WO2019213870A1

WO2019213870A1 - Single-stage downlink control information design for scheduling multiple-active bandwidth parts

Info

Publication number: WO2019213870A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/086168
Authority: WO
Inventors: Karol Schober; Xiagang XU; Tao Yang
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.; Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2018-05-09
Filing date: 2018-05-09
Publication date: 2019-11-14
Also published as: CN112055985B; CN112055985A

Abstract

An example method is provided including receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment; receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpreting the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message.

Description

SINGLE-STAGE DOWNLINK CONTROL INFORMATION DESIGN FOR SCHEDULING MULTIPLE-ACTIVE BANDWIDTH PARTS

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various example embodiments relate generally to wireless networks and, more specifically, relate to bandwidth operations in wireless networks.

BACKGROUND

In wireless networks, downlink control information (DCI) is used for resource assignments and other control information for a user equipment or a group of user equipments, and is typically carried on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) .

Abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined below, after the main part of the detailed description section.

BRIEF SUMMARY

This section is intended to include examples and is not intended to be limiting.

In an example of an embodiment, a method is disclosed that includes receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment; receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpreting the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message

An additional example of an embodiment includes a computer prograrn, comprising code for performing the method of the previous paragraph, when the computer program is run on a processor. The computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer.

An example of an apparatus includes one or more processors and one or more memories including computer program code. The one or more memories and the computer program code are configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receive a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equiprnent specific carriers are configured to a user equipment; receive a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpret the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicate, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message.

In another example of an embodiment, an apparatus comprises means for receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment; means for receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; means for interpreting the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and means for communicating, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message.

In an example of an embodiment, a method is disclosed that includes transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment; transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message is indicative of at least: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating, by the network node, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the transmitted message.

An additional example of an embodiment includes a computer program, comprising code for performing the method of the previous paragraph, when the computer program is run on a processor. The computer program according to this paragraph, wherein the computer program is a computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium bearing computer program code embodied therein for use with a computer.

An example of an apparatus includes one or more processors and one or more memories including computer program code. The one or more memories and the computer program code are configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receive a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment; receive a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpret the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicate, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message

In another example of an embodiment, an apparatus comprises means for transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment; means for transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message is indicative of at least: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and means for communicating, by the network node with the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the transmitted message

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting exemplary system in which the exemplary embodiments may be practiced;

FIG. 2 shows an example of two BWPs configured on a network resource block grid;

FIG. 3 shows an example embodiment of the subject matter described herein

FIG. 4 shows another example embodiment of the subject matter described herein;

FIG. 5 shows another example embodiment of the subject matter described herein; and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are logic flow diagrams for scheduling multiple-active bandwidth parts, and illustrate the operation of exemplary methods, a result of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and/or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Features as described herein occasionally refer to LTE terms, however, it is noted that these features may be used in the future with other types of systems (such as New Radio (NR) /5G wireless systems for example) . These other wireless systems may be defined by a relevant wireless standard, such as is the case of NR/5G systems for example. In this way, references to, for example, an eNB (i.e. an LTE base station) are equally applicable to future base stations of these other wireless networks (such as, for example, base stations in 5G wireless networks referred to as gNB) unless indicated otherwise.

The exemplary embodiments herein describe techniques for scheduling multiple-active bandwidth parts. Additional description of these techniques is presented after a system into which the exemplary embodiments may be used is described.

Turning to FIG. 1, this figure shows a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting exemplary system in which the exemplary embodiments may be practiced. In FIG. 1, a user equipment (UE) 110 is in wireless communication with a wireless network 100. A UE is a wireless, typically mobile device that can access a wireless network. The UE 110 includes one or more processors 120, one or more memories 125, and one or more transceivers 130 interconnected through one or more buses 127. Each of the one or more transceivers 130 includes a receiver, Rx, 132 and a transmitter, Tx, 133. The one or more buses 127 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, and the like. The one or more transceivers 130 are connected to one or more antennas 128. The one or more memories 125 include computer program code 123. The UE 110 includes a determination module (det. module) , comprising one of or both parts 140-1 and/or 140-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The determination module may be implemented in hardware as determination module 140-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 120. The determination module 140-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the determination module may be implemented as determination module 140-2, which is implemented as computer program code 123 and is executed by the one or more processors 120. For instance, the one or more memories 125 and the computer program code 123 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 120, cause the user equipment 110 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. The UE 110 communicates with gNB/eNB 170 (generally referred to as gNB 170 below) via a wireless link 111.

The gNB 170 is a base station (for example, for 5G/LTE) that provides access by wireless devices such as the UE 110 to the wireless network 100. The gNB 170 includes one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155, one or more network interfaces (N/W I/F (s) ) 161, and one or more transceivers 160 interconnected through one or more buses 157. Each of the one or more transceivers 160 includes a receiver, Rx, 162 and a transmitter, Tx, 163. The one or more transceivers 160 are connected to one or more antennas 158. The one or more memories 155 include computer program code 153. The gNB 170 includes a scheduling module, comprising one of or both parts 150-1 and/or 150-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The scheduling module may be implemented in hardware as scheduling module 150-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 152. The scheduling module 150-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the scheduling module may be implemented as scheduling module 150-2, which is implemented as computer program code 153 and is executed by the one or rnore processors 152. For instance, the one or more memories 155 and the computer program code 153 are configured to, with the one or more processors 152, cause the gNB 170 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. The one or more network interfaces 161 communicate over a network such as via the

links

176 and 131. Two or more gNBs 170 communicate using, for example, link 176. The link 176 may be wired or wireless or both and may implement, for example, an X2 interface.

