CN112702302A

CN112702302A - Scheduling method for user equipment end of narrow-band Internet of things

Info

Publication number: CN112702302A
Application number: CN201911009073.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 许兆渊; 蔡芮芃; 黄天科
Original assignee: Suzhou Panlian Integrated Circuit Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Suzhou Panlian Integrated Circuit Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2019-10-22
Filing date: 2019-10-22
Publication date: 2021-04-23
Anticipated expiration: 2039-10-22
Also published as: CN112702302B

Abstract

The invention discloses a scheduling method of a user equipment end of a narrowband Internet of things. The scheduling method comprises the following steps: synchronizing with a base station; receiving at least one system information parameter from the base station, wherein the at least one system information parameter comprises a maximum number of repetitions of the NPDCCH search space, a period, and an offset; establishing a list according to the at least one system information parameter, wherein the list records a plurality of available subframes, and each available subframe is marked with an index; calculating a number of a starting subframe of a target NPDCCH group according to the number of a target subframe, the period and the offset; finding out a starting index corresponding to the starting subframe in the list by using the number of the starting subframe; finding out a target index corresponding to the target subframe in the list; judging whether the target subframe is in the range covered by the target NPDCCH group; and judging whether the target subframe is an NPDCCH candidate subframe.

Description

Scheduling method for user equipment end of narrow-band Internet of things

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a narrowband Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and more particularly, to a scheduling method for a User Equipment (UE) end of a narrowband Internet of Things.

Background

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating downlink scheduling (downlink scheduling) of the conventional NB-IoT. In the figure, "SFN" represents system frame number (system frame number), also called radio frame number (radio frame number); the "SI window" is used to indicate the type of System Information (SI) scheduled (e.g., three types of SI-1, SI-2, and SI-3 are shown in FIG. 1). Each systematic frame includes 10 subframes (subframes), and the types of channels (channels), information (information), or signals (signals) that each subframe can carry (carry) include: a Narrowband Primary Synchronization Signal (NPSS), a Narrowband Secondary Synchronization Signal (NSSS), a Narrowband Physical Broadcast Channel (NPBCH), a Narrowband System Information Block Type 1(Narrowband System Information Block Type1, SIB1-NB, abbreviated as SIB1), a System Information Type 1(System Information Type1, SI-1), a System Information Type 2(System Information Type 2, SI-2), a System Information Type 3(System Information Type 3, SI-3), and a Narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel (NPDCCH). The legends for these channels are shown above in fig. 1. For example, subframe 0 (subframe No. 0, i.e., subframe 0 of SFN 0) carries NPBCH (symbol "M"), subframe 44 (subframe No. 44, i.e., subframe 4 of SFN 4) carries SIB1 (symbol "B"), and subframe 121 (subframe No. 121, i.e., subframe 1 of SFN 12) is unused (blank).

Among the above channels, information or signals, NPSS, NSSS, NPBCH, SIB1 appear at fixed positions in a specific period, and therefore, the type of the channel, information or signal of the subframe can be known from the number of the subframe. For example, NPSS occurs at the 5 th subframe of each SFN, NSSS occurs at the 9 th subframe of even SFN, NPBCH occurs at the 0 th subframe of each SFN, and SIB1 occurs at the 4 th subframe of the interval SFN (SIB 1 has a period of 16 SFN in this example).

Since NPSS, NSSS, NPBCH, SIB1 have higher priority than SI-x (x is 1, 2 or 3) and NPDCCH, after the subframes of NPSS, NSSS, NPBCH, SIB1 are determined, SI-x and NPDCCH use the remaining unused subframes again in priority (SI-x has higher priority than NPDCCH). For example, SI-1 occurs in the SI scheduling window starting at SFN ═ 0, using subframes {1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12}, and is repeated once more after 8 radio frames. After the SI-x is scheduled, the NPDCCH search space (search space) is scheduled in the remaining subframes.

