Network device, terminal device, and communication method

Abstract

To provide a communication method, a communication device and a computer storage medium for communication for improving reliability and robustness of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).SOLUTION: The method includes: transmitting (310), from a network device to a terminal device, a set of repetitions of Downlink Control Information, DCI, for scheduling a data transmission from the network device to the terminal device; performing (320) the data transmission from the network device to the terminal device based on the set of repetitions of the DCI; and receiving (330), from the terminal device, a single feedback signal for the data transmission.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to methods, apparatus, and computer storage media for communications. [Background technology]

[0002] The 3GPP® RAN#86 meeting discussed enhancements to support the deployment of multiple transmit / receive points (multiple TRPs). For example, it is proposed to use the Release 16 reliability characteristics as a baseline to identify and specify characteristics that improve reliability and robustness for channels other than the physical downlink shared channel (PDSH), such as the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), using multiple TRPs and / or multiple panels. It is also proposed to identify and specify features that enable inter-cell multi-TRP operation. It is also proposed to evaluate and specify enhancements for multi-panel reception and simultaneous multi-TRP transmission.

[0003] In the 3GPP RAN1#98-99 meeting, it has been proposed to support PDCCH repetition to improve the reliability and robustness of the PDCCH. That is, the reliability and robustness of the PDCCH can be improved by repeating the transmission of a PDCCH signal (e.g., downlink control information) from a network device to a terminal device one or more times. However, there has been no detailed discussion or standardization regarding PDCCH repetition. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Generally, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for communications. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including: transmitting a repetitive set of downlink control information (DCI) from the network device to a terminal device for scheduling data transmission from the network device to the terminal device, performing data transmission from the network device to the terminal device based on the repetitive set of DCI, receiving a positive response from the terminal device in response to at least one of the data transmissions being decoded by the terminal device, and receiving a negative response from the terminal device in response to none of the data transmissions being decoded by the terminal device.

[0006] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including receiving, at a terminal device, a set of repetitions of DCI from a network device for scheduling data transmissions from the network device to the terminal device, decoding data transmissions from the network device to the terminal device based on the set of repetitions of DCI, transmitting a positive response to the network device in response to at least one of the data transmissions being decoded, and transmitting a negative response to the network device in response to none of the data transmissions being decoded.

[0007] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including: transmitting a set of repetitions of DCI from the network device to a terminal device for scheduling a transmission from the terminal device to the network device, each repetition in the set of repetitions including the same transmit power control (TPC) command for power control of the transmission, and decoding a transmission from the terminal device, the power of the transmission being controlled based on the TPC command included in one of the set of repetitions.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including: receiving, at a terminal device, from the network device, a set of repetitions of a DCI for scheduling a transmission from the terminal device to a network device, each repetition in the set of repetitions including a same TPC command for power control of the transmission; extracting a TPC command from the repetition in response to receiving a repetition of the set of repetitions; and performing a transmission from the terminal device to the network device while controlling power of the transmission based on the extracted TPC command.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including, in response to determining that repetitions of a DCI are enabled for scheduling communication between a network device and a terminal device, incorporating information in each repetition in a set of repetitions of the DCI indicating that the repetitions of the DCI are enabled for scheduling communication, transmitting the set of repetitions of the DCI from the network device to the terminal device, and performing communication with the terminal device based on the set of repetitions of the DCI.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including: detecting, in a terminal device, a DCI from a network device for scheduling communication between the network device and a terminal device; determining whether the first DCI and the second DCI belong to a set of repetitions for a same physical control channel in response to detecting a first DCI and a second DCI from the network device; and performing communication with the network device based on at least one repetition of the set of repetitions in response to determining that the first DCI and the second DCI belong to a set of repetitions for the same physical control channel.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a network device, the network device including a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform a method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a terminal device, the terminal device including a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to perform a method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, there is provided a network device, the network device including a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform a method according to the third aspect of the present disclosure.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, there is provided a terminal device, the terminal device including a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to perform a method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a network device, the network device including a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform a method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a terminal device, the terminal device including a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to perform a method according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0017] In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0018] In a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0019] In a fifteenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to the third aspect of the present disclosure.

[0020] In a sixteenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to the fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0021] In a seventeenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to the fifth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0022] In an eighteenth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to the sixth aspect of the present disclosure.

[0023] It should be understood that this summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will be readily apparent from the following description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from a more detailed description of several embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communications network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0026] [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of PDCCH repetition in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0027] [Diagram 3] 1 is a flowchart of an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart of an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0029] [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of PDCCH repetition in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart of an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart of an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] [Figure 8] FIG. 2 illustrates an example process for communication according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart of an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] [Figure 10] 1 is a flowchart of an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0036] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only, to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from the methods described below.

[0038] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, 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 pertains.

