Scheduling mechanism for multiple component carriers

Abstract

A mechanism for scheduling multiple component carriers in a wireless cellular access network is disclosed, the mechanism including using multiple component carriers (CCs) to schedule channels or signals on itself or on other CCs in order to provide a flexible mechanism for scheduling channels or signals across multiple CCs. The method may include configuring M CCs for a wireless terminal device, where M is an integer greater than 1.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This disclosure generally relates to resource scheduling in wireless cellular access networks, and more specifically, to a mechanism for scheduling multiple component carriers within a wireless cellular access network. [Background technology]

[0002] In cellular networks, radio communication resources for receiving or transmitting data or control information by wireless terminal devices can be scheduled by base stations, for example, using downlink control information (DCI). Currently, three different known scheduling mechanisms are commonly used: self-scheduling, cross-carrier scheduling, and SCell (Secondary Cell) scheduling. However, these known scheduling mechanisms limit scheduling flexibility. [Overview of the project] [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] This disclosure relates to resource scheduling / signaling in wireless cellular access networks, and more specifically, to mechanisms for scheduling multiple component carriers within a wireless cellular access network. Various exemplary embodiments particularly relate to using multiple component carriers (CCs) to schedule channels or signals on themselves or on other CCs, and to providing flexible mechanisms for scheduling channels or signals across multiple CCs.

[0004] In several exemplary implementations, methods are disclosed that are performed by a radio access node for scheduling for multiple component carriers (CCs). These methods may include configuring M CCs for a radio terminal device, where M is an integer greater than 1. Similarly, methods are disclosed that are performed by a radio terminal device for scheduling multiple CCs, which may include receiving a configuration of M CCs for the radio terminal device from a radio access node. In various examples, a first scheduling command transmitted on the i-th CC of the M CCs may be transmitted on the i-th CC or on N of the M CCs. i Scheduling at least one channel or signal from among the other CCs, N i i is an integer greater than 0 and less than M, i is an integer such that 1 ≤ i ≤ M, and the channel or signal on the i-th CC is on the i-th CC or on P of the M CCs. i Scheduled by a second scheduling command transmitted on at least one of the other CCs, P i n is an integer greater than 0 and less than M, and each scheduling command schedules a channel or signal on one or more CCs out of M. In some implementations, N i is equal to M-1, and / or P i This is equal to M-1. Each of the M CCs may contain at least one of either a downlink carrier or an uplink carrier.

[0005] In some exemplary implementations, which may be combined with any other exemplary implementations disclosed herein, the method also includes a radio access node indicating to a radio terminal device that scheduling is enabled for M CCs, and indicating the M CCs for which scheduling is enabled. In some implementations, the method may include the radio access node indicating M CC indices corresponding to the M CCs and corresponding scheduling CCs for the M CCs, and a scheduling command is transmitted on the CC itself or on the corresponding scheduling CC for the CC in order to schedule a channel or signal on each of the M CCs. Similarly, the method may include a radio terminal device receiving any of these instructions from the radio access node.

[0006] In some exemplary implementations, which may be combined with any other exemplary implementations disclosed herein, the method includes a radio access node configuring the k-th CC of M CCs as a scheduling CC for the (k+1)-th CC of M CCs, where k is an integer such that 1 ≤ k ≤ M-1, and also configuring the M-th CC of M CCs as a scheduling CC for the first CC of M CCs, wherein scheduling commands are transmitted on the CC itself or on the corresponding scheduling CC for each CC of M CCs to schedule a channel or signal on each CC of M CCs. Similarly, the method may include a radio terminal device receiving any of these configurations from the radio access node.

[0007] In some exemplary implementations that may be combined with any of the other exemplary implementations disclosed herein, the method involves a radio access node having the i-th CC and N among the M CCs. iIt also includes constructing the same search space index for the search space for other CCs, and the first scheduling command is carried in PDCCH candidates associated with the search space having the same search space index. In some implementations, the method may include the radio access node indicating to the wireless terminal device one or more search spaces for the i-th CC, each of the one or more search spaces being associated with one or more of the M CCs, and the first scheduling command carried in PDCCH candidates associated with the one or more search spaces schedules channels or signals on one or more CCs associated with the search space. In some implementations, the method may also include the radio access node indicating to the wireless terminal device a related control resource set used to configure a time / frequency control resource set for searching for downlink control information, the time position of one or more search spaces configured by periodicity and the start offset within the periodicity, or a search space configuration for one or more search spaces including at least one of the number of PDCCH candidates, and the wireless terminal device monitors PDCCH candidates on the i-th CC according to the search space configuration for the i-th CC. Similarly, the method may include the wireless terminal device receiving any of these configurations and / or instructions from the radio access node.

[0008] In some exemplary implementations that may be combined with any of the other exemplary implementations disclosed herein, the first scheduling command may be transmitted on the i-th CC of the M CCs having a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration u, and N i The maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for the operation regarding N u +1 CCs is defined as M u where M i is an integer greater than 0, and N i +1 CCs include the i-th CC of the M CCs and N

[0009] In some exemplary implementations that may be combined with any of the other exemplary implementations disclosed herein, the method also includes a wireless access node, P i P for splitting the monitored PDCCH candidate budget for the second scheduling command for +1 CC i individual parameters

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[0010] In some exemplary implementations that can be combined with any of the other exemplary implementations disclosed herein, the first scheduling command may be transmitted over an i-th CC having a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration u, N i The maximum number of monitored non-overlapping control channel element (CCE) candidates for a wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operation with respect to +1 CC is C u Defined as, Cu is an integer greater than 0, and N i +1 CC is the i-th CC and N among the M CCs. i Includes other CCs.

[0011] In some exemplary implementations that may be combined with any of the other exemplary implementations disclosed herein, the method includes a wireless access node, P i P for splitting the non-overlapping CCE budget for a second scheduling command for +1 CC i individual parameters

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[0012] In some exemplary implementations, which may be combined with any of the other exemplary implementations disclosed herein, the control channel element (CCE) index for a PDCCH candidate is determined based on a unified CC index, which is the smallest CC index among a set of CCs that can be scheduled by the PDCCH, which is the CC index of the CC carrying the PDCCH, the CC index configured by the radio resource configuration (RRC) signaling, or which is monitored in the scheduling CC. In some exemplary implementations, downlink control information (DCI) having the same DCI format carried by a first scheduling command on the i-th CC is padded with zeros or ones at the end of each DCI to match the DCI bit length corresponding to the largest DCI bit size of the DCI carried by the first scheduling command on the i-th CC.

[0013] In some exemplary implementations, which may be combined with any of the other exemplary implementations disclosed herein, a reference subcarrier interval (SCS) configuration u is defined according to one of the following: the reference SCS configuration u is configured by radio resource configuration (RRC) signaling; the smallest SCS configuration u among all M CCs is determined as the reference SCS configuration u; the largest SCS configuration u among all M CCs is determined as the reference SCS configuration u; among all M CCs configured, the SCS configuration of the CC in PCell is determined as the reference SCS configuration u; or, among all M CCs configured in the UE, the SCS configuration of the CC having the smallest CC index is determined as the reference SCS configuration u. In some exemplary implementations, within the duration of each slot of the reference SCS configuration u, at most one CC is configured as a PDCCH monitoring opportunity. In some exemplary implementations, the wireless terminal device is configured to monitor only PDCCHs on up to X CCs with smaller CC indices out of M CCs within the duration of each slot in the reference SCS configuration u, where X is an integer based on the capabilities of the wireless terminal device, and 1 ≤ X ≤ M.

[0014] In some exemplary implementations, which may be combined with any other exemplary implementations disclosed herein, the method also includes the radio access node indicating a periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern to a radio terminal device, the periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern indicating a CC which should monitor a PDCCH based on the periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern, the periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern being indicated by a bit sequence having X bits, where X is an integer greater than 1, and each of the periodic PDCCH monitoring patterns

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[0015] In several other implementations, devices for wireless communication, such as network devices, are disclosed. The network device main comprises one or more processors and one or more memories, the one or more processors configured to read computer code from one or more memories to implement one of the methods described above. The devices for wireless communication may be wireless access nodes or wireless terminal devices.

[0016] In several other implementations, a computer program product is disclosed. The computer program product may include a non-temporary computer-readable medium on which computer code is stored, and when executed by one or more processors, causes one or more processors to perform one of the methods described above.

