WO2018006237A1

WO2018006237A1 - Downlink control information (dci) configuration

Info

Publication number: WO2018006237A1
Application number: PCT/CN2016/088361
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wenting CHANG; Gang Xiong; Huaning Niu; Yushu Zhang; Yuan Zhu
Original assignee: Intel IP Corp
Current assignee: Intel IP Corp
Priority date: 2016-07-04
Filing date: 2016-07-04
Publication date: 2018-01-11
Anticipated expiration: 2019-01-04
Also published as: CN109314618A; CN109314618B

Abstract

Apparatus, systems, and methods for downlink control information (DCI) configuration in communication systems are described.

Description

DOWNLINK CONTROL INFORMATION (DCI) CONFIGURATION

FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of electronic communication. More particularly, aspects generally relate to downlink control information (DCI) configuration in communication systems.

BACKGROUND

Techniques to implement DCI configuration may find utility, e.g., in electronic communication systems for electronic devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is provided with reference to the accompanying figures. The use of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identical items.

Figure 1 is a schematic, block diagram illustration of components in a 3GPP LTE network which may implement a downlink control information configuration in communication systems in accordance with various examples discussed herein.

Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of a downlink control information grant for multiple subframes in accordance with various examples discussed herein.

Figs. 3A-3C are schematic illustrations of a downlink control information grant for multiple subframes in accordance with various examples discussed herein.

Fig. 4 is a schematic illustration of an example of a subframe structure in accordance with various examples discussed herein.

Figs. 5A-5B and 6-8 are schematic illustrations of multiple subframes in accordance with various examples discussed herein.

Fig. 9 is a schematic, block diagram illustration of a wireless network in accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

Figs. 10 and 11 are schematic, block diagram illustrations, respectively, of radio interface protocol structures between a UE and an eNodeB based on a 3GPP-type radio access network standard in accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

Fig. 12 is a schematic, block diagram illustration of an information-handling system in accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

Fig. 13 is an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of an information-handling system that optionally may include a touch screen in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosed herein.

Fig. 14 is a schematic, block diagram illustration of components of a wireless device in accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments disclosed herein.

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and/or clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, if considered appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding and/or analogous elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various examples. However, various examples may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the particular examples. Further, various aspects of examples may be performed using various means, such as integrated semiconductor circuits ( “hardware” ) , computer-readable instructions organized into one or more programs ( “software” ) , or some combination of hardware and software. For the purposes of this disclosure reference to “logic” shall mean either hardware, software, or some combination thereof.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Additionally, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration. ” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not to be construed as necessarily preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

Various operations may be described as multiple discrete operations in turn and in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimed subject matter. The order of description, however, should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations need not be performed in the order of presentation. Operations described may be performed in a different order than the described embodiment. Various additional operations may be performed and/or described operations may be omitted in additional embodiments.

Features and characteristics of techniques to implement a downlink control information configuration in communication systems and communication systems in which the techniques may be incorporated are described below with reference to Figs. 1-14.

Fig. 1 shows an exemplary block diagram of the overall architecture of a 3GPP LTE network 100 that includes one or more devices that are capable of implementing methods to implement a downlink control information (DCI) configuration in communication systems according to the subject matter disclosed herein. Fig. 1 also generally shows exemplary network elements and exemplary standardized interfaces. At a high level, network 100 comprises a core network (CN) 101 (also referred to as an evolved Packet System (EPC) ) , and an air-interface access network E UTRAN 102. CN 101 is responsible for the overall control of the various User Equipment (UE) connected to the network and establishment of the bearers. CN 101 may include functional entities, such as a home agent and/or an ANDSF server or entity, although not explicitly depicted. E UTRAN 102 is responsible for radio-related functions.

The main exemplary logical nodes of CN 101 include, but are not limited to, a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) 103, the Mobility Management Entity (MME) 104, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 105, a Serving Gate (SGW) 106, a packet data network (PDN) Gateway 107 and a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) Manager 108. The functionality of each of the network elements of CN 101 is well known and is not described herein. Each of the network elements of CN 101 are interconnected by well-known exemplary standardized interfaces, some of which are indicated in Fig. 1, such as interfaces S3, S4, S5, etc., although not described herein.

While CN 101 includes many logical nodes, the E UTRAN access network 102 is formed by at least one node, such as evolved NodeB (base station (BS) , eNB or eNodeB) 110, which connects to one or more User Equipment (UE) 111, of which only one is depicted in Fig 1. UE 111 is also referred to herein as a wireless device (WD) and/or a subscriber station (SS) , and can include an M2M-type device. In one example, UE 111 may be coupled to eNB by an LTE-Uu interface. In one exemplary configuration, a single cell of an E UTRAN access network 102 provides one substantially localized geographical transmission point (having multiple antenna devices) that provides access to one or more UEs. In another exemplary configuration, a single cell of an E UTRAN access network 102 provides multiple geographically substantially isolated transmission points (each having one or more antenna devices) with each transmission point providing access to one or more UEs simultaneously and with the signaling bits defined for the one cell so that all UEs share the same spatial signaling dimensioning. For normal user traffic (as opposed to broadcast) , there is no centralized controller in E-UTRAN； hence the E-UTRAN architecture is said to be flat. The eNBs are normally interconnected with each other by an interface known as “X2” and to the EPC by an S1 interface. More specifically, an eNB is connected to MME 104 by an S1 MME interface and to SGW 106 by an S1 U interface. The protocols that run between the eNBs and the UEs are generally referred to as the “AS protocols. ” Details of the various interfaces are well known and not described herein.

The eNB 110 hosts the PHYsical (PHY) , Medium Access Control (MAC) , Radio Link Control (RLC) , and Packet Data Control Protocol (PDCP) layers, which are not shown in Fig. 1, and which include the functionality of user-plane header-compression and encryption. The eNB 110 also provides Radio Resource Control (RRC) functionality corresponding to the control plane, and performs many functions including radio resource management, admission control, scheduling, enforcement of negotiated Up Link (UL) QoS, cell information broadcast, ciphering/deciphering of user and control plane data, and compression/decompression of DL/UL user plane packet headers.

