Patent Description:
Some exemplary embodiments are related to a processor of a base station configured to perform operations. The operations include configuring a first search space having a first search space identification (SearchSpaceId) in a special cell (SpCell) and a second search space having a second search space identification (SearchSpaceId) in a secondary cell (SCell) for monitoring control signaling that schedules operations on the SpCell and transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) configuration to a user equipment (UE) including the first SSID and the second SSID, wherein the RRC configuration configures the UE to monitor the first search space having the first SSID for scheduling of a first type of control signaling and the second search space having the second SSID for scheduling of a second type of control signaling.

Other exemplary embodiments are related to a base station having a transceiver configured to communicate with a user equipment (UE) and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform operations. The operations include configuring a first search space having a first search space identification (SearchSpaceId) in a special cell (SpCell) and a second search space having a second search space identification (SearchSpaceId) in a secondary cell (SCell) for monitoring control signaling that schedules operations on the SpCell and transmitting a radio resource control (RRC) configuration to the UE including the first SSID and the second SSID, wherein the RRC configuration configures the UE to monitor the first search space having the first SSID for scheduling of a first type of control signaling and the second search space having the second SSID for scheduling of a second type of control signaling.

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments relate to the configuration of search spaces when a secondary cell (SCell) is configured to schedule UE operations on a special cell (SpCell) in addition to the SpCell also being configured to schedule its own operations. In the following description, SpCell may refer to a primary cell (PCell) or a primary SCell (PSCell).

The exemplary embodiments are described with regard to a UE. However, reference to a UE is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component that may establish a connection to a network and is configured with the hardware, software, and/or firmware to exchange information and data with the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any appropriate electronic component.

In addition, the exemplary embodiments are described with regard to a <NUM> New Radio (NR) network. However, reference to a <NUM> NR network is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may be utilized with any network that implements the functionalities described herein.

To provide more flexibility to a <NUM> NR network using dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) to schedule control data to be transmitted, it has been suggested that in addition to configuring a SpCell (e.g., a <NUM> cell) to schedule its own transmissions, a SCell (e.g., a <NUM> cell) also be configured schedule operations on the SpCell. One issue that arises, however, is how the search space(s) (SS) should be configured to facilitate the scheduling of these transmissions on the SpCell by two cells (the SpCell and the SCell).

According to some exemplary embodiments, the network configures one or more search spaces in at least one of the SpCell and the SCell for scheduling the control data transmissions on the SpCell. The network indicates to the UE which search space(s) should be monitored for this scheduling.

Another issue that arises is how a UE should handle the deactivation or dormancy of an SCell when the scheduling of control data transmissions on the SpCell is performed by both the SpCell and the SCell.

According to other exemplary embodiments, the network configures the one or more search spaces for each of the SpCell and the SCell. The network then explicitly or implicitly indicates to the UE which search space the UE should monitor when the SCell is deactivated or dormant.

<FIG> shows an exemplary network arrangement <NUM> according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary network arrangement <NUM> includes a UE <NUM>. It should be noted that any number of UE may be used in the network arrangement <NUM>. Those skilled in the art will understand that the UE <NUM> may be any type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network, e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, smartphones, phablets, embedded devices, wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. It should also be understood that an actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs being used by any number of users. Thus, the example of a single UE <NUM> is merely provided for illustrative purposes.

The UE <NUM> may be configured to communicate with one or more networks. In the example of the network configuration <NUM>, the networks with which the UE <NUM> may wirelessly communicate are a <NUM> New Radio (NR) radio access network (<NUM> NR-RAN) <NUM>, an LTE radio access network (LTE-RAN) <NUM> and a wireless local access network (WLAN) <NUM>. However, it should be understood that the UE <NUM> may also communicate with other types of networks and the UE <NUM> may also communicate with networks over a wired connection. Therefore, the UE <NUM> may include a <NUM> NR chipset to communicate with the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM>, an LTE chipset to communicate with the LTE-RAN <NUM> and an ISM chipset to communicate with the WLAN <NUM>.

The <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM> and the LTE-RAN <NUM> may be portions of cellular networks that may be deployed by cellular providers (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.). These networks <NUM>, <NUM> may include, for example, cells or base stations (Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBS, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocells, microcells, small cells, femtocells, etc.) that are configured to send and receive traffic from UE that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set. The WLAN <NUM> may include any type of wireless local area network (WiFi, Hot Spot, IEEE <NUM>. 11x networks, etc.).