[0017] The embodiments described above, as well as other aspects and alternative forms of their implementation, are described in more detail in the following drawings, description, and claims. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0018] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows a wireless access network with exemplary uplink, downlink, and control channel configurations.

[0019] [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows various example processing components of the wireless terminal device and wireless access network node shown in Figure 1.

[0020] [Figure 3] Figures 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate the exemplary operation of a known scheduling mechanism.

[0021] [Figure 4] Figures 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate exemplary scheduling configurations with novel scheduling mechanisms, as disclosed in various embodiments herein.

[0022] [Figure 5] Figure 5 illustrates the exemplary operation of the novel scheduling mechanism in various embodiments.

[0023] [Figure 6] Figure 6 illustrates additional exemplary operation of the new scheduling mechanism in various embodiments. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0024] The techniques and examples of the implementations and / or embodiments described herein can be used to facilitate wireless resource allocation, configuration, and signaling via wireless communication in wireless access networks. The term “exemplary” is used to mean “an example of” and does not mean an ideal or preferred example, implementation, or embodiment unless otherwise specified. Section headers are used in this disclosure to facilitate understanding of the disclosed implementations and are not intended to limit the techniques disclosed in a section to the corresponding section only. The disclosed implementations may be further embodied in a variety of different forms, and therefore the scope of the subject matter of this disclosure or claims is intended to be construed as not being limited to any of the embodiments described below. Various implementations may be embodied as methods, devices, components, systems, or non-temporary computer-readable media. Thus, embodiments of this disclosure may take the form of, for example, hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.

[0025] This disclosure pertains to resource scheduling / signaling in wireless cellular access, and more specifically, to mechanisms for scheduling multiple component carriers within a wireless cellular access network of user equipment (UE) by a wireless base station. Various exemplary embodiments provide configurations and signaling to enable component carriers (CCs) to schedule channels or signals on themselves or on other CCs, and to enable channels or signals to be scheduled on CCs by themselves or on different CCs. In this manner, some or all CCs can schedule channels or signals on some or all other CCs. Thus, flexibility is greatly improved, which can also result in reduced scheduling delays and improved resource utilization efficiency.

[0026] (Overview of wireless networks) A wireless communication network may include a wireless access network for providing network access to wireless terminal devices and a core network for routing data between access networks or between wireless networks and other types of data networks. In a wireless access network, wireless resources are provided for allocation and used to transmit data and control information. Figure 1 shows an exemplary wireless access network 100, which includes wireless access network nodes (WANNs) or wireless base stations 102 (hereinafter referred to as wireless base stations, base stations, wireless access nodes, wireless access network nodes, or WANNs) and wireless terminal devices or user equipment (UEs) 104 (hereinafter referred to as user equipment, UEs, terminal devices, or wireless terminal devices) that communicate with each other over-the-air (OTA) wireless communication resources 106. The wireless access network 100 may be implemented, for example, as a 2G, 3G, 4G / LTE, or 5G cellular wireless access network. Correspondingly, base station 102 may be implemented as a 2G base station, 3G node B, LTE eNB, or 5G New Radio (NR) gNB. User equipment 104 may be implemented as a mobile or fixed communication device with a mobile identification module installed for accessing base station 102. User equipment 104 may include, but is not limited to, mobile phones, laptop computers, tablets, personal digital assistants, wearable devices, distributed remote sensor devices, and desktop computers. Alternatively, the radio access network 100 may be implemented as other types of radio access networks such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, and WiMAX networks.

[0027] Figure 2 further illustrates exemplary processing components of WANN102 and UE104 in Figure 1. UE104 may include, for example, a transceiver circuit 206 coupled to one or more antennas 208 to enable wireless communication with WANN102 (or other UEs). The transceiver circuit 206 may also be coupled to a processor 210, which may also be coupled to a memory 212 or other storage device. The memory 212 may be temporary or non-temporary and may store computer instructions or code, which, when read and executed by the processor 210, cause the processor 210 to perform various functions, methods, and processes described herein. Similarly, WANN102 may include a transceiver circuit 214 coupled to one or more antennas 216, which may include various forms of antenna towers 218, to enable wireless communication with UE104. The transceiver circuit 214 may be coupled to one or more processors 220, which may further be coupled to a memory 222 or other storage device. Memory 222 may be temporary or non-temporary and may store instructions or code, which, when read and executed by one or more processors 220, cause one or more processors 220 to perform various functions, methods, and processes of the WANN102 described herein.

[0028] (Scheduling / signaling of wireless communication resources) Returning to Figure 1, the radio communication resources for interface 106 via radio communication may include combinations of frequency, time, and / or spatial communication resources organized into various resource units or elements in frequency, time, and / or space. The radio communication resources 106 in the frequency domain may include a portion of licensed radio frequency bands, a portion of unlicensed allocated frequency bands, or a portion of a mixture of both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency bands. The radio communication resources 106 available for carrying radio communication signals between base station 102 and user equipment 104 may be further divided into a physical downlink channel 110 for transmitting radio signals from base station 102 to user equipment 104 and a physical uplink channel 120 for transmitting radio signals from user equipment 104 to base station 102. The physical downlink channel 110 may further include a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) 112 and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) 114. Similarly, the physical uplink channel 120 may further include a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) 122 and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) 124. For simplicity, other types of downlink and uplink channels are not shown in Figure 1 but are within the scope of this disclosure. Control channels PDCCH 112 and PUCCH 122 may be used to carry control information in the form of control messages 116 and 126 (referred to herein as downlink control information (DCI) messages or uplink control information (UCI) messages). Shared channels (shared between data and control information) PDSCH 114 and PUSCH 124 may be allocated and used to communicate downlink data transmissions 118 and uplink data transmissions 128 between the base station 102 and user equipment 104.

[0029] The allocation and configuration of radio communication resources associated with data channels such as PDSCH and PUSCH may be provided by one or more resource scheduling DCIs carried within the PDCCH. The PDCCH may be shared by multiple UEs in the access network. In various approaches, a particular UE may be configured to perform a blind decoding procedure in a pre-configured UE-specific Search Space (USS) to discover and identify the payload of a resource scheduling DCI carried within a PDCCH specifically targeting that particular UE. Blind decoding may be performed within a pre-configured monitoring opportunity of the PDCCH associated with the USS. Such monitoring opportunities may be referred to as a set of PDCCH candidates. Each PDCCH candidate may be associated with a set of control channel elements (CCEs). The UE may specifically use its Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) to decode the PDCCH candidate. The RNTI may be used to demassage the CRC of the PDCCH candidate. If no CRC errors are detected, the UE determines that the PDCCH candidate is carrying its control information. The UE can then process the DCI to receive and / or transmit data and extract resource allocation information regarding the PDSCH and / or PUSCH.

[0030] (Public resource scheduling mechanism) In existing New Radio (NR) systems, three different scheduling mechanisms are currently known and in use. The first known scheduling mechanism is self-scheduling. Scheduling commands (e.g., DCI (Downlink Control Information) carried by PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel)) and scheduled channels / signals (e.g., PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), and CSI-RS (Channel Status Information-Reference Signal)) are transmitted on the same CC (Component Carrier).

[0031] A second known scheduling mechanism is cross-carrier scheduling. The scheduling command and the scheduled channel / signal are transmitted over different CCs. In this case, a CC can be either a scheduling CC or a scheduled CC, but not both. For example, if CC A is configured as a scheduling CC, then a PDCCH on CC A can schedule a scheduled channel / signal on itself or on another CC. A channel / signal on CC A can only be scheduled by itself because CC A is a scheduling CC, and therefore, a channel / signal on CC A cannot be scheduled by another CC. The CCs of a PCell (primary cell) in a Master Cell Group (MCG) and a PCell (also known as a Primary Secondary Cell (PSCell)) in a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) can only be configured as scheduling CCs, and cannot be configured as scheduled CCs.

[0032] A third known scheduling mechanism is SCell (secondary cell) scheduling PCell. This is an extension of cross-carrier scheduling. In this case, a scheduling command on the CC of an SCell can schedule channels / signals on itself or on the CC of a PCell. A scheduling command on the CC of a PCell can schedule channels / signals on itself (i.e., the PCell). In this case, a scheduling command on the CC of a PCell cannot schedule channels / signals on an SCell. In these examples, each cell includes one or more downlink carriers and / or one or more uplink carriers.

