PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-12075402-B2
Application Number: US-202017593421-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Scheduling a user equipment as part of a group

Abstract:
A user equipment (UE) may be scheduled as part of a group of UEs. The UE receives a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with the group of UEs that includes the UE. The UE receives a signal from one of a cell on which the UE is currently camped or a cell to which the UE is currently connected, the signal scrambled by the RNTI and including control information. The UE decodes the signal using the RNTI and performs an operation in response to the control information.

Claims:
What is claimed: 
     
       1. A method, comprising:
 at a user equipment (UE):
 receiving a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with a group of UEs, the group of UEs including the UE; 
 receiving a signal from one of a cell on which the UE is currently camped or a cell to which the UE is currently connected, the signal scrambled by the RNTI and including control information; 
 decoding the signal using the RNTI to obtain the control information, wherein the control information comprises scheduling information for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH); and 
 receiving, from the cell, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) on the scheduled PDSCH, wherein the MAC CE indicates a change to the PDSCH transmission configuration indicator (TCI) table for the group of UEs. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the RNTI is a Slot Format Indication RNTI (SFI-RNTI). 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control information further comprises information associated with scheduling at least one of: a downlink channel, an uplink channel, or transmission of uplink signaling. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control information further comprises information to reset an inactivity timer for discontinuous reception (DRX). 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control information further comprises information to not reset an inactivity timer for discontinuous reception (DRX). 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the MAC CE provides for scheduling one of a semi-persistent sounding reference signal (SP-SRS) activation or a SP-SRS deactivation. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control information further comprises information to:
 trigger an aperiodic sounding reference signal (AP-SRS) transmission; and 
 transmit the SRS. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the control information includes an indication of an AP-SRS resource set slot offset. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control information comprises information configured to trigger at least one of a configured-grant physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) activation, a configured-grant PUSCH deactivation, a semi-persistent-scheduled (SPS) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) activation or a SPS PDSCH deactivation. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the signal is scrambled by a configured scheduling RNTI (CS-RNTI) and wherein the decoding further includes using the CS-RNTI. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the MAC CE is further configured for one of: changing a physical downlink shared channel beam for the group of UEs, activating semi-persistent zero-power channel state information reference signals(SP-ZP-CSI-RS) for the group of UEs, activating semi-persistent non-zero power channel state information reference signals (SP-NZP-CSI-RS) for the group of UEs or changing physical uplink control channel (PUCC) beam for the group of UEs. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , wherein control information further comprises information to:
 initiate a dormancy mode for one or more secondary cells (SCells). 
 
     
     
       13. A user equipment (UE), comprising:
 a processor configured to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 receiving a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with a group of UEs, the group of UEs including the UE; 
 receiving a signal from one of a cell on which the UE is currently camped or a cell to which the UE is currently connected, the signal scrambled by the RNTI; 
 decoding the signal using the RNTI, wherein the decoded signal includes control information comprising scheduling information for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel; and 
 receiving from the cell, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) on the scheduled PDSCH, wherein the MAC CE indicates a change to the PDSCH transmission configuration indicator (TCI) table for the group of UEs; and 
 
 a transceiver communicatively connected to the processor. 
 
     
     
       14. The UE of  claim 13 , wherein the control information schedules one of: a downlink channel, an uplink channel, or transmission of uplink signaling. 
     
     
       15. The UE of  claim 13 , wherein the control information comprises information to trigger at least one of: a configure-grant physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) activation, a configure-grant PUSCH deactivation, a semi-persistent-scheduled (SPS) physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) activation and a SPS PDSCH deactivation. 
     
     
       16. The UE of  claim 13 , wherein the medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) is configured for one of: changing a physical downlink shared channel beam for the group of UEs, activating semi-persistent zero-power channel state information reference signals(SP-ZP-CSI-RS) for the group of UEs, activating semi-persistent non-zero power channel state information reference signals (SP-NZP-CSI-RS) for the group of UEs and changing physical uplink control channel (PUCC) beam for the group of UEs. 
     
     
       17. The UE of  claim 13 , wherein the control information comprises information to:
 reset an inactivity timer for discontinuous reception (DRX). 
 
     
     
       18. The UE of  claim 13 , wherein the control information comprises information to:
 not reset an inactivity timer for discontinuous reception (DRX). 
 