The one or more buses 157 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, wireless channels, and the like. For example, the one or more transceivers 160 may be implemented as a remote radio head (RRH) 195, with the other elements of the gNB 170 being physically in a different location from the RRH, and the one or more buses 157 could be implemented in part as fiber optic cable to connect the other elements of the gNB 170 to the RRH 195.

It is noted that description herein indicates that “cells” perform functions, but it should be clear that the gNB that forms the cell will perform the functions. The cell makes up part of a gNB. That is, there can be multiple cells per gNB. For instance, there could be three cells for a single gNB carrier frequency and associated bandwidth, each cell covering one-third of a 360 degree area so that the single gNB’s coverage area covers an approximate oval or circle. Furthermore, each cell can correspond to a single carrier and a gNB may use multiple carriers. So if there are three 120 degree cells per carrier and two carriers, then the gNB has a total of 6 cells.

The wireless network 100 may include one or more network control elements (NCE) 190 that may include MME (Mobility Management Entity) and/or SGW (Serving Gateway) functionality, and which provides connectivity with a further network, such as a telephone network and/or a data communications network (for example, the Internet) . The gNB 170 is coupled via a link 131 to the NCE 190. The link 131 may be implemented as, for example, an S 1 interface. For 5G wireless systems, the link 131 may represent a 5G interface, such as NG2 or NG3 for example. The NCE 190 includes one or more processors 175, one or more memories 171, and one or more network interfaces (N/W I/F (s) ) 180, interconnected through one or more buses 185. The one or more memories 171 include computer program code 173. The one or more memories 171 and the computer program code 173 are configured to, with the one or more processors 175, cause the NCE 190 to perform one or more operations.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various network elements shown in FIG. 1 may be implemented differently in future wireless network, such as 5G wireless networks. For example, the terms NCE, MME, and SGW are terms generally used for the core elements in a LTE network. In contrast to LTE, future wireless networks may carry out network functions (NFs) by a plurality of cooperating devices. The different NFs, may include for example, Access and Mobility Function (AMF) , Session Management Function (SMF) , Policy Control Function (PCF) , Application Function (AF) , Authentication Server Function (AUSF) , User Plane Function (UPF) , and User Data Management (UDM) . These NFs may be a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform, such as a cloud infrastructure. For example, certain protocols (such as non real-time protocols for example) may be performed by one or more centralized units (CUs) in a cloud infrastructure, while one or more distributed units (DUs) operate the remaining protocols (e.g. real-time protocols) of the 5G radio interface. In this way, the various NFs may be split between CUs and DUs. Together a CU, underlying DUs, and RRHs may be considered as forming a logical base station (which may be represented by gNB 170 in FIG. 1 for example) .

The wireless network 100 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks, or parts of networks, into a virtual unit, or internal, providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. Note that the virtualized entities that result from the network virtualization are still implemented, at some level, using hardware such as

processors

152 or 175 and memories 155 and 171, and also such virtualized entities create technical effects.

The computer

readable memories

125, 155, and 171 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The computer

readable memories

125, 155, and 171 may be means for performing storage functions. The

processors

120, 152, and 175 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, 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. The

processors

120, 152, and 175 may be means for performing functions, such as controlling the UE 110, gNB 170, and other functions as described herein.

In general, the various example embodiments of the user equipment 110 can include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones such as smart phones, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) having wireless communication capabilities, portable computers having wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras having wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices having wireless communication capabilities, music storage and playback appliances having wireless communication capabilities, Internet appliances permitting wireless Internet access and browsing, tablets with wireless communication capabilities, as well as portable units or terminals that incorporate combinations of such functions.

Having thus introduced one suitable but non-limiting technical context for the practice of the various exemplary embodiments, the exemplary embodiments will now be described with greater specificity.

In 3GPP NR Release 15 (R15) a wider/adaptive BW feature is based on configuration of multiple BW parts (BWPs) , where each BWP is a set of continuous RBs on a network RB grid, typically called common RB grid (see 3GPP TS36.213 for example) . FIG. 2 shows an example of such a configuration where two BWPs are configured on a network physical RB grid that is defined by Reference point A and a numerology. The reference point A serves as a reference point for different grids, such as the RBG grid, control resource set (CORESETs) grid, and CSI sub-band grid for example. On the other hand, the frequency resource allocation, indicated in the DL assignment of UL grid transmitted on a BWP, is not indicated with respect to Point A, instead it is indicated with respect to the start of the BWP.

In R15 it has been agreed that a gNB can configure to a UE up to 4 bandwidth parts (BWPs) for each configured serving cell, and only at most one BWP can be active at a given time. In R15, the gNB may switch a UE’s active BWP by means of a scheduling DCI (e.g. a UL grant of a DL assignment) . The scheduling downlink control information (DCI) includes a BWP index field. If the BWP index indicates the currently active BWP, then the UE remains in the active BWP, otherwise the UE re-tunes to the BWP indicted by BWP index (BWPI) .

