METHOD FOR PROCESSING DELAY FOR PDCCH REPETITIONS

Disclosed are methods and apparatus to process delay for PDCCH repetition. A transmission of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetition may be monitored. A multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) within an overlapping symbol may be determined. A processing delay for a decoding of the PDCCH repetition, a decoding of the scheduled PDSCH, and an acknowledgement (ACK) preparation based on the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol may be determined. The PDSCH may be monitored after receiving the PDCCH repetition.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of wireless communication and to methods and apparatus for processing delay for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetitions in wireless communication devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In wireless communications networks, physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) is configured to carry control information such as a downlink control information (DCI) message indicating a downlink (DL) or an uplink (UL) resource for a scheduling resource allocation to a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The PDCCH may carry the DCI that can provide a wireless user equipment (UE) with information for scheduling a channel at a scheduled slot. Successful decoding of the PDCCH may enable the UE to read the information carried on the DCI that can provide scheduling resource allocation for the PDSCH or the PUSCH.

The UE may receive the PDCCH carrying the DCI in a repetitive manner within a set of slots. The PDCCH may be configured to repeat in adjacent or non-adjacent slots per monitoring occasion of a corresponding search space (SS). The repetitive PDCCH that is received by the UE may be utilized for scheduling a channel for a reception or a transmission by the UE. Based on the received DCI within the repetitive PDCCH, the UE may communicate the channel such as the PDSCH or the PUSCH at the scheduled slot index.

SUMMARY OF THE DESCRIPTION

The repetitive PDCCH may be configured according to various repetition schemes. As the UE may receive the PDCCH in a repetitive manner, multiple transmit receive points (TRPs) may schedule PDSCHs from multiple TRPs (multi-TRP). Different or same data from multi-TRP may be transmitted for multiplexing for data rate enhancement or transmission reliability, respectively.

As PDCCH repetition is introduced to support low-latency and higher reliability communication, determining a processing delay may need to consider the PDCCH decoding latency. For example, there may a combination of a number of PDCCH repetition and a scheduled PDSCH within overlapping symbols. With respect to PDCCH repetitions, compared to Rel-15/Rel-16, the UE may need to decode more than one PDCCH to identify the PDSCH resources and prepare HARQ-ACK. Thus, some relaxation of delay requirement may be needed. However, currently, there is a lack on how to determine the process delay for repetitive PDCCH, particularly, to determine a number of overlapping symbols when there is an overlapping PDCCH repetition and a scheduled PDSCH. Thus, there is a need for an enhanced mechanism to determine the process delay for repetitive PDCCH in wireless communication devices to improve reliability and robustness for PDCCH decoding.

Methods and systems for processing delay for PDCCH repetition are disclosed. In one aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a baseband processor of a wireless equipment (UE) configured to perform operations. The operations may include monitoring a transmission of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetition, determining a multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) within an overlapping symbol, determining a processing delay for a decoding of the PDCCH repetition, a decoding of a scheduled PDSCH, and an acknowledgement (ACK) preparation based on the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol, and monitoring the PDSCH after receiving the PDCCH repetition.

In some embodiments, the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol may include one PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include selecting the PDCCH repetition that starts later in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions, and determining a number of symbols associated with the one PDCCH repetition that overlaps with the PDSCH.

In one disclosed embodiment, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include selecting the PDCCH repetition that starts earlier in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions; and determining a number of symbols associated with the one PDCCH repetition that overlaps with the PDSCH.

In one disclosed embodiment, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include selecting the PDCCH repetition that ends later in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions, and determining a number of symbols associated with the one PDCCH repetition.

In one disclosed embodiment, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include selecting the PDCCH repetition that ends earlier in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions, and determining a number of symbols associated with the one PDCCH repetition that overlaps with the PDSCH.

In some embodiments, the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol may include two PDCCH repetitions and the PDSCH.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include: determining a number of symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions as one symbol.

In an embodiment, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include determining a number of symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions that overlap with the PDSCH as two symbols.