     
     
       19. A baseband processor configured to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with a group of UEs, the group of UEs including the UE; 
 receiving a signal from one of a cell on which the UE is currently camped or a cell to which the UE is currently connected, wherein the signal is scrambled by the RNTI and includes control information comprising scheduling information for a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH); and 
 receiving from the cell a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) on the scheduled PDSCH, wherein the MAC CE indicates a change to a PDSCH transmission configuration indicator (TCI) table for the group of UEs. 
 
     
     
       20. The baseband processor of  claim 19 , wherein the control information comprises information for scheduling one of: a downlink channel, an uplink channel, or transmission of uplink signaling.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     A network may transmit downlink control information (DCI) to a user equipment (UE) to schedule a subsequent uplink transmission or a downlink reception. There may be multiple UEs camped on the same cell. Consequently, the cell may have to handle a significant amount of processing and signaling associated with DCI. To reduce latency and signaling overhead, group based scheduling may be implemented by the network for a group of UEs. 
     SUMMARY 
     Some exemplary embodiments are related to a method performed by a user equipment (UE). The method includes receiving a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with a group of UEs, the group of UEs including the UE, receiving a signal from one of a cell on which the UE is currently camped or a cell to which the UE is currently connected, the signal scrambled by the RNTI and including control information, decoding the signal using the RNTI and performing an operation in response to the control information. 
     Other exemplary embodiments are related to a user equipment (UE) having a processor and a transceiver communicatively connected to the processor. The processor is configured to perform operations that include receiving a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with a group of UEs, the group of UEs including the UE, receiving a signal from one of a cell on which the UE is currently camped or a cell to which the UE is currently connected, the signal scrambled by the RNTI and including control information, decoding the signal using the RNTI and performing an operation in response to the control information. 
     Still further exemplary embodiments are related to a baseband processor configured to perform operations. The operations include receiving a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) associated with a group of UEs, the group of UEs including the UE, receiving a signal from one of a cell on which the UE is currently camped or a cell to which the UE is currently connected, the signal scrambled by the RNTI and including control information, decoding the signal using the RNTI and performing an operation in response to the control information. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    shows an exemplary network arrangement according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  2    shows an exemplary UE according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  3    shows a method for group based scheduling from the perspective of a single UE according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  4    includes a timing diagram that illustrates how a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer may be affected by group based scheduling. 
         FIG.  5    shows a signaling diagram for group based scheduling according to various exemplary embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     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 describe a device, system and method for implementing group based scheduling for multiple user equipment (UEs). As will be described in more detail below, in a first aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to the signaling of downlink control information (DCI) to a group of UEs. In a second aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to the contents of the DCI and the type of UE behavior that may be triggered by the DCI. In a third aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback. The exemplary embodiments include UE and network mechanisms for handling situations related to group based scheduling. 
     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 electronic component. 
     The exemplary embodiments are also described with regard to the network being a fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) network and a corresponding cell being a next generation Node B (gNB). The 5G NR network may implement group based scheduling for multiple UEs using DCI. However, reference to a 5G NR network and a gNB are merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may be utilized with any network and corresponding cell that supports signaling control information to a group of UEs. 