Various example embodiments relate to design and enhancement of wider/adaptive bandwidth operations of wireless networks. For example, in 3GPP Release 16 (R16) , it is expected that support for multiple-active BWPs will be introduced as an enhancement to the R15 wider/adaptive BW operation. In R16, it is expected that multiple active BWPs per carrier will provide an alternative to intra-band carrier aggregation (CA) . It is noted that BWPs can be overlapping or non-overlapping, whereas component carriers are only non-overlapping, and a BWP can also be smaller than BW of network carrier.

As compared to CA, multiple active BWPs per carrier:

● provides a single set of HARQ processes per serving cell;

● enables overlapping active BWPs of different numerologies (such as enabling reading System information in different numerology than data for example) ;

● enables reading of DL control of different numerologies at the same time; and

● On the other hand, the UE needs multiple base-bands to process different numerologies/overlapping BWPs at the same time.

Assuming multiple BWPs can be active at the same time, the implicit activation/deactivation mechanism of R15 can no longer be used, because a UE retunes/activates a new BWP and deactivates the currently active BWP upon receiving BWPI other than the BWPI of the currently active BWP. A gNB operating multiple active BWP should have possibility to keep the current BWP active even after activing a new BWP. Therefore, a different switching mechanism is required for multiple active BWPs.

Assuming that up to 4 BWP can be active for example, then one possibility is to include a bitmap having an activity field and a scheduling field, where:

● the activity field is up to 4 bits to indicate BWP activity status (for example, ‘0100’ denotes that the BWP#1 is active and

BWP#

0, 2, 3 are not active) ; and

● the scheduling field (BWPI) is 2 bits and indicates which BWP is scheduled by the BWP.

Although this design provides full flexibility, it also requires up to 6 bits overhead in a DCI. Various example embodiments reduce the overhead needed in this DCI. As described in more detail below, some example embodiments the user equipment is able to determine, at least in part, the activity/schedule fields implicitly by interpreting the DCI using different rules (generally referred to as the ‘Rule-Based Implementation’ ) . In some other example embodiments, a user equipment is signaled a value of an index to table where the table includes multiple activity/scheduling field configurations (generally referred to as the ‘Table-Based Implementation’ ) .

Rule-Based Implementation

According to some embodiments, the design of the DCI for scheduling multiple-active bandwidth parts is such that the UE is able to determine the values in the schedule and activity fields using different rules.

For example, a gNB may configure a number, N, of BWPs to a UE and also configured a unique search space for each configured BWP for the UE. If a search candidate (such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidate for example) of a first configured BWP (referred to as ‘BWP A’ ) , search space fully overlaps with a search candidate of a second configured BWP (referred to as ‘BWP B’ below) search space, then the UE may assume the search candidate belongs to either BWP A or BWP B based on one or more rules. For example, the UE may determine that the search candidate should belong to the BWP configured with the highest, or alternatively lowest, index. The rules may be predefined (such as being defined in a relevant wireless specification and/or stored in a memory) or may be configured to a UE in advance. When the gNB transmits scheduling DCI (such as a DL assignment or UL grant for example) , then the UE may interpret the scheduling DCI depending on the search-space and the associated BWP where DCI has been received.

The interpretation by the UE also depends on the contents of the scheduling DCI. In one version, the scheduling DCI content includes an activity field but not a scheduling field. The number of bit in the activity field may be equal to N (namely, the number of configured BWPs) , where each bit corresponds to one of the configured BWPs. When the scheduling DCI is received on BWP A, then this field may be interpreted by the UE according to the following rules:

● If the bit corresponding to BWP A is set to ‘1’ then the UE may interpret the rest of the fields in the scheduling DCI according to BWP A;

● If the bit corresponding to BWP A is set to ‘0’ , then UE interprets the rest of the fields according to BWP B, where BWP B has the highest (or, alternatively, lowest) index for which the bitmap indicates ‘1’ ;

● If the bit corresponding to a BWP is set to ‘1’ for example, then the UE may activate that BWP and/or keeps that BWP activated; and

● If bit corresponding to a BWP is set to ‘0’ for example, then the UE may deactivate that BWP and/or keep that BWP deactivated.

It is noted that other fields in the scheduling DCI may include, for example, frequency domain resource assignment, time domain resource assignment, SRS resource indicator, precoding information, CSI request or other fields in DCI formats that are configured as BWP specific.