In an embodiment, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include determining a number of symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions that overlap with the PDSCH based on a UE capability.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay may be based on control resource set (CORESET) symbols when a number of symbols for the PDSCH is smaller than a number of symbols for the CORESET associated with a linked search space (SS). The CORESET symbols may include two PDCCH repetitions.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include determining a number of symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions that overlap with the PDSCH as one symbol.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include: determining a number of symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions that overlap with the PDSCH as two symbols.

In some embodiments, determining a number of the symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions that overlap with the PDSCH may be based on a UE capability.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay may be based on CORESET symbols when a number of symbols for the PDSCH is smaller than a number of symbols for the CORESET associated with a linked SS. The CORESET symbols may include one PDCCH repetition.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern based on the multiplexing pattern may further include: selecting the PDCCH repetition that starts later in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern based on the multiplexing pattern may further include: selecting the PDCCH repetition that starts earlier in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include: monitoring a second SS if a first SS of a linked SS is dropped.

In some embodiments, the UE may be configured to monitor the second SS via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

In some embodiments, the operations of monitoring the second SS if the first SS of the linked SS is dropped may further include: decoding downlink control information (DCI) in the second SS based on a single transmission/reception point (TRP) operation.

In some embodiments, the operations of monitoring the second SS if the first SS of the linked SS is dropped may further include: decoding DCI in the second SS based on a multi-TRP operation.

In some embodiments, the operations of monitoring the second SS if the first SS of the linked SS is dropped may further include: reporting a UE capability to indicate a DCI is decoded based on a single TRP operation or a multi-TRP operation.

In some embodiments, the operations of monitoring the second SS if the first SS of the linked SS is dropped may further include: determining that one PDCCH candidate of an independent SS shares a same configuration as a first PDCCH candidate for the PDCCH repetition; and determining that the one PDCCH candidate belongs to the independent SS or the linked SS.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining that the one PDCCH candidate belongs to the independent SS or the linked SS may further include: determining a priority score for the one PDCCH candidate based on a predefined priority rule.

In some embodiments, the priority score for the one PDCCH candidate may indicate that the one PDCCH candidate belongs to the independent SS is prioritized. The operations may further include: monitoring a second PDCCH candidate by the UE capability.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining a processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include: determining an additional delay associated with processing PDCCH repetition. The additional delay may be reported by a UE capability.

In some embodiments, the additional delay may be determined by the UE capability to perform a blind detection (BD) counting for two PDCCH repetitions.

In some embodiments, the additional delay may be predefined based on a predefined PDCCH repetition detection scheme.

In another aspect of the disclosure, embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a UE including at least one antenna, at least one radio, and at least one processor configured to perform the processes as described above.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and apparatus for processing delay for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetition are disclosed. The operations may include monitoring a transmission of a PDCCH repetition, determining a multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) within an overlapping symbol, determining a processing delay for a decoding of the PDCCH repetition based on the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol, and scheduling a downlink (DL) reception via the PDSCH.

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide thorough explanation of embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known components, structures, and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure the understanding of this description.

Reference in the specification to “some embodiments” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in some embodiments” in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.

The terms “server,” “client,” and “device” are intended to refer generally to data processing systems rather than specifically to a particular form factor for the server, client, and/or device.

In Rel-15 and Rel-16, a PDCCH can be carried in a search space (SS) associated with a control resource set (CORESET) [10.1, 38.213]. The SS can be used to determine a time domain resource. The CORESET can be used to determine a frequency domain resource and a spatial filter, i.e. transmission configuration indicator (TCI). SS/CORESET #0 is a special SS/CORESET, in which each instance is associated with a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB). PDCCH beam, time/frequency location may be determined by the associated SSB. A wireless user equipment (UE) may not need to monitor all instances for SS/CORESET 0, instead, the UE may only need to monitor the SS/CORESET0instance associated with one SSB from the most recent of the following: (1) SSB associated with a Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure, (2) SSB Quasi Colacated (QCLed) with the Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS) in the TCI State for the CORESET 0.

