PDCCH mapping

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a method for PDCCH mapping in an SBFD time slot. A network device determines validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates, and transmits a PDCCH transmission to a terminal device on at least one PDCCH candidate having the valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates. The terminal device determines validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates, and performs blind detection of PDCCHs on a group of PDCCH candidates having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates. This solution enables efficient PDCCH channel estimation / detection without any waste.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments relate to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to methods, devices, apparatus, and computer-readable media for PDCCH mapping. Background Art

[0002] In the field of communications, there is a continuous development to provide efficient and reliable solutions for utilizing wireless communication networks. In order to meet the demand for wireless data services that have increased since the deployment of the fourth generation (4G) communication system, efforts have been made to develop improved fifth generation (5G) or pre-5G communication systems. The new communication system can support various types of service applications for terminal devices.

[0003] 3GPP 5G NR currently supports two duplex modes: FDD for paired frequency bands and TDD for unpaired frequency bands. In TDD, time domain resources are split between downlink and uplink. Allocating a limited duration for the uplink in TDD will result in reduced coverage, increased latency, and reduced capacity. 3GPP has agreed to initiate a Rel-18 study project (RP-213591) on the evolution of duplex operation in NR. One of the goals of this study project is to allow simultaneous DL transmission and UL transmission on different physical resource blocks (PRBs) / subbands within an unpaired wideband NR cell, which can be referred to as subband non-overlapping full-duplex (SBFD). Summary of the invention

[0004] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for PDCCH mapping.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: determine the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; and perform blind detection of the PDCCH on a set of PDCCH candidates having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0006] In a second aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions. The instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the access network device to at least: determine the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; and send a PDCCH transmission to a terminal device on at least one PDCCH candidate having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method is implemented at a terminal device. The method comprises: determining, at the terminal device, the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; and performing blind detection of the PDCCH on a set of PDCCH candidates having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method is implemented at a network device. The method comprises: determining, at the network device, the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; and sending a PDCCH transmission to a terminal device on at least one PDCCH candidate having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a component for determining the validity of resources associated with multiple physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates at a terminal device; and a component for performing blind detection of PDCCH on a group of PDCCH candidates having valid resources among the multiple PDCCH candidates.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises: a component for determining, at a network device, the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; and a component for sending a PDCCH transmission to a terminal device on at least one PDCCH candidate having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least execute a method according to any one of the third to fourth aspects above.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium including program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions being used to at least execute the method according to any one of the third to fourth aspects above.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least: determine the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; and perform blind detection of the PDCCH on a set of PDCCH candidates having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least: determine the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; and send a PDCCH transmission to a terminal device on at least one PDCCH candidate having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising: a determination circuit system configured to determine the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; and an execution circuit system configured to perform blind detection of the PDCCH on a group of PDCCH candidates having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, a network device is provided, comprising: a determination circuit system configured to determine the validity of resources associated with multiple physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; and a transmission circuit system configured to send a PDCCH transmission to a terminal device on at least one PDCCH candidate having valid resources among the multiple PDCCH candidates.

[0017] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or important features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 illustrates an example communication system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0020] Figure 2 A diagram illustrates a schematic diagram of frequency time resource partitioning using SBFD compared to FDD and TDD;

[0021] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating SBFD and non-SBFD time slots is illustrated;

[0022] Figure 4 illustrates another schematic diagram illustrating SBFD and non-SBFD time slots;

[0023] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating a process of communication between a terminal device and a network device is illustrated;

[0024] Figure 6 A flow chart illustrating a process for PDCCH mapping according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0025] Figure 7 A schematic diagram illustrating a method implemented at a terminal device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0026] Figure 8 A schematic diagram illustrating a method implemented at a network device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0027] Fig. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0028] Fig.10 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the way described below.

[0031] 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.

[0032] In this disclosure, references to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and "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, those skilled in the art recognize that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0033] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the example embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0034] The term used herein is only used to describe the purpose of specific embodiments, but is not intended to limit exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular "one", "one" and "the" are also intended to include plural forms, unless the context clearly states otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "include", "comprise", "have", "have", "include" and / or "include" when used in this article specify the existence of the features, elements and / or components, but do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or their combinations. As used herein, "at least one of the following: <list of two or more elements>" and "at least one of the list of two or more elements>" and similar wording (wherein the list of two or more elements is connected by "and" or "or") refer to at least any one element in these elements, or at least any two or more elements in these elements, or at least all elements in these elements.

[0035] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0036] (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuitry only), and

[0037] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0038] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0039] (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

[0040] (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portion(s) of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but which may not be present when the software is not required for operation.

[0041] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers 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.

[0042] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that follows any suitable communication standard, such as 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 of 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, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocol, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be 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 communication technologies and systems of future types that can be used to implement the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the above-mentioned system.

[0043] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network, via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), such as a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low-power node (such as a femto, a pico), etc.

[0044] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber 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 local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera), a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0045] In a communication network where multiple network devices are jointly deployed in a geographic area to serve corresponding cells, when a terminal device is located in the corresponding cell, the terminal device may have an active connection with the network device. In the active connection, the terminal device may communicate with the network device on frequency bands in both the uplink (UL) and downlink (DL). Due to various reasons such as quality degradation in the UL, the terminal device may need to switch the link in one direction (such as the UL) to another network device.