In this version of the example embodiment, the size of the activity field is implicitly determined by the number of configured BWPs (for example, four BWPs with BWPI = {0, 1, 2, 3} , referred to as BWP#0, BWP#1, BWP#2, and BWP#3 respectively) . FIG. 3 shows an example table 300 summarizing a subset of scheduling options for when the scheduling DCI has been received in different BWPs. For simplicity, the scheduling options 302 are shown for when the scheduling DCI is received in to index 0. For the scheduling options in table 300, it is assumed that the gNB wants to operate at most two active BWPs at a given time and a ‘minimum-BWP index rule’ is applied when determining the scheduled BWP. For instance, if the UE receives the activity field ‘0100’ on BWP#0 then the UE activates BWP#1, deactivates BWP#0, and keeps BWP#2 and BWP#3 deactivated. The UE is also able to implicitly determine the scheduling field in this case to be ‘01’ (indicating that the scheduling information in the DCI is for BWP#1) since the bit corresponding to the BWP#1 is the lowest remaining bit that is set to ‘1’ . Similarly, if the UE receives an activity field having ‘0011’ one BWP#0, then the UE deactivates BWP#0, keeps BWP#1 deactivated, and activates BWP#2 and BWP#3. The UE implicitly determines that the scheduling field is ‘10’ (indicating that the scheduling information in the DCI is for BWP#2) as the bit corresponding to BWP#2 has lower index than BWP#3. In this example, the DCI overhead for operating the configured BWPs is 4-bits of the activity field. One advantage (as compared to other example embodiments described below) is that there is no restriction to dynamic activation of the BWP, although there are some restrictions on cross-BWP scheduling.

According another version of the example embodiment, a BWPI field and an activity bit are included in the scheduling DCI content. When the scheduling DCI is received on BWP A, these fields are then interpreted by UE according to the following rules:

● Activity bit applies always to BWP A independent of the BWPI value; and

● Activity bit can be implicit such that if the activity bit is ‘1’ (i.e. indicating to keep BWP A active) if resource allocation (RA) field indicates a non-zero allocation, and activity bit is ‘0’ (i.e. indicating that BWP A is to be deactivated) if RA field indicates zero allocation, or vice versa.

In this version, the scheduling field may be, for example, implemented similarly as BWPI of R15 but extended by the one additional activity bit. The extension of the activity bit enables:

● Activation and deactivation of BWP where DCI has been scheduled;

● Cross-BWP activation of a BWP, while keeping the BWP where DCI has been scheduled active; and

● Cross-BWP activation of a BWP, while deactivating the BWP where DCI has been scheduled.

Fig. 4 shows an example table 400 where the DCI is extended by an activity bit and accordance with some example embodiments. The table 400 applies when four BWPs have been configured. For simplicity, only a subset of scheduling options are shown. In this embodiment, ifa UE receives a scheduling field ‘00’ and an activity bit of ‘l’ then the UE interprets to mean that BWP#0 should remain active and the scheduling information is for BWP#0 (i.e. self-scheduled) . If the UE receives a scheduling field ‘01’ and an activity bit of ‘0’ then the UE interprets this to mean that BWP#0 should be deactivated, BWP #1 should be activated, and that the scheduling information is for BWP#1. The table 400 results in a DCI overhead of 3 bits, which is less than is required than in the example shown in FIG. 3 and also does not result in any cross-scheduling restrictions. However, multiple BWPs cannot be activated at the same time.

Table-Based Implementation

In another example embodiment, a gNB may configure a number, N, BWPs and a table to a UE. Each row in the table may include an activity bitmap of size N, to indicate a BWP activity status of each configured BWP. For example, an activity bitmap set to ‘0100’ denotes that the BWP#1 is active and

BWP#

0, 2, 3 are not active. Each row in the table may also include a scheduling bitmap (BWPI) of size log (N) to indicate which BWP is scheduled by the scheduling DCI. When the gNB transmits the scheduling DCI (DL grant or DL assignment) in a search space set, the UE may interpret the DCI row index N according to the following:

● If the activity field bitmap in the table in row N indicates 1 for a configured BWP, then the UE may activate or keep that BWP activated;

● If the activity field in the table in row N indicates 0 for a configured BWP, then the UE may deactivate or keep that BWP deactivated; and

● The UE interprets the other fields in the DCI based on the BWP indicated in the scheduling field of the table in row N.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a table 500 having a number of rows corresponding to a row index, where each row includes a scheduling field and an activity field. The gNB configures the scheduling DCI to include an index corresponding to one of the rows. In this example, it is assumed 4 BWPs are configured to a UE (i.e. BWP#0-BWP#3) . This configurability enables the gNB to optimize dynamic overhead to a desired scenario. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the gNB operates up to 4 active BWPs, with only a 3 bit overhead in the scheduling DCI corresponding to 8 configured rows, where activity bitfield and scheduling bitfield are coded jointly. The disadvantage of this solution is that the table would need to be reconfigured every time UE changes the number of configured BWPs.

It is noted that various example embodiments described above generally refer to bandwidth parts, however this is not intended to be limiting and such embodiments could also be applicable to, for example, carrier aggregations (such as intra-band carrier aggregation) .

FIG. 6 is a logic flow diagram for scheduling multiple-active bandwidth parts. This figure further illustrates the operation of an exemplary method or methods, a result of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and/or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with exemplary embodiments. For instance, the determination module 140-1 and/or 140-2 may include multiples ones of the blocks in FIG. 6, where each included block is an interconnected means for performing the function in the block. The blocks in FIG. 6 are assumed to be performed by the UE 110, e.g., under control of the determination module 140-1 and/or 140-2 at least in part.

According to one example embodiment, a method is provide including receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment as indicated by block 600; receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers as indicated by block 602; interpreting the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message as indicated by block 604; and communicating, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message as indicated by block 606.