In Rel-17, two PDCCH reliability enhancement schemes may be supported. Firstly, a single frequency network (SFN) scheme may be used in which one CORESET can be configured with two TCI states. PDCCH from different Transmission Reception Points (TRPs) can be transmitted in fully overlapped resource elements with different beams. The UE may be required to perform a TRP-specific time/frequency offset tracking and a time/frequency offset combining to decode the PDCCH.

Secondly, in a non-SFN scheme, two SSs/CORESETs can be used to carry PDCCH repetitions. Each PDCCH repetition is carried by a SS/CORESET. Different beams can be applied to different SS/CORESETs. PDCCH repetitions may be multiplexed in a time domain multiplexing (TDM)/frequency domain multiplexing (FDM) manner.

There can be two detection schemes to detect PDCCH repetition and these two detection schemes may require different decoding latency. Scheme 1 may be a selective decoding. The UE detects each repetition independently, and the PDCCH can be considered as “detected” if one of the PDCCH is decoded successfully.

Scheme 2 may be a soft combining. The UE combines the soft-bits for each repetition and uses the combined soft-bits for channel decoding to jointly decode the PDCCH repetitions.

In Rel-15, PDSCH processing delay is calculated by Tproc,1, as shown below. Tproc, 1may indicate the minimal delay between the last PDSCH symbol to the first symbol for Hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) report [5.3, 38.214].

wherein N1depends on UE capability, which defines the general processing delay for PDSCH; d1,1indicates additional delay based on the PDSCH and PDCCH resource mapping pattern; d2indicates additional delay for UCI multiplexing for HARQ-ACK report.

Additional delay based on the PDSCH and PDCCH resource mapping pattern d1,1may be calculated as follows in Rel-16 [5.3, 38.214]. With regard to different PDCCH repetitions schemes, the calculation of d1,1needs to be enhanced. PDSCH and PDCCH may be multiplexed in overlapping or non-overlapping symbols. d1,1 can be used to determine different multiplexing patterns that require different processing delays. Thus, the enhancement of the calculation of d1,1 can provide insight to the UE processing timeline.

Below are some of the examples of a calculation for the additional delay based on the PDSCH and PDCCH resource mapping pattern.

For UE processing capability 1: If the PDSCH is mapping type B as given in clause 7.4.1.1of [4, TS 38.211], andif the number of PDSCH symbols allocated is L≥7, then d1,1=0;if the number of PDSCH symbols allocated is L≥4 and L≤6, then d1,1=7−L;if the number of PDSCH symbols allocated is L=3 then d1,1=3+min (d, 1), where d is the number of overlapping symbols of the scheduling PDCCH and the scheduled PDSCH; andif the number of PDSCH symbols allocated is 2, then d1,1=3+d, where d is the number of overlapping symbols of the scheduling PDCCH and the scheduled PDSCH.

For UE processing capability 2: If the PDSCH is mapping type B as given in clause 7.4.1.1 of [4, TS 38.211], andif the number of PDSCH symbols allocated is L≥7, then d1,1=0;

if the number of PDSCH symbols allocated is L≥3 and L≤6, then d1,1is the number of overlapping symbols of the scheduling PDCCH and the scheduled PDSCH;if the number of PDSCH symbols allocated is 2;if the scheduling PDCCH was in a 3-symbol CORESET and the CORESET and the PDSCH had the same starting symbol, then d1,1=3; andotherwise d1,1is the number of overlapping symbols of the scheduling PDCCH and the scheduled PDSCH.

The UE can report some processing delay threshold timeDurationForQCL, beamSwitchTiming, CSI processing delay Z and Z′ [5.4, 38.214] and so on to indicate the processing delay for UE to decode PDCCH and to perform beam switching.

With regard to different PDCCH receiving schemes, the UE may require different processing delay for PDCCH decoding compared to Rel-15 PDCCH. In Rel-15, the UE needs to decode only one PDCCH to identify the PDSCH resources and prepare HARQ-ACK.