[0033] However, the three known scheduling mechanisms mentioned above limit scheduling flexibility.

[0034] For example, with respect to self-scheduling, a scheduling command on one CC can only be used to schedule channels / signals on the same CC. Referring to Figure 3A as an example, PDCCHs on CC#1 and CC#2 can only be used to schedule PDSCH / PUSCHs on CC#1 and CC#2, respectively. Even if there are several PDCCH resources on CC#2 (as shown in slots 4 and 5), they cannot be used to schedule channels / signals on CC#1.

[0035] Regarding cross-carrier scheduling, scheduling commands can only be configured on scheduling CCs. PDCCH resources cannot be configured on scheduled CCs. Referring to Figure 3B as an example, CC#1 is a scheduling CC, and CC#2 is a scheduled CC. Only PDCCH on CC#1 can be used to schedule PDSCH / PUSCH on CC#1 and CC#2. Even if downlink slots are available on CC#2 (e.g., slots 4 and 5), PDCCH resources cannot be configured in these slots.

[0036] Regarding SCell (secondary cell) scheduling and PCell (primary cell), the PDCCH on the SCell's CC allows scheduling of channels / signals on the CCs of both the SCell and PCell, while the PDCCH on the PCell's CC can only be used to schedule channels / signals on the PCell. Referring to Figure 3C as an example, CC#1 is on the SCell and CC#2 is on the PCell. The PDCCH on CC#1 can schedule PDSCH / PUSCH on both CC#1 and CC#2, but the PDCCH on CC#2 can only be used to schedule PDSCH / PUSCH on CC#2.

[0037] Note that in Figures 3A to 3C, the gap symbols between DL and UL slots are not shown. In various approaches, there may be several (e.g., two) gap symbols after the DL symbol and before the UL symbol for DL ​​and UL transitions. CCs can be classified into DL (downlink) carriers for DL ​​transmission and UL (uplink) carriers for UL transmission. In Figures 3A to 3C, each of CC#1 and CC#2 contains one DL carrier and one UL carrier. In other embodiments, one carrier may refer to only one DL carrier or only one UL carrier.

[0038] (Explanation of the new resource scheduling mechanism) As described above, this disclosure discloses a configuration that enables a CC to schedule channels or signals on itself or on another CC, and enables channels or signals to be scheduled on a CC by itself or on a different CC. In this way, some or all of the CCs can schedule channels or signals on some or all of the other CCs. This overcomes the limitations of the existing known mechanisms discussed above, improves flexibility, reduces scheduling delays, and improves resource utilization efficiency.

[0039] According to various embodiments, a method is disclosed for scheduling for multiple component carriers (CCs) performed by a radio access node 102 or UE 104. As part of this method, base station 102 configures M CCs for UE 104, where M is an integer greater than 1. The UE receives this configuration from base station 102. A scheduling command transmitted on the i-th CC of the M CCs can be used to schedule channels / signals on itself, and on the other N CCs of the M CCs. i It can be used to schedule channels / signals on a set of CCs, N i is an integer, and N i is greater than 0 and N i i is less than M, i is an integer, and 1 ≤ i ≤ M. In other words, all or some of the CCs in the group of M CCs for UE104 can be used to schedule channels or signals on themselves and on one or more other CCs in the group of M CCs.

[0040] Similarly, the channel / signal on the i-th CC is transmitted by scheduling commands transmitted on it, and by other P iScheduling can be performed by scheduling commands transmitted on a set of CCs, P i P is an integer. i is greater than 0 and P i is less than M. In other words, a channel or signal for some all of the CCs in a group of M CCs in UE104 can be scheduled by itself and by one or more other CCs in a group of M CCs.

[0041] In various embodiments, each scheduling command can be used to schedule channels / signals on one CC or multiple CCs. In some approaches, N i This can be equivalent to M-1, which means that each CC is allowed to schedule channels / signals on itself and on all other CCs in the group of M CCs of UE104. Similarly, in some approaches, P i This can be equal to M-1, which means that the channels / signals on each CC are made available to be scheduled by scheduling commands on themselves and on all other CCs in the group of M CCs of UE104. However, in other embodiments, N i and / or P i The value can be less than M-1, thereby allowing each CC to schedule channels / signals on itself and on fewer CCs than all the other CCs in a group of M CCs, thereby allowing each CC to be scheduled by scheduling commands on itself and on fewer CCs than all the other CCs in a group of M CCs.

[0042] In one example, base station 102 configures two CCs for UE 104. A scheduling command transmitted in each CC can be used to schedule channels / signals on itself and on the other CC. As shown in Figure 4A, arrows indicate the scheduling direction of scheduling commands. A scheduling command on CC#1 402 enables scheduling channels / signals on CC#1 402 (indicated as arrow 410) and CC#2 404 (indicated as arrow 406). A scheduling command on CC#2 404 enables scheduling channels / signals on CC#2 404 (indicated as arrow 412) and CC#1 402 (indicated as arrow 408). In this example, according to the variables discussed just above, M is equal to 2 and N i This is equal to 1 for both CC#1 402 and CC#2 404 (i.e., N1=1 and N2=1), P i This is equal to 1 for both CC#1 402 and CC#2 404 (i.e., P1=1 and P2=1).

[0043] In another example, base station 102 configures three CCs for UE 104. In a particular example, as shown in Figure 4B, a scheduling command transmitted in the first CC 402 can be used to schedule a channel / signal on itself and can be used to schedule a channel / signal on the second CC 404. A scheduling command transmitted in the second CC 404 can be used to schedule a channel / signal on itself and can be used to schedule a channel / signal on the third CC 414. A scheduling command transmitted in the third CC 414 can be used to schedule a channel / signal on itself and can be used to schedule a channel / signal on the first CC 402. As shown in the example in Figure 4B, a scheduling command on CC#1 402 is made possible to schedule a channel / signal on CC#1 402 (indicated as arrow 410) and CC#2 404 (indicated as arrow 406). A scheduling command on CC#2 404 enables scheduling channels / signals on CC#2 404 (indicated as arrow 412) and CC#3 414 (indicated as arrow 418). A scheduling command on CC#3 414 enables scheduling channels / signals on CC#3 414 (indicated as arrow 420) and CC#1 402 (indicated as arrow 416). In this example, according to the variables discussed above, M is equal to 3, and N i This is equal to 2 for CC#1 402, CC#2 404, and CC#3 414 (i.e., N1=2, N2=2, and N3=2), P i This is equal to 2 for CC#1 402, CC#2 404, and CC#3 414 (i.e., P1=2, P2=2, and P3=2).

[0044] In another example, base station 102 configures three CCs in different ways for UE 104, as shown in Figure 4C, such that a scheduling command transmitted in the first CC 402 can be used to schedule a channel / signal on itself, and can be used to schedule a channel / signal on the second CC 404 or the third CC 414. A scheduling command transmitted in the second CC 404 can be used to schedule a channel / signal on itself, and can be used to schedule a channel / signal on the third CC 414. A scheduling command transmitted in the third CC 414 can be used to schedule a channel / signal on itself, and can be used to schedule a channel / signal on the first CC 402 or the second CC 404. As shown in the example in Figure 4C, a scheduling command on CC#1 402 is made possible to schedule a channel / signal on CC#1 402 (indicated as arrow 410), CC#2 404 (indicated as arrow 406), and CC#3 414 (indicated as arrow 422). A scheduling command on CC#2 404 enables scheduling of channels / signals on CC#2 404 (indicated as arrow 412) and CC#3 414 (indicated as arrow 418) (note that in this illustrative example, scheduling of channels / signals on CC#1 402 is not enabled). A scheduling command on CC#3 414 enables scheduling of channels / signals on CC#1 402 (indicated as arrow 416), CC#2 404 (indicated as arrow 424), and CC#3 414 (indicated as arrow 420). In this example, according to the variables discussed above, M is equal to 3, and N i For CC#1 402, CC#2 404, and CC#3 420, these are equal to 3, 2, and 3 respectively (i.e., N1=3, N2=2, and N3=3), P iFor CC#1 402, CC#2 404, and CC#3 420, the values ​​are 2, 3, and 3, respectively (i.e., P1=2, P2=3, and P3=4). Three exemplary configurations are disclosed herein, but the disclosure is not limited thereto, and various substitutions or combinations of CC scheduling configurations are possible and considered herein.