[0046] NR PDCCH will be mapped to CCE (Control Channel Elements) in a configured CORESET (Control Resource Set) with aggregation levels of 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16. For NR UE, CORESET will be configured for the UE. As stated in 38.213, "For each DL BWP (Bandwidth Part) configured for the UE in the serving cell, the UE may be provided with:

[0047] If coresetPoolIndex is not provided, or if coresetPoolIndex is provided and the coresetPoolIndex value is the same for all CORESETs, then P ≤ 3 CORESETs

[0048] If coresetPoolIndex for the first CORESET is not provided, or coresetPoolIndex for the first CORESET is provided and has a value of 0, and coresetPoolIndex for the second CORESET is provided and has a value of 1, then P ≤ 5 CORESETs

[0049] The UE shall perform blind detection on the PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) in the search space within the CORESET. "For each DL BWP configured to the UE in the serving cell, the UE is provided with S≤10 search space sets by the higher layer, wherein for each search space set from the S search space sets, the UE is provided by SearchSpace:...". The number of CORESETs is related to the complexity of the channel estimation based on PDCCH DMRS. The more CORESETs to be supported for each UE and the larger the CORESET, the higher the complexity of the channel estimation based on PDCCH DMRS. This is why the number of CORESETs to be supported by the UE is limited to 3 or 5 as stated in the specification.

[0050] When performing blind detection on the PDCCH, the UE will detect PDCCH candidates (may be referred to as candidates for short) of the PDCCH for determining the aggregation level in the search space as defined in the following specifications.

[0051] "For search space set s associated with CORESET p, for search space set s associated with carrier indicator field value n CI The time slot of the corresponding serving cell's active DL BWP In the search space set, the PDCCH candidates The corresponding CCE index of aggregation level L is given by:

[0052]

[0053] For any CSS, For USS, Y p,-1 =n RNTI ≠0, for pmod3=0, A p =39827, for pmod3=1, A p =39829, for pmod3=2, A p =39839, and D = 65537; i = 0, ..., L-1; N CCE，p is the number of CCEs in CORESET p, ranging from 0 to N CCE，p-1 number, and if any, is the number of CCEs for each RB set; if the UE is configured with a carrier indicator field for the serving cell monitoring PDCCH via CrossCarrierSchedulingConfig, then n CI is the Carrier Indicator field value; otherwise, includes: for any CSS, n CI =0; in The UE is configured to monitor for CI The number of PDCCH candidates of aggregation level L of the search space set s of the corresponding serving cell; for any CSS, For USS, is the number of all configurations of CCE aggregation level L for search space set s CI Value Maximum value for n RNTI The RNTI value is C-RNTI.

[0054] 3GPP 5G NR currently supports two duplex modes: FDD for paired bands, and TDD for unpaired bands. In TDD, time domain resources are split between downlink and uplink. The limited duration allocation for uplink in TDD will result in reduced coverage, increased latency, and reduced capacity.

[0055] Motivated by this, 3GPP has agreed to initiate a Rel-18 study item (RP-213591) on the evolution of duplex operation in NR to address the above challenges. In the present disclosure, one of the goals of this study item is to allow simultaneous DL and UL transmission on different physical resource blocks (PRBs) / subbands within a non-paired wideband NR cell, and this is called sub-band non-overlapping full-duplex (SBFD). Rel-18 Duplex Evolution Study Item, including Sub-Band Non-Overlapping Full-Duplex (SBFD).

[0056] Some of the most relevant objectives of the research project (RP-213591) in the research project description for this disclosure are as follows. In this study, the following are assumed: Duplex enhancement on the gNB side; Half-duplex operation on the UE side; No restrictions on the frequency range. Specific objectives are as follows: Study sub-band non-overlapping full-duplex and potential enhancements for dynamic / flexible TDD (RAN1, RAN4). Identify possible schemes and evaluate their feasibility and performance (RAN1). Study inter-gNB and inter-UE CLI handling and identify solutions to manage them (RAN1). Consider intra-subband CLI and inter-subband CLI in the case of sub-band non-overlapping full-duplex. Study the performance of the identified schemes and the impact on legacy operation, assuming they coexist in co-channel and adjacent channels (RAN1). Consider adjacent channel coexistence with legacy operation and study the feasibility and impact on RF requirements (RAN4). Consider self-interference, inter-subband CLI and inter-operator CLI at the gNB, and inter-subband CLI and inter-operator CLI at the UE, and study the feasibility and impact on RF requirements (RAN4).

[0057] In the SBFD slot, there will be a set of RBs with UL subband coverage contiguous. These SBFD RBs may overlap with RBs in some CORESETs configured to the UE.

[0058] In some rate matching schemes in PDSCH, for some RB / RE, when not available for PDSCH transmission, there is a method to provide UE rate matching mode, and PDSCH will not be mapped to RB / RE. In other schemes, two CORESETs associated with one search space are configured, one on SBFD slots and the other on non-SBFD slots.

[0059] For channel estimation of PDCCH, there are restrictions from the UE side, as defined in 38.213, as shown in Table 1. Table 1 shows the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs per slot for a single serving cell, for DL ​​BWP with SCS configuration μ = {0, 1, 2, 3}

[0060] Table 1

[0061]

[0062] There are also UE-side limits on the number of blind detections of PDCCH, as defined in 38.213, as shown in Table 2. Table 2 shows the maximum number of PDCCH candidates to be monitored per time slot for a single serving cell, for a DL BWP with SCS configuration μ = {0, 1, 2, 3}

[0063] Table 2

[0064]

[0065] When the number of detected PDCCH candidates reaches the maximum value or the number of CCEs used for channel estimation reaches the maximum number, the UE will stop blind detection of PDCCH in the timeslot. In order to save UE complexity, the CORESET configured to the UE can be the same for SBFD timeslots and non-SBFD (normal / legacy) timeslots, and then when the UE performs blind detection in a candidate overlapping with a SBFD UL RB, the blind detection will be useless because there will be no PDCCH on the candidate and the blind detection will be wasted. This waste of blind detection will result in: 1) waste of UE power in blind detection, and 2) reduced chances of scheduling the UE because there is less chance of mapping the UE's PDCCH.