Similarly, additional delay needs to be considered for PUSCH preparation delay Tproc,2 [6.4, 38.214]

If the first SS of the linked SSs is dropped due to overbooking, QCL-TypeD collision etc., and the PDCCH from the second SS is decoded correctly, how to interpret whether the PDCCH is for single-TRP or multi-TRP may be considered.

If one PDCCH candidate from an independent SS shares the same configuration as the one PDCCH candidate for PDCCH repetitions, how to interpret whether the PDCCH is for single-TRP or multi-TRP may be considered.

For both cases above, the method for how to define the processing delay may be described herein. Note that in this present disclosure, the solution may be common or different for different PDCCH repetition schemes, i.e. SFN and non-SFN.

FIG.1illustrates a simplified example wireless communication system according to one aspect of the disclosure. It is noted that the system ofFIG.1is merely one example of a possible system, and that features of this disclosure may be implemented in any of various systems, as desired.

The base station (BS)102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or cell site (a “cellular base station”) and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with the UEs106A through106N.

As shown, the base station102A may also be equipped to communicate with a network100(e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and/or the Internet, among various possibilities). Thus, the base station102A may facilitate communication between the user devices and/or between the user devices and the network100. In particular, the cellular base station102A may provide UEs106with various telecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS and/or data services.

In some embodiments, base station102A may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB”. In some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

FIG.2illustrates user equipment106A and106B that can be in direct communication with each other (also known as device to device or sidelink). Sidelink communication can utilize dedicated sidelink channels and sidelink protocols to facilitate communication directly between devices. For example, physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) can be used for actual data transmission between the devices, physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) can be used for conveying sidelink control information (SCI), physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) can be used for HARQ feedback information, and physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) can be used for synchronization. Additional details are discussed in other sections.

In addition, sidelink communications can be used for communications between vehicles to vehicles (V2V), vehicle to infrastructure (V2I), vehicle to people (V2P), vehicle to network (V2N), and other types of direct communications.

UE106A can also be in communication with a base station102through uplink and downlink communications, according to some embodiments. The UEs may each be a device with cellular communication capability such as a mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer or a tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device. The UEs106A-B may include a processor that is configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. The UEs106A-B may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively, or in addition, the UEs106A-B may include a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that is configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

In some embodiments, the UEs106A-B may include separate transmit and/or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As a further possibility, the UEs106A-B may include one or more radios which are shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radios which are used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE106A-B might include a shared radio for communicating using either of LTE or 5G NR (or LTE or 1xRTT or LTE or GSM), and separate radios for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

FIG.3illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a communication device106according to one aspect of the disclosure. It is noted that the block diagram of the communication device ofFIG.3is only one example of a possible communication device. According to embodiments, communication device106may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices. As shown, the communication device106may include a set of components300configured to perform core functions. For example, this set of components may be implemented as a system on chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, this set of components300may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for the various purposes. The set of components300may be coupled (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communication device106.

For example, the communication device106may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash310), an input/output interface such as connector I/F320(e.g., for connecting to a computer system; dock; charging station; input devices, such as a microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices, such as speakers; etc.), the display360, which may be integrated with or external to the communication device106, and cellular communication circuitry330such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short to medium range wireless communication circuitry329(e.g., Bluetooth™ and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments, communication device106may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card, e.g., for Ethernet.

The cellular communication circuitry330may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas335and336as shown. The short to medium range wireless communication circuitry329may also couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas337and338as shown. Alternatively, the short to medium range wireless communication circuitry329may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to the antennas335and336in addition to, or instead of, coupling (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to the antennas337and338. The short to medium range wireless communication circuitry329and/or cellular communication circuitry330may include multiple receive chains and/or multiple transmit chains for receiving and/or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) configuration.

The communication device106may further include one or more smart cards345that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC(s) (Universal Integrated Circuit Card(s)) cards345.

As shown, the SOC300may include processor(s)302, which may execute program instructions for the communication device106and display circuitry304, which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to the display360. The processor(s)302may also be coupled to memory management unit (MMU)340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor(s)302and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory306, read only memory (ROM)350, NAND flash memory310) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as the display circuitry304, short range wireless communication circuitry229, cellular communication circuitry330, connector I/F320, and/or display360. The MMU340may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or set up. In some embodiments, the MMU340may be included as a portion of the processor(s)302.

