PDCCH Candidate Allocation for Reduced Capability UE Coverage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In 5G wireless networks, reduced capability user equipment (UE) with limited power and cost savings features experiences unreliable communication due to affected PDCCH channel coverage, particularly for cell edge UEs, leading to suboptimal quality of service (QoS).
Innovation Solution
Implementing PDCCH candidate repetition over multiple monitoring occasions, where the UE determines a maximum number of PDCCH candidates per multiple slots and allocates them for monitoring, and the base station transmits PDCCH with multiple repetitions to enhance coverage and reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If reduced capability UE is used for power and cost savings, then power consumption and device cost are reduced, but PDCCH channel coverage and communication reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The base station performs preliminary actions by determining the set of PDCCH candidates in advance and allocating them to monitoring occasions before actual transmission. This preliminary configuration enables the reduced capability UE to efficiently monitor PDCCH without requiring complex real-time processing, thus maintaining communication reliability while reducing power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameter of PDCCH candidate allocation by introducing a configurable set of candidates with specific monitoring occasions. This parameter change allows the system to adapt the PDCCH transmission pattern to match the reduced capability UE's processing limitations, improving coverage and reliability without increasing the UE's power consumption or complexity.
2Ease of manufacture
If reduced capability UE is used for cost savings, then device cost is reduced, but PDCCH channel coverage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the PDCCH monitoring process by dividing it into a configured set of candidates distributed across multiple monitoring occasions. This segmentation allows the reduced capability UE to monitor PDCCH in a distributed manner over time, effectively extending the coverage area without requiring the UE to have higher processing capabilities or incur higher manufacturing costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a temporal dimension to PDCCH monitoring by allocating candidates across multiple monitoring occasions. This dimensionality change extends the effective coverage area for reduced capability UEs by allowing them to accumulate monitoring opportunities over time, compensating for their reduced instantaneous processing capability without increasing device cost.
3Reliability
If PDCCH candidates are allocated per multiple slots, then coverage and reliability are improved, but processing complexity and resource utilization increase
Solution Approach 1:
The base station performs preliminary configuration of the PDCCH candidate set and monitoring occasions before transmission. This preliminary action reduces the processing complexity for the reduced capability UE during actual reception, as the UE only needs to monitor pre-configured candidates at pre-determined occasions rather than performing complex real-time allocation and selection.
Data Source
AI summary
A user equipment (UE) is described. The UE includes control circuitry configured to determine a maximum number of PDCCH candidates per multiple slots, and to allocate PDCCH candidates to be monitored per multiple slots based on the maximum number of PDCCH candidates; and receiving circuitry configured to monitor PDCCH candidates on a serving cell with the maximum number of PDCCH candidates.