WO2023102764A1

WO2023102764A1 - Systems and methods for cross-carrier scheduling

Info

Publication number: WO2023102764A1
Application number: PCT/CN2021/136333
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kai Xiao; Jing Shi; Xingguang WEI; Peng Hao; Xing Liu
Original assignee: Zte Corporation
Priority date: 2021-12-08
Filing date: 2021-12-08
Publication date: 2023-06-15
Also published as: CN118339905A

Abstract

Presented are systems and methods for model management. A wireless communication device can receive a message including an indication of a plurality of scheduled component carriers (CCs) from a wireless communication node. The wireless communication device can communicate a plurality of signalings in the plurality of scheduled CCs with the wireless communication node.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CROSS-CARRIER SCHEDULING

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including but not limited to systems and methods for cross-carrier scheduling.

BACKGROUND

In the 5th Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) mobile networks, a user equipment (UE) can send data to a base station (BS) by obtaining uplink synchronization and downlink synchronization with the BS. The BS can use a certain type of signaling to configure the UE for uplink and/or downlink transmission, such as downlink control information (DCI) .

SUMMARY

The example embodiments disclosed herein are directed to solving the issues relating to one or more of the problems presented in the prior art, as well as providing additional features that will become readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings. In accordance with various embodiments, example systems, methods, devices and computer program products are disclosed herein. It is understood, however, that these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not limiting, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art who read the present disclosure that various modifications to the disclosed embodiments can be made while remaining within the scope of this disclosure.

At least one aspect is directed to a system, method, apparatus, or a computer-readable medium. A wireless communication device (e.g., UE) can receive a message including an indication of a plurality of scheduled component carriers (CCs) from a wireless communication node (e.g., gNB or base station (BS) ) . The wireless communication device can communicate a plurality of signalings in the plurality of scheduled CCs with the wireless communication node.

In some implementations, the message may include downlink control information (DCI) . In some cases, the plurality of signaling can include at least one of: one or more physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) , or one or more physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) . In some implementations, a maximum number of the scheduled CCs may be predefined or based on a capability of the wireless communication device.

In some implementations, each of the plurality of scheduled CCs can include one of the plurality of signalings in a time duration, the time duration comprising at least one slot, at least one mini-slot, a frame, or half a frame. In some implementations, the method may involve or be characterized by at least one of: the indication may include m downlink control information (DCI) fields, wherein m is an integer value, each of the m DCI fields has

bits, or each of the m DCI fields indicates a respective scheduled CC of the plurality of CCs.

In some implementations, the method may involve or be characterized by at least one of: the indication may include a downlink control information (DCI) field having

bits, wherein m is an integer value, the DCI field indicates the plurality of CCs, each of the scheduled CC corresponding to a respective code, the respective code configured by the wireless communication node, or each decimal value of the DCI field corresponds to a respective scheduled CC. In some implementations, the method may involve or be characterized by at least one of: the message may include a first field that is configured or predefined for at least one CC group, the first field indicates one or more of the at least one CC group for each of the plurality of scheduled CCs, the indication comprises a downlink control information (DCI) field, some or all scheduling CCs in a first CC group can schedule CCs in one or more other CC groups, or the DCI field can indicate some or all scheduled CCs in a CC group, by indicating the CC group.

In some implementations, the method may involve or be characterized by at least one of: the message may include a first field that is configured or predefined for at least one CC group, the first field indicates one or more of the at least one CC group for each of the plurality of scheduled CCs, the indication comprises a downlink control information (DCI) field, some or all scheduling CCs in a first CC group can schedule CCs in one or more other CC groups, or the DCI field includes at least one bitmap with bits that each indicates whether a respective CC in a CC group is a scheduled CC. In some implementations, the method may involve or be characterized by at least one of: the indication can include a downlink control information (DCI) field having

bits, wherein m is an integer value such that a maximum number of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) and/or physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) that can be scheduled for the wireless communication device is m, or the DCI field can comprise a single field to indicate the plurality of scheduled CCs, or comprise a plurality of fields each indicating a respective one of the plurality of scheduled CCs.

In some implementations, at least one of the indication can include a first downlink control information (DCI) field having

bits and a second DCI field having

bits, wherein d is a maximum number of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) that can be scheduled for the wireless communication device, and u is a maximum number of physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) that can be scheduled for the wireless communication device, the first DCI field can comprise a single field to indicate a plurality of scheduled downlink CCs, or comprise a plurality of fields each indicating a respective one of the plurality of scheduled downlink CCs, or the second DCI field can comprise a single field to indicate a plurality of scheduled uplink CCs, or comprise a plurality of fields each indicating a respective one of the plurality of scheduled uplink CCs.

In some implementations, the wireless communication device can receive information about the indication from the wireless communication node. The method may involve or be characterized by at least one of: the information may include in a first field that is predefined, or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node, the first field indicates at least a first CC group, or the information indicates that all CCs in the first CC group are indicated by a DCI field corresponding to a CC in the first CC group. In some implementations, at least one of the wireless communication device can receive information about the indication from the wireless communication node. The method may involve or be characterized by at least one of: the information may be included in a first field that is predefined, or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node, the first field may indicate a plurality of CCs, or all CCs indicated by the first field may be indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) field corresponding to one of the plurality of CCs indicated by the first field.

In some implementations, the method may involve or be characterized by at least one of: the wireless communication device can receive information about the indication from the wireless communication node, where at least one of the information may be included in a first field that is predefined, semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node, or dynamically indicated in downlink control information (DCI) , the first field can include a bitmap that indicates whether all or part of a plurality of DCI fields are shared or independent between CCs, each bit of the bitmap may correspond to a respective one of the DCI fields, and having a value that indicates whether the respective one of the DCI fields is shared or independent between CCs, or the plurality of DCI fields may be predefined, or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node. In some implementations, at least one of the wireless communication device can receive information about the indication from the wireless communication node, where at least one of the information can be included in a first field that is predefined, semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node, or dynamically indicated in downlink control information (DCI) , the first field can include a bit having a value that indicates whether a DCI field is shared between CCs or is specific to a CC, or the DCI field can be predefined, or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node.

In some implementations, the wireless communication device can determine an allocated slot in a scheduled CC for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) . In some cases, the allocated slot may be determined as a first slot or last slot of the scheduled CC, that overlaps with an allocated slot in a scheduling CC. In some cases, the allocated slot may be a (K + N) th slot, where N is an integer value counted from a slot satisfying a defined timeline, and K is a slot offset. In some implementations, physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) of one cell can only correspond to a group of wireless communication devices. A same GERAN radio network temporary identifier (GRNTI) may be used for different groups of wireless communication devices to schedule multiple services.

In some cases, if a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) used for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scrambling is a first RNTI, the first RNTI can be used for corresponding services. If the RNTI used for the PDCCH scrambling is not a first RNTI, one or more first RNTIs can be used for the corresponding services. In some implementations, if a defined field indicates that a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) used for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scrambling is a first RNTI, the first RNTI can be used for corresponding services. If the defined field indicates that the RNTI used for the PDCCH scrambling is not a first RNTI, one or more first RNTIs can be used for the corresponding services.

At least one aspect is directed to a system, method, apparatus, or a computer-readable medium. A wireless communication node can send a message including an indication of a plurality of scheduled component carriers (CCs) to a wireless communication device. The wireless communication node can communicate a plurality of signalings in the plurality of scheduled CCs with the wireless communication device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various example embodiments of the present solution are described in detail below with reference to the following figures or drawings. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict example embodiments of the present solution to facilitate the reader's understanding of the present solution. Therefore, the drawings should not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the present solution. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration, these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example cellular communication network in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example base station and a user equipment device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of allocated slots of scheduling CC and scheduled CC with K ₀ = 1 and N = 0, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of allocated slots of scheduling CC and scheduled CC with K ₀ = 0 and N = 0, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of allocated slots of scheduling CC and scheduled CC with at least one slot not satisfying a timeline, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for cross-carrier scheduling, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

1. Mobile Communication Technology and Environment

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication network, and/or system, 100 in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the following discussion, the wireless communication network 100 may be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband Internet of things (NB-IoT) network, and is herein referred to as “network 100. ” Such an example network 100 includes a base station 102 (hereinafter “BS 102” ; also referred to as wireless communication node) and a user equipment device 104 (hereinafter “UE 104” ; also referred to as wireless communication device) that can communicate with each other via a communication link 110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel) , and a cluster of

cells

126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138 and 140 overlaying a geographical area 101. In Figure 1, the BS 102 and UE 104 are contained within a respective geographic boundary of cell 126. Each of the

other cells

130, 132, 134, 136, 138 and 140 may include at least one base station operating at its allocated bandwidth to provide adequate radio coverage to its intended users.