     The exemplary embodiments are further described with regard to DCI. Those skilled in the art will understand that DCI may refer to control information that indicates that a subsequent transmission and/or reception is to be performed by the UE. To provide an example, the DCI may be transmitted to the UE by a cell on which the UE is currently camped or a cell to which the UE is currently connected via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). In this example, the DCI may include scheduling information for downlink data that is to be received via a downlink data channel (e.g., physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc.) or uplink data that is to be transmitted via an uplink data channel (e.g., physical uplink shared channel (PDSCH)). In another example, the DCI may include scheduling information for other control information that is to be received by the UE (e.g., a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE)) or scheduling information for other control information that is to be transmitted by the UE (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)). Thus, the UE may transmit and/or receive a signal in response to the DCI. The above examples are provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments in any way, those skilled in the art will understand the scope of the term “DCI.” 
     The network may transmit DCI that is intended to be received by a group of UEs. Throughout this description, the term “group of UEs” may refer to a set of two or more UEs that are associated with a common identifier. For example, as will be described in more detail below, a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) may be assigned to a group of UEs. During operation, the network may transmit a signal to the group of UEs that includes DCI and is scrambled by the RNTI. Each UE of the group of UEs may monitor for the DCI using the RNTI assigned to the group of UEs. Accordingly, the network may provide scheduling information to the group of UEs. However, reference to the term “RNTI” is merely provided for illustrative purposes, the exemplary embodiments may utilize any appropriate type of identifier to differentiate the group of UEs from other UEs. 
     The exemplary embodiments include techniques for implementing group based scheduling. These techniques may reduce the latency and/or signaling overhead associated with providing DCI to multiple UEs. In a first aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to signaling DCI to a group of UEs. In a second aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to the contents of the DCI and the type of UE behavior that may be triggered by the DCI. In a third aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to HARQ feedback corresponding to the DCI. The exemplary embodiments include techniques that may be implemented on both the UE side and the network side. These exemplary techniques may be utilized with other currently implemented group based scheduling techniques, future implementations of group based scheduling techniques or independently from other group based scheduling techniques. 
       FIG.  1    shows an exemplary network arrangement  100  according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary network arrangement  100  includes UEs  110 ,  112 . Those skilled in the art will understand that the UEs  110 ,  112  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. 
     In this example, the UEs  110 ,  112  represent a group of UEs associated with a common identifier (e.g., a RNTI). However, in actual network arrangement, any number of UEs may be configured into any number of groups. Thus, the example of a two UEs  110 ,  112  is merely provided for illustrative purposes. 
     The UEs  110 ,  112  may be configured to communicate with one or more networks. In the example of the network configuration  100 , the network with which the UE  110  may wirelessly communicate is a 5G NR radio access network (RAN)  120 . However, it should be understood that the UE  110  may also communicate with other types of networks (e.g. 5G cloud RAN, a LTE RAN, a legacy cellular network, a WLAN, etc.) and the UE  110  may also communicate with networks over a wired connection. With regard to the exemplary embodiments, the UE  110  may establish a connection with the 5G NR RAN  120 . Therefore, the UE  110  may have a 5G NR chipset to communicate with the NR RAN  120 . 
     The 5G NR RAN  120  may be a portion of a cellular network that may be deployed by a network carrier (e.g., Verizon, AT&amp;T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.). The 5G NR RAN  120  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 UEs that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set. 
     In network arrangement  100 , the 5G NR RAN  120  includes a cell  120 A that represents a gNB. However, an actual network arrangement may include any number of different types of cells being deployed by any number of RANs. Thus, the example of a single cell  120 A is merely provided for illustrative purposes. 
     The cell  120 A may include one or more communication interfaces to exchange data and/or information with UEs, the corresponding RAN, the cellular core network  130 , the internet  140 , etc. Further, the cell  120 A may include a processor configured to perform various operations. For example, the processor of the cell  120 A may be configured to perform operations related to associating an RNTI with a group of UEs, scrambling DCI using the RNTI, transmitting the DCI to the group of UEs, receiving HARQ feedback and the transmission/reception indicated in the DCI. However, reference to a processor is merely for illustrative purposes. The operations of the cell  120 A may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the cell  120 A or may be a modular component coupled to the cell  120 A, 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 examples, the functionality of the processor 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 cell. 