The method may include receiving a second configuration for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers. The method may include in response to a location within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier fully overlapping with a location within the unique search space for a second user equipment specific carrier, interpreting the message as being received on the first user equipment specific carrier by comparing an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier with an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The message may include at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field. Interpreting the message may include implicitly determining at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field based at least on the user equipment specific carrier where the message has been received. The message may include the activity field and not the scheduling field, where the activity field comprises a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is either active or inactive. The method may include implicitly determining the scheduling field based on the following: in response to determining the first user equipment specific carrier is active, determining that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled; and in response to determining the first user equipment specific carrier is inactive, determining that a second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier which is determined active. Determining that the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled, among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active, may be based on a rule, wherein the rule is either: determining the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active; or determining the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active. The received message may include the activity field, where the activity field comprises a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is either active or inactive. The method may include implicitly determining the single bit of the activity field based on whether any resources are allocated or not on the first user equipment specific carrier. The received message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of a table having a plurality of rows, wherein the first row comprises the scheduling field and the activity field. The method may include receiving a configuration for the table, where each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or scheduling field. A number of bits in the activity field of the first row may be equal to the number, N, of configured user equipment specific carriers of the first configuration, and a number of bits in the scheduling field may be equal to log (N) . The method may include receiving a reconfiguration of the table in response to a change in the number of user equipment specific carriers configured for the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be: either a bandwidth part wherein the bandwidth part is a set of continuous resources of a same numerology, and wherein at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts at least partially overlap; or a carrier of a serving cell.

According to another example embodiment, an apparatus is provided including means for receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment; means for receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; means for interpreting the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and means for communicating, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message.

The apparatus may include means for receiving a second configuration for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers. The apparatus may include in response to a location within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier fully overlapping with a location within the unique search space for a second user equipment specific carrier, means for interpreting the message as being received on the first user equipment specific carrier by comparing an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier with an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The message may include at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field. The means for interpreting the message may include means for implicitly determining at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field based at least on the user equipment specific carrier where the message has been received. The message may include the activity field and not the scheduling field, where the activity field comprises a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is either active or inactive. Implicitly determining the scheduling field may be based on the following: in response to determining the first user equipment specific carrier is active, determining that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled; and in response to determining the first user equipment specific carrier is inactive, determining that a second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier which is determined active. Determining that the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled, among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active, may be based on a rule, wherein the rule is either: determining the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active; or determining the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active. The received message may include the activity field, where the activity field comprises a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is either active or inactive. The apparatus may include means for implicitly determining the single bit of the activity field based on whether any resources are allocated or not on the first user equipment specific carrier. The received message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of a table having a plurality of rows, wherein the first row comprises the scheduling field and the activity field. The apparatus may include means for receiving a configuration for the table, where each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or scheduling field. A number of bits in the activity field of the first row may be equal to the number, N, of configured user equipment specific carriers of the first configuration, and a number of bits in the scheduling field may be equal to log (N) . The apparatus may include means for receiving a reconfiguration of the table in response to a change in the number of user equipment specific carriers configured for the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be: either a bandwidth part wherein the bandwidth part is a set of continuous resources of a same numerology, and wherein at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts at least partially overlap; or a carrier of a serving cell.

According to another example of an embodiment, a computer readable medium is provided including program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment; receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpreting the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message.

The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform: receiving a second configuration for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform in response to a location within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier fully overlapping with a location within the unique search space for a second user equipment specific carrier, interpreting the message as being received on the first user equipment specific carrier by comparing an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier with an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The message may include at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field. Interpreting the message may include implicitly determining at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field based at least on the user equipment specific carrier where the message has been received. The message may include the activity field and not the scheduling field, where the activity field comprises a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is either active or inactive. Implicitly determining the scheduling field may be based on the following: in response to determining the first user equipment specific carrier is active, determining that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled; and in response to determining the first user equipment specific carrier is inactive, determining that a second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier which is determined active. Determining that the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled, among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active, may be based on a rule, wherein the rule is either: determining the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active; or determining the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active. The received message may include the activity field, where the activity field comprises a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is either active or inactive. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform implicitly determining the single bit of the activity field based on whether any resources are allocated or not on the first user equipment specific carrier. The received message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of a table having a plurality of rows, wherein the first row comprises the scheduling field and the activity field. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform receiving a configuration for the table, where each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or scheduling field. A number of bits in the activity field of the first row may be equal to the number, N, of configured user equipment specific carriers of the first configuration, and a number of bits in the scheduling field may be equal to log (N) . The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform receiving a reconfiguration of the table in response to a change in the number of user equipment specific carriers configured for the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be: either a bandwidth part wherein the bandwidth part is a set of continuous resources of a same numerology, and wherein at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts at least partially overlap; or a carrier of a serving cell.