[0039] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "said" include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "comprises" and variations thereof should be understood as open-ended terms meaning "including, but not limited to." The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on." The terms "some embodiments" and "embodiments" should be understood as "at least some embodiments." The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment." Terms such as "first," "second," and the like can refer to different or the same object. Other explicit and implicit definitions may be included below.

[0040] In some instances, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as "best," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. Such descriptions are intended to illustrate that selections can be made from among many functional alternatives used, and it should be understood that such selections are not necessarily better, smaller, higher, or otherwise more preferred than other selections.

[0041] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. Network 100 includes a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 that receives service from network device 110. Network 100 may provide one or more serving cells 102 to serve terminal device 120. It should be understood that the number of network devices, terminal devices, and / or serving cells in FIG. 1 is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any limitations on the present disclosure. Network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices, terminal devices, and / or serving cells suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0042] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to, user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktop computers, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, in-vehicle devices for V2X communication, etc., where the "X" in V2X represents a pedestrian, a vehicle, or infrastructure / network, or an image capture device such as a digital camera, a gaming device, a music storage and playback device, or an Internet appliance that allows wireless or wired Internet access and browsing, etc. For the purposes of discussion, some embodiments will be described below with reference to a UE as an example of a terminal device 120.

[0043] As used herein, the term "network equipment" or "base station" (BS) refers to equipment capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage within which terminal equipment can communicate. Examples of network equipment include, but are not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), a transmit / receive point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a femto node, a pico node, or other low power node.

[0044] In one embodiment, the terminal device 120 may be connected to a first network device and a second network device (not shown in FIG. 1). One of the first network device and the second network device may be in a master node and the other in a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs). In one embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device, and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device may be an eNB, and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information about the different RATs may be transmitted from at least one of the first network device and the second network device to the terminal device 120. In one embodiment, the first information may be transmitted from the first network device to the terminal device 120, and the second information may be transmitted from the second network device to the terminal device 120 directly or via the first network device. In one embodiment, information about the configuration of the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. The information regarding the reconfiguration of the terminal device set by the second network device can be sent from the second network device directly or via the first network device to the terminal device, and the information can be sent via any one of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) control element (CE), or DCI.

[0045] 1, the network device 110 can communicate data and control information to the terminal device 120, and the terminal device 120 can also communicate data and control information to the network device 110. The link from the network device 110 to the terminal device 120 is called a downlink (DL), and the link from the terminal device 120 to the network device 110 is called an uplink (UL).

[0046] In some embodiments, for downlink transmission, network device 110 may transmit control information to terminal device 120 via a PDCCH and / or transmit data to terminal device 120 via a PDSCH. In addition, network device 110 may transmit one or more reference signals (RS) to terminal device 120. An RS transmitted from network device 110 to terminal device 120 may also be referred to as a "DL RS." Examples of DL RS may include, but are not limited to, a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a sounding reference signal (SRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), a fractional time and frequency tracking reference signal (TRS), and the like.

[0047] In some embodiments, for uplink transmission, terminal device 120 may transmit control information to network device 110 via a PUCCH and / or transmit data to network device 110 via a PUSCH. Furthermore, terminal device 120 may transmit one or more RSs to network device 110. An RS transmitted from terminal device 120 to network device 110 may also be referred to as a "UL RS." Examples of UL RSs may include, but are not limited to, DMRS, CSI-RS, SRS, PTRS, fine-grained time and frequency TRS, etc.

[0048] Communications in network 100 may conform to any suitable standard, including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Machine Type Communications (MTC), and the like. Additionally, communications may be performed according to any currently known or future developed generation of communications protocols. Examples of communications protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, and fifth generation (5G) communications protocols.

[0049] As described above, in the 3GPP RAN1#98-99 meetings, it has been proposed to support PDCCH repetition in order to improve the reliability and robustness of the PDCCH. That is, the reliability and robustness of the PDCCH can be improved by repeating the transmission of a PDCCH signal (e.g., downlink control information) from a network device (e.g., network device 110) to a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) one or more times. However, there has been no detailed discussion or standardization regarding PDCCH repetition.

[0050] In some scenarios, multiple PDCCH repetitions may schedule multiple PDSCH transmissions from a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) to a network device (e.g., network device 110). Conventionally, the terminal device may decode each of the multiple PDSCH transmissions and feed back an acknowledgement (ACK) or a negative acknowledgement (NACK) for each of the multiple PDSCH transmissions to the network device. However, if the multiple PDSCH transmissions are associated with the same data or the same transport block (TB), an ACK / NACK feedback signal for each of the multiple PDSCH transmissions may not be necessary.