[0066] The present disclosure will provide a solution to the above-mentioned inefficiency problem of PDCCH monitoring. The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 , which illustrates an example communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. System 100 includes a terminal device 110 and a network device 120. As long as the terminal device 110 is located within a corresponding cell, the terminal device 110 is able to connect and communicate with the network device 120 in UL or DL. In the communication system, UL refers to a link in the direction from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120, and DL refers to a link in the direction from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110. The network device 120 may send a PDCCH to the terminal device 110, and the terminal device 110 may perform blind detection to obtain the corresponding PDCCH.

[0067] It should be understood that the number of network devices 120 and terminal devices 110 is for illustration purposes only and does not represent any limitation. The system 100 may include any suitable number of network devices 120 and terminal devices 110 suitable for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0068] The communication in the communication system 100 can be implemented according to any appropriate (multiple) communication protocols, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G) and the fifth generation (5G), wireless local area network communication protocols (such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc.), and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread spectrum OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology previously known or to be developed in the future.

[0069] As mentioned above, one of the goals of the 3GPP Rel-18 study item is to allow simultaneous DL and UL transmissions on different physical resource blocks (PRBs) / subbands within unpaired wideband NR cells, such as Figure 2 As shown. In this disclosure, we refer to it as Sub-Band Non-Overlapping Full Duplex (SBFD). In other sources, this duplexing scheme is also called Cross-Division Duplex (xDD) scheme or Flexible Duplex (FDU). Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating frequency-time resource partitioning using SBFD compared to FDD and TDD is illustrated.

[0070] Figure 3 FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of SBFD and non-SBFD time slots. As can be seen from the above description of SBFD operation, Figure 3 As shown, there are two time slot types for both DL transmission and UL transmission, namely, SBFD time slots and non-SBFD time slots. During the SBFD time slots, both non-overlapping DL subbands and (multiple) UL subbands exist, and during the non-SBFD time slots, the entire frequency band is used for DL ​​or UL (i.e., traditional / full DL / UL time slots).

[0071] Several SBFD operation modes have been studied, including whether the SBFD-aware UE knows the time and frequency location of the subbands used for SBFD operation. However, it has been agreed in the 3GPP RAN1#110 meeting to at least give priority to operation modes with the time and frequency location of the subbands used for SBFD operation known to the SBFD-aware UE. This means that the (SBFD-aware) UE should be aware of the SBFD time slots in one way or another.

[0072] Figure 4 Another schematic diagram illustrating SBFD and non-SBFD time slots is shown. Figure 4As shown, for non-SBFD time slots, REGs and CCEs will be mapped to all PRBs in the search space in CORESET. For SBFD time slots, multiple REGs overlap with SBFD UL subbands or guard bands.

[0073] Figure 5 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process 500 of communication between a terminal device 110 and a network device 120. Figure 5 As shown, the network device 120 may determine (510) the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates. The network device 120 may send (520) a PDCCH transmission 505 to the terminal device 110 on at least one PDCCH candidate having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates. On the other side of the communication, the terminal device 110 may determine (530) the validity of resources associated with the plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates. The terminal device 110 may perform (540) blind detection of the PDCCH on a set of PDCCH candidates having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0074] In this way, without introducing a new CORESET, the number of PDCCH candidates for blind detection may not be reduced, and PDCCH channel estimation / detection may be performed efficiently without any waste.

[0075] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may send a rule for determining the validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates to the terminal device 110. Thus, the terminal device 110 may receive a rule for determining the validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates from the network device 120. Thus, the terminal device 110 may perform an operation of determining the validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates based on the rule configured by the network device 120. In this way, the network device 120 may determine the manner in which the terminal device 110 determines the validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0076] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may send a first indication to enable or disable the rule to the terminal device 110. Therefore, the terminal device 110 may receive the first indication to enable or disable the rule from the network device 120. In this way, the network device 120 may decide whether the terminal device 110 enables or disables the rule. Alternatively, the first indication may be used to activate or deactivate the rule.

[0077] In some embodiments, determining the validity of resources associated with a plurality of Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) candidates may be performed by the terminal device 110, for example based on predefined rules.

[0078] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by: determining that the PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that the physical resource block (PRB) associated with the PDCCH candidate in the multiple PDCCH candidates is invalid. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by: determining that the PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that the resource element group (REG) associated with the PDCCH candidate in the multiple PDCCH candidates is invalid. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by: determining that the PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that the control channel element (CCE) associated with the PDCCH candidate in the multiple PDCCH candidates is invalid. In this way, the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates can be determined based on whether any one of the PRB, REG or CCE is valid.

[0079] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by: determining that the PDCCH candidates are valid based on determining that all PRBs associated with the PDCCH candidates are valid. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by: determining that the PDCCH candidates are valid based on determining that all REGs associated with the PDCCH candidates are valid. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by: determining that the PDCCH candidates are valid based on determining that all CCEs associated with the PDCCH candidates are valid. In this way, the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates can be determined based on whether any one of the PRBs, REGs, or CCEs is invalid.

[0080] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine that the PRB is invalid based on determining that the PRB is not used for PDCCH transmission. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine that all PRBs are valid based on determining that all PRBs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0081] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine that a REG is invalid based on determining that the PRB corresponding to the REG is not used for PDCCH transmission. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine that all REGs are valid based on determining that all PRBs corresponding to all REGs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0082] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine that the CCE is invalid based on determining that a PRB in the CCE is not used for PDCCH transmission. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine that all CCEs are valid based on determining that all PRBs in all CCEs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0083] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by: receiving a second indication from the network device 120 whether a CCE is to be monitored by the terminal device 110, the CCE including a PRB not used for PDCCH transmission; and determining the validity of the multiple PDCCH candidates based on the second indication.

