion of the configuration information of the CORESET indicates that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three OFDM symbols in a time slot. The configuration information of the CORESET corresponds to the configuration information described at block 402 of method 400, so features of the configuration information are omitted here.

[0112] At block 604, the method 600 continues with the network device sending the PDCCH in the CORESET based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET. The configuration information of the CORESET describes how the CORESET is configured to carry the PDCCH. Therefore, after determining the configuration information of the CORESET, the NW device will know how to configure the CORESET, and then load and send the PDCCH in the configured CORESET.

[0113] In some embodiments, before block 604, method 600 may further include: the NW device sending at least a first part of configuration information of the CORESET to the UE. The first part of the configuration information may be sent via at least one of MIB, SIB, RRC signaling, or UE-specific signaling from the NW device.

[0114] PDCCH in the data region

[0115] Figure 7 700 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 700 for wireless communication based on a PDCCH in a data region according to embodiments disclosed herein. Aspects of the method 700 may be performed by a UE (such as a UE described herein). Figure 1 UE 102 or UE 104 or Figure 2 The method may be implemented by the UE 202 illustrated in the figure, and / or more generally, may be implemented in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the above figures as needed. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements.

[0116] At block 702, method 700 begins: the UE determines configuration information of a time frequency resource set (TFRS) for transmitting a PDCCH from a NW device. The TFRS is located in a data region of a subframe. The first part of the configuration information of the TFRS indicates that the DM-RS of the PDCCH is front loaded.

[0117] In some embodiments, the configuration information of TFRS can be statically or semi-statically set by a network specification that is known in advance to both parties of the wireless communication (i.e., the UE and the network device). In this case, the UE and the network device can determine the configuration information of TFRS separately based on the network specification. Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, the configuration information of TFRS can be dynamically set at least in part by the network device. In this case, the network device can determine the configuration information of TFRS and send the determined configuration information of TFRS to the UE so that the UE can know how to detect potential PDCCH. The network device can configure TFRS to transmit PDCCH based on the determined configuration information of TFRS. Accordingly, the UE can blindly detect PDCCH based on the determined configuration information of TFRS.

[0118] In some embodiments, the first part of the configuration information of the TFRS of the front-loaded DM-RS indicating the PDCCH is predefined by the network specification. In some embodiments, the front-loaded DM-RS can be located in the first several OFDM symbols of the TFRS allocated to the PDCCH. In some other embodiments, the front-loaded DM-RS can be located in a fixed OFDM symbol relative to the time slot used to carry the PDCCH, for example, in the first several OFDM symbols after the CORESET of other PDCCHs in the time slot where the TFRS is located. Unlike traditional PDCCH (including EPDCCH), which has REs for DM-RS that are distributed in the REs for carrying DCI, in these embodiments of the present disclosure, the REs for the front-loaded DM-RS are separate from the REs for carrying DCI.

[0119] In addition to the front-loaded DM-RS, there may be additional DM-RS in the subsequent OFDM symbols on the time slot of the TFRS, depending on the specific network configuration. Fig. 8A and Figure 8B As shown, the first DM-RS column refers to the front-loaded DM-RS, and the second DM-RS column refers to the additional DM-RS. Like those patterns for PDSCH, both Type 1 and Type 2 DM-RS patterns may be supported by the configuration.

[0120] Since PDSCH can also be located in the data region of a subframe, in some embodiments, PDCCH can be at least partially frequency multiplexed with PDSCH. In some embodiments, PDCCH can be at least partially time multiplexed with PDSCH. In either case, this design is beneficial for networks that need to enhance PDCCH coverage and provide low data rate services.

[0121] At block 704, method 700 continues with the UE monitoring the PDCCH in the TFRS based on the determined configuration information of the TFRS. The configuration information of the TFRS describes how the TFRS is configured to carry the PDCCH. When the configuration information of the TFRS for the PDCCH is determined, the UE can know where and how to blindly detect the PDCCH.

[0122] In some embodiments, before block 702, method 700 may further include: the UE receiving at least a portion of the configuration information of the TFRS from the NW device. The configuration information of the TFRS may be sent from the NW device to the UE via at least one of MIB, SIB, RRC signaling, or UE-specific signaling from the NW device.

