WO2020087461A1

WO2020087461A1 - Multi-pdsch decoding using downlink control information

Info

Publication number: WO2020087461A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/113491
Authority: WO
Inventors: Huan Sun
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2018-11-01
Filing date: 2018-11-01
Publication date: 2020-05-07
Also published as: CN112970306B; CN112970306A

Abstract

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

Description

MULTI-PDSCH DECODING USING DOWNLINK CONTROL INFORMATION

FIELD

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

BACKGROUND

In the standardization of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Radio Access Network (RAN) , it is approved to enhance the multi-transmission point (mTRP) transmission of New Radio (NR) . The mTRP transmission of NR requires that multiple physical downlink control channel (PDCCHs) each schedules a respective physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) , each PDSCH is transmitted from a separate TRP, and the maximum number of NR-PDCCHs is allowed to be 2 within an active downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP) . User equipment (UE) needs to monitor the multiple PDCCHs. However, the monitoring of the multiple PDCCHs will increase the processing complexity and waste more energy at the UE.

Furthermore, in order to improve performance per TRP, independent resource allocation (RA) for a PDSCH is performed at each TRP. The RA of different TPRs may be overlapped which may cause the decoding errors of the PDSCH increased. As a result, one of the objectives of the multi-PDCCH design is to improve the multi-PDSCH decoding performance.

SUMMARY

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

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

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

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

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

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

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium that stores a computer program thereon. The computer program, when executed by a processor of a device, causes the device to perform the method according to the first or second aspect.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of example embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

FIGS. 1 (a) , 1 (b) and 1 (c) illustrate three resource allocation (RA) cases for a given UE in cooperative transmission of two TRPs;

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

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example method in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

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

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

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

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

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

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

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of an example method in accordance with some other example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

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

As used herein, the term “network device” refers to any suitable device at a network side of a communication network. The network device may include any suitable device in an access network of the communication network, for example, including a Transmission point (TRP) , a base station (BS) , a relay, an access point (AP) , a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a NR NodeB (gNB) , a Remote Radio Module (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and the like.

As used herein, the term “terminal device” refers to a device capable of, configured for, arranged for, and/or operable for communications with a network device or a further terminal device in a communication network. The communications may involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information over air. In some example embodiments, the terminal device may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the terminal device may transmit information to the network device on predetermined schedules, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the network side.

Examples of the terminal device include, but are not limited to, user equipment (UE) such as smart phones, wireless-enabled tablet computers, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , and/or wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) . For the purpose of discussion, some example embodiments will be described with reference to UEs as examples of the terminal devices, and the terms “terminal device” and “user equipment” (UE) may be used interchangeably in the context of the present disclosure.

As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” , and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term “includes” and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean “includes, but is not limited to” . The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on” . The term “one embodiment” and “an embodiment” are to be read as “at least one embodiment” . The term “another embodiment” is to be read as “at least one other embodiment” . Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

For the mTRP transmission of NR, multiple PDCCHs each schedule a respective PDSCH, and each PDSCH is transmitted from a separate TRP. Multi-PDCCH is required to support multi-PDSCH. Monitoring multi-PDCCHs will increase the processing complexity and waste more energy at the UE.

Furthermore, in order to improve performance per TRP, the independent resource allocation (RA) for the PDSCH is performed at each TRP. The RA of different TPRs may be overlapped. FIGS. 1 (a) , 1 (b) , and 1 (c) show three RA cases for a given UE with two TRPs cooperative transmission. FIG. 1 (a) shows a none overlapped RA case, a resource block 110 allocated to a given UE by a first TRP and a resource block 120 allocated to the given UE by a second TRP are none overlapped. FIG. 1 (b) shows a fully overlapped RA case, a resource block 130 allocated to a given UE by a first TRP and a resource block 140 allocated to the given UE by a second TRP are fully overlapped. FIG. 1 (c) shows a partially overlapped RA case, a resource block 150 allocated to a given UE by a first TRP and the resource block 160 allocated to the given UE by a second TRP are partially overlapped. In the partially overlapped RA case as shown in FIG. 1 (c) , the decoding errors of the PDSCH will be increased at the UE side. A key challenge on multi-PDCCH design is to facilitate the UE to improve the multi-PDDCH decoding performance.

To reduce the PDCCH decoding complexity of the UE, a two-stage or multi-level transmission scheme is proposed for the multi-PDCCH transmission. For example, two downlink control information (DCI) is used where one DCI contains some addition information to indicate whether the other DCI exists or not. As such, the PDCCH decoding procedure may be simplified and the PDSCH decoding complexity may be reduced at the UE side. However, there is no effective and efficient solution to save UE power saving and to improve the decoding performance of multi-PDSCH.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a novel DCI format design to enable the new DCI format and the normal DCI format to be used in combination to support more flexible multi-TRP transmission. At the network device, first downlink control information is transmitted to a terminal device. The first downlink control information comprises a first indication of a first resource for transmitting first data to the terminal device. The first downlink control information further comprises a second indication for indicating whether second downlink control information is to be decoded by the terminal device. The second down link control information comprises a third indication of a second resource for transmitting second data from a second network device to the terminal device. As such, the indication of the first resource for transmitting first data to the terminal device is transmitted together with the indication for indicating whether second downlink control information is to be decoded.