[0084] In some embodiments, the PRBs not used for PDCCH transmission may be PRBs used for uplink transmission or guard bands.

[0085] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by: determining that the CCE associated with a PDCCH candidate in the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the CCE is valid or the PDCCH candidate is valid. In other words, the CCE may cover REGs on more than one DL subband.

[0086] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by: determining that the CCE associated with the PDCCH candidate includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the CCE is invalid or the PDCCH candidate is invalid. In other words, the CCE may cover REGs on only one DL subband.

[0087] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates by: determining that the PDCCH candidates in the plurality of PDCCH candidates are valid based on determining that the PDCCH candidates include a plurality of CCEs on more than one downlink subband. For example, the aggregation of CCEs may cover CCEs on more than one DL subband.

[0088] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by determining that the PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate includes multiple CCEs on more than one downlink subband. For example, the aggregation of CCEs may cover CCEs on only one DL subband.

[0089] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by determining that the PDCCH candidates are valid based on determining that the PDCCH candidates among the multiple PDCCH candidates include multiple CCEs in the same downlink subband or in consecutive downlink subbands.

[0090] In some embodiments, the indices of REGs or CCEs for PDCCH candidates among a plurality of PDCCH candidates are numbered by downlink subband.

[0091] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may perform mapping of multiple REGs to multiple CCEs for valid PDCCH candidates in a valid set of PDCCH candidates based on interleaved CCE-REG mapping or non-interleaved CCE-REG mapping.

[0092] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of the multiple PDCCH candidates by: determining the validity of the multiple PDCCH candidates based on determining that the multiple PDCCH candidates have at least one predetermined aggregation level. For example, performing the operations of one or more of the above embodiments only for some aggregation levels.

[0093] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of multiple PDCCH candidates by: determining whether the multiple PDCCH candidates are in a sub-band full duplex (SBFD) time slot; and determining the validity of the multiple PDCCH candidates based on determining that the multiple PDCCH candidates are in the SBFD time slot.

[0094] In some embodiments, determining the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates may be performed by network device 120 .

[0095] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by determining that a PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that a physical resource block (PRB) or resource element group (REG) or control channel element (CCE) associated with a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates is invalid.

[0096] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates by determining that the PDCCH candidates are valid based on determining that all PRBs or all REGs or all CCEs associated with the PDCCH candidates are valid.

[0097] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine that the PRB is invalid based on determining that the PRB is not used for PDCCH transmission.

[0098] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine that all PRBs are valid based on determining that all PRBs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0099] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine that the REG is invalid based on determining that the PRB corresponding to the REG is not used for PDCCH transmission.

[0100] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine that all REGs are valid based on determining that all PRBs corresponding to all REGs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0101] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine that the CCE is invalid based on determining that a PRB in the CCE is not used for PDCCH transmission.

[0102] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine that all CCEs are valid based on determining that all PRBs in all CCEs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0103] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may send a second indication to the terminal device 110 whether a CCE is to be monitored by the terminal device 110 , the CCE comprising a PRB not used for PDCCH transmission.

[0104] In some embodiments, the PRBs not used for PDCCH transmission are PRBs used for uplink transmission or guard bands.

[0105] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by determining that the CCE associated with a PDCCH candidate in the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the CCE is valid or the PDCCH candidate is valid.

[0106] In some embodiments, network device 120 may determine validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by determining that the CCE associated with the PDCCH candidate includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the CCE is invalid or the PDCCH candidate is invalid.

[0107] In some embodiments, network device 120 may determine the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates by determining that a PDCCH candidate among the plurality of PDCCH candidates is valid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate includes a plurality of CCEs on more than one downlink subband.

[0108] In some embodiments, network device 120 may determine the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates by determining that the PDCCH candidates are invalid based on determining that the PDCCH candidates include a plurality of CCEs on more than one downlink subband.

[0109] In some embodiments, network device 120 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by determining that a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates is valid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate includes multiple CCEs in the same downlink subband or in consecutive downlink subbands.

[0110] The operation of determining the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates performed by the network device 120 may refer to the operation of determining the validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates performed by the terminal device 110 .

[0111] Figure 6 A flow chart of a process 600 for PDCCH mapping according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. Figure 6 As shown, the UE may decide the slot type (610). The UE may determine whether the slot type is an SBFD slot (620). If the slot type is an SBFD slot, the UE may perform steps 630 to 660. If the slot type is not SBFD, the UE may perform steps 670 to 690. Step 660 or step 690 is followed by step 6100. Specifically, if the slot type is an SBFD slot, the UE may determine valid PRBs other than SBFD / guard band PRBs in the CORESET for REG (resource element group) / CCE mapping (630). The UE may determine valid REG / CCEs based on all valid PRBs other than SBFD / guard band PRBs in the CORESET (640). The UE may calculate PDCCH candidates based on valid CCEs (650). The UE may blindly detect PDCCHs on valid PDCCH candidates (660). If the slot type is not SBFD, the UE may determine REG / CCEs based on all available PRBs in the CORESET (670). The UE may calculate PDCCH candidates according to CCE (680). The UE may blindly detect PDCCH on the PDCCH candidates (690). In step 6100, the UE may perform the following actions after PDCCH detection, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0112] In this way, the present disclosure provides a solution for enhanced PDCCH candidates in SBFD slots, in which PRBs overlapping with SBFD subbands are not counted as candidates for PDCCH for blind detection of all aggregation levels, and candidates will be reorganized in SBFD slots instead of non-SBFD slots. With this solution, without introducing a new CORESET, the number of PDCCH candidates for blind detection can be reduced, and PDCCH channel estimation / detection can be performed efficiently without any waste.