[0123] In some embodiments, the configuration information of TFRS also includes a combination of a slot offset for PDCCH, a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) information, and a frequency domain resource allocation (FDRA) information, which specifies the time-frequency position of TFRS. The slot offset indicates the time gap between TFRS slots. For example, the reference slot may be the first slot in SFN 0, or the first slot in the configured reference SFN number. The TDRA information indicates the starting symbol and symbol duration (or the length of consecutive symbols occupied by TFRS) in the slot of TFRS. In some embodiments, a dedicated TDRA table may be configured for TFRS for PDCCH. In other embodiments, the TDRA table for PDSCH may be reused as the TDRA table for PDCCH. In either case, each entry in the TDRA table contains a specific starting symbol and symbol duration. The TDRA information included in the configuration information of TFRS indicates the table entry of the TDRA table. The UE can then look up and obtain the starting symbol and symbol duration in the TDRA table. The FDRA information indicates the frequency position of the TFRS. In some embodiments, the FDRA information directly includes the starting PRB index and the number of PRBs occupied by the TFRS. In some other embodiments, a plurality of (e.g., 6) PRBs form a PRB group, and the FDRA information includes the starting PRB group index and the number of PRB groups occupied by the TFRS. In some other embodiments, the FDRA information includes a bitmap to indicate the PRBs or PRB groups allocated for the TFRS.

[0124] In some embodiments, the configuration information of TFRS also includes a repetition number, which indicates the number of times the time domain resource allocation (TDRA) for PDCCH will be repeated. The repetition number can be 1, 2, 4 or 8, but is not limited to these numbers. The repetition number can be indicated by the TDRA table as described above, for example, as an optional field in the TDRA table entry. In some embodiments, the configuration information of TFRS may also include a repetition type associated with the repetition number, which indicates how the TDRA will be repeated. The repetition type may be, for example, repetition within a time slot or repetition between time slots. In the case of repetition between time slots or repetition within a time slot across multiple time slots, DM-RS bundling may be applied, as will be described in detail later. For example, if TDRA indicates that the TFRS for PDCCH starts from the third OFDM symbol and lasts for two OFDM symbols, the repetition is 2, and the repetition type is between time slots, this means that the same TDRA is applied to two consecutive time slots allocated to TFRS.

[0125] In some embodiments, the configuration information of the TFRS also includes a periodicity indicating which time slot is used to send the PDCCH. In some embodiments, a bitmap can be used to indicate the periodicity. For example, the bitmap {10110} means that the first, third, and fourth time slots in every 5 time slots are used for the PDCCH. In some embodiments, the periodicity can be simply indicated via a single value. For example, the value can indicate that the periodicity is every 5 time slots.

[0126] In some embodiments, in order to specifically describe the organization of resource elements (REs) of the TFRS for carrying the PDCCH, the configuration information of the TFRS may also include a frame structure of the TFRS. The frame structure of the TFRS may indicate: REG formation, which refers to grouping REs into REGs; and CCE to REG mapping, which refers to mapping one or more CCEs used to carry the PDCCH to REGs.

[0127] Compared to the existing 3GPP NR specification, the REG formation according to various aspects of the present disclosure can be more flexible. Since the DM-RS is of a front-loaded or other type, the REG consists only of REs for carrying DCI, and no REs for DM-RS. For example, a REG can consist of 9 REs, and therefore, a PRB on a time slot can have up to 16 REGs. The actual number of REGs in a PRB on a time slot depends on the TDRA, in particular on the symbol duration, as discussed above. The index of the REG can increase continuously with the increase of the PRB index.

[0128] FIG. 8A to FIG. 8BTwo different examples of REG formation in TFRS according to the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrated. In some embodiments, REGs are formed such that at least one of the REGs is formed by REs located in a localized manner on a time slot within a PRB in a time-frequency resource set. This means that at least one REG is formed by several consecutive REs. Fig. 8A As shown, each REG includes 9 REs, the first REG (grid marked with the number "1") consists of the first 9 consecutive REs in the first frequency direction, and the second REG (grid marked with the number "1") consists of the next 9 consecutive REs. In this way, the REG's REs are located on one or two adjacent OFDM symbols. In some embodiments, the REGs are formed so that at least one REG in the REG is formed by REs located in a time slot within a PRB in a time-frequency resource set in a distributed manner. This means that at least one REG is formed by several non-contiguous REs. As Figure 8B As shown, the first REG (the grid marked with the number "1") consists of REs separated from each other by 15 REs. It should be recognized that FIG. 8A to FIG. 8B This is just an example of REG formation, and the number of REs and symbol duration in a REG are not particularly limited.

