BR112017000273B1 - RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR UES UNDER INCREASED COVERAGE - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices are described for wireless communication within and to user equipment (UE), including devices of lower complexity, which may have intermittent communication needs, low data rates, difficult-to-reach locations, and the like. Devices within a wireless communication system may utilize transmission time slot (TTI) grouping to identify and employ various coding schemes according to particular channel, transmission, and/or environmental conditions. Devices may also monitor and/or decode control-based transmission, low-control transmission, or both. In some examples, devices may monitor multiple channels based on a TTI cluster length. Some or any of these techniques may allow increased coverage of UEs, including low-complexity UEs.

Description

CROSS REFERENCES

[0001] The present patent application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 14/801,434 by Chen et al., Entitled "Resource Management for UEs Under Coverage Enhancement", filed on July 16, 2015, and Provisional Patent Application U.S. No. 62/026,477 by Chen et al, entitled "Resource Management for UEs Under Coverage Enhancement", filed July 18, 2014, each of which is assigned to its applicant.

FUNDAMENTALS

[0002] Wireless communications systems are widely used to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, message exchange, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users sharing available system resources (e.g. time, frequency and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems, and Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) systems. Orthogonal Frequency Division (OFDMA), for example, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system.

[0003] Generally speaking, a wireless multiple access communication system may include a number of base stations, each communication simultaneously supporting multiple mobile devices or other UE devices. Base stations can communicate with UEs over upstream and downstream links. Each base station has a coverage range, which can be referred to as the cell's coverage area. The evolution of wireless communication systems has been centered on smartphones, tablets and the like. But there may be an increasing need for development to support devices of lower complexity, including devices that may have intermittent communication needs and/or that may be located on the periphery of a base station's coverage range.

SUMMARY

[0004] The resources described generally concern improved systems, methods and apparatus for increasing coverage for UEs, including devices of lower complexity, which may have intermittent communication needs, low data rates, difficult to reach locations, and the like. Techniques are described that can be used for managing the resources of UEs under, or potentially benefiting from, increased coverage.

[0005] Multiple devices within a system that utilize transmission time slot (TTI) grouping may, for example, identify a TTI grouping length associated with a shared channel, and may determine an association between the common channel and a control channel. Additionally or alternatively, a transport block size (TBS) of the shared channel may be identified. A coding scheme for the shared channel can therefore be determined based on the identified TTI cluster length of the shared channel, the determined association between the shared channel and the control channel, and/or the TBS.

[0006] In some examples, devices, including UEs, may monitor different search spaces for control and low-control data channels during a TTI. The UEs can thus decode a control channel from one search space and the UEs can decode a data channel from a different search space. The UEs can therefore operate in a control-based and/or control-poor mode.

[0007] A wireless communication method is described. The method may include identifying a first transmission time interval (TTI) grouping length of a first channel, identifying a second TTI grouping length of a second channel, monitoring a first search space for the first channel during a TTI based at least in part on the first identified TTI cluster length, and monitoring a second search space for the second channel during the TTI based at least in part on the second identified TTI cluster length.

[0008] An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include means for identifying a first TTI cluster length of a first channel, means for identifying a second TTI cluster length of a second channel, means for monitoring a first search space for the first channel during a TTI with based at least in part on the first identified TTI cluster length, and means for monitoring a second search space for the second channel during the TTI based at least in part on the identified second TTI cluster length.

[0009] Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include a processor, memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in memory and operable, when executed by the processor, causing the apparatus to identify a first TTI grouping length of a first channel, identify a second grouping length of a second channel, monitoring a first search space for the first channel during a TTI based at least in part on the identified first TTI cluster length, and monitoring a second search space for the second channel during the TTI with based at least in part on the second identified TTI cluster length.

[0010] A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium code for wireless communication is described. The code may include executable instructions for identifying a first TTI cluster length of a first channel, identifying a second TTI cluster length of a second channel, monitoring a first search space for the first channel during a TTI based on at least in part on the first identified TTI cluster length, and monitoring a second search space for the second channel during the TTI based at least in part on the second identified TTI cluster length.

[0011] Some examples of the method, apparatus, or non-transitory computer readable medium described herein may further include processes, resources, means, or instructions for receiving signaling indicative of a first TTI grouping length configuration and a second configuration of TTI cluster length, wherein the first search space is monitored based at least in part on the identified first TTI cluster length corresponding to the first TTI cluster length setting, and the second search space is monitored with based at least in part on the second identified TTI cluster length configuration. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the first channel comprises a first control channel and the second channel comprises a second control channel.

[0012] In some examples of the method, apparatus, or non-transitory computer readable medium described herein, the first control channel or the second control channel is frequency division multiplexed with other channels during TTI. Additionally or alternatively, some examples may include processes, resources, means, or instructions for identifying a third TTI grouping length of a third channel, and monitoring a third search space for the third channel during the TTI based on, at least in part at the third identified TTI cluster length.

[0013] In some examples of the method, apparatus, or non-transitory computer readable medium described herein, the first and second channels comprise control channels and the third channel comprises a data channel that is not associated with the first or second channel. of control. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the first channel, the second channel, and the third channel are each encoded by convolutional coding.

[0014] In some examples of the method, apparatus, or non-transitory computer readable medium described herein, the first TTI grouping length and the second TTI grouping length are different. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the first search space comprises a common search space and the first TTI cluster length is indicative of the common search space, and wherein the second search space comprises a specific search space of device and the second TTI cluster length is indicative of the device-specific search space.

[0015] In some examples of the method, apparatus, or non-transitory computer readable medium described herein, the first search space comprises a common search space and the first TTI cluster length is indicative of the common search space, and in that the second search space comprises a common search space and the second TTI cluster length is indicative of the common search space. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the first search space comprises a device-specific search space and the first TTI cluster length is indicative of the device-specific search space, and wherein the second search space comprises a device-specific search space and the second cluster length of TTI is indicative of the device-specific search space.

[0016] In some examples of the method, devices, or non-transitory computer-readable medium described here, the first search space and the second search space have the same level of aggregation in the TTI. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the first search space and the second search space have different levels of aggregation in the TTI.

[0017] A wireless communication method is described. The method may include monitoring a first search space during a TTI for a first channel, and monitoring a second search space during the TTI for a second channel.

[0018] An apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include means for monitoring a first search space during a TTI for a first channel, and means for monitoring a second search space during the TTI for a second channel.

[0019] Another apparatus for wireless communication is described. The apparatus may include a processor, memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored in memory and operable, when executed by the processor, to cause the apparatus to control a first search space during a TTI over a first channel, and monitor a second search space during TTI for a second channel.

[0020] A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium code for wireless communication is described. The code may include executable instructions for monitoring a first search space during a TTI for a first channel, and monitoring a second search space during the TTI for a second channel.

[0021] In some examples of the method, apparatus, or non-transitory computer readable medium described herein, the first channel is a control channel and the second channel is a data channel. Additionally or alternatively, some examples may include processes, resources, means, or instructions for blindly decoding the control channel from the first search space, and blindly decoding the data channel from the second search space.

[0022] In some examples of the method, apparatus, or non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the control channel comprises a physical control channel that schedules a corresponding shared data channel, and the data channel comprises a physical shared channel not associated with any control channel. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the data channel is encoded by convolutional coding.

[0023] Some examples of the method, apparatus, or non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include processes, resources, means, or instructions for monitoring a third search space during TTI for an additional control channel associated with transmissions broadcast. Additionally or alternatively, some examples may include processes, resources, means, or instructions for activating an unassociated data monitoring mode for a user equipment (UE), wherein control of the second search space is based on at least partly in unbound data monitoring mode enabled.

[0024] In some examples of the method, apparatus, or non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein, the first search space comprises a common search space. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the first channel is a first data channel and the second channel is a second data channel.

[0025] Some examples of the method, apparatus, or non-transitory computer-readable medium described herein may further include processes, resources, means, or instructions for blindly decoding the first data channel from the first search space, and blindly decoding the second data channel from the second search space. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the first search space is monitored based at least in part on a first TTI cluster length of the first channel and the second search space is monitored based at least in part on a second TTI grouping length of the second channel.

[0026] Further scope of the applicability of the described methods, apparatus and computer-readable means will become apparent from the following detailed description, claims and drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are given by way of illustration only, as various changes and modifications within the scope of the description will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present invention can be achieved by reference to the following drawings. In the accompanying figures, similar components or features may have the same reference marker. Furthermore, several components of the same type can be distinguished by following the reference marker by a dash and a second marker that distinguishes between similar components. If only the first reference marker is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any of the similar components with the same first reference marker independently of the second reference marker.