[0113] refer to Figure 6 , in the case where the time slot type is a SBFD time slot, an exemplary process performed by the UE is as follows: Step 1, when monitoring PDCCH, the UE can determine the time slot type, whether it is a SBFD time slot or a non-SBFD time slot based on the network configuration. Step 2, the UE can determine the valid PRB to map REG / CCE, and calculate the CCE for the valid PDCCH candidate. Step 3, the UE can calculate the PDCCH candidate. Step 4, the UE can perform PDCCH monitoring only on the valid PDCCH candidate.

[0114] In some embodiments, in the SBFD timeslot, REGs overlapping with the SBFD UL subband and guard band will not be counted as valid REGs, and the CCE index is calculated based on the available DL PRBs in the search space in the CORESET, where CCEs overlapping with one or more PRBs used for the SBFD UL subband and guard band will not be counted as valid CCEs.

[0115] In some embodiments, the REG index shall be calculated based on the available PRBs for PDCCH that do not overlap with the PRBs related to SBFD.In some embodiments, the CCE index shall be calculated based on the valid CCEs that do not overlap with the PRBs related to SBFD.

[0116] In some embodiments, in non-SBFD slots, the UE may calculate PDCCH candidates based on all CCEs.In some embodiments, in SBFD slots, for both channel estimation and PDCCH blind detection, the UE may calculate PDCCH candidates based only on valid CCEs with valid REGs for all aggregation levels.

[0117] In some embodiments, a CCE may cover REGs on both DL subbands or REGs on only one DL subband.

[0118] In some embodiments, the aggregation of CCEs may cover CCEs on both DL subbands or CCEs on only one DL subband.

[0119] In some embodiments, the REG / CCE indexing may be per DL subband and then continued in the next DL subband, rather than mapping the first symbol and then the next symbol.

[0120] In some embodiments, the UE may receive an indication (eg, via RRC) indicating whether CCEs in overlapping resources should be monitored by the UE.

[0121] In some embodiments, interleaved CCE-REG mapping or non-interleaved CCE-REG mapping may be used.

[0122] In some embodiments, for a BWP that will utilize SBFD, the BWP bandwidth size is, for example, 100 PRBs, and the SBFD UL subband is 20 PRBs, and the total guard band size is 10 PRBs. The SBFD UL subband can be inserted in the BWP or at the edge of the BWP. When the CORESET is configured as all 100 PRBs and 2 symbols to the SBFD-aware UE. In some embodiments, non-interleaving is used. The number of PDCCH candidates for each aggregation level can be, for example, (16, 16, 8, 3, 1). In a non-SBFD slot, the available valid REGs for the search space are 100×2=200 REGs. Then, all REGs will be mapped to CCEs, and then a total of (200 / 6)=33 CCEs can be used for PDCCH candidate mapping / distribution. In a SBFD slot, the available valid REGs for the CORESET are (100-20-10)×2=140 REGs. Then, all REGs will be mapped to CCEs, and then a total of (140 / 6) = 23 CCEs are available for PDCCH candidate mapping / distribution.

[0123] In some embodiments, for non-SBFD slots, PDCCH candidates may be mapped to 33 CCEs according to the following equation:

[0124]

[0125] Where N CCE，p is 33.

[0126] For example, in non-SBFD time slots, all PRBs are available valid PRBs, and for aggregation levels AL 1 / 2 / 4 / 8 / 16, all 44 candidates are valid, such as (16, 16, 8, 3, 1). For SBFD time slots, if based on the existing method (there is no step to determine the validity of PDCCH candidates / PRBs / REGs / CCEs), the PDCCH candidates will be mapped to 33 CCEs according to the equation. Then, the PDCCH candidates overlapping with the 30 PRBs for UL subbands and guard bands will be invalid and cannot be mapped to PDCCH. Then, the available PDCCH candidates after mapping to CCEs will, for example, remain as (16-a1, 16-a2, 8-a3, 3-a4, 1-a5), and the total number of reduced PDCCH candidates will be a1+a2+a3+a4+a5, where the number of reductions may be different for different UEs with different Y values. The reduced PDCCH candidates will increase the PDCCH blocking probability, and the PDCCH may not be transmitted in some SBFD slots.

[0127] Although based on the new solution in the present disclosure, the PDCCH candidate related calculation will only consider the valid PRBs, therefore, the PDCCH candidates will be mapped to 23 CCEs according to the equation, where N CCE，p is 23. And all 23 CCEs are available valid CCEs, then all 44 PDCCH candidates can be valid, and the PDCCH blocking probability will not increase. Then, the UE will perform PDCCH detection based on the calculated PDCCH candidates.

[0128] In some embodiments, when considering valid PDCCH candidates, only CCEs on the same DL subband or consecutive subbands that are not inserted into the SBFD subband are used as valid CCEs, and the calculation of valid PDCCH candidates will take this restriction into account until the maximum number of UE-supported PDCCH candidates is found.

[0129] In some embodiments, when considering valid PDCCH candidates, CCEs covering REGs on both DL subbands are also valid CCEs, and the calculation of valid PDCCH candidates will take this restriction into account until the maximum number of UE-supported PDCCH candidates is found.

[0130] In some embodiments, based on network control, a new method (including a step of determining the validity of PDCCH candidates / PRBs / REGs / CCEs) is used for CCE / REG mapping only for some aggregation levels, while for other aggregation levels, a traditional method (without a step of determining the validity of PDCCH candidates / PRBs / REGs / CCEs) is allowed to be used.