[0051] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for solving the above problem and / or one or more other potential problems. In this solution, when multiple PDCCH repetitions are enabled for scheduling one or more PDSCH transmissions associated with the same data or the same TB, if at least one of the one or more PDSCH transmissions is successfully decoded by the terminal device, the terminal device can only feed back one ACK to the network device. Only if none of the one or more PDSCH transmissions is successfully decoded by the terminal device, the terminal device can feed back a NACK to the network device.

[0052] An example of such an embodiment is shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 2, in response to PDCCH repetition being enabled, network device 110 may transmit to terminal device 120 a set of PDCCH repetitions (i.e., repeated DCI) 210 and 220 for scheduling data transmissions 230 and 240 from network device 110 to terminal device 120.

[0053] In some embodiments, prior to transmitting the set of PDCCH repetitions 210 and 220, network device 110 may transmit an indication to terminal device 120 that PDCCH repetitions are enabled for scheduling data transmissions 230 and 240. For example, the indication may be transmitted from network device 110 to terminal device 120 via any one of radio resource control (RRC) signaling, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and a DCI. Alternatively, in other embodiments, network device 110 may not transmit such an explicit indication to terminal device 120 in advance. Instead, network device 110 may implicitly indicate to terminal device 120 that PDCCH repetitions are enabled for scheduling data transmissions 230 and 240 via the set of PDCCH repetitions 210 and 220, as described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 8-11. That is, terminal device 120 may determine whether DCI 210 and DCI 220 are repetitive DCI in response to receiving DCI 210 and DCI 220 from network device 110. In response to determining by terminal device 120 that DCI 210 and DCI 220 are repetitive DCI, terminal device 120 may determine that PDCCH repetition is enabled for scheduling data transmissions 230 and 240.

[0054] Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the network device 110 may perform data transmissions 230 and 240 to the terminal device 120 based on the PDCCH repetitions 210 and 220. In some embodiments, the data transmissions 230 and 240 may be associated with the same data or the same TB. In this case, the terminal device 120 may decode the data transmissions 230, 240 from the network device 110 and transmit a single feedback signal to the network device 110 based on the decoding of the data transmissions 230, 240. In some embodiments, in response to at least one of the data transmissions 230 and 240 being successfully decoded by the terminal device 120, the terminal device 120 may transmit an ACK 250 to the network device. Otherwise, in response to none of the data transmissions 230 and 240 being decoded by the terminal device 120, the terminal device 120 may transmit a NACK 250 to the network device 110.

[0055] Alternatively, in other embodiments, data transmissions 230 and 240 may be associated with different data or different TBs, in which case terminal device 120 may decode data transmissions 230, 240 from network device 110 and provide separate ACK / NCK feedback signals to network device 110 for data transmissions 230 and 240.

[0056] Figure 3 is a flowchart of an example method 300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 300 may be performed in network device 110 shown in Figure 1. It should be understood that method 300 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some blocks that are shown, and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0057] In block 310, network device 110 transmits a set of DCI repetitions to terminal device 120 for scheduling data transmission from network device 110 to terminal device 120.

[0058] In block 320, the network device 110 performs data transmission to the terminal device 120 based on the set of DCI repetitions.

[0059] In some embodiments, network device 110 may perform the data transmission by transmitting multiple data repetitions or multiple TB repetitions to terminal device 120.

[0060] At block 330, the network device 110 receives from the terminal device 120 a single feedback signal regarding the data transmission.

[0061] In some embodiments, in response to at least one of the data transmissions being decoded by terminal device 120, network device 110 receives an ACK from terminal device 120.

[0062] In some embodiments, in response to none of the data transmissions being decoded by terminal device 120, network device 110 receives a NACK from terminal device 120.

[0063] In some embodiments, before transmitting the set of DCI repetitions, network device 110 may send an indication to terminal device 120 that DCI repetitions are enabled for scheduling data transmissions.

[0064] In some embodiments, the indication may be sent via any one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and DCI.

[0065] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit an indication via a repetition set that repetition of the DCI is enabled for scheduling data transmission.

[0066] 4 is a flowchart of an example method 400 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 400 may be performed in terminal device 120 shown in FIG 1. It should be understood that method 400 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks that are shown, and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0067] In block 410 , terminal device 120 receives a set of repetitions of DCI from network device 110 for scheduling data transmissions from network device 110 to terminal device 120 .

[0068] In block 420, terminal device 120 decodes the data transmission sent from network device 110 to terminal device 120 based on the set of repetitions of the DCI.

[0069] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 can decode multiple repetitions of data or multiple repetitions of a transport block transmitted from network device 110 to terminal device 120 .

[0070] At block 430, terminal device 120 transmits a single feedback signal to network device 110 based on the decoding of the data transmission.

[0071] In some embodiments, in response to at least one of the data transmissions being decoded, terminal device 120 transmits an ACK to network device 110.

[0072] In some embodiments, in response to none of the data transmissions being decoded, terminal device 120 transmits a NACK to network device 110.