For the example of fig. 1, a set of NPDCCH search spaces occur every 64 subframes (i.e., period T ═ 64 subframes), each occurrence occupying 16 subframes (i.e., maximum number of repetitions) R _max16 subframes). The maximum number of repetitions is a parameter set by the base station for NPDCCH, and the actual number of repetitions may be different in each NPDCCH transmission, and is determined by the base station according to the channel condition of the UE. The first NPDCCH group (retransmission) should start from subframe 0, but since NPSS, NSSS, NPBCH, SIB1 and S1-1 have higher priority than NPDCCH, the first NPDCCH group actually uses 16 subframes such as {13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34} starting from subframe 13. Similarly, the second NPDCCH group should start from subframe 64 (because T ═ 64), but actually 16 subframes such as {66, 67, 68, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 93, 94, 96, 97, 98} are used starting from subframe 66.

In the example of fig. 1, the offset (offset) of NPDCCH is 0 subframes. If the offset is 3 subframes, the second NPDCCH group should start from subframe 67, but the first NPDCCH group still starts from subframe 13 (because subframes 3 to 12 are already used).

The NB-IoT UE needs to know the following information when scheduling:

1. whether a certain target subframe is an NPDCCH candidate (candidate) subframe, if so, the target subframe is the second subframe of an NPDCCH group (i.e., the ordinal position of the target subframe in the NPDCCH group). Taking the schedule of fig. 1 as an example, the target subframe numbered 14 is the second subframe of the first NPDCCH group, and the target subframe numbered 71 is the fourth subframe of the second NPDCCH group.

2. The starting subframe of the NPDCCH group closest to the target subframe. Taking the schedule of fig. 1 as an example, the starting subframe of the first NPDCCH group is subframe 13, and the starting subframe of the second NPDCCH group is subframe 66.

3. The end subframe of the NPDCCH group closest to the target subframe. Taking the schedule of fig. 1 as an example, the ending subframe of the first NPDCCH group is subframe 34, and the ending subframe of the second NPDCCH group is subframe 98.

To obtain the above information, the UE needs to check from where an NPDCCH group starts (i.e., the subframe numbered T × L + O, where T is a period, O is an offset, and L is 0, 1, 2, 3.) whether the subframe is a downlink transmission (described in the information of "downlink bitmap-r 13" of SIB1) and is not used one by one. When a subframe is determined to be available for downlink transmission and unused, NPDCCH may be scheduled to be received in the subframe. This method is referred to as "iteration over subframes" in this specification.

The UE needs to acquire the above information within one subframe (i.e., about 1 ms), but the UE must complete other tasks including scheduling and control of the physical layer (PHY) within one subframe. In other words, the UE has to perform a large number of calculations within a limited time, and the number of iterations of the above-mentioned "subframe-by-subframe iteration" method will follow the maximum number of repetitions R_maxIs raised, and R_maxPossibly up to 2048.

The above limitations or requirements place a great burden on the UE with low cost and low power consumption, and therefore the UE needs a more efficient scheduling method.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the deficiencies of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a scheduling method for NB-IoT UE.

The invention discloses a scheduling method of a user equipment end of a narrowband Internet of things, which comprises the following steps: synchronizing with a base station; receiving at least one system information parameter from the base station, wherein the at least one system information parameter comprises a maximum number of repetitions of a narrowband physical downlink control channel search space, a period, and an offset; establishing a list according to the at least one system information parameter, wherein the list records a plurality of available subframes, and each available subframe is marked with an index; calculating the number of an initial subframe of a target narrowband physical downlink control channel group according to the number of a target subframe, the period and the offset; finding out a starting index corresponding to the starting subframe in the list by using the number of the starting subframe; finding out a target index corresponding to the target subframe in the list; determining whether the target subframe is within a range covered by the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group by determining whether a difference between the starting index and the target index is less than the maximum repetition number; and judging whether the target subframe is a narrowband physical downlink control channel candidate subframe or not according to the target index and the number of the target subframe.