[0129] In some embodiments, at a single TFRS level, all REGs may be uniformly formed by the same number of REs. In addition, in some embodiments, all REGs may be formed by REs in the same manner (localized REG formation or distributed REG formation). In other embodiments, the REGs in a TFRS may have different numbers of REs and / or may not be formed in the same localized or distributed manner.

[0130] For CCE to REG mapping, CCE can be composed of various numbers of REGs based on localized mapping or distributed mapping in the frequency domain. Localized mapping means that all REGs of CCE are located in time slots on a single PRB in TFRS. For example, CCE#1 consists of REGs {1, 2, 3, ..., 6} in the first PRB. Distributed mapping means that the REs of CCE are located in time slots on different PRBs in TFRS. For example, CCE#1 consists of REGs {1, 5, 9} from the first PRB and REGs {3, 7, 11} from the second PRB. For example, each CCE can be composed of 6 REGs, each of which includes 12 REs, and therefore each CCE can be composed of 72 REs.

[0131] In some embodiments, at a single TFRS level, all CCEs may be uniformly composed of the same number of REGs. In addition, in some embodiments, all REGs may have the same localized or distributed CCE to REG mapping. In other embodiments, the CCEs of a TFRS may have different numbers of REGs and / or may not be mapped to REGs in the same localized or distributed manner.

[0132] It is possible to choose to bundle multiple REGs together so that the NW device can apply the same pre-coding to the bundled REGs, and the UE can assume that the NW device has applied the same pre-coding to the bundled REGs. The number of bundled REGs is called the REG bundling size. The REG bundling size can be fixed or can vary according to the symbol duration of the associated TFRS. In some embodiments, the REG bundling size can be 2, or can be greater than 3, for example 6. In some embodiments, the REG bundling size can be greater than 6. In this case, the CCE size (the number of REGs in the CCE) will increase accordingly.

[0133] A set of REGs that are bundled together is called a REG bundle. In some embodiments, a REG bundle may consist of consecutive REGs in a PRB. Continuous REGs means that these REGs are consecutive in the frequency domain and / or time domain. For example, REG bundle #1 may consist of Fig. 8A and Figure 8B The REGs in the PRB shown in FIG. 1 are composed of {1, 2, 3, ..., 6}, and REG bundle #2 may be composed of Fig. 8A and Figure 8B , 9, ..., 12} in the PRB shown. If the REG bundling size is greater than 3, the REG bundling mode will be very different from the existing NR specification, because the existing NR specification supports a maximum of 3 REGs in a PRB due to CORESET duration limitations, and therefore cannot support a REG bundling size greater than 3. In some embodiments, a REG bundle may consist of interleaved REGs in a PRB. Interleaved REGs means that these REGs are not continuous in the frequency domain or time domain. For example, REG bundle #1 may consist of REGs {7, 8, 9, ..., 12} in the PRB shown. If the REG bundling size is greater than 3, the REG bundling mode will be very different from the existing NR specification, because the existing NR specification supports a maximum of 3 REGs in a PRB due to CORESET duration limitations, and therefore cannot support REG bundling sizes greater than 3. In some embodiments, a REG bundle may consist of interleaved REGs in a PRB. Interleaved REGs means that these REGs are not continuous in the frequency domain or time domain. For example, REG bundle #1 may consist of REGs {7, 8, 9, ..., 12} in the PRB shown. Fig. 8A and Figure 8B The REGs in the PRB shown in FIG. 1 are composed of {1, 3, 5, ..., 11}, and REG bundle #2 may be composed of Fig. 8A and Figure 8B The REG bundling mode is very special because the existing NR specification does not support REG bundling consisting of REGs that are not continuous in time or frequency domain.

[0134] The candidate CCEs for the PDCCH candidates that the UE assumes to monitor and decode may be distributed over multiple PRBs allocated to the TFRS. The same initialization parameters may be used for data scrambling of the PDCCH and DM-RS scrambling sequences. The initialization parameters may be UE-specifically configured.

[0135] Given that multiple PDCCHs for different users can use different REGs within the same PRB of TFRS, that is, these PDCCHs are spatially multiplexed, it is necessary to allocate different DM-RS ports for the multiple PDCCHs. In this case, method 700 may also include: the UE determines the DM-RS port for the UE based on at least one of the following: a UE-specific RRC configuration, which indicates the DM-RS port for the UE; or a predefined mapping between the REG for the PDCCH and the DM-RS port. Using the predefined mapping, once it is determined which REGs are used for the PDCCH, the corresponding DM-RS port can be determined and used. If the multiple REGs used by the PDCCH are mapped to different DM-RS ports based on the predefined mapping, a rule can be defined to select a DM-RS port, which can also be UE-specific.