[0028] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0030] Figures 3A-3D illustrate examples of resource management for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 4 shows a block diagram of a device configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 5 shows a block diagram of a device configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 6 shows a block diagram of a device configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 7 shows a block diagram of a system configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 8 shows a block diagram of a system configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 9 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 10 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 11 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 12 illustrates an example of resource management for UEs under increased coverage, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure;

[0040] Figure 13 illustrates an example of resource management for UEs under increased coverage, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure;

[0041] Figure 14 shows a block diagram of a device configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 15 shows a block diagram of a device configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 16 shows a block diagram of a device configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 17 shows a block diagram of a system configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 18 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 19 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention;

[0047] Figure 20 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present invention; It is

[0048] Figure 21 shows a flowchart illustrating a method for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] Resource management can improve coverage for user equipment (UEs) within a system. Devices within the base stations and/or the UEs may be configured to utilize transmission time slot (TTI) grouping to identify and employ various coding schemes according to given channel, transmission, and/or environmental conditions. Additionally or alternatively, the devices may be configured to monitor and/or decode control-based transmission, low-control transmission, or both. In some cases, devices can also be configured to monitor multiple channels based on a TTI cluster length. Some or any of these techniques may allow increased coverage of UEs, including low-complexity UEs. Coverage enhancement, as used herein, may refer to techniques that provide improved signal strength - e.g., strength of signals transmitted to or received from - a UE. In some cases, coverage increase may refer to an effective increase in signal power realized in or by a UE.

[0050] The following description provides examples, and is not limiting of the scope, applicability, or configuration defined in the claims. Changes may be made to the function and arrangement of the elements discussed, without departing from the scope of disclosure. Various embodiments may omit, replace, or add various procedures or components, as appropriate. For example, the methods described may be performed in an order different from that described, and several steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Furthermore, the features described in relation to certain embodiments may be combined in other embodiments.

[0051] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The system 100 includes base stations 105, communication devices, also known as UEs 115, and a core network 130. The base stations 105 can communicate with the UEs 115 under the control of a base station controller (not shown), which it may be part of the core network 130 or the base stations 105 in various embodiments. Base stations 105 may communicate control information and/or user data with the core network 130 via backhaul links 132. In embodiments, the base stations 105 may communicate, directly or indirectly, with each other over links. return transport channel 134, which may be wired or wireless communication links. The system 100 can support operation on multiple carriers (wave signals of different frequencies). Alloy 125 wireless communication can be modulated according to various radio technologies. Each modulated signal can carry control information (e.g. reference signals, control channels, etc.), overhead information, data, etc.

[0052] The base stations 105 may communicate wirelessly with the UEs 115 through one or more base station antennas. Each of the base stations 105 may provide communications coverage locations for a respective geographic area 110. In some embodiments, the base stations 105 may be referred to as a base transceiver station, a base station, an access point, a radio, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), a node B, evolved node B (eNB), native Node B, a native eNode B, or some other suitable terminology. The coverage area 110 for a base station can be divided into sectors that constitute a portion of the coverage area (not shown). The system 100 may include base stations 105 of different types (e.g., macro, micro, and/or pico base stations). There may be overlapping coverage areas for different technologies. As described below, base stations 105 may employ coverage enhancement techniques to support various types of UEs 115, including low complexity UEs 115, within system 100.

[0053] System 100 may be a heterogeneous long-term evolution (LTE)/LTE-a network in which different types of base stations provide coverage for various geographic regions. For example, each base station 105 may provide communications coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or other types of cells. A macro cell typically covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and can allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A pico cell, in general, covers a relatively smaller geographic area and can allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell also generally covers a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a house) and, in addition to unrestricted access, may also provide restricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell.

[0054] The core network 130 may communicate with the base stations 105 via a backhaul channel 132 (e.g., S1, etc.). The base stations 105 may further communicate with each other, e.g., directly or indirectly, via backhaul links 134 (e.g., X2, etc.) and/or via backhaul channel links. 132 (e.g., via core network 130). The wireless communications system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, base stations can have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations can be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, base stations can have different frame timings, and transmissions from different base stations cannot be time aligned. The techniques described here can be used for both synchronous and asynchronous operations.

[0055] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the wireless communications system 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE 115 may be capable of communicating with macro eNB, pico eNB, femto eNB, relays, and the like. A UE 115 may also be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a device wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, an apparatus, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other appropriate terminology. A UE 115 may be a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a portable computer, a cordless telephone, a loop station wireless location (WLL), or similar. While some aspects of the system 100 may be designed to improve spectral efficiency, ubiquitous coverage, support improved quality of service (QoS), and the like for such UEs 115, low-complexity (e.g., low-cost) UEs 115 may also be effectively supported by system 100.

[0056] These low complexity/low cost UEs 115 can provide automated communication. As used herein, "low complexity" may refer to the limited operating capabilities and/or characteristics of a UE 115, including limited data rates, transmission power, and so on. These devices may also be referred to as "low cost" because they can be considerably less expensive to manufacture and operate than other wireless devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, and the like.

[0057] Automated wireless devices may include such devices implementing machine-to-machine (M2M) communication or Machine Type communication (MTC). M2M and/or MTC may refer to data communications technologies that allow devices to communicate with each other or a base station without human intervention. For example, M2M and/or MTC may refer to communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and transmit that information to a central server program or application that can make use of the information or present the information for humans interacting with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be MTC devices, such as those designed to collect information or enable automated machine behavior. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, health monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote sensing security, physical access control, and transaction-based business billing. Some market projections show that the number of low-cost devices (e.g., TCM devices) may far exceed today's cell phones.

[0058] In order to support an increasing number of UEs 115, including low complexity UEs 115, certain UEs 115 may communicate with a reduced maximum bandwidth compared to legacy UEs 115 - e.g., UEs 115 operating from according to LTE version 11 or earlier. Such UEs 115 may also, or alternatively, be configured with a single radio frequency (RF) chain to reduce complexity; they may also have reduced peak data rates and/or reduced transmit power capabilities. In some cases, such devices operate in a half-duplex manner e.g. either to transmit or receive, but not both at the same time.

[0059] Communication links 125 shown in system 100 may include uplink transmissions (UL) from a UE 115 to a base station 105, and/or downlink transmissions (DL) from a base station 105 to a UE 115 on DL carriers. Downlink transmissions can also be called forward link transmissions while uplink transmissions can also be called reverse link transmissions.

[0060] Communication links 125 may, in some examples, include control-based and low-control data channels. As used herein, control-based data channels may refer to data channels programmed by a control channel, while control-based data channels may not be programmed by a control channel. For example, a shared physical downlink channel (PDSCH) may have an associated physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules the PDSCH, and the PDSCH may be referred to as control-based. Another PDSCH may, however, not be programmed by a PDCCH (e.g., may not be associated with a PDCCH), but may be blindly decoded (as described below), and may be referred to as low control. Communication links 125 may thus provide resource management for UEs 115 under increased coverage within system 100.

[0061] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 200 for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. System 200 may include a base station 105-a that has a coverage area 110-a, which communicates with UEs 115 via communication links 125. Each of these may be examples of the corresponding devices and aspects of system 100 described. with reference to Figure 1. In some examples, communication links 125 may include grouped transmissions, (e.g., TTI grouping).

[0062] Communication links 125 may include control and data channels 225, which may be control-based and/or low-control. Data channels can be divided into logical channels, transport channels, and physical layer channels. DL physical channels may include physical broadcast channel (PBCH), physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), physical HARQ indicator channel (PHICH), physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and physical multicast channel (PMCH). Physical uplink channels may include physical random access channel (PRACH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and physical shared uplink channel (PUSCH).

[0063] PDCCH carries downlink control information (DCI) in control channel elements (CCEs), which may consist of groups of logically contiguous resource elements (REGs), where each REG contains 4 resource elements (REs). DCI includes information about DL scheduling assignments, UL resource grants, transmission scheme, UL power control, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information, modulation and coding scheme (MCS), and other information. The size and format of DCI messages may vary, depending on the type and amount of information that is carried by the DCI.

[0064] To reduce power consumption and overhead on user equipment, a limited set of CCE locations may be specified for DCI associated with a specific UE 115. CCEs may be grouped (e.g., in groups of 1, 2, 4 and 8 CCEs), and a set of CCE locations at which the user equipment can encounter relevant DCI can be specified. These CCEs can be known as a search space. The grouping of CCEs can be referred to as a level of aggregation. Different search spaces can have the same or different levels of aggregation. In some cases, two search spaces have the same level of aggregation in a subframe. In other cases, two search spaces may have different levels of aggregation in a subframe. The search space can be divided into two regions: the common CCE region or search space and an UE-specific (dedicated) CCE region or search space. The common CCE region may be monitored by all UEs served by a base station 105 and may include information such as paging information, system information, random access procedures, and the like. The UE-specific search space may include user-specific control information. CCEs may be indexed, and the common search space always starts from CCE 0. A UE 115 may attempt to decode DCI by performing a process known as a blind decode, during which the search spaces are randomly decoded until the ICD be detected. During a blind decode, the user equipment may attempt to decode all potential DCI messages using its temporary cellular radio network identifier (C-RNTI), and performing a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) to determine whether the attempt was successful. . As described more fully below with reference to Figure 12, a UE may also attempt to blindly decode certain data channels (e.g., PBCH and/or PDSCH) by reference to a UE-specific search space designated for data little control.