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

The new DCI format and the normal DCI format may be used in combination to support more flexible multi-TRP transmission. Moreover, for improving the multi-DCI performance, more advanced resource allocation schemes are designed for the second DCI transmission. Those allocated resources for the second DCI transmission should be pre-assigned and sent to user in advance. It can be semi-static configured to UE for adapting the transmission scenario and traffic buffer status. Exploiting the new DCI format and resource allocation scheme for the second DCI transmission, both non-coherent joint transmission (NCJT) scheme and dynamic TRP selection (DPS) scheme can be sufficiently supported with low complexity and high performance. Detailed descriptions in this regard will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

FIG. 2 shows an example environment 200 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The environment 200, which may be a part of a communication network, comprises a network device 210-1 (for example, TRP#1) , referred to as a first network device 210-1, a network device 210-2 (for example, TRP#2) , referred to as a second network device 210-2, and a terminal device 230. It is to be understood that two network devices and one terminal device are shown in the environment 200 only for the purpose of illustration, without suggesting any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure. The environment 200 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices adapted for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.

The terminal device 230 can communicate with the two network devices or with another terminal device (not shown) directly or via the two network devices. The communication may follow any suitable communication standards or protocols such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) , long term evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , the fifth generation (5G) NR, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, and employs any suitable communication technologies, including, for example, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) , time division multiplexing (TDM) , frequency division multiplexing (FDM) , code division multiplexing (CDM) , Bluetooth, ZigBee, and machine type communication (MTC) , enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) , massive machine type communication (mMTC) and ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) technologies.

In the environment 200, the two network devices transmit downlink data in combination to the terminal device 230. A first data channel (for example, PDSCH#1) and a second data channel (for example, PDSCH#2) are transmitted by the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2, respectively. According to a first control channel (for example, PDCCH#1) information and second control channel (for example, PDCCH#2) information, the terminal device 230 can decode the two PDSCH (s) by specific algorithm, such as using independent per PDSCH decoding algorithm or using ordered PDSCHs decoding by successive interference cancellation algorithms (SIC) .

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

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 300 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 300 can be implemented by the first network device 210-1 as shown in FIG. 2. For the purpose of discussion, the method 300 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

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

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

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

Each DCI transmission can be used for different transmission schemes to adapt the real transmission scenarios. The additional domain may comprise a plurality of bits indicating specific DCI transmission schemes and related PDSCH (s) decoding algorithms. For example, two bits can be used to indicate four DCI transmissions schemes. Table 1 shows an example of the additional domain including two bits.

Table 1

	1stbit	2ndbit	DCI number	Note
Scheme 1	0	0	1	Single DCI, Single TRP transmission
Scheme 2	0	1	1	Same DCI, Two PDSCH transmission
Scheme 3	1	0	2	First decoding PDSCH#1
Scheme4	1	1	2	First decoding PDSCH#2

As shown, bit combination “00” in Scheme 1 is used to indicate to the terminal device 230 that the current transmission mode is single TRP transmission with single DCI. In this case, the UE behavior may be aligned with singe TRP required procedures.

Bit combination “01” in Scheme 2 is used to indicate to the terminal device 230 that the current transmission mode is NCJT, but only one DCI is used for decoding both PDSCHs. It means that both the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 use the same downlink transmission parameter, including the full overlay resources scheme and same modulation coding scheme (MCS) and the like.

Bit combination “10” in Scheme 3 is used to indicate to the terminal device 230 the current transmission mode is NCJT, and the first DCI (for example, DCI#1) and the second DCI (for example, DCI#2) are used for decoding PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2, respectively. The allocated resources for the terminal device 230 from the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 may be partially overlapped. In this case, PDSCH#1 should be decoded firstly as the related link quality is higher.

Bit combination “11” in Scheme 4 is used to indicate to the terminal device 230 that the current transmission mode is NCJT, and DCI#1 and DCI#2 are used for PDSCH#1 and PDSCH#2 decoding, respectively. In this case PDSCH#2 should be decoded firstly as its link having high quality.

In some example embodiments, in order to reduce downlink PDCCH overhead, new DCI format will be used for the first DCI to indicate the terminal device 230 to decode PDSCH#1, while normal DCI format will be used for the second DCI to indicate the terminal device 230 to decode PDSCH#2. Therefore, for the single TRP transmission, only one DCI format is used, while for mTRP transmission, two DCI formats may be used in combination in downlink. At the terminal device 230, blind decoding (BD) may be performed to detect the first downlink control information, as will be detailed in the following paragraphs with reference to FIG. 8.

