UE Operation with Reduced Power Consumption

Abstract

To provide communication techniques and systems for converging 5G communication systems with IoT technologies to support higher data transmission rates after 4G systems.SOLUTION: The present disclosure can be applied to intelligent services (for example, smart home, smart building, smart city, smart or connected car, healthcare, digital education, retail industry, and security and safety related services) based on 5G communication and IoT related technologies. Methods, user equipment (UE), and base stations for reception or transmission of physical downlink control channels (PDCCH) associated with a master node (MN) or with a secondary node (SN) are provided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to reduced power consumption operation for user equipment (UE) and transmission and reception of physical downlink control channels (PDCCHs) for dual connectivity operation. [Background technology]

[0002] Efforts are underway to develop improved 5G or pre-5G communication systems to meet the increasing demand for wireless data traffic since the commercialization of 4G communication systems. For this reason, 5G or pre-5G communication systems are referred to as beyond-4G network (Beyond 4G Network) or post-LTE (Post-LTE) systems. To achieve high data transmission rates, 5G communication systems are being considered for implementation in ultra-high frequency (mmWave) bands (e.g., the 60 GHz band). To mitigate radio wave path loss and increase radio wave transmission distance in ultra-high frequency bands, technologies such as beamforming, massive MIMO, full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, analog beamforming, and large-scale antennas are being discussed for 5G communication systems. Furthermore, to improve the system's network, technologies such as advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (cloud RAN), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device communication (D2D), wireless backhaul, moving networks, cooperative communication, CoMP (Coordinated Multi-Points), and interference cancellation are being developed for 5G communication systems.In addition, advanced coding modulation (ACM) methods such as FQAM (Hybrid FSK and QAM Modulation) and SWSC (Sliding Window Superposition Coding) and advanced connection technologies such as FBMC (Filter Bank Multi Carrier), NOMA (non-orthogonal multiple access), and SCMA (sparse code multiple access) are being developed for 5G systems.

[0003] Meanwhile, the Internet is evolving from a human-centered network where humans generate and consume information to an IoT (Internet of Things) network where information is exchanged and processed among distributed components such as objects. IoE (Internet of Everything) technology, which combines IoT technology with big data processing technology through connections to cloud servers, is also emerging. To realize IoT, technological elements such as sensing technology, wired and wireless communication and network infrastructure, service interface technology, and security technology are required. Recently, research has focused on sensor networks for connecting objects, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, and machine-type communication (MTC). In an IoT environment, intelligent IT (Internet Technology) services can be provided that create new value in human life by collecting and analyzing data generated by connected objects. Through the convergence and integration of existing IT (information technology) technologies and various industries, IoT can be applied to areas such as smart homes, smart buildings, smart cities, smart cars or connected cars, smart grids, healthcare, smart home appliances, and advanced medical services.

[0004] As a result, various attempts are being made to apply 5G communication systems to IoT networks. For example, technologies such as sensor networks, machine-to-machine (M2M), and machine-type communication (MTC) are being implemented using 5G communication techniques such as beamforming, MIMO, and array antennas. The application of cloud radio access networks (cloud RAN) as a big data processing technology is another example of the convergence of 5G and IoT technologies. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present disclosure relates to a pre-5G or 5G communication system that is provided to support higher data transmission rates beyond 4th generation (4G) communication systems such as LTE (long-term evolution). The present disclosure relates to indicating to a UE whether to monitor PDCCH candidates during multiple C-DRX periods or during multiple PDCCH monitoring occasions within a C-DRX period. The present disclosure further relates to providing a UE with means for indicating a serving gNB preference configuration for transmission and reception. The present disclosure further relates to enabling a UE to quickly activate and deactivate multiple secondary cells (SCells). The present disclosure further relates to designing a new operation mode for communication between a UE and a serving gNB that enables UE power saving without adversely affecting network operation. The present disclosure further relates to adapting a slot timing value set K1 for HARQ-ACK codebook determination to the number of active SCells and the corresponding subcarrier spacing (SCS) configuration. The present disclosure further relates to setting a processing time for scheduling PDSCH / PUSCH and combining SCell activation / deactivation with dynamic adaptation to the processing time for scheduling. The present disclosure further relates to establishing that the MN (master node), SN (secondary node), and UE have the same understanding of the number of PDCCH candidates that the UE is expected to monitor per slot and the number of non-overlapping CEs for which the UE is expected to be able to perform channel estimation per slot. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one embodiment, a method for a UE to receive a PDCCH from a provided MN or SN is provided, the method comprising:

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[0007] In another embodiment, a base station is provided, the base station including a transmitter and a processor operatively connected to the transmitter. The transmitter is configured to receive a first number of cells.

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[0008] In yet another embodiment, a UE is provided, the UE including a receiver and a processor operatively connected to the receiver, the receiver configured to receive a first number of cells.

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[0009] Other technical features may be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following drawings, descriptions and claims.

[0010] Before proceeding in detail below, it may be helpful to define certain words and phrases used throughout this patent specification. The term "couple" and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether or not those elements are in physical contact with one another. The terms "transmit," "receive," and "communicate," and their derivatives, include both direct and indirect communication. The terms "include" and "comprise," and their derivatives, mean including without limitation. The term "or" is inclusive, meaning 'and / or'. The phrase "associated with" and its derivatives means include, included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave with, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, and the like. The term "controller" means any device, system, or portion thereof that controls at least one operation. Such a controller may be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and / or firmware. The functionality associated with a particular controller may be centralized or distributed, either locally or remotely. The phrase "at least one," when used in conjunction with a list of items, means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used.For example, "at least one of A, B, and C" includes any one of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A, B, and C.

[0011] Additionally, the various functions described below may be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs formed as computer-readable program code and embodied in computer-readable media. The terms "application" and "program" refer to one or more computer programs, software components, instruction sets, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, associated data, or portions thereof embodied in suitable computer-readable program code. The term "computer-readable program code" includes types of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The term "computer-readable medium" includes any type of medium that can be accessed by a computer, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), hard disk drive, compact disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), or any other type of memory. "Non-transitory" computer-readable medium excludes communications links that transmit wired, wireless, optical, transient, electrical, or other signals. Non-transitory computer readable media includes media on which data is permanently stored and media on which data is stored and later overwritten, such as rewritable optical disks or erasable memory devices.

[0012] Definitions for other specific words and phrases are provided throughout this patent specification. Those skilled in the art should understand that in many, if not most, cases, such definitions may apply to both prior and future uses of such defined words and phrases. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] The present disclosure relates to a pre-5G or 5G communication system that provides for reducing power consumption and supporting operation of a UE in dual connectivity beyond a 4G communication system such as LTE. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a transmission structure and format in the advanced communication system.

[0014] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate like parts and in which: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example wireless network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary gNB according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example transmitter structure using OFDM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example receiver structure using OFDM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary encoding process for a DCI format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 10 is a diagram illustrating an example decoding process for a DCI format for use with a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 1 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method for a UE to adjust parameters during a C-DRX period according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for a UE to adjust a CCE aggregation level and the number of PDCCH candidates per search space set according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10]10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for UE determination of the number of PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level and per search space set according to a corresponding DL BWP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method in which a UE measures and reports CSI for a cell set according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] 1 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method for UE reporting to determine a configuration for multiple UE receiver antennas according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] 1 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method for UE determination for multiple UE receiver antennas depending on corresponding DL BWP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] 10 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method for adapting a processing time for scheduling PDSCH / PUSCH reception / transmission on an SCell in conjunction with activation or deactivation of the SCell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] 10 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method for adapting a slot timing value K1 along with BWP transition and SCell activation / deactivation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] 1 is a diagram illustrating a call flow for an MCG and an SCG exchanging information to determine their respective configurations for communicating with a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] 1 through 16 described below, and the various embodiments used to explain the principles of the present disclosure in this patent specification, are for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure can be embodied in any suitably configured system or device.

[0017] The following documents are incorporated by reference into this disclosure as if fully set forth herein: 3GPP® TS 38.211 v15.3.0, "NR; Physical channels and modulation;" 3GPP® TS 38.212 v15.3.0, "NR; Multiplexing and Channel coding;" 3GPP® TS 38.213 v15.3.0, "NR; Physical Layer Procedures for Control;" 3GPP® TS 38.214 v15.3.0, "NR; Physical Layer Procedures for Data;" 3GPP® TS 38.321 v15.3.0, "NR; Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification;" and 3GPP® TS 38.331 v15.3.0, "NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol Specification."

[0018] 1 to 3, various embodiments implemented in a wireless communication system using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication technology are described. The descriptions in FIGS. 1 to 3 do not imply physical or architectural limitations on how different embodiments may be implemented. Other embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any appropriately configured communication system.

[0019] 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary wireless network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the wireless network illustrated in FIG. 1 is for illustrative purposes only. Other embodiments for the wireless network 100 may be used within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0020] 1, the wireless network includes gNB101, gNB102, and gNB103. gNB101 communicates with gNB102 and gNB103. gNB101 also communicates with at least one network 130, such as the Internet, a dedicated Internet Protocol (IP) network, or other data network.

[0021] gNB 102 provides wireless broadband access to network 130 to a first plurality of user equipment (UE) within gNB 102's coverage area 120. The first plurality of UEs includes UE 111, which may be located at a small or medium-sized business (SB); UE 112, which may be located at a large enterprise (E); UE 113, which may be located at a Wi-Fi hotspot (HS); UE 114, which may be located at a first residential area (R); UE 115, which may be located at a second residential area (R); and UE 116, which may be a mobile device (M) such as a mobile phone, wireless laptop, wireless PDA, etc. gNB 103 provides wireless broadband access to network 130 to a second plurality of UEs within gNB 103's coverage area 125. The second plurality of UEs includes UE 115 and UE 116. In some embodiments, one or more of gNBs 101-103 can communicate with each other and with UE 111-116 using 5G, LTE, LTE-A, WiMAX, WiFi, or other wireless communication technology.

[0022] Depending on the network type, the terms "base station" or "BS" may refer to a component (or collection of components) configured to provide wireless access to a network, such as a transmission point (TP), a transmit-receive point (TRP), an enhanced base station (eNodeB or eNB), a 5G base station (gNB), a macrocell, a femtocell, a Wi-Fi access point (AP), or other wireless-enabled device. A base station may provide wireless access via one or more wireless communication protocols, such as 5G 3GPP® New Radio Interface / Access (NR), LTE (long term evolution), LTE-advanced (LTE-A), high-speed packet access (HSPA), Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac, etc. For convenience, the terms "BS" and "TRP" are used interchangeably in this patent specification to refer to the network infrastructure that provides wireless access to remote terminals. Furthermore, depending on the network type, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can refer to any component such as a "mobile station," "subscriber station," "remote terminal," "wireless terminal," "receiving point," or "user device." For convenience, the terms "user equipment" and "UE" are used in this patent specification to refer to remote wireless equipment that wirelessly accesses a BS, whether the UE is a mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone or smartphone) or a commonly considered fixed device (e.g., a desktop computer or vending machine).