For example, the BS 102 may operate at an allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide adequate coverage to the UE 104. The BS 102 and the UE 104 may communicate via a downlink radio frame 118, and an uplink radio frame 124 respectively. Each radio frame 118/124 may be further divided into sub-frames 120/127 which may include data symbols 122/128. In the present disclosure, the BS 102 and UE 104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of “communication nodes, ” generally, which can practice the methods disclosed herein. Such communication nodes may be capable of wireless and/or wired communications, in accordance with various embodiments of the present solution.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM/OFDMA signals) in accordance with some embodiments of the present solution. The system 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features that need not be described in detail herein. In one illustrative embodiment, system 200 can be used to communicate (e.g., transmit and receive) data symbols in a wireless communication environment such as the wireless communication environment 100 of Figure 1, as described above.

System 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter “BS 202” ) and a user equipment device 204 (hereinafter “UE 204” ) . The BS 202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each module being coupled and interconnected with one another as necessary via a data communication bus 220. The UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each module being coupled and interconnected with one another as necessary via a data communication bus 240. The BS 202 communicates with the UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for transmission of data as described herein.

As would be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, system 200 may further include any number of modules other than the modules shown in Figure 2. Those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are described generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software can depend upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those familiar with the concepts described herein may implement such functionality in a suitable manner for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure

In accordance with some embodiments, the UE transceiver 230 may be referred to herein as an "uplink" transceiver 230 that includes a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and a RF receiver each comprising circuitry that is coupled to the antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in time duplex fashion. Similarly, in accordance with some embodiments, the BS transceiver 210 may be referred to herein as a "downlink" transceiver 210 that includes a RF transmitter and a RF receiver each comprising circuity that is coupled to the antenna 212. A downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in time duplex fashion. The operations of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the uplink receiver circuitry is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 for reception of transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 at the same time that the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212. Conversely, the operations of the two transceivers 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the downlink receiver is coupled to the downlink antenna 212 for reception of transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 at the same time that the uplink transmitter is coupled to the uplink antenna 232. In some embodiments, there is close time synchronization with a minimal guard time between changes in duplex direction.

The UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via the wireless data communication link 250, and cooperate with a suitably configured RF antenna arrangement 212/232 that can support a particular wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some illustrative embodiments, the UE transceiver 210 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards, and the like. It is understood, however, that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited in application to a particular standard and associated protocols. Rather, the UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 may be configured to support alternate, or additional, wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variations thereof.

In accordance with various embodiments, the BS 202 may be an evolved node B (eNB) , a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femto station, or a pico station, for example. In some embodiments, the UE 204 may be embodied in various types of user devices such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistance (PDA) , tablet, laptop computer, wearable computing device, etc. The

processor modules

214 and 236 may be implemented, or realized, with a general purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. In this manner, a processor may be realized as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, or the like. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

Furthermore, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in firmware, in a software module executed by

processor modules

214 and 236, respectively, or in any practical combination thereof. The

memory modules

216 and 234 may be realized as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard,

memory modules

216 and 234 may be coupled to the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, such that the processors modules 210 and 230 can read information from, and write information to,

memory modules

216 and 234, respectively. The

memory modules

216 and 234 may also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, the

memory modules

216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

Memory modules

216 and 234 may also each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

The network communication module 218 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic, and/or other components of the base station 202 that enable bi-directional communication between base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communication with the base station 202. For example, network communication module 218 may be configured to support internet or WiMAX traffic. In a typical deployment, without limitation, network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface such that base station transceiver 210 can communicate with a conventional Ethernet based computer network. In this manner, the network communication module 218 may include a physical interface for connection to the computer network (e.g., Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ) . The terms “configured for, ” “configured to” and conjugations thereof, as used herein with respect to a specified operation or function, refer to a device, component, circuit, structure, machine, signal, etc., that is physically constructed, programmed, formatted and/or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Model (referred to herein as, “open system interconnection model” ) is a conceptual and logical layout that defines network communication used by systems (e.g., wireless communication device, wireless communication node) open to interconnection and communication with other systems. The model is broken into seven subcomponents, or layers, each of which represents a conceptual collection of services provided to the layers above and below it. The OSI Model also defines a logical network and effectively describes computer packet transfer by using different layer protocols. The OSI Model may also be referred to as the seven-layer OSI Model or the seven-layer model. In some embodiments, a first layer may be a physical layer. In some embodiments, a second layer may be a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, a third layer may be a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, a fourth layer may be a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, a fifth layer may be a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, a sixth layer may be a Non Access Stratum (NAS) layer or an Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and the seventh layer being the other layer.

Various example embodiments of the present solution are described below with reference to the accompanying figures to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the present solution. As would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, various changes or modifications to the examples described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the present solution. Thus, the present solution is not limited to the example embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. Additionally, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely example approaches. Based upon design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes can be re-arranged while remaining within the scope of the present solution. Thus, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or acts in a sample order, and the present solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless expressly stated otherwise.

2. Systems and Methods for Cross-Carrier Scheduling

In certain systems (e.g., 5G new radio (NR) , Next Generation (NG) systems, 3GPP systems, and/or other systems) , a carrier (e.g., component carrier (CC) ) can include/contain/hold or be scheduled with one physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) in a time domain duration (e.g., time period or timeframe) . The PDSCH and/or the PUSCH may be referred to as signaling (s) . A downlink control information (DCI) of these systems may not be allowed to schedule multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs on more than one carrier. The restricted capability of having one PDSCH or PUSCH within a particular time domain duration can cause the systems to consume/use higher bandwidth or resources due to an increase in DCI transmissions and can introduce higher latency, since scheduling multiple PDSCHs or PUSCHs is done via multiple DCIs at different time instances for instance (e.g., time slot, block, etc. ) . Hence, to improve resource consumption and latency, the systems and methods discussed herein can include a base station (BS) (e.g., BS 102 or BS 202) to indicate/specify/identify (which CCs are the) scheduled carriers (e.g., CCs) for a user equipment (UE) (e.g., UE 104 or UE 204) .

Further, certain systems may include multiple multicast services and multiple UEs with different service requirements in the network. The UE 204 may determine the type of the service (e.g., PDSCH and/or PUSCH) according to the scrambling radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) for the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (e.g., PDCCH scrambling) . For instance, one type of RNTI may be used for scrambling a PDCCH (e.g., a PDCCH used to schedule multiple services/signalings) for scheduling at least one PDSCH and/or PUSCH in CCs. The UE 204 with different service requirements may be provided with information (e.g., different understandings or implementations) of the scheduling information in the PDCCH. The protocol can ensure that different UEs 204 may correctly receive the corresponding PDSCHs. Further, the protocol can ensure that the UE 204 can feedback (e.g., transmit/send/respond/provide) the information to the BS 202 (e.g., correctly or accurately) after/subsequent to/in response to receiving the PDSCH, for instance.