[0045] In various embodiments disclosed herein, scheduling commands may refer to physical layer scheduling commands (e.g., DCI carried by PDCCH) and upper layer scheduling commands (e.g., MAC-CE) used to schedule channels / signals. Channels / signals refer to downlink channels / signals and uplink channels / signals such as PDSCH, CSI-RS, PUSCH, and SRS. In one approach, CC refers to the downlink carrier and / or uplink carrier. Scheduling commands may be transmitted from base station 102 to UE 104 over the downlink carrier. For example, referring to Figure 5, CC#1 includes one downlink carrier (D) and one uplink carrier (U). CC may also include only downlink carriers or only uplink carriers. For example, CC in an FDD (Frequency-Division Duplexing) band may include only one downlink carrier, and CC in a SUL (Supplementary Uplink) band may include only one downlink carrier. For example, referring to Figure 6, three CCs, namely CC#1, CC#2, and CC#3, are configured. CC#1 includes one downlink carrier (D), CC#2 includes one downlink carrier (D) and one uplink carrier (U), and CC#3 includes one uplink carrier (U). A PDCCH on CC#1 may be enabled to schedule a PDSCH on CC#1 and a PUSCH on CC#2 and CC#3, and a PDCCH on CC#2 may be enabled to schedule a PDSCH / PUSCH on CC#2 and a PUSCH on CC#3. In various embodiments, a single cell includes one or more CCs.

[0046] In various embodiments, if one CC contains only an uplink carrier, it can only be scheduled by other CCs, but cannot be scheduled by itself. Similarly, in various embodiments, if one CC contains only an uplink carrier, there are no scheduling commands transmitted on this CC.

[0047] In various embodiments, if a scheduling command on CC A can be used to schedule a channel or signal on CC B, then CC A is the scheduling CC for CC B, and CC B can be scheduled by CC A.

[0048] The scheduling mechanisms disclosed herein for multiple CCs can reduce scheduling delays and improve resource utilization efficiency. For example, referring to Figure 5, a PDCCH on CC#1 is enabled to schedule PDSCH / PUSCH on CC#1 and CC#2. A PDCCH on CC#2 is enabled to schedule PDSCH / PUSCH on CC#2 and CC#1. For example, compared to the scheduling mechanisms disclosed in Figures 3A-3C (showing known scheduling mechanisms), the scheduling delay for PUSCH in slot 5 on CC#1 is reduced in Figure 5. On the other hand, since the PDCCH resource on CC#2 can be used to schedule PDSCH / PUSCH on CC#2 and CC#1 (not just for CC#2 as shown in Figures 3A and 3C), the resource utilization efficiency on CC#2 is improved.

[0049] (CC configuration and instructions) According to various embodiments, a method is disclosed for enabling a new scheduling mechanism and indicating which CCs are included in the scheduling configuration. In various approaches, base station 102 indicates M CCs to UE 104 to enable this new scheduling command. UE 104 can receive these instructions from base station 102. The M CCs can be indicated by their corresponding CC indices. A scheduling command may indicate a CC indice, and the scheduled channel / signal is transmitted over the CC corresponding to the indicated CC indice. A scheduling command transmitted over each of the M CCs can schedule itself or a channel or signal over another CC. In other words, all M CCs are scheduling CCs for each of the M CCs.

[0050] For example, base station 102 may show the following Radio Resource Configuration (RRC) to the UE. The RRC parameter EnablingCollaborativeScheduling may be used to show UE 104 that this new scheduling mechanism is enabled. The RRC parameter CCIndex may be used to indicate the CC index. An example of this RRC parameter EnablingCollaborativeScheduling is shown below. EnablingCollaborative Scheduling { CCIndex 1 CCIndex 2 CCIndex 3 }

[0051] As an illustrative example, three CCs having CC indices 1, 2, and 3 are shown in UE104 for this new scheduling mechanism, and a scheduling command transmitted on CC having index 1 enables scheduling of channels / signals on CCs having indices 1, 2, and 3. A scheduling command transmitted on CC having index 2 enables scheduling of channels / signals on CCs having indices 1, 2, and 3. A scheduling command transmitted on CC 3 also enables scheduling of channels / signals on CCs having indices 1, 2, and 3. In certain embodiments, the DCI field in the scheduling DCI (e.g., Carrier Indication Field (CIF)) may be used to indicate the target CC index of the scheduled PDSCH / PUSCH. For example, if the CIF in a DCI transmitted on CC having index 2 is 1, the PDSCH or PUSCH scheduled by this DCI is transmitted on CC 1.

[0052] Alternatively, base station 102 may indicate to UE 104 a new scheduling mechanism, and may indicate to UE 104 M CC indices and corresponding scheduling CCs. UE 104 can receive these instructions from base station 102. In various examples, base station 102 may not need to configure a CC as its own scheduling CC. For example, by default, a CC can be used as its own scheduling CC. Each CC may consist of one or more scheduling CCs in addition to itself. In this case, to schedule a channel / signal on a single CC, the scheduling command can be transmitted either on the CC itself or on the corresponding scheduling CC for that CC. The scheduling command indicates a CC index, and the scheduled channel / signal is transmitted on the CC corresponding to the indicated CC index.

[0053] For example, in this approach, base station 102 may indicate the following RRC configuration to UE 104. In various examples, the RRC parameter EnablingCollaborativeScheduling may be used to indicate to UE 104 that this new scheduling mechanism is enabled. A scheduling CC may be indicated by the RRC parameter CarrierIndex. The scheduling CC for each CC may be configured by schedulingCarrierIndex. As an illustrative example, with respect to a CC with index 1 (CC#1), the scheduling CC is configured as CCs with indices 2 and 3 (i.e., CC#2 and CC#3). Thus, to schedule a channel / signal on CC#1, the scheduling command can be transmitted on itself (CC#1) and on CC#2 and CC#3. Continuing this illustrative example, with respect to CC#2, the scheduling CC may be configured as CC#1. Thus, to schedule a channel / signal on CC#2, the scheduling command can be transmitted on itself (CC#2) and on CC#1. Continuing with this illustrative example, with respect to CC#3, the scheduling CC is configured as CC#1 and CC#2. Therefore, in order to schedule channels / signals on CC#3, scheduling commands can be transmitted on itself (CC#3) and on CC#1 and CC#2. An example of this RRC parameter EnablingCollaborativeScheduling for each CC is shown below. Example RRC configuration for CC#1: EnablingCollaborative Scheduling { CarrierIndex 1, schedulingCarrierIndex {2,3} } Example RRC configuration for CC#2: EnablingCollaborative Scheduling { CarrierIndex 2, schedulingCarrierIndex {1} } An example RRC configuration for CC#3: EnablingCollaborative Scheduling { CarrierIndex 3, schedulingCarrierIndex {1,2} }

[0054] Alternatively, base station 102 may configure M CCs for UE 104. In a particular example, base station 102 may configure the first CC as a scheduling CC for the second CC, the second CC as a scheduling CC for the third CC, and so on, with the (M-1)th CC as a scheduling CC for the Mth CC, and the Mth CC as a scheduling CC for the first CC. In this example, to schedule a channel / signal on the first CC, scheduling commands can be transmitted on itself and on the Mth CC. To schedule a channel / signal on the second CC, scheduling commands can be transmitted on itself and on the first CC, and so on.

[0055] In other words, the method can be understood as the base station 102 configuring the kth CC out of M CCs as a scheduling CC for the (k+1)th CC out of M CCs (and the UE 104 receiving the configuration from the base station 102), where k is an integer, 1 ≤ k ≤ M-1, and configuring the Mth CC out of M CCs as a scheduling CC for the first CC out of M CCs. To schedule a channel or signal on each CC out of M CCs, a scheduling command is transmitted on the CC itself or on the corresponding scheduling CC for the CC.

[0056] In another specific example, if base station 102 configures two CCs for UE 104, the base station may configure the first CC as a scheduling CC for the second CC, and the second CC as a scheduling CC for the first CC. This configuration enables the UE to show this new scheduling mechanism. In this case, scheduling commands transmitted over the first CC and the second CC enable scheduling channels / signals on the first CC. Scheduling commands transmitted over the first CC and the second CC enable scheduling channels / signals on the second CC.