[0023] The dotted lines indicate the approximate extents of coverage areas 120 and 125, which are shown in approximate outline for purposes of illustration and explanation only. It should be clearly understood that the coverage areas associated with gNBs, e.g., coverage areas 120 and 125, may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, depending on the configuration of the gNB and variations in the radio environment due to natural and man-made obstacles.

[0024] As described in more detail below, one or more of the UEs 111-116 include circuitry, programming, or a combination thereof for reliable reception of data and control information in an advanced wireless communication system. In particular embodiments, one or more of the gNBs 101-103 include circuitry, programming, or a combination thereof for efficient reduced power consumption in an advanced wireless communication system.

[0025] Although Figure 1 illustrates an example wireless network, various changes can be made to Figure 1. For example, a wireless network can include any number of gNBs and any number of UEs in any suitable arrangement. Furthermore, gNB 101 can directly communicate with any number of UEs and provide the UEs with wireless broadband access to network 130. Similarly, each gNB 102-103 can directly communicate with network 130 and provide the UEs with direct wireless broadband access to network 130. Furthermore, gNBs 101, 102, and / or 103 can provide access to other or additional external networks, such as an external telephone network or other type of data network.

[0026] 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary gNB 102 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of gNB 102 illustrated in FIG. 2 is for illustrative purposes only, and gNBs 101 and 103 of FIG. 1 may have the same or similar configurations. However, gNBs may have a variety of different configurations, and FIG. 2 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular implementation of a gNB.

[0027] 2, the gNB 102 includes multiple antennas 205a-205n, multiple RF transceivers 210a-210n, transmit (TX) processing circuitry 215, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 220. The gNB 102 also includes a controller / processor 225, memory 230, and a backhaul or network interface 235.

[0028] RF transceivers 210a-210n receive incoming RF signals, such as signals transmitted by UEs within network 100, from antennas 205a-205n. RF transceivers 210a-210n down-convert the incoming RF signals to generate IF or baseband signals. The IF or baseband signals are transmitted to RX processing circuitry 220, which generates processed baseband signals by filtering, decoding, and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signals. RX processing circuitry 220 transmits the processed baseband signals to controller / processor 225 for further processing.

[0029] TX processing circuitry 215 receives analog or digital data (e.g., voice data, web data, email, or interactive video game data) from controller / processor 225. TX processing circuitry 215 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes outgoing baseband data and generates processed baseband or IF signals. RF transceivers 210a-210n receive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signals from TX processing circuitry 215 and upconvert the baseband or IF signals to RF signals that are transmitted via antennas 205a-205n.

[0030] The controller / processor 225 may include one or more processors or other processing devices that control the overall operation of the gNB 102. For example, the controller / processor 225 may control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals via the RF transceivers 210a-210n, the RX processing circuitry 220, and the TX processing circuitry 215 according to well-known principles. The controller / processor 225 may also support additional functionality, such as more advanced wireless communication functions. For example, the controller / processor 225 may support beamforming or directional routing operations, in which outgoing signals from multiple antennas 205a-205n are differentially weighted to effectively steer in a desired direction. Any of a variety of other functions may be supported in the gNB 102 by the controller / processor 225.

[0031] Controller / processor 225 can also execute programs and other processes, such as the operating system, that reside in memory 230. Controller / processor 225 can move data into or out of memory 230 as requested by the executing processes.

[0032] The controller / processor 225 is also coupled to a backhaul or network interface 235. The backhaul or network interface 235 enables the gNB 102 to communicate with other devices or systems via a backhaul connection or via a network. The interface 235 may support communication through any suitable wired or wireless connection. For example, if the gNB 102 is embodied as part of a cellular communication system (e.g., supporting 5G, LTE, or LTE-A), the interface 235 may enable the gNB 102 to communicate with other gNBs via a wired or wireless backhaul connection. If the gNB 102 is embodied as an access point, the interface 235 enables the gNB 102 to transmit over a wired or wireless local area network, or over a larger network (e.g., the Internet) via a wired or wireless connection. The interface 235 includes any suitable structure supporting communication over a wired or wireless connection, e.g., an Ethernet or RF transceiver.

[0033] The memory 230 is coupled to the controller / processor 225. A portion of the memory 230 may include RAM, and another portion of the memory 230 may include flash memory or other ROM.

[0034] While FIG. 2 illustrates one example of a gNB 102, various modifications can be made to FIG. 2. For example, the gNB 102 can include any number of each component shown in FIG. 2. As one particular example, an access point can include multiple interfaces 235, and the controller / processor 225 can support a routing function for routing data between different network addresses. As another particular example, while illustrated as including a single instance of a TX processing circuit 215 and a single instance of a RX processing circuit 220, the gNB 102 can include multiple instances of each (e.g., one per RF transceiver). Additionally, the various components of FIG. 2 can be combined, subdivided, or omitted, and additional components can be added as needed.

[0035] 3 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary UE 116 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the UE 116 illustrated in FIG. 3 is for illustrative purposes only, and the UEs 111-115 of FIG. 1 may have the same or similar configuration. However, UEs may have a variety of different configurations, and FIG. 3 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular implementation of a UE.

[0036] 3, the UE 116 includes an antenna 305, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 310, a TX processing circuit 315, a microphone 320, and a receive (RX) processing circuit 325. The UE 116 also includes a speaker 330, a processor 340, an input / output (I / O) interface (IF) 345, a touchscreen 350, a display 355, and memory 360. The memory 360 includes an OS 361 and one or more applications 362.

[0037] The RF transceiver 310 receives from the antenna 305 an inbound RF signal transmitted by a gNB in ​​the network 100. The RF transceiver 310 down-converts the inbound RF signal to generate an intermediate frequency (IF) or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is transmitted to the RX processing circuitry 325, which generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding, and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. The RX processing circuitry 325 transmits the processed baseband signal to the speaker 330 (e.g., voice data) or to the processor 340 for further processing (e.g., web browsing data).

[0038] TX processing circuitry 315 receives analog or digital voice data from microphone 320 or other outgoing baseband data (e.g., web data, email, or interactive video game data) from processor 340. TX processing circuitry 315 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data and generates a processed baseband or IF signal. RF transceiver 310 receives the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from TX processing circuitry 315 and upconverts the baseband or IF signal into an RF signal that is transmitted via antenna 305.

[0039] Processor 340 may include one or more processors or other processing devices and may control the overall operation of UE 116 by executing OS 361 stored in memory 360. For example, processor 340 may control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by RF transceiver 310, RX processing circuitry 325, and TX processing circuitry 315 according to well-known principles. In some embodiments, processor 340 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

[0040] Processor 340 may also execute other processes and programs resident in memory 360, such as processes for beam management. Processor 340 may move data into or out of memory 360 as required by an executing process. In some embodiments, processor 340 is configured to execute application 362 based on OS 361 or upon signals received from a gNB or operator. Processor 340 is further coupled to I / O interface 345, which provides UE 116 with the ability to connect to other devices, such as laptop computers and portable computers. I / O interface 345 is a communication path between this peripheral and processor 340.

[0041] Processor 340 is also coupled to a touchscreen 350 and a display 355. An operator of UE 116 can use touchscreen 350 to input data into UE 116. Display 355 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display, light emitting diode display, or other display capable of rendering text and / or at least limited graphics from a website.

[0042] Memory 360 is coupled to processor 340. A portion of memory 360 may include random access memory (RAM), and another portion of memory 360 may include flash memory or other read-only memory (ROM).

[0043] While Figure 3 illustrates one example of a UE 116, various changes may be made to Figure 3. For example, various components of Figure 3 may be combined, further subdivided, or omitted, and additional components may be added as needed. As one particular example, processor 340 may be divided into multiple processors, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs) and one or more graphics processing units (GPUs). Furthermore, while Figure 3 illustrates a UE 116 configured as a mobile phone or smartphone, the UE may also be configured to operate as other types of mobile or fixed devices.

[0044] The communication system includes a downlink (DL) which refers to transmission from a base station or one or more transmission points to a UE, and an uplink (UL) which refers to transmission at a UE to a base station or one or more reception points.

[0045] Efforts are underway to develop improved 5G (or pre-5G) communication systems to meet the increasing demand for wireless data traffic following the implementation of the 4G communication system. For this reason, 5G (or pre-5G) communication systems are also referred to as 'Beyond 4G networks' or 'Post-LTE systems.' 5G wireless communication systems are considered to be implemented in higher frequency (mmWave) bands (e.g., the 60 GHz band) to achieve higher data transmission rates. To reduce radio wave propagation loss and increase transmission distance, technologies being discussed for 5G wireless communication systems include beamforming, massive MIMO, full-dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, analog beamforming, and large-scale antennas. Furthermore, to improve the system network, technologies such as advanced small cells, cloud radio access networks (cloud RAN), ultra-dense networks, device-to-device (D2D) communications, wireless backhaul, moving networks, cooperative communications, coordinated multi-point (CoMP), and receiver-end interference cancellation are being developed for the 5G communications system.

[0046] A time unit for DL ​​or UL signaling in a cell is called a slot, which can contain one or more symbols. Symbols can also be used in additional time units. A frequency (or bandwidth (BW)) unit is called a resource block (RB). One RB contains multiple subcarriers (SCs). For example, a slot can contain 14 symbols and have a duration of 1 millisecond or 0.5 milliseconds, and an RB can have a BW of 180 kHz or 360 kHz and contain 12 SCs with a spacing between each SC of 15 kHz or 30 kHz.

[0047] DL signals include data signals conveying information content, control signals conveying DL control information (DCI) formats, and reference signals (RS). A gNB can transmit data information (e.g., transmission blocks) or DCI formats via its respective physical DL shared channel (PDSCH) or physical DL control channel (PDCCH). A gNB can transmit one or more types of RSs, including a channel state information RS (CSI-RS) and a demodulation RS (DMRS). The CSI-RS is used by a UE to measure channel state information (CSI) or perform other measurements, such as measurements related to mobility support. The DMRS can be transmitted only in the bandwidth of each PDCCH or PDSCH, and the UE can use the DMRS to demodulate data or control information.

[0048] UL signals also include data signals conveying information content, control signals conveying UL control information, and RSs. A UE transmits data information or UCI via its respective PUSCH (physical UL shared channel) or PUCCH (physical UL control channel). When a UE transmits data information and UCI simultaneously, the UE can multiplex both on the PUSCH or transmit them separately on the respective PUSCH and PUCCH. The UCI includes hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgment (HARQ-ACK) information indicating the UE's accurate or inaccurate detection of a data transmission block (TB), a scheduling request (SR) indicating whether the UE has data in its buffer, and a CSI report that enables the gNB to select appropriate parameters for PDSCH or PDCCH transmission for the UE.

[0049] The CSI report from the UE includes a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) that informs the gNB of the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) for the UE to detect the data TB at a predetermined BLER (predetermined block error rate) (e.g., 10% BLER), a Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI) that informs the gNB of the method for precoding signaling to the UE, and a Rank Indicator (RI) that indicates the transmission rank for the PDSCH. UL RSs include DMRS and Sounding RS (SRS). DMRSs are transmitted only in the BW of each PUSCH or PUCCH transmission. The gNB can demodulate information in each PUSCH or PUCCH using the DMRS. The SRS is transmitted by the UE to provide the gNB with UL CSI and, in the case of a TDD or flexible duplex system, also provides PMI for DL ​​transmission. UL DMRS or SRS transmission can be based on the transmission of, for example, a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence or, more generally, a CAZAC sequence.