According to another example of an embodiment, an apparatus is provided including 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 at least to: receive a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment; receive a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers; interpret the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicate, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:receive a second configuration for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: in response to a location within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier fully overlapping with a location within the unique search space for a second user equipment specific carrier, interpret the message as being received on the first user equipment specific carrier based on a comparison of an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier with an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The message may include at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field. Interpretation of the message may include implicit determination of at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field based at least on the user equipment specific carrier where the message has been received. The message may include the activity field and not the scheduling field, where the activity field comprises a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is either active or inactive. Implicitly determination of the scheduling field may be based on the following: in response to determination that the first user equipment specific carrier is active, determination that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled; and in response to determination the first user equipment specific carrier is inactive, determination that a second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier which is determined active. Determination that the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled, among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers detennined as active, may be based on a rule, wherein the rule is either: determination of the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active; or determination of the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active. The received message may include the activity field, where the activity field comprises a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is either active or inactive. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to implicitly determine the single bit of the activity field based on whether any resources are allocated or not on the first user equipment specific carrier. The received message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of a table having a plurality of rows, wherein the first row comprises the scheduling field and the activity field. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive a configuration for the table, where each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or scheduling field. A number of bits in the activity field of the first row may be equal to the number, N, of configured user equipment specific carriers of the first configuration, and a number of bits in the scheduling field may be equal to log (N) . The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to receive a reconfiguration of the table in response to a change in the number of user equipment specific carriers configured for the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be: either a bandwidth part wherein the bandwidth part is a set of continuous resources of a same numerology, and wherein at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts at least partially overlap; or a carrier of a serving cell.

FIG. 7 is a logic flow diagram for scheduling multiple-active bandwidth parts. This figure further illustrates the operation of an exemplary method or methods, a result of execution of computer program instructions embodied on a computer readable memory, functions performed by logic implemented in hardware, and/or interconnected means for performing functions in accordance with exemplary embodiments. For instance, the scheduling module 150-1 and/or 150-2 may include multiples ones of the blocks in FIG. 7, where each included block is an interconnected means for performing the function in the block. The blocks in FIG. 7 are assumed to be performed by the gNB 170, e.g., under control of the scheduling module 150-1 and/or 150-2 at least in part.

According to one example of an embodiment, a method is provided including: transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment as indicated by block 700; transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message is indicative of at least: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message as indicated by block 702; and communicating, by the network node with the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the transmitted message as indicated by block 704.

The method may include transmitting a second configuration to the user equipment for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers; and transmitting the message in a location within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier that fully overlaps with a location within the unique search space for a second user equipment specific carrier such that the message is interpreted as being transmitted on the first user equipment specific carrier based on a comparison of an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier with an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The method may include configuring the message such that at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field is implicitly indicated. The message may include the activity field and not the scheduling field, where the activity field may include a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and where each of the bits may indicates whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is either active or inactive. When the bit for the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate the first user equipment specific carrier is active, the message may implicitly indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled. When the bit for the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate the first user equipment specific carrier is inactive, the message may implicitly indicate that a second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier, wherein the bit corresponding to the user equipment specific carrier indicates the second user equipment specific carrier is active. The message may implicitly indicate the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on a rule, wherein the rule may be either: the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active; or the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active. The transmitted message may include the activity field, and the activity field may include a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is either active or inactive. The method may include implicitly indicating the single bit of the activity field based on whether any resources are allocated or not on the first user equipment specific carrier. The method may include transmitting a configuration for the table having a plurality of rows, wherein each row in the table may correspond to a different activity field and/or scheduling field. The transmitted message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table comprising the scheduling field and the activity field to be used by the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be either: a bandwidth part; or a carrier of a serving cell. The bandwidth part may be a set of continuous resources of a same numerology, and at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts may at least partially overlap.

According to one example of an embodiment, an apparatus is provided including: means for transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment; means for transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message is indicative of at least: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and means for communicating, by the network node with the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the transmitted message.

The apparatus may include means for transmitting a second configuration to the user equipment for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers; and means for transmitting the message in a location within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier that fully overlaps with a location within the unique search space for a second user equipment specific carrier such that the message is interpreted as being transmitted on the first user equipment specific carrier based on a comparison of an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier with an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The apparatus may include means for configuring the message such that at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field is implicitly indicated. The message may include the activity field and not the scheduling field, where the activity field may include a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and where each of the bits may indicate whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is either active or inactive. When the bit for the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate the first user equipment specific carrier is active, the message may implicitly indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled. When the bit for the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate the first user equipment specific carrier is inactive, the message may implicitly indicate that a second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier, wherein the bit corresponding to the user equipment specific carrier indicates the second user equipment specific carrier is active. The message may implicitly indicate the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on a rule, wherein the rule may be either: the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active; or the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active. The transmitted message may include the activity field, and the activity field may include a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is either active or inactive. The apparatus may include means for implicitly indicating the single bit of the activity field based on whether any resources are allocated or not on the first user equipment specific carrier. The apparatus may include means for transmitting a configuration for the table having a plurality of rows, wherein each row in the table mat correspond to a different activity field and/or scheduling field. The transmitted message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table comprising the scheduling field and the activity field to be used by the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be either: a bandwidth part; or a carrier of a serving cell. The bandwidth part may be a set of continuous resources of a same numerology, and at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts may at least partially overlap.

According to another example of an embodiment, a computer readable medium is provided including program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment; transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message is indicative of at least: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicating, by the network node with the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the transmitted message.