[0057] For example, base station 102 may present the following RRC configuration to UE 104 by configuring a CC having index 2 (CC#2) as a scheduling CC for a CC having index 1 (CC#1), and configuring CC#1 as a scheduling CC for CC#2. Thus, scheduling commands can be transmitted over CC#1 and CC#2 to schedule channels / signals on CC#1. Scheduling commands can be transmitted over CC#1 and CC#2 to schedule channels / signals on CC#2. In various embodiments, existing RRC configurations of CrossCarrierSchedulingConfig may be used, and examples are provided below for each of the CCs. Example RRC configuration for CC#1 CrossCarrierSchedulingConfig { CarrierIndex 1, schedulingCarrierIndex {2} } Exemplary RRC configuration for CC#2 CrossCarrierSchedulingConfig { CarrierIndex 2, schedulingCarrierIndex {1} }

[0058] (Exploration space set configuration) In one approach, the CCs may need to be composed of the same search space in order to take advantage of the newly disclosed scheduling mechanism. In other words, if there is a search space with the same index composed of two or more CCs, the PDCCHs carried in the PDCCH candidates associated with the search space on each of these CCs can be used to schedule channels / signals on any of these CCs. In yet another word, the method is such that base station 102 has the i-th CC and N of the M CCs. i This can be understood as configuring the same search space index for the search spaces of several other CCs (and UE104 receives the configuration from base station 102), and the first scheduling command is carried in the PDCCH candidate associated with the search space having the same search space index.

[0059] As an illustrative example, if CC#1 is configured as a scheduling CC for CC#2, and CC#2 is configured as a scheduling CC for CC#1, and a search space (SS) with index s(SS#s) is configured on CC#1, and another SS with index s(SS#s) is also configured on CC#2, then the PDCCH carried in the PDCCH candidate associated with the search space (SS#s) on CC#1 is used to schedule channels / signals on CC#1 and on CC#2. The PDCCH carried in the PDCCH candidate associated with the search space (SS#s) on CC#2 is also used to schedule channels / signals on CC#1 and on CC#2.

[0060] When a PDCCH is monitored in a PDCCH candidate associated with a search space on one CC, UE104 follows the search space configuration of this CC, regardless of whether the PDCCH is used to schedule channels / signals on this CC or another CC. The search space configuration includes at least the following: An associated set of control resources used to configure the time / frequency control resource set from which downlink control information should be searched; The time position in the search space, for example, the time position in the search space composed of periodicity and a start offset within the periodicity; or The number of PDCCH candidates.

[0061] In an illustrative example, CC#1 and CC#2 are configured as scheduling CCs for CC#2 and CC#1, respectively. Two search spaces with indices 1 and 2 (i.e., SS#1 and SS#2) are configured on CC#1. Two search spaces with indices 2 and 3 (i.e., SS#2 and SS#3) are configured on CC#2. Since SS#2 is configured on both CC#1 and CC#2, a PDCCH monitored on a PDCCH candidate associated with SS#2 on CC#1 can be used to schedule channels / signals on CC#1 and CC#2. Similarly, a PDCCH monitored on a PDCCH candidate associated with SS#2 on CC#2 can be used to schedule channels / signals on CC#1 and CC#2. However, since SS#1 and SS#3 are configured on CC#1 and CC#2, respectively, a PDCCH monitored on a PDCCH candidate associated with SS#1 and SS#3 can only be used to schedule channels / signals on CC#1 and CC#2, respectively. A PDCCH monitored on a candidate PDCCH associated with SS#1 cannot be used to schedule channels / signals on CC#2. Similarly, a PDCCH monitored on a candidate PDCCH associated with SS#3 cannot be used to schedule channels / signals on CC#1.

[0062] In another approach, the search space configured in each CC may be associated with one or more scheduled CCs. The PDCCH monitored in the PDCCH candidate associated with the search space can be used to schedule channels / signals to be transmitted on the one or more CCs associated with this search space. In yet another way, the method can be understood as base station 102 indicating one or more search spaces for the i-th CC (and UE 104 receiving instructions from base station 102), where each of the one or more search spaces is associated with one or more CCs out of M CCs. A first scheduling command carried in the PDCCH candidate associated with one or more search spaces schedules a channel or signal on the one or more CCs associated with the search space.

[0063] As another illustrative example, CC#1 and CC#2 are configured as scheduling CCs for CC#2 and CC#1, respectively. Two search spaces with indices 1 and 2 (i.e., SS#1 and SS#2) are configured on CC#1. If SS#1 is associated with CC#1 and SS#2 is associated with CC#1 and CC#2, then the PDCCH monitored on the PDCCH candidate associated with SS#1 can only be used to schedule channels / signals on CC#1. However, the PDCCH monitored on the PDCCH candidate associated with SS#2 can be used to schedule channels / signals on CC#1 and CC#2.

[0064] (Blind detection (BD) and control channel element (CCE) budget) To reduce the complexity of the UE implementation, for CC operation, a maximum number of PDCCH candidates to be monitored for the DL bandwidth portion (BWP) with a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration u for UE104 per slot or per span is defined. This is also known as the BD (blind detection) budget for the UE.

[0065] Similarly, the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs (control channel elements) in a DL BWP having an SCS configuration u, which is expected to monitor corresponding PDCCH candidates per slot or per span for CC operations, is defined and known as the CCE budget of the UE.

[0066] According to the embodiments disclosed above, the base station 102 can configure M CCs for the UE 104, where M is an integer greater than 1, and a scheduling command transmitted on one CC can be used to schedule a channel / signal on itself and on the other N CCs of the M CCs, where N is an integer greater than 0 and less than M. In other words, a scheduling command transmitted on one CC can be used to schedule a channel / signal on N+1 CCs of the M CCs. Each scheduling command can be used to schedule a channel / signal on one CC or on multiple CCs.

[0067] If a scheduling command is transmitted on the i-th CC among M CCs having an SCS configuration u, then N i The maximum number of PDCCH candidates to be monitored for UE104 per slot or per span for operations related to +1 CC is M u It can be defined as, N i +1 CC is the i-th CC and N among the M CCs. i Includes several other CCs. UE104 is one of these N i To schedule channels / signals on +1 CC, per slot or per span, M on this scheduling CC of UE104 u It is not expected that more than one PDCCH candidate will be monitored. u is an integer greater than 0 and can be defined according to the UE capability.

[0068] Similarly, when a scheduling command is transmitted on the i-th CC out of the M CCs having the SCS configuration u, UE104 is expected to monitor PDCCH candidates corresponding to each slot or span for operations regarding N i +1 CCs, and the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs is defined as C u which can be defined as. UE104 is not expected to monitor more than C i non-overlapping CCEs on this scheduling CC of UE104 for each slot or span to schedule channels / signals on these N u +1 CCs. C u is an integer greater than 0 and can also be defined according to UE capabilities.

[0069] In an alternative approach, the base station 102 may configure M CCs for UE104, where M is an integer and M is greater than 1. The channel / signal on the i-th CC can be scheduled by a scheduling command transmitted on itself and by scheduling commands transmitted on a set of other P i CCs, where P i is an integer, P i is greater than 0, and P i is less than M. In other words, the channel / signal on the i-th CC can be scheduled by P i +1 CCs including the i-th CC of the M CCs and other P i CCs.

[0070] Since the channel / signal on one CC can be scheduled by commands transmitted on P i +1 CCs including itself (e.g., the i-th CC of the M CCs) and other P i CCs, P i parameters (i.e., a1, a2, ···, a Pi ) are indicated to UE104 to divide the BD budget and the CCE budget, where 0 ≤ a k≤1, 0≤a1 + ··· + a k + ··· + a Pi ≤1, and k is an integer, provided that 1≤k≤P i is true.