[0073] In some embodiments, prior to receiving the set of repetitions of DCI, terminal device 120 may receive an indication from network device 110 that repetitions of DCI are enabled for scheduling data transmissions.

[0074] In some embodiments, the indication may be received via any one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and DCI.

[0075] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 may receive an indication via a repetition set that repetition of DCI is enabled for scheduling data transmission.

[0076] In some scenarios, in addition to PDSCH transmission, multiple PDCCH repetitions can also schedule PUSCH transmission, PUCCH transmission, SRS transmission, or channel state information (CSI) feedback from a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) to a network device (e.g., network device 110). Each PDCCH repetition can include a transmit power control (TPC) command for power control of PUSCH transmission, PUCCH transmission, SRS transmission, or CSI feedback. Conventionally, for power control of PUSCH transmission, PUCCH transmission, SRS transmission, or CSI feedback, TPC command values ​​included in PDCCH repetitions need to be accumulated by the terminal device within a certain time period. However, usually, some of the PDCCH repetitions transmitted from the network device may not be received by the terminal device due to poor channel quality. Therefore, the accumulation of TPC command values ​​included in PDCCH repetitions may not be suitable for power control for scheduled uplink transmissions.

[0077] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for solving the above problem and / or one or more other potential problems, in which when multiple PDCCH repetitions are enabled for scheduling a transmission from a terminal device to a network device, the TPC command included in each of the multiple PDCCH repetitions is the same. In response to a PDCCH repetition from the multiple PDCCH repetitions being received by the terminal device, the terminal device can extract a TPC command from the PDCCH repetition and perform a transmission to the network device by controlling a transmission power based on the extracted TPC command.

[0078] In some embodiments, TIFF2024097065000002.tif843 is the cardinality G(D i ) a set of TPC command values ​​D i where X is the sum of TPC command values ​​in x, y, y, and y, and X is the corresponding transmission scheduled or triggered by the PDCCH. For example, the corresponding transmission may be one of a PUSCH transmission, a PUCCH transmission, and an SRS transmission. The TPC command value may be received from a PDCCH signal for scheduling or triggering a different PUSCH, PUCCH, and / or SRS transmission. In some embodiments, in the active uplink bandwidth part b of carrier f of serving cell c for PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS power control adjustment state l, the duration is K X (i-i0)-1 symbols and K before PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS transmission occasion i X (i) symbols before PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS transmission occasion i-i0, X (i-i0) symbols before PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS transmission occasion i X(i) symbols earlier than the smallest integer. In some embodiments, there may be Q TPC command values ​​received from Q PDCCH signals, where Q is an integer and 1≦Q≦64, and the Q PDCCH signals may be used to schedule or trigger the same PUSCH transmission, the same PUCCH transmission, and / or the same SRS transmission. In this case, the above formula TIFF2024097065000003.tif843 Only one TPC command value applies to

[0079] In some embodiments, TIFF2024097065000004.tif844 is the cardinality G(D i ) a set of TPC command values ​​D i where X is the sum of TPC command values ​​in x, y, y, and y, and X is the corresponding transmission scheduled or triggered by the PDCCH. For example, the corresponding transmission may be one of a PUSCH transmission, a PUCCH transmission, and an SRS transmission. The TPC command value may be received from a PDCCH signal for scheduling or triggering a different PUSCH transmission, a PUCCH transmission, and / or an SRS transmission. In some embodiments, in the active uplink bandwidth part b of carrier f of serving cell c for a PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS power control adjustment state, the duration is K X (i-i0)-1 symbols and K before PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS transmission occasion i X (i) symbols before PUSCH, and / or PUCCH, and / or SRS transmission occasion i-i0, X (i-i0) symbols before PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS transmission occasion i X(i) symbols earlier than the smallest integer. In some embodiments, there may be Q TPC command values ​​received from Q PDCCH signals, where Q is an integer and 1≦Q≦64, and the Q PDCCH signals may be used to schedule or trigger the same PUSCH transmission, the same PUCCH transmission, and / or the same SRS transmission. In this case, the above formula TIFF2024097065000005.tif844 Only one TPC command value applies to

[0080] In some embodiments, the network device 110 can set the number of PDCCH repetitions to the terminal device 120. For example, the number may be L, where L is an integer and 1≦L≦64. For example, L may be at least one of {1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32, 64}. In some embodiments, there may be one TPC command value in each PDCCH repetition. For example, the TPC command value in each PDCCH repetition may be represented by δ, where δ may be any of {−3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3}. In some embodiments, the TPC command value in the L PDCCH repetitions may be the same. In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 can receive M PDCCH signals, where M is an integer and 1≦M≦L. In some embodiments, the power of the transmission scheduled by the PDCCH repetition may be adjusted by L*δ. In some embodiments, there may be K candidates for PDCCH repetitions in a duration, where K is an integer and 1≦K≦L. In some embodiments, the power of a transmission scheduled by a PDCCH repetition may be adjusted by K*δ.