The invention further discloses a scheduling method for a user equipment of the narrowband internet of things, which comprises the following steps: synchronizing with a base station; receiving at least one system information parameter from the base station, wherein the at least one system information parameter comprises a maximum number of repetitions of a narrowband physical downlink control channel search space, a period, and an offset; establishing a list according to the at least one system information parameter, wherein the list records a plurality of available subframes, and each available subframe is marked with an index; calculating the number of a first starting subframe of a target narrowband physical downlink control channel group according to the number of a target subframe, the period and the offset; finding out a starting index corresponding to the first starting subframe in the list by using the number of the first starting subframe; finding out a target index corresponding to the target subframe in the list; determining whether the target subframe is within a range covered by the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group by determining whether a difference between the starting index and the target index is less than the maximum repetition number; and finding the first starting subframe of the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group or finding a second starting subframe of a narrowband physical downlink control channel group at a time; wherein the next narrowband physical downlink control channel group is immediately adjacent to the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group.

The invention further discloses a scheduling method for a user equipment of the narrowband internet of things, which comprises the following steps: synchronizing with a base station; receiving at least one system information parameter from the base station, wherein the at least one system information parameter comprises a maximum number of repetitions of a narrowband physical downlink control channel search space, a period, and an offset; establishing a list according to the at least one system information parameter, wherein the list records a plurality of available subframes, and each available subframe is marked with an index; calculating the number of an initial subframe of a target narrowband physical downlink control channel group according to the number of a target subframe, the period and the offset; finding out a starting index corresponding to the starting subframe in the list by using the number of the starting subframe; finding out a target index corresponding to the target subframe in the list; determining whether the target subframe is within a range covered by the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group by determining whether a difference between the starting index and the target index is less than the maximum repetition number; and finding a first ending subframe of the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group, or finding a second ending subframe of a narrowband physical downlink control channel group at a time; wherein the next narrowband physical downlink control channel group is immediately adjacent to the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group.

The scheduling method of NB-IoT UE of the present invention improves the scheduling efficiency of UE by establishing and searching lists. Compared with the prior art, the scheduling method of the invention does not need to check the subframes one by one in the time domain, so that the performance of the UE can be improved, and the UE is ensured to complete all necessary calculations in one subframe.

The features, implementations and functions of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating downlink scheduling of existing NB-IoT;

fig. 2 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of an NB-IoT UE of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a scheduling method of a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart of step S450 of FIG. 3;

fig. 5 is a detailed flow of step S470 of fig. 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of finding the sequence of target subframes in the target NPDCCH group;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a scheduling method of a UE according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a scheduling method of a UE according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical terms in the following description refer to the conventional terms in the technical field, and some terms are defined or explained in the specification, and the explanation of the some terms is based on the description or definition in the specification.

Some or all of the procedures of the scheduling method for NB-IoT UE of the present invention can be implemented in software and/or firmware, and can be executed by the NB-IoT UE of the present invention or its equivalent device.

Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of an NB-IoT UE of the present invention. The UE 100 includes wireless signal transceiving circuitry 110, computing circuitry 120, and memory 130. The computing circuitry 120 may be a circuit or an electronic component with program execution capabilities, such as a central processing unit, microprocessor, or micro-processing unit, that performs the functions of the UE 100 by executing program codes or program instructions stored in the memory 130. Fig. 3 is a flowchart of a scheduling method of a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention, and by executing the flowchart of fig. 3, the calculating circuit 120 can know whether a target subframe n _ sf _ target is an NPDCCH candidate subframe. Please refer to fig. 2 and 3 for the following.

Step S410: the UE 100 synchronizes with a base station (cell) (not shown). The calculating circuit 120 receives the signal transmitted by the base station through the wireless signal transmitting/receiving circuit 110, and synchronizes with the base station according to at least NPSS and NSSS. The details of synchronization between the UE 100 and the base station are well known to those skilled in the art and therefore will not be described herein.

Step S420: the calculating circuit 120 is connected to the base station via the wireless signal transmitting/receiving circuit 110At least one system information parameter is received. The system information parameters include, for example, NPSS, NSSS, NPBCH, SIB1, and SI-x, and the system information parameters include the period T of the NPDCCH search space and the maximum number of repetitions R_maxAnd an offset O. The period T and the maximum repetition number R of the NPDCCH search space can be obtained from the system information parameters according to the specification of NB-IoT by a person with ordinary knowledge in the technical field_maxAnd an offset O, the details of which are not described again.