The UE <NUM> may connect to the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM> via the gNB 120A and/or the gNB 120B. The gNBs 120A and 120B may be configured with the necessary hardware (e.g., antenna array), software and/or firmware to perform massive multiple in multiple out (MIMO) functionality. Massive MIMO may refer to a base station that is configured to generate a plurality of beams for a plurality of UE. During operation, the UE <NUM> may be within range of a plurality of gNBs. Reference to two gNBs 120A, 120B is merely for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may apply to any appropriate number of gNBs. Further, the UE <NUM> may communicate with the eNB 122A of the LTE-RAN <NUM> to transmit and receive control information used for downlink and/or uplink synchronization with respect to the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM> connection.

Those skilled in the art will understand that any association procedure may be performed for the UE <NUM> to connect to the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM>. For example, as discussed above, the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM> may be associated with a particular cellular provider where the UE <NUM> and/or the user thereof has a contract and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card). Upon detecting the presence of the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may transmit the corresponding credential information to associate with the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM>. More specifically, the UE <NUM> may associate with a specific base station (e.g., the gNB 120A of the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM>).

In addition to the networks <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> the network arrangement <NUM> also includes a cellular core network <NUM>, the Internet <NUM>, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) <NUM>, and a network services backbone <NUM>. The cellular core network <NUM> may be considered to be the interconnected set of components that manages the operation and traffic of the cellular network. The cellular core network <NUM> also manages the traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet <NUM>. The IMS <NUM> may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UE <NUM> using the IP protocol. The IMS <NUM> may communicate with the cellular core network <NUM> and the Internet <NUM> to provide the multimedia services to the UE <NUM>. The network services backbone <NUM> is in communication either directly or indirectly with the Internet <NUM> and the cellular core network <NUM>. The network services backbone <NUM> may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite of services that may be used to extend the functionalities of the UE <NUM> in communication with the various networks.

<FIG> shows an exemplary UE <NUM> according to various exemplary embodiments. The UE <NUM> will be described with regard to the network arrangement <NUM> of <FIG>. The UE <NUM> may represent any electronic device and may include a processor <NUM>, a memory arrangement <NUM>, a display device <NUM>, an input/output (I/O) device <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM> and other components <NUM>. The other components <NUM> may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery that provides a limited power supply, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE <NUM> to other electronic devices, one or more antenna panels, etc. For example, the UE <NUM> may be coupled to an industrial device via one or more ports.

The processor <NUM> may be configured to execute a plurality of engines of the UE <NUM>. For example, the engines may include a search space management engine <NUM>. The search space management engine <NUM> may perform various operations related to determining which search space(s) should be monitored for control data scheduling for the SpCell, as will be described in greater detail below.

The above referenced engine being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor <NUM> is only exemplary. The functionality associated with the engine may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE <NUM> or may be a modular component coupled to the UE <NUM>, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engines may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In addition, in some UE, the functionality described for the processor <NUM> is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a UE.

The memory arrangement <NUM> may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE <NUM>. The display device <NUM> may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I/O device <NUM> may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs. The display device <NUM> and the I/O device <NUM> may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen. The transceiver <NUM> may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the <NUM> NR-RAN <NUM>, the LTE-RAN <NUM>, the WLAN <NUM>, etc. Accordingly, the transceiver <NUM> may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies).

<FIG> shows an exemplary network base station, in this case gNB 120A, according to various exemplary embodiments. The gNB 120A may represent any access node of the <NUM> NR network through which the UE <NUM> may establish a connection. The gNB 120A illustrated in <FIG> may also represent the gNB 120B.

The gNB 120A may include a processor <NUM>, a memory arrangement <NUM>, an input/output (I/O) device <NUM>, a transceiver <NUM>, and other components <NUM>. The other components <NUM> may include, for example, a power supply, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the gNB 120A to other electronic devices, etc..

The processor <NUM> may be configured to execute a plurality of engines of the gNB 120A. For example, the engines may include a search space management engine <NUM> for performing operations including configuring one or more search spaces when both the SpCell and the SCell are configured to schedule control data transmissions on the SpCell and to configure the UE <NUM> to handle the deactivation or dormancy of the SCell. Examples of this process will be described in greater detail below.

The above noted engine being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor <NUM> is only exemplary. The functionality associated with the engines may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the gNB 120A or may be a modular component coupled to the gNB 120A, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. In addition, in some gNBs, the functionality described for the processor <NUM> is split among a plurality of processors (e.g., a baseband processor, an applications processor, etc.). The exemplary aspects may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a gNB.