In order to improve the multi-DCI performance, more advanced resource allocation schemes are designed for the second DCI transmission. In some example embodiments, the second downlink control information may be transmitted to the terminal device 230 by the first network device 210-1. The resources used for the second downlink control information may be pre-assigned and informed to user in advance through high layer signals.

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

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

FIG. 4 illustrates an example DCI transmission scheme 400 in a control channel according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

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

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

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

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

Moreover, the scheme 500 can be regarded as original control region extension or breathing. The second downlink control information and the first data may be transmitted based on time division (TD) . Thus, the transmission of the second DCI can use full transmit power and provide a more advanced multi-DCI cooperative transmission scheme.

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

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

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

In this example, the data channels are implemented by PDSCHs. As shown, the first downlink control information 450 and the second downlink control information 460 are transmitted periodically. The first downlink control information 450 is used for two consecutive PDSCHs 730 decoding which associated with TRP#1 transmission, while the second downlink control information 460 is used for two consecutive PDSCHs 750 decoding which associated with TRP#2 transmission. And the first downlink control information 450 contains an indication 440 for indicating the second downlink control information 460. In the example embodiments, the first downlink control information 450 is transmitted once in every two downlink time slot. And the second downlink control information 460 is transmitted with the same manners. The first downlink control information 450 and the second downlink control information 460 are transmitted alternatively. This example embodiment can provide a good performance for both the first and second downlink control information without increasing the terminal device 230 downlink control channel decoding complexity. As there are two PDSCHs, UE can use the SIC algorithm for data decoding according to the indications in the first downlink control information.

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

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

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

In this example, the first downlink control information 450 and the second downlink control information 460 are transmitted by the first and second network devices simultaneously. As shown, the first downlink control information 450 (for example, DCI #1) and the first PDSCH 730 (for example, PDSCH #1) are transmitted from the first network device 210-1 (for example, TRP#1) , and the second downlink control information 460 (for example, DCI #2) and the second PDSCH 750 (for example, PDSCH #2) are transmitted from the second network device 210-2 (for example, TRP#2) . The first downlink control information 450 contains an indication 440 for indicating whether the second downlink control information 460 is to be decoded by the terminal device 230. In this example, the terminal device 230may monitor two downlink channels and perform both DCI#1 and DCI#2 blind decoding at same time. IfDCI#1 is firstly decoded and then the indications 440 can be used to decide whether DCI#2 is to be decoded. As such, the successive decoding approach can also reduce the UE decoding complexity and save the UE power.

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

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

In this example, the first DCI carrying indication (for example, DCI#1) can be transmitted in advance. The terminal device 230 is configured with multi-TRP transmission and all links'connection are ready, but UE only monitors the PDCCH#1 of TRP#1 instead of monitoring PDCCH#1 and PDCCH#2. When the indication 440 was detected which carried by DCI#1, the terminal device 230 then starts to monitor PDCCH#2 transmitted from the TRP#2. This scheme 900 can avoid the DCI#2 monitoring and blind decoding, and reduce the UE processing complexity and save more energy.

Still with reference to FIG. 3, at block 310, the first network device 210-1 transmits the first data to the terminal device 230 using the first resource. The first network device 210-1 may transmit the first data in a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) . At the terminal device 230 side, the data may be received based on the detected downlink control information. The operations and processes of the terminal device 230 will be discussed below with reference to FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of an example method in accordance with some other example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 1000 can be implemented by the terminal device 230 as shown in FIG. 2. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1000 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

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

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

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

In some example embodiments, the receiving order is determined based on link qualities for the first and second data.

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

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

In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information is received in a first time duration, and the second downlink control information is received in a second time duration subsequent to the first time duration.

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

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

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

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

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

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

For example, in the DCI transmission scheme 800 as shown in FIG. 8, the terminal device230 may monitor two downlink channels and perform both DCI#1 and DCI#2 blind decoding at same time. If DCI#1 is firstly decoded and then the indications 440 can be used to decide whether DCI#2 is to be decoded.

In the example embodiments where the second downlink control information from the second network device 210-2, in response to the second indication indicates that the second downlink control information is to be decoded, the terminal device 230 may receive the second downlink control information from the second network device 210-2. For example, in the DCI transmission scheme 900 as shown in FIG. 9, the terminal device 230 only monitors the PDCCH#1 of TRP#1 instead of monitoring PDCCH#1 and PDCCH#2. When the indication 440 was detected which carried by DCI#1, the terminal device 230then start to monitor PDCCH#2 transmitted from the TRP#2.