[0131] Figure 7A schematic diagram illustrating a method 700 implemented at a terminal device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. At block 710, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates. At block 720, the terminal device 110 may perform blind detection of the PDCCH on a set of PDCCH candidates having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0132] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive from the network device 120 rules for determining the validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0133] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may receive a first indication from network device 120 to enable or disable the rule.

[0134] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by at least one of the following items: determining that the PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that the physical resource block (PRB) or resource element group (REG) or control channel element (CCE) associated with the PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates is invalid; or determining that the PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that all PRBs or all REGs or all CCEs associated with the PDCCH candidate are valid.

[0135] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may perform at least one of the following: determining that the PRB is invalid based on determining that the PRB is not used for PDCCH transmission; or determining that all PRBs are valid based on determining that all PRBs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0136] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may perform at least one of the following: determining that the REG is invalid based on determining that the PRB corresponding to the REG is not used for PDCCH transmission; or determining that all REGs are valid based on determining that all PRBs corresponding to all REGs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0137] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may perform at least one of the following: determining that the CCE is invalid based on determining that the PRB in the CCE is not used for PDCCH transmission; or determining that all CCEs are valid based on determining that all PRBs in all CCEs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0138] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by: receiving a second indication from the network device 120 whether a CCE is to be monitored by the terminal device 110, the CCE including a PRB not used for PDCCH transmission; and determining the validity of the multiple PDCCH candidates based on the second indication.

[0139] In some embodiments, the PRBs not used for PDCCH transmission are PRBs used for uplink transmission or guard bands.

[0140] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by one of the following items: based on determining that the CCE associated with a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the CCE is valid or the PDCCH candidate is valid; or based on determining that the CCE associated with the PDCCH candidate includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the CCE is invalid or the PDCCH candidate is invalid.

[0141] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 can determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by one of the following items: determining that the PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple CCEs on more than one downlink subband; or determining that the PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate includes multiple CCEs on more than one downlink subband.

[0142] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by determining that the PDCCH candidates are valid based on determining that the PDCCH candidates among the multiple PDCCH candidates include multiple CCEs in the same downlink subband or in consecutive downlink subbands.

[0143] Figure 8 A schematic diagram illustrating a method 800 implemented at a network device 120 according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. At block 810, the network device 120 may determine the validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates. At block 820, the network device 120 may send a PDCCH transmission to the terminal device 110 on at least one PDCCH candidate having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0144] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may send to the terminal device 110 rules for determining the validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0145] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may send a first indication to the terminal device 110 to enable or disable the rule.

[0146] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by at least one of the following: determining that a PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that a physical resource block (PRB) or a resource element group (REG) or a control channel element (CCE) associated with a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates is invalid; or determining that a PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that all PRBs or all REGs or all CCEs associated with the PDCCH candidate are valid.

[0147] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may perform at least one of the following: determining that the PRB is invalid based on determining that the PRB is not used for PDCCH transmission; or determining that all PRBs are valid based on determining that all PRBs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0148] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may perform at least one of the following: determining that the REG is invalid based on determining that the PRB corresponding to the REG is not used for PDCCH transmission; or determining that all REGs are valid based on determining that all PRBs corresponding to all REGs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0149] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may perform at least one of the following: determining that the CCE is invalid based on determining that the PRB in the CCE is not used for PDCCH transmission; or determining that all CCEs are valid based on determining that all PRBs in all CCEs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0150] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may send a second indication to the terminal device 110 whether a CCE is to be monitored by the terminal device 110 , the CCE comprising a PRB not used for PDCCH transmission.

[0151] In some embodiments, the PRBs not used for PDCCH transmission are PRBs used for uplink transmission or guard bands.

[0152] In some embodiments, the network device 120 can determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by one of the following items: determining that the CCE associated with a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the CCE is valid or the PDCCH candidate is valid; or determining that the CCE associated with the PDCCH candidate includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the CCE is invalid or the PDCCH candidate is invalid.

[0153] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by one of the following items: determining that the PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple CCEs on more than one downlink subband; or determining that the PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate includes multiple CCEs on more than one downlink subband.

[0154] In some embodiments, network device 120 may determine the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates by determining that a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates is valid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate includes multiple CCEs in the same downlink subband or in consecutive downlink subbands.

[0155] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., terminal device 110) capable of performing any method in method 700 may include a component for performing the corresponding steps of method 700. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0156] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes means for determining validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; and means for performing blind detection of the PDCCH on a set of PDCCH candidates having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0157] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving from the network device 120 a rule for determining validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0158] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving a first indication from the network device 120 to enable or disable the rule.

[0159] In some embodiments, the component for determining the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates includes at least one of the following items: a component for determining that a PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that a physical resource block (PRB) or a resource element group (REG) or a control channel element (CCE) associated with a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates is invalid; or a component for determining that a PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that all PRBs or all REGs or all CCEs associated with the PDCCH candidate are valid.

[0160] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises at least one of: a component for determining that the PRB is invalid based on determining that the PRB is not used for PDCCH transmission; or a component for determining that all PRBs are valid based on determining that all PRBs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0161] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes at least one of the following items: a component for determining that a REG is invalid based on determining that a PRB corresponding to a REG is not used for PDCCH transmission; or a component for determining that all REGs are valid based on determining that all PRBs corresponding to all REGs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0162] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises at least one of the following items: a component for determining that a CCE is invalid based on determining that a PRB in the CCE is not used for PDCCH transmission; or a component for determining that all CCEs are valid based on determining that all PRBs in all CCEs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0163] In some embodiments, a component for determining the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates includes: a component for receiving a second indication from a network device 120 as to whether a CCE is to be monitored by a terminal device 110, the CCE including a PRB not used for PDCCH transmission; and a component for determining the validity of multiple PDCCH candidates based on the second indication.