[0065] In system 200, UE 115-a may be a low complexity UE 115, with a reduced peak data rate. For example, the UE 115-a may be a meter or sensor with a data rate of 100 kbps or less. Thus, it may be possible for the UE 115-a to operate over a narrow bandwidth, which may help with development, implementation and communication costs with the UE 115-a. To support such narrowband operation, it may be possible to set aside some narrow bandwidth (e.g., 1.25 MHz) to support low complexity UE 115 operations within system 200. Alternatively, low complexity UEs 115 may be operated at a higher bandwidth, and may thus co-exist with regular UEs 115, such as the UE 115-b, which may be a smartphone or a tablet, in various examples.

[0066] System 200 can be configured to support the operation of low-complexity UEs 115 at a higher bandwidth in a variety of ways. For example, a low-complexity UE 115-a, e.g., a wireless communication device within a parking lot, may operate at the same wide bandwidth as a regular UE 115-b, e.g., a smartphone. In some cases, all UEs 115 within system 200 may operate at 20 MHz bandwidths, but this may not be useful in reducing the cost or complexity (e.g., battery consumption) of the UE 115-a. Alternatively, low complexity UEs 115 may operate with smaller portions of system bandwidth 200.

[0067] Some solutions for supporting low-complexity UE operations 115 within the bandwidth of system 200 incorporate TTI teaming, which can be configured on a per-UE basis. Grouping operations can, in some cases, be configured by dedicated signaling from higher layers (e.g., with a TTI grouping parameter). Figure 3A illustrates an example of resource management, using TTI grouping, for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 3A shows an example of a frame structure 302 of a carrier within the systems 100 and 200 described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. For example, Figure 3A may illustrate a frame structure of a wireless carrier used for a 125 communication link on 100 or 200 systems.

[0068] Frame structures for Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) (e.g., type 1 frame structure) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) (e.g., type 2 frame structure) can be defined within the scope of systems 100 and 200. Time intervals can be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit (ts = 1/30,720,000 seconds). Each frame structure may have a radio frame length (Tf = 307200. Ts = 10 ms) and may include two half-frames of 5 ms (153600-T) each. Each half-frame can include five 1 ms subframes (30720-T). For TDD frame structures, each subframe can carry UL or DL traffic, and special subframes can be used to switch between DL and UL transmission. Subframes may be grouped as described below, and communication links 125 may include grouped TTI transmission.

[0069] Frame structure 302 may thus include a number of frames 303, each composed of ten (10) subframes 304. In some examples, frame structure 302 illustrates an LTE carrier, which may be of frame structure 302. of frame type 1 or type 2, where each subframe is 1 ms long. In the example frame structure 302, system frame numbers (SFN) 0 to 3 are illustrated; but those skilled in the art will recognize the general applicability of this discussion to other portions of a frame structure and to the other frames and subframes within a system.

[0070] Subframes within a frame may be grouped 305. Grouping may include the transmission of redundant signals (e.g., redundant bits) within consecutive subframes. The number of TTIs grouped together e.g. the number of TTI, which may be consecutive or non-consecutive, carrying redundant bits, may be referred to as a packet length of TTI 307. A packet length of TTI 307 for a packet having four ( 4) Redundant transmissions may be 4 ms, and may be referred to as having a length or dimension of four (4) TTIs or four (4) subframes.

[0071] By way of example, if TTI grouping is configured for a UE 115, a grouping operation may apply to a particular channel or channels. For example, grouping may be limited to a common uplink channel, and may not be applied to other channels. In other examples, however, grouping operations may be applied to multiple channels within a subframe.

[0072] In some examples, grouping may be fixed and/or restricted to a maximum grouping length 307. Grouping may, for example, be restricted to four (4) consecutive subframes. A given channel (e.g., PUSCH) may therefore, in some examples, be transmitted in four (4) consecutive TTIs, but not more or less. Additionally or alternatively, the same hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number may be used in each of the grouped subframes. A TTI 305 packet can be treated as a single resource, for example, in a single grant, and a single HARQ acknowledgment can be used for each packet. While the array length 307 depicted in Figure 3A is four (4), the array length 307 can be substantially any number. For example, grouping length 307 may include any number of subframes within a radio frame structure (e.g., within an LTE radio frame structure). The grouping length 307 may include subframes 304 that span multiple frames 303.

[0073] For certain grouping operations, a resource allocation size may be restricted to a number of resource blocks (e.g., three resource blocks); but in other cases, this restriction may not be imposed by a system. Additionally or alternatively, a system may define a modulation order related to grouping - for example, a modulation order may be defined as two (2), which may indicate quadrature phase keying (QPSK).

[0074] While grouping can be used for a variety of reasons, it can offer particular advantages for low data rate traffic. For example, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) packet may be difficult to transmit on a single TTI due to the low uplink budget. Layer 2 (L2) segmentation can thus be applied, such that the VoIP packet can be transmitted over multiple TTI. For example, a VoIP packet can be segmented into four (4) radio link control (RLC) protocol data units (PDUs), which can be transmitted in four (4) consecutive TTIs. In such cases, two (2) or three (3) HARQ retransmissions can be targeted to achieve sufficient coverage. This approach may, however, have several disadvantages.

[0075] For example, each additional L2 segment introduces additional overhead - one (1) byte RLC, one (1) byte medium access control (MAC), and Layer cyclic redundancy check (CRC) overhead. 3 (L3) of three (3) bytes. Thus, 15% overhead can be added assuming an RLC service data unit (SDU) of 33 bytes. Therefore, for four (4) segments of a VoIP packet, there may be additional L1/L2 overhead of 45%. Additionally, HARQ transmissions/retransmissions for each segment may require concessions on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), which can consume significant PDCCH resources.

[0076] Furthermore, each HARQ transmission or retransmission is followed by the return of HARQ to physical HARQ in the PHICH. Assuming a negative acknowledgment (NACK) to acknowledgment (ACK) error ratio of 10-3, the large number of HARQ feedback signals can lead to high packet loss probabilities. For example, if twelve (12) HARQ return signals are sent, the HARQ return error rate ratio may be on the order of 1.2 x 102; but packet loss rates of more than 10-2 may be unacceptable for VoIP traffic.

[0077] In view of these problems, TTI grouping, which allows a single uplink grant and a single PHICH signal per TTI packet 305, may be advantageous. Furthermore, L1/L2 overhead can be minimized because L2 segmentation can be avoided.

[0078] Additionally, TTI clustering can allow for significant coverage increases of UEs 115. A large TTI cluster length 307 can help provide large coverage increases. For example, TTI grouping on the order of 100 subframes can help provide a large uplink coverage increase (e.g., on the order of 20 dB), and possibly downlink coverage increase.

[0079] Despite these benefits, however, large TTI clustering may introduce additional problems for devices within systems 100 and 200. For large TTI clustering, control-based data transmissions to low complexities UEs 115 may be inefficient. For example, a 100 subframe control transmission scheduling a 100 subframe PDSCH transmission may introduce an overhead inefficiency. Such deficiencies can be highlighted if a payload size for a PDSCH is small, for example with respect to PDCCH or EPDCCH. For example, a PDCCH or EPDCCH size of about 40 bits programming a PDSCH of less than 100 bits may result in inefficient utilization of resources due to the relatively significant power used to receive and decode such transmissions when grouped. Additionally, in some coverage increase scenarios, a PDSCH transport block may be anticipated to be small.

[0080] In such cases, it may be beneficial to recognize various coverage increasing techniques and/or channel associations and to operate devices within the system accordingly. Using different coding schemes and/or employing combinations of control-based and low-control transmission can reduce or avoid inefficiencies and can allow for low-complexity UE implementation.

[0081] In some examples of system 100 and 200, a base station 105 and/or a UE 115 employs threshold-dependent PUSCH or PDSCH coding. A device may, for example, identify a transmit TTI grouping length 307 associated with a shared channel, e.g., a PDSCH or PUSCH. In other words, the device can identify a number of subframes, consecutive or non-consecutive, with redundant versions of a PDSCH or PUSCH. The device may determine a coding scheme for the shared channel based, in whole or in part, on the identified TTI cluster length 307.