[0071] Alternatively, the channel / signal on the CC can be scheduled by a command transmitted on P i + 1 CCs including itself and P i other CCs, so P i parameters (i.e., a1, a2, ···, a Pi ) are indicated to the UE to divide the BD budget and the CCE budget, 0≤a k ≤1, 0≤a1 + ··· + a k + ··· + a Pi ≤1, provided that 1≤k≤P i is true. <l

[0072] When the scheduled channel / signal is transmitted on the i-th CC having the SCS configuration u, the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates of the UE per slot or per span for the operation related to the k-th CC is M k = a k ·M u as defined, where 1≤k≤P. (P i + 1)-th CC, the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates of the UE per slot or per span for the operation related to the (P + 1)-th CC is M P+1 = M u - Σ i M i further defined as, where 1≤i≤P. M i = is also means that the PDCCH cannot be monitored on the i-th CC to schedule the channel / signal on the CC. M P+1 = 0 also means that the PDCCH cannot be monitored on the (P + 1)-th CC to schedule the channel / signal on the CC. M u is the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates for the UE per slot or per span for the operating CC having the SCS configuration u. ai ·M u If is not an integer, rounding up or rounding down will result in a i • To be performed for the purpose of, that is,

number

number

[0073] Furthermore, the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs per slot or per span for the operation concerning the k-th CC out of M CCs is C k =a k ·C u Defined as such, the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs for each slot or span for the operation concerning the (P+1)th CC out of M CCs is M P+1 =C u -Σ i C i Defined as, C u This is the non-overlapping CCE budget for the i-th CC.

[0074] (Position of PDCCH candidate) In various examples, the CCE index for one PDCCH candidate is based on the CC index of the scheduled CC. As stated above, according to the novel scheduling mechanism of the present disclosure, a scheduling command transmitted on one CC can be used to schedule a channel / signal on itself and can be used to schedule a channel / signal on the other N CCs out of M CCs, where N is an integer greater than 0 and less than M. In other words, a scheduling command transmitted on one CC can be used to schedule a channel / signal on N+1 CCs out of M CCs. However, if the CCE index for one PDCCH candidate of the scheduling CC is still based on the CC index of the scheduled CC, it increases the burden of PDCCH candidate detection for the UE104.

[0075] To alleviate this burden, in various embodiments, a unified CC index is used to determine the CCE index for PDCCH candidates. In various approaches, the unified CC index may be the CC index of the CC carrying the PDCCH, the CC index configured by radio resource configuration (RRC) signaling, or the smallest CC index among the CCs that can be scheduled by the monitored PDCCH in the scheduling CC.

[0076] For example, base station 102 configures M CCs for UE104. The CCE index for the PDCCH candidate that carries the PDCCH scheduling channel / signal on N+1 CCs is the same CC index n. ci It may be determined based on n ci In a certain approach, this is a CC index constructed by RRC signaling.

[0077] (Size of Downlink Control Information (DCI)) For certain applications, the DCIs carried by the PDCCH to schedule channels / signals on different CCs may have different DCI bit sizes. To avoid the monitoring burden on the UE side, the following is proposed:

[0078] For DCIs having the same DCI format carried by a PDCCH on a CC to schedule N+1 channels / signals on CCs, the maximum DCI bit size for these DCIs is X. Then, all DCIs having this DCI format carried by a PDCCH on a CC to schedule these N+1 channels / signals on CCs can be padded with zeros or ones at the end of each DCI to make their DCI bit size equal to X. Returning to Figure 5, as an example, if the DCI size of DCI format 0_1 ​​carried by a PDCCH on CC#1 to schedule a PUSCH on CC#1 is 80 bits, and the DCI size of DCI format 0_1 ​​carried by a PDCCH on CC#1 to schedule a PUSCH on CC#2 is 85 bits, then 5 bits of zeros or ones are padded at the end of DCI format 0_1 ​​for scheduling a PUSCH on CC#1 so that the DCI sizes of these two DCI formats 0_1 are equal.

[0079] In another example, DCIs with the same DCI format carried by a scheduling command on the i-th CC are padded with zeros or ones at the end of each DCI to match the DCI bit length corresponding to the largest DCI bit size of the DCI carried by the scheduling command on the i-th CC.

[0080] (PDCCH monitoring opportunity) Different UEs have different PDCCH monitoring capabilities for various applications. Therefore, a reference subcarrier interval (SCS) configuration is defined. The following methods can be used to determine the reference SCS configuration u.

[0081] In the first approach, the reference SCS configuration u is constructed by RRC signaling.

[0082] In the second approach, the smallest SCS configuration u among all M CCs configured in UE104 is determined as the reference SCS configuration u. In this case, the slot length of the reference SCS configuration is the longest among all M CCs.

[0083] In the third approach, the largest SCS configuration u among all M CCs configured in UE104 is determined as the reference SCS configuration. In this case, the slot length of the reference SCS configuration is the shortest among all M CCs.

[0084] In the fourth approach, among all M CCs configured in UE104, the SCS configuration u of the CC in PCell is determined as the reference SCS configuration.

[0085] In the fifth approach, among all M CCs that make up UE1012, the SCS configuration u of the CC with the smallest CC index is determined as the reference SCS configuration.

[0086] The five methods described above are feasible as long as base station 102 and UE 104 have the same understanding of the reference SCS configuration. To adapt to various UE capabilities, the following three alternatives are disclosed.

[0087] In the first alternative, a baseline SCS configuration is defined. Within the duration of each slot in the baseline SCS configuration, it is possible to have a maximum of one CC configured as a PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

[0088] Referring to the third approach discussed above as an example, if CC#1 is configured with a 15KHz (u=0) SCS and CC#2 is configured with a 30KHz (u=1) SCS, then the SCS configuration of CC#2 would be determined as the reference SCS configuration (i.e., a 30KHz (u=1) SCS). In this case, it is possible that at most one CC can be configured with a PDCCH monitoring opportunity in each slot corresponding to a 30KHz (i.e., 0.5ms) SCS. For example, the PDCCH monitoring opportunities on CC#1 and CC#2 may be configured with slots having odd and even indices, respectively.

[0089] In the second alternative, UE104 may only need to monitor PDCCHs on a maximum of X CCs within the duration of each slot in the reference SCS configuration, where X is an integer and 1 ≤ X ≤ M. X can be based on UE capabilities. To reduce the complexity of UE PDCCH monitoring, X can be set to 1 in various examples, meaning that UE104 is only required to monitor PDCCHs on a maximum of one CC within the duration of each slot in the reference SCS configuration.

[0090] If there are more than X CCs comprising PDCCH monitoring opportunities within the duration of one slot in the standard SCS configuration, the following two methods may be applied to determine how the PDCCH should be monitored.

[0091] In the first method, UE104 may only need to monitor PDCCH on up to X CCs that have smaller CC indices. For example, if three CCs are configured for UE104 (e.g., having CC indices CC#1, CC#2, and CC#3) and all three CCs are configured as PDCCH opportunities in one slot of the reference SCS configuration, then if X is 2, UE104 will only need to monitor PDCCH on CC#1 and CC#2, which are CCs with smaller CC indices.

[0092] In the second method, UE104 only needs to monitor PDCCH on up to Y CCs having smaller SCS configurations u, where,

number

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[0093] In the third alternative, base station 102 provides UE 104 with a periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern. Based on the periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern, UE 104 determines which CCs should monitor the PDCCH. The pattern may be represented by a bit sequence having X bits. Each of the patterns

number

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number

[0094] Referring to Figure 5 as an example, UE104 consists of two CCs (i.e., CC#1 and CC#2). UE104 receives instructions for the periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern "10001" from base station 102. Each (i.e.,

number

[0095] The above description and accompanying drawings provide specific exemplary embodiments and implementations. However, the described subject matter may be embodied in a variety of different forms, and it is intended that the subject matter covered or claimed is not limited to any exemplary embodiments described herein. A reasonably broad range of the claimed or covered subject matter is intended. In particular, for example, the subject matter may be embodied as a method, device, component, system, or non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing computer code. Accordingly, embodiments may take the form of, for example, hardware, software, firmware, storage medium, or any combination thereof. For example, an embodiment of the method described above may be implemented by a component, device, or system including memory and a processor by executing computer code stored in memory.

[0096] Throughout this specification and the claims, terms may have subtly different meanings implied or suggested in context beyond their expressly stated meanings. Similarly, the phrase “in one embodiment / implementation / example / approach” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the phrase “in another embodiment / implementation / example / approach” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. For example, the claimed subject matter is intended to encompass, in whole or in part, a combination of exemplary embodiments.