Step S430: the calculation circuit 120 builds a list according to the system information parameters, and the list records a plurality of sub-frames. More specifically, the calculating circuit 120 can know the subframes occupied by NPSS, NSSS, NPBCH, SIB1 and SI-x and the numbers thereof according to the system information parameters, in other words, the subframes that are available for downlink transmission and are not used (i.e., available subframes) and the numbers thereof. For example, a list corresponding to the schedule of fig. 1 may be as shown in table 1 below:

table 1:

Index	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
																	sub-frame	13	14	16	17	18	19	21	22	23	26	27	28	31	32	33	34
Index	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
																	Sub-frame	36	37	38	39	41	42	43	46	47	48	51	52	53	54	56	57
Index	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	...
																	Sub-frame	58	59	61	62	63	66	67	68	71	72	73	74	76	77	78	...

Each available subframe listed in the list is likely to be used to carry NPDCCH and corresponds to an index. In some embodiments, the index and the number of available subframes are both monotonically increasing, but not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the list may be stored in the memory 130 in the form of an array, the number of the available subframes is an element of the array, and the index is an index of the array.

Functions (functions) are defined herein as part of the program code or program instructions stored in memory 130 for clarity.

Function subfn2index (n _ sf): an index for finding an available subframe that is closest to and not smaller than the subframe n _ sf. For example, subfn2index (13) is 0, subfn2index (15) is 2, and subfn2index (20) is 6.

Function index2subfn (i): for finding the available subframes for index i. For example, index2subfn (2) is 16, and index2subfn (25) is 48.

Function distance (i1, i 2): for finding the difference (| i1-i2|) between index i1 and index i2, which represents the number of available subframes between index i1 and index i 2. For example, distance (0, 1) ═ 1-0 ═ 1, and distance (32, 37) ═ 37-32 ═ 5.

Function add (i, d): for finding the index d (or d-1 apart) available subframes from index i. For example, add (1, 2) ═ 1+2 ═ 3.

Step S440: and calculating the number n _ sf _ start of the starting subframe of the target NPDCCH group according to the number, the period T and the offset O of the target subframe n _ sf _ target. In this step, the calculation circuit 120 may calculate the number n _ sf _ start according to equation (1).

For example, when the number of the target subframe n _ sf _ target is 77, the maximum repetition number R _max16, cycle T64 and offset O0, then numbered

As shown in the schedule of fig. 1, the target NPDCCH group is the second NPDCCH group, and since the subframe corresponding to the number n _ sf _ start of 64 is occupied by the SIB1, the numbered subframe is not the actual starting subframe (the subframe 66 is the actual starting subframe).

Step S450: the calculation circuit 120 uses the number n _ sf _ start to find the start index i _ start of the corresponding starting subframe in the list. Referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is a detailed flow chart of step S450. In step S452, the calculation circuit 120 determines whether the list contains the number n _ sf _ start. If so, the calculation circuit 120 executes step S454; if not, the calculation circuit 120 executes step S456. In step S454, the calculation circuit 120 takes the index corresponding to the number n _ sf _ start as the start index i _ start; more specifically, step S454 obtains i _ start using the subfn2index (n _ sf _ start). For example, i _ start ═ subfn2index (66) ═ 37. In step S456, the calculation circuit 120 takes the index corresponding to the adjacent subframe closest to and not less than the number n _ sf _ start as the start index i _ start. For example, the nearest neighboring subframe not less than the number n _ sf _ start-64 is the subframe 66, and the index i _ start-37 of the subframe 66; in other words, in step S456, the subfn2index (n _ sf _ start) is used to obtain i _ start, that is, i _ start equals subfn2index (64) equals 37. In step S450, the calculation circuit 120 may find the start index i _ start using a Binary Search method (Binary Search).

Step S460: the calculation circuit 120 finds the target index i _ target of the corresponding target subframe n _ sf _ target in the list. Similarly to the previous step, in the case that the index and the number of the subframe are both monotonically increasing, the calculating circuit 120 finds the index closest to and not smaller than the target subframe n _ sf _ target in the list. When n _ sf _ target is 77, i _ target is subfn2index (77) is 45.