     The UEs  110 ,  112  may connect to the 5G NR-RAN  120  via the cell  120 A. Those skilled in the art will understand that any association procedure may be performed for the UEs  110 ,  112  to connect to the 5G NR-RAN  120 . For example, as discussed above, the 5G NR-RAN  120  may be associated with a particular cellular provider where the UE  110  and/or the user thereof has a contract and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card). Upon detecting the presence of the 5G NR-RAN  120 , the UE  110  may transmit the corresponding credential information to associate with the 5G NR-RAN  120 . More specifically, the UE  110  may associate with a specific cell (e.g., the cells  120 A). However, as mentioned above, reference to the 5G NR-RAN  120  is merely for illustrative purposes and any appropriate type of RAN may be used. 
     In addition to the 5G NR RAN  120  the network arrangement  100  also includes a cellular core network  130 , the Internet  140 , an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)  150 , and a network services backbone  160 . The cellular core network  130  may be considered to be the interconnected set of components that manages the operation and traffic of the cellular network. The cellular core network  130  also manages the traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet  140 . The IMS  150  may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UE  110  using the IP protocol. The IMS  150  may communicate with the cellular core network  130  and the Internet  140  to provide the multimedia services to the UE  110 . The network services backbone  160  is in communication either directly or indirectly with the Internet  140  and the cellular core network  130 . The network services backbone  160  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  110  in communication with the various networks. 
       FIG.  2    shows an exemplary UE  110  according to various exemplary embodiments. The UE  110  will be described with regard to the network arrangement  100  of  FIG.  1   . The UE  110  may include a processor  205 , a memory arrangement  210 , a display device  215 , an input/output (I/O) device  220 , a transceiver  225  and other components  230 . The other components  235  may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a power supply, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE  110  to other electronic devices, etc. The UE  110  illustrated in  FIG.  2    may also represent the UE  112 . 
     The processor  205  may be configured to execute a plurality of engines of the UE  110 . For example, the engines may include a group based scheduling engine  235 . The group based scheduling engine  235  may perform operations related to identifying an RNTI associated with a group of UEs that includes the UE  110  and using the RNTI to receive DCI that is transmitted to the group of UEs. 
     The above referenced engine being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor  205  is only exemplary. The functionality associated with the engine may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE  110  or may be a modular component coupled to the UE  110 , 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 UEs, the functionality described for the processor  205  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  210  may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE  110 . The display device  215  may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I/O device  220  may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs. The display device  215  and the I/O device  220  may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen. The transceiver  225  may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the 5G NR-RAN  120 , an LTE-RAN (not pictured), a legacy RAN (not pictured), a WLAN (not pictured), etc. Accordingly, the transceiver  225  may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies). 
       FIG.  3    shows a method  300  for group based scheduling from the perspective of a single UE  110  according to various exemplary embodiments. The method  300  will be described with regard to the network arrangement  100  of  FIG.  1    and the UE  110  of  FIG.  2   . 
     Initially, consider an exemplary scenario in which the UE  110  is camped on the cell  120 A. In  305 , the UE  110  receives an RNTI associated with a group of UEs. 
     Those skilled in the art will understand that are various different types of RNTIs. In this example, the RNTI may be used to differentiate a group of UEs from other UEs connected to the same cell. In some embodiments, the RNTI may be an RNTI implemented for group based scheduling. Throughout this description, this type of RNTI may be referred to as an “GC-RNTI.” In other embodiments, a slot format indicator RNTI (SFI-RNTI) may be utilized for group based scheduling. Typically, the SFI-RNTI may be used for the notification of slot format information over the PDCCH. Thus, in some exemplary embodiments, the SFI-RNTI may be used in an unconventional manner for group based scheduling. However, any reference to a particular type of RNTI being used for group based scheduling is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may apply to an RNTI specifically configured for group based scheduling, any type of existing RNTI used in an unconventional manner for group based scheduling or any other appropriate type of identifier. Thus, the RNTI as described herein is used to represent any appropriate type of identifier for a group of UEs. 