[0082] Large TTI cluster lengths 307 may be difficult and/or expensive to decode if encoded using a turbo coding scheme. For example, multi-hypothesis decoding for large PDSCH grouped by TTI can be costly, both in time and energy resources. After identifying a TTI grouping length 307, a device (e.g., in an eNB 105 or a UE 115) may determine a coding scheme, select a turbo coding scheme when the TTI grouping length 307 is shorter than or equal to a threshold, and select a convolutional coding scheme when the cluster length of TTI 307 is greater than a threshold. For example, for a TTI 307 cluster size of 10 or less, PDSCH or PUSCH may be encoded with a turbo coding scheme; otherwise, PDSCH or PUSCH can be encoded with a convolutional coding scheme.

[0083] Additionally, or alternatively, a coding scheme may be determined based on other factors. Figures 3B and 3C illustrate examples of resource management, using control channel association, for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Figures 3B and 3C show example TTIs 306 and 308 of a carrier frame within systems 100 or 200. TTIs 306 and 308 may be subframes 304, which may be examples of subframes 304 of Figure 3A.

[0084] The TTI 306 may include multiple channels, which may be in distinct regions of the TTI 306. The TTI 306 may, for example, include PDCCH (or EPDCCH) 309 and PDSCH 311. In some examples, PDCCH (or EPDCCH) 309 is associated with PDSCH 311. For example, PDCCH (or EPDCCH) 309 may program resources of PDSCH 311. TTI 308 may include multiple channels, including PDSCH 313, which may be unassociated with a control channel. PDSCH 313 may, for example, not be programmed by a PDCCH (or an EPDCCH) within the TTI 308.

[0085] In some examples, a base station 105 and/or a UE 115 employs threshold-dependent coding. A device can thus determine an association between the shared channel and a control channel. For example, a device receiving TTI 306 may determine an association between PDSCH 311 and PDCCH (or EPDCCH) 309, while a device receiving TTI 308 may determine that no control association exists for PDSCH 313. Determining an association between a shared channel and a control channel may thus recognize that there is an association between the shared channel and the control channel, or recognize that there is no association between the shared channel and a control channel.

[0086] A coding scheme for a shared channel can then be determined based on the association determined between the shared channel and the control channel. Determining the coding scheme for the shared channel may include selecting a turbo coding scheme when recognizing that there is an association between the control channel and the shared channel, or selecting a convolutional coding scheme when recognizing that there is no association between the control channel and the shared channel. control and the shared channel. In some cases, both determining the TTI grouping length, as discussed above, and determining the association, or lack thereof, between the control channel and shared channel, can be used to determine a coding scheme.

[0087] In still more examples, transmission block size (TBS) is an additional or alternative factor for threshold-dependent coding. Figure 3D illustrates an example of resource management, using TBS, for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 3D shows an example of a carrier frame structure 302-a within the systems 100 and 200 described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 3D, like Figure 3A, may illustrate a carrier frame structure without wire used for a communication link 125 in systems 100 or 200. Frame structure 302-a may be an example of the frame structure 302 described above with reference to Figure 3A.

[0088] Subframe 304 may include a transport block 315 including a MAC header. The transport block payload 315 may include an RLC PDU 317 including an RLC header. The payload RLC PDU 317 may include a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) PDU 319 including a PDCP header. And the PDCP PDU payload 319 may include an IP packet 321 including an IP header. In some examples, the RLC PDU 317 and/or the transport block 315 include padding in addition to the payload capacity and header. The TBS may thus vary according to the payload size of the transport block 315, which may vary according to the size of PDUs concatenated or segmented from other layers. The transport block 315 may be a transport block 315 of a shared channel (e.g., PDSCH or PUSCH).

[0089] In some examples, the TBS is small - on the order of 100 or fewer bits - such as for communications with some MTC 115 UEs. In other cases, the TBS is quite large. Threshold-dependent coding can be based, to some extent, on TBS. For example, a device (e.g., eNB 105 or UE 115) may identify a shared channel TBS. The identified TBS can be used to determine a coding scheme. If, for example, the TBS is 100 bits or less, convolutional coding can be used for PDSCH or PUSCH; otherwise, turbo-coding can be used for the PDSCH or PUSCH. TBS can be used as a factor to determine a coding scheme in addition to the TTI cluster length and/or associated control channel discussed above.

[0090] Threshold-dependent coding may additionally or alternatively depend on other factors. For example, the limit may be in the form of a number of resources associated with a stream. If the stream is assigned with one (1) or two (2) resource blocks (RBS), convolutional coding can be determined; If the transmission is assigned to three (3) or more RBS, turbo coding can be determined. In other examples, the threshold may be in the form of a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) or index. If the transmission is associated with QPSK, convolutional coding can be determined; If the transmission is associated with quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) - for example, 16QAM or higher, turbo coding can be determined.

[0091] Additionally, threshold-dependent coding selection can be combined with other physical layer parameters. For example, if a convolutional coding scheme is determined, QPSK modulation can always be assumed; If a turbo coding scheme is determined, the modulation scheme may be determined based on a signaling, which may be QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, or the like.

[0092] Various devices may have a threshold-dependent encoding selection mode enabled or disabled. For example, whether a UE 115 or base station 105 employs a threshold-dependent coding scheme may be based on whether a coding scheme selection mode is enabled for the UE 115 or base station 105. Such permission may be through higher layer signaling. Devices (e.g., eNB 105 or UE 115) may also utilize a decoding scheme based on a given encoding scheme. In other words, a device may employ various decoding methods based on determining how the received signal was encoded, and without additional signaling indicating how a signal may have been encoded.

[0093] Those skilled in the art will recognize that turbo-coding and convolutional coding discussed here are simply examples of coding techniques that can be implemented for error correction. Other encoding schemes can be used as well. For example, a low density parity check (LDPC) may be employed based on a different or additional threshold TTI cluster length.

[0094] Turning to the next figure 4, there is shown a block diagram of a device 400 configured for managing resources for the UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The device 400 may be an example of one or more aspects of a base station 105 and/or the UE 115 described with reference to Figures 1-3. Device 400 may include a receiver 405, a coding selection module 410, and/or a transmitter 415. Device 400 may also include a processor. Each of these components can be in communication with each other.

[0095] Receiver 405 may be configured to receive information, such as packets, user data, and/or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, etc.), which can be grouped as described above. The information may be passed to the encoding selection module 410, and other components of the device 400.

[0096] The coding selection module 410 can be configured to identify a TTI grouping length associated with a shared channel. Additionally or alternatively, the coding selection module 410 may be configured to determine an association between the common channel and a control channel. And the coding selection module 410 may be configured to determine a coding scheme for the shared channel based on the identified TTI cluster length of the shared channel, the determined association between the common channel and the control channel, or both.

[0097] Transmitter 415 may transmit one or more signals received from other components of device 400. In some embodiments, transmitter 415 may be co-located with receiver 405 of a transceiver module. Transmitter 415 may include a single antenna, or may include a plurality of antennas.

[0098] Figure 5 shows a block diagram of a device 500 configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Device 500 may be an example of one or more aspects of device 400, a base station 105, and/or a UE 115 described with reference to Figures 1-4. Device 400 may include a receiver 405-a, a coding selection module 410-a, and/or a transmitter 415-a. Apparatus 500 may also include a processor. Each of these components can be in communication with each other. The coding selection module 410-a may also include a TTI grouping length module 505, a channel association module 510, and a coding scheme determination module 515.

[0099] The receiver 405-a can receive information that can be passed to the coding selection module 410-a, and other components of the device 500. The coding selection module 410-a can be configured to perform the operations of the coding selection module 410 described above with reference to Figure 4. The transmitter 415-a may transmit the one or more signals received from other components of the device 500.

[0100] The TTI cluster length module 505 may be configured to identify a TTI cluster length associated with a shared channel, as described above with reference to Figure 3A. The TTI grouping length module 505 can, for example, identify a TTI grouping length of a signal received by the receiver 405-a.

[0101] The channel association module 510 may be configured to determine an association between the common channel and a control channel, as described above with reference to Figure 3B and 3C. In some examples, recognizing the association between the shared channel and a control channel comprises recognizing that there is an association between the shared channel and the control channel or recognizing that there is no association between the shared channel and the control channel.

[0102] The coding scheme determination module 515 may be configured to determine a coding scheme for the shared channel based on the identified TTI cluster length of the common channel, the determined association between the shared channel and the control channel. , or a TBS, as described above with reference to Figures 3A-3D. The coding scheme determination module 515 may also be configured to activate a coding selection mode, such that coding scheme determination is based at least in part on the activated coding selection mode as described above. with reference to figures 3A-3D. In some examples, the coding scheme selection mode may be activated by a dedicated signaling received by the receiver 405-a and communicated to the coding selection module 410-a.