[0081] An example of such an embodiment is shown in Figure 5. As shown in Figure 5, in response to PDCCH repetition being enabled, network device 110 may transmit a set of PDCCH repetitions (i.e., repeated DCI) 510 and 520 to terminal device 120 to schedule transmission 530 (e.g., PUSCH / PUCCH / SRS / CSI transmission) from terminal device 120 to network device 110. Each repetition in the set of PDCCH repetitions 510 and 520 may include the same TPC command for power control of transmission 530.

[0082] In some embodiments, prior to transmitting the set of PDCCH repetitions 510 and 520, the network device 110 may transmit an indication to the terminal device 120 that the PDCCH repetition is enabled for scheduling the data transmission 530. For example, the indication may be transmitted from the network device 110 to the terminal device 120 via any one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and DCI. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the network device 110 may not transmit such an explicit indication to the terminal device 120 in advance. Instead, the network device 110 may implicitly indicate to the terminal device 120 that the PDCCH repetition is enabled for scheduling the data transmission 530 via the set of PDCCH repetitions 510 and 520, as described in more detail below with reference to Figures 8-11. That is, the terminal device 120 may determine whether the DCI 510 and DCI 520 are repeating DCIs in response to receiving the DCI 510 and DCI 520 from the network device 110. In response to terminal device 120 determining that DCI 510 and DCI 520 are repetitive DCI, terminal device 120 may determine that PDCCH repetition is enabled for scheduling data transmission 530.

[0083] In some embodiments, in response to a PDCCH repetition among PDCCH repetitions 510 and 520 being received by terminal device 120, terminal device 120 can extract a TPC command from the PDCCH repetition. Terminal device 120 can then perform transmission 530 to network device 110 while controlling the power of transmission 530 based on the extracted TPC command. That is, there is no need to accumulate TPC command values, and only one TPC command value is used for power control of a scheduled uplink transmission.

[0084] Figure 6 is a flowchart of an example method 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 600 may be performed in network device 110 shown in Figure 1. It should be understood that method 600 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks that are shown, and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0085] In block 610, the network device 110 transmits a set of repetitions of DCI to the terminal device 120 to schedule transmissions from the terminal device 120 to the network device 110, with each repetition in the set of repetitions including the same TPC command for power control of the transmission.

[0086] In block 620, the network device 110 decodes the transmission from the terminal device 120, and the power of the transmission is controlled based on the TPC command included in one of the set of repetitions.

[0087] In some embodiments, network device 110 may decode the transmission by decoding at least one of the data, uplink control information, SRS, and CSI transmitted from terminal device 120.

[0088] In some embodiments, prior to transmitting a set of repetitions of DCI, network device 110 may transmit an indication to terminal device 120 that repetitions of DCI are enabled for scheduling transmissions.

[0089] In some embodiments, the indication may be sent via any one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and DCI.

[0090] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may transmit an indication that repetition of the DCI is enabled for scheduling a transmission via a repetition set.

[0091] 7 is a flowchart of an example method 700 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 700 may be performed in terminal device 120 shown in FIG. It should be understood that method 700 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks that are shown, and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0092] In block 710, the terminal device 120 receives a set of repetitions of DCI from the network device 110 for scheduling transmissions from the terminal device 120 to the network device 110, with each repetition in the set of repetitions including the same TPC command for power control of the transmission.

[0093] At block 720, terminal device 120 extracts a TPC command from the repetition in response to receiving the repetition in the set of repetitions.

[0094] At block 730, terminal device 120 performs transmission to network device 110 while controlling the power of the transmission based on the extracted TPC command.

[0095] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 may perform the transmission by transmitting at least one of data, uplink control information, SRS, and CSI to network device 110.

[0096] In some embodiments, prior to receiving the set of repetitions of the DCI, terminal device 120 may receive an indication from network device 110 that repetitions of the DCI are enabled for scheduling transmissions.

[0097] In some embodiments, the indication may be received via any one of RRC signaling, MAC CE, and DCI.

[0098] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 may receive an indication that repetition of DCI is enabled for scheduling transmissions via a repetition set.

[0099] In the current 3GPP standard, there is no detail on how a network device (e.g., network device 110) indicates to a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 120) whether PDCCH repetition is enabled for scheduling communication between the network device and the terminal device. If the network device can only send such an indication (i.e., whether PDCCH repetition is enabled) to the terminal device via higher layer signaling, it may lack flexibility.

[0100] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for solving the above problem and / or one or more other potential problems, in which an indication of whether PDCCH repetition is enabled may be implicitly configured in the terminal device via PDCCH repetition.