[0097] In general, technical terms can be understood, at least in part, from their usage in context. For example, terms such as “and,” “or,” or “and / or” as used herein may have various meanings, at least in part, depending on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, when “or” is used to relate a list such as A, B, or C, it is intended to mean A, B, and C in an inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C in an exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” as used herein may be used, at least in part, to describe any function, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense, or to describe a combination of functions, structures, or characteristics in a plural sense, depending at least in part, depending on the context. Similarly, terms such as “a,” “an,” or “the” may be understood, at least in part, to convey either a singular or plural usage, depending at least in part, depending on the context. Furthermore, the term "based on" can be understood not necessarily as intended to convey an exclusive set of factors, but rather, depending at least partially on the context, may allow for the presence of additional factors that are not necessarily explicitly described.

[0098] Throughout this specification, references to features, benefits, or similar terms do not imply that all features and benefits that may be realized by the Solution should or will be included in any single implementation thereof. Rather, terms referring to features and benefits should be understood to mean that certain features, benefits, or characteristics described in relation to the embodiments are included in at least one embodiment of the Solution. Accordingly, discussions of features and benefits, as well as similar terms, throughout this specification may, but not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

[0099] Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of this solution can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand, in light of the description herein, that this solution can be implemented without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other cases, additional features and advantages may be recognized in a particular embodiment, which may not be present in all embodiments of this solution.

Claims

1. A method performed by a radio access node for scheduling for multiple component carriers (CCs), wherein the method is: This involves configuring M CCs for a wireless terminal device, where M is an integer greater than 1. The first scheduling command transmitted on the i-th CC among the M CCs is transmitted on the i-th CC or on the N-th CC among the M CCs. ｉ Schedule a channel or signal above at least one of the other CCs, N ｉ i is an integer greater than 0 and less than M, i is an integer such that 1 ≤ i ≤ M, The channel or signal on the i-th CC is on the i-th CC or on P among the M CCs. ｉ Scheduled by a second scheduling command transmitted on at least one of the other CCs, P ｉ is an integer greater than 0 and less than M, A method for scheduling each scheduling command to schedule a channel or signal on one or more CCs among the M CCs.

2. N ｉ The method according to claim 1, wherein is equal to M-1.

3. P ｉ The method according to claim 1, wherein is equal to M-1.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the M CCs includes at least one of a downlink carrier or an uplink carrier.

5. To indicate to the wireless terminal device that scheduling is possible for the M CCs, To indicate the M CCs that enable scheduling and The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

6. To indicate to the wireless terminal device that scheduling is possible for the M CCs, To indicate M CC indices corresponding to the M CCs and corresponding scheduling CCs for the M CCs. It further includes, The method according to claim 1, wherein a scheduling command is transmitted on the CC itself or on a corresponding scheduling CC for the CC in order to schedule a channel or signal on each of the M CCs.

7. The k-th CC among the M CCs is configured as a scheduling CC for the (k+1)-th CC among the M CCs, where k is an integer and 1 ≤ k ≤ M-1. The Mth CC among the M CCs is configured as a scheduling CC for the first CC among the M CCs. It further includes, The method according to claim 1, wherein a scheduling command is transmitted on the CC itself or on a corresponding scheduling CC for the CC in order to schedule a channel or signal on each of the M CCs.

8. The i-th CC and N among the M CCs ｉ This further includes constructing the same search space index for the search space of other CCs, The method according to claim 1, wherein the first scheduling command is delivered in a PDCCH candidate associated with the search space having the same search space index.

9. The further includes showing one or more search spaces for the i-th CC to the wireless terminal device, Each of the one or more search spaces is associated with one or more of the M CCs, The method according to claim 1, wherein the first scheduling command delivered in the PDCCH candidate associated with the one or more search spaces schedules a channel or signal on the one or more CCs associated with the search space.

10. The wireless terminal device further includes providing a search space configuration for one or more search spaces, the search space configuration is Associated control resource sets used to configure the time / frequency control resource set for searching downlink control information, The time position of one or more search spaces, which are composed of periodicity and a start offset within the periodicity, or Number of PDCCH candidates The method according to claim 8 or 9, comprising at least one of the following.

11. The first scheduling command is transmitted on the i-th CC among the M CCs having a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration u. N ｉ The maximum number of monitored PDCCCH candidates for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for the operation related to N + 1 CCs is M ｕ is defined as, M ｕ is an integer greater than 0, The aforementioned N ｉ +1 CC is the i-th CC and the N among the M CCs. ｉ The method according to claim 1, comprising a number of other CCs.

12. P ｉ P for dividing the monitored PDCCH candidate budget for the second scheduling command for +1 CC ｉ Individual parameters (a １ , a ２ , ..., a Ｐｉ ) further includes indicating the wireless terminal device, where 0 ≤ a ｋ ≤ 1, 0 ≤ a １ +...+a ｋ +...+a Ｐｉ ≤ 1, k is an integer, and 1 ≤ k ≤ P ｉ And, The aforementioned P ｉ +1 CC is the i-th CC and P among the M CCs. ｉ Including other CCs, The maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operation relating to the kth CC among the M CCs is M ｋ = a ｋ ・M ｕ Defined as, The maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operation relating to the (P+1)th CC among the M CCs is M Ｐ＋１ = M ｕ -Σ ｉ M ｉ Defined as, M ｕ The method according to claim 1, wherein is the monitored PDCCH candidate budget for the i-th CC.

13. The first scheduling command is transmitted over the i-th CC having a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration u. N ｉ The maximum number of monitored non-overlapping control channel element (CCE) candidates for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operations relating to +1 CC is C ｕ Defined as, C ｕ is an integer greater than 0, The aforementioned N ｉ +1 CC is the i-th CC and the N among the M CCs. ｉ The method according to claim 1, comprising a number of other CCs.

14. P ｉ＋１ P for dividing the non-overlapping CCE budget for the second scheduling command for each CC ｉ Individual parameters (a １ , a ２ , ..., a Ｐｉ ) further includes indicating the wireless terminal device, where 0 ≤ a ｋ ≤ 1, 0 ≤ a １ +...+a ｋ +...+a Ｐｉ ≤ 1, k is an integer, and 1 ≤ k ≤ P ｉ And, The aforementioned P ｉ＋１ The CCs are the i-th CC and the P ｉ Including other CCs, The maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operations relating to the k-th CC among the M CCs is C ｋ = a ｋ ・C ｕ Defined as, The maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operation relating to the (P+1)th CC among the M CCs is M Ｐ＋１ = C ｕ -Σ ｋ C ｋ Defined as, C ｕ The method according to claim 1, wherein is the non-overlapping CCE budget for the i-th CC.

15. The control channel element (CCE) index for PDCCH candidates is determined based on a unified CC index, and the unified CC index is CC index of the CC that transports PDCCH, A CC index configured by radio resource configuration (RRC) signaling, or The smallest CC index among the set of CCs that can be scheduled by the PDCCH monitored in the scheduling CC. The method according to claim 1, which is one of the methods.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein downlink control information (DCI) having the same DCI format carried by the first scheduling command on the i-th CC is padded with zeros or ones at the end of each DCI so as to match the DCI bit length corresponding to the largest DCI bit size of the DCI carried by the first scheduling command on the i-th CC.

17. The reference subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration u is, The aforementioned reference SCS configuration u is configured by radio resource configuration (RRC) signaling. The smallest SCS configuration u among all M CCs is determined to be the reference SCS configuration u. The largest SCS configuration u among all M CCs is determined to be the reference SCS configuration u. Among all M CCs that are configured, the SCS configuration of the CC in PCell is determined as the reference SCS configuration u, or Among all M CCs configured in the UE, the SCS configuration of the CC having the smallest CC index is determined as the reference SCS configuration u. The method according to claim 1, as defined according to one of the following.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 and 17, wherein within the duration of each slot of the reference SCS configuration u, a maximum of one CC is configured as a PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 and 17, wherein the wireless terminal device is configured to monitor only PDCCH on up to X CCs having smaller CC indices among the M CCs within the duration of each slot of the reference SCS configuration u, where X is an integer based on the capabilities of the wireless terminal device, and 1 ≤ X ≤ M.