[0050] DL and UL transmissions can be based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveforms, including a variant that uses DFT precoding known as DFT-spread-OFDM.

[0051] 4 is a diagram illustrating an example transmitter structure 400 using OFDM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the transmitter structure 400 shown in FIG. 4 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components shown in FIG. 4 may be embodied in specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be embodied in one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0052] Information bits 410, such as DCI bits or data bits, are encoded by an encoder 420, rate-matched to the allocated time / frequency resources by a rate matcher 430, and modulated by a modulator 440. The modulated encoded symbols and DMRS or CSI-RS 450 are then mapped to SCs 460 by an SC mapping unit 465, an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) is performed by a filter 470, a cyclic prefix CP is added by a CP insertion unit 480, and the resulting signal is filtered by a filter 490 and transmitted by a radio frequency (RF) unit 495.

[0053] 5 is a diagram illustrating an example receiver structure 500 using OFDM according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the receiver structure 500 shown in FIG. 5 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components shown in FIG. 5 may be embodied in specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be embodied in one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0054] A received signal 510 is filtered by a filter 520, a CP removal unit removes CPs 530, a filter 540 applies a fast Fourier transform (FFT), a SC demapping unit 550 demaps the SCs selected by a BW selector unit 555, the received symbols are demodulated by a channel estimator and demodulator unit 560, a rate dematcher 570 restores rate matching, and a decoder 580 decodes the resulting bits to provide information bits 590.

[0055] A UE typically monitors many candidate positions for each potential PDCCH reception (PDCCH candidate) to decode each candidate DCI format in a slot. This position is determined by the search space for each DCI format. Monitoring PDCCH candidates means receiving and decoding PDCCH candidates according to the DCI format the UE is configured to receive. DCI formats include Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits to allow the UE to confirm correct detection of the DCI format. DCI format types are identified by the radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), which scrambles the CRC bits. In the case of a DCI format that schedules a PDSCH or PUSCH to a single UE, the RNTI may be a Cell RNTI (C-RNTI), which serves as a UE identifier.

[0056] For example, in the case of a DCI format for scheduling a PDSCH that carries system information (SI), the RNTI may be SI-RNTI. In the case of a DCI format for scheduling a PDSCH that provides a Random Access Response (RAR), the RNTI may be RA-RNTI. In the case of a DCI format for scheduling a PDSCH or PUSCH for a single UE before the UE establishes an RRC connection with a serving gNB, the RNTI may be a temporary C-RNTI (TC-RNTI). In the case of a DCI format for providing TPC commands to a UE group, the RNTI may be TPC-PUSCH-RNTI or TPC-PUCCH-RNTI. Each RNTI type can be configured in the UE via higher layer signaling such as RRC signaling. A DCI format for scheduling PDSCH reception for a UE is also referred to as a DL DCI format or DL ​​allocation, and a DCI format for scheduling PUSCH transmission from a UE is also referred to as a UL DCI format or UL grant.

[0057] PDCCH transmission can occur within a set of physical RBs (PRBs). The gNB can configure the UE with one or more PRB sets, also referred to as a control resource set (CORESET), for PDCCH reception. PDCCH reception can be performed using control channel elements (CCEs) included in the control resource set. The UE determines the CCEs for PDCCH reception based on search spaces such as a UE-specific search space (USS) for PDCCH candidates associated with a DCI format having a CRC scrambled by an RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI) configured in the UE through UE-specific RRC signaling to schedule unicast PDSCH reception or PUSCH transmission, and a common search space (CSS) for PDCCH candidates associated with a DCI format having a CRC scrambled by another RNTI. The set of CCEs that can be used for PDCCH transmission to the UE defines the PDCCH candidate locations. A characteristic of the control resource set is the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) status, which provides quasi-co-location information of DMRS antenna ports for PDCCH reception.

[0058] 6 is a diagram illustrating an example encoding process 600 for a DCI format according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the encoding process 600 illustrated in FIG. 6 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components illustrated in FIG. 6 may be implemented with specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be implemented with one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0059] The gNB encodes and transmits each DCI format separately on each PDCCH. The RNTI masks the CRC of the DCI format codeword to enable the UE to identify the DCI format. For example, the CRC and RNTI may include 16 or 24 bits. The CRC of the (uncoded) DCI format bits 610 is determined using a CRC calculation unit 620, and the CRC is masked using an exclusive OR (XOR) operation unit 630 between the CRC bits and the RNTI bits 640. The XOR operation is defined as XOR(0,0)=0, XOR(0,1)=1, XOR(1,0)=1, and XOR(1,1)=0. The masked CRC bits are added to the DCI format information bits using a CRC addition unit 650. An encoder 660 performs channel coding (e.g., tail-biting convolutional coding or polar coding), followed by rate matching for the allocated resources by a rate matcher 670. An interleaving and modulation unit 680 applies interleaving and modulation, such as QPSK, and an output control signal 690 is transmitted.

[0060] 7 is a diagram illustrating an example decoding process 700 for a DCI format for use with a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the decoding process 700 illustrated in FIG. 7 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components illustrated in FIG. 7 may be embodied in specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be embodied in one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0061] The received control signal 710 is demodulated and deinterleaved by the demodulator and deinterleaver 72. The rate matching applied by the gNB transmitter is restored by the rate matcher 730, and the resulting bits are decoded by the decoder 740. After decoding, the CRC extractor 750 extracts the CRC bits and provides the DCI format information bits 760. The DCI format information bits are demasked 770 by an XOR operation with the RNTI 780 (if applicable), and a CRC check is performed by unit 790. If the CRC check is successful (checksum is 0), the DCI format information bits are considered to be valid. If the CRC check is not successful, the DCI format information bits are considered to be invalid.

[0062] For each DL bandwidth portion (BWP) configured for the UE in the serving cell, the UE can be provided by higher layers signaling multiple control resource sets. For each control resource set, the UE is provided with: a control resource set index p; a DM-RS (demodulation reference-signal) scrambling sequence initialization value; precoder granularity for multiple REGs at a frequency where the UE can assume the same DM-RS precoder; a number of consecutive symbols; a resource block set; a CCE-REG mapping parameter; an antenna port QCL in the antenna port QCL set, indicating quasi co-location (QCL) information of the DM-RS antenna port for PDCCH reception; and an indication of the presence or absence of a transmission configuration indication (TCI) field for DCI format 1_1 multiplexed for PDCCH reception in control resource set p.

[0063] For each DL BWP configured for the UE in the serving cell, the UE is provided by a higher layer with multiple search space sets, where for each search space set in the multiple search space sets, the UE is provided with: a search space set index s; an association between the search space set s and a control resource set p; k p,s PDCCH monitoring period of the slot and p,s PDCCH monitoring offset of the slot; PDCCH monitoring pattern in the slot indicating the first symbol of the control resource set in the slot for PDCCH monitoring; number of PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level L

number

[0064] For a search space set s associated with a control resource set p, the CCE index for aggregation level L; the carrier indicator field value n CI Slots for the serving cell corresponding to the search space

number

number

[0065]

number

[0066] In Equation 1, for any common search space,

number

number

number

number

number

number

number

[0067] If the UE indicates carrier aggregation capability for more than four serving cells, the number of DL cells that can be monitored for non-overlapping CCEs per slot and the maximum number of PDCCH candidates when the UE is configured for carrier aggregation operation for more than four cells.

number

[0068] The UE has a DL BWP with SCS configuration μ

number

number

number

number

number

number

[0069] DL BWP with SCS configuration μ in UE

number

number

number

number

number

[0070]

number

[0071] The PUCCH can be transmitted in one of many PUCCH formats. Because different UCI payloads require different PUCCH transmission structures to improve the associated UCI BLER, a PUCCH format corresponds to a structure designed for a specific UCI payload range. PUCCH transmission is further dependent on the state of a transmission configuration indicator (TCI), which provides a spatial domain filter for PUCCH transmission. The PUCCH is used to carry HARQ-ACK information, SR or periodic / semi-persistent CSI, and combinations thereof.

[0072] A UE can be configured to operate with multiple bandwidth parts (BWPs) in a DL system BW (DL BW) or an UL system BW (UL BWP). At a given time, only one DL BWP and one UL BWP can be active for a UE. Thus, DL reception occurs in the active DL BWP and UL transmission occurs in the active UL BWP. Furthermore, after more than one DL BWP or UL BWP is simultaneously activated, more than one DL reception or UL transmission can occur simultaneously in each of the more than one DL BWP or UL BWP. Configuration of various parameters, such as search space set configuration for PDCCH reception or PUCCH resource for PUCCH transmission, can be provided individually for each BWP.

[0073] The main purpose of BWP operation is to enable UE power savings. When the UE has data to transmit or receive, it can use a large BWP, e.g., two or more search space sets with a short monitoring period. When the UE has no data to transmit or receive, it can use a small BWP, e.g., a single search space set with a longer monitoring period.

[0074] Another mechanism for UE power saving may be operation with discontinuous reception (e.g., C-DRX operation) when the UE has an RRC connection (e.g., RRC_CONNECTED mode) with the serving gNB. When the UE is in RRC_CONNECTED mode, the UE operates in C-DRX mode according to the "on duration" and "inactivity timer" parameters. During the "on duration" period, the UE monitors the PDCCH in the configured search space set (attempts to detect DCI format). If the UE receives a PDSCH during the "on duration" period or detects a DCI format that schedules a PUSCH transmission, the UE starts the "inactivity timer" and continues monitoring the PDCCH until the "inactivity timer" expires and the UE enters sleep mode to save power.

[0075] The configuration for the "On Duration" and "Inactivity Timer" values ​​is determined by the serving gNB, and there is no UE feedback on the preferred values. For example, based on the power level or power consumption for a particular carrier or BWP, the UE may propose values ​​for "On Duration" and "Inactivity Timer." For example, a UE with low battery power may propose a larger value for the "On Duration" period and a smaller value for the "Inactivity Timer."

[0076] Although most of the UE modem power is often consumed when monitoring the PDCCH for data traffic applications, the UE is unable to detect the DCI format during many C-DRX periods. Furthermore, even during C-DRX periods in which the UE detects a DCI format, the inactivity timer expires without the UE detecting a different DCI format. For this reason, the UE may automatically do so at the start of each C-DRX period, or may consider using wake-up signaling (WUS) or go-to-sleep (GTS) signaling to indicate to the UE to wake up and start monitoring the PDCCH, instead of suspending PDCCH monitoring until the next C-DRX period begins or until the UE detects the WUS.

[0077] For a particular frequency band, the UE must support operation with four receiver antennas. Such a large number of receiver antennas increases UE power consumption and may be unnecessary or undesirable when the UE receives small data packets, when the UE is in good coverage, or when the UE battery power is low. Recommending a UE, directly or indirectly, for a preferred number of receiver antennas can further reduce UE power consumption.