The RRC layer in eNB 110 covers all functions related to the radio bearers, such as radio bearer control, radio admission control, radio mobility control, scheduling and dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in both uplink and downlink, header compression for efficient use of the radio interface, security of all data sent over the radio interface, and connectivity to the EPC. The RRC layer makes handover decisions based on neighbor cell measurements sent by UE 111, generates pages for UEs 111 over the air, broadcasts system information, controls UE measurement reporting, such as the periodicity of Channel Quality Information (CQI) reports, and allocates cell-level temporary identifiers to active UEs 111. The RRC layer also executes transfer of UE context from a source eNB to a target eNB during handover, and provides integrity protection for RRC messages. Additionally, the RRC layer is responsible for the setting up and maintenance of radio bearers.

Referring to Fig. 2, in some examples DCI grant can be utilized to configure various assignment related parameters, e.g., resource allocation, modulation and coding scheme, etc. In this way, the OFDM symbol for DCI can be saved for higher spectrum efficiency, and the complexity of DCI detection at a UE may be reduced.

Due to TX beam and RX beam mismatches and/or abrupt environment change, the DCI may fail to be received at the UE, in which case the UE cannot receive the payload within assigned multiple subframes, resulting in substantial resource waste. Further, if additional DCI, e.g., uplink grant DCI, may be configured during the multiple subframes, then the UE has to blindly detect the additional DCI which cause higher computation complexity.

In some examples the subject matter described herein addresses these and other problems by providing a backward-assigned alternative DCI transmission. In alternate examples a fully-assigned alternative DCI transmission may be implemented. Additional DCI indicators may be configured.

Referring to Fig. 2, in order to support a high peak data rate and save the overhead of control information, one downlink grant DCI can be utilized to configure the transmission parameters of multiple valid subframes. In the example depicted in Fig. 2, one DCI grant may be used to configure the assignment of eight (8) subframes.

However, if the DCI assignment is lost, the UE may fail to demodulate the payload within the

subframes, which results in resource waste. Here,

denotes the number of subframes which are configured by this DCI. In one example, the subframe grouping number indicator

may be configured at the DCI to indicate the number of grouping subframes. An example of a 3-bit indicator is illustrated in the Table I.

Table I

In one example, an apparatus of an eNB may assign a primary DCI grant and an alternative DCI grant, which may be backward assigned. The primary DCI configures the resource parameter for

subframes, whose HARQ process indexes range from

to

Here, N_harq is the explicit HARQ process indicator.

In order to reduce the resource waste in case of DCI loss, an alternative DCI may be transmitted approximately in the middle of the subframes within this group. In one example, an alternative DCI grant can be transmitted at the

th subframe. During the alternative DCI transmission, the number of grouped subframes is reduced to

and the HARQ process indicator is equal to

which corresponds to HARQ process indexes range from

to

As illustrated in Fig. 3A, the primary DCI is utilized to configure the parameters of subframes from #0 to #15, and the alternative DCI is utilized to configure the parameters of subframes from #8 to #15. If the primary DCI is correctly detected, the UE can ignore the alternative DCI, demodulate the payload, and report the 16 ACK/NACK bits within one subframe. By contrast, if the primary DCI is not correctly detected, then the UE can detect the alternative DCI, demodulate a portion of the payload using the alternative DCI, and report 8 ACK/NACK bits.

In one example, if the time/frequency position of the ACK/NACK report is derived based on the related DCI, the eNB can assign different Control Channel Element (CCE) indexes to primary and alternative DCIs so that their corresponding ACK/NACK reports can be distinguished by the eNB. If the capacity of ACK/NACK channel is dynamically adjusted, e.g., with a rate matching (RM) coding scheme, the eNB can check whether 8 bits or 16 bits are detected in order to determine whether the primary DCI is correctly detected, or not.

In some examples the primary DCI and alternative DCI can be transmitted with different transmit (Tx) beams which utilize different channel clusters. In such cases the UE may have another opportunity to receive the alternative DCI by adjusting the receive (Rx) beam based on the beam reference signal (BRS) , if the demodulation of the primary DCI fails. The UE can then can demodulate the payload of subframes from #8 to #15.

In another example, the backward assigned alternative DCI can be extended into multiple alternative DCIs, e.g., two or more. The location of multiple alternative DCIs can be pre-defined as a function of

size, e.g., subframe gap

between two adjacent DCIs, where N_alter. _DCI DCIs represents a number of alternative DCI which are configured.

In another example the alternative DCI is fully assigned. Referring to Fig. 3B, the alternative DCI may be transmitted at the subframe following the subframe which includes the primary DCI. During two DCIs, the subframe grouping number indicator and the HARQ process indicator are same, while a counter indicator n_count, e.g., a 1-bit is configured to differentiate DCIs, e.g., “0” for primary DCI, and “1” for alternative DCI.

The HARQ process indexes are derived based on

and n_count, as indicated in equation (1)

EQ. (1)

where

In some examples the Tx beams of primary DCI and the alternative DCI may be different. In one example, the primary DCI and the alternative DCI are transmitted with the Tx beams corresponding to the strongest beam-specific reference signal receive power (BRS-RP) and the second strongest BRS-RP, respectively. In another example, the primary DCI and the alternative DCI are transmitted with the Tx beams corresponding to different channel clusters. For example, the UE may buffer I/Q data of a previous subframe so that UE can demodulate the payload of subframe #0 when the reception primary DCI fails but the reception of the alternative DCI is successful.

In another example, the primary DCI and alternative DCI can be transmitted at different OFDM symbol within the first subframe, and can be assigned at different resource blocks (RBs) for frequency diversity.

In another example, the full assigned alternative DCI can be extended to multiple subframes. The subframe gap between the alternative DCI and primary DCI can be pre-defined as a function of n_count via high layer signaling.

Referring to Fig. 3C, in some examples the eNB may configure an uplink grant DCI in the group of subframes to enable the UE to transmit the uplink data. In some examples a 1-bit Additional DCI indicator can be configured by DCI to indicate whether the UE needs to detect additional DCI.