[0101] 8 illustrates an example communication process 800 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Process 800 may involve network device 110 and terminal device 120 as shown in FIG 1. It should be understood that process 800 may include additional operations not shown and / or may omit some operations that are shown, and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0102] As shown in FIG. 8, in response to determining that a PDCCH repetition is enabled for scheduling communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 120, the network device 110 may embed (810) in each repetition in the set of PDCCH repetitions information indicating that the PDCCH repetition is enabled for scheduling communication. In some embodiments, the embedded information may also indicate at least one of an index of the set of repetitions and time offset information for the communication. In some embodiments, the information may be embedded in at least one bit of each PDCCH repetition (i.e., some unused field in the DCI). Alternatively, the information may be indicated by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) mask applied to the CRC bits of each PDCCH repetition. The network device 110 may transmit (820) the set of PDCCH repetitions to the terminal device 120.

[0103] Terminal device 120 may detect DCI transmitted (820) from network device 110. In response to detecting the first DCI and the second DCI by terminal device 120, terminal device 120 may determine (830) whether the first DCI and the second DCI belong to the same PDCCH repetition set. In some embodiments, terminal device 120 may determine whether the first DCI and the second DCI are repetitive DCIs based on at least one bit of the first DCI and the at least one bit of the second DCI. In response to determining that the first DCI and the second DCI are repetitive DCIs, terminal device 120 may determine that the first DCI and the second DCI belong to the same PDCCH repetition set. Alternatively, or in addition, in some embodiments, terminal device 120 may determine whether the first DCI and the second DCI are repetitive DCIs based on a first CRC mask applied to the CRC bits of the first DCI and a second CRC mask applied to the CRC bits of the second DCI. In response to determining that the first DCI and the second DCI are repetitive DCIs, terminal device 120 may determine that the first DCI and the second DCI belong to the same PDCCH repetition set, and communication between network device 110 and terminal device 120 may be performed (840) based on at least one of the PDCCH repetition sets.

[0104] In some scenarios, poor channel quality may result in a scheduled transmission (e.g. PDSCH / PUSCH / PUCCH / SRS / CSI transmission) with PDCCH repetition enabled. In this case, it may also be necessary to require repetition of the scheduled transmission. For example, if PDCCH repetition is enabled for scheduling PDSCH repetition (i.e. PDSCH transmission associated to the same data or the same TB), the maximum number of transmission layers may be limited, for example, to 2. In this case, the parameter maxNrofCodeWordsScheduledByDCI may be set as 2 and the second set of fields of the transport block in the DCI (a 5-bit field indicating the modulation and coding scheme, a 1-bit field indicating the new data indicator, and a 2-bit field indicating the redundancy version) may be reused to indicate the above information.

[0105] In some embodiments, N bits in each PDCCH repetition (i.e., DCI) may be reused and / or N bits may be added to each PDCCH repetition to indicate one or more of whether a set of PDCCH repetitions is enabled, an index of the set of repetitions, and / or time offset information for communication scheduled by the PDCCH repetition. For example, N is an integer, 1≦N≦8. Specifically, only one bit in the N bits may be used to indicate whether a PDCCH repetition is enabled. For example, in some embodiments, if the bit is “0”, it may indicate that the PDCCH repetition is disabled, and if the bit is “1”, it may indicate that the PDCCH repetition is enabled. Alternatively, in other embodiments, if the bit is “1”, it may indicate that the PDCCH repetition is disabled, and if the bit is “0”, it may indicate that the PDCCH repetition is enabled.

[0106] In some embodiments, if the N bits in each PDCCH repetition (i.e., DCI) are used to dynamically indicate time offset information (e.g., slot / symbol offset) for a scheduled communication (e.g., PDSCH / SRS transmission), other offset indications related to the scheduled communication may be omitted. For example, when a PDCCH repetition is used to schedule a PDSCH transmission, the slot / symbol offset indicated by the time resource allocation for the PDSCH transmission may be omitted. For example, when a PDCCH repetition is used to schedule an SRS transmission, the slot offset indicated in the SRS request may be omitted. In some embodiments, the N bits in each PDCCH repetition may be a non-negative integer. For example, it may be any of {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8...64}. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the offset value indicated by the N bits in each PDCCH repetition may be an integer. For example, it may be any of {-8, -7, -6, -5, -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8...64}.

