CN112970306A

CN112970306A - Multiple PDSCH decoding using downlink control information

Info

Publication number: CN112970306A
Application number: CN201880099203.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 孙欢
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-11-01
Filing date: 2018-11-01
Publication date: 2021-06-15
Anticipated expiration: 2038-11-01
Also published as: CN112970306B; WO2020087461A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention relate to apparatuses, methods, devices, and computer-readable storage media for multi-PDSCH decoding using downlink control information. In an example embodiment, first downlink control information is transmitted by a first network device to a terminal device, the first downlink control information comprising: the terminal device comprises a first indication of first resources for transmitting first data to the terminal device, and a second indication indicating whether second downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device, the second downlink control information comprising a third indication of second resources for transmitting second data from the second network device to the terminal device. The first data is transmitted to the terminal device using the first resource.

Description

Multiple PDSCH decoding using downlink control information

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications, and, in particular, to devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for multiple PDSCH decoding using downlink control information.

Background

In the standardization of the third generation partnership project (3GPP) Radio Access Network (RAN), enhancements to the multi-transmission point (mTRP) transmission of New Radios (NR) are approved. mTRP transmission of NR requires multiple Physical Downlink Control Channels (PDCCHs) each scheduling a respective Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), each PDSCH being transmitted from a separate TRP, and the maximum number of NR PDCCHs allowed within the active Downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP) is 2. A User Equipment (UE) needs to monitor multiple PDCCHs. However, monitoring multiple PDCCHs will increase processing complexity and consume more energy at the UE.

Further, in order to improve performance of each TRP, independent Resource Allocation (RA) for PDSCH is performed at each TRP. The RA of different TRPs may be overlapped, which may cause an increase in decoding error of the PDSCH. Therefore, one of the goals of multiple PDCCH design is to improve multiple PDSCH decoding performance.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, example embodiments of the present invention provide apparatuses, methods, devices and computer-readable storage media for multi-PDSCH decoding using downlink control information.

In a first aspect, a method of communication is provided. In the method, first downlink control information is transmitted by a first network device to a terminal device, the first downlink control information including: the terminal device comprises a first indication of first resources for transmitting first data to the terminal device and a second indication indicating whether second downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device, the second downlink control information comprising a third indication of second resources for transmitting second data from the second network device to the terminal device. The first data is transmitted to the terminal device using the first resource.

In a second aspect, a method of communication is provided. In the method, first downlink control information is received by a terminal device from a first network device, the first downlink control information comprising: the first indication of first resources for detecting first data from the first network device and the second indication of whether second downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device, the second downlink control information comprising a third indication of second resources for detecting second data from the second network device. At least one of the first data and the second data is received using the first resource and the second resource.

In a third aspect, an apparatus is provided that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, an apparatus is provided that includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for performing a method according to the first or second aspect.

In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided on which a computer program is stored. The computer program, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, causes the apparatus to perform a method according to the first or second aspect.

It should be understood that this summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the example embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following description.

Drawings

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1(a), 1(b) and 1(c) illustrate three Resource Allocation (RA) cases for a given UE in cooperative transmission of two TRPs;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

fig. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme in a control channel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme in a data channel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme in a data channel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme in a data channel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 9 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements.

Detailed Description

The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to a few exemplary embodiments. It is to be understood that these examples are described solely for the purpose of illustration and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the invention, and are not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of the invention. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in a variety of ways other than those described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

As used herein, the term "network device" refers to any suitable device on the network side of a communication network. The network device may comprise any suitable device in an access network of a communication network, e.g. including a transmission point (TRP), a Base Station (BS), a relay, an Access Point (AP), a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NodeB (gNB), a remote radio module (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a low power node such as a femto, pico, etc.

As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to a device that is capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate with a network device or another terminal device in a communication network. Communication may involve the transmission and/or reception of wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and/or other types of signals suitable for the transmission of information over the air. In some example embodiments, a terminal device may be configured to send and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network side, the terminal device may transmit information to the network device according to a predetermined schedule.

Examples of end devices include, but are not limited to, User Equipment (UE), such as a smart phone, a wireless tablet, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop installed device (LME), and/or a wireless Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). For purposes of discussion, some example embodiments will be described with reference to a UE as an example of a terminal device, and the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" (UE) may be used interchangeably in the context of this disclosure.