[0078] Similar to UE receiver antenna number adaptation, the number of activated secondary cells (SCells) for a UE can be adapted according to the buffer status for the UE. Existing networks support SCell activation / deactivation through MAC layer signaling, but often require physical delays for CSI measurement and feedback, especially after the SCell is activated. For this reason, this function is often not used by the serving gNB because there is no incentive for the gNB to deactivate (and later activate) the SCell. Instead, the serving gNB typically maintains the SCell configured for an activated UE even when there is no data in the buffer for transmission to the UE.

[0079] Cross-slot scheduling of PDSCH reception or PUSCH transmission is considered to further enable UE power savings. The UE can perform a write slip within the period indicated by the delay between the scheduled PDCCH and the scheduled PDSCH / PUSCH reception / transmission (denoted by K0 / K2, respectively). However, the power saving period is limited by the start of the next PDCCH monitoring occasion. The UE can switch from write slip mode to general active mode as long as the next PDCCH monitoring occasion starts, regardless of whether the current K0 / K2 timer has expired.

[0080] NR supports semi-static (Type-1) and dynamic (Type-2) HARQ-ACK codebook determination, in which the UE provides HARQ-ACK information for a series of PDSCH reception occasions in a single PUCCH or PUSCH transmission. This allows the UE to save power by reducing the number of PUCCH transmissions for providing HARQ-ACK information, and in the case of unpaired spectrum operation, reduces the overhead for switching between DL reception and UL transmission. For semi-static HARQ-ACK codebooks, the UE determines the HARQ-ACK codebook size based on the slot timing value set K1 for PUCCH transmissions with HARQ-ACK information. For DCI format 1_1, the UE can be provided with the slot timing value set K1 based on higher layer parameters such as dl_DataTo_UL_ACK.

[0081] For example, slot timing value set K1 may include eight elements with values ​​ranging from 0 to 15 or 31. However, a non-static configuration of slot timing values ​​may not be efficient for adapting to different data traffic loads. Furthermore, UE power saving gains are not balanced across different neurological technologies. For example, with the same configuration for slot timing values, a UE operating in frequency range 2 (FR2—carrier frequency above 6 GHz) will require more power consumption than a UE operating in frequency range 1 (FR1—carrier frequency below 6 GHz). This is due to more frequent transmission of HARQ-ACK information and increased overhead for DL ​​to UL transitions in the case of non-paired spectrum operation such as FR2.

[0082] In order to reduce the number of non-overlapping CCEs occupied by PDCCH candidates, a nested search space may be used, which is determined by a search space determination such as Equation 1. For example, in the case of a nested search space, the search space for predetermined PDCCH candidates may be determined according to Equation 1, and the search space for the remaining PDCCH candidates may include only the CCEs of the predetermined PDCCH candidates using Equation 1 or some other structure.

[0083] For example, the predetermined PDCCH candidate may be the PDCCH candidate having the highest CCE aggregation level (not 0). For example, the predetermined PDCCH candidate may be the one requiring the largest number of CCEs, e.g., four PDCCH candidates having an aggregation level of four CCEs require 16 CCEs, which is more than the eight CCEs required by one PDCCH candidate having an aggregation level of one CCE.

[0084] The trade-off between the nested search space and the search space according to Equation 1 is that the former reduces the number of non-overlapping CCEs and the latter reduces the blocking probability for PDCCH transmission. Therefore, the gNB needs to adjust the search space selection for the UE depending on whether the gNB prioritizes the former part or the latter part of the trade-off for the UE, and also needs to apply both parts of the trade-off.

[0085] Therefore, it is necessary to indicate to the UE whether to monitor PDCCH candidates during multiple C-DRX periods or multiple PDCCH monitoring occasions within a C-DRX period.

[0086] There is also a need to provide a means for a UE to indicate a serving gNB preference configuration for transmission and reception.

[0087] There is also a need to allow UEs to perform fast SCell activation and deactivation.

[0088] There is also a need to design new operating modes for communication between the UE and the serving gNB that enable UE power savings without penalizing network operation.

[0089] There is also another need to adapt the slot timing value set K1 for both semi-static and dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook determination for a large number of active SCells and corresponding subcarrier spacing configurations.

[0090] There is also another need for the MN, SN, and UE to have the same understanding of the number of PDCCH candidates that the UE is expected to monitor per slot and the number of non-overlapping CCEs that the UE is expected to be able to perform channel estimation on per slot.

[0091] Finally, it is necessary to set the processing time for scheduling the PDSCH / PUSCH and combine the activation / deactivation of the secondary carrier with dynamic adaptation to the processing time for scheduling.

[0092] This disclosure relates to 4G (4G) such as LTE (Long Term Evolution). th The present disclosure relates to a pre-5G or 5G communication system provided to support higher data rates over (pre-5G) (5G generation) communication systems. The present disclosure relates to indicating to a UE whether to monitor PDCCH candidates during a C-DRX period or during a PDCCH monitoring occasion within a C-DRX period. The present disclosure further relates to providing a means to a UE for indicating a serving gNB preference configuration for transmission and reception. The present disclosure further relates to enabling a UE to quickly activate and deactivate SCells. The present disclosure further relates to designing a new operation mode for communication between a UE and a serving gNB that enables UE power savings without detriment to network operation.

[0093] The present disclosure further relates to adapting a set of slot timing values ​​K1 for both semi-static and dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook determination for a number of active SCells and corresponding subcarrier spacing configurations. The present disclosure further relates to establishing a common understanding between the MN, SN, and UE regarding the number of PDCCH candidates that the UE is expected to monitor per slot and the number of non-overlapping CCEs that the UE is expected to be able to perform channel estimation on per slot. The present disclosure further relates to setting a processing time for scheduling PDSCH / PUSCH and combining activation / deactivation of secondary carriers with dynamic adaptation to the processing time for scheduling.

[0094] In one embodiment, a signaling design is provided to indicate to a UE to skip PDCCH monitoring for a number of C-DRX cycles, to skip PDCCH monitoring within a C-DRX cycle, or to adjust parameters for a number of C-DRX cycles.

[0095] An indication of adjustment to the number of configured PDCCH candidates monitored by a UE in a search space set can be provided by a DCI format. The DCI format may be decoded by many UEs (UE common DCI format) for PDCCHs received in a common search space, or may be UE-specific for PDCCHs received in a UE-specific search space. The following describes improvements to the DCI format structure and information provided regarding PDCCH monitoring by a UE.

[0096] In the case of a UE common DCI format, the UE is configured with a DCI format, for example, an RNTI referred to as PS-RNTI, and a position for a field including consecutive bits in the DCI format. For example, the UE may be configured with one position / field corresponding to one cell or cell group that can be indicated by a higher layer, or multiple positions / fields corresponding to multiple cells or multiple cell groups. For simplicity, the DCI format is referred to as DCI format P.

[0097] To indicate PDCCH monitoring per C-DRX period to the UE, the UE monitors the PDCCH for DCI format P at one or more times / occasions provided by a higher layer only when the C-DRX period starts or before the C-DRX period starts (e.g., 1 msec before the C-DRX period starts), thereby providing the UE with sufficient processing time to apply the indication according to DCI format P at the start of the C-DRX period and potentially perform CSI-RS measurements and provide CSI reports before the C-DRX period starts.

[0098] The number of PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level for PDCCH reception for DCI format P may be configured in the UE, or one or two CCE aggregation levels may be configured in the UE for monitoring a PDCCH having DCI format P in order to reduce the number of decoding operations, facilitate decoding of DCI format P, and minimize associated UE power consumption, and the number of PDCCH candidates for a CCE aggregation level may be configured up to a predetermined maximum number, such as 2 or 4, or may be defined by system operation. One or two CCE aggregation levels for a PDCCH including DCI format P may also be defined by system operation.

[0099] The number of bits in the field (UE-specific DCI format or UE common DCI format) may be one or more. In the case of one bit, this may indicate whether the UE skips PDCCH monitoring in this C-DRX period provided in advance by higher layer signaling or in the next C-DRX period. For example, a value of "0" may indicate skipping PDCCH monitoring, and a value of "1" may indicate PDCCH monitoring in the next C-DRX period.

[0100] In the case of multiple bits, in one embodiment, the indication may include an adjustment to the C-DRX period parameter by the UE indicating values ​​for the "on-duration" parameter and the "inactivity timer" parameter from corresponding value sets pre-provided by higher layers. The indication may further include an adjustment to the number of PDCCH candidates that the UE is configured to monitor to detect a DCI format that schedules PDSCH reception or PUSCH transmission.

[0101] For example, in the case of 2 bits, a value of "00" can indicate to the UE to skip PDCCH monitoring in the next C-DRX period, and a value of "01", "10" or "11" can indicate a first, second or third set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values, respectively, where the set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​is provided to the UE in advance by a higher layer.

[0102] In another embodiment, this indication may be the number of slots in the C-DRX period from a set of slots for which the UE will skip PDCCH monitoring, which is provided to the UE in advance by higher layer signaling or defined in system operation. For example, in the case of 2 bits, a value of "00" may indicate to the UE to monitor the PDCCH in all slots of the C-DRX period (i.e., do not skip PDCCH monitoring), and values ​​of "01", "10", or "11" may indicate to the UE to skip PDCCH monitoring for N1, N2, or N3 slots, respectively, where the values ​​N1, N2, and N3 are provided to the UE by higher layers.

[0103] For example, in the case of a DCI format P reception period of N slots and 2 bits, a value of "00" can indicate to the UE to monitor the PDCCH in all slots of the C-DRX period (i.e., do not skip PDCCH monitoring), and a value of "01," "10," or "11" can indicate to the UE to skip PDCCH monitoring in every fourth slot of the next N slots (including or excluding slots of DCI format P reception), in every second slot of the next N slots, or in all of the next N slots, where N can be provided to the UE by a higher layer or can include all remaining slots in the C-DRX period. Even in the case of a PDCCH monitoring occasion in which the UE skips PDCCH monitoring, the UE still increases the inactivity timer.

[0104] The UE can further configure a period for DCI format P reception by a higher layer, and the UE applies this configuration to the set of "on-duration and inactivity timer" values ​​for all C-DRX periods up to the C-DRX period corresponding to the next DCI format P reception. If the UE cannot detect DCI format P for this monitoring occasion, the UE assumes the maximum of the configured values ​​for the on-duration and inactivity timer. This is a superset of what is indicated for the PDCCH monitoring occasion in DCI format P, ensuring that the UE does not miss receiving the PDCCH transmission from the gNB.

[0105] Alternatively, the UE may assume a predetermined value set from a configured value set that is the same as the first set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values, and if the UE cannot detect DCI format P, it is only necessary for the gNB to implement a value that guarantees an appropriate value that is the same as the maximum value. In the case of cross-carrier scheduling, the same set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​may be applied to each search space set corresponding to each scheduled cell having the same scheduling cell.