     In this example, the RNTI may be provided to the UE  110  via a radio resource control (RRC) signal. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to the RNTI being provided via RRC signaling. For instance, the RNTI may be preconfigured or selected from a set of preconfigured values at the UE  110 , derived by the UE  110  using a particular algorithm, transmitted to the UE  110  via a third-party or provided to the UE  110  in any other appropriate manner. 
     In  310 , the UE  110  monitors the PDCCH for DCI. This may include the UE  110  utilizing an active mode of data exchange processing during certain instance of time to receive over the air signals, process the received signals and determine whether the received signals include DCI intended for the UE  110 . Further, the UE  110  may be configured to monitor the PDCCH in accordance with a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, in accordance with a schedule, in response to a predetermined condition or on any other appropriate basis. 
     The exemplary concepts described herein may be used to provide a variety of different types of control information to the group of UEs. The following configurations are provided as an example of the different types of content that may be scheduled by DCI scrambled with the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. In a first configuration, the RNTI associated with the group of UEs may only be used to schedule the reception of MAC CEs. In a second configuration, the RNTI associated with the group of UEs may be used to schedule the reception of MAC CEs and/or the reception of downlink channels (e.g., PDDCH, PUSCH, etc.). In a third configuration, the RNTI associated with the group of UES may be used to schedule the reception of MAC CEs, the reception of downlink channels and/or the transmission of uplink signaling (e.g., SRS). In a further configuration, the RNTI associated with the group of UES may be used to schedule the reception of MAC CEs, the reception of downlink channels and/or the transmission of uplink channels (e.g. PUSCH, etc.). However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited to any of the exemplary configurations described above. The exemplary concepts described herein may be applicable to any type control information that is to be transmitted to a group of UEs. 
     In  315 , the UE  110  receives DCI that is transmitted to the group of UEs. For example, the cell  120 A may transmit a signal that includes DCI and is scrambled by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. In this example, the monitoring in  310 , may include determining whether a signal can be decoded using the RNTI received in  305 . Since the group of UEs know the RNTI that is used to scramble the DCI, each UE of the group of UEs may be capable of decoding the scrambled signal. Thus, from the perspective of the cell  120 A, transmitting DCI to the group of UEs may include transmitting a signal scrambled by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. From the perspective of the UE  110 , receiving the DCI transmitted to the group of UEs may include successfully decoding the signal using the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. However, the scrambling and decoding operations are beyond the exemplary embodiments. On the network side, any appropriate type of scrambling or similar mechanism may be used. On the UE side, any appropriate type of decoding or similar mechanism may be used. 
     For a PDCCH monitoring occasion or any other time window during which the UE  110  is configured to monitor for control information, the UE  110  is not expected to decode every signal. For example, in some embodiments, the UE  110  may be expected to decode, at most, one scheduling (e.g., a downlink scheduling or an uplink scheduling) by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. In other embodiments, the UE may be expected to decode, at most one downlink scheduling and one uplink scheduling by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. On the network side, information regarding what the UE  110  is expected to decode may be used to improve signaling efficiency and/or reduce signaling overhead. For example, this type of information may provide the basis for the number of signals transmitted to the UE  110  of the group of UEs. On the UE  110  side, information regarding what the UE  110  is expected to decode may be used to improve power consumption. For example, this information may be used to initiate a power saving mode with regard to data exchange processing. 
     Although not shown in the method  300 , the UE  110  may be configured to provide HARQ feedback in response to the DCI received in  315 . Specific examples of implementing HARQ feedback for group based scheduling will be described below with regard to the signaling diagram  500  of  FIG.  5   . 
     In  320 , the UE  110  may perform an operation in response to the DCI. For example, the DCI may schedule the reception of data via a downlink data channel or the transmission of data via an uplink data channel. In another example, the DCI may schedule the reception of a MAC CE. In a further example, the DCI may schedule the transmission of SRS. In another example, the DCI may be used to activate or deactivate a certain feature or mechanism (e.g., SPS PDSCH, configure gran PUSCH, etc.). 
     In a further example, an inactivity timer for DRX operation may be controlled based on the reception of DCI scrambled by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs.  FIG.  4    includes a timing diagram  400  that illustrates how a DRX inactivity timer may be controlled by group based scheduling. However, the following examples are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments in any way. Instead, the examples shown in the timing diagram  400  are merely provided to illustrate the different ways in which a DRX inactivity timer may be controlled by a signal scrambled with a group RNTI. 