In another example, the UE may assume the UL DCI grant is to be transmitted in a specific subframe, e.g., the second subframe within the subframes if the Additional DCI indicator is enabled, or the same subframe as the DL DCI grant. In this case the subframe for uplink transmission may be derived based on the subframe offset in the grant or may be the subframe subsequent to the UL DCI grant. In another option, the UE could detect the UL grant in the last g-1 subframes in the

subframes, where g may be predefined by the system or configured by higher layer signaling.

In other examples two tail OFDM symbols in the downlink subframe, can be reserved for a downlink/uplink switching gap and for uplink control information (UCI) transmission, which can allow the UE to report the ACK/NACK and/or channel quality measurement. In the uplink subframe two front OFDM symbols can be reserved for DCI grant and downlink/uplink switching gap.

In some examples, one DCI in a grouped subframe assignment scheme can be utilized to configure the parameters of multiple subframes, including the downlink assignment DCI and uplink grant DCI, in order to reduce the computation complexity for blind DCI detection for every subframe received by a UE and to decrease the overhead for control information transmission. Since multiple subframes share the same DCI, a rule corresponding to OFDM symbols reservation for UCI or DCI transmission within a group of subframes may be implemented.

For downlink transmission, the ACK/NACK reports, e.g., different reports corresponding to different subframe groups of one user, or different reports corresponding to different users, will be configured at the same uplink OFDM symbol. For uplink transmission, the uplink DCI grants, which may correspond to different subframe groups of one user or different users, may be configured at the same downlink OFDM symbol. In this way, the control information overhead, as well as the downlink/uplink switching gap, can be reduced, which leads to higher system throughput.

eferring to Fig. 4, at the high frequency band system, the resource assignment and other related parameters, e.g., the modulation and coding scheme, DMRS assignment and so on, are indicated in the downlink control information (DCI) , which is transmitted at the first OFDM symbol of a subframe to enable a UE to obtain necessary information prior to data reception or transmission. On the other side of the subframe, the UCI will be assigned at the tail OFDM symbol to enable the UE to report acknowledgements and/or channel quality measurements.

In some examples one DCI may be used to configure multiple subframes in order to reduce the computation complexity for a UE for blind DCI detection among multiple subframes. Further, the OFDM symbol which is designated to transmit the DCI can be utilized to transmit payload for high spectrum efficiency, especially for uplink transmission, where the gap for downlink and uplink switching can also be saved.

Referring to Figs. 5A-5B in one example, the subframes with the same Tx state can be configured by one DCI, and the new data indicator (NDI) and redundancy version (RV) is explicitly indicated in the DCI to simplify the RV and NDI derivation, as illustrated in Fig. 5A. In another example illustrated in Fig. 5B, a UCI puncture indicator is configured in the downlink DCI, to indicate whether the tail OFDM symbols are allocated for UCI transmission to avoid the interference to UCI, as well as prevent UE from receiving additional interference. In one example, a 1-bit indicator in a given subgroup is configured to indicate the UCI transmission pattern, where “1” means the tail OFDM symbols of the last subframe within the subgroup are allocated for UCI transmission, and “0” means the tail OFDM symbols of the last subframe are not allocated for UCI transmission.

In another example a 2-bit indicator may be configured to indicate the UCI transmission pattern and location. For example an indicator of “00” may indicate no UCI transmission, while “01” may indicate that the UCI is transmitted at the tail OFDM symbols of the subframe within this group and "10” means the UCI is transmitted at the tail OFDM symbols of the

th and the

th subframes； and “11” means UCI transmission exists at the tail OFDM symbols of all subframes within this group, where

represents the number of subframes within this group. In another example, the

length bitmap is configured to indicate whether the UCI is transmitted at the tail OFDM symbols or not for each subframe individually.

Referring to Fig. 6, in one example, the subframe offset N_UCI, offset can be configured at the DCI. The UE can report the ACK/NACK and/or channel quality measurement at the following

th subframe after receiving the DCI at the current subframe. As illustrated in Fig. 6, in some examples one UE can align the ACK/NCK report of different groups into the same OFDM symbol, as illustrated in Fig. 6A, or different UEs can align the ACK/NCK report into the same OFDM symbol to reduce the overhead of downlink-uplink switching, as illustrated in Fig. 6B.

Referring to Fig. 7, in one example the front OFDM symbols, e.g., the first two OFDM symbols for uplink grouped subframes may be allocated to DCI transmission to avoid the interference to DCI, where the DCI transmission pattern can be configured in the uplink UCI grant or be pre-defined. As illustrated in example (A) , the front OFDM symbols of the first subframe can be allocated for DCI transmission. Alternatively, as illustrated in Example (B) , the front OFDM symbols of the min

th subframe within this group can be allocated for DCI transmission, where N_process is the reserved processing transmission time interval (TTI) for the eNB to receive and demodulate the payload, e.g., in Figure 5B with N_process＝1.

Referring to Fig. 8, in one example high layer signaling may be used to specify a location for the DCI transmission. In example (A) a 1-bit DCI indicator can be configured in the uplink DCI grant, where “0” means the front OFDM symbols of one subframe, which can be the first or last subframe, are allocated for DCI transmission, and “1” means all the front OFDM symbols of all subframes within this group are allocated for DCI transmission, to enable flexible multiple user multiplexing.

In example (2) a 2-bit DCI indicator can be configured in the uplink DCI grant, where “00” means no DCI is transmitted within the allocated grouped subframes, “01” means the front OFDM symbols of the first subframe are allocated for DCI transmission； “10” means the front OFDM symbols of the last subframe are allocated for DCI transmission； and “11” means all the front OFDM symbols of all subframes are reserved for DCI transmission.

In one example, a

length bitmap is configured so as to indicate whether DCI is transmitted at the front OFDM symbols for each subframe individually. In another example, the subframe offset N_DCI, offset can be configured at the DCI grant. Then UE will transmit the uplink payload at the followingN_DCI, offsetth subframe after receiving the DCI at the current subframe.

Fig. 9 is a schematic, block diagram illustration of a wireless network 900 in accordance with one or more exemplary embodiments disclosed herein. One or more of the elements of wireless network 900 may be capable of implementing methods to identify victims and aggressors according to the subject matter disclosed herein. As shown in Figure 9, network 900 may be an Internet-Protocol-type (IP-type) network comprising an Internet-type network 910, or the like, that is capable of supporting mobile wireless access and/or fixed wireless access to Internet 910.