[0136] Fig. 9 900 is a flowchart illustrating an example method 900 for wireless communication based on a PDCCH in a data region according to embodiments disclosed herein. Aspects of the method 900 may be performed by a network device such as a Figure 1 The satellite 101 or base station 112 or Figure 2 The method may be implemented by the network device 218 illustrated in the figure, and / or more generally, may be implemented in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the above figures as needed. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements.

[0137] In the wireless communication between the UE and the network device, the method 700 performed on the UE side and the method 900 performed on the network device side can be implemented in a collaborative manner. Since the features of the method 700 have been described in detail, the features that can be shared by both the network side and the UE side in the method 900 can refer to the description of the reference method 700. Only the features specific to the network side will be discussed below.

[0138] At block 902, method 900 begins: the network device determines configuration information of a TFRS for transmitting a PDCCH from the NW device. The TFRS is located in the data region of the subframe. The first part of the configuration information of the TFRS indicates that the demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) of the PDCCH is front loaded. The configuration information of the TFRS corresponds to the configuration information described at block 702 of method 700, so the features of the configuration information are omitted here.

[0139] At block 904, the method 900 continues with the network device sending the PDCCH in the TFRS based on the determined configuration information of the TFRS. The configuration information of the TFRS describes how the TFRS is configured to carry the PDCCH. Therefore, after determining the configuration information of the TFRS, the NW device will know how to configure the TFRS, and then load and send the PDCCH in the configured TFRS.

[0140] In some embodiments, before block 904, method 900 may further include: the NW device sending at least a portion of configuration information of TFRS to the UE. The at least a portion of the configuration information may be sent via at least one of MIB, SIB, RRC signaling, or UE-specific signaling from the NW device.

[0141] Since the PDCCH in the data region can occupy more than one time slot and can have repetitions, the UE can perform joint channel estimation to improve channel estimation accuracy. In addition, compared with the DM-RS distributed in the REG of the DCI carrying the PDCCH (such as 1 DM-RS in every 4 REs), the front-loaded DM-RS can obtain greater gain from the joint channel estimation. In the joint channel estimation of the PDCCH, the UE bundles the DM-RS received for the PDCCH over several time slots for channel estimation. Otherwise, without joint channel estimation, the DM-RS received for the PDCCH from each time slot will be used for channel estimation separately.

[0142] In order to perform joint channel estimation for PDCCH, the UE should first have the capability of joint channel estimation and may need to report the capability to the network device. The UE may report the capability in a UE capability report.

[0143] Fig.10 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 1000 for joint channel estimation of a PDCCH in a data region according to embodiments disclosed herein. The PDCCH may be as described above with reference to Figure 7 The method 1000 may be performed by, for example, Figure 1 UE 102 or UE 104 or Figure 2The system can be implemented by a UE such as the UE 202 illustrated in FIG.

[0144] At box 1002, the UE may determine whether it has the UE capability to perform joint channel estimation for the PDCCH. If it is determined that the UE has such capability, from box 1004 to box 1008, the UE may perform joint channel estimation functionality for the PDCCH. Specifically, at box 1004, the UE reports the UE capability to perform joint channel estimation for the PDCCH to the network device. At box 1006, the UE receives configuration information for joint channel estimation for the PDCCH from the network device, and the configuration information for joint channel estimation includes a time domain window (TDW) for bundling DM-RS. At box 1008, the UE performs joint channel estimation for the PDCCH using the DM-RS of the PDCCH received on a time slot in the TDW. Based on the estimated channel of the joint estimation result, the UE can decode the PDCCH.

[0145] Accordingly, at the network device side, in response to receiving the report of the UE capability of joint channel estimation for PDCCH sent at block 1004 , the network device sends configuration information for joint channel estimation to the UE, the configuration information including the TDW for bundling DM-RS.