     The timing diagram  400  illustrates a first DRX inactivity timer  410  and a second DRX inactivity timer  450 . In this example, a first UE  110  is equipped with first DRX inactivity timer  410 . The first UE  110  is configured to reset the DRX inactivity timer in response to receiving a signal that includes control information and is scrambled by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. A second UE  112  is equipped with the second DRX inactivity timer  450 . The second UE  112  is not configured to reset the DRX inactivity timer in response to receiving a signal that includes control information and is scrambled by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. 
     In  402 , both the first UE  110  and the second UE  112  receive a signal that includes scheduling information for a subsequent transmission or reception. The signal in  402  is not scrambled with the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. In accordance with DRX inactivity timer operation, both the DRX inactivity timer  410  and the DRX inactivity timer  450  are reset in response to the signal received in  402 . 
     In  404 , both the first UE  110  and the second UE  112  receive a signal that includes scheduling information for a subsequent transmission or reception. The signal in  404  is scrambled with the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. Here, only the first UE  110  resets the DRX inactivity timer in response to the signal received in  404 . Thus, in some embodiments, the DRX inactivity timer may be reset after decoding the PDCCH scrambled by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs and identifying that a subsequent transmission or reception is to be performed (e.g. DRX inactivity timer  410 ). In other embodiments, the DRX inactivity timer may not be reset after decoding the PDCCH scrambled by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs and identifying that a subsequent transmission or reception is to be performed (e.g. DRX inactivity timer  450 ). 
       FIG.  5    shows a signaling diagram  500  for group based scheduling according to various exemplary embodiments. The signaling diagram  400  will be described with regard to the network arrangement  100  of  FIG.  1   , the UE  110  of  FIG.  2    and the method  300  of  FIG.  3   . 
     The signaling diagram  500  includes the UE  110 , the UE  112  and the cell  120 A. Initially, consider a scenario in which the UE  110  is camped on the cell  120 A and the UE  112  is also camped on the cell  120 A. 
     In  505   a , the UE  110  and the cell  120 A participate in an RRC signaling exchange. During the signaling exchange in  505   a , the UE  110  may receive an indication of the RNTI associated with a group of UEs that includes the UE  110  (e.g., GC-RNTI, SFI-RNTI, etc.). The UE  110  may also receive other configuration information relevant to group based scheduling during the signaling exchange in  505   a . For example, the UE  110  may receive parameters for a DRX cycle, an indication of the types of content that may be scrambled by the RNTI, a slot offset for SRS, and parameters for HARQ feedback related to group based scheduling. 
     In  505   b , the UE  112  and the cell  120 A also participate in an RRC signaling exchange. The signaling exchange of  505   b  is substantially similar to the signaling exchange  505   a . At this time, the UE  110  and the UE  112  both have independent and distinct connections to the network via the cell  120 A. In this example, both the UE  110  and the UE  112  are associated with the same RNTI and corresponding group of UEs. 
     During operation, the cell  120 A and/or the network may determine that one or more UEs are to be associated with one another for group based scheduling in any appropriate manner. That is, the cell  120 A and/or the network may assign the UE  110  an RNTI associated with a group of UEs based on any appropriate factor or condition. From the perspective of the network, in some embodiments, the group of UEs may be continuously modified by adding or removing UEs from the group. Further, there may be scenarios in which the cell  120 A and/or the network configures a group of UEs but only performs group based scheduling for the when certain predetermined conditions are present. The above examples are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments in any way. The manner in which the network configures a group of UEs or determines when to implement group based scheduling is beyond the scope of the exemplary embodiments. The exemplary embodiments may apply to a group of UEs being configured in any appropriate manner and group based scheduling being performed for any appropriate reason. 
     In  510   a , the UE  110  monitors the PDCCH for DCI. For example, during the RRC signaling exchange in  505   a , the network may configure the UE  110  with one or more monitoring occasions during which the UE  110  is to utilize an active mode of data exchange processing to monitor for control information. Similarly, in  510   b , the UE  112  monitors the PDCCH for DCI. 
     In  515 , the cell  120 A transmits a signal to the group of UEs. The signal may include control information and may be scrambled using the RNTI associated with the group of UEs. 