20. The wireless terminal device further includes displaying a periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the wireless terminal device indicates a CC that should monitor the PDCCH based on the periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern. The aforementioned periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern is represented by a bit sequence having X bits, where X is an integer greater than 1. Each of the aforementioned periodic PDCCH monitoring patterns [Number 20] The bits correspond to slots for the reference subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration. Each of the aforementioned periodic PDCCH monitoring patterns [Math 21] The method according to any one of claims 1 and 17, wherein the bit value indicates a target CC that the wireless terminal device needs to monitor the PDCCH.

21. A method performed by a wireless terminal device for scheduling for multiple component carriers (CCs), wherein the method is: This includes receiving the configuration of M CCs for the wireless terminal device from a wireless access node, where M is an integer greater than 1. The first scheduling command transmitted on the i-th CC among the M CCs is transmitted on the i-th CC or on the N-th CC among the M CCs. ｉ Schedule a channel or signal above at least one of the other CCs, N ｉ i is an integer greater than 0 and less than M, i is an integer such that 1 ≤ i ≤ M, The channel or signal on the i-th CC is on the i-th CC or on P among the M CCs. ｉ Scheduled by a second scheduling command transmitted on at least one of the other CCs, P ｉ is an integer greater than 0 and less than M, A method for scheduling each scheduling command to schedule a channel or signal on one or more CCs among the M CCs.

22. N ｉ The method according to claim 21, wherein is equal to M-1.

23. P ｉ The method according to claim 21, wherein is equal to M-1.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein each of the M CCs includes at least one of a downlink carrier or an uplink carrier.

25. Receiving instructions from the wireless access node to enable scheduling for the M CCs, Receiving instructions from the wireless access node indicating the M CCs that enable scheduling, The method according to claim 21, further comprising:

26. Receiving instructions from the wireless access node indicating that scheduling for the M CCs is possible, Receiving instructions from the wireless access node indicating M CC indices corresponding to the M CCs and corresponding scheduling CCs for the M CCs. It further includes, The method according to claim 21, wherein a scheduling command is transmitted on the CC itself or on a corresponding scheduling CC for the CC in order to schedule a channel or signal on each of the M CCs.

27. The configuration of the k-th CC among the M CCs is received as a scheduling CC for the (k+1)-th CC among the M CCs, where k is an integer and 1 ≤ k ≤ M-1. To receive the configuration of the Mth CC among the M CCs as a scheduling CC for the first CC among the M CCs. It further includes, The method according to claim 21, wherein a scheduling command is transmitted on the CC itself or on a corresponding scheduling CC for the CC in order to schedule a channel or signal on each of the M CCs.

28. The i-th CC and N among the M CCs ｉ This further includes receiving the construction of the same search space index for the search space for each other CC, The method according to claim 21, wherein the first scheduling command is delivered in a PDCCH candidate associated with the search space having the same search space index.

29. The further includes receiving instructions for one or more search spaces for the i-th CC from the wireless access node, Each of the one or more search spaces is associated with one or more of the M CCs, The method according to claim 21, wherein the first scheduling command delivered in the PDCCH candidate associated with the one or more search spaces schedules a channel or signal on the one or more CCs associated with the search space.

30. The process further includes receiving instructions for the search space configuration from the wireless access node, wherein the search space configuration is: Associated control resource sets used to configure the time / frequency control resource set for searching downlink control information, The time position of one or more search spaces, which are composed of periodicity and a start offset within the periodicity, or Number of PDCCH candidates Includes at least one of the following: The method according to any one of claim 28 or 29, wherein the wireless terminal device monitors the PDCCH candidate on the i-th CC according to the search space configuration for the i-th CC.

31. The first scheduling command is transmitted on the i-th CC among the M CCs having a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration u. N ｉ The maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operation relating to +1 CC is M ｕ Defined as, M ｕ is an integer greater than 0, The aforementioned N ｉ +1 CC is the i-th CC and the N among the M CCs. ｉ The method according to claim 21, comprising a number of other CCs.

32. P ｉ P for dividing the monitored PDCCH candidate budget for the second scheduling command for +1 CC ｉ Individual parameters (a １ , a ２ , ..., a Ｐ The further includes receiving instructions from the wireless access node, where 0 ≤ a １ +...+a ｋ +...+a Ｐｉ ≤ 1, k is an integer, and 1 ≤ k ≤ P ｉ And, The aforementioned P ｉ +1 CC is the i-th CC and P among the M CCs. ｉ Including other CCs, The maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operation relating to the kth CC among the M CCs is M ｋ = a ｋ ・M ｋ Defined as, The maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operation relating to the (P+1)th CC among the M CCs is M Ｐ＋１ = M ｕ -Σ ｉ M ｉ Defined as, M ｕ The method according to claim 21, wherein is the monitored PDCCH candidate budget for the i-th CC.

33. The first scheduling command is transmitted on the i-th CC having a subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration u, and N ｉ The maximum number of monitored non-duplicate control channel elements (CCEs) candidates for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operations related to N + 1 CCs is defined as C ｕ where C ｕ is an integer greater than 0, The aforementioned N ｉ +1 CC is the i-th CC and the N among the M CCs. ｉ The method according to claim 21, comprising a number of other CCs.

34. P ｉ P to the wireless terminal device for splitting the non-overlapping CCE budget for the second scheduling command for +1 CC ｉ receiving an indication of P １ parameters (a ２ , a Ｐｉ ),..., a ｋ ), where 0 ≤ a １ ≤ 1, 0 ≤ a ｋ +... + a Ｐｉ +... + a ｉ ≤ 1, k is an integer, 1 ≤ k ≤ P The aforementioned P ｉ +1 CC is the i-th CC and P among the M CCs. ｉ Including other CCs, The maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operations relating to the k-th CC among the M CCs is C ｋ = a ｋ ・C ｕ Defined as, The maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs for the wireless terminal device per slot or per span for operation relating to the (P+1)th CC among the M CCs is M Ｐ＋１ = C ｕ -Σ ｋ C ｋ Defined as, C ｕ The method according to claim 21, wherein is the non-overlapping CCE budget for the i-th CC.

35. The control channel element (CCE) index for PDCCH candidates is determined based on a unified CC index, and the unified CC index is CC index of the CC that transports PDCCH, A CC index configured by radio resource configuration (RRC) signaling, or The smallest CC index among the set of CCs that can be scheduled by the PDCCH monitored in the scheduling CC. The method according to claim 21, which is one of the methods.

36. The method according to claim 21, wherein downlink control information (DCI) having the same DCI format carried by the first scheduling command on the i-th CC is padded with zeros or ones at the end of each DCI so as to match the DCI bit length corresponding to the largest DCI bit size of the DCI carried by the first scheduling command on the i-th CC.

37. The reference subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration u is: The aforementioned reference SCS configuration u is configured by radio resource configuration (RRC) signaling. The smallest SCS configuration u among all M CCs is determined to be the reference SCS configuration u. The largest SCS configuration u among all M CCs is determined to be the reference SCS configuration u. Among all M CCs that are configured, the SCS configuration of the CC in PCell is determined as the reference SCS configuration u, or Among all M CCs configured in the UE, the SCS configuration of the CC having the smallest CC index is determined as the reference SCS configuration u. The method according to claim 21, as defined according to one of the following.

38. The method according to any one of claims 21 and 37, wherein within the duration of each slot of the reference SCS configuration u, a maximum of one CC is configured as a PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

39. The method according to any one of claims 21 and 37, further comprising monitoring only PDCCH on up to X CCs having smaller CC indices among the M CCs within the duration of each slot of the reference SCS configuration u, where X is an integer based on the capabilities of the wireless terminal device, and 1 ≤ X ≤ M.

40. The wireless terminal device further includes receiving instructions for a periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern from the wireless access node, and the wireless terminal device instructs the CCs to monitor the PDCCH based on the periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern. The aforementioned periodic PDCCH monitoring pattern is represented by a bit sequence having X bits, where X is an integer greater than 1. Each of the aforementioned periodic PDCCH monitoring patterns [Number 22] The bits correspond to slots for the reference subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration. Each of the aforementioned periodic PDCCH monitoring patterns [Number 23] The method according to any one of claims 21 and 37, wherein the bit value indicates a target CC that the wireless terminal device needs to monitor the PDCCH.

41. An apparatus for wireless communication comprising a processor configured to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 40.

42. A non-temporary computer-readable medium storing a code, wherein the code, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 40.

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