[0146] In some embodiments, the TDW in the configuration information for joint channel estimation may be no greater than the maximum duration indicating the maximum number of time slots that the UE can perform joint channel estimation for the PDCCH. The maximum duration may be included in the UE capability to perform joint channel estimation for the PDCCH. In addition, the TDW may be no greater than the total duration of the repetition of the PDCCH calculated by multiplying the symbol duration of the TDRA for the PDCCH by the number of repetitions. If the repetition of the PDCCH is interrupted for some reason (e.g., a change in power consistency or phase continuity), the TDW may be restarted and the UE may restart the DM-RS bundling of the PDCCH.

[0147] In some embodiments, joint channel estimation functionality for PDCCH may be enabled or disabled jointly with joint channel estimation functionality for PDSCH.

[0148] In some embodiments, the activation or deactivation of the joint channel estimation functionality for the PDCCH may be signaled via RRC signaling with an explicit or implicit indication. RRC signaling may be used to directly and explicitly indicate that the joint channel estimation functionality should be activated or deactivated. Alternatively, for example, if the TDRA table entry indicated for the TFRS is not configured with a repetition number, or the configuration of the TFRS indicates that repetition of the PDCCH is not supported, the joint channel estimation functionality is deactivated.

[0149] The operations at blocks 1004 to 1008 may be triggered by the UE in response to detecting a first trigger condition. The first trigger condition indicates that the radio conditions of the PDCCH may be non-ideal. In some embodiments, the first trigger condition may be at least one of the following: a block error rate (BLER) is lower than a threshold, a PDCCH signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) or a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) reference signal received power (RSRP) or a channel state information (CSI) RSRP is lower than a threshold, a number of consecutive PDCCH decoding errors, or a UE-specific timing advance (TA) is greater than a threshold.

[0150] Alternatively or additionally, the operations at blocks 1004 to 1008 may be triggered by a trigger signal from the NW device. The NW device may send a trigger signal to the UE in response to detecting a second trigger condition to trigger the UE to perform joint channel estimation functionality for the PDCCH. The second trigger condition may indicate that the radio conditions of the PDCCH may be non-ideal. In some embodiments, the second trigger condition may be at least one of the following: a report of the UE capability for joint channel estimation for the PDCCH; a UE-specific time offset indicating that the time slot offset of the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback transmission is greater than a threshold, or a channel quality indicator (CQI) reported by the UE is less than a threshold.

[0151] In order to improve the effectiveness of joint channel estimation of PDCCH, some restrictions may need to be made to the network device sending PDCCH on TDW to enable DM-RS bundling. First, during TDW, the RB allocation does not change in length and frequency position. Second, the transmit power of PDCCH on TDW does not change. Third, phase continuity between transmissions is maintained on TDW.

[0152] In various embodiments, some of the elements of the methods shown (including methods 400, 600, 700, 900, and 1000) may be performed simultaneously in a different order than shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as needed.

[0153] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of methods 400, 700, and 1000. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0154] Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of methods 400, 700, and 1000. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may be, for example, a memory of a UE (such as the memory 206 of the wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0155] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising logical components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of methods 400, 700, and 1000. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0156] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of methods 400, 700, and 1000. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0157] Embodiments contemplated herein include signals as described in or associated with one or more elements of methods 400 , 700 , and 1000 .

[0158] Embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product including instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processor causes the processor to perform one or more elements of methods 400, 700, and 1000. The processor may be a processor of a UE (such as the processor 204 of the wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein). These instructions may be located, for example, in a processor and / or on a memory of a UE (such as the memory 206 of the wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0159] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus including means for performing one or more elements of methods 600 and 900. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus that is a base station (such as network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein).

[0160] Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of methods 600 and 900. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may be, for example, a memory of a base station (such as memory 222 of network device 218 as a base station, as described herein).

[0161] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising logical components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of methods 600 and 900. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus that is a base station (such as network device 218 as a base station, as described herein).

[0162] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of methods 600 and 900. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus that is a base station (such as network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein).

[0163] Embodiments contemplated herein include signals as described in or associated with one or more elements of methods 600 and 900 .

[0164] Embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product including instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform one or more elements of methods 600 and 900. The processor may be a processor of a base station (such as processor 220 of network device 218 as a base station, as described herein). These instructions may be located, for example, in a processor and / or on a memory of a UE (such as memory 222 of network device 218 as a base station, as described herein).

[0165] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described herein. For example, a baseband processor as described herein in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein. For another example, circuits associated with a UE, a base station, a network element, etc. as described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein.