The systems and methods discussed herein can support scheduling of PDSCHs or PUSCHs located/contained/stored/included/scheduled in CCs through multiple DCIs. This can further improve the system throughput. The systems and methods can be performed by or between the BS 202 (e.g., wireless communication node, gNB, etc. ) , UE 204 (e.g., wireless communication device) , among other remote devices or processors. The systems can improve the service throughput (e.g., the transmission of PDSCHs or PUSCHs) by scheduling various PDSCHs or PUSCHs with multiple messages, such as in certain frequency (e.g., frequency band) or time domain (e.g., time slot, etc. ) . The messages can include or correspond to at least one of: DCI, radio resource control (RRC) , and/or MAC Control Elements (MAC CE) signaling (s) . Although some examples described herein may indicate the DCI as the message, various systems and methods can use RRC or MAC CE signaling as the message, such as for scheduling services, communicating data, etc. In one aspect, scheduling various PDSCHs or PUSCHs with multiple messages may increase the number of messages (e.g., DCIs, MAC CEs, RRCs, etc. ) in the system cell. Increasing the number of messages may increase the blocking rate (e.g., message drop rate) of the PDCCH carrying the DCIs, for instance, due to collision, full buffer, connection disruption within the network, etc.

The systems and methods can avoid, reduce, or improve the blocking rate by utilizing a single DCI signaling to schedule multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs in different cells (e.g., different scheduled CCs) . In some cases, the cells can represent one or more of

cells

130, 132, 134, etc., in conjunction with at least FIG. 1. Scheduling the multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs in different cells can reduce the number of DCIs communicated from the BS 202 to the UE 204 (e.g., reducing bandwidth and network resource consumption) , and the PDCCH blocking rate (e.g., reduction of packet drop or loss of DCI transmissions) . The system can schedule multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs individually or in combination (e.g., both multiple PDSCHs and multiple PUSCHs) . To schedule multiple PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs, the BS 202 can indicate the scheduled carriers (e.g., CCs) to the UE 204 for communication with, data transmission to, or data reception from the BS 202.

The UE 204 can determine/identify/detect/obtain the service type (e.g., PDSCH or PUSCH) based on the RNTI used for scrambling the PDCCH. In certain systems, for instance, if multiple multicast services are scheduled by one common PDCCH (e.g., carrying a DCI) , the UE 204 may misinterpret or obtain an inaccurate type of multicast service from the DCI. Hence, the system can include a protocol discussed herein for ensuring that different UEs 204 receive the corresponding PDSCHs, and that the UEs 204 can provide/feedback information to the BS 202 subsequent to receiving the PDSCHs.

A. Implementation 1: Scheduling Method for One DCI Scheduling Multiple CCs

A BS 202 (e.g., gNB or wireless communication node) can indicate information of the scheduled CCs to one or more UEs 204 (e.g., wireless communication device) through/via dynamic or semi-static signaling. For instance, the UE 204 can communicate (e.g., receive or transmit) the services in the scheduled CC with the BS 202 via at least one message. The message may comprise dynamic signaling or semi-static signaling. The dynamic signaling can include, correspond to, or be a part of DCI signaling. The semi-static signaling can include, correspond to, or be a part of RRC or MAC CE signaling, which may be used to indicate the CCs that are scheduled for the particular UE 204.

In some implementations, a PDCCH carrying a DCI can schedule multiple PDSCHs in multiple CCs. One CC (e.g., each CC) can include/contain one PDSCH in a time duration. The time duration may be at least one of a slot (e.g., time slot including one or more time frames) , mini-slot, a frame, half a frame, etc. In some cases, the PDCCH carrying the DCI can schedule multiple PUSCHs in multiple CCs. One CC may include one PUSCH in a time duration (e.g., at least one slot, at least one mini-slot, a frame, half a frame, etc. ) . Each time slot can include one frame or multiple frames. In some other cases, the PDCCH carrying DCI may schedule various PUSCHs and/or PDSCHs simultaneously in multiple CCs. One CC (e.g., a first CC) may contain one PDSCH in a time duration. One CC (e.g., a second CC) may contain one PUSCH in a time duration.

In some implementations, a specification/standard/pre-configuration can indicate/specify/predefine a maximum number of scheduled CCs that the BS 202 can schedule to the UE 204. The specification can be configured by an administrator/operator of the BS 202 for instance. In some cases, a second maximum number of scheduled CCs of the UE 204 may depend on the capability of the UE, such as based on the performance, capability, hardware, or information from the UE 204, such as hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software compatibility, version, or support. Prior to or before scheduling (e.g., formal scheduling) , the UE 204 may report/send/transmit/provide/indicate the UE’s capabilities (e.g., hardware and/or software information, or a number of CCs supported by the UE) to the BS 202.

In some cases, the number of scheduled CCs of the UE 204 can be indicated by the BS 202 dynamically or semi-statically based on or according to the explicit and/or implicit indication method as discussed herein. At least one of the methods discussed herein can be used by the BS 202 and/or the UE 204 to determine how the BS 202 indicates information of the scheduled CCs to the UE 204.

Example Method 1 of Implementation 1

A maximum number m of scheduled CCs that the BS 202 can schedule to the UE 204 may be predefined by a specification/standard/configuration. A first DCI field (sometimes generally referred to as a DCI field, existing DCI field, current DCI field, etc. ) with the size of

bits can be predefined/predetermined/preconfigured or reused by the specification. The

bits can represent log ₂m rounded to the next highest integer. For instance, with a maximum of 8 scheduled CC, the first DCI can include a size of 3 bits. In another example, with a maximum of 9 scheduled CC, the first DCI can include a size of 4 bits. The first DCI field may be a new DCI field or an existing DCI field that can be reused, such as the carrier indicator field (CIF) . In some implementations, m number of the same first DCI fields may be incorporated into a DCI signaling. Each of the m first DCI fields can correspond to and/or independently indicate a respective scheduled CC of various CCs (e.g., m fields can be associated with or correspond to m number of scheduled CC) .

Example Method 2 of Implementation 1

A maximum number m of scheduled CCs that the BS 202 can schedule to the UE 204 can be predefined by a specification. A first DCI field with the size of

bits can be predefined or reused/re-purposed by the specification. The first DCI field can be a new DCI field or an existing (re-purposed) DCI field that can be reused, such as the CIF field. In some cases, all the scheduled CCs may share a single first DCI field. In some other cases, individual scheduled CCs may include a respective first DCI field, among other fields. The BS 202 may semi-statically configure/modify/set a group of codes for the UE 204, such that each scheduled CC can correspond to a respective code. For instance, each code of the group of codes can correspond to and/or contain/include at least one scheduled CC. In some cases, the BS 202 can configure the group of codes based on the capability of the UE 204, such as hardware and/or software support. Each decimal value of the first DCI field (e.g., listed numerial value, identifier, index number, carried in the first DCI field) can correspond to one code (e.g., correspond to a respective scheduled CC) . For example, with four CCs, a group of codes can include two codes. The first code can correspond to a decimal value of 0 indicating/representing scheduled CCs associated with indexes of 0 and 1. The second code can correspond to a decimal value of 1, representing scheduled CCs associated with indexes of 2 and 3. In some cases, a subset, a group of, or multiple decimal values may correspond to a respective scheduled CC. The decimal value may be represented by one or more bits.

Example Method 3 of Implementation 1

A first field (e.g., different from the DCI field) can be predefined by the specification for CC groups. The first field can identify/determine/detect/categorize/indicate which of the one or more (e.g., each/all) CCs belong to which CC group (s) (e.g., what CCs are in which group) . Each of the scheduled CCs can be in one or more CC groups. For example, a scheduled CC can be in multiple CC groups. Some or all of the scheduling CCs (from a scheduling CC) can schedule CCs in/from other CC groups (e.g., CC groups other than the scheduling CC) . For instance, the scheduling CCs can be from a CC that has the lowest CC group index (e.g., hash value, identifier, indicator, etc. ) out of the CC groups. A first DCI field can indicate at least one scheduled CC in/from one CC group. In some cases, all CC groups can share the first field, such as to identify which group an individual one of the CCs belongs to. If the first DCI field indicates all CCs in a CC group are scheduled CCs, the first DCI field can directly indicate the CC group to the UE 204 for indicating/identifying the scheduled CCs. The first DCI field can be a new DCI field or an existing DCI field that can be reused, such as a CIF field.