Step S470: the calculating circuit 120 determines whether the difference between the start index i _ start and the target index i _ target is smaller than the maximum repetition number R_maxTo determine whether the target subframe n _ sf _ target is within the range covered by the target NPDCCH group. The range covered by one NPDCCH group refers to all subframes between the starting subframe and the ending subframe of the NPDCCH group. For example, in the example of fig. 1, the first NPDCCH group covers a range from subframe 13 to subframe 34, and the second NPDCCH group covers a range from subframe 66 to subframe 98.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a detailed flow chart of step S470. In step S472, the calculation circuit 120 determines whether or not i _ target-i _ startLess than the maximum number of repeats R_maxThat is, it determines distance (i _ target, i _ start) R_max(step S472). If yes, the calculation circuit 120 determines that the target subframe n _ sf _ target is in the range covered by the target NPDCCH group (step S474); otherwise, the calculating circuit 120 determines that the target subframe n _ sf _ target is not within the range covered by the target NPDCCH group (step S476). In the above example, since distance (i _ target, i _ start) is 45-37, 8 < R _max16, the calculation circuit 120 may determine that the target subframe n _ sf _ target is in the second NPDCCH group (66 < n _ sf _ target 77 < 98 as shown in fig. 1).

Step S480: the calculating circuit 120 determines whether the target subframe n _ sf _ target is an NPDCCH candidate subframe according to the target index i _ target and the number of the target subframe n _ sf _ target. The calculating circuit 120 first uses the target index i _ target to query the corresponding subframe n _ sf _ temp in the list (i.e. n _ sf _ temp is index2subfn (i _ target)), and then determines whether the number of the target subframe n _ sf _ target is equal to the number of the subframe n _ sf _ temp. If equal (i.e., n _ sf _ target ═ n _ sf _ temp), target subframe n _ sf _ target is an NPDCCH candidate subframe; if not (i.e., n _ sf _ target ≠ n _ sf _ temp), the target subframe n _ sf _ target is not an NPDCCH candidate subframe. For example, although the target subframes n _ sf _ target with numbers 75 and 76 both correspond to the target index i _ target-44 (i.e., subfn2index (75) ═ subfn2index (76) ═ 44), the number of the subframe n _ sf _ temp corresponding to the target index i _ target-44 is 76 (i.e., index2subfn (44) ═ 76), so the calculating circuit 120 can know that the target subframe n _ sf _ target with number 75 is not an NPDCCH candidate subframe, and the target subframe n _ sf _ target with number 76 is an NPDCCH candidate subframe.

After completing step S480 in fig. 3, the calculating circuit 120 can know whether the target subframe n _ sf _ target is an NPDCCH candidate subframe. In step S490, when it is determined that the target subframe n _ sf _ target is an NPDCCH candidate subframe, the target subframe n _ sf _ target is received. In step S495, when it is determined that the target-subframe n _ sf _ target is not an NPDCCH candidate subframe, the target-subframe n _ sf _ target is not received. Next, the calculating circuit 120 finds out an order position (ordinal position) of the target subframe in the target NPDCCH group according to the process of fig. 6. If the calculation circuit 120 determines that the target subframe n _ sf _ target is not an NPDCCH candidate subframe (no at step S710), the calculation circuit 120 ends the flow (step S720). If the calculating circuit 120 determines that the target subframe n _ sf _ target is an NPDCCH candidate subframe (yes in step S710), the calculating circuit 120 obtains the sequence of the target subframe in the target NPDCCH group by calculating the difference between the target index i _ target and the start index i _ start (step S730). As described above, since distance (i _ target, i _ start) is 45-37-8, the target subframe n _ sf _ target with the representative number of 77 is the 9 th (8 +1) th subframe in the second NPDCCH group.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a scheduling method at a UE end according to the present invention, wherein the calculation circuit 120 in the flowchart of fig. 7 is executed to obtain a starting subframe of an NPDCCH group closest to a target subframe n _ sf _ target.