In one or more examples, network 900 may operate in compliance with a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standard or future generations of WiMAX, and in one particular example may be in compliance with an Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.16-based standard (for example, IEEE 802.16e) , or an IEEE 802.11-based standard (for example, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n standard) , and so on. In one or more alternative examples, network 900 may be in compliance with a 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) , a 3GPP2 Air Interface Evolution (3GPP2 AIE) standard and/or a 3GPP LTE-Advanced standard. In general, network 900 may comprise any type of orthogonal-frequency-division-multiple-access-based (OFDMA-based) wireless network, for example, a WiMAX compliant network, a Wi-Fi Alliance Compliant Network, a digital subscriber-line-type (DSL-type) network, an asymmetric-digital-subscriber-line-type (ADSL-type) network, an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) compliant network, a Wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB) compliant network, a 4th Generation (4G) type network, and so on, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

As an example of mobile wireless access, access service network (ASN) 912 is capable of coupling with base station (BS) 914 to provide wireless communication between subscriber station (SS) 916 (also referred to herein as a wireless terminal) and Internet 910. In one example, subscriber station 916 may comprise a mobile-type device or information-handling system capable of wirelessly communicating via network 900, for example, a notebook-type computer, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant, an M2M-type device, or the like. In another example, subscriber station is capable of providing an uplink-transmit-power control technique that reduces interference experienced at other wireless devices according to the subject matter disclosed herein. ASN 912 may implement profiles that are capable of defining the mapping of network functions to one or more physical entities on network 900. Base station 914 may comprise radio equipment to provide radio-frequency (RF) communication with subscriber station 916, and may comprise, for example, the physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) layer equipment in compliance with an IEEE 802.16e-type standard. Base station 914 may further comprise an IP backplane to couple to Internet 910 via ASN 912, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

Network 900 may further comprise a visited connectivity service network (CSN) 924 capable of providing one or more network functions including, but not limited to, proxy and/or relay type functions, for example, authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) functions, dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) functions, or domain-name service controls or the like, domain gateways, such as public switched telephone network (PSTN) gateways or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) gateways, and/or Internet- Protocol-type (IP-type) server functions, or the like. These are, however, merely example of the types of functions that are capable of being provided by visited CSN or home CSN 926, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

Visited CSN 924 may be referred to as a visited CSN in the case, for example, in which visited CSN 924 is not part of the regular service provider of subscriber station 916, for example, in which subscriber station 916 is roaming away from its home CSN, such as home CSN 926, or, for example, in which network 900 is part of the regular service provider of subscriber station, but in which network 900 may be in another location or state that is not the main or home location of subscriber station 916.

In a fixed wireless arrangement, WiMAX-type customer premises equipment (CPE) 922 may be located in a home or business to provide home or business customer broadband access to Internet 910 via base station 920, ASN 918, and home CSN 926 in a manner similar to access by subscriber station 916 via base station 914, ASN 912, and visited CSN 924, a difference being that WiMAX CPE 922 is generally disposed in a stationary location, although it may be moved to different locations as needed, whereas subscriber station may be utilized at one or more locations if subscriber station 916 is within range of base station 914 for example.

It should be noted that CPE 922 need not necessarily comprise a WiMAX-type terminal, and may comprise other types of terminals or devices compliant with one or more standards or protocols, for example, as discussed herein, and in general may comprise a fixed or a mobile device. Moreover, in one exemplary embodiment, CPE 922 is capable of providing an uplink-transmit-power control technique that reduces interference experienced at other wireless devices according to the subject matter disclosed herein.

In accordance with one or more examples, operation support system (OSS) 928 may be part of network 900 to provide management functions for network 900 and to provide interfaces between functional entities of network 900. Network 900 of Fig. 9 is merely one type of wireless network showing a certain number of the components of network 900； however, the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

Figs. 10 and 11 respectively depict exemplary radio interface protocol structures between a UE and an eNodeB that are based on a 3GPP-type radio access network standard and that is capable of providing an uplink-transmit-power control technique that reduces interference experienced at other wireless devices according to the subject matter disclosed herein. More specifically, Fig. 10 depicts individual layers of a radio protocol control plane and Fig. 11 depicts individual layers of a radio protocol user plane. The protocol layers of Figs. 10 and 11 can be classified into an L1 layer (first layer) , an L2 layer (second layer) and an L3 layer (third layer) on the basis of the lower three layers of the OSI reference model widely known in communication systems.

The physical (PHY) layer, which is the first layer (L1) , provides an information transfer service to an upper layer using a physical channel. The physical layer is connected to a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, which is located above the physical layer, through a transport channel. Data is transferred between the MAC layer and the PHY layer through the transport channel. A transport channel is classified into a dedicated transport channel and a common transport channel according to whether or not the channel is shared. Data transfer between different physical layers, specifically between the respective physical layers of a transmitter and a receiver is performed through the physical channel.

A variety of layers exist in the second layer (L2 layer) . For example, the MAC layer maps various logical channels to various transport channels, and performs logical-channel multiplexing for mapping various logical channels to one transport channel. The MAC layer is connected to the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer serving as an upper layer through a logical channel. The logical channel can be classified into a control channel for transmitting information of a control plane and a traffic channel for transmitting information of a user plane according to categories of transmission information.

The RLC layer of the second layer (L2) performs segmentation and concatenation on data received from an upper layer, and adjusts the size of data to be suitable for a lower layer transmitting data to a radio interval. In order to guarantee various Qualities of Service (QoSs) requested by respective radio bearers (RBs) , three operation modes, i.e., a Transparent Mode (TM) , an Unacknowledged Mode (UM) , and an Acknowledged Mode (AM) , are provided. Specifically, an AM RLC performs a retransmission function using an Automatic Repeat and Request (ARQ) function so as to implement reliable data transmission.

A Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer of the second layer (L2) performs a header compression function to reduce the size of an IP packet header having relatively large and unnecessary control information in order to efficiently transmit IP packets, such as IPv4 or IPv6 packets, in a radio interval with a narrow bandwidth. As a result, only information required for a header part of data can be transmitted, so that transmission efficiency of the radio interval can be increased. In addition, in an LTE-based system, the PDCP layer performs a security function that includes a ciphering function for preventing a third party from eavesdropping on data and an integrity protection function for preventing a third party from handling data.

A Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer located at the top of the third layer (L3) is defined only in the control plane and is responsible for control of logical, transport, and physical channels in association with configuration, re-configuration and release of Radio Bearers (RBs) . The RB is a logical path that the first and second layers (L1 and L2) provide for data communication between the UE and the UTRAN. Generally, Radio Bearer (RB) configuration means that a radio protocol layer needed for providing a specific service, and channel characteristics are defined and their detailed parameters and operation methods are configured. The Radio Bearer (RB) is classified into a Signaling RB (SRB) and a Data RB (DRB) . The SRB is used as a transmission passage of RRC messages in the C plane, and the DRB is used as a transmission passage of user data in the U plane.

A downlink transport channel for transmitting data from the network to the UE may be classified into a Broadcast Channel (BCH) for transmitting system information and a downlink Shared Channel (SCH) for transmitting user traffic or control messages. Traffic or control messages of a downlink multicast or broadcast service may be transmitted through a downlink SCH and may also be transmitted through a downlink multicast channel (MCH) . Uplink transport channels for transmission of data from the UE to the network include a Random Access Channel (RACH) for transmission of initial control messages and an uplink SCH for transmission of user traffic or control messages.

Downlink physical channels for transmitting information transferred to a downlink transport channel to a radio interval between the UE and the network are classified into a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) for transmitting BCH information, a Physical Multicast Channel (PMCH) for transmitting MCH information, a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) for transmitting downlink SCH information, and a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) (also called a DL L1/L2 control channel) for transmitting control information, such as DL/UL Scheduling Grant information, received from first and second layers (L1 and L2) . In the meantime, uplink physical channels for transmitting information transferred to an uplink transport channel to a radio interval between the UE and the network are classified into a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) for transmitting uplink SCH information, a Physical Random Access Channel for transmitting RACH information, and a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) for transmitting control information, such as Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) ACK or NACK Scheduling Request (SR) and Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) report information, received from first and second layers (L1 and L2) .

Fig. 12 depicts an exemplary functional block diagram of an information-handling system 1200 that is capable of implementing methods to identify victims and aggressors according to the subject matter disclosed herein. Information handling system 1200 of Fig. 12 may tangibly embody one or more of any of the exemplary devices, exemplary network elements and/or functional entities of the network as shown in and described herein. In one example, information-handling system 1200 may represent the components of a UE 111 or eNB 110, and/or a WLAN access point 120, with greater or fewer components depending on the hardware specifications of the particular device or network element. In another example, information-handling system may provide M2M-type device capability. In yet another exemplary embodiment, information- handling system 1200 is capable of providing an uplink-transmit-power control technique that reduces interference experienced at other wireless devices according to the subject matter disclosed herein. Although information-handling system 1200 represents one example of several types of computing platforms, information-handling system 1200 may include more or fewer elements and/or different arrangements of elements than shown in Fig. 12, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

In one or more examples, information-handling system 1200 may comprise one or more applications processor 1210 and a baseband processor 1212. Applications processor 1210 may be utilized as a general purpose processor to run applications and the various subsystems for information handling system 1200, and to capable of providing an uplink-transmit-power control technique that reduces interference experienced at other wireless devices according to the subject matter disclosed herein. Applications processor 1210 may include a single core or alternatively may include multiple processing cores wherein one or more of the cores may comprise a digital signal processor or digital signal processing core. Furthermore, applications processor 1210 may include a graphics processor or coprocessor disposed on the same chip, or alternatively a graphics processor coupled to applications processor 1210 may comprise a separate, discrete graphics chip. Applications processor 1210 may include on-board memory, such as cache memory, and further may be coupled to external memory devices such as synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) 1214 for storing and/or executing applications, such as capable of providing an uplink-transmit-power control technique that reduces interference experienced at other wireless devices according to the subject matter disclosed herein. During operation, and NAND flash 1216 for storing applications and/or data even when information handling system 1200 is powered off.

In one example, a list of candidate nodes may be stored in SDRAM 1214 and/or NAND flash 1216. Further, applications processor 1210 may execute computer-readable instructions stored in SDRAM 1214 and/or NAND flash 1216 that result in an uplink-transmit-power control technique that reduces interference experienced at other wireless devices according to the subject matter disclosed herein.

In one example, baseband processor 1212 may control the broadband radio functions for information-handling system 1200. Baseband processor 1212 may store code for controlling such broadband radio functions in a NOR flash 1218. Baseband processor 1212 controls a wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver 1220 which is used for modulating and/or demodulating broadband network signals, for example, for communicating via a 3GPP LTE network or the like as discussed herein with respect to Fig. 12. The WWAN transceiver 1220 couples to one or more power amplifiers 1222 that are respectively coupled to one or more antennas 1224 for sending and receiving radio-frequency signals via the WWAN broadband network. The baseband processor 1212 also may control a wireless local area network (WLAN) transceiver 1226 coupled to one or more suitable antennas 1228 and that may be capable of communicating via a Bluetooth-based standard, an IEEE 802.11-based standard, an IEEE 802.16-based standard, an IEEE 802.18-based wireless network standard, a 3GPP-based protocol wireless network, a Third Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) based wireless network standard, a 3GPP2 Air Interface Evolution (3GPP2 AIE) based wireless network standard, a 3GPP-LTE-Advanced-based wireless network, a UMTS-based protocol wireless network, a CDMA2000-based protocol wireless network, a GSM-based protocol wireless network, a cellular-digital-packet-data-based (CDPD-based) protocol wireless network, a Mobitex-based protocol wireless network, a Near-Field-Communications-based (NFC-based) link, a WiGig-based network, a ZigBee-based network, or the like. It should be noted that these are merely exemplary implementations for applications processor 1210 and baseband processor 1212, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects. For example, any one or more of SDRAM 1214, NAND flash 1216 and/or NOR flash 1218 may comprise other types of memory technology, such as magnetic-based memory, chalcogenide-based memory, phase-change-based memory, optical-based memory, or ovonic-based memory, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect.