As noted above, the communication device106may be configured to communicate using wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. The communication device106may also be configured to determine a physical downlink shared channel scheduling resource for a user equipment device and a base station. Further, the communication device106may be configured to group and select CCs from the wireless link and determine a virtual CC from the group of selected CCs. The wireless device may also be configured to perform a physical downlink resource mapping based on an aggregate resource matching patterns of groups of CCs.

As described herein, the communication device106may include hardware and software components for implementing the above features for determining a physical downlink shared channel scheduling resource for a communications device106and a base station. The processor302of the communication device106may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processor302may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor302of the communication device106, in conjunction with one or more of the other components300,304,306,310,320,329,330,340,345,350,360may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

Further, as described herein, cellular communication circuitry330and short range wireless communication circuitry329may each include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in cellular communication circuitry330and, similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in short range wireless communication circuitry329. Thus, cellular communication circuitry330may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry330. Similarly, the short range wireless communication circuitry329may include one or more ICs that are configured to perform the functions of short range wireless communication circuitry329. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of short range wireless communication circuitry329.

In addition, as described herein, processor(s)404may be comprised of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor(s)404. Thus, processor(s)404may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processor(s)404. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s)404.

Further, as described herein, radio430may be comprised of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in radio430. Thus, radio430may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of radio430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio430.

The cellular communication circuitry330may couple (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas335a-band336as shown (inFIG.3). In some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry330may include dedicated receive chains (including and/or coupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly; dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, as shown inFIG.5, cellular communication circuitry330may include a modem510and a modem520. Modem510may be configured for communications according to a first RAT, e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A, and modem520may be configured for communications according to a second RAT, e.g., such as 5G NR.

In some embodiments, a switch570may couple transmit circuitry534to uplink (UL) front end572. In addition, switch570may couple transmit circuitry544to UL front end572. UL front end572may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna336. Thus, when cellular communication circuitry330receives instructions to transmit according to the first RAT (e.g., as supported via modem510), switch570may be switched to a first state that allows modem510to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes transmit circuitry534and UL front end572). Similarly, when cellular communication circuitry330receives instructions to transmit according to the second RAT (e.g., as supported via modem520), switch570may be switched to a second state that allows modem520to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain that includes transmit circuitry544and UL front end572).

As described herein, the modem510may include hardware and software components for implementing the above features or for selecting a periodic resource part for a user equipment device and a base station, as well as the various other techniques described herein. The processors512may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), such as memory516and/or memory526, for example. Alternatively (or in addition), processor512may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor512, in conjunction with one or more of the other components530,532,534,550,570,572,335and336may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors512may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processors512may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processors512. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors512.

As described herein, the modem520may include hardware and software components for implementing the above features for selecting a periodic resource on a wireless link between a UE and a base station, as well as the various other techniques described herein. The processors522may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), processor522may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor522, in conjunction with one or more of the other components540,542,544,550,570,572,335and336may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors522may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processors522may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of processors522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors522.

FIG.6illustrates an example of various configurations of two PDCCH repetitions for non-SFN, according to some embodiments. Referring toFIG.6, different multiplexing for two PDCCH repetitions are shown. The two PDCCH repetitions can be orthogonal602, partially604or fully overlapped606,608in time domain.

FIG.7illustrates a flow diagram of a method700by the UE for processing delay for PDCCH repetitions in wireless communication devices, according to some embodiments. Process700may be performed by processing logic which may include software, hardware, or a combination thereof. Referring toFIG.7, in operation702, the UE may monitor a transmission of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) repetition.

In operation704, the UE may determine a multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) within an overlapping symbol.

In operation706, the UE may determine a processing delay for a decoding of the PDCCH repetition, a decoding of a scheduled PDSCH, and an acknowledgement (ACK) preparation based on the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol.

In operation708, the UE may monitor the PDSCH after receiving the PDCCH repetition.