As used herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "include" and its variants are to be understood as meaning open-ended terms of "including, but not limited to. The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The terms "one embodiment" and "an embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment". Other explicit and implicit definitions may be included below.

For mTRP transmission of NR, multiple PDCCHs each schedule a respective PDSCH, and each PDSCH is transmitted from a separate TRP. Multiple PDCCHs are required to support multiple PDSCHs. Monitoring multiple PDCCHs would increase processing complexity and consume more energy at the UE.

Further, in order to improve performance of each TRP, independent Resource Allocation (RA) for PDSCH is performed at each TRP. RA of different TRPs may be overlapped. Fig. 1(a), 1(b) and 1(c) show three RA cases for a given UE with two cooperative transmission of TRPs. Fig. 1(a) shows the case of non-overlapping RAs, with the resource block 110 allocated to a given UE by a first TRP and the resource block 120 allocated to the given UE by a second TRP being non-overlapping. Fig. 1(b) shows the fully overlapping RA case, with the resource block 130 allocated to a given UE by a first TRP and the resource block 140 allocated to the given UE by a second TRP fully overlapping. Fig. 1(c) shows the partially overlapping RA case, with the resource block 150 allocated to a given UE by a first TRP and the resource block 160 allocated to the given UE by a second TRP partially overlapping. In the case of partially overlapping RA as shown in fig. 1(c), the decoding error of PDSCH will increase on the UE side. A key challenge of multiple PDCCH design is to facilitate UE to improve multiple PDDCH decoding performance.

In order to reduce the PDCCH decoding complexity of the UE, a two-level or multi-level transmission scheme is proposed for multi-PDCCH transmission. For example, two Downlink Control Information (DCI) are used, where one DCI contains some additional information to indicate whether another DCI is present. In this way, the PDCCH decoding process can be simplified and PDSCH decoding complexity can be reduced on the UE side. However, there is no effective and efficient solution to save power consumption of the UE and improve decoding performance of multiple PDSCHs.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a novel DCI format design to enable a new DCI format and a normal DCI format to be used in combination to support more flexible multi-TRP transmission. At the network device, first downlink control information is transmitted to the terminal device. The first downlink control information comprises a first indication of first resources for transmitting first data to the terminal device. The first downlink control information also includes a second indication indicating whether the second downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device. The second downlink control information comprises a third indication of second resources for transmitting second data from the second network device to the terminal device. In this way, the indication of the first resources for transmitting the first data to the terminal device is transmitted together with an indication indicating whether the second downlink control information is to be decoded.

Accordingly, the terminal device may selectively decode the second downlink control information based on the second indication and further receive the first data and the second data. Therefore, in mTRP transmission of NR, the PDCCH decoding process can be simplified and PDSCH decoding complexity on the UE side can be reduced. In this way, DCI decoding complexity may be reduced, power efficiency may be improved, and transmission efficiency may be enhanced at the UE side.

The new DCI format and the common DCI format may be used in combination to support more flexible multi-TRP transmission. Furthermore, to improve the performance of multiple DCI, more advanced resource allocation schemes are designed for the second DCI transmission. The resources allocated for the second DCI transmission should be pre-assigned and sent to the user in advance. It may be semi-statically configured to the UE to adapt transmission scenarios and traffic buffer status. With the new DCI format and resource allocation scheme for the second DCI transmission, the non-correlated joint transmission (NCJT) scheme and the dynamic TRP selection (DPS) scheme can be sufficiently supported with low complexity and high performance. A detailed description of this aspect will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example environment 200 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The environment 200, which may be part of a communication network, includes a network device 210-1 (e.g., TRP #1) referred to as a first network device 210-1, a network device 210-2 (e.g., TRP #2) referred to as a second network device 210-2, and a terminal device 230. It should be understood that two network devices and one terminal device are shown in environment 200 for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation as to the scope of the present disclosure. Environment 200 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.

The terminal device 230 may communicate with both network devices or another terminal device (not shown) directly or via both network devices. The communication may follow any suitable communication standard or protocol, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), fifth generation (5G) NR, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, and employ any suitable communication technology including, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), bluetooth, ZigBee, and Machine Type Communication (MTC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), large-scale Machine Type Communication (MTC), and ultra-reliable low-delay communication (URLLC) technologies.