[0103] Figure 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a key selection module 410-b configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The encoding selection module 410-b may be an example of one or more aspects of a encoding selection module 410 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The encoding selection module 410-b may include a length module TTI grouping module 505-a, a channel association module 510-a, and a coding scheme determination module 515-a. Each of these modules may perform the functions described above with reference to Figure 5. The coding selection module 410-b may also include a TBS module 605, a turbo coding module 610, a convolutional code module 615, and a 620 decoding module.

[0104] The TBS module 605 can be configured to identify a TBS of the shared channel, such that determination of the coding scheme can be based on the identified TBS as described above with reference to Figure 3D.

[0105] The turbo-coding module 610 can be configured to select a turbo-coding scheme when the TTI cluster length is less than or equal to a threshold as described above with reference to Figure 3A. Additionally or alternatively, the turbo coding module 610 may be configured to select a turbo coding scheme upon recognizing that an association exists between the control channel and the shared channel, as described above with reference to Figures 3B and 3C.

[0106] The convolutional code module 615 can be configured to select a convolutional coding scheme when the TTI cluster length is greater than the threshold as described above with reference to Figure 3A. Additionally or alternatively, the convolutional code module 615 may be configured to select a convolutional coding scheme upon recognizing that there is no association between the control channel and the shared channel, as described above with reference to Figures 3B and 3C.

[0107] In some examples, the decoding module 620 may be configured to use a decoding scheme based on the determined coding scheme as described above with reference to Figure 3A-3D.

[0108] The components of devices 400, 410-b, and 500 may, individually or collectively, be implemented with at least one application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), adapted to perform some or all of the applicable hardware functions. Alternatively, the functions may be performed by one or more other processing units (or cores) in at least one IC. In other embodiments, other types of integrated circuits (e.g., structured/platform ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other semi-custom IC) may be used, which may be programmed in any manner known in the art. The functions of each unit can be implemented, in whole or in part, with instructions embedded in a memory, formatted to be executed by one or more general or application-specific processors

[0109] Figure 7 shows a diagram of a system 700 configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. System 700 may include a UE 115-c, which may be an example of the UEs 115 or devices 400 and 500 described with reference to FIGS. 1-6. The UE 115-c may include a coding selection module 710, which may be an example of a coding selection module 410 described with reference to FIGS. 4-6. In some examples, the UE 115-c is a low complexity UE 115, such as an MTC device. In other cases, the UE 115-c includes components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for transmitting communications and components for receiving communications.

[0110] The UE 115-c may include a processor module 705, memory 715 (including software (SW) 720), a transceiver module 735, and one or more antenna(s) 740, which each may communicate with each other. directly or indirectly with each other (e.g., via one or more 745 buses). The transceiver module 735 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally, via the antenna(s) 740 and/or one or more wired or wireless links, with one or more networks, as described above. For example, transceiver module 735 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with base station 105b. The transceiver module 735 may include a modem configured to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna(s) 740 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antenna(s) 740. While the UE 115- c may include a single antenna 740, the UE 115-c may also have multiple antennas 740 capable of simultaneously transmitting and/or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver module 735 may also be capable of simultaneously communicating with one or more base stations 105 and/or 115 UEs.

[0111] Memory 715 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 715 may store computer-readable, computer-executable software/firmware code 720, including instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause processor 705 to perform various functions described herein (e.g., identifying TTI cluster length, determine control data channel association, determine TBS, determine coding schemes, etc.). Alternatively, software/firmware code 720 may not be directly executable by processor 705, but may be configured to cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein. The processor 705 may include an intelligent hardware device, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, etc. In some examples, the encoding selection module 710 may be a processor module 705.

[0112] Figure 8 illustrates a block diagram of a system 800 configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. System 800 may include base stations 105, including base station 105-d, which may be an example of base stations 105 and/or devices 400 and 500, as described above with reference to Figures 16.

[0113] The base station 105-d may include a processor 805, an encoding selection module 810, memory 815 (including software (SW) 820), a transceiver 835, the antennas 840, a base station communication module 845 , and/or a network communication module 850, which each may be in communication, directly or indirectly, with each other (e.g., via one or more bus system 860). The encoding selection module 810 may be an example of the encoding selection modules 410 described with reference to Figures 4-6.

[0114] The transceiver 835 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally, via the antenna(s) 840, with the UEs 115, which may be low complexity UEs 115 (e.g., MTC devices), under increased coverage. The transceiver 835 (and/or other components of the base station 105-d) may also be configured to communicate bidirectionally, via the antennas 840, with one or more other base stations 105. The transmitter and receiver 830 may include a modem configured to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to antennas 840 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from antennas 840. Base station 105-d may include multiple transceivers 830, each with one or more associated antennas 840. The transceiver may be an example of a combined receiver 405 and transmitter 415 of figures 400 and 500.

[0115] Memory 815 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 815 may also store computer-readable, computer-executable software code 820 containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause processor 805 to perform various functions described herein (e.g., identifying TTI cluster length, determining control data channel association, determine TBS, determine coding schemes, etc.). Alternatively, software 820 may not be directly executable by processor 805, but may be configured to cause the computer, for example, when compiled and executed, to perform the functions described herein.

[0116] Processor 805 may include an intelligent hardware device, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. Processor 805 may include various special purpose processors, such as encoders, queue processing modules, baseband processors, radio head controllers, digital signal processors (DSPs), and the like. In some examples, the encoding selection module 810 may be a module within the processor 805.

[0117] In some cases, the base station 105-d may have one or more wired backhaul links. The base station 105-d may have a wired backhaul link (e.g., the S1 interface, etc.) to the core network 130-a. The base station 105-d may also communicate with other base stations 105, such as the base station 105-m and the base station 105-n via inter-base station communications links (e.g., the X2 interface, etc.). Each of the base stations 105 may communicate with UEs 115 using the same or different wireless communication technologies. In some cases, base station 105-d may communicate with other base stations such as 105-m and/or 105-n using base station communication module 845. In some embodiments, base station communication module 845 may provide a X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communication between some of the base stations 105. In some cases, the base station 105-d communicates with other base stations via the core network 130-a . Additionally or alternatively, the base station 105-d may communicate with the core network 130 via the network communications module 850.

[0118] Figure 9 shows a flow diagram 900 illustrating a resource management method for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The functions of flowchart 900 may be implemented by a base station 105 or a UE 115, or one or more components, as described with reference to Figures 1-8. In certain examples, one or more of the blocks of flowchart 900 may be executed by the coding selection module as described with reference to FIGS. 48.

[0119] In block 905, the method may include identifying a TTI cluster length associated with a shared channel, as described above with reference to Figure 3A. In certain examples, the functions of block 905 may be performed by the TTI cluster length module 505 as described above with reference to Figure 5.

[0120] In block 910, the method may include determining an association between the common channel and a control channel, as described above with reference to Figures 3B and 3C. In certain examples, the functions of block 910 may be performed by channel association module 510, as described above with reference to Figure 5.

[0121] In block 915, the method may include determining a coding scheme for the shared channel based at least in part on the identified TTI cluster length of the shared channel or the determined association between the shared channel and the control channel. , as described above with reference to Figure 3A-3D. In certain examples, the functions of block 915 may be performed by the coding scheme determination module 515, as described above with reference to Figure 5.

[0122] Figure 10 shows a flowchart 1000 illustrating a resource management method for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The functions of flowchart 1000 may be implemented by a base station 105 and/or a UE 115, or one or more components, as described with reference to Figures 1-8. In certain examples, one or more of the operations of the flowchart blocks 1000 may be performed by the coding selection module 410, 710, or 810, as described with reference to FIGS. 4-8. The method described in flowchart 1000 may also incorporate aspects of flowchart 900 of Figure 9.

[0123] In block 1005, the method may include identifying a TTI cluster length associated with a shared channel, as described above with reference to Figure 3A. In certain examples, the functions of block 1005 may be performed by the TTI cluster length module 505 as described above with reference to Figure 5.

[0124] In block 1010, the method may include determining an association between the common channel and a control channel, as described above with reference to Figure 3B and 3C. In certain examples, the functions of block 1010 may be performed by channel association module 510, as described above with reference to Figure 5.

[0125] In block 1015, the method may include identifying a common channel TBS, wherein the determination of the coding scheme may be based, at least in part, on the identified TBS, as described above with reference to Figure 3D. In certain examples, the functions of block 1015 may be performed by the TBS module 605 as described above with reference to Figure 6.

[0126] In block 1020, the method may include determining a coding scheme for the shared channel based at least in part on the identified TTI cluster length of the shared channel or the determined association between the shared channel and the control channel. , as described above with reference to Figure 3A-3D. In certain examples, the functions of block 1020 may be performed by the coding scheme determination module 515, as described above with reference to Figure 5.