[0164] In some embodiments, the PRBs not used for PDCCH transmission are PRBs used for uplink transmission or guard bands.

[0165] In some embodiments, the component for determining the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates includes one of the following items: a component for determining that the CCE associated with a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates is valid or the PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that the CCE associated with the PDCCH candidate includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband; or a component for determining that the CCE is invalid or the PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that the CCE associated with the PDCCH candidate includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband.

[0166] In some embodiments, the component for determining the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates includes one of the following items: a component for determining that a PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple CCEs on more than one downlink subband; or a component for determining that a PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate includes multiple CCEs on more than one downlink subband.

[0167] In some embodiments, means for determining validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates comprises means for determining that a PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate in the plurality of PDCCH candidates comprises a plurality of CCEs in the same downlink subband or in consecutive downlink subbands.

[0168] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 700. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable execution of the apparatus.

[0169] In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., network device 120) capable of performing any of the methods in method 800 may include a component for performing the corresponding steps of method 800. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented as a circuit system or a software module.

[0170] In some embodiments, the apparatus includes: a component for determining the validity of resources associated with multiple physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; and a component for sending a PDCCH transmission to the terminal device 110 on at least one PDCCH candidate having valid resources among the multiple PDCCH candidates.

[0171] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending to the terminal device 110 rules for determining the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

[0172] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a component for sending a first indication to the terminal device 110 to enable or disable the rule.

[0173] In some embodiments, the component for determining the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates includes at least one of the following items: a component for determining that a PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that a physical resource block (PRB) or a resource element group (REG) or a control channel element (CCE) associated with a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates is invalid; or a component for determining that a PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that all PRBs or all REGs or all CCEs associated with the PDCCH candidate are valid.

[0174] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises at least one of: a component for determining that the PRB is invalid based on determining that the PRB is not used for PDCCH transmission; or a component for determining that all PRBs are valid based on determining that all PRBs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0175] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes at least one of the following items: a component for determining that a REG is invalid based on determining that a PRB corresponding to a REG is not used for PDCCH transmission; or a component for determining that all REGs are valid based on determining that all PRBs corresponding to all REGs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0176] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises at least one of the following items: a component for determining that a CCE is invalid based on determining that a PRB in the CCE is not used for PDCCH transmission; or a component for determining that all CCEs are valid based on determining that all PRBs in all CCEs are used for PDCCH transmission.

[0177] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending a second indication to the terminal device 110 whether a CCE is to be monitored by the terminal device 110 , the CCE comprising a PRB not used for PDCCH transmission.

[0178] In some embodiments, the PRBs not used for PDCCH transmission are PRBs used for uplink transmission or guard bands.

[0179] In some embodiments, the component for determining the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates includes one of the following items: a component for determining that the CCE associated with a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates is valid or the PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that the CCE associated with the PDCCH candidate includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband; or a component for determining that the CCE is invalid or the PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that the CCE associated with the PDCCH candidate includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband.

[0180] In some embodiments, the component for determining the validity of resources associated with multiple PDCCH candidates includes one of the following items: a component for determining that a PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple CCEs on more than one downlink subband; or a component for determining that a PDCCH candidate is invalid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate includes multiple CCEs on more than one downlink subband.

[0181] In some embodiments, means for determining validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates comprises means for determining that a PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate in the plurality of PDCCH candidates comprises a plurality of CCEs in the same downlink subband or in consecutive downlink subbands.

[0182] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 800. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable execution of the apparatus.

[0183] Fig. 9 900 is a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 900 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The terminal device 110, the network device 120 or the network device 120 shown. As shown, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 940 coupled to the processor 910, and one or more transmitters and / or receivers (TX / RX) 940 coupled to the processor 910.

[0184] The TX / RX 940 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 940 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements.

[0185] Processor 910 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include, as non-limiting examples, 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. Device 900 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0186] The memory 920 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) 924, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), and other magnetic storage devices and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power outages.

[0187] The computer program 930 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 910. The program 930 may be stored in the ROM 1020. The processor 910 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 930 into the RAM 1020.

[0188] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 930, so that the device 900 may execute the reference Figures 2 to 8Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0189] In some embodiments, the program 930 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 900 (such as in the memory 920) or in other storage devices accessible by the device 900. The device 900 may load the program 930 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 922 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Fig.10 An example of a computer readable medium 1000 in the form of a CD or DVD is shown. The computer readable medium has a program 930 stored thereon.

[0190] In general, the 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 illustrated 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 hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0191] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above referenced Figures 2 to 8 Described method 700 or method 800.Usually, program modules include 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 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.

[0192] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes 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 function / operation specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be realized. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0193] 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 the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0194] Computer readable medium can be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. Computer readable medium can include but is not limited to electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A more specific example of a computer readable storage medium will 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 disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. As used herein, the term "non-transient" is a restriction on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, rather than a signal), rather than a restriction on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM and ROM).

[0195] 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 performing all of the operations shown, to obtain 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 rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, 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.

[0196] 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 or acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: determining validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; as well as Blind detection of the PDCCH is performed on a group of PDCCH candidates having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: A rule for determining the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates is received from a network device.

3. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: A first indication is received from the network device to enable or disable the rule.

4. A terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the terminal device is caused to determine the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates by at least one of the following: Determining that a physical resource block (PRB) or a resource element group (REG) or a control channel element (CCE) associated with a PDCCH candidate of the plurality of PDCCH candidates is invalid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is invalid; or The PDCCH candidate is determined to be valid based on determining that all PRBs or all REGs or all CCEs associated with the PDCCH candidate are valid.