In environment 200, two network devices combine to transmit downlink data to terminal device 230. The first data channel (e.g., PDSCH #1) and the second data channel (e.g., PDSCH #2) are transmitted by the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2, respectively. According to the first control channel (e.g., PDCCH #1) information and the second control channel (e.g., PDCCH #2) information, the terminal device 230 may decode the two PDSCHs through a specific algorithm, for example, using a separate decoding algorithm per PDSCH or using sequential PDSCH decoding through a successive interference cancellation algorithm (SIC).

In various example embodiments of the present disclosure, terminal device 230 may receive at least one piece of downlink control information from first network device 210-1 and second network device 210-2. The downlink control information comprises an indication of the resources used to transmit data to the terminal device 230 and an indication indicating whether further downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device. Using the received downlink control information, the multi-PDSCH decoding performance at the first network device 210-1 may be improved and user processing complexity may be reduced.

Fig. 3 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 300 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 2, the method 300 may be implemented by the first network device 210-1. For discussion purposes, the method 300 will be described with reference to fig. 2.

At block 305, a first network device 210-1 (referred to as a first network device) sends downlink control information (referred to as first downlink control information) to a terminal device 230. The first downlink control information includes an indication (referred to as a first indication) of a resource (referred to as a first resource) for transmitting data (referred to as first data). The first DCI also includes an indication (referred to as a second indication) indicating whether other downlink control information (referred to as second downlink control information) is to be decoded by the terminal device 230. Based on the second indication, the terminal device 230 may know whether to detect or decode the second DCI. The second downlink control information includes an indication (referred to as a third indication) of another resource (referred to as a second resource) for transmitting another data (referred to as second data) from the second network device 210-2 (referred to as a second network device) to the terminal device 230.

The second indication may indicate whether the second downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device 230 using any suitable means. In some example embodiments, the second indication may indicate a number of downlink control information or whether there is second downlink control information to implicitly indicate whether decoding of the second DCI is required.

The second indication may be implemented in any suitable format. In some example embodiments, the second indication may be included in an additional field of the first downlink control information. In an example embodiment where the second indication indicates that the second downlink control information is to be decoded, the first downlink control information further includes an indication of the order of reception of the first data and the second data (referred to as a fourth indication). The fourth indication may be included in an additional field with the second indication. In some example embodiments, the order of reception is determined based on link quality for the first data and the second data. For example, the data channel with the higher link quality is decoded first.

Each DCI transmission may be used for a different transmission scheme to adapt to the actual transmission scenario. The additional field may include a number of bits indicating a specific DCI transmission scheme and related PDSCH decoding algorithm(s). For example, two bits may be used to indicate four DCI transmission schemes. Table 1 shows an example of an additional field including two bits.

TABLE 1

	A first bit	Second bit	DCI number	Attention is paid to
					Scheme 1	0	0	1	Single DCI, single TRP transmission
Scheme 2	0	1	1	Same DCI, two PDSCH transmissions
					Scheme 3	1	0	2	PDSCH #1 is first decoded
Scheme 4	1	1	2	PDSCH #2 is first decoded

As shown, bit combination "00" in scheme 1 is used to indicate to the terminal device 230 that the current transmission mode is a single TRP transmission with a single DCI. In this case, the UE behavior may be consistent with the procedure required for a single TRP.

Bit combination "01" in scheme 2 is used to indicate to terminal device 230 that the current transmission mode is NCJT, but only one DCI is used to decode both PDSCHs. This means that both the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 use the same downlink transmission parameters, including a full coverage resource scheme and the same Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), etc.

A bit combination "10" in scheme 3 is used to indicate to the terminal device 230 that the current transmission mode is NCJT, and the first DCI (e.g., DCI #1) and the second DCI (e.g., DCI #2) are used to decode PDSCH #1 and PDSCH #2, respectively. The resources allocated for the terminal device 230 from the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 may be partially overlapped. In this case, PDSCH #1 should be decoded first because the associated link quality is higher.

Bit combination "11" in scheme 4 is used to indicate to terminal device 230 that the current transmission mode is NCJT, and DCI #1 and DCI #2 are used for PDSCH #1 and PDSCH #2 decoding, respectively. In this case, PDSCH #2 should be decoded first because its link has high quality.