FIGS.8A-8Fillustrate examples of implementation of the operation706of determining a processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol described above.

Referring toFIG.8A, in some embodiments, the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol may include one PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH. The operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include the following operations. In operation802, the UE may select the PDCCH repetition that starts later in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions. In operation804, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with the one PDCCH repetition that overlaps with the PDSCH.FIG.8Eillustrates an example selecting the PDCCH repetition and determining a number of symbols associated with that one PDCCH repetition. As shown inFIG.8E, for example, in counting the symbols within that one PDCCH repetition, the UE may select the PDCCH repetition that starts later in time822compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions. After selecting the PDCCH repetition that starts later in time822, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with that one PDCCH repetition. In this case, the UE processing complexity can be relaxed because there may be less PDCCH symbol that overlaps with the PDSCH.

Referring toFIG.8B, in some embodiments, the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol may include one PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH. The operation of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include the following operations. In operation806, the UE may select the PDCCH repetition that starts earlier in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions. In operation808, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with the one PDCCH repetition. As shown inFIG.8E, for example, in counting the symbols within that one PDCCH repetition, the UE may select the PDCCH repetition that starts earlier in time820compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions. After selecting the PDCCH repetition that starts earlier in time820, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with that one PDCCH repetition. When the UE selects the PDCCH repetition that starts earlier in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions, a PDSCH can be transmitted earlier, thereby reducing the latency.

Referring toFIG.8C, in some embodiments, the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol may include one PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH. The operations of determining the processing delay may further include the following operations. In operation810, the UE may select the PDCCH repetition that ends later in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions. In operation812, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with the one PDCCH repetition that overlaps with the PDSCH. As shown inFIG.8F, for example, in counting the symbols within that one repetition, the UE may select the PDCCH repetition that ends later in time826compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions. After selecting the PDCCH repetition that ends later in time826, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with that one PDCCH repetition. In this case, the UE processing complexity can be relaxed because there may be less PDCCH symbol overlaps with the PDSCH.

Referring toFIG.8D, in some embodiments, the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol may include one PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH. The operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include the following operations. In operation814, the UE may select the PDCCH repetition that ends earlier in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions. In operation816, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with the one PDCCH repetition. As shown inFIG.8F, for example, in counting the symbols within that one repetition, the UE may select the PDCCH repetition that ends earlier in time824compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions. After selecting the PDCCH repetition that ends earlier in time824, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with that one PDCCH repetition. When the UE selects the PDCCH repetition that ends earlier in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions, a PDSCH can be transmitted earlier, thereby reducing the latency.

InFIG.9A, the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol may include two PDCCH repetitions and the PDSCH. Referring toFIG.9B, the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH may include two PDCCH repetitions906and a PDSCH904. The operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include the following operation. In operation902, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions that overlap with the PDSCH as one symbol. For example, each of symbol 0 and symbol 1 is counted as one symbol (single counting). In this case, d1,1equals to mean and therefore the UE may have a low decoding latency but with a high processing complexity.

FIG.9Billustrates an example of symbol counting when a symbol contains 2 PDCCH repetitions906and PDSCH904, according to some embodiments. In one embodiment, the following options are provided to determine the number of overlapped symbols between scheduling PDCCH906and scheduled PDSCH904for the calculation of d1,1. InFIG.9B, the UE may count symbols908associated with the two PDCCH repetitions906as one symbol when calculating the additional delay based on the PDSCH904and PDCCH resource mapping pattern. That is, even though there are two PDCCH repetitions overlapping in slot indexes 0 and 1 in the depicted symbols908, each instance where there is an overlap in a symbol is counted as one overlapped symbol for purposes of determining the processing delay for decoding of the PDCCH repetitions. In the illustrated example, the total number of overlapped symbols between scheduling PDCCH and scheduled PDSCH may be considered as 2 (symbols 0 and 1).