The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform transmitting a second configuration to the user equipment for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers; and transmitting the message in a location within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier that fully overlaps with a location within the unique search space for a second user equipment specific carrier such that the message is interpreted as being transmitted on the first user equipment specific carrier based on a comparison of an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier with an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform configuring the message such that at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field is implicitly indicated. The message may include the activity field and not the scheduling field, where the activity field may include a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and where each of the bits may indicate whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is either active or inactive. When the bit for the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate the first user equipment specific carrier is active, the message may implicitly indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled. When the bit for the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate the first user equipment specific carrier is inactive, the message may implicitly indicate that a second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier, wherein the bit corresponding to the user equipment specific carrier indicates the second user equipment specific carrier is active. The message may implicitly indicate the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on a rule, wherein the rule may be either: the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active; or the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active. The transmitted message may include the activity field, and the activity field may include a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is either active or inactive. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform implicitly indicating the single bit of the activity field based on whether any resources are allocated or not on the first user equipment specific carrier. The computer readable medium may include program instructions for causing the apparatus to perform transmitting a configuration for the table having a plurality of rows, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or scheduling field. The transmitted message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table comprising the scheduling field and the activity field to be used by the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be either: a bandwidth part; or a carrier of a serving cell. The bandwidth part may be a set of continuous resources of a same numerology, and at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts may at least partially overlap.

According to another example of an embodiment, an apparatus is provided including 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 at least to: transmit, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment; transmit a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message is indicative of at least: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and communicate, by the network node with the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the transmitted message.

The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor cause the apparatus to: transmit a second configuration to the user equipment for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers; and transmit the message in a location within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier that fully overlaps with a location within the unique search space for a second user equipment specific carrier such that the message is interpreted as being transmitted on the first user equipment specific carrier based on a comparison of an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier with an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor cause the apparatus to: configure the message such that at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field is implicitly indicated. The message may include the activity field and not the scheduling field, where the activity field may include a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and where each of the bits may indicate whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is either active or inactive. When the bit for the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate the first user equipment specific carrier is active, the message may implicitly indicate that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled. When the bit for the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate the first user equipment specific carrier is inactive, the message may implicitly indicate that a second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier, wherein the bit corresponding to the user equipment specific carrier indicates the second user equipment specific carrier is active. The message may implicitly indicate the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on a rule, wherein the rule may be either: the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active; or the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active. The transmitted message may include the activity field, and the activity field may include a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is either active or inactive. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor cause the apparatus to implicitly indicate the single bit of the activity field based on whether any resources are allocated or not on the first user equipment specific carrier. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor cause the apparatus to transmit a configuration for the table having a plurality of rows, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or scheduling field. The transmitted message may include at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table comprising the scheduling field and the activity field to be used by the user equipment. Each of the user equipment specific carriers may be either: a bandwidth part; or a carrier of a serving cell. The bandwidth part may be a set of continuous resources of a same numerology, and at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts may at least partially overlap.

Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the claims appearing below, a technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is to reduce the dynamic control overhead. Another technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is allowing the dynamic signaling to be tailored to a target scenario.

Embodiments herein may be implemented in software (executed by one or more processors) , hardware (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit) , or a combination of software and hardware. In an example embodiment, the software (e.g., application logic, an instruction set) is maintained on any one of various conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” may be any media or means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer, with one example of a computer described and depicted, e.g., in FIG. 1. A computer-readable medium may comprise a computer-readable storage medium (e.g.,

memories

125, 155, 171 or other device) that may be any media or means that can contain, store, and/or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer. A computer-readable storage medium does not comprise propagating signals.

If desired, the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined.

Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.

It is also noted herein that while the above describes example embodiments of the invention, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined as follows:

eNB (or eNodeB) evolved Node B (e.g., an LTE base station)

BWP bandwidth part

BWPI BWP index

CA carrier aggregation

CORESET control resource set

CSI channel state information

DCI downlink control information

DL downlink

gNB next generation node B

HARQ hybrid automatic repeat request

I/F interface

LTE long term evolution

MME mobility management entity

NCE network control element

N/W network

PRB physical resource block

RBG resource block group

RRH remote radio head

Rx receiver

SGW serving gateway

TB transport block

Tx transmitter

UE user equipment (e.g., a wireless, typically mobile device)

Claims

An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment;

means for receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers;

means for interpreting the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and

means for communicating, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message.
The apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising:

means for receiving a second configuration for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers.
The apparatus as in claim 2, further comprising:

in response to a location within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier fully overlapping with a location within the unique search space for a second user equipment specific carrier, means for interpreting the message as being received on the first user equipment specific carrier by comparing an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier with an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier.
The apparatus as in any one of claims 1-3, wherein the message comprises at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field.
The apparatus as in any one of claims 2-4, wherein the means for interpreting the message comprises:

means for implicitly determining at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field based at least on the user equipment specific carrier where the message has been received.
The apparatus as in any one of claims 1-5, wherein the message comprises the activity field and not the scheduling field, and wherein the activity field comprises a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is either active or inactive.
The apparatus as in claim 6, wherein the apparatus comprises means for implicitly determining the scheduling field based on the following:

in response to determining the first user equipment specific carrier is active, determining that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled; and