In some example embodiments, to reduce downlink PDCCH overhead, a new DCI format will be used for the first DCI to instruct terminal device 230 to decode PDSCH #1, while a normal DCI format will be used for the second DCI to instruct terminal device 230 to decode PDSCH # 2. Thus, for single TRP transmission only one DCI format is used, whereas for mTRP transmission two DCI formats may be used in combination in the downlink. At the terminal device 230, Blind Decoding (BD) may be performed to detect the first downlink control information, as will be explained in detail in the paragraphs below with reference to fig. 8.

To improve the performance of multiple DCI transmissions, a more advanced resource allocation scheme is designed for the second DCI transmission. In some example embodiments, the second downlink control information may be sent by the first network device 210-1 to the terminal device 230. The resource used for the second downlink control information may be pre-assigned and notified to the user through a higher layer signal.

In some embodiments, the first downlink control information is transmitted in a time duration (referred to as a first time duration) and the second downlink control information is transmitted in another time duration (referred to as a second time duration) after the first time duration. In some embodiments, the first duration and the second duration may form a downlink time slot. In this case, the second downlink control information may be transmitted after the first downlink control information within the downlink slot.

In some embodiments, the second downlink control information may be transmitted before the first data is transmitted. In some embodiments, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information may be transmitted in a control channel.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme 400 in a control channel according to some example embodiments of this disclosure.

In this example, the control channel is implemented by the PDCCH. As shown, in the transmission of the first network device 210-1, one slot includes a PDCCH region 410 for DL control information transmission, a data region 420 for DL data transmission, and an uplink region 430 for UL reception. The first downlink control information 450 and the second downlink control information 460 are transmitted within the PDCCH region 410 of the first network device 210-1. The first downlink control information 450 includes an indication 440 indicating that the second downlink control information 460 needs to be decoded. In an example embodiment, the resources for the first downlink control information should be adjusted to contain the second downlink control information. This will balance the first downlink control information capacity and the second downlink control information decoding performance by avoiding interference of the data channel.

In some other embodiments, the second downlink control information and the data may be transmitted in a data channel. As an example, in an example embodiment, in the case where the second downlink control information is transmitted before data transmission, the second downlink control information may be transmitted in front of the data region of the first network device 210-1.

Fig. 5 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme 500 in a data channel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

In this example, the first downlink control information 550 is sent within the PDCCH region 410 of the first network device 210-1, while the second downlink control information 460 is sent in front of the data region 420 of the first network device 210-1. This scheme will not change the resources used for the first downlink control information and thus will maintain the performance of the first downlink control information.

Further, the scheme 500 may be considered as raw control area expansion or breathing (breaking). The second downlink control information and the first data may be transmitted based on Time Division (TD). Therefore, the transmission of the second DCI may use the entire transmission power and provide a more advanced multi-DCI cooperative transmission scheme.

In some other embodiments, the second downlink control information is transmitted with the first data within the DL data region of the first network device 210-1. Fig. 6 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme 600 in a data channel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 6, the first downlink control information 450 is transmitted within the PDCCH region 410 of the first network device 210-1, while the second downlink control information 460 is transmitted with the first data within the data region 420 of the first network device 210-1. In this way, more flexible data scheduling and backwards compatibility may be achieved.

In some other embodiments, the transmission of the first and second DCIs and the first data may be interleaved with each other. For example, the first data is transmitted in a duration between the first duration and the second duration (referred to as a third duration) and in another duration (referred to as a fourth duration), the fourth duration being subsequent to the second duration. The first duration and the third duration form a time slot and the second duration and the fourth duration form another time slot. In this case, the second downlink control information may be transmitted in another downlink slot, unlike the first downlink control information.

Fig. 7 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme 700 in a data channel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

In this example, the data channel is implemented by the PDSCH. As shown, the first downlink control information 450 and the second downlink control information 460 are periodically transmitted. The first downlink control information 450 is used for two consecutive PDSCH 730 decoding associated with TRP #1 transmission and the second downlink control information 460 is used for two consecutive PDSCH 750 decoding associated with TRP #2 transmission. Also, the first downlink control information 450 includes an indication 440 indicating the second downlink control information 460. In the exemplary embodiment, first downlink control information 450 is transmitted once every two downlink slots. And transmits the second downlink control information 460 in the same manner. Alternatively, the first downlink control information 450 and the second downlink control information 460 are transmitted. This example embodiment may provide good performance for both the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information without increasing the terminal device 230 downlink control channel decoding complexity. Since there are two PDSCHs, the UE can perform data decoding using the SIC algorithm according to the indication in the first downlink control information.