The memory <NUM> may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UEs <NUM>, <NUM>. The I/O device <NUM> may be a hardware component or ports that enable a user to interact with the gNB 120A. The transceiver <NUM> may be a hardware component configured to exchange data with the UE <NUM> and any other UE in the system <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies). Therefore, the transceiver <NUM> may include one or more components (e.g., radios) to enable the data exchange with the various networks and UEs.

<FIG> shows a method <NUM> of configuring a search space of a SCell (e.g., a <NUM> cell) for scheduling transmissions on a SpCell (e.g., a <NUM> cell) according to various exemplary embodiments. At <NUM>, the gNB 120A (or 120B) configures an SpCell (e.g., gNB 120A) and an SCell (e.g., eNB 122A) to schedule control data transmissions (e.g., DCI, PDCCH, etc.) for the SpCell. The SCell is not configured in frequency range <NUM> (FR2). In some embodiments, whether or not the SCell can be configured in FR2 depends on the capabilities of the UE. In some embodiments, the SCell cannot be configured in the non-terrestrial network (NTN) spectrum. In some embodiments, the SCell cannot be configured in the NR unlicensed (NR-U) spectrum. In some embodiments, whether or not the SCell can be configured in the NR-U spectrum depends on the capabilities of the UE.

At <NUM>, the gNB 120A configures a first search space in the SpCell and a second search space in the SCell. The first and second search spaces have the same search space ID (SearchSpaceId). The two search spaces are automatically linked because when the gNB 120A configures the UE <NUM> with the SearchSpaceId to monitor, then that SearchSpaceld corresponds to the first and second search spaces. In some embodiments, when the first and second SearchSpacelds are the same, the nrofCandidates information element (IE) is in the first search space of the SpCell and all other control signal configurations (e.g., non-fallback DCI, remaining PDCCH configurations) are in the second search space of the SCell. In some embodiments, when the first and second SearchSpaceIds are the same, the nrofCandidates IE and some other control signal configuration (e.g., monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset, monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot, duration) is in the first search space of the SpCell and all other control signal configurations (e.g., non-fallback DCI, remaining PDCCH configurations) are in the second search space of the SCell.

In some embodiments, the first and second search spaces and their corresponding SearchSpaceIds are different. In such an embodiment, the first search space of the SpCell includes fallback DCI scheduling (e.g., Format 0_0 and 1_0) and the second search space includes the scheduling of all other control signaling (e.g., non-fallback DCI, all PDCCH configurations). In such an embodiment, because the SearchSpaceIds of the two search spaces are different, the gNB 120A explicitly indicates the second SSID to the UE <NUM> so that the UE <NUM> knows which search space to monitor for the non-fallback DCI and all PDCCH configurations. In some embodiments, the second search space is counted as one of the standard-defined maximum of ten search spaces per cell. In some embodiments, the second search space is alternatively not counted as one of the standard defined maximum of ten search spaces per cell.

At <NUM>, the gNB 120A configures a beam failure recovery (BFR) search space. In some embodiments, the BFR search space (recoverySearchSpaceId) is only configured in the SpCell. In some embodiments, the BFR search space (recoverySearchSpaceId) is only configured in the SCell. In some embodiments, the gNB 120A may choose which cell to configure the BFR search space (recoverySearchSpaceId).

At <NUM>, the gNB 120A configures whether downlink (DL) and/or uplink (UL) DCI transmissions are scheduled by the second search space of the SCell. In some embodiments, both the first search space of the SpCell and the second search space of the SCell schedule DL and UL DCI for UE operations on the SpCell. In some embodiments, the gNB 120A alternatively restricts which DCI (DL or UL) the UE <NUM> is configured to monitor on the SCell.

At <NUM>, the gNB 120A transmits an RRC configuration to the UE <NUM> that includes a first SearchSpaceld corresponding to the first search space and a second SearchSpaceld corresponding to the second search space so that the UE <NUM> knows which search space(s) to monitor for control signals that schedules operations on the SpCell. In some embodiments, the RRC configuration further includes the BFR search space ID.

As currently defined by the Third Generation Partnership (3GPP) standards, the total number of different DCI sizes monitored by the UE <NUM> is four. The total number of different DCI sizes for DCI transmissions scrambled by cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) monitored by the UE <NUM> is three. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> is limited to these maximums on both the first and second search spaces. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> is alternatively limited to these maximums on each of the first and second search spaces. In such an embodiment, the UE <NUM> may report to the gNB 120A whether it supports the additional DCI size monitoring limitation associated with applying the size limit on a per cell basis.