Example Method 4 of Implementation 1

A first field can be predefined by the specification for CC groups. The first field may determine/indicate which of one or more CC groups individual CCs belong to. Some of or all of the scheduling CCs can schedule CCs in/from other CC groups, such as the scheduling CCs in a CC group that has the lowest CC group index, highest CC group index, or other CC group index between the lowest and the highest group index. A first DCI field may indicate one CC group. The first DCI field can be a new DCI field or an existing DCI field that can be reused, such as the CIF field. In some cases, a bitmap (e.g., a first bitmap) can have bits that each indicates which CC (s) in a corresponding CC group is a scheduled CC (s) . The bitmap may be contained/stored/included/maintained as part of the first DCI field (e.g., or other DCI fields) . In some cases, the bitmap can be included in or a part of another bitmap (e.g., a second bitmap, a third bitmap, etc. ) . The size of the bitmap can be based on the maximum number of CCs in a CC group (e.g., the number of bits reflects, corresponds to or is associated with the number of CCs in the CC group) . For instance, each bit in the bitmap can represent whether a respective CC is scheduled or not scheduled, such as 1 for scheduled and 0 for unscheduled, or vice versa.

Example Method 5 of Implementation 1

A maximum number (m) of scheduled CCs that the BS 202 can schedule to the UE 204 may be predefined by a specification. In some cases, the maximum number may be reported by the UE 204 to the BS 202, such as based on the capability of the UE 204. In certain examples, ‘d’ may represent/indicate the number of PDSCHs that can be scheduled for the UE 204, and ‘u’ can represent the number of PUSCHs that can be scheduled for the UE 204, at the same time by a single PDCCH carrying a DCI. When aggregated (e.g., a sum of the d and u) , the maximum number of PUSCHs and PDSCHs that can be scheduled is less than or equal to m (e.g., the maximum number of scheduled CCs) , represented by d+u≤m. A first DCI field with the size of

bits can be predefined or reused by the specification. In some cases, the first DCI field can include other determinations (e.g., other functions) for the number of bits preconfigured/predefined by the specification. The first DCI field can be a new DCI field or an existing DCI field that can be reused, such as the CIF field. In some cases, all the scheduled CCs may share (or be indicated/identified by) a single first DCI field. In some other cases, individual CCs or each CC can be associated with or assigned to a respective first DCI field.

For example, if the first DCI field is shared for all scheduled CCs, one first DCI field can be used to indicate the scheduled CCs to the UE 204. The BS 202 can semi-statically (and/or dynamically) configure a group of codes for the UE 204. Each code can include at least one scheduled CC. Each decimal value of the first DCI field can correspond to one code or a respective scheduled CC. The decimal value can indicate/represent an index (e.g., value, hash, key, indication, etc. ) corresponding to or associated with a respective CC. In a further example, if the first DCI field is independent (e.g., not shared) for all scheduled CCs (e.g., one first DCI field for each scheduled CC) , there may be m (e.g., a number of) first DCI fields in DCI. Each first DCI field may indicate/represent a scheduled CC.

Example Method 6 of Implementation 1

A maximum number m of scheduled CCs that the BS 202 can schedule to the UE 204 can be predefined by a specification, or reported by the UE 204 to the BS 202. In some instances, ‘d’ can represent the number of PDSCHs that can be scheduled for the UE 204 via a first DCI field of d bits, and ‘u’ can represent the number of PUSCHs that can be scheduled for the UE 204 via a second DCI field of u bits. When aggregated or in combination, d+u≤m. The first DCI field and the second DCI field can correspond independently to the PDSCH and PUSCH, respectively, for example. The first DCI field with the size of

bits can be predefined or reused by the specification, and the second DCI field with the size of

bits can be predefined or reused by the specification. The first DCI field can be a new DCI field or an existing DCI field that can be reused, such as the CIF field. All (e.g., or some of) the scheduled downlink (DL) CCs can share a single DCI field, or in some cases, each independently own (or be indicated by) a respective first DCI field. The second DCI field can be a new DCI field or an existing DCI field that can be reused such as the CIF field. All (e.g., or some of) the scheduled UL CCs can share a single second DCI field, or in some cases, each independently can own (or be indicated by) a respective second DCI field.

B. Implementation 2: Indicating Which DCI field is Shared to the Scheduled CC

The system can determine a scheduling method for one DCI for scheduling more than one CC. The BS 202 can indicate the information of the shared DCI field and/or the independent DCI field to the UE 204 via dynamic signaling (e.g., DCI, etc. ) or semi-static signaling (e.g., RRC, MAC CE, etc. ) . In some implementations, one PDCCH carrying DCI can schedule multiple PDSCHs in multiple CCs. One CC can include/contain one PDSCH in a time duration. The time duration may be one of at least one slot (e.g., time slot) , at least one mini-slot, a frame, half a frame, etc. Each time slot can include one or more frames. In certain cases, the PDCCH carrying DCI can schedule multiple PUSCHs in multiple CCs. One CC can include one PUSCH in a time duration.

In some cases, one PDCCH carrying DCI can schedule various PUSCHs and PDSCHs simultaneously in multiple CCs (e.g., PUSCHs and PDSCHs in combination) . One CC can include one PDSCH in a time duration. One CC can include one PUSCH in a time duration. For instance, a first CC can include one PDSCH and a second CC can include one PUSCH in a time duration. The time duration of the first CC and the second CC including the PUSCH and the PDSCH may overlap (e.g., within the same time duration, time slot, frame, subframe, etc. ) . In some cases, the first CC and the second CC may not overlap in time. For one DCI field, the DCI field can be shared or separated for partial CCs. For example, partial CCs may use a shared indication for intra-band carrier aggregation (CA) , and use RRC signaling to configure detailed/specific information about CCs. To determine how to indicate the information of the shared DCI field and/or the independent DCI field to the UE 204, at least one of the implementations, features, techniques, or methods discussed herein can be used.

Example Method 1 of Implementation 2

A first field may be predefined by the specification/standard/configuration of the BS 202 or semi-statically configured by the BS 202, such as to determine/identify at least one first CC group (sometimes generally referred to as a CC group) . The first CC group may be referred to as CC group A. All (or some of) the CCs in the first CC group can use the shared indication (e.g., shared DCI field) . For CCs in other CC groups, a respective DCI field can be independently indicated via their respective indications, such as a second DCI field for one or more CCs in a second CC group, a third DCI field for one or more CCs in a third CC group, etc.

Example Method 1A of Implementation 2

A first field may be predefined by the specification or semi-statically configured by the BS 202 to determine/identify multiple CCs (e.g., at least two CCs) . The determination/identification of the multiple CCs can be regardless of whether these CCs reside in a same CC group or in multiple CC groups, for example. All the CCs indicated by the first field may use the shared indication (e.g., share DCI field) .

Example Method 2 of Implementation 2

The BS 202 can provide a first field (e.g., different for the first DCI field) to the UE 204. The first field may include a bitmap that indicates, to the UE 204, whether at least a part of or all of the DCI fields is shared or independent. The bitmap can include bits, each corresponding to a DCI field. The bits can represent whether the DCI field is shared or independent. For instance, when the bit value is 1, the corresponding DCI field is a shared indication. If the bit value is 0, the corresponding DCI field may not be a shared indication. In some cases, the bit value of 1 and 0 can correspond to non-shared (or independent) indication, and shared indication, respectively. The DCI fields that can be indicated by the first field can be semi-statically configured (e.g., via RRC or MAC CE signaling, etc. ) by the BS 202 or predefined by the specification. The first field can be predefined by the specification for the UE 204 or semi-statically configured by the BS 202 or dynamically indicated in DCI signaling.

Example Method 3 of Implementation 2

The BS 202 can provide the first field with one bit that can indicate/determine/represent whether the DCI field is shared or independent to the UE 204. For example, when the bit value is 1, the DCI field may be a shared indication, which can be provided/displayed/alerted/indicated to the UE 204. When the bit value is 0, the DCI field sharing is not used for instance. The indication of whether the bit value represents a shared indication can be provided/obtained/indicated in the specification/standard/description. The DCI field indicated by the first field may be semi-statically configured by the BS 202 or predefined by the specification. The first field can be predefined by the specification for the UE 204, semi-statically configured by the BS 202 (e.g., via RRC or MAC CE signaling, etc. ) , or dynamically indicated in a DCI signaling.