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

All operations and features as described above for the method 300 with reference to FIGS. 2-9 are likewise applicable to the method 1000 and have similar effects. For the purpose of simplification, the details will be omitted.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the

method

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

method

300 or 1000. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

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

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

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

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

In some example embodiments, the means for transmitting the second downlink control information before the transmission of the first data.

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

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

In some example embodiments, the means for transmitting the first data in a third time duration between the first and second time durations and a fourth time duration subsequent to the second time duration.

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

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

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

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

In some example embodiments, the means for receiving the first and second data based on the detecting order using the first and second resources t.

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

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

In some example embodiments, the means for receiving the second downlink control information before the receiving of the first data.

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

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

In some example embodiments, the means for receiving the first data in a third time duration between the first and second time durations and a fourth time duration subsequent to the second time duration.

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

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

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

FIG. 11 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1100 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1100 can be implemented at or at least as a part of the first network device 210-1 or the terminal device 230 as shown in FIG. 2.

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

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

The memory 1120 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 1120 is shown in the device 1100, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 1100. The processor 1110 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1100 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

When the device 1100 acts as the network device 210, the memory 1120 and the program 1140 may work with the processor 1110 to cause the device 1100 to perform the method 300 as described above with reference to FIGS. 3. When the device 1100 acts as the terminal device 230, the memory 1120 and the program 1140 may work with the processor 1110 cause the device 1100 to perform the method 1000 as described above with reference to FIG. 10. All operations and features as described above with reference to FIGS. 1-10 are likewise applicable to the device 1100 and have similar effects. For the purpose of simplification, the details will be omitted.

Generally, various example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of example embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

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

methods

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

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

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

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

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

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

Various example embodiments of the techniques have been described. In addition to or as an alternative to the above, the following examples are described. The features described in any of the following examples may be utilized with any of the other examples described herein.

Claims

A method for communication comprising:

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

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

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

transmitting the first data to the terminal device using the first resource.
The method of claim 1, wherein the second indication is included in an additional domain of the first downlink control information.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first downlink control information further comprises a fourth indication of a receiving order of the first and second data if the second indication indicates that second downlink control information is to be decoded.
The method of claim 2, wherein the receiving order is determined based on link qualities for the first and second data.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting the second downlink control information to the terminal device.
The method of claim 5, wherein the first downlink control information is transmitted in a first time duration, and the second downlink control information is transmitted in a second time duration subsequent to the first time duration.
The method of claim 6, wherein transmitting the second downlink control information comprises:

transmitting the second downlink control information before the transmission of the first data.
The method of claim 7, wherein the first and second downlink control information are transmitted in a control channel.
The method of claim 7, wherein the second downlink control information and the first data are transmitted in a data channel.
The method of claim 6, wherein transmitting the first data comprises:

transmitting the first data in a third time duration between the first and second time durations and a fourth time duration subsequent to the second time duration.
The method of claim 1, wherein the second downlink control information is transmitted by the second network device.
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second network devices is a transmission point.
A method for communication comprising:

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

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

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

receiving at least one of the first and second data using the first and second resources.
The method of claim 13, wherein the second indication is included in an additional domain of the first downlink control information.
The method of claim 13, wherein the first downlink control information further comprises a fourth indication of a receiving order of the first and second data if the second indication indicates that second downlink control information is to be decoded.
The method of claim 15, wherein the receiving order is determined based on link qualities for the first and second data.
The method of claim 15, wherein receiving the at least one of the first and second data comprises:

receiving the first and second data based on the detecting order using the first and second resources.
The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving the second downlink control information from the first network device.
The method of claim 18, wherein the first downlink control information is received in a first time duration, and the second downlink control information is received in a second time duration subsequent to the first time duration.
The method of claim 18, wherein receiving the second downlink control information comprises:

receiving the second downlink control information before the receiving of the first data.
The method of claim 20, wherein the first and second downlink control information are received in a control channel.
The method of claim 20, wherein the second downlink control information and the first data are received in a data channel.
The method of claim 18, wherein receiving the first data comprises:

receiving the first data in a third time duration between the first and second time durations and a fourth time duration subsequent to the second time duration.
The method of claim 13, further comprising:

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

in response to the second indication indicates that the second downlink control information is to be decoded, receiving the second downlink control information from the second network device.
The method of claim 24, further comprising:

in response to the second indication indicates that the second downlink control information is to be decoded, decoding the second downlink control information.
A device for communication comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the device to perform the method of any of claims 1 -12.
A device for communication comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

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

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

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

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

means for transmitting the first data to the terminal device using the first resource.
An apparatus for communication comprising:

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

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

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

means for receiving at least one of the first and second data using the first and second resources.
A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by a processor of a device, causing the device to perform the method of any of claims 1-12.
A computer readable storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by a processor of a device, causing the device to perform the method of any of claims 13-26.