[0127] Figure 11 shows a flowchart 1100 illustrating a resource management method for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The functions of flowchart 1100 may be implemented by a base station 105 and/or a UE 115, or one or more components, as described with reference to Figures 1-8. In certain examples, one or more of the flowchart blocks 1100 may be executed by the encoding selection module 410, 710, or 810, as described with reference to FIGS. 4-8. The method described in flowchart 1100 may also incorporate aspects of flowcharts 800 through 900 of Figures 8-9.

[0128] In block 1105, both can activate a coding selection mode, wherein the determination of the coding scheme is based, at least in part, on the activated coding selection mode as described above with reference to Figure 5. In In certain examples, the functions of block 1105 may be performed by the coding scheme determination module 515, as described above with reference to Figure 5.

[0129] In block 1110, the method may include identifying a TTI cluster length associated with a shared channel, as described above with reference to Figure 3A. In certain examples, the functions of block 1105 may be performed by the TTI cluster length module 505 as described above with reference to Figure 5.

[0130] In block 1115, the method may include determining an association between the common channel and a control channel, as described above with reference to Figure 3B and 3C. In certain examples, the functions of block 1110 may be performed by channel association module 510, as described above with reference to Figure 5.

[0131] In block 1120, the method may involve determining a coding scheme for the shared channel based at least in part on the identified TTI cluster length of the shared channel or the determined association between the shared channel and the control channel. , as described above with reference to Figures 3A-3D. In certain examples, the functions of block 1120 may be performed by the coding scheme determination module 515, as described above with reference to Figure 5.

[0132] In block 1125, the method may involve using a decoding scheme based on the determined coding scheme as described above with reference to Figures 3A-3D. In certain examples, the functions of block 1125 may be performed by decoding module 620, as described above with reference to Figure 6.

[0133] It should be noted that the methods described in flowcharts 900, 1000 and 1100 are only examples of implementations, and that the operations of the methods and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified so that other implementations are possible.

[0134] Turning now to Figure 12, an example of resource management, using control-based and low-control data monitoring, for UEs under increased coverage is shown in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Figure 12 shows an example frame structure 1200 of a carrier within system 100 or 200. As discussed above with reference to Figure 3A, time resources for a carrier can be divided into 10 millisecond (ms) periods called frames. 1205. A frame 1205 may be divided into ten (10) 1 ms subframes 1210. A subframe 1210 may be further divided into two 0.5 ms partitions 1215, and each partition 1215 may be divided into a number of symbol periods 1220. For example, a 1215 partition can be divided into 7 symbol periods 1220.

[0135] Frequency resources may be divided into subcarriers 1225. The spacing between adjacent subcarriers may be fixed 1225, and the total number of subcarriers (K) may be dependent on the system bandwidth. For example, K can be equal to 72, 180, 300, 600, 900, or 1,200, with a subcarrier spacing of 15 kilohertz (kHz) for a corresponding system bandwidth (with guard band) of 1. 4, 3, 5, 10, 15, or 20 megahertz (MHz), respectively. System bandwidth can also be divided into subbands. For example, a subband may span 1.08 MHz, and there may be 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 subbands.

[0136] A frequency subcarrier 1225 for a symbol period 1220 makes a single resource element 1230, which can be modulated with a single modulation symbol. Modulation symbols can be waveforms that contain a number of data bits, depending on a modulation and coding scheme (MCS). In some cases, a number of control channel elements (CCE) may be arranged in search spaces 1260, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 2, and may be used for sending information from one or more channels. control and/or data channel. The carrier may have certain regions designated for the transmission of certain channels, such as PDSCH 1240, PDCCH 1245, and/or PBCH 1250, and each channel may include common and/or UE 1260-specific search spaces to facilitate channel based data. in control and little control.

[0137] In some examples, the UE 115 or a base station 105 (figures, 1 and 2) monitors both low-control and control-based data transmissions (e.g., PDSCH/PUSCH) simultaneously or in different configurations. Two types of data channels (e.g. PDSCH/PUSCH) can be transmitted within one carrier. As discussed above, control-based data can be programmed by an associated control channel, while control-poor data can be associated with a control channel but can be blindly decoded. Therefore, in a simultaneous monitoring scenario, a UE 115, for example, may monitor a search space 1260 within the PDCCH region 1245 and simultaneously monitor a search space 1260 within the PDSCH region 1240. Additionally or alternatively, the UE 115 may control a search space 1260 within PBCH region 1250.

[0138] By way of example, a UE 115 may control a first search space 1260 during a TTI 1210 for a control channel (e.g., PDCCH or EPDCCH), which may schedule a corresponding data channel. The UE 115 may monitor a second search space during the TTI 1210 for a data channel, which may be unassociated with any control channel. The UE 115 may then blindly decode a control channel from the first search space 1260 and blindly decode a data channel from the second search space 1260. The data channel may be encoded with a convolutional coding scheme, which can facilitate blind decoding. In some cases, the UE 115 may monitor multiple search spaces 1260 (e.g., candidates) for data transmissions; and in some cases, the total number of blind decodes for all channels - control and data - can be kept within a certain limit.

[0139] Data monitoring based on low simultaneous control may be configuration dependent. For example, a UE 115 may be activated with an unassociated data monitoring mode for a UE, in which monitoring of a search space 1260 for a control-poor data channel may be activated. In some examples, the UE 115 monitors control-based data - for example, monitors a search space 1260 for PDCCH/EPDCCH - regardless of whether control-based data is enabled. For example, a UE 115 may monitor a common search space for PDCCH 1260. Control-based operation may thus always be activated with respect to a common search space. Additionally or alternatively, control-based operation may always be enabled for broadcast traffic to certain UEs 115 (e.g., MTC UEs 115). In this way, a search space 1260 within the PBCH region 1250 can be monitored by some UEs 115, independently of other low-control operations.

[0140] In some examples, control-poor or control-based monitoring, or both, may be dependent on the TTI grouping length. Figure 13 illustrates an example of resource management, using TTI grouping, for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. 13 shows the frame structure 1300-a carrier within the systems 100 and 200 described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. The frame structure 1300 may be similar to the frame structures 302 and 1200 described with reference to Figures 3A, 3D and 12.

[0141] Frame structure 1300 may include a number of frames 1303, each composed of ten (10) subframes 1304. In some examples, frame structure 1300 illustrates an LTE carrier, which may be of frame structure 1300. type 1 or type 2, where each subframe is 1 ms long. In exemplary frame structure 1300, system frame numbers (SFN) 0 to 3 are illustrated; but those skilled in the art will recognize the general applicability of this discussion to other portions of a frame structure and to other frames and subframes within a system.

[0142] A UE 115 (Figures 1 and 2) can be configured to monitor a cluster length control channel N1, and/or a second cluster length control channel N2, and/or a certain data channel of little control of a certain N3 cluster length or lengths. In such cases, each of the channels can be encoded by convolutional coding.

[0143] In some examples, the frame structure 1300 represents a common time resource with multiple described physical channels. For example, frame structure 1300-a may illustrate a control channel TTI packet (e.g., PDCCH) 1305 with a cluster length 307. Frame structure 1300-b may illustrate a different control channel TTI packet The UE 115 may monitor all three channels starting in a 1304 subframe.

[0144] A UE 115 may identify a TTI cluster length 1307 from the control channel TTI packet 1305. The UE 115 may determine to monitor a search space 1260 (Figure 12) based on the identified TTI cluster length 1307 The identified TTI cluster length 1307 may be indicative of a common search space, or a device-specific search space. The UE 115 may receive signaling indicative of a TTI cluster length configuration, where the determination of monitoring search space 1260 may be based on the identified TTI cluster length 1307 corresponding to the TTI cluster length configuration. In some examples, the search space may be monitored based on a set of TTI cluster lengths.

[0145] The UE 115 may identify a second TTI grouping length 1310 from the second control channel TTI packet 1308. The UE 115 may determine to monitor a search space 1260, such as a second search space 1260, based in the second identified TTI length cluster 1310. The second identified TTI cluster length 1310 may be indicative of a device-specific search space or a common search space. The UE 115 may receive signaling indicative of a TTI cluster length configuration, where the determination to monitor search space 1260 may be based on the second identified TTI cluster length 1310 corresponding to the TTI cluster length configuration. In some examples, the search space may be monitored based on a set TTI cluster length. Sometimes, frame structure 1300-a and frame structure 1300-b may be frequency division multiplexed with other channels during TTI, such as frame structure 1300-c. The second grouping length of TTI 1310 may be different from the grouping length of TTI 1307.