C. Implementation 3: Methods for Determining an Allocated Slot for a CC

The system can determine, utilize, perform one or more methods, features, or techniques discussed herein for a UE 204 to determine the allocated slot for the scheduled CC while avoiding time domain scheduling conflict, thereby reducing the blocking rate of service or communication between the UE 204 and the BS 202.

For dynamic scheduling, the BS 202 can send/transmit/provide/notify a scheduling DCI to the UE 204. The UE 204 can be scheduled to receive at least one PDSCH and/or PUSCH in at least one cell. The UE 204 may determine a row index value (e.g., integer value, etc. indicating an example of RNTI assignment to one or more of PDCCH, PDSCH1, and/or PDSCH2, as discussed/shown in at least tables 1-2) according to/based on the indication bit in the time domain resource assignment (TDRA) in DCI to an allocation table. The UE 204 can determine the indexed row of information that contains at least the slot offset K ₀. The allocated slot for the PDSCH may be represented as Ks, such as based on or determined by K _s=N+K ₀. The value of N may be determined by at least the index of the slot of the scheduling DCI, the subcarrier spacing configurations for PUSCH and/or PDSCH, and/or the subcarrier spacing configurations for PDCCH. Examples for determining the allocated slot for PUSCH or PDSCH can be performed by the system as discussed herein.

Example Method 1 of Implementation 3

Referring to FIG. 3, an example of allocated slots of a scheduling CC and a scheduled CC with K ₀ = 1 and N = 0 is shown. The allocated slot of the scheduling CC and/or scheduled CC can be determined by the UE 204 (e.g., and/or BS 202) according to the current specification/standard/pre-configuration (e.g., by the administrator on the BS 202 or manufacturer of the UE 204) . The x-axis or horizontal plane of the slots can represent the time domain (e.g., time slots, time frames, etc. ) . The y-axis or vertical plane can represent different frequencies (e.g., frequency band) of CCs for communication between the UE 204 and the BS 202.

For instance, the UE 204 can receive the DCI and the PDSCH1 (e.g., a first PDSCH, PDSCH A, a first service, etc. ) from the BS 202 via a first frequency band (first CC) , and the PDSCH2 (e.g., a second PDSCH, PDSCH B, a second service, etc. ) from the BS 202 via a second frequency band (second CC) . Hence, the upper row block/tile/slots shown in the Figure can represent the first frequency band for communication in a time domain, and the lower row slots can represent the second frequency band for communication in the same/similar time domain as the first frequency band. The upper row slots may be allocated for scheduling CCs, which may be referred to as scheduling slots (e.g., for communication of PDSCH1 and/or DCI) . The lower row slots may be allocated for scheduled CCs, which may be referred to as scheduled slots (e.g., for communication of PDSCH2) .

As shown in FIG. 3, examples 302 and 304 can include a slot offset of K ₀ = 1. Hence, the BS 202 can transmit/send/provide the DCI signaling to the UE 204 at a first slot in a first CC or first frequency band. Responsive/subsequent to transmitting the DCI signaling, the BS 202 can transmit the PDSCH1 in a second slot (e.g., a scheduling slot) in the first CC, or the UE 204 can determine the allocated slot for scheduling the CC. In another example, with K ₀ = 2, the BS 202 may transmit the PDSCH1 at a third slot (e.g., the third slot may refer to the scheduling slot in this case) .

One or more scheduled slots (in a second CC) can overlap with the scheduling slot (e.g., at least one of the available/allocated slots for PDSCH2 can overlap in the time domain with the scheduling slot for communicating PDSCH1) . For example, examples 302 and 304 can include two slots in a scheduled/second CC (e.g., a first slot and the last/final/end slot) overlapping with the scheduling slot (from the scheduling/first CC) in the time domain. In example 302, the allocated slot for the scheduled CC may be the first overlapping slot, and in example 304, the allocated slot for the scheduled CC may be the second overlapping slot. In further example, an overlapping slot (e.g., the first overlapping slot) may be an allocated slot predefined/preconfigured by the specification. The slot for the scheduled CC may be determined based on a pre-configured standard, specification, pre-configuration of the BS 202 and/or UE 204, among other indications. In some cases, the BS 202 and/or the UE 204 can identify various overlapping slots allocated for scheduled CC (e.g., more than two slots) . The UE 204 can determine to allocate any slot between the first slot and the last slot for the scheduled CC (e.g., between slot A and slot Z, slot 1 and slot N, etc. ) .

Further, referring to FIG. 4, an example of allocated slots of a scheduling CC and a scheduled CC with K ₀ = 0 and N = 0 is shown. With a slot offset of K ₀ = 0, the DCI and PDSCH1 can be in the same slot (e.g., scheduling slot) . In this case, referring to examples 402 and 404, the one or more allocated slots for the scheduled CC can overlap with the scheduling slot having the DCI and PDSCH1 signalings. The UE 204 can determine to allocate the first overlapping slot for the scheduled CC, as in example 402. The UE 204 can allocate the last overlapping slot for the scheduled CC, as in example 404. Although examples 402 and 404 illustrates two allocated scheduled CC slots (e.g., a first and last slot) , there may be more than two slots for scheduled CC, such that the UE 204 can allocate a slot between the first and the last slot for the scheduled CC.

Example Method 2 of Implementation 3

Referring to FIG. 5, an example of allocated slots of a scheduling CC and a scheduled CC with at least one slot not satisfying a known/defined timeline is shown. Examples 502 and 504 can include a slot offset of K ₀ = 0, and value N = 0. The DCI can be in the same slot (e.g., time slot of in a time domain) as PDSCH1 (e.g., in the scheduling CC) . The allocated slot of the scheduling CC may be determined by a UE 204 based on the specification/standard/configuration/factory settings. For the scheduled CC, the count starts from the first slot meeting the known/defined timeline (e.g., time period, time frame, etc. ) , and selects the K0 + N ^th slot as the allocated slot. In some cases, the UE 204 may require/use additional/more time to read /receive/extract information from the DCI from the BS 202, such as due to the capability (e.g., hardware and/or software and/or network performance of the UE 204) . Hence, the UE 204 may have to receive/obtain/process the PDSCH2 from the BS 202 at a later time slot.

For instance, the UE 204 can receive the PDSCH2 in the scheduled CC at a second allocated slot for the scheduled CC (e.g., at an extended time period from the transmission of DCI) , as in example 502. Referring to example 504, zooming out from the scheduling slots, the UE 204 can receive the PDSCH2 at a different time slot subsequent to or non-overlapped in time domain from the scheduling time slot (e.g., DCI and/or PDSCH1 transmission) . Hence, the UE 204 may skip or jump a time slot before receiving/identifying/determining the scheduled CC based on the PDSCH2.

In some implementations, the total number of slots (e.g., Ks) may be adjusted based on the value of N. For instance, N can represent a value/integer/magnitude of a time duration to be added to the slot offset determined by the BS 202. The UE 204 can determine the value of N based on, for example, information from the BS 202 or an indication from a DCI signaling, among other information from other devices and/or nodes. Upon determining N, the UE 204 and/or the BS 202 can add N with K ₀ to determine K _S (e.g., an allocated slot in the scheduled CC) .

D. Implementation 4: Ensuring UEs with Different Service Requirements can Receive PDSCHs

The features, functionalities, and/or techniques of the system discussed herein can ensure that the UEs 204 with different service requirements can correctly receive corresponding PDSCHs from the BS 202. In some implementations, the BS 202 can transmit/send/provide a common PDCCH (e.g., a shared or common PDCCH and/or DCI) to schedule services for the UEs 204 with different service (e.g., PDSCH and/or PUSCH) requirements. To determine the UE scheduling information, the system discussed herein can perform one or more features, functionalities, or techniques discussed herein.