     In some embodiments, the group based scheduling may be used for SP-SRS activation and deactivation. For example, the control information transmitted in  515  may schedule the reception of a MAC CE configured for SP-SRS activation or deactivation. In response to the subsequently received MAC CE, the group of UEs may activate or deactivate the SP-SRS resource set indicated in the MAC CE. 
     In some embodiments, the group based scheduling may be used for aperiodic SRS (AP-SRS) transmission triggering. For example, an SRS request may be triggered by DCI format 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2 and 2_3. This type of DCI may be scrambled by the RNTI associated with the group of UEs and transmitted during  515 . The UEs  110 ,  112  may decode the DCI during their respective monitoring occasions shown in  510   a ,  510   b . In response, the UEs  110 ,  112  may be triggered to transmit the corresponding AP-SRS resource set based on the SRS request. 
     The SP-SRS resource set slot offset may also be indicated in the DCI. For example, a predetermined value or indictor may be included in a slot offset field in the DCI. In response to identifying the predetermined value or indictor, the UE  110  may use the slot offset previously configured by RRC signaling. In another example, the slot offset may be explicitly indicated in the DCI. In a further example, the slot offset may be derived based at least, in part, on the DCI. 
     In some embodiments, the group based scheduling may be used for configured grant PUSCH activation or deactivation. Similarly, the group based scheduling may be used for SPS PDSCH activation or deactivation. Unlike the MAC CE activation/deactivation mentioned above, in this example, the PDCCH itself may be configured to trigger configured grant PUSCH and/or SPS PDSCH activation/deactivation. 
     To support group based configured grant PUSCH and/or SPS PDSCH, the following configurations may be implemented. Conventionally, this type of control information may be provided to a UE via a configured scheduling RNTI (CS-RNTI). Specific examples that include utilizing aspects of the GC-RNTI and/or the CS-RNTI are provided below. 
     A first configuration includes implementing a new group based RNTI for configured grant PUSCH and/or SPS PDSCH activation/deactivation. Throughout this description, this RNTI may be referred to as a “CS-GC-RNTI.” Thus, during RRC signaling exchanges in  505   a ,  505   b , the UEs  110 ,  112  may receive one or more RNTIs, e.g., GC-RNTI, CS-RNTI and/or CS-GC-RNTI. 
     A second configuration includes combining the CS-RNTI and the GC-RNTI to have an equivalent RNTI of GC-RNTI+CS-RNTI where (+) represents a modular 2 addition. Thus, during RRC signaling exchanges in  505   a ,  505   b , the UEs  110 ,  112  may receive multiple RNTIs, e.g., GC-RNTI and CS-RNTI. The UEs  110 ,  112  may then use both of these RNTIs to decode an indication of configured grant PUSCH and/or SPS PDSCH activation/deactivation on the PDCCH. 
     A third configuration includes using CS-RNTI to scramble the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) portion of the DCI and GC-RNTI to scramble a payload portion of the DCI (or vice versa). Thus, during RRC signaling exchanges in  505   a ,  505   b , the UEs  110 ,  112  may receive multiple RNTIs, e.g., GC-RNTI and CS-RNTI. The UEs  110 ,  112  may then use both of these RNTIs to decode an indication of configured grant PUSCH and/or SPS PDSCH activation/deactivation on the PDCCH. 
     A fourth configuration includes using GC-RNTI as the explicit payload of the DCI. Thus, during RRC signaling exchanges in  505   a ,  505   b , the UEs  110 ,  112  may receive multiple RNTIs, e.g., GC-RNTI and CS-RNTI. The UEs  110 ,  112  may then use the CS-RNTI to decode an indication of configured grant PUSCH and/or SPS PDSCH activation/deactivation on the PDCCH. The payload of the GC-RNTI may then indicate to the UEs  110 ,  112  that this indicate is for group based scheduling. This may indicate to the UEs  110 ,  112  to behave in accordance with the group based scheduling parameters. 
     As indicated above, the signal transmitted in  515  may be used to schedule the reception of a MAC CE. Thus, group based scheduling may be used to support various functionality that may be available via the use of a MAC CE. For example, the group based scheduling may be used to transmit a MAC CE to the group of UEs that is configured to change PDCCH beams for all UEs in the group of UEs. In another example, the group based scheduling may be used to transmit a MAC CE to the group of UEs that is configured to change a PDSCH transmission configuration indicator (TCI) table for all UEs in the group of UEs. In a further example, the group based scheduling may be used to transmit a MAC CE to the group of UEs that is to activate semi-persistent (SP) zero power (ZP) channel state information (CSI) reference signal (RS) (SP-ZP-CSI-RS) for all UEs in the group of UEs. In a further example, the group based scheduling may be used to transmit a MAC CE to the group of UEs that is to activate SP non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS (SP-NZP-CSI-RS) for all UEs in the group of UEs. In another example, the group based scheduling may be used to transmit a MAC CE to the group of UEs that is configured to change PUCCH beams for all UEs in the group of UEs. 
     In some embodiments, the DCI transmitted in  515  may be configured to trigger dormancy mode or may be used to schedule the reception of an indication that triggers dormancy mode. Those skilled in the art will understand that dormancy mode relates to a UE power saving mode of data exchange processing with regard to one or more secondary cells (SCells). Thus, group based scheduling may be used to request that UEs in the group of UEs operate in dormancy mode with regard to the one or more indicated cells. 