[0166] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. In view of the above teachings, modifications and variations are possible or can be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0167] Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations that may be embodied in machine executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. A computer system may include one or more general or special purpose computers (or other electronic devices). A computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic components for performing operations; or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0168] It should be appreciated that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, separated into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment may be used in one embodiment. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described only in one or more embodiments, and it should be appreciated that these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment unless expressly stated herein.

[0169] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0170] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for the sake of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways to implement both the processes and the apparatus described herein. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the specification is not limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), the user equipment (UE) comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component configured to perform wireless communications using at least one radio access technology; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being coupled to the at least one radio component and configured to cause the UE to: determining configuration information of a control resource set (CORESET) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a network (NW) device, wherein a first portion of the configuration information of the CORESET indicates that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time slot; and The PDCCH is monitored in the CORESET based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the first part of the configuration information of the CORESET includes a duration of the CORESET, and the duration is allowed to be greater than three OFDM symbols.

3. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the first part of the configuration information of the CORESET includes configuration information of a search space of the PDCCH, the configuration information of the search space indicating that the number of OFDM symbols to be monitored for the PDCCH in a time slot is greater than three. 4 . The UE according to claim 3 , wherein the configuration information of the search space of the PDCCH comprises a bitmap to indicate the number of OFDM symbols to be monitored for the PDCCH. 5 . The UE according to claim 3 , wherein the configuration information of the search space of the PDCCH comprises one or more starting symbol indicators and corresponding monitoring lengths to indicate the number of OFDM symbols to be monitored for the PDCCH.

6. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: Before determining the configuration information of the CORESET, receiving the first part of the configuration information of the CORESET from the NW device via at least one of the following from the NW device: Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB), Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, or UE specific signaling.

7. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information of the CORESET further includes an aggregation level of the PDCCH, and the aggregation level is greater than sixteen.

8. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information of the CORESET further includes a frame structure of the CORESET, the frame structure indicating information for resource element group (REG) formation and information for control channel element (CCE) to REG mapping for the CORESET.

9. The UE of claim 8, wherein the information for REG formation indicates that all REs in a REG are on one OFDM symbol within a physical resource block (PRB) in the CORESET.

10. The UE of claim 8, wherein the information for REG formation indicates that the REs in a REG are distributed over different OFDM symbols within a physical resource block (PRB) in the CORESET.

11. The UE of claim 8, wherein the information for CCE to REG mapping indicates that more than three consecutive REGs in a physical resource block (PRB) in the CORESET constitute a REG bundle.

12. The UE of claim 8, wherein the information for CCE to REG mapping indicates that a plurality of staggered REGs in a physical resource block (PRB) in the CORESET constitute a REG bundle.

13. The UE of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication is for a non-terrestrial network.

14. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: determining configuration information of a control resource set (CORESET) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a network (NW) device, wherein a first portion of the configuration information of the CORESET indicates that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time slot; and The PDCCH is monitored in the CORESET based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first portion of the configuration information of the CORESET includes a duration of the CORESET, the duration being allowed to be greater than three OFDM symbols.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the first part of the configuration information of the CORESET includes configuration information of a search space of the PDCCH, the configuration information of the search space indicating that the number of OFDM symbols to be monitored for the PDCCH in a time slot is greater than three.

17. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: Before determining the configuration information of the CORESET, receiving the first part of the configuration information of the CORESET from the NW device via at least one of the following from the NW device: Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB), Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, or UE specific signaling.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein the configuration information of the CORESET further includes a frame structure of the CORESET, the frame structure indicating information for resource element group (REG) formation and information for control channel element (CCE) to REG mapping for the CORESET, wherein the information for REG formation indicates that REs in a REG are distributed over different OFDM symbols within a physical resource block (PRB) in the CORESET.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the information for CCE to REG mapping indicates that a plurality of staggered REGs in a physical resource block (PRB) in the CORESET constitute a REG bundle.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions executable by one or more processors to cause a user equipment (UE): determining configuration information of a control resource set (CORESET) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a network (NW) device, wherein a first portion of the configuration information of the CORESET indicates that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time slot; and The PDCCH is monitored in the CORESET based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET.

21. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising a computer program which, when executed by a processor of a user equipment (UE), causes the UE to: determining configuration information of a control resource set (CORESET) for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from a network (NW) device, wherein a first portion of the configuration information of the CORESET indicates that the CORESET is allowed to span more than three orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in a time slot; and The PDCCH is monitored in the CORESET based on the determined configuration information of the CORESET.

Images