Example Method 1 of Implementation 4

In some implementations, PDSCHs of one cell may correspond to a group of UEs 204 (e.g., when the multi-broadcast and broadcast service (MBS) does not support carrier aggregation (CA) ) . Different MBS traffic (e.g., PDSCH and/or PUSCH) for different groups of UEs 204 may use the same GERAN radio network temporary identifier (GRNTI) for scrambling the PDCCH, such as to schedule the MBS (e.g., multiple services) . The BS 202 can use the same GRNTI for different groups of UEs 204. Scrambling the PDCCH can refer to or correspond to the mixing or rearrangement of DCI to be transmitted to a UE via the PDCCH. The same PDCCH can be transmitted to various UEs 204 in different groups. CC indexes can be used to distinguish/differentiate the services (e.g., PDSCH and/or PUSCH) that the BS 202 scheduled for the groups of UEs 204. In some cases, the CC indexes can be used for identifying respective groups of UEs 204 or to granularly identify respective UE (s) (e.g., one or more particular UEs 204 within individual groups of UEs 204) .

Example Method 2 of Implementation 4

In some implementations, the first RNTI (e.g., RNTI associated with PDCCH) may be predefined/preconfigured/predetermined by the specification/standard/configuration for PDCCH scrambling cyclic redundancy checks (CRCs) . The BS 202 can use the RNTI to identify one or more connected UE (s) 204 in at least one cell. The BS 202 can identify/determine/obtain at least one first RNTI, where each first RNTI may correspond to or be assigned/applied to multiple services. For instance, referring to Table 1A, RNTI 1 and RNTI 2 may respectively be the first RNTI associated with the respective index/example. The RNTI 1 and RNTI 2 can correspond to multiple services (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH1, and PDSCH2) . In another example, referring to Table 1B, RNTI 1, RNTI 2, and RNTI 3 can correspond to multiple services (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH1, PDSCH2, PDSCH3, etc. ) .

In some cases, if the first RNTI is or corresponds to a new RNTI (e.g., new RNTI may include RNTI A, RNTI B, etc. ) , multiple existing RNTIs may be associated with different services. For instance, existing/current RNTIs can include at least RNTI 1, RNTI 2, RNTI 3, etc. In Table 1A, since RNTI A (e.g., new RNTI) is the first RNTI, the services of PDSCH1 and/or PDSCH2 can use (e.g., be scrambled with) one or more existing RNTI. In this example, PDSCH1 can correspond to RNTI 1, and PDSCH2 can correspond to RNTI 2. Other examples can be seen in index 4-10 of Table 1B.

Index	PDCCH	PDSCH1	PDSCH2
1	RNTI 1	RNTI 1	RNTI 1
2	RNTI 2	RNTI 2	RNTI 2
3	RNTI A	RNTI 1	RNTI 2

Table 1A

Index	PDCCH	PDSCH1	PDSCH2	PDSCH3
1	RNTI 1	RNTI 1	RNTI 1	RNTI 1
2	RNTI 2	RNTI 2	RNTI 2	RNTI 2
3	RNTI 3	RNTI 3	RNTI 3	RNTI 3
4	RNTI A	1	1	2
5	RNTI B	1	1	3

6	RNTI C	1	2	2
7	RNTI D	1	2	3
8	RNTI E	1	3	3
9	RNTI F	2	2	3
10	RNTI G	2	3	3

Table 1B

Example Method 3 of Implementation 4

In some implementations, a first field (e.g., indicated in the DCI from PDCCH) can be predefined via a specification for the UE 204 to determine the scheduling information. For example, in Table 2A, the RNTI (e.g., RNTI 1, RNTI 2, RNTI A, etc. ) of a scheduling DCI/PDCCH may be represented using a bit. For instance, using 1 bit, a value of 1 can represent RNTI A (e.g., new RNTI) . A value of 0 may indicate/represent that the scheduled transmissions (e.g., PDSCH1 and/or PDSCH2) are subject to the same RNTI used to scramble the PDCCH/DCI (e.g., in row index 1 or 2) . In Table 2B, three bits may be set. For instance, 3-bits of 000 (e.g., for row index 1, 2, or 3) can mean/indicate/represent that the same RNTI used to scramble the PDCCH/DCI is used/applied to the services (e.g., PDSCH1, PDSCH2, PDSCH3) . In further example, other seven states (e.g., 001, 010, …110, and/or 111) can correspond to RNTI A-G, respectively being used to scramble the PDCCH/DCI, such that existing RNTI (s) (which are not RNTI A-G) are applied to the services.

Table 2A

Index	PDCCH	PDSCH1	PDSCH2	PDSCH3
1	RNTI 1	RNTI 1	RNTI 1	RNTI 1
2	RNTI 2	RNTI 2	RNTI 2	RNTI 2

3	RNTI 3	RNTI 3	RNTI 3	RNTI 3
4	RNTI A	1	1	2
5	RNTI B	1	1	3
6	RNTI C	1	2	2
7	RNTI D	1	2	3
8	RNTI E	1	3	3
9	RNTI F	2	2	3
10	RNTI G	2	3	3

Table 2B

E. Implementation 5: Method for Ensuring UE with Different Service Requirements can Correctly Feedback

The BS 202 can determine/use one or more methods, techniques, features, or functions discussed herein to ensure that the UEs 204 with different service requirements can correctly feedback or respond to the BS 202 responsive to receiving the DCI, scheduled CC, etc. In some implementations, the BS 202 can send a group common PDCCH (e.g., common DCI) to schedule services (e.g., PDSCH, PUSCH, etc. ) for the UEs 204 with different service requirements. One PDCCH from the BS 202 can schedule at least two PDSCHs on two CCs. For ensuring that the UE 204 can feedback correctly, the BS 202 can perform one or more of at least the techniques discussed herein.

Example Method 1 of Implementation 5

The UE 204 can feedback/provide/transmit the services of interest (e.g., responding with the service for communication with the BS 202) . Service of interest can represent or indicate the services which will be used for communication between the UE 204 and the BS 202, services that are supported by the UE 204, etc. The UE 204 may not feedback or provide an indication of any service that the UE 204 will not be used for communication. Services not of interest can include services not supported by the UE 204, services that will not be used for communication between the UE 204 and the BS 202, etc. Services of interest (e.g., and not of interest) may be predefined on the UE 204, indicated by the BS 202, etc.

Example Method 2 of Implementation 5

The UE 204 can feedback all services (e.g., services of interest and services not interested) in a return acknowledgment (ACK) message. For instance, in response to receiving a message (e.g., DCI or one or more services) from the BS 202, the UE 204 can transmit an ACK message as feedback/response to the BS 202. The ACK message can include an indication of services of interest and services not of interest. Hence, the BS 202 can use a single DCI for scheduling multiple UEs 204.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method 600 for cross-carrier scheduling. The method 600 can be implemented using any of the components and devices detailed herein in conjunction with FIGs. 1–5. In overview, the method 600 can include a wireless communication node sending a message to a wireless communication device (602) . The method 600 can include the wireless communication device receiving the message from the wireless communication node (604) . The method 600 can include the wireless communication device/wireless communication node communicating signalings with the wireless communication node/wireless communication device (606) .

Referring to operation (602) , the wireless communication node (e.g., BS or gNB) can send a message to the wireless communication device (e.g., UE) . Referring to operation (604) , the wireless communication device can receive the message from the wireless communication node. The message can include an indication of various scheduled components carriers (CCs) . The message can include, correspond to, or be a part of DCI signaling.

Referring to operation (606) , the wireless communication device can communicate (e.g., receive and/or transmit) signalings with the wireless communication node. The signalings can be in various scheduled CCs. The signalings can include, correspond to, or be a part of at least one of one or more PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs.

In some implementations, a maximum number of the scheduled CCs may be predefined/predetermined/preconfigured/indicated or based on a capability of the wireless communication device. The capability of the wireless communication device (e.g., UE capability) can include or correspond to the hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software support and/or performance, for example. The capability of the wireless communication device or support may be factory configured (e.g., based on the specification of the wireless communication device) . In some cases, each of the scheduled CCs may include one of the various signalings in a time duration. The time duration may include at least one slot, at least one mini-slot, a frame, or half a frame, etc. In some cases, each slot (e.g., time slot within a time domain) may include multiple frames. In some other cases, the time slot may be represented by one or more frames, and vice versa.