     In  520   a , the UE  110  may transmit HARQ feedback to the cell  120 A. HARQ feedback may be incorporated into group based scheduling in any of a variety of different ways. Specific examples of implementing HARQ feedback for group based scheduling will be provided below. 
     In some embodiments, HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) feedback is not required. In other embodiments, HARQ ACK feedback may only be implemented for certain types of control information. For example, the UE  110  may transmit HARQ ACK feedback in response to receiving configured grant PUSCH activation/deactivation, receiving SPS PDSCH activation/deactivation and/or receiving a MAC CE. 
     In further embodiments the parameters for HARQ ACK feedback may be provided during RRC signaling. These parameters may indicate whether HARQ ACK feedback is to be provided and/or the conditions that may trigger HARQ ACK feedback. For instance, the network may selectively implement HARQ ACK feedback under certain condition and elect not to implement HARQ ACK feedback under other conditions. In another embodiment, the RRC signaling may be used to implement HARQ ACK feedback for only a subset of the UEs in the group of UEs. An example of this embodiment is shown in the signaling diagram  500 . Here, the UE  110  is included in the subset of UEs of the group of UEs and thus, the UE  110  provide HARQ ACK feedback in  520   a . The UE  112  is not included in the subset of UEs and thus, the UE  112  does not provide HARQ ACK feedback despite successfully receiving the signal transmitted in  515 . 
     In some embodiments, all UEs included in the group of UEs may provide HARQ ACK feedback. In other embodiments, as indicated above, only a subset of UEs in the group of UEs may be configured to provide HARQ ACK feedback. The subset may be determined by the UEs based on criterion such as, but not limited to, downlink reference signal receive power (RSRP), downlink reference signal receive quality (RSRQ), a parameter indicated a distance relative to the currently camped or connected cell, a priority order, etc. 
     In some embodiments, only negative acknowledgments (NAKs) are to be provided as feedback, only ACKs are to be provided as feedback or both ACKs and NACKs are to be provided as feedback. 
     In  525   a , the UE  110  performs an operation in response to the DCI. For example, the UE  110  may perform a transmission and/or a reception in accordance with the scheduling control information. Although shown outside of the monitoring occasion  510   a  in the signaling diagram  500 , the exemplary embodiments are not limited to this type of scenario. In an actual operating scenario, the operation in  525   a  may be performed at any time subsequent to the reception of the control information. 
     In  525   b , the UE  112  performs an operation in response to the DCI. The operation performed in  525   b  may be substantially similar to the operation performed in  525   b . For example, if the DCI in  515  is for SP-SRS activation, the UEs  110 ,  112  may transmit SRS in  525   a ,  525   b . If the DCI in  515  is for SP-SRS deactivation, the UEs  110 ,  112 , may deactivate a mode of operation related to providing SP-SRS in  525   a ,  525   b . In another example, if the DCI in  515  is for AP-SRS transmission, the UEs  110 ,  112  may transmit SRS in  525   a ,  525   b . In a further example, if the DCI in  515  schedules the reception of a MAC CE, the UEs  110 ,  112  may receive the corresponding MAC CE in  525   a ,  525   b.    
     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. 
     Although this application described various embodiments each having different features in various combinations, those skilled in the art will understand that any of the features of one embodiment may be combined with the features of the other embodiments in any manner not specifically disclaimed or which is not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation of the device or the stated functions of the disclosed embodiments. 
     It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20200805
Publication Date: 20240827
Grant Date: 20240827
Priority Date: 20200805
Inventors: SUN, HAITONG
YAO, CHUNHAI
YE, CHUNXUAN
ZHANG, DAWEI
HE, HONG
CUI, JIE
OTERI, OGHENEKOME
YE, SIGEN
ZENG, WEI
YANG, WEIDONG
TANG, YANG
ZHANG, YUSHU
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04W72/20", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/0466", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/046", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/0446", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L5/0051", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/28", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/23", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/121", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/28", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/0446", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/1263", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W8/26", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/28", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/20", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/0466", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/046", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/0446", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04L5/0051", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W72/1263", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 80119736