In some example embodiments, the second downlink control information may be sent by the second network device 210-2 to the terminal device 230. In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information may be transmitted simultaneously. In some other example embodiments, the first downlink control information may be transmitted in advance.

In an example embodiment where the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are transmitted simultaneously, the terminal device 230 may further decode the second downlink control information.

Fig. 8 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme 800 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

In this example, the first downlink control information 450 and the second downlink control information 460 are transmitted simultaneously by the first network device and the second network device. As shown, first downlink control information 450 (e.g., DCI #1) and first PDSCH 730 (e.g., PDSCH #1) are transmitted from the first network device 210-1 (e.g., TRP #1), and second downlink control information 460 (e.g., DCI #2) and second PDSCH 750 (e.g., PDSCH #2) are transmitted from the second network device 210-2 (e.g., TRP # 2). The first downlink control information 450 contains an indication 440 indicating whether the second downlink control information 460 is to be decoded by the terminal device 230. In this example, terminal device 230 may monitor two downlink channels and perform DCI #1 and DCI #2 blind decoding simultaneously. If DCI #1 is decoded first, indication 440 may be used to decide whether to decode DCI # 2. Therefore, the continuous decoding method can also reduce the UE decoding complexity and save the UE power.

In a second example embodiment where the second downlink control information is from the second network device 210-2, the terminal device 230 may initiate receiving the second downlink control information from the second network device 210-2 in response to the second indication indicating that the second downlink control information is to be decoded.

Fig. 9 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme 900 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

In this example, the first DCI carrying indication (e.g., DCI #1) may be sent in advance. Terminal device 230 is configured with multiple TRP transmissions and connections for all links are ready, but the UE monitors only PDCCH #1 of TRP #1, not PDCCH #1 and PDCCH # 2. When detecting the indication 440 carried by DCI #1, the terminal device 230 then starts monitoring the PDCCH #2 transmitted from TRP # 2. The scheme can avoid DCI #2 monitoring and blind decoding, reduce the UE processing complexity and save more energy.

Still referring to fig. 3, at block 310, the first network device 210-1 transmits the first data to the terminal device 230 using the first resource. The first network device 210-1 may transmit the first data in a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). On the terminal device 230 side, data may be received based on the detected downlink control information. The operation and processing of the terminal device 230 will be discussed below with reference to fig. 10.

Fig. 10 shows a flowchart of an example method according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 2, method 1000 may be implemented by terminal device 230. For purposes of discussion, the method 1000 will be described with reference to fig. 2.

At block 1005, the terminal device 230 receives first downlink control information from the first network device 210-1. The first downlink control information includes: a first indication of a first resource for transmitting the first data, and a second indication indicating whether the second downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device 230. The second downlink control information includes a third indication of second resources for detecting second data from the second network device 210-2.

In some example embodiments, the second indication is included in an additional field of the first downlink control information.

In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information further includes a fourth indication of an order of reception of the first data and the second data if the second indication indicates that the second downlink control information is to be decoded.

In some example embodiments, the order of reception is determined based on link quality for the first data and the second data.

In some example embodiments, the terminal device 230 may receive the first data and the second data based on the reception order using the first resource and the second resource.

In some example embodiments, terminal device 230 may receive the second downlink control information from the first network device.

In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information is received for a first duration and the second downlink control information is received for a second duration after the first duration.

In some example embodiments, terminal device 230 may receive the second downlink control information prior to receiving the first data.

In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are received in a control channel.

In some example embodiments, the second downlink control information and the first data are received in a data channel.

In some example embodiments, the terminal device 230 may receive the first data in a third duration between the first duration and the second duration, and a fourth duration after the second duration.

In some example embodiments, terminal device 230 may receive second downlink control information from second network device 210-2.

In an example embodiment where the second downlink control information is from the second network device 210-2, the terminal device 230 may further decode the second downlink control information in response to the second indication indicating that the second downlink control information is to be decoded.