In one or more embodiments, applications processor 1210 may drive a display 1230 for displaying various information or data, and may further receive touch input from a user via a touch screen 1232, for example, via a finger or a stylus. In one exemplary embodiment, screen 1232 display a menu and/or options to a user that are selectable via a finger and/or a stylus for entering information into information-handling system 1200.

An ambient light sensor 1234 may be utilized to detect an amount of ambient light in which information-handling system 1200 is operating, for example, to control a brightness or contrast value for display 1230 as a function of the intensity of ambient light detected by ambient light sensor 1234. One or more cameras 1236 may be utilized to capture images that are processed by applications processor 1210 and/or at least temporarily stored in NAND flash 1216. Furthermore, applications processor may be coupled to a gyroscope 1238, accelerometer 1240, magnetometer 1242, audio coder/decoder (CODEC) 1244, and/or global positioning system (GPS) controller 1246 coupled to an appropriate GPS antenna 1248, for detection of various environmental properties including location, movement, and/or orientation of information-handling system 1200. Alternatively, controller 1246 may comprise a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) controller. Audio CODEC 1244 may be coupled to one or more audio ports 1250 to provide microphone input and speaker outputs either via internal devices and/or via external devices coupled to information-handling system via the audio ports 1250, for example, via a headphone and microphone jack. In addition, applications processor 1210 may couple to one or more input/output (I/O) transceivers 1252 to couple to one or more I/O ports 1254 such as a universal serial bus (USB) port, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, a serial port, and so on. Furthermore, one or more of the I/O transceivers 1252 may couple to one or more memory slots 1256 for optional removable memory, such as secure digital (SD) card or a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, although the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in these respects.

Fig. 13 depicts an isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of the information-handling system of Fig. 12 that optionally may include a touch screen in accordance with one or more embodiments disclosed herein. Fig. 13 shows an example implementation of an information-handling system 1300 tangibly embodied as a cellular telephone, smartphone, smart-type device, or tablet-type device or the like, that is capable of implementing methods to identify victims and aggressors according to the subject matter disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, the information-handling system a housing 1310 having a display 1030 that may include a touch screen 1332 for receiving tactile input control and commands via a finger 1316 of a user and/or a via stylus 1318 to control one or more applications processors 1210. The housing 1310 may house one or more components of information-handling system 1000, for example, one or more applications processors 1210, one or more of SDRAM 1214, NAND flash 1216, NOR flash 1218, baseband processor 1212, and/or WWAN transceiver 1220. The information-handling system 1300 further may optionally include a physical actuator area 1320 which may comprise a keyboard or buttons for controlling information-handling system 1000 via one or more buttons or switches. The information-handling system 1000 may also include a memory port or slot 1056 for receiving non-volatile memory, such as flash memory, for example, in the form of a secure digital (SD) card or a subscriber identity module (SIM) card. Optionally, the information-handling system 1000 may further include one or more speakers and/or microphones 1324 and a connection port 1354 for connecting the information-handling system 1300 to another electronic device, dock, display, battery charger, and so on. Additionally, information-handling system 1300 may include a headphone or speaker jack 1328 and one or more cameras 1336 on one or more sides of the housing 1310. It should be noted that the information-handling system 1300 of Fig. 13 may include more or fewer elements than shown, in various arrangements, and the scope of the claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) , an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) , and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may be implemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. Fig. 14 illustrates, for one embodiment, example components of a User Equipment (UE) device 1400. In some embodiments, the UE device 1400 may include application circuitry 1402, baseband circuitry 1404, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 1406, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 1408 and one or more antennas 1410, coupled together at least as shown.

The application circuitry 1402 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 1402 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor (s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc. ) . The processors may be coupled with and/or may include memory/storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the system.

The baseband circuitry 1404 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 1404 may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1406 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1406. Baseband processing circuitry 1404 may interface with the application circuitry 1402 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 1406. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1404 may include a second generation (2G) baseband processor 1404a, third generation (3G) baseband processor 1404b, fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 1404c, and/or other baseband processor (s) 1404d for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (5G) , 6G, etc. ) . The baseband circuitry 1404 (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 1404a-d) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 1406. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1404 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT) , precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1404 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1404 may include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) protocol including, for example, physical (PHY) , media access control (MAC) , radio link control (RLC) , packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) , and/or radio resource control (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 1404e of the baseband circuitry 1404 may be configured to run elements of the protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio digital signal processor (s) (DSP) 1404f. The audio DSP (s) 1404f may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 1404 and the application circuitry 1402 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC) .

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1404 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 1404 may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN) , a wireless local area network (WLAN) , a wireless personal area network (WPAN) . Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 1404 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 1406 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 1406 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 1406 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1408 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 1404. RF circuitry 1406 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 1404 and provide RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 1408 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 1406 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry 1406 may include mixer circuitry 1406a, amplifier circuitry 1406b and filter circuitry 1406c. The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 1406 may include filter circuitry 1406c and mixer circuitry 1406a. RF circuitry 1406 may also include synthesizer circuitry 1406d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1406a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1406a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 1408 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 1406d. The amplifier circuitry 1406b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 1406c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry 1404 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 1406a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1406a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 1406d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 1408. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 1404 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 1406c. The filter circuitry 1406c may include a low-pass filter (LPF) , although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1406a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1406a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection) . In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1406a may be arranged for direct downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 1406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 1406a of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 1406 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 1404 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 1406.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1406d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 1406d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 1406d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 1406a of the RF circuitry 1406 based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 1406d may be a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) , although that is not a requirement. Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 1404 or the applications processor 1402 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by the applications processor 1402.

Synthesizer circuitry 1406d of the RF circuitry 1406 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL) , a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA) . In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 1406d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO) . In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 1406 may include an IQ/polar converter.

FEM circuitry 1408 may include a receive signal path which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 1410, amplify the received signals and provide the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 1406 for further processing. FEM circuitry 1408 may also include a transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 1406 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 1410.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 1408 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 1406) . The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 1408 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 1406) , and one or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 1410.

In some embodiments, the UE device 1400 may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/or input/output (I/O) interface.