In some implementations, the indication can include m DCI fields, where m may be an integer value. In some cases, each of the m DCI fields can include or be associated with

bits (e.g., rounded to next highest integer) . For instance,

represents the value of log ₂m rounded to the next highest integer. In some cases, each of the m DCI fields may indicate a respective scheduled CC of a plurality of CCs. In some cases, the m DCI fields can represent the number of or a subset of scheduled CCs. In some implementations, the DCI field may include

bits, where m may be an integer value. In some cases, the DCI field may indicate/identify various CCs that are scheduled. In some cases, each of the scheduled CC may correspond to a respective code. The respective code can be configured by the wireless communication node. In some cases, each decimal value of the DCI field can correspond to a respective scheduled CC. For instance, individual decimal values can represent whether the CC is scheduled (e.g., 1 representing scheduled and 0 representing not scheduled, or vice versa) .

In some implementations, the message can include a first field that is configured or predefined/predetermined/arranged for at least one CC group. In some cases, the first field can indicate one or more of the at least one CC group for each of the scheduled CCs. For instance, each scheduled CC can be in one or more CC groups. In some cases, the indication of the at least one CC group can include a DCI field. In some implementations, some or all scheduling CCs in a first CC group can schedule CCs in one or more other CC groups (e.g., scheduling CCs in lowest CC group index, highest CC group index, among other indexes) . In some cases, the DCI field can indicate some or all scheduled CCs in a CC group, such as by indicating/identifying that specific CC group. For instance, based on a predefined/preconfigured/preset identification of certain CCs within a certain CC group, the DCI field indicating that certain CC group would indicate that those certain CCs within that group (or all of the scheduled CCs in that group) are scheduled CCs. The subset of CCs may be prearranged or preconfigured, such as by the administrator/operator of the wireless communication node or in the DCI.

In some implementations, the message can include a first field that is configured or predefined for at least one CC group. In some cases, the first field can indicate one or more of the at least one CC group for each of the various scheduled CCs. In some cases, the indication can include a DCI field. In some cases, some or all scheduling CCs in a first CC group can schedule CCs in one or more other CC groups. In some cases, the DCI field can include at least one bitmap with bits that each indicates whether a respective CC in a CC group is a scheduled CC. For instance, a bit of 1 can indicate a scheduled CC, a bit of 0 can indicate a non-scheduled CC, or vice versa.

In some implementations, the indication can include a DCI field having

bits. In this case, m can be an integer value such that a maximum number of PDSCHs and/or PUSCHs that can be scheduled for the wireless communication device is m. For instance, an aggregated number of PDSCHs (e.g., d) and/or PUSCHs (e.g., u) that can be scheduled for the wireless communication device would be smaller than or equal to m, based on d+u≤m. In some cases, the DCI field can include a single field to indicate the scheduled CCs, or can include multiple fields, each indicating a respective one of the scheduled CCs.

In some implementations, the indication can include a DCI field having

bits and a second DCI field having

bits (e.g., the size of

and

may be predefined or reused by the specification) . The d can represent or correspond to a maximum number of PDSCHs that can be scheduled for the wireless communication device. The u can represent or correspond to a maximum number of PUSCHs that can be scheduled for the wireless communication device. In some cases, the first DCI field can include a single field to indicate various scheduled downlink CCs or include multiple fields, each indicating a respective one of the scheduled downlink CCs. In some cases, the second DCI field can include a single field to indicate scheduled uplink CCs or include multiple fields, each indicating a respective one of the scheduled uplink CCs.

In some implementations, the wireless communication device can receive information about/regarding the indication (e.g., of the various scheduled CCs) from the wireless communication node. The indication can include, correspond to, or be a part of the information regarding the shared DCI field (s) and/or independent DCI field (s) . The information can be included in a first field that is predefined, or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node. The information may be based on: a standard, an administrator configuration, signaling from the wireless communication node, etc. In some cases, the information can be predefined/preconfigured/programmed on the wireless communication device at time of production or activation, for example. In some cases, the information can be semi-statically configured via at least one of MAC CE, or RRC signaling.

In some cases, the first field can indicate at least a first CC group. In some implementations, the information can indicate that all CCs in the first CC group are indicated by a DCI field corresponding to a CC in the first CC group. For instance, some of or all the CCs in the first CC group may use a shared indication (e.g., shared DCI) . The shared indication can be used to indicate all other CCs in the same CC group. Other CCs in the other CC groups may have (or be indicated by) their own DCI field. One DCI field may be for all CCs in a specific CC group or at least a subset of the CCs in the CC group. In some cases, all CC groups may be associated with or indicated by individual/corresponding DCI fields.

In some implementations, the wireless communication device can receive information about/regarding the indication from the wireless communication node. The information may be included in a first field that can be predefined or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node. In some cases, the information may be dynamically configured by the wireless communication node. In some cases, the first field can indicate multiple CCs. The first field can be predefined or configured to determine/identify at least two CCs (e.g., regardless of their CC group) . In some cases, all CCs indicated by the first field can be indicated by a DCI field (e.g., shared indication or shared DCI field) corresponding to one of the various CCs indicated by the first field.

In some implementations, the wireless communication device can receive information about the indication (e.g., information about shared DCI field (s) and/or independent DCI field (s) ) from the wireless communication node. In some cases, the information may be included in a first field that is predefined, semi-statically (e.g., MAC CE and/or RRC) configured by the wireless communication node, or dynamically indicated via DCI signaling. In some cases, the first field can include a bitmap that indicates whether all or part of various DCI fields are shared or independent between CCs. In some cases, each bit of the bitmap may correspond to a respective one of the DCI fields. For instance, individual bits can include a value that indicates whether the respective one of the DCI fields is shared or independent between CCs. For instance, a bit value of 1 can indicate that the DCI field is shared, a bit value of 0 can indicate that the DCI field is not shared, or vice versa. In some other cases, the DCI fields may be predefined, or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node.

In some implementations, the wireless communication device can receive information about the indication from the wireless communication node. The information may be included in a first field that is predefined, semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node, or dynamically indicated in DCI. The first field can include a bit having a value that indicates whether a DCI field is shared between CCs or is specific to a CC. For instance, a bit value of 1 can indicate that the DCI field is shared, a bit value of 0 can indicate that the DCI field is specific to a CC, or vice versa. The DCI field can be predefined or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node.

In some implementations, the wireless communication device may determine an allocated slot in a scheduled CC for a PDSCH and/or a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH. In some cases, the allocated slot can be determined/identified as a first slot or last slot of the scheduled CC, that overlaps with an allocated slot in a scheduling CC. In some cases, the allocated slot can include a specific slot (or multiple slots or frames) overlapping with the allocated slot in the scheduling CC. The overlapping can occur in the time domain (e.g., sharing at least some time duration) . The scheduling and scheduled slot may be in different CCs (frequency bands) . For instance, at least two slots in a scheduled CC may overlap with the allocated slot for the scheduling CC. The wireless communication device can determine the first slot or the last slot (e.g., a second slot) as the allocated slot for the scheduled CC. In some cases, there may be more than two slots overlapping with the allocated slot in the scheduling CC. In such cases, the wireless communication device can determine any one of the first slot, the last slot, or a slot between the first and last slots as the allocated slot for scheduled CC. In some cases, the allocated slot can be a (K + N) ^th slot, where N is an integer value counted from a slot satisfying a defined timeline (e.g., based on at least the wireless communication device’s capability of processing the DCI, among others) , and K is a slot offset.

In some implementations, PDSCHs of one cell may only correspond to a group of wireless communication devices. The same GRNTI may be used for different groups of wireless communication devices to schedule multiple services (e.g., PUSCH and/or PDSCH) . In some implementations, if an RNTI used for PDCCH scrambling (e.g., an existing RNTI) is a first RNTI (e.g., RNTI 1, RNTI 2, RNTI 3, etc. ) , the first RNTI can be used for corresponding services (e.g., PDSCH1, PDSCH2, PDSCH3, etc. ) . In some cases, if the RNTI used for the PDCCH scrambling is not a first RNTI (e.g., a new RNTI or non-existing RNTI) , one or more first RNTIs are used for the corresponding services. In this case, for example, other RNTIs (that are different from the RNTI used for PCCH scrambling) , such as existing RNTIs, can be used to schedule multiple services.