in response to determining the first user equipment specific carrier is inactive, determining that a second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier which is determined active.
The apparatus as in claim 7, wherein determining the index value of the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled, among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active, is based on a rule, wherein the rule is either:

determining the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active; or

determining the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active.
The apparatus as in any one of claims 1-5, wherein the received message comprises the activity field, and wherein the activity field comprises a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is either active or inactive.
The apparatus as in claim 9, comprising means for implicitly determining the single bit of the activity field based on whether any resources are allocated or not on the first user equipment specific carrier.
The apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the received message comprises:

at least an index value corresponding to a first row of a table having a plurality of rows, wherein the first row comprises the scheduling field and the activity field.
The apparatus as in claim 11, further comprising means for receiving a configuration for the table, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or scheduling field.
The apparatus as in any one of claims 11-12, wherein a number of bits in the activity field of the first row is equal to the number, N, of configured user equipment specific carriers of the first configuration, and wherein a number of bits in the scheduling field is equal to log (N) .
The apparatus as in any one of claims 11-13, further comprising:

means for receiving a reconfiguration of the table in response to a change in the number of user equipment specific carriers configured for the user equipment.
The apparatus as in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the user equipment specific carriers is:

either a bandwidth part wherein the bandwidth part is a set of continuous resources of a same numerology, and wherein at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts at least partially overlap; or

a carrier of a serving cell.
A method comprising:

receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment;

receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers;

interpreting the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and

communicating, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message.
The method as claim 16, further comprising:

implicitly determining at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field based at least on the user equipment specific carrier where the message has been received.
The method as claim 16, further comprising:

receiving a configuration for a table having a plurality of rows, each row corresponding to a different activity field and/or scheduling field, and wherein the received message comprises at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table corresponding to the scheduling field and the activity field associated with the message.
A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following:

receiving a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to a user equipment;

receiving a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers;

interpreting the message to determine: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and

communicating, by the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the received message.
An apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment;

means for transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message is indicative of at least: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and

means for communicating, by the network node with the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the transmitted message.
The apparatus as in claim 20, further comprising:

means for transmitting a second configuration to the user equipment for a unique search space for each of the configured user equipment specific carriers; and

means for transmitting the message in a location within the unique search space for the first user equipment specific carrier that fully overlaps with a location within the unique search space for a second user equipment specific carrier such that the message is interpreted as being transmitted on the first user equipment specific carrier based on a comparison of an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the first user equipment specific carrier with an index value corresponding to the unique search space of the second user equipment specific carrier.
The apparatus as in any one of claims 20-21, further comprising means for configuring the message such that at least one of the activity field and the scheduling field is implicitly indicated.
The apparatus as in claim 20-22, wherein the message comprises the activity field and not the scheduling field, and wherein the activity field comprises a number of bits equal to the number of user equipment specific carriers configured by the first configuration, and wherein each of the bits indicates whether one of the user equipment specific carriers is either active or inactive.
The apparatus as in claim 23, wherein:

when the bit for the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate the first user equipment specific carrier is active, the message implicitly indicates that the first user equipment specific carrier is scheduled; and

when the bit for the first user equipment specific carrier is set to indicate the first user equipment specific carrier is inactive, the message implicitly indicates that a second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on an index value of the bit corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier, wherein the bit corresponding to the user equipment specific carrier indicates the second user equipment specific carrier is active.
The apparatus as in claim 24, wherein the message implicitly indicates the second user equipment specific carrier is scheduled based on a rule, wherein the rule is either:

the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the highest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active; or

the index value corresponding to the second user equipment specific carrier is the lowest index value among the plurality of user equipment specific carriers determined as active.
The apparatus as in any one of claims 20-22, wherein the transmitted message comprises the activity field, and wherein the activity field comprises a single bit indicating whether the first user equipment specific carrier is either active or inactive.
The apparatus as in claim 20, further comprising:

means for transmitting a configuration for the table having a plurality of rows, wherein each row in the table corresponds to a different activity field and/or scheduling field, and wherein the transmitted message comprises at least an index value corresponding to a first row of the table comprising the scheduling field and the activity field to be used by the user equipment.
The apparatus as in any one of claims 20-27, wherein each of the user equipment specific carriers is either:

a bandwidth part wherein the bandwidth part is a set of continuous resources of a same numerology, and wherein at least two of the bandwidth parts of the plurality of bandwidth parts at least partially overlap; a bandwidth part; or

a carrier of a serving cell.
A method comprising:

transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment;

transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message is indicative of at least: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and

communicating, by the network node with the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the transmitted message.
A computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following:

transmitting, from a network node to a user equipment, a first configuration associated with a plurality of user equipment specific carriers, wherein the plurality of user equipment specific carriers are configured to the user equipment;

transmitting a message on a first user equipment specific carrier of the user equipment specific carriers, wherein the message is indicative of at least: one or more active user equipment specific carriers of the plurality of user equipment specific carriers based on an activity field associated with the message, and which one of the user equipment specific carriers is scheduled by the message based on a scheduling field associated with the message; and

communicating, by the network node with the user equipment, using the configured user equipment specific carriers in accordance with the transmitted message.