<FIG> shows a method <NUM> of configuring a UE <NUM> to handle deactivation of an SCell configured to schedule transmissions on a SpCell according to various exemplary embodiments. The following description is made with the assumption that the SpCell is a <NUM> cell and the SCell is a <NUM> cell.

At <NUM>, the gNB 120A (or 120B) configures an SpCell (e.g., gNB 120A) and an SCell (e.g., eNB 122A) to schedule control data transmissions (e.g., DCI) for the SpCell. At <NUM>, the gNB 120A configures a first search space having a first SearchSpaceId in the SpCell and a second search space having a second SearchSpaceId in the SCell. At <NUM>, the gNB 120A transmits an RRC configuration to the UE <NUM> including the SearchSpaceIds of the first and second search spaces. At <NUM>, the gNB 120A provides an indication to the UE <NUM> regarding which search space to monitor (which search space is activated) when the SCell is deactivated or dormant.

In some embodiments, the indication provided by the gNB 120A at <NUM> is an implicit indication. In such an embodiment, when the UE <NUM> receives an indication that the SCell has been deactivated or is dormant, the UE <NUM> implicitly knows that the second search space is deactivated and the first search space is activated. Similarly, when the UE <NUM> receives an indication that the SCell has been activated, the UE <NUM> implicitly knows that the second search space is activated and the first search space is deactivated.

In some embodiments, the indication provided by the gNB 120A at <NUM> may be an explicit indication. In such an embodiment, the gNB 120A may transmit a DCI or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to indicate to the UE <NUM> which search space the UE <NUM> should monitor. In some embodiments, the gNB 120A may configure a timer to address a scenario in which the DCI/MAC CE is not received or improperly decoded by the UE <NUM>. The timer begins when the DCI/MAC CE is received. Upon expiration of the timer, the UE <NUM> begins to monitor a default search space. For example, if the DCI/MAC CE indicates that the UE <NUM> should monitor the second search space, the UE <NUM> monitors the second search space until the expiration of the timer, at which point the UE <NUM> monitors the first search space, which is configured to be the default search space. If the gNB 120A intends for the UE <NUM> to continue to monitor the second search space, then the gNB 120A sends another DCI/MAC CE indicating that the UE <NUM> should monitor the second search space. Upon receipt of the second DCI/MAC CE, the timer is reset. In some embodiments, the timer is set to <NUM>. It should be noted that the default search space may be configured to be either of the first or second search spaces.

In some embodiments, the configured SCell at <NUM> may be a plurality of SCells. In such an embodiment, only one of the plurality of SCells is activated at any given time for monitoring the control signaling that schedules operations on the SpCell. In some embodiments, the activated SCell may be indicated explicitly by the gNB 120A to the UE <NUM> when an SCell is deactivated or dormant via, for example, a DCI or MAC CE. In some embodiments, the activated SCell may be determined based on a priority based on a plurality of predetermined factors such as, for example, the periodicity of the search space in each SCell that is configured to schedule the control data signaling on the SpCell, the SearchSpaceld of each search space in each SCell that is configured to schedule the control data signaling on the SpCell, and the cell index (ServCellIndex) of each SCell. For example, a search space with a lesser periodicity would have a higher priority than a search space with a greater periodicity.

Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardware platform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows OS, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. The exemplary embodiments of the above-described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

Claim 1:
A processor for a base station for a fifth generation, <NUM>, new radio, NR, network using dynamic spectrum sharing, DSS, the base station comprising a cell configured to operate as a secondary cell, SCell, the processor configured to perform operations comprising:
configuring a first search space having a first search space identification, SearchSpaceld, in a special cell, SpCell, and a second search space having a second search space identification, SearchSpaceld, in a secondary cell, SCell, for monitoring control signaling that schedules operations on the SpCell, wherein the first SearchSpaceID and the second SearchSpaceId are the same;
transmitting first configuration information indicating the SCell is allowed to schedule control data transmissions on the SpCell, wherein when the SCell is allowed to schedule the control data transmission on the SpCell the SCell is not configured in frequency range <NUM>, FR2, of the New Radio, NR, spectrum; and
transmitting second configuration information to a user equipment, UE, indicating information related to the SpCell transmitting the control data transmissions.