[0106] 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method 800 for a UE to adjust parameters during a C-DRX period according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of method 800 illustrated in FIG. 8 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components illustrated in FIG. 8 may be embodied in specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be embodied in one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0107] Using higher layer signaling, the gNB configures the UE in step 810 with the locations of fields in DCI format P indicating the configuration for the RNTI for DCI format P, the period for receiving DCI format P, one or more offsets for PDCCH monitoring before the start of a DRX cycle for DCI format P, and value sets for the "on-duration" and "inactivity timer" parameters for the C-DRX period until the next reception of DCI format P. The UE determines in step 820 whether DCI format P is detected at the configured reception time. If the UE cannot detect DCI format P, the UE assumes the maximum value of the configured values ​​for the "on-duration, inactivity timer" value set in step 830. If the UE detects DCI format P, the UE monitors the PDCCH in the C-DRX period according to the "on-duration, inactivity timer" value set indicated by the corresponding field in DCI format P for the UE in step 840. If the field indicates a predetermined value such as '00', the UE may skip PDCCH decoding for all C-DRX periods until the next monitoring occasion for DCI format P.

[0108] Each set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​can be configured so that the UE is associated with a set of search space sets pre-configured by a higher layer. For example, the UE can be configured to monitor up to four search space sets in a C-DRX period for PDCCH reception carrying a UE-specific DCI format, and the first, second, and third sets of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​can be associated with the first, second, and third subsets of the set of search space sets, respectively, by higher layer signaling.

[0109] For example, a first set of "onduration, inactivity timer" values ​​can be associated with the first two search space sets (in the configuration procedure), a second set of "onduration, inactivity timer" values ​​can be associated with the first three search space sets, and a third set of "onduration, inactivity timer" values ​​can be associated with any of the four search space sets.

[0110] Each set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​may be configured to be associated with a percentage (or proportion) of PDCCH candidates pre-configured by a higher layer for the UE. For example, the UE may be configured to monitor PDCCH candidates for scheduling PDSCH reception or PUSCH transmission in multiple search space sets within a C-DRX period. The first, second, and third sets of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​may be associated with first, second, and third percentages of the number of PDCCH candidates for each CCE aggregation level per search space set, respectively, by higher layer signaling. Here, if the percentages do not result in an integer number of PDCCH candidates for each CCE aggregation level in the search space set, a floor function or ceiling function may be applied.

[0111] For example, a first set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​can be associated with all PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level in each search space set, a second set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​can be associated with 2 / 3 of the PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level in each search space set, and a third set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​can be associated with 1 / 3 of the PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level in each search space set.

[0112] The ratios may be configured by a higher layer instead of being predetermined as in the previous example, except for the first value, which may always be 1. Alternatively, instead of first, second, and third sets of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​associated with respective first, second, and third ratios of PDCCH candidates for each CCE aggregation level per search space set, three separate configurations of PDCCH candidates for each CCE aggregation level per search space set may be provided and associated with three such sets of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values.

[0113] If the UE cannot detect DCI format P in the corresponding PDCCH monitoring occasion, the UE monitors the PDCCH during the C-DRX period by default using a first configuration, such as a configuration with the maximum number of candidates per CCE aggregation level and per search space set (or a configuration corresponding to a percentage value of 1) for the number of PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level for each search space set.

[0114] 9 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method 900 for a UE to adjust the number of PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level and per search space set according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of method 900 illustrated in FIG. 9 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components illustrated in FIG. 9 may be embodied in specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be embodied in one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0115] Using higher layer signaling, the gNB configures the UE in step 910 with the association between each "on duration, inactivity timer" value set and the proportion of PDCCH candidates for the configured number of PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level for each search space set.

[0116] The UE determines whether to detect DCI format P at the configured reception time in step 920. If the UE cannot detect DCI format P, the UE assumes the configured number of PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level for each search space set in step 930. If the UE detects DCI format P, the UE determines a set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values, for example, as described in FIG. 8, and based on the corresponding correlation with the proportion of PDCCH candidates, the UE determines the number of PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level for each search space set in step 940.

[0117] In order to minimize the overhead associated with DCI format P or to increase the number of UEs that DCI format P can process or the amount of information that DCI format P can provide, the CRC length for DCI format P may be smaller than the CRC length for other DCI formats, such as DCI formats that schedule PDSCH reception or PUSCH transmission.

[0118] For example, the CRC length for DCI format P may be 8 bits or 16 bits, while the CRC length for other DCI formats may be 24 bits. If the serving gNB does not transmit DCI format P and the UE mistakenly detects DCI format P due to an incorrect CRC check, the worst case scenario is that the UE may not monitor the PDCCH during the C-DRX period expected by the serving gNB because the UE monitors the PDCCH. If the gNB schedules the UE to receive a PDSCH, this can be achieved through DTX detection of the PUCCH that carries the HARQ-ACK information, or if the gNB schedules the UE to transmit a PUSCH, this can be achieved through DTX detection of the PUSCH reception.

[0119] When a UE is configured to operate with carrier aggregation, the UE may be configured with the same number of fields in DCI format P as the number of corresponding cells or cell groups, and the previously described functions of DCI format P for single-cell operation may be parallelized for the number of fields corresponding to the number of cells or cell groups in operation using carrier aggregation. Cells in a cell group may be pre-configured by a higher layer or may be implicitly determined by a cell index and the number of cells in the cell group.

[0120] The adaptation of the set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​for the C-DRX cycle may further depend on the DL BWP used for reception by the UE. For example, configuration for the set of "on-duration, inactivity timer" values ​​may be provided independently for each BWP or for the first BWP and the remaining BWPs.

[0121] For example, smaller values ​​for "on duration" and "inactivity timer" can be configured in a first DL BWP used when the gNB does not have a large amount of data in the gNB buffer for the UE and does not require a high data rate, and larger values ​​for "on duration" and "inactivity timer" can be configured in a second DL BWP used when the gNB is attempting to achieve a high data rate for the UE.

[0122] 10 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method 1000 for a UE determining the number of PDCCH candidates per CCE aggregation level and per search space set depending on the corresponding DL BWP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the method 1000 illustrated in FIG. 10 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components illustrated in FIG. 10 may be embodied by specialized circuitry configured to perform the referenced functions, or one or more components may be embodied by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the referenced functions. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0123] In step 1010, the gNB configures, using higher layer signaling, a first value for "on duration" and a first value for "inactivity timer" for the C-DRX period of the first DL BWP, and a second value for "on duration" and a second value for "inactivity timer" for the C-DRX period of the second DL BWP. The UE determines in step 1020 whether the activated DL BWP is the first DL BWP or the second DL BWP. If the activated DL BWP is the first DL BWP, the UE uses the first values ​​for the "on duration" and "inactivity timer" parameters for the C-DRX period in step 1030. If the activated DL BWP is the second DL BWP, the UE uses the second values ​​for the "on duration" and "inactivity timer" parameters for the C-DRX period in step 1040.

[0124] The indication by DCI format P (which may be UE-common or UE-specific, such as DCI format 0_1 ​​or DCI format 1_1) may not be applicable to slots or PDCCH monitoring occasions in which the UE also monitors the PDCCH in the common search space because the UE must activate its radio frequency and decode at least one DCI format. This may be further limited to the common search space corresponding to a DCI format that schedules PDSCH reception, such as a DCI format using a CRC scrambled by the SI-RNTI, RA-RNTI, or P-RNTI. In DCI formats that do not schedule PDSCH reception, such as a DCI format using a CRC scrambled by the TPC-PUSCH-RNTI, TPC-PUCCH-RNTI, or SFI-RNTI, the UE does not need to prepare for PDSCH reception, thereby saving power. Therefore, the UE can decode the UE-specific DCI format at least in slots in which the UE decodes the UE-common CI format in the PDCCH monitoring occasion or the UE schedules PDSCH reception.

[0125] Dynamic activation of secondary cells The primary delay source for secondary cell activation is the delay in the UE providing CSI feedback to the serving gNB for the secondary cell. This CSI feedback may indicate insufficient channel quality for the gNB to schedule PDSCH transmission for the UE on the secondary cell. Additional latency is required for the subsequent gNB to activate another set of secondary cells for the UE, obtain this CSI feedback, and deactivate cells that are not associated with sufficiently good CSI feedback.

[0126] To prevent such delay issues when activating a secondary cell, LTE operation introduces a new SCell state (called a dormant state) in which the UE can measure and report periodic CSI feedback for the SCell. This new SCell state is identical to the deactivated state, and the UE does not monitor the PDCCH for the SCell or send / receive other signaling. However, unlike LTE, which has a CRS or periodic CSI-RS for each subframe and enables periodic CSI measurement at predetermined time instances, new radio systems may not have a CRS or periodic CSI-RS. Therefore, in order for the UE to measure CSI and provide CSI reports to the gNB, the UE must be signaled a non-zero power CSI-RS (NZP CSI-RS) configuration for the deactivated SCell.

[0127] The UE may be configured by a higher layer with a CSI-RS-RNTI for scrambling the CRC of a DCI format, which for simplicity is referred to as DCI format C. The UE may further be configured by a higher layer with one or more positions for each field of DCI format C, where each field corresponds to an SCell or an SCell group, and each SCell index or each SCell index of the SCell group is configured by the higher layer.

[0128] This field is used to indicate the NZP CSI-RS resource configuration for NZP CSI-RS reception by the UE in the corresponding SCell or SCell group, which may include all configured cells or all non-activated cells. NZP CSI-RS reception is used by the UE to measure and report CSI for the SCell or SCell group.

[0129] This field is ceil(log2(n NZP +1), where ceil() is the ceiling function that rounds a number to the next higher integer, and n NZP is the number of NZP CSI-RS resource configurations that can be indicated in DCI format C for an SCell. For example, if the NZP CSI-RS resource configuration is limited to 1, the field of DCI format C may include, for example, 1 bit, where a value of "0" indicates no NZP CSI-RS reception for the SCell (or SCell group) and therefore no CSI measurement and reporting, and a value of "1" indicates NZP CSI-RS reception for the SCell.

[0130] If a UE can receive simultaneously via T cells and has A active cell, the UE can simultaneously receive NZP CSI-RS on TA cell. If the number of SCells indicated to the UE by DCI format C for NZP CSI-RS reception is not greater than TA, the UE can simultaneously receive NZP CSI-RS on SCells indicated by each NZP CSI-RS resource configuration.

[0131] For example, NZP CSI-RS reception can be performed via the same symbol in the same slot. If the number of SCells indicated to the UE by DCI format C for NZP CSI-RS reception is greater than the TA, the UE can simultaneously receive NZP CSI-RS on the first TA SCell according to the respective cell indexes and respective NZP CSI-RS resource configurations, followed by the next TA SCell, and so on. If the UE cannot simultaneously receive NZP CSI-RS on all indicated SCells and must retune its radio frequency, NZP CSI-RS reception on consecutive TA SCells can be performed in different consecutive slots that support ZP CSI-RS reception (e.g., slots that are not uplink slots). The DL BWP for NZP CSI-RS reception in a deactivated cell may be a reference DL BWP such as the initial DL BWP indicated by a higher layer for each SCell.

[0132] DCI format C may further include PUCCH resources (including slot time offsets relative to slots for receiving DCI format C) for the UE to transmit associated CSI reports on the PUCCH and TPC commands for adjusting the transmit power of the PUCCH.