The following pertains to further examples.

Example 1 is an apparatus of an evolved NodeB (eNB) comprising baseband processing circuitry to configure a primary downlink control information (DCI) grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N, andconfigure an alternative DCI grant for a subset of the group of subframes.

In example 2, the subject matter of example 1 can further comprise an arrangement wherein the subframe grouping number, N, indicates a number of subframes in a downlink group.

In example 3, the subject matter of any one of examples 1-2 can comprise baseband processing circuitry is further configured to assign the primary DCI grant to a first Control Channel Element (CCE) index and to assign the alternative DCI grant to a second CCE index.

In example 4, the subject matter of any one of examples 3-4, can comprise baseband processing circuitry configured to determine a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process index for the alternative DCI grant using the formula 2nHARQ+1, where nHARQ is an explicit HARQ process indicator.

In example 5, the subject matter of any one of examples 1-4, can comprise transmit circuitry configured to transmit the primary DCI grant in at least a first transmit beam and transmit the alternative DCI grant in at least a second transmit beam, different from the first transmit beam.

In example 6, the subject matter of any one of examples 1-5, can comprise receive circuitry to receive, in at least a first transmit beam from an enhanced NodeB (eNB) , a primary DCI grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N； and receive, from the (eNB) , an alternative DCI grant for a subset of the group of subframes.

In example 7, the subject matter of any one of examples 1-6, can comprise baseband processing circuitry configured to determine whether the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, and in response to a determination that the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, to demodulate a payload in the subset of the group of subframes using control information from the primary DCI grant.

In example 8, the subject matter of any one of examples 1-7, can comprise transmit circuitry to transmit an acknowledgment to the eNB that the group of subframes was received.

In example 9, the subject matter of any one of examples 1-8, can comprise baseband processing circuitry configured to determine whether the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, and in response to a determination that the primary DCI grant was not correctly detected, to demodulate a payload in the subset of the group of subframes using control information from the alternative DCI grant.

In example 10, the subject matter of any one of examples 1-9, can comprise transmit circuitry to transmit an acknowledgment to the eNB that the subset of the group of subframes was received.

Example 11 an apparatus of an evolved NodeB (eNB) comprising baseband processing circuitry to configure a primary downlink control information (DCI) grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N, assign the primary DCI grant to a first subframe in the group of subframes, configure an alternative DCI grant for the group of subframes, and assign the alternative DCI grant to a second subframe in the group of subframes.

In example 12, the subject matter of example 11 may further comprise an arrangement wherein subframe grouping number, N, indicates a number of subframes in a downlink group.

In example 13, the subject matter of any one of examples 10-12 may comprise an arrangement wherein the baseband processing circuitry is configured to assign the primary DCI grant a first indicator and to assign the secondary DCI grant a second indicator.

In example 14, the subject matter of any one of examples 10-13 may comprise baseband processing circuitry is configured to configure an uplink control information (UCI) grant for a subframe of the group of subframes.

In example 15, the subject matter of any one of examples 10-14 may comprise transmit circuitry configured to transmit the primary DCI grant in at least a first transmit beam and transmit the alternative DCI grant in at least a second transmit beam, different from the first transmit beam.

In example 16, the subject matter of any one of examples 10-15 may comprise transmit circuitry is configured to transmit the primary DCI grant using a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol and transmit the alternative DCI grant using a second OFDM symbol, different from the first OFDM symbol.

Example 17 is an 17. An apparatus of a user equipment (UE) comprising receive circuitry to receive, in at least a first transmit beam from an enhanced NodeB (eNB) , a primary DCI grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N, and receive, in at least a second transmit beam from the (eNB) , an alternative DCI grant for the group of subframes.

In example 18, the subject matter example 17 may comprise baseband processing circuitry configured to determine whether the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, and in response to a determination that the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, to demodulate a payload in the group of subframes using control information from the primary DCI grant.

In example 19, the subject matter of any one of examples 17-18 may comprise transmit circuitry to transmit an acknowledgment to the eNB that the group of subframes was received.

In example 20, the subject matter of any one of examples 17-19 may comprise baseband processing circuitry configured to determine whether the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, and in response to a determination that the primary DCI grant was not correctly detected, to demodulate a payload in the group of subframes using control information from the primary DCI grant.

Example 21 is an apparatus of an evolved NodeB (eNB) comprising baseband processing circuitry to configure a downlink control information (DCI) grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N, configure uplink control information (UCI) indicator in the DCI grant, wherein the UCI indicator indicates a presence of a UCI grant in the group of subframes.

In example 22, the subject matter of example 21 may comprise an arrangement wherein the UCI indicator comprises a single bit indicator in the DCI grant.

In example 23, the subject matter of any one of examples 21-22 may comprise an arrangement wherein the UCI indicator comprises a two-bit indicator in the DCI grant and wherein the UCI indicator identifies a presence and a location of the UCI grant in the group of subframes.

In example 24, the subject matter of any one of examples 21-23 may comprise an arrangement wherein the DCI grant comprises a UCI subframe offset.

Example 25 is an apparatus of a user equipment (UE) comprising baseband processing circuitry to configure a downlink control information (DCI) grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N, and configure a downlink control information (DCI) indicator in the DCI grant, wherein the DCI indicator indicates a presence of a DCI grant in the group of subframes.

In example 26, the subject matter of examples 25 may comprise an arrangement wherein the DCI indicator comprises a single bit indicator in the DCI grant.

In example 27, the subject matter of any one of examples 25-26 may comprise an arrangement wherein the DCI indicator comprises a two-bit indicator in the DCI grant and wherein the DCI indicator identifies a presence and a location of the DCI grant in the group of subframes.

In example 28, the subject matter of any one of examples 25-27 may comprise an arrangement wherein the DCI grant comprises a DCI subframe offset.

In various examples, the operations discussed herein may be implemented as hardware (e.g., circuitry) , software, firmware, microcode, or combinations thereof, which may be provided as a computer program product, e.g., including a tangible (e.g., non-transitory) machine-readable or computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions (or software procedures) used to program a computer to perform a process discussed herein. Also, the term “logic” may include, by way of example, software, hardware, or combinations of software and hardware. The machine-readable medium may include a storage device such as those discussed herein.