InFIG.10A, the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol may include two PDCCH repetitions and the PDSCH. The operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include the following operation. In operation1002, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions that overlap with the PDSCH as two symbols (double counting). InFIG.10B, in view of the two PDDCH repetitions that overlap in symbol index 0 and 1, the UE may count symbols1008associated with the two PDCCH repetitions1006as two symbols in each symbol (symbols 0 and 1) when calculating the additional delay based on the PDSCH1004and PDCCH resource mapping pattern. That is, the total number of overlapped symbols between scheduling PDCCH and scheduled PDSCH1004may be considered as 4. The double counting may provide additional latency to the UE to decode the PDSCH but with low processing complexity.

InFIG.11, the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol may include two PDCCH repetitions and the PDSCH. The operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may further include the following operation. In operation1102, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions that overlap with the PDSCH based on a UE capability.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay may be based on control resource set (CORESET) symbols when a number of symbols for the PDSCH is smaller than a number of symbols for the CORESET associated with a linked search space (SS). The CORESET symbols may include two PDCCH repetitions.

For UE capability 2, if the number of symbols for scheduled PDSCH is smaller than the number of symbols for the CORESETs associated with the linked SSs starting from the PDSCH symbol, d_1,1 may be calculated based on the CORESETs symbols. NR supports two levels of UE processing capability, including UE capability 1 (basic UE processing capability) and UE capability 2 (advanced UE processing capability). UE capability 2 refers to a UE with higher performance, which can support a faster decoding, e.g. UE supporting Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC). For example, if one symbol contains 2 PDCCH repetitions, operations902, operations1002, and operations1102as described above can be implemented for determining the processing delay for the decoding of the PDCCH repetition based on the multiplexing pattern.

In one embodiment, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may include the operation902. In operation902, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions that overlap with the PDSCH as one symbol.

In one embodiment, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may include the operation1002. In operation1002, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions that overlap with the PDSCH as two symbols.

In one embodiment, in operation1102, the UE may determine a number of symbols associated with the two PDCCH repetitions that overlap with the PDSCH based on a UE capability.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay may be based on CORESET symbols when a number of symbols for the PDSCH is smaller than a number of symbols for the CORESET associated with a linked SS. The CORESET symbols may include one PDCCH repetition.

In one embodiment, the UE may select the PDCCH repetition that starts later in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions.

In one embodiment, the UE may select the PDCCH repetition that starts earlier in time compared to other PDCCH repetitions in a group of PDCCH repetitions.

FIG.12illustrates an example of implementation of the operation706of determining a processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol described above.

In some embodiments, the operations of determining the processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern may include the following operation. In operation1202, the UE may monitor a second SS if a first SS of a linked SS is dropped. Linked SS may include at least two SS. The PDCCH repetitions may be transmitted in a linked SS in which each PDCCH is transmitted in each SS. Linked SS may inform the UE the location of the PDCCH repetition.

If the first SS of the two linked SSs is dropped, the UE may report whether it would monitor the second SS by UE capability.

In one embodiment, the UE may be configured to monitor the second SS via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

In addition, gNB may configure UE to monitor or drop the second SS by higher layer signaling, e.g. RRC.

FIG.13illustrates an example of the operation of monitoring a second SS if a first SS of a linked SS is dropped.

In one embodiment, the operations of monitoring the second SS if the first SS of the linked SS is dropped further include the following operation. In operation1302, the UE may decode downlink control information (DCI) in the second SS based on a single transmission/reception point (TRP) operation.

The DCI decoded in the SS may be considered based on single-TRP operation, where the Rel-16 processing delay, e.g. Tproc1, Tproc2, timeDurationForQCL, beamSwitchTiming, CSI processing delay Z and Z′ and so on, can be applied. The DCI decoded in the SS may be considered based on single-TRP operation because the DCI may be found from a single SS.

FIG.14illustrates an example of the operation of monitoring a second SS if a first SS of a linked SS is dropped.

In one embodiment, the operations of monitoring the second SS if the first SS of the linked SS is dropped may further include the following operation. In operation1402, the UE may decode DCI in the second SS based on a multi-TRP operation.