[0133] 11 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method 1100 in which a UE measures and reports CSI for a cell set according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of method 1100 illustrated in FIG. 11 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components illustrated in FIG. 11 may be embodied in specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be embodied in one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0134] In step 1410, the gNB configures the UE with the RNTI for DCI format C, a search space set including the periodicity of DCI format C reception, and the field position of DCI format C indicating a configuration for NZP-CSI-RS reception or a configuration for CSI-RS reception activation if there is only a single configuration pre-configured by higher layer signaling. In addition to activating CSI-RS reception, this field or each additional field, if they are pre-configured or not specified by higher layers, may include a TPC command for determining the power for PUCCH transmission including one or more CSI reports, a corresponding PUCCH resource, and a slot timing offset.

[0135] Activation of CSI reception can be performed for all cells, or only for inactivated cells, or only for a cell group configured by a higher layer including one or more cells. Upon detecting DCI format C, the UE determines whether the corresponding field indicates CSI-RS reception activation for the cell in step 1420. In such a case, the UE performs measurements based on the CSI-RS to obtain CSI and reports the CSI for the cell that can be applied to the PUCCH transmitted by the UE at a power determined using the TPC command, the indicated PUCCH resource, and the slot timing offset.

[0136] Preferred Configuration Report The UE may report one or more configurations for transmission to or reception from a serving gNB preferred by the UE, for example, depending on the UE's power state. For example, when the UE has full battery power or is connected to a power supply, the UE may request a first configuration, which may be advantageous for increased coverage or data rate. For example, when the UE has low battery power, the UE may request a second configuration, which may prioritize reduced UE power consumption over increased data rate. Parameters of one configuration may include the number of transmitter antennas or spatial layers, the number of receiver antennas or spatial layers, the number of activated cells, a PDCCH monitoring period, etc.

[0137] Each of the one or more configurations that the UE reports to the serving gNB can be represented by a field value. For example, using a 2-bit field, the values ​​"00", "01", "10", and "11" can represent one of the following four configurations: {2 receiver antennas, 1 spatial layer, activated cells in the first group}, {4 receiver antennas, 2 spatial layers, activated cells in the first group}, {4 receiver antennas, 2 spatial layers, activated cells in the second group}, {2 receiver antennas, 2 spatial layers, activated cells in the third group}.

[0138] The number of preferred configurations that the UE can report can be predetermined in system operation, such as one configuration, or can be configured in the UE by a higher layer. If the UE is configured to report two or more preferred configurations, the preference order can be determined according to the procedure for the relevant fields in the report. Reporting of one or more preferred UE configurations can be periodic or triggered by the UE or gNB.

[0139] For periodic reporting, the UE can be configured with a reporting period and a PUCCH resource for transmitting the PUCCH containing the report. The preferred configured periodic reporting can be consistent with periodic / semi-persistent CSI reporting, even if the period is the same or smaller, and the UE can combine the two reports on the same PUCCH. If the number of REs available on the PUCCH resource (excluding REs used for DMRS transmission) is insufficient for the control information in each PUCCH transmission, e.g., if the UE cannot achieve the target code rate configured by a higher layer, the UE can prioritize configured report transmission over CSI report transmission.

[0140] For triggered reporting, the UE can include the report in the MAC Control Element (MAC CE) that it transmits on the PUSCH. This further enables the serving gNB to determine whether the report was received correctly (by performing a CRC check on the reception of the associated transmission block). Reports can also be requested by the serving gNB via a field in a DCI format, such as DCI format 0_1 ​​or DCI format 1_1.

[0141] The serving gNB may indicate the selected configuration to the UE via the MAC CE in a PDSCH transmission to the UE. This configuration may be applied after a specific period determined by the time required for the UE to apply the new configuration. For example, this period may be the same as the time required for the UE to apply the new TCI state indicated by the MAC CE. If the UE uses a configuration with a reduced number of receiver antennas, the UE may be switched to use the maximum number of receiver antennas, such as four, to ensure that the UE does not lose coverage due to a sudden change in coverage, and the period may be configured by the serving gNB to the UE via a higher layer. For example, the UE may activate all receiver antennas and then deactivate some receiver antennas based on the configuration indicated by the serving gNB, for one or more slots per slot, such as 40 slots or every 40 msec. The number of slots may be configured to the UE by a higher layer or defined in the NR specifications for system operation.

[0142] Because different receiver antennas can experience different path losses due to external factors, such as UE design or UE placement / orientation, or human blockage or other interference to the received signal, the UE provides the gNB with a CQI or SINR / RSRP for each receiver antenna or for a subset of receiver antennas. This report can be for a reference cell, such as the PCell, or for any cell for which the UE reports a CQI or RSRP. For example, this report can include the RSRP for the first receiver antenna, such as the antenna with the highest RSRP, and differential RSRPs, e.g., in quantized steps of 3 dB, for the remaining receiver antennas. For example, this report can include the CQI for four receiver antennas, the CQI for two receiver antennas, or the CQI for one receiver antenna. This can provide the serving gNB with additional information for determining the UE's receiver antenna (and transmitter antenna) configuration.

[0143] For example, if the RSRP for the second antenna is at least 6 dB lower than the RSRP for the first antenna, the gNB may indicate to the UE to deactivate the second receiver antenna. If the UE determines that the RSRP for one receiver antenna is less than a predetermined threshold compared to the RSRP of a different receiver antenna, the UE may make such a decision independently without notifying the gNB.

[0144] 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1200 for UE reporting to determine a configuration for the number of UE receiver antennas according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of method 1200 illustrated in FIG. 12 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components illustrated in FIG. 12 may be embodied in specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be embodied by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0145] The UE is equipped with N receiver antennas. In step 1210, the UE measures reception quality, such as RSRP or CQI, for each of the N receiver antennas or for N receiver antenna groups. In step 1220, the UE reports the RSRP or CQI for the N receiver antennas or N receiver antenna groups to the gNB. In step 1230, the UE receives from the gNB a configuration of the number of receiver antennas or receiver antenna groups for the UE to receive transmissions from the gNB. If this configuration provides a number of receiver antennas, the receiver antennas are the same as that number and have a larger reported RSRP.

[0146] The configuration may also be implicitly determined by the UE depending on the operating conditions. For example, when the UE switches from a first BWP, such as a default BWP or initial BWP, to a second BWP, the UE may also switch from the first configuration to the second configuration. The BWP may relate to any active cell or only to the primary cell. For example, the UE may operate with four receiver antennas when the first DL BWP is a large DL BWP supporting a high data rate, and may operate with two receiver antennas when the second DL BWP is a small DL BWP supporting transmission of small data packets to the UE. Such UE operation may be enabled by the serving gNB through individual configuration by a higher layer.

[0147] 13 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method 1300 for UE determination of the number of UE receiver antennas depending on the corresponding DL BWP according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of method 1300 illustrated in FIG. 13 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components illustrated in FIG. 13 may be embodied in specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be embodied by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0148] As shown in Figure 13, the UE receives a configuration for the first number of receiver antennas if the first DL BWP is the activated DL BWP in step 1310, and receives a configuration for the second number of receiver antennas if the second DL BWP is the activated DL BWP in step 1320. The UE determines whether the activated DL BWP is the first downlink BWP or the second DL BWP in step 1320. If the activated DL BWP is the first DL BWP, the UE uses the first number of receiver antennas in step 1330. If the activated DL BWP is the second downlink BWP, the UE uses the second number of receiver antennas in step 1340. The UE can further select the first and second numbers to correspond to receiver antennas measuring a larger RSRP.

[0149] The gNB can provide UE adaptation to the transmit / receive configuration using higher layer signaling such as MAC CE or RRC, or Layer 1 (physical layer) signaling. The latter is preferred when minimal latency for configuration adaptation is important to obtain the most benefit from the adaptation. If the number of bits required to provide UE adaptation to the transmit / receive configuration is not small or the adaptation is infrequent, reinterpretation of the UE-specific DCI format to indicate the adaptation can be a more efficient option than using one or more fields in the UE-common DCI format or the UE-specific DCI format. This is because, if such a field is not actually used frequently, it can be sent by the gNB to the UE upon request, instead of always reserving a field in the UE-common DCI format or the UE-specific DCI format to indicate configuration adaptation for the UE.

[0150] Reinterpretation of the UE-specific DCI format to indicate a configuration adaptation for the UE instead of scheduling PDSCH reception or PUSCH transmission can be performed by a 1-bit explicit field or by setting an existing field of the UE-specific DCI format to a specific value. For example, in DCI format 0_1, a field indicating no Uplink Shared Channel (UL-SCH) transmission can be set (no UL-SCH), and a field indicating an A-CSI report request can be unset (no A-CSIJ report).

[0151] For example, a field indicating an RV (redundancy version) can be set to indicate RV3 or RV1, and a field indicating transmission of an NDI (new transport block) can be set to indicate a new transport block. When a DCI format is interpreted to convey a configuration adaptation for transmission / reception parameters for a UE, the adaptation can be indicated using the remaining bits of the DCI format (other than the bits used for interpretation and the CRC bits), and if the adaptation can be indicated using fewer bits than the remaining bits of the DCI format, some bits are reserved or unused.

[0152] The adapted configuration may include other parameters related to the configuration of the search space set, such as the number of receiver antennas, the number of transmitter antennas, the number of layers, the number of activated cells or BWPs, parameters for the C-DRX period (on-duration and inactivity timer), parameters for PDCCH monitoring, scaling of PDCCH candidates, etc. The configuration adaptation may be effective immediately or after a predetermined time from the time the UE provides HARQ-ACK information in response to DCI format detection.

[0153] Fallback operations to recover from potential errors may be previously provided by a higher layer, may be predetermined or default at a configured time period (e.g., every 40 msec), or may be supported by the UE using a configuration for transmission / reception, such as when the UE monitors a UE-specific DCI format in a common search space.

[0154] The number of PDSCHs / PUSCHs / processing time related to transmission scheduling (e.g., N0 / N2 symbols) can be configured. N0 or N2 indicates the minimum processing time required for the UE to receive the PDSCH or transmit the PUSCH, respectively. The delay between the PDCCH and the associated PDSCH / PUSCH number / transmission (i.e., K1 / K2) must be greater than N0 / N2. A default value for N0 / N2 can be predefined in system operation or provided to the UE via higher layer signaling. For example, the default value for N0 / N2 may be one slot. To save power, the UE can enter a write-slip state for a period not greater than N0 / N2 after detecting the corresponding DCI format on the PDCCH.

[0155] To improve the UE power saving gain, the serving gNB can transmit UE control information indicating dynamic update of N0 / N2 to accommodate different power saving gain targets or different latency requirements. For example, if the control information is 1 bit, "0" can indicate N0 / N2 is twice the predetermined value, such as N0 = 2 x N0_default or N2 = 2 x N0_default, and "1" can indicate N0 = max(N0 / 2, N0_default) or N2 = (N2 / 2, N2_default). N0_default and N2_default are values ​​of N0 and N2 provided to the UE by a higher layer or predetermined by system operation.

[0156] When the UE is configured to operate with CA, SCell activation / deactivation can be combined with adaptation to N0 / N2. If N0 / N2 is greater than threshold T^N0 / T^N2, an SCell for which there is no scheduled PDSCH / PUSCH reception / transmission for the UE during the PDCCH monitoring period in the scheduling cell can be deactivated. Conversely, if the UE detects a DCI format in the PDCCH received in the scheduling cell and schedules PDSCH / PUSCH reception / transmission on the SCell, the UE activates the SCell. The UE can also activate the SCell whenever the UE is triggered or configured for CSI-RS reception or SRS transmission on the SCell.