[0146] The UE 115 may identify a transmission TTI grouping length 1312 of the data channel TTI packet 1311. Sometimes the data channel may be unassociated with any of the control channels, such as the structure frame structure 1300 and a frame structure 1300-b. The UE 115 may determine to monitor another search space 1260, such as a third search space 1260, based on the TTI grouping length of identified data 1312. The UE 115 may receive signaling indicative of a TTI grouping length configuration of TTI of data, and determining monitor search space 1260 for the data may be based on the identified TTI cluster length 1312 corresponding to the TTI cluster length setting. In some examples, the UE 115 determines to monitor the search space 1260 based on a set of TTI cluster lengths. For example, the UE 115 may monitor a certain search space 1260 if a number of data channel packets 1311 have a specified length. In some examples, the data channel may be convolution encoded.

[0147] Figure 14 shows a block diagram 1400 of the UE 115-g configured for resource management for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The UE 115-g may be an example of one or more aspects of the UEs 115 described with reference to Figures 1-13. The UE 115-g may include a receiver 1405, a search space monitoring module 1410 and/or a transmitter 1415. The UE 115-g may also include a processor. Each of these components can be in communication with each other.

[0148] Receiver 1405 may be configured to receive information, such as packets, user data, and/or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, etc.). Information may be passed to the search space module 1410, and other components of the UE 115 g. In some examples, receiver 1405 may be configured to receive signaling indicative of a TTI cluster length configuration, such that the determination to monitor a search space may be based on the identified TTI cluster length corresponding to the TTI cluster length setting.

[0149] The search space monitoring module 1410 may be configured to monitor a first search space during a TTI for a control channel. Additionally or alternatively, the search space control module 1410 may be configured to monitor a second search space during TTI for a data channel.

[0150] Transmitter 1415 may be configured to transmit one or more signals received from other components of UE 115-g. In some embodiments, the transmitter 1415 may be co-located with the receiver 1405 in a transceiver module. Transmitter 1415 may include a single antenna, or may include a plurality of antennas.

[0151] Figure 15 shows a block diagram of a UE 1500 115-h configured for managing resources for the UEs under increased coverage according to various embodiments. The UE 115-h may be an example of one or more aspects of a UE 115 described with reference to Figures 1-14. The UE 115-h may include a receiver 1405-a, a search space module 1410-a, and/or a transmitter 1415-a. The UE 115-g may also include a processor. Each of these components can be in communication with each other. The search space module 1410-a may also include a control monitoring module 1505, and a data monitoring module 1510.

[0152] The receiver 1405-a may be configured to receive information that may be passed to the search space module 1410-a, and other components of the UE 115-h. The space search module 1410-a may be configured to perform the operations described above with reference to Figure 14. The transmitter 1415-a may be configured to transmit one or more signals received from other components of the UE 115-h.

[0153] Control module 1505 may be configured to control a first search space during a TTI for a control channel, as described above with reference to Figure 12. In some examples, the first search space is a search space. common search. Control module 1505 may also be configured to control a search space associated with broadcast transmissions during TTI as described above with reference to Figure 12.

[0154] In some examples, the data control module 1510 is configured to monitor a second search space during TTI for a data channel as described above with reference to FIG. 12. The data control module 1510 may also be configured to activate an unassociated data monitoring mode for a UE 115-h, wherein monitoring the second search space may be based on the activated unassociated data monitoring mode, as described above with reference to Figure 12.

[0155] Figure 16 shows a block diagram 1600 of a search space module 1410-b for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The search space module 1410-b may be an example of one or more aspects of a search space module 1410 described with reference to FIGS. 14-16. The search space module 1410-b may include the control monitoring module 1505-a and a data monitoring module 1510-a. These modules may perform the functions described above with reference to Figure 16. The search space control module 1410-b may also include a control decoder module 1605, a data decoder module 1610, and a grouping module 1610. TTI 1615.

[0156] In some cases, the control decoder module 1605 is configured to decode a control channel from the first search space, as described above with reference to FIG. 12. In some examples, the control channel is a PDCCH or an enhanced PDCCH (EPDCCH), which programs a corresponding shared channel.

[0157] The data decoder module 1610 may be configured to decode a data channel from the second search space, as described above with reference to FIG. 12. In some examples, the data channel is a PDSCH not associated with any control channel.

[0158] The TTI grouping module 1615 can be configured to identify one or more TTI grouping lengths of a control channel, as described above with reference to Figure 13. The TTI grouping module 1615 can also be configured to determine whether to monitor, or monitor, the first search space based on the identified TTI grouping length or lengths, as described above with reference to FIG. 13. The TTI grouping module 1615 may also be configured to determine whether to monitor , or monitors, the second search space based on the identified TTI cluster length or lengths, as described above with reference to Figure 13. In some examples, the first or second search space may be monitored based on a plurality of TTI cluster lengths. The TTI grouping module 1615 may also be configured to identify a TTI grouping length or lengths of a data channel, as described above with reference to Figure 13. The TTI grouping module 1615 may also be configured to determine whether to monitor the third search space based on the identified TTI grouping length or lengths, as described above with reference to Figure 13. In some examples, the TTI grouping module 1615 is configured to determine whether to monitor a search space based on a plurality of TTI grouping lengths.

[0159] The components of the UE 115-g, the UE 115-h, and/or the search space module 1410 may, individually or collectively, be implemented with at least one adapted application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). to perform some or all of the applicable hardware functions. Alternatively, the functions may be performed by one or more other processing units (or cores) in at least one IC. In other embodiments, other types of integrated circuits (e.g., Structured/Platform ASIC, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other semi-custom IC) may be used, which may be programmed in any manner known in the art. The functions of each unit can be implemented, in whole or in part, with instructions embedded in a memory, formatted to be executed by one or more general or application-specific processors.

[0160] Figure 17 shows a diagram of a system 1700 configured for managing resources for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. System 1700 may include a UE 115-h, which may be an example of a UE 115 described with reference to Figures 1-16. The UE 115-1 may include a search space control module 1710, which may be an example of a search space module described with reference to FIGS. 14-16. In some examples, the UE 115-i is a low complexity UE 115, such as an MTC UE 115, which can be deployed in a meter or sensor. In other examples, however, the UE 115-g may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for transmitting communications and components for receiving communications.

[0161] The UE 115-i may include a processor 1705, memory 1715 (including software (SW), 1720), a transceiver 1735, and one or more antenna(s) 1740, which each may communicate with, directly or indirectly, with one another (for example, through one or more 1745 buses). The transceiver 1735 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally, via the antenna(s) 1740 and/or one or more wired or wireless links, with various networks, as described above. For example, transceiver 1735 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with a base station 105-e. The transceiver 1735 may include a modem configured to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to the antenna(s) 1740 for transmission, and to demodulate packets received from the antenna(s) 1740. While the UE 115-i may include a single antenna 1740, UE 115-i may also have multiple antennas 1740 capable of simultaneously transmitting and/or receiving multiple wireless transmissions. The transceiver 1735 may also be capable of communicating simultaneously with one or more base stations 105.

[0162] Memory 1715 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 1715 may store computer-readable, computer-executable software/firmware code 1720 including instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause processor module 1705 to perform various functions described herein (e.g., monitoring memory spaces). search for control data and/or channels, monitoring blind decoding and/or data channels, TTI grouping identification, etc.). Alternatively, software/firmware code 1720 may not be directly executable by processor module 1705, but be configured to cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein. Processor 1705 may include an intelligent hardware device, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, etc., may include RAM and ROM.

[0163] Figure 18 shows a flowchart 1800 illustrating a resource management method for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The functions of flowchart 1800 may be implemented by a UE 115 or one or more of its components, as described with reference to Figures 1-17. In certain examples, one or more of the flowchart blocks 1800 may be performed by monitoring the search space module 1410 or 1710, as described with reference to FIGS. 14-17.

[0164] In block 1805, the method may include monitoring a first search space during a TTI by a first channel, as described above with reference to Figure 12. The first channel may be a control channel. In certain examples, the functions of block 1805 may be performed by the control monitoring module 1505 as described above with reference to Figure 15.

[0165] In block 1810, the method may include monitoring a second search space during TTI for a second channel, as described above with reference to Figure 12. The second channel may be a data channel. In certain examples, the functions of block 1810 may be performed by data module 1510, as described above with reference to Figure 15.

[0166] Figure 19 shows a flowchart 1900 illustrating a resource management method for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The functions of flowchart 1900 may be implemented by a UE 115 or one or more of its components, as described with reference to Figures 1-17. In certain examples, one or more of the flowchart blocks 1900 may be performed by monitoring the search space module 1410 or 1710 as described with reference to FIGS. 14-17. The method described in flowchart 1900 may also incorporate aspects of flowchart 1800 of FIG. 18.