Reference in the specification to “one example” or “an example” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example may be included in at least an implementation. The appearances of the phrase “in one example” in various places in the specification may or may not be all referring to the same example.

Also, in the description and claims, the terms “coupled” and “connected, ” along with their derivatives, may be used. In some examples, “connected” may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. “Coupled” may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, “coupled” may also mean that two or more elements may not be in direct contact with each other, but may still cooperate or interact with each other.

Thus, although examples have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that claimed subject matter may not be limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as sample forms of implementing the claimed subject matter.

Claims

An apparatus of an evolved NodeB (eNB) comprising baseband processing circuitry to:

configure a primary downlink control information (DCI) grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N； and

configure an alternative DCI grant for a subset of the group of subframes.
The apparatus of an eNB of claim 1, wherein the subframe grouping number, N, indicates a number of subframes in a downlink group.
The apparatus of an eNB of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the baseband processing circuitry is further configured to assign the primary DCI grant to a first Control Channel Element (CCE) index and to assign the alternative DCI grant to a second CCE index.
The apparatus of an eNB any one of claims 1-3, wherein the baseband processing circuitry is configured to:

determine a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process index for the alternative DCI grant using the formula 2nHARQ+1, where nHARQ is an explicit HARQ process indicator.
The apparatus of an eNB of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising transmit circuitry configured to:

transmit the primary DCI grant in at least a first transmit beam； and

transmit the alternative DCI grant in at least a second transmit beam, different from the first transmit beam.
An apparatus of a user equipment (UE) comprising receive circuitry to:

receive, in at least a first transmit beam from an enhanced NodeB (eNB) , a primary DCI grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N； and

receive, from the (eNB) , an alternative DCI grant for a subset of the group of subframes.
The apparatus of a UE of claim 6, further comprising baseband processing circuitry configured to:

determine whether the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, and in response to a determination that the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, to:

demodulate a payload in the subset of the group of subframes using control information from the primary DCI grant.
The apparatus of a UE of any one of claims 6-7, further comprising transmit circuitry to:

transmit an acknowledgment to the eNB that the group of subframes was received.
The apparatus of a UE of any one of claims 6-8, further comprising baseband processing circuitry configured to:

determine whether the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, and in response to a determination that the primary DCI grant was not correctly detected, to:

demodulate a payload in the subset of the group of subframes using control information from the alternative DCI grant.
The apparatus of a UE of any one of claims 6-9, further comprising transmit circuitry to:

transmit an acknowledgment to the eNB that the subset of the group of subframes was received.
An apparatus of an evolved NodeB (eNB) comprising baseband processing circuitry to:

configure a primary downlink control information (DCI) grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N；

assign the primary DCI grant to a first subframe in the group of subframes；

configure an alternative DCI grant for the group of subframes； and

assign the alternative DCI grant to a second subframe in the group of subframes.
The apparatus of an eNB of claim 11, wherein the subframe grouping number, N, indicates a number of subframes in a downlink group.
The apparatus of an eNB of any one of claims 11-12, wherein the baseband processing circuitry is configured to assign the primary DCI grant a first indicator and to assign the secondary DCI grant a second indicator.
The apparatus of an eNB of any one of claims 11-13, wherein the baseband processing circuitry is configured to:

configure an uplink control information (UCI) grant for a subframe of the group of subframes.
The apparatus of an eNB of any one of claims 11-14, further comprising transmit circuitry configured to:

transmit the primary DCI grant in at least a first transmit beam； and

transmit the alternative DCI grant in at least a second transmit beam, different from the first transmit beam.
The apparatus of an eNB of any one of claims 11-15, wherein the transmit circuitry is configured to:

transmit the primary DCI grant using a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol； and

transmit the alternative DCI grant using a second OFDM symbol, different from the first OFDM symbol.
An apparatus of a user equipment (UE) comprising receive circuitry to:

receive, in at least a first transmit beam from an enhanced NodeB (eNB) , a primary DCI grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N； and

receive, in at least a second transmit beam from the (eNB) , an alternative DCI grant for the group of subframes.
The apparatus of a UE of claim 17, further comprising baseband processing circuitry configured to:

determine whether the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, and in response to a determination that the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, to:

demodulate a payload in the group of subframes using control information from the primary DCI grant.
The apparatus of a UE any one of claims 17-18, further comprising transmit circuitry to:

transmit an acknowledgment to the eNB that the group of subframes was received.
The apparatus of a UE of any one of claims 17-18, further comprising baseband processing circuitry configured to:

determine whether the primary DCI grant was correctly detected, and in response to a determination that the primary DCI grant was not correctly detected, to:

demodulate a payload in the group of subframes using control information from the primary DCI grant.
An apparatus of an evolved NodeB (eNB) comprising baseband processing circuitry to:

configure a downlink control information (DCI) grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N； and

configure uplink control information (UCI) indicator in the DCI grant, wherein the UCI indicator indicates a presence of a UCI grant in the group of subframes.
The apparatus of an eNB of claim 21, wherein the UCI indicator comprises a single bit indicator in the DCI grant.
The apparatus of an eNB of any one of claims 21-22, wherein the UCI indicator comprises a two-bit indicator in the DCI grant and wherein the UCI indicator identifies a presence and a location of the UCI grant in the group of subframes.
The apparatus of an eNB of any one of claims 21-23, wherein the DCI grant comprises a UCI subframe offset.
An apparatus of a user equipment (UE) comprising baseband processing circuitry to:

configure a downlink control information (DCI) grant for a group of subframes associated with a subframe grouping number, N； and

configure a downlink control information (DCI) indicator in the DCI grant, wherein the DCI indicator indicates a presence of a DCI grant in the group of subframes.
The apparatus of a UE of claim 25, wherein the DCI indicator comprises a single bit indicator in the DCI grant.
The apparatus of a UE of any one of claims 25-26, wherein the DCI indicator comprises a two-bit indicator in the DCI grant and wherein the DCI indicator identifies a presence and a location of the DCI grant in the group of subframes.
The apparatus of a UE of any one of claims 25-26, wherein the DCI grant comprises a DCI subframe offset.