[0157] 14 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method 1400 for adapting the number of PDSCHs / PUSCHs / processing time for scheduling transmissions on an SCell in combination with activation or deactivation of the SCell, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of method 1400 illustrated in FIG. 14 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components illustrated in FIG. 14 may be embodied as specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be embodied as one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0158] A default configuration for the slot timing value set K1 associated only with the primary cell and the 15 kHz SCS may be provided to the UE by a higher layer, such as the parameter dl_DataTo_UL_ACK. When the serving gNB indicates to the UE to switch from an active BWP with SCS_j to an active BWP with SCS_i, the size / cardinality of K1, denoted by |K1|, may be adjusted by |K1|*(SCS_j / SCS_i), and the element range of the K1 value set [0, v_i] may be adjusted by [0, v_j]*(SCS_j / SCS_i).

[0159] The slot timing value of K1 can be adjusted to correspond to the traffic load represented by the number of activated cells. Several activated cells can be predefined and correspond to "CA levels." For example, CA level 0 / CA level 1 / CA level 2 / CA level 3 / CA level 4, represented by L^CA_0 / L^CA_1 / L^CA_2 / L^CA_3 / L^CA_4, can be predefined to be associated with 1 / 2 / 4 / 8 / 16 activated cells, respectively. When the CA level is changed from L^CA_i to L^CA_j due to cell activation or deactivation to accommodate different traffic loads, the size / cardinality of K1, represented by |K1|, can be adjusted by |K1|*(L^CA_j / L^CA_i), and the element range of the K1 value set [0, v_i] can be adjusted by [0, v_j]*(L^CA_j / L^CA_i).

[0160] As shown in Figure 14, the UE receives a configuration for default processing time for PDSCH / PUSCH, N0 / N2 scheduling in step 1410 and does not expect K1 / K2 to be greater than N0 / N2. In step 1420, the UE receives L1 control information for N0 / N2 scaling. In step 1430, the UE determines that N0 / N2 > T^N0 / T^N2. If N0 / N2 > T^N0 / T^N2 in step 1430, the UE deactivates SCells that are not indicated for PDSCH / PUSCH scheduling and activates SCells that are indicated for PDSCH / PUSCH scheduling in step 1440.

[0161] 15 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of a method 1500 for adapting a slot timing value K1 along with BWP transition and SCell activation / deactivation according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of method 1500 illustrated in FIG. 15 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components illustrated in FIG. 15 may be embodied in specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be embodied by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0162] When a UE is configured to operate in dual connectivity (DC), the gNB for the master cell group (MCG) and the gNB for the secondary cell group (SCG) operate independently, and adaptation to the configuration of transmit / receive parameters for the UE is generally required for both the MCG and the SCG. For example, if the MCG and SCG operate in the same frequency range, such as below 6 GHz, the UE must operate with two Rx antennas or four Rx antennas for both the MCG and the SCG, requiring coordination between the MCG and the SCG for multiple UE receiver antennas.

[0163] When the PDCCH monitoring occasion is adapted in the MCG or SCG, it is advantageous to have a similar adaptation in the SCG or MCG, respectively, so that the UE monitors the PDCCH in the MCG and SCG simultaneously or is in a slip mode in the MCG and SCG simultaneously. For example, the MCG and SCG can exchange their respective C-DRX cycles for the UE via a backhaul link, or the MCG can indicate the C-DRX cycle configuration for the UE to the SCG. It is also advantageous for the MCG and SCG to configure the UE to perform measurements when the UE is in a C-DRX active time in both the MCG and SCG. For example, the MCG and SCG can exchange CSI-RS patterns via a backhaul link, or the MCG can select a CSI-RS pattern from a set of CSI-RS patterns indicated to the MCG by the SCG and indicate it to the SCG.

[0164] To reduce the possibility that a UE may be power-limited for transmissions to the MCG and SCG, the MCG and SCG may exchange PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS transmission patterns for periodic or semi-persistent PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS transmissions via a backhaul link. Then, if there is a high possibility that the UE may be power-limited for transmissions to the MCG and SCG, such as when the UE reports a small RSRP (large path loss) for at least one CG, the SCG (or MCG) may select a pattern for periodic or semi-persistent PUSCH, PUCCH, or SRS transmission that does not overlap in time with the pattern on the MCG.

[0165] Conversely, if there is a small possibility that the UE may be power limited for transmissions to the MCG and SCG, such as when the UE reports a large RSRP (small path loss) to both CGs, the SCG (or MCG) may select a pattern for periodic or semi-persistent PUSCH, PUCCH or SRS transmissions that overlaps in time with the pattern on the MCG, thereby allowing the UE to spend more time not transmitting (excluding dynamically triggered transmissions).

[0166] When the UE provides support information for adapting transmission / reception parameters, the UE can provide individual support information to the MCG and SCG, or the UE can provide resource information for the MCG / SCG configuration to the SCG / MCG. In the former case, the SCG / MCG can exchange support information with the MCG / SCG via a backhaul link. If only the MCG can determine the adaptation configuration, the SCG can request the adaptation configuration from the MCG via a backhaul link. Following the request or generally following the independent decision of the MCG, the MCG can notify the SCG of the adapted configuration.

[0167] In one example of adapting a configuration for transmission / reception for a UE configured for DC operation, the MCG or SCG may signal the configuration adaptation to the UE, and may notify the SCG or MCG, respectively, via backhaul signaling. To reduce the delay in the CG communicating with the UE using the adapted configuration, some configurations, such as the PDCCH monitoring period of the C-DRX cycle or the configuration for the parameters of the C-DRX configuration, may have a nested structure in which one configuration is a superset or subset of another configuration.

[0168] For example, the PDCCH monitoring period may be 0.5 msec, 1 msec, 2 msec, or 4 msec (or 1 slot, 2 slots, 4 slots, or 8 slots in the case of 30 kHz SCS), and regardless of adaptation, the CG knows that the UE will monitor the PDCCH every 4 msec (or every 8 slots in the case of 30 kHz SCS). In this manner, the CG can continue to schedule the UE using at least common values ​​of parameters for each configuration until the UE notifies the CG that it will apply an adapted configuration. For example, if the configuration is CG-specific, such as the number of SCells, the adaptation process can be included within the CG. If the configuration is parameter-specific, such as the number of receiver antennas, the CG can make any assumptions about the configuration that the UE applies, although a conservative assumption of preferably a small number of receiver antennas may be practically justified.

[0169] In one example of adapting a configuration for transmission / reception for a UE configured for DC operation, the MCG or SCG can indicate the configuration adaptation to the UE. To reduce delays associated with backhaul signaling, the UE can act as a relay between two CGs and signal the adapted configuration received from one CG to the other CG.

[0170] To facilitate signaling, possible configurations can be predetermined in a configuration set by a system operation specification or by higher layer signaling, and the UE can signal elements in the configuration set. For example, the configuration can include the number of search space sets, parameters for each search space set, the number of receiver antennas, etc.

[0171] For example, in the case of a set having four configurations, the UE can signal two bits to indicate one of the four configurations. The UE can report to the CG the adapted configuration for PUCCH transmission or PUSCH transmission of the CG for the resource and slot offset indicated by the CG. To minimize PUCCH resource overhead, the configuration adaptation can be limited to occur at predetermined time instances, such as every 10 msec or every 40 msec, starting from frame 0 or a predetermined slot or frame offset for slot 0 of frame 0 provided to the UE by a higher layer.

[0172] A UE can provide additional information related to communication with another CG to one CG. For example, along with a buffer status report (BSR) for a first CG, the UE can provide a BSR for a second CG to the first CG. The BSR for the second CG can be used to determine the possibility of the UE having active communication with the second CG, so the first CG can use the information about the BSR for the second CG to determine configuration adaptation for transmission / reception from the UE. In addition, the BSR for the UE can be exchanged between the MN and the SN via a backhaul link.

[0173] For example, along with an RSRP report for each receiver antenna for reception on a first CG, the UE can provide an RSRP report for each receiver antenna for reception on a second CG to the first CG, and the first CG can use information in the RSRP report for the second CG to determine adaptation for the number of receiver antennas.

[0174] For DC operation, the MCG monitors the maximum number of PDCCH candidates M per slot via backhaul signaling. PDCCH,SCG and the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs per slot, C PDCCH,SCG The MCG may further indicate to the UE the maximum number of PDCCH candidates to be monitored per slot and the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs per slot for the SCG, and the UE may then indicate the maximum number M PDCCH,MCG and C PDCCH,MCG , M PDCCH,MCG =M PDCCH -M PDCCH,SCG and C PDCCH,MCG =C PDCCH -C PDCCH,SCG As a result, the difference M PDCCH and C PDCCH can be derived from, or M PDCCH,MCG and C PDCCH,MCG can be signaled to the UE.

[0175] For example, the MCG and SCG may provide the UE with the PDCCH candidates monitored per slot and the corresponding maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs per slot, and the MCG may then control when the UE monitors the PDCCH in the SCG, and the number of PDCCH candidates and non-overlapping CCEs may be divided between the MCG and the SCG.

[0176] For example, if the cells of the SCG operate in a non-paired spectrum, such as using a TDD UL / DL configuration, the MCG can allocate monitored PDCCH candidates and the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs to the SCG and configure a search space set so that the UE monitors the PDCCH in the MCG when the slot has an UL direction in the cells of the SCG, and can continue to use the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates and non-overlapping CCEs (assuming the SCG does not change the UL / DL configuration without notifying the MCG). Generally, for PDCCH monitoring occasions for cells whose corresponding CORESET includes UL symbols, the UE can allocate corresponding PDCCH monitoring capabilities to one or more other cells.

[0177] For example, the MCG may reserve the number of PDCCH candidates monitored per slot and the number of non-overlapping CCEs per slot for use in the MCG, and may assign to the SCG the maximum number of PDCCH candidates monitored per slot relative to the maximum number of PDCCH candidates monitored per slot, and the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs per slot relative to the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs per slot.

[0178] Figure 16 is a diagram illustrating a signal flow 1600 for an MCG and an SCG to exchange information to determine their respective configurations for communicating with a UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of call flow 1600 shown in Figure 16 is for illustrative purposes only. One or more components shown in Figure 16 may be embodied in specialized circuitry configured to perform the functions described, or one or more components may be embodied by one or more processors executing instructions to perform the functions described. Other embodiments may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0179] The MCG configures the UE for DC operation with the SCG in step 1610 and provides the SCG with a configuration for transmission / reception by the UE via the MCG via a backhaul link. This configuration may include, for example, the number of antennas, a parameter set for a C-DRX cycle, and the total number of PDCCH candidates the UE is configured to monitor via the SCG. In step 1620, the SCG provides the MCG with the requested configuration or parameters to determine a configuration for transmission / reception by the UE via the SCG via the backhaul link. In step 1630, the MCG provides one or more configuration sets for the SCG to use for communicating with the UE via the backhaul link. If the set includes more than one configuration, the SCG can notify the MCG of the selected configuration in step 1640.