[0167] In block 1905, the method may include monitoring a first search space during a TTI for a control channel, as described above with reference to Figure 12. In certain examples, the functions of block 1905 may be performed by the control monitoring module 1505, as described above with reference to Figure 15.

[0168] In block 1910, the method may include monitoring a second search space during TTI for a control or data channel, as described above with reference to FIG. 12. In certain examples, the functions of block 1910 may be performed by data module 1510, as described above with reference to Figure 15.

[0169] In block 1915, the method may include decoding a control channel from the first search space, as described above with reference to Figure 12. In certain examples, the functions of block 1915 may be performed by the control decoder 1605, as described above with reference to Figure 16.

[0170] In block 1920, the method may include decoding a control or data channel from the second search space, as described above with reference to FIG. 12. In certain examples, the functions of block 1920 may be performed by data decoder module 1610, as described above with reference to Figure 16.

[0171] Figure 20 shows a flowchart 2000 illustrating a resource management method for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The functions of flowchart 2000 may be implemented by a UE 115 or one or more of its components, as described with reference to Figures 1-17. In certain examples, one or more of the blocks of flowchart 2000 may be performed by monitoring the search space module 1410 or 1710, as described with reference to FIGS. 14-17. The method described in flowchart 2000 may also incorporate aspects of flowcharts 1800 and 1900 of Figures 18-19.

[0172] In block 2005, the method may include activating an unassociated data monitoring mode, as described above with reference to Figure 12. The functions of block 2005 may be performed by the data module 1510, as described with reference to figure 15.

[0173] In block 2010, the method may include monitoring a first search space during a TTI for a control channel, as described above with reference to Figure 12. In certain examples, the functions of block 2010 may be performed by the 1505 control monitoring module as described above with reference to figure 15.

[0174] In block 2015, the method may include monitoring a second search space during TTI for a data channel, as described above with reference to Figure 12. In certain examples, the functions of block 2015 may be performed by data module 1510, as described above with reference to Figure 15.

[0175] In block 2020, the method may include decoding a control channel from the first search space, as described above with reference to Figure 12. In certain examples, the functions of block 2020 may be performed by the control decoder 1605, as described above with reference to Figure 16.

[0176] In block 2025, the method may involve decoding a data channel from the second search space, as described above with reference to Figure 12. In certain examples, the functions of block 2025 may be performed by the data decoder 1610, as described above with reference to Figure 16.

[0177] Figure 21 shows a flowchart 2100 illustrating a resource management method for UEs under increased coverage in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. The functions of flowchart 2100 may be implemented by a UE 115 or one or more of its components, as described with reference to Figures 1-17. In certain examples, one or more of the flowchart blocks 2100 may be performed by monitoring the search space module 1410 or 1710 as described with reference to FIGS. 14-17. The method described in flowchart 2100 may also incorporate aspects of flowcharts 1800 to 2000 of Figures 18-20.

[0178] In block 2105, the method may include identifying at least one TTI pool length of a first channel and a TTI pool length of a second channel, as described above with reference to Figure 13. The first channel can be a control channel or a data channel and the second channel can be a control channel or a data channel. In some cases, both the first and second channels are control channels. In certain examples, the functions of block 2105 may be performed by the TTI grouping module 1615 as described above with reference to Figure 16.

[0179] In block 2110, the method may include determining to monitor a first search space for the first channel and a second search space for the second channel based on the identified TTI cluster length or lengths, as described above with reference to Figure 13. In certain examples, the functions of block 2110 may be performed by the TTI cluster module 1615 as described above with reference to Figure 16.

[0180] In block 2115, the method may involve monitoring the first search space for the first channel during a TTI based at least in part on the identified TTI cluster length, as described above with reference to Figure 13. In In certain examples, the functions of block 2115 may be performed by the control monitoring module 1505 as described above with reference to Figure 15.

[0181] In block 2120, the method may involve monitoring the second search space during the TTI for the second channel, as described above with reference to Figure 13. The second channel may be a data channel. In certain examples, the functions of block 2120 may be performed by data module 1510, as described above with reference to Figure 15.

[0182] It should be noted that the method illustrated with flowcharts 1800, 1900, 2000, and 2100 are examples of implementations, and that method operations and steps may be reordered or changed so that other implementations are possible.

[0183] The detailed description presented above, in connection with the attached drawings describes examples and examples of embodiments and does not represent the only embodiments that can be implemented or that are within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" used throughout this description means "to serve as an example, case, or illustration", and not "preferred" or "advantageous over other embodiments". The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing an understanding of the techniques described. These techniques, however, can be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form so as to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described embodiments.

[0184] Information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0185] The different illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the description herein can be implemented or executed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, an FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or conventional state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other type of configuration.

[0186] The functions described here can be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, functions may be stored or transmitted as one or more code instructions or in a computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the description and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described above may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Resources implementing functions may also be physically located in various positions, including being distributed so that portions of functions are implemented in different physical locations. Furthermore, as used herein, including in the claims, "or" as used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items pre-matched by a phrase such as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates a disjoint list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and W).

[0187] Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storage media and communication media, including any media that facilitates the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A non-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer, including non-transitory media. By way of example and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any other non-transitory medium that can be used to carry or store elements of desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures, and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer , or general purpose or special purpose processor. Furthermore, any link is appropriately termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the program is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source over coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and floppy disk, as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where floppy disks generally reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the foregoing are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0188] The foregoing description of the disclosure is provided to enable one skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the description. Accordingly, the description should not be limited to the examples and drawings described herein, but should be given the broadest scope consistent with the principles and innovative features described herein.

[0189] The techniques described here can be used for various wireless communications systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. A CDMA system can implement a radio technology such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), etc. cdma2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. IS- 2000 version 0 and A is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Broadband CDMA (WCDMA), and other CDMA variants. A TDMA system can implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). An OFDM system can implement a radio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and e-UTRA are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Long Term Evolution 3GPP (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are new versions of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) are described in documents from an organization called the "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3 GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization called "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The techniques described here can be used for the radio systems and technologies mentioned above, as well as other radio systems and technologies. The above description, however, describes an LTE system for example purposes, and LTE terminology is used throughout much of the above description, although the techniques are applicable beyond LTE applications.

Claims (15)

1. Wireless communication method, characterized by the fact that it comprises: identifying (2105) a first transmission time interval grouping length, TTI, of a first channel; identifying (2105) a second TTI cluster length of a second channel; determining, based at least in part on the identified first TTI cluster length, a first search space from and a plurality of search spaces for monitoring the first channel; monitoring (2115) a first search space for the first channel during a TTI; and determining, based at least in part on the identified second TTI cluster length, a second search space from the plurality of search spaces for monitoring the second channel; monitor (2120) a second search space for the second channel during the TTI. 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that it further comprises: receiving signaling indicative of a first TTI grouping length configuration and a second TTI grouping length configuration, wherein: the first search space is monitored based, at least in part, on the first identified TTI cluster length that corresponds to the first TTI cluster length setting, and the second search space is monitored based, at least in part, on the second length setting of identified TTI cluster. 3. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the first channel comprises a first control channel and the second channel comprises a second control channel. 4. Method according to claim 3, characterized by the fact that the first control channel or the second control channel is frequency division multiplexed with other channels during the TTI. 5. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that it further comprises: identifying a third TTI grouping length of a third channel; and monitoring a third search space for the third channel during the TTI based at least in part on the identified third TTI cluster length. 6. Method according to claim 5, characterized by the fact that the first and second channels comprise control channels and the third channel comprises a data channel that is not associated with the first or second control channel. 7. Method according to claim 5, characterized by the fact that the first channel, the second channel and the third channel are each encoded by convolutional coding. 8. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the first TTI grouping length and the second TTI grouping length are different. 9. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the first search space comprises a common search space and the first TTI cluster length is indicative of the common search space, and wherein the second search space comprises a device-specific search space and the second TTI cluster length is indicative of the device-specific search space. 10. Method according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the first search space comprises a common search space and the first TTI cluster length is indicative of the common search space, and wherein the second search space comprises a common search space and the second cluster length of TTI is indicative of the common search space. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first search space comprises a device-specific search space and the first TTI cluster length is indicative of the device-specific search space, and wherein the second search space comprises a device-specific search space and the second TTI cluster length is indicative of the device-specific search space. 12. Method, according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the first search space and the second search space have the same level of aggregation in the TTI. 13. Method, according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the first search space and the second search space have different levels of aggregation in the TTI. 14. Apparatus for wireless communication, characterized by the fact that it comprises: means arranged for carrying out the steps of the method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 13. 15. Non-transitory computer-readable memory characterized by the fact that it has instructions stored therein that, when executed, cause the computer to perform the steps of a method as defined in any one of claims 1 to 13.