Step S810: the calculation circuit 120 determines whether the target subframe n _ sf _ target is within the range covered by the target NPDCCH group. If so, the calculation circuit 120 performs step S820; if not, the calculation circuit 120 executes step S830. The calculating circuit 120 finishes the flow of fig. 7 after completing step S820 or step S830 (step S840).

Step S820: the calculation circuit 120 finds the starting subframe of the target NPDCCH group in the list using the starting index i _ start. For example, as described above, since the target subframe n _ sf _ target numbered 77 is in one NPDCCH group (known in step S470), the calculation circuit 120 directly uses the start index i _ start (37) obtained in step S450 to find out the subframe (66) (i.e., index2subfn (37) ═ 66) corresponding to the start index i _ start in the list in step S820. The subframe corresponding to the start index i _ start is the start subframe of the target NPDCCH group.

Step S830: the calculation circuit 120 finds the starting subframe of the next NPDCCH group next to the target NPDCCH group. Step S830 includes substeps S832, S834, and S836.

Step S832: the calculating circuit 120 calculates the number n _ sf _ start' of the starting subframe of the next NPDCCH group according to the number of the target subframe n _ sf _ target and the period T. In this step, the calculation circuit 120 may calculate the number n _ sf _ start' according to equation (2).

For example, when the number of the target subframe n _ sf _ target is 44, the maximum number of repetitions R _max16, cycle T64 and offset O0, then numbered

As shown in the schedule of fig. 1, the next NPDCCH group of the target NPDCCH group is the second NPDCCH group, and the second NPDCCH group is adjacent to the first NPDCCH group (i.e., there is no other NPDCCH group in between the first and second groups).

Step S834: the calculation circuit 120 uses the number n _ sf _ start 'to find the starting index i _ start' of the starting subframe corresponding to the next NPDCCH group in the list. In the above example, the calculating circuit 120 searches the list with the number n _ sf _ start '64, and obtains the start index i _ start' 37 (i.e. subfn2index (64): 37).

Step S836: the calculation circuit 120 uses the start index i _ start' to find the start subframe of the next NPDCCH group in the list. In the above example, the calculating circuit 120 searches the list with the start index i _ start' 37, and obtains the number of the start subframe (66) (i.e. index2subfn (37): 66).

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a scheduling method at a UE end according to the present invention, wherein the process calculating circuit 120 in fig. 8 is executed to obtain an ending subframe of an NPDCCH group closest to a target subframe n _ sf _ target.

Step S910 is the same as step S810, and therefore is not described again. After completing step S920 or step S930, the calculating circuit 120 ends the flow of fig. 8 (step S940).

Step S920: the calculating circuit 120 calculates the maximum number of repetitions R according to the start index i _ start_maxAnd finding the ending subframe of the target NPDCCH group in the list. Taking the schedule of fig. 1 as an example, if the start index i _ start is 0, i _ start + R_maxThe subframe (34) corresponding to the index 16 is the end subframe of the target NPDCCH group (i.e. calculating index2subfn (add (i _ start',R_max)))。

step S930: the calculation circuit 120 finds the end subframe of the next NPDCCH group next to the target NPDCCH group. Step S930 includes substeps 932, S934 and S936, wherein steps S932 and S934 are the same as steps S832 and S834, respectively, and therefore are not repeated herein.

Step S936: the calculating circuit 120 is based on the start index i _ start' and the maximum repetition number R_maxSum, find the end subframe of the next NPDCCH group in the list (i.e. calculate index2subfn (add (i _ start', R)_max))). Start index i _ start' and maximum number of repetitions R_maxThe sum is the index corresponding to the ending subframe of the next NPDCCH group, so the number of the ending subframe can be found out by using the index.

In summary, by establishing the list and the lookup list, the UE may not need to check the subframes one by one, thereby increasing the operation speed.