[0180] To operate in DC, the MCG is controlled by a master node (MN) and the SCG is controlled by a secondary node (SN). When a UE is configured for DC operation, the MN, SN, and UE must have the same understanding of the number of PDCCH candidates that the UE is expected to monitor per slot and the number of non-overlapping CCEs that the UE is expected to be able to perform channel estimation on per slot.

[0181] The first approach is that MN and SN are

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[0182] Then, on MN

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[0183] The UE is connected to an SN with SCS configuration μ.

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[0184] Similarly, the UE is a MN with SCS configuration μ

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[0185] The UE is connected to a cell of an SN with SCS configuration μ.

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[0186] The second approach, which avoids higher layer signaling to the UE, is to allow the MN and SN to communicate with the UE.

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[0187] for example,

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[0188] A problem with the second embodiment is whether the SCS configuration μ of the active DL bandwidth portion (BWP) can be used as a reference for a cell when BWP conversion can be triggered by the DCI format. Since one cell group cannot see the BWP conversion triggered by the DCI format in cells of other cell groups, having an active DL BWP that provides the SCS reference configuration for the cell can be problematic.

[0189] Alternative examples include using the SCS configuration for the BWP indicated to the UE by the upper layer parameter firstActiveDownlinkBWP, the SCS configuration for the BWP with the smallest index, etc., as long as the DL BWP providing the SCS reference configuration for the cell is determined by higher layer signaling. Conversely, when operating with a single CG, the SCS reference configuration for the cell only needs to correspond to the active DL BWP.

[0190] The third approach is to limit the total number of cells that can be configured for a UE when the UE is configured for DC operation to four or less, which is considered the minimum UE capability when the UE is configured for carrier aggregation (CA) with at least one cell group. That is, the UE does not anticipate PDCCH processing that schedules PDSCH or PUSCH in more than four cells. If the UE is not configured for DC operation but is configured for CA operation only, the cell number limit can be more than four.

[0191] Instead of the MN and SN exchanging multiple individual cells with corresponding pneumatics configured / activated in the UE to operate in each CG (MCG and SCG), a functionally equivalent approach is for the MN to inform the SN of the number of PDCCH candidates and / or non-overlapping CCEs reserved for use by the MN or available to the SN.

[0192] This number may be the total number across all SCS configurations or the number per SCS configuration. In the former case, the SN may derive the number of PDCCH candidates and / or the number of non-overlapping CCEs that can be used in a CG by subtracting the corresponding number notified by the MN from the total number determined from the UE capabilities. The SN may further notify the MN of the corresponding number of PDCCH candidates and / or the number of non-overlapping CCEs that are assigned to the UE for communication in each CG.

[0193] As an example, for a UE capable of monitoring 4x{44, 36, 22, 20} PDCCH candidates per slot for an SCS configuration μ of {0, 1, 2, 3}, the MN may inform the SN that the SN may configure the UE with up to {2x44, 3x36, 4x22, 4x20} PDCCH candidates for cells in the SCG. For example, for a UE capable of monitoring 4x{44, 36, 22, 20} PDCCH candidates per slot for an SCS configuration μ of {0, 1, 2, 3}, the MN may inform the SN that the SN may configure the UE with up to {100, 50, 4x22, 4x20} PDCCH candidates. For example, for a UE capable of monitoring 4x{44, 36, 22, 20} PDCCH candidates per slot for an SCS configuration μ of {0, 1, 2, 3}, the MN can inform the SN that the SN can configure the UE with up to {50%, 50%, 100%, 100%} of PDCCH candidates depending on the UE capability, and this signaling can be mapped with a predetermined percentage set, such as a 3-bit signaling mapping for {0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 100}%, similar to the allocation of the number of non-overlapping CCEs per slot.

[0194] To determine the search space set to monitor, at least for the second approach, the UE alternately allocates search space sets to the PCell of the MCG and the PSCell of the SCG starting from the MCG. For example, the UE can allocate monitored PDCCH candidates to the USS sets for the PSCell and PCell with an active DL BWP having an SCS configuration μ using the following pseudocode:

[0195] A search space set S of CG with index cg uss The non-overlapping CCE set for (j,cg) is V CCE (S uss (j, cg)) where cg = 0 for MCG and cg = 1 for SCG. CCE (S uss(j,cg)) cardinality to C(V CCE (S uss (j,cg))), where the search space set S uss The non-overlapping CCEs for (j,cg) are the monitored PDCCH candidates for the CSS set and all the search space sets S uss (k, cg) is determined taking into account the monitored PDCCH candidates for 0≦k≦j. Table 1 shows some of the configurations.

[0196] [Table 1]

[0197] Table 2 shows the UE behavior under some conditions.

[0198] [Table 2]

[0199] As illustrated in Table 2, the UE behavior for PDCCH candidates also applies to non-overlapping CCEs in a similar manner. As illustrated in Table 2, the UE behavior can be additionally conditioned on all symbols of a slot on the first activated cell that are UL symbols. As illustrated in Table 2, the UE behavior can be extended for activated cells of an MCG (or SCG) in the case of synchronous operation for at least the same SCS configuration on all scheduling cells of the MCG (or SCG). That is, when a slot for an activated cell of an MCG (or SCG) includes only UL symbols, the UE must be configured to monitor the PDCCH for each activated cell of the MCG (or SCG) that includes at least one PDCCH monitoring occasion in the slot (each symbol for at least one PDCCH monitoring occasion is a DL symbol or a flexible symbol).

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[0200] In addition to dividing the UE capability for PDCCH monitoring between the MCG and SCG, another UE capability that must be divided between the CGs is the maximum number of simultaneous CSI reports that the UE can acquire and provide for all cells in the MCG and SCG. For example, in CA operation, the UE must use the value of the upper layer parameter simultaneousCSI-ReportsAllCC.

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[0201] In the case of dual connectivity operation, the UE may, for example, receive from the MN a value for the upper layer parameter simultaneousCSI-ReportsAllCC_MCG indicating the maximum number of simultaneous CSI reports that the UE must be able to process across all cells in the MCG.

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[0202] The MN may further transmit the value of the upper layer parameter simultaneousCSI-ReportsAllCC_SCG via backhaul signaling, for example.

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[0203] for example,

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[0204] The gNB may include search space determination in configuring a search space set for the UE. For example, the search space determination may be performed according to Equation 1 or a nested search space. The first search space set may be configured as a first search space for CCE determination for the corresponding PDCCH candidate (e.g., Equation 1), and the second search space may be configured as a second search space for CCE determination for the corresponding PDCCH candidate (e.g., nested search space).

[0205] The configuration of the search space determination can be further conditioned on a UE that supports multiple services such as a multicast-broadcast broadband (MBB) service and an ultra-reliability low latency communication (URLLC) service. Then, in a UE-specific search space set (USS set) in which the UE is configured to monitor the PDCCH using a DCI format related to the MBB service and to monitor the PDCCH using a DCI format related to the URLLC service, or configured to monitor the PDCCH using a DCI format related only to the URLLC service, the UE can determine the CCEs for the PDCCH candidates while in a USS set configured to monitor the PDCCH in a DCI format related only to the MBB service using a nested search space, and the UE can determine the CCEs for the PDCCH candidates using the search space according to Equation 1.

[0206] Although the present disclosure has been described with exemplary embodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to those skilled in the art, and the present disclosure is intended to cover such changes and modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

[0207] Nothing in this description should be read as indicating any particular element, step, or function as essential, which must be included in the claims. The scope of the invention is defined solely by the claims. Also, no clause in this claim is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless the precise words "means for" are followed by a participial construction. [Explanation of symbols]

[0208] 100 Wireless Networks 101,102,103 gNB 111~116UE 120,125 coverage area 130 Network

Claims

1. 1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving radio resource control (RRC) information for a set of parameter values ​​associated with discontinuous reception (DRX) operation for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH); receiving a PDCCH providing a downlink control information (DCI) format based on a common search space (CSS); decoding the DCI format; determining a first value of the parameter, the first value being determined to be a value indicated by a first field included in the DCI format among a set of values ​​of the parameter if the DCI format is correctly decoded, and the first value being determined to be a largest value among the set of values ​​if the DCI format is not correctly decoded; receiving a PDCCH according to the first value of the parameter.

2. The method further includes receiving information about a first group of cells and a second group of cells; 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first field is associated with DRX operation in the first group of cells.

3. determining a second value of the parameter, the second value being determined to be a value indicated by a second field included in the DCI format among a set of values ​​of the parameter if the DCI format is correctly decoded, and to be a largest value among the set of values ​​if the DCI format is not correctly decoded; receiving a PDCCH in the second group of cells according to a second value of the parameter; receiving a PDCCH according to the first value of the parameter, The method of claim 2, further comprising receiving a PDCCH in the first group of cells according to a first value of the parameter.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter is a drx-onDurationTimer associated with a time for PDCCH reception during a DRX cycle.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the parameter is a drx-InactivityTimer associated with the time for PDCCH reception since the last PDCCH reception indicating transmission or reception of a new transport block (TB).

6. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of values ​​includes a pair of values ​​for a drx-onDurationTimer parameter associated with a time for PDCCH reception during a DRX cycle and a drx-InactivityTimer parameter associated with a time for PDCCH reception since the last PDCCH reception indicating transmission or reception of a new transport block (TB).

7. A user equipment (UE), a transceiver unit and a control unit; The control unit receiving radio resource control (RRC) information for a set of parameter values ​​associated with discontinuous reception (DRX) operation for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH); receiving a PDCCH providing a downlink control information (DCI) format based on a common search space (CSS); Decoding the DCI format; determining a first value of the parameter, wherein the first value is determined to be a value indicated by a first field included in the DCI format among a set of values ​​of the parameter if the DCI format is correctly decoded, and is determined to be a largest value among the set of values ​​if the DCI format is not correctly decoded; A user equipment configured to receive a PDCCH according to the first value of the parameter.

8. The method further includes receiving information for a first group of cells and a second group of cells; The user equipment of claim 7, wherein the first field is associated with a DRX operation in the first group of cells.

9. The control unit determine a second value of the parameter, wherein the second value is determined to be a value indicated by a second field included in the DCI format among a set of values ​​of the parameter if the DCI format is correctly decoded, and is determined to be a largest value among the set of values ​​if the DCI format is not correctly decoded; further configured to receive a PDCCH in the second group of cells according to a second value of the parameter; The user equipment of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to receive PDCCH in the first group of cells according to the first value of the parameter.

10. The user equipment of claim 7, wherein the parameter is a drx-onDurationTimer associated with a time for PDCCH reception during a DRX cycle.

11. The user equipment of claim 7, wherein the parameter is a drx-InactivityTimer associated with the time for PDCCH reception after the last PDCCH reception instructing transmission or reception of a new transport block (TB).

12. 8. The user equipment of claim 7, wherein the set of values ​​includes a pair of values ​​for a drx-onDurationTimer parameter associated with a time for PDCCH reception during a DRX cycle and a drx-InactivityTimer parameter associated with a time for PDCCH reception since the last PDCCH reception indicating transmission or reception of a new transport block (TB).

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