[0107] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the CRC bits of the DCI may be scrambled with a CRC mask. The CRC mask applied to the CRC bits of the DCI may be used to indicate whether PDCCH repetition is enabled. For example, in some embodiments, if terminal device 120 receives a first DCI and a second DCI and determines that their CRC bits are scrambled with the same CRC mask indicating that PDCCH repetition is enabled, terminal device 120 may determine that the first DCI and the second DCI belong to the same PDCCH repetition set. Terminal device 120 may then decode only one of the first DCI and the second DCI and apply only one set of decoded configurations (e.g., time / frequency resource allocation, TPC commands, etc.). Alternatively or additionally, in some embodiments, if terminal device 120 receives the first DCI and the second DCI and determines that their CRC bits are scrambled with the same CRC mask indicating that PDCCH repetition is enabled, terminal device 120 may determine that the first DCI and the second DCI belong to the same PDCCH repetition set. Terminal device 120 may then decode only one of the first DCI and the second DCI and extract the embedded information from the second set of fields (the 5-bit field indicating the modulation and coding scheme, the 1-bit field indicating the new data indicator, and the 2-bit field indicating the redundancy version) for transport block 2 in the decoded DCI. For example, terminal device 120 may determine at least one of the index of the repetition set and / or the time offset information for the communication scheduled by the PDCCH repetition based on the extracted information. In some embodiments, if terminal device 120 receives and / or successfully decodes a first DCI having CRC bits scrambled with a CRC mask, and terminal device 120 then receives a second DCI and detects that the CRC bits of the second DCI are scrambled with the same CRC mask, terminal device 120 can ignore the second DCI.

[0108] Alternatively, or in addition, in some embodiments, a particular Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) can be applied to the PDCCH repetitions. In some embodiments, if terminal device 120 receives and / or successfully decodes a first DCI scrambled with an RNTI value, and terminal device 120 then receives a second DCI and detects that the second DCI was scrambled with the same RNTI value, terminal device 120 can ignore the second DCI.

[0109] In some embodiments, the CRC attachment can be defined as follows: After attachment, the CRC parity bits are multiplied by the corresponding RNTI, x rnti,0 , x rnti,1 , …, x rnti,15 Scrambled with x rnti,0 corresponds to the MSB of RNTI, and bits c0, c1, c2, c3, …, c K-1 A sequence of c is formed. k and b k The relationship between k and A is, for k=0, 1, 2, …, A+7, c k =b k And for k=A+8, A+9, A+10, …, A+23, c k =(b k +x rnti,k-A-8 ) mod 2.

[0110] In some embodiments, the above definition regarding CRC attachment may be updated as follows: After attachment, the CRC parity bits are multiplied by the corresponding RNTI, x rnti,0 , x rnti,1 , …, x rnti,15 and PDCCH repetition mask x re,0 , x re,1 , …, x re,15 Scrambled with x rnti,0 corresponds to the MSB of RNTI, and bits c0, c1, c2, c3, …, c K-1 A sequence of c is formed. k and b k The relationship between k and A is, for k=0, 1, 2, …, A+7, c k =bk And for k=A+8, A+9, A+10, …, A+23, c k =(b k +x rnti,k-A-8 +x re,k-A-8 ) mod 2.

[0111] 9 is a flowchart of an example method 900 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 900 may be performed in network device 110 shown in FIG 1. It should be understood that method 900 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks that are shown, and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0112] In response to determining in block 910 that DCI repetition is enabled for scheduling communications between the network device 110 and the terminal device 120, the network device 110 incorporates information indicating that the DCI repetition is enabled for scheduling communications into each repetition in the set of DCI repetitions.

[0113] In some embodiments, the information may also indicate at least one of an index of the set of repetitions and time offset information for the communication.

[0114] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may embed information in at least one bit of each repetition in the set of repetitions.

[0115] In some embodiments, the network device 110 may indicate the information by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) mask applied to the CRC bits of each iteration in the set of iterations.

[0116] At block 920 , the network device 110 transmits the repetition set of DCI to the terminal device 120 .

[0117] At block 930, the network device 110 communicates with the terminal device 120 based on the set of repetitions of the DCI.

[0118] 10 is a flowchart of an example method 1000 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 1000 may be performed in terminal device 120 shown in FIG. It should be understood that method 1000 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks that are shown, and that the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0119] In block 1010 , the terminal device 120 detects DCI from the network device 110 to schedule communication between the network device 110 and the terminal device 120 .

[0120] In block 1020, in response to detecting the first DCI and the second DCI from the network device, the terminal device 120 determines whether the first DCI and the second DCI belong to a repetition set for the same physical control channel.

[0121] In some embodiments, determining whether the first DCI and the second DCI belong to a repetition set for the same physical control channel includes determining whether the first DCI and the second DCI are repetitive DCIs based on at least one bit of the first DCI and at least one bit of the second DCI, and determining that the first DCI and the second DCI belong to a repetition set for the same physical control channel in response to determining that the first DCI and the second DCI are repetitive DCIs.