Since the details and variations of the disclosed method and invention can be understood by those skilled in the art from the disclosure of the present device and invention, the repetitive description is omitted here for the sake of brevity and without affecting the disclosed requirements and feasibility of the method and invention. It should be noted that the shapes, sizes, proportions, and sequence of steps of the components and steps shown in the drawings are illustrative only and are not intended to be limiting, since those skilled in the art will recognize the present invention.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art can make variations on the technical features of the present invention according to the explicit or implicit contents of the present invention, and all such variations may fall within the scope of the patent protection sought by the present invention.

[ notation ] to show

100 user equipment

110 wireless signal receiving and transmitting circuit

120 calculation circuit

130 memory

S410 to S495, S452 to S456, S472 to S476, S710 to S730, S810 to S840, and S910 to S940.

Claims

1. A scheduling method for a User Equipment (UE) of a narrowband Internet of things (IoT) comprises the following steps:

synchronizing with a base station;

receiving at least one system information parameter from the base station, wherein the at least one system information parameter comprises a maximum number of repetitions of a narrowband physical downlink control channel search space, a period, and an offset;

establishing a list according to the at least one system information parameter, wherein the list records a plurality of available subframes, and each available subframe is marked with an index;

calculating the number of a starting subframe of a target narrowband physical downlink control channel group according to the number of a target subframe, the period and the offset;

finding out a starting index corresponding to the starting subframe in the list by using the number of the starting subframe;

finding out a target index corresponding to the target subframe in the list;

determining whether the target subframe is within a range covered by the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group by determining whether a difference between the starting index and the target index is less than the maximum repetition number; and

and judging whether the target subframe is a narrowband physical downlink control channel candidate subframe or not according to the target index and the number of the target subframe.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the available subframes are arranged in sequence in the list, the step of finding the starting index comprising:

when the list does not include the number of the starting subframe, the index corresponding to a subframe adjacent to the number of the starting subframe is used as the starting index.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the target subframe is within the range covered by the target narrowband Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) group comprises:

when the difference between the starting index and the target index is less than the maximum repetition number, the target subframe is determined to be in the range covered by the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

when the target subframe is a narrowband physical downlink control channel candidate subframe, the sequence of the target subframe in the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group is obtained by calculating the difference value of the target index and the starting index.

5. A scheduling method for a User Equipment (UE) of a narrowband Internet of things (IoT) comprises the following steps:

synchronizing with a base station;

calculating the number of a first starting subframe of a target narrowband physical downlink control channel group according to the number of a target subframe, the period and the offset;

finding out a starting index corresponding to the first starting subframe in the list by using the number of the first starting subframe;

finding out a target index corresponding to the target subframe in the list;

finding the first starting subframe of the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group or finding a second starting subframe of a narrowband physical downlink control channel group at a time;

wherein the next narrowband physical downlink control channel group is immediately adjacent to the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of finding the first starting subframe or the second starting subframe comprises:

when the target subframe is within the range covered by the target narrowband physical downlink control channel set, the first starting subframe is found in the list by using the starting index.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the start index is a first start index, the step of finding the first start subframe or the second start subframe comprises:

when the target subframe is not in the range covered by the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group, performing the following steps to find the second starting subframe:

calculating the number of the second starting subframe of the next narrowband physical downlink control channel group according to the target subframe and the period;

finding out a second initial index corresponding to the second initial subframe in the list by using the number of the second initial subframe; and

the second starting subframe is found in the list by using the second starting index.

8. A scheduling method for a User Equipment (UE) of a narrowband Internet of things (IoT) comprises the following steps:

synchronizing with a base station;

finding out a target index corresponding to the target subframe in the list;

finding a first ending subframe of the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group or finding a second ending subframe of a narrowband physical downlink control channel group at a time;

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

when the target subframe is in the range covered by the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group, the first ending subframe is found in the list according to the sum of the starting index and the maximum repetition number.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the starting subframe is a first starting subframe and the starting index is a first starting index, the method further comprising:

when the target subframe is not in the range covered by the target narrowband physical downlink control channel group, performing the following steps to find the second ending subframe:

calculating the number of a second starting subframe of the next narrowband physical downlink control channel group according to the target subframe and the period;

and finding out the second ending subframe in the list according to the sum of the second starting index and the maximum repeated number.