For example, in DCI transmission scheme 800 as shown in fig. 8, terminal device 230 may monitor two downlink channels and perform DCI #1 and DCI #2 blind decoding simultaneously. If DCI #1 is decoded first, indication 440 may be used to decide whether to decode DCI # 2.

In an example embodiment in which the second downlink control information is from the second network device 210-2, the terminal device 230 may receive the second downlink control information from the second network device 210-2 in response to the second indication indicating that the second downlink control information is to be decoded. For example, in the DCI transmission scheme 900 shown in fig. 9, the terminal apparatus 230 monitors only PDCCH #1 of TRP #1, instead of monitoring PDCCH #1 and PDCCH # 2. When detecting the indication 440 carried by DCI #1, the terminal device 230 then starts monitoring the PDCCH #2 transmitted from TRP # 2.

At block 1010, the terminal device 230 receives at least one of the first data and the second data using at least one respective one of the first resource and the second resource. The first network device 210-1 may transmit the first data in a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). At the terminal device 230, data may be received based on the detected downlink control information.

All of the operations and features of method 300 described above with reference to fig. 2-9 are equally applicable to method 1000 and have similar effects. Details will be omitted for simplicity.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the

method

300 or 1000 may include means for performing the respective steps of the

method

300 or 1000. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the components may be implemented in circuits or software modules.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 300 comprises: means for transmitting, by a first network device, first downlink control information to a terminal device, the first downlink control information comprising: a first indication of first resources for transmitting first data to a terminal device and a second indication indicating whether second downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device, the second downlink control information comprising a third indication of second resources for transmitting second data from a second network device to the terminal device; and means for transmitting the first data to the terminal device using the first resource.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting the second downlink control information to the terminal device.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for transmitting the first downlink control information in a first time duration and transmitting the second downlink control information in a second time duration after the first time duration.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting the second downlink control information prior to transmitting the first data.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for transmitting the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information in a control channel.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting the second downlink control information and the first data in a data channel.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for transmitting the first data for a third duration between the first duration and the second duration, and for a fourth duration after the second duration.

In some example embodiments, the second downlink control information is transmitted by the second network device.

In some example embodiments, at least one of the first network device and the second network device is a transmission point.

In some example embodiments, at least one of the first layer 1 signaling message, the second layer 1 signaling message, and the third layer 1 signaling message may be a downlink control information message.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 1000 comprises: means for receiving, by a terminal device, first downlink control information from a first network device, the first downlink control information comprising: a first indication of first resources for detecting first data from the first network device and a second indication indicating whether second downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device, the second downlink control information comprising a third indication of second resources for detecting second data from the second network device; and means for receiving at least one of the first data and the second data using the first resource and the second resource.

In some example embodiments, if the second indication indicates that the second downlink control information is to be decoded, the first downlink control information further includes a fourth indication of a reception order of the first data and the second data.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes means for receiving the first data and the second data based on the detection order using the first resource and the second resource.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving second downlink control information from the first network device.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving first downlink control information in a first time duration and second downlink control information in a second time duration after the first time duration.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving second downlink control information prior to receiving the first data.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving first downlink control information and second downlink control information in a control channel.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving the second downlink control information and the first data in a data channel.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes means for receiving the first data in a third duration between the first duration and the second duration, and a fourth duration after the second duration.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving second downlink control information from the second network device.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for receiving the second downlink control information from the second network device in response to the second indication indicating that the second downlink control information is to be decoded.

In some example embodiments, the means for decoding the second downlink control information is responsive to the second indication indicating that the second downlink control information is to be decoded.

Fig. 11 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1100 suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 1100 may be implemented at or as at least a portion of first network device 210-1 or terminal device 230 as shown in fig. 2.

As shown, the device 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120 coupled to the processor 1110, a communication module 1130 coupled to the processor 1110, and a communication interface (not shown) coupled to the communication module 1130. The memory 1120 stores at least a program 1140. The communication module 1130 is used for bidirectional communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication.

The programs 1140 are assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1110, enable the device 1100 to operate in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to fig. 1-10. The example embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1110 of the device 1100, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1110 may be configured to implement various example embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 1120 may be of any type suitable to a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as non-transitory computer readable storage media, semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. Although only one memory 1120 is shown in device 1100, there may be multiple physically distinct memory modules in device 1100. The processor 1110 may be of any type suitable to the local technology network and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. Device 1100 may have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips, that are time-dependent from a clock synchronized with the host processor.