In some implementations, if a defined field indicates that an RNTI used for PDCCH scrambling is a first RNTI (e.g., an existing RNTI as the first RNTI) , the first RNTI can be used for the corresponding services. In some cases, if the defined field indicates that the RNTI used for the PDCCH scrambling is not a first RNTI (e.g., is a new RNTI rather than an existing RNTI) , one or more first RNTIs (e.g., existing RNTIs such as RNTI 1, RNTI 2, etc. ) may be used for the corresponding services.

While various embodiments of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams may depict an example architectural or configuration, which are provided to enable persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand example features and functions of the present solution. Such persons would understand, however, that the solution is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations, but can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Additionally, as would be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, one or more features of one embodiment can be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described illustrative embodiments.

It is also understood that any reference to an element herein using a designation such as "first, " "second, " and so forth does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations can be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elements does not mean that only two elements can be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

Additionally, a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits and symbols, for example, which may be referenced in the above description can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

A person of ordinary skill in the art would further appreciate that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, methods and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., a digital implementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two) , firmware, various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions (which can be referred to herein, for convenience, as "software" or a "software module) , or any combination of these techniques. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware or software, or a combination of these techniques, depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions do not cause a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that various illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components and circuits described herein can be implemented within or performed by an integrated circuit (IC) that can include a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logical blocks, modules, and circuits can further include antennas and/or transceivers to communicate with various components within the network or within the device. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functions described herein.

If implemented in software, the functions can be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that can be enabled to transfer a computer program or code from one place to another. A storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

In this document, the term "module" as used herein, refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. Additionally, for purpose of discussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules; however, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions according embodiments of the present solution.

Additionally, memory or other storage, as well as communication components, may be employed in embodiments of the present solution. It will be appreciated that, for clarity purposes, the above description has described embodiments of the present solution with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements or domains may be used without detracting from the present solution. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processing logic elements, or controllers, may be performed by the same processing logic element, or controller. Hence, references to specific functional units are only references to a suitable means for providing the described functionality, rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as recited in the claims below.

Claims

A method comprising:

receiving, by a wireless communication device from a wireless communication node, a message including an indication of a plurality of scheduled component carriers (CCs) ; and

communicating, by the wireless communication device with the wireless communication node, a plurality of signalings in the plurality of scheduled CCs.
The method of claim 1, wherein the message comprises downlink control information (DCI) .
The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of signaling comprises at least one of: one or more physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) , or one or more physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) .
The method of claim 1, wherein a maximum number of the scheduled CCs is predefined or based on a capability of the wireless communication device.
The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of scheduled CCs includes one of the plurality of signalings in a time duration, the time duration comprising at least one slot, at least one mini-slot, a frame, or half a frame.
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the indication comprises m downlink control information (DCI) fields, wherein m is an integer value,

each of the m DCI fields has
bits, or

each of the m DCI fields indicates a respective scheduled CC of the plurality of CCs.
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the indication comprises a downlink control information (DCI) field having
bits, wherein m is an integer value,

the DCI field indicates the plurality of CCs,

each of the scheduled CC corresponding to a respective code, the respective code configured by the wireless communication node, or

each decimal value of the DCI field corresponds to a respective scheduled CC.
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the message comprises a first field that is configured or predefined for at least one CC group,

the first field indicates one or more of the at least one CC group for each of the plurality of scheduled CCs,

the indication comprises a downlink control information (DCI) field,

some or all scheduling CCs in a first CC group can schedule CCs in one or more other CC groups, or

the DCI field can indicate some or all scheduled CCs in a CC group, by indicating the CC group.
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the message comprises a first field that is configured or predefined for at least one CC group,

the first field indicates one or more of the at least one CC group for each of the plurality of scheduled CCs,

the indication comprises a downlink control information (DCI) field,

some or all scheduling CCs in a first CC group can schedule CCs in one or more other CC groups, or

the DCI field includes at least one bitmap with bits that each indicates whether a respective CC in a CC group is a scheduled CC.
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the indication comprises a downlink control information (DCI) field having
bits, wherein m is an integer value such that a maximum number of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) and/or physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) that can be scheduled for the wireless communication device is m, or

the DCI field can comprise a single field to indicate the plurality of scheduled CCs, or comprise a plurality of fields each indicating a respective one of the plurality of scheduled CCs.
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

the indication comprises a first downlink control information (DCI) field having
bits and a second DCI field having
bits, wherein d is a maximum number of physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) that can be scheduled for the wireless communication device, and u is a maximum number of physical uplink shared channels (PUSCHs) that can be scheduled for the wireless communication device,

the first DCI field can comprise a single field to indicate a plurality of scheduled downlink CCs, or comprise a plurality of fields each indicating a respective one of the plurality of scheduled downlink CCs, or

the second DCI field can comprise a single field to indicate a plurality of scheduled uplink CCs, or comprise a plurality of fields each indicating a respective one of the plurality of scheduled uplink CCs.
The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving, by the wireless communication device from the wireless communication node, information about the indication, wherein at least one of:

the information is included in a first field that is predefined, or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node,

the first field indicates at least a first CC group, or

the information indicates that all CCs in the first CC group are indicated by a DCI field corresponding to a CC in the first CC group.
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

receiving, by the wireless communication device from the wireless communication node, information about the indication, wherein at least one of:

the information is included in a first field that is predefined, or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node,

the first field indicates a plurality of CCs, or

all CCs indicated by the first field are indicated by a downlink control information (DCI) field corresponding to one of the plurality of CCs indicated by the first field.
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

receiving, by the wireless communication device from the wireless communication node, information about the indication, wherein at least one of:

the information is included in a first field that is predefined, semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node, or dynamically indicated in downlink control information (DCI) ,

the first field includes a bitmap that indicates whether all or part of a plurality of DCI fields are shared or independent between CCs,

each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a respective one of the DCI fields, and having a value that indicates whether the respective one of the DCI fields is shared or independent between CCs, or

the plurality of DCI fields are predefined, or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node.
The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of:

receiving, by the wireless communication device from the wireless communication node, information about the indication, wherein at least one of:

the information is included in a first field that is predefined, semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node, or dynamically indicated in downlink control information (DCI) ,

the first field includes a bit having a value that indicates whether a DCI field is shared between CCs or is specific to a CC, or

the DCI field is predefined, or semi-statically configured by the wireless communication node.
The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining, by the wireless communication device, an allocated slot in a scheduled CC for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) .
The method of claim 16, wherein the allocated slot is determined as a first slot or last slot of the scheduled CC, that overlaps with an allocated slot in a scheduling CC.
The method of claim 16, wherein the allocated slot is a (K + N) th slot, where N is an integer value counted from a slot satisfying a defined timeline, and K is a slot offset.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

physical downlink shared channels (PDSCHs) of one cell can only correspond to a group of wireless communication devices, and

a same GERAN radio network temporary identifier (GRNTI) is used for different groups of wireless communication devices to schedule multiple services.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

if a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) used for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scrambling is a first RNTI, the first RNTI is used for corresponding services, and

if the RNTI used for the PDCCH scrambling is not a first RNTI, one or more first RNTIs are used for the corresponding services.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

if a defined field indicates that a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) used for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) scrambling is a first RNTI, the first RNTI is used for corresponding services, and

if the defined field indicates that the RNTI used for the PDCCH scrambling is not a first RNTI, one or more first RNTIs are used for the corresponding services.
A method comprising:

sending, by a wireless communication node to a wireless communication device, a message including an indication of a plurality of scheduled component carriers (CCs) ; and

communicating, by the wireless communication node with the wireless communication device, a plurality of signalings in the plurality of scheduled CCs.
A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions, which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method of any one of claims 1-22.
An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1-22.