If a single TRP operation is considered, the UE may have a smaller latency compared to when the multi-TRP is used. Multi-TRP operation may provide a low processing complexity with a high latency.

The DCI decoded in the SS is considered based on multi-TRP operation, where the proposed processing delay, e.g. Tproc1, Tproc2, timeDurationForQCL, beamSwitchTiming, CSI processing delay Z and Z′ and so on, can be applied.

FIG.15illustrates an example of the operation of monitoring a second SS if a first SS of a linked SS is dropped.

In one embodiment, the operations of monitoring the second SS if the first SS of the linked SS is dropped may further include the following operation. In operation1502, the UE may report a UE capability to indicate whether a DCI is decoded based on a single TRP operation or a multi-TRP operation.

In one embodiment, higher layer signaling, e.g. RRC or MAC CE can be used to indicate whether a DCI is decoded based on a single TRP operation or a multi-TRP operation.

In another embodiment, a second DCI can be used to indicate whether a DCI is decoded based on a single TRP operation or a multi-TRP operation. In this embodiment, one independent field can be introduced to indicate whether the DCI can be considered as single-TRP or multi-TRP operation. Alternatively, a reserved field of legacy field, e.g. antenna ports, can be used to indicate whether the DCI can be considered as single-TRP or multi-TRP operation.

FIG.16illustrates an example of the operation of monitoring a second SS if a first SS of a linked SS is dropped.

In one embodiment, the operations of monitoring the second SS if the first SS of the linked SS is dropped may further include the following operation. In operation1602, the UE may determine that one PDCCH candidate of an independent SS shares a same configuration as a first PDCCH candidate for the PDCCH repetition. In operation1604, the UE may determine that the one PDCCH candidate belongs to the independent SS or the linked SS.

If one PDCCH candidate from an independent SS shares the same configuration as the first PDCCH candidate for PDCCH repetitions, the UE may report whether it would assume the PDCCH candidate is from the independent SS or linked SS.

FIG.17illustrates an example of the operation of determining that the one PDCCH candidate belongs to the independent SS or the linked SS.

In one embodiment, the operations of determining that the one PDCCH candidate belongs to the independent SS or the linked SS may further include the following operation. In operation1702, the UE may determine a priority score for the one PDCCH candidate based on a predefined priority rule.

Alternatively, a priority rule may be used to determine whether to prioritize the PDCCH from the independent SS or the PDCCH from the linked SSs. The priority rule may consider the factors including type of SS (common SS>UE specific SS), periodicity of SS, SS ID and CORESET ID. For example, a smaller periodicity may have a higher priority than a larger periodicity. Further, a smaller ID may have a higher priority than larger ID.

FIG.18illustrates an example of the operation of determining a priority score for the one PDCCH candidate based on a predefined priority rule.

In one embodiment, the priority score for the one PDCCH candidate may indicate that the one PDCCH candidate belonging to the independent SS is prioritized. The operation may further include operation1802in which the UE may monitor a second PDCCH candidate by the UE capability.

FIG.19illustrates an example of implementation of the operation706of determining a processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern of the PDCCH repetition and the PDSCH within the overlapping symbol described above.

In one embodiment, the operations of determining a processing delay based on the multiplexing pattern further include the following operation. In operation1902, the UE may determine an additional delay associated with processing PDCCH repetition. The additional delay may be reported by UE capability.

Alternatively, gNB can configure in determining whether to prioritize the PDCCH from the independent SS or the PDCCH from the linked SSs. If UE prioritizes the independent SS, for the second PDCCH candidate, UE may report whether it would monitor the second PDCCH candidate by UE capability. Alternatively, a base station (e.g., gNB) may configure whether to monitor the second PDCCH candidate by higher layer signaling, e.g. RRC. The decoding latency for the independent SS and the second SS can be determined by the above described operations when the UE monitors the second SS.

A machine readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine readable medium includes read only memory (“ROM”); random access memory (“RAM”); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory devices; etc.

It should be kept in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “selecting,” “determining,” “receiving,” “forming,” “grouping,” “aggregating,” “generating,” “removing,” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.