When the device 1100 is operating as a network device 210, the memory 1120 and programs 1140 may operate with the processor 1110 to cause the device 1100 to perform the method 300 as described above with reference to fig. 3. When the device 1100 is operating as a terminal device 230, the memory 1120 and programs 1140 can operate with the processor 1110 to cause the device 1100 to perform the method 1000 as described above with reference to fig. 10. All of the operations and features described above with reference to fig. 1-10 are equally applicable to the device 1100 and have similar effects. Details will be omitted for simplicity.

In general, the various exemplary embodiments of this invention may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of the example embodiments of this disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the block diagrams, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present invention also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the

methods

300 and 1000 described above with reference to fig. 1-10. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various example embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed facility, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the functions/operations specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram are performed when the program codes are executed by the processor or controller. As a stand-alone software package, the program code may execute entirely on the machine, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of a computer-readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular example embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate example embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple exemplary embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Various example embodiments of these techniques have been described. In addition to or as an alternative to the foregoing, the following examples are described. Features described in any of the embodiments below may be used with any of the other embodiments described herein.

Claims

1. A method for communication, comprising:

transmitting, by a first network device, first downlink control information to a terminal device, the first downlink control information comprising:

a first indication of a first resource for transmitting first data to the terminal device, an

A second indication indicating whether second downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device, the second downlink control information comprising a third indication of second resources for transmitting second data from a second network device to the terminal device; and

and sending the first data to the terminal equipment by using the first resource.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second indication is included in an additional field of the first downlink control information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first downlink control information further includes a fourth indication of a reception order of the first data and the second data if the second indication indicates that the second downlink control information is to be decoded.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the order of reception is determined based on link quality for the first data and the second data.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the second downlink control information to the terminal device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first downlink control information is sent in a first time duration and the second downlink control information is sent in a second time duration after the first time duration.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein sending the second downlink control information comprises:

transmitting the second downlink control information prior to the transmission of the first data.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are sent in a control channel.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the second downlink control information and the first data are transmitted in a data channel.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein sending the first data comprises:

transmitting the first data in a third duration between the first duration and the second duration, and a fourth duration after the second duration.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the second downlink control information is sent by the second network device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first network device and the second network device is a transmission point.

13. A method for communication, comprising:

receiving, by a terminal device, first downlink control information from a first network device, the first downlink control information comprising:

a first indication of a first resource for detecting first data from the first network device, an

A second indication indicating whether the second downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device, the second downlink control information comprising a third indication of second resources for detecting second data from a second network device; and

receiving at least one of the first data and the second data using the first resource and the second resource.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second indication is included in an additional field of the first downlink control information.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the first downlink control information further includes a fourth indication of a reception order of the first data and the second data if the second indication indicates that the second downlink control information is to be decoded.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the order of reception is determined based on link quality for the first data and the second data.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving at least one of the first data and the second data comprises:

receiving the first data and the second data based on the detection order using the first resource and the second resource.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving the second downlink control information from the first network device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first downlink control information is received in a first time duration and the second downlink control information is received in a second time duration after the first time duration.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving the second downlink control information comprises:

receiving the second downlink control information prior to the receiving of the first data.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are received in a control channel.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the second downlink control information and the first data are received in a data channel.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving the first data comprises:

receiving the first data in a third duration between the first duration and the second duration, and in a fourth duration after the second duration.

24. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving the second downlink control information from the second network device.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein receiving the second downlink control information comprises:

receiving the second downlink control information from the second network device in response to the second indication indicating that the second downlink control information is to be decoded.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

decoding the second downlink control information in response to the second indication indicating that the second downlink control information is to be decoded.

27. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1-12.

28. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 13-26.

29. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for transmitting, by a first network device, first downlink control information to a terminal device, the first downlink control information comprising:

means for transmitting the first data to the terminal device using the first resource.

30. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for receiving, by a terminal device, first downlink control information from a first network device, the first downlink control information comprising:

means for receiving at least one of the first data and the second data using the first resource and the second resource.

31. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method of any of claims 1-12.

32. A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method of any of claims 13-26.