[0122] In some embodiments, determining whether the first DCI and the second DCI belong to a repetition set for the same physical control channel includes determining whether the first DCI and the second DCI are repetition DCIs based on a first CRC mask applied to the CRC bits of the first DCI and a second CRC mask applied to the CRC bits of the second DCI, and determining that the first DCI and the second DCI belong to a repetition set for the same physical control channel in response to determining that the first DCI and the second DCI are repetition DCIs.

[0123] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 can further determine from the first DCI or the second DCI at least one of an index of the repetition set and time offset information for the communication.

[0124] In block 1030, in response to determining that the first DCI and the second DCI belong to a repetition set for the same physical control channel, the terminal device 120 communicates with the network device 110 based on at least one repetition of the repetition set.

[0125] Fig. 11 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1100 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 1100 may be considered as another exemplary implementation of the network apparatus 110 or the terminal apparatus 120 shown in Fig. 1. Thus, the apparatus 1100 may be implemented in the network apparatus 110 or the terminal apparatus 120, or as at least a part thereof.

[0126] As shown, the apparatus 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120 coupled to the processor 1110, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1140 coupled to the processor 1110, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1140. The memory 1110 stores at least a portion of a program 1130. The TX / RX 1140 is for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 1140 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although the access nodes referred to herein may actually have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between eNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a mobility management entity (MME) / serving gateway (S-GW) and an eNB, an Un interface for communication between an eNB and a relay node (RN), or an Uu interface for communication between an eNB and a terminal device.

[0127] It is assumed that the program 1130 includes program instructions that, when executed by an associated processor 1110, enable the device 1100 to operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure, as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 10. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized by computer software executable by the processor 1110 of the device 1100, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1110 may be configured to perform various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the combination of the processor 1110 and the memory 1120 may form a processing means 1150 suitable for performing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0128] The memory 1120 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as, by way of non-limiting example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. Although only one memory 1120 is shown in the device 1100, there may be several physically different memory modules in the device 1100. The processor 1110 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of 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. The device 1100 may have multiple processors, for example application specific integrated circuit chips time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0129] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure can be realized in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be realized in hardware, while other aspects may be realized in firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described using block diagrams, flow charts, or some other pictorial representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented, by way of non-limiting examples, in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or any combination thereof.

[0130] 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, that execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform a process or method as described above with reference to any one of Figures 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and / or 10. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as appropriate. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0131] Program codes for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes are provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, and when executed by the processor or controller, cause the program code to implement the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams. The program code can run entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a separate software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0132] The above-mentioned program code may be implemented on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program used by or associated with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the above. More specific examples of the machine-readable storage medium may include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable optical disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0133] Also, although operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring the operations to be performed in the particular order or sequential order shown, or to perform all of the operations shown, to achieve desired results. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although some specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to certain embodiments. Some features described in the context of individual embodiments may be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may be implemented separately in multiple embodiments or in any suitable subcombination.

[0134] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A PDCCH transmission including a plurality of Physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates corresponding to downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling a transmission from a terminal device to a network device, each PDCCH candidate in the plurality of PDCCH candidates including a same transmit power control (TPC) command for power control of the transmission; decoding a transmission from the terminal device, the power of the transmission being controlled based on a TPC command included in one PDCCH candidate among the plurality of PDCCH candidates; Before transmitting the plurality of PDCCH candidates, the terminal device transmits a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information on PDCCH repetition; A communication method comprising:

2. A method for scheduling transmissions from a terminal device to a network device, comprising receiving a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates corresponding to downlink control information (DCI), each PDCCH candidate in the plurality of PDCCH candidates including the same transmit power control (TPC) command for power control of the transmissions; extracting the DCI including the same TPC command; controlling power of the transmission from the terminal device to the network device based on the TPC command; Before receiving the plurality of PDCCH candidates, the terminal device receives a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information on PDCCH repetition; A communication method comprising:

3. A means for performing PDCCH transmission including a plurality of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates corresponding to downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling transmission from a terminal device to a network device, wherein each PDCCH candidate in the plurality of PDCCH candidates includes the same transmit power control (TPC) command for power control of transmission; A means for decoding a transmission from the terminal device, the power of the transmission being controlled based on a TPC command included in one PDCCH candidate among the plurality of PDCCH candidates; A means for transmitting a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information on PDCCH repetition by the terminal device before transmitting the plurality of PDCCH candidates; A network device having the above configuration.

4. and means for receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) corresponding to a plurality of downlink control information (DCI) candidates for scheduling transmission from a terminal device to a network device, each PDCCH candidate in the plurality of PDCCH candidates including a same transmit power control (TPC) command for power control of the transmission; means for extracting the DCI including the same TPC command; means for controlling the power of the transmission from the terminal device to the network device based on the TPC command; A means for receiving a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message including information on PDCCH repetition by the terminal device before receiving the plurality of PDCCH candidates; A terminal device having the above configuration.

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