5. The terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the terminal device is further configured to perform at least one of the following: Determining that the PRB is invalid based on determining that the PRB is not used for PDCCH transmission; or Based on determining that all the PRBs are used for PDCCH transmission, it is determined that all the PRBs are valid.

6. The terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the terminal device is further configured to perform at least one of the following: Determining that the REG is invalid based on determining that the PRB corresponding to the REG is not used for PDCCH transmission; or Based on determining that all PRBs corresponding to all the REGs are used for PDCCH transmission, it is determined that all REGs are valid.

7. The terminal device according to claim 4, wherein the terminal device is further configured to perform at least one of the following: Determining that the CCE is invalid based on determining that the PRB in the CCE is not used for PDCCH transmission; or Based on determining that all PRBs in all the CCEs are used for PDCCH transmission, it is determined that all CCEs are valid.

8. A terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the terminal device is caused to determine the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates by: receiving a second indication from a network device whether a CCE is to be monitored by the terminal device, the CCE comprising a PRB not used for PDCCH transmission; and The validity of the plurality of PDCCH candidates is determined based on the second indication.

9. The terminal device according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the PRB not used for PDCCH transmission is a PRB used for uplink transmission or a guard band.

10. A terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the terminal device is caused to determine the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates by one of the following: Determining that the CCE associated with a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the CCE is valid or the PDCCH candidate is valid; or Based on determining that the CCE associated with the PDCCH candidate includes a plurality of REGs on more than one downlink subband, it is determined that the CCE is invalid or the PDCCH candidate is invalid.

11. A terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the terminal device is caused to determine the validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates by one of the following: Determining that the PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple CCEs on more than one downlink subband; or Based on determining that the PDCCH candidate includes a plurality of CCEs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the PDCCH candidate is invalid.

12. A terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the terminal device is caused to determine the validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates by: Based on determining that a PDCCH candidate among the plurality of PDCCH candidates includes a plurality of CCEs in the same downlink subband or in consecutive downlink subbands, the PDCCH candidate is determined to be valid.

13. A network device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor cause the network device to at least: determining validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; as well as A PDCCH transmission is sent to the terminal device on at least one PDCCH candidate having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

14. The network device according to claim 13, wherein the network device is further caused to: Rules for determining the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates are sent to a terminal device.

15. The network device of claim 14, wherein the network device is further configured to: A first indication is sent to the terminal device to enable or disable the rule.

16. The network device according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the network device is caused to determine the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates by at least one of: Determining that a physical resource block (PRB) or a resource element group (REG) or a control channel element (CCE) associated with a PDCCH candidate of the plurality of PDCCH candidates is invalid based on determining that the PDCCH candidate is invalid; or The PDCCH candidate is determined to be valid based on determining that all PRBs or all REGs or all CCEs associated with the PDCCH candidate are valid.

17. The network device of claim 16, wherein the network device is further configured to perform at least one of the following: Determining that the PRB is invalid based on determining that the PRB is not used for PDCCH transmission; or Based on determining that all the PRBs are used for PDCCH transmission, it is determined that all the PRBs are valid.

18. The network device of claim 16, wherein the network device is further configured to perform at least one of the following: Determining that the REG is invalid based on determining that the PRB corresponding to the REG is not used for PDCCH transmission; or Based on determining that all PRBs corresponding to all the REGs are used for PDCCH transmission, it is determined that all REGs are valid.

19. The network device of claim 16, wherein the network device is further configured to perform at least one of the following: Determining that the CCE is invalid based on determining that the PRB in the CCE is not used for PDCCH transmission; or Based on determining that all PRBs in all the CCEs are used for PDCCH transmission, it is determined that all CCEs are valid.

20. The network device according to any one of claims 13 to 19, wherein the network device is further configured to: A second indication is sent to the terminal device as to whether a CCE is to be monitored by the terminal device, the CCE including a PRB not used for PDCCH transmission.

21. The network device according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein the PRB not used for PDCCH transmission is a PRB used for uplink transmission or a guard band.

22. The network device according to any one of claims 13 to 21, wherein the network device is caused to determine the validity of resources associated with the plurality of PDCCH candidates by one of the following: Determining that the CCE associated with a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple REGs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the CCE is valid or the PDCCH candidate is valid; or Based on determining that the CCE associated with the PDCCH candidate includes a plurality of REGs on more than one downlink subband, it is determined that the CCE is invalid or the PDCCH candidate is invalid.

23. The network device according to any one of claims 13 to 22, wherein the network device is caused to determine the validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates by one of the following: Determining that the PDCCH candidate is valid based on determining that a PDCCH candidate among the multiple PDCCH candidates includes multiple CCEs on more than one downlink subband; or Based on determining that the PDCCH candidate includes a plurality of CCEs on more than one downlink subband, determining that the PDCCH candidate is invalid.

24. The network device according to any one of claims 13 to 23, wherein the network device is caused to determine the validity of resources associated with a plurality of PDCCH candidates by: Based on determining that a PDCCH candidate among the plurality of PDCCH candidates includes a plurality of CCEs in the same downlink subband or in consecutive downlink subbands, the PDCCH candidate is determined to be valid.

25. A method comprising: At a terminal device, determining validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; as well as Blind detection of the PDCCH is performed on a group of PDCCH candidates having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

26. A method comprising: At a network device, determining validity of resources associated with a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates; as well as A PDCCH transmission is sent to the terminal device on at least one PDCCH candidate having valid resources among the plurality of PDCCH candidates.

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