DETAILED ACTION
This action is response to application number 18/756,445, dated on 06/27/2024.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated or alternatively unpatentable over Takeda et al. (US 2022/0039141 A1).
Claim 1, Takeda discloses a method for transmitting control information, applied to a terminal device (UE; Figs. 1,2, 5, el. 120), the method comprising:
acquiring configuration information, wherein the configuration information is used for configuring at least one available downlink control information (DCI) format for the terminal device (UE acquiring configuration information regarding DCI formats CSS DCI 0-0, CSS DCI 1-0, USS DCI 0-0, USS DCI 0-1, USS DCI 1-1, USS DCI 0-2, USS DCI 1-2, GC-PDCCH, Multi-CC DCI as shown in Figs. 3A, 3B and Fig. 6A, 6B; As shown in FIG. 3A, and by step 305, a UE may determine a first size, Size A, for a common search space (CSS) DCI 0_0 and for a CSS DCI 1_0 (if CSS DCI 0_0 or CSS DCI 1_0 are configured, respectively). In some cases, the UE may align the CSS DCI 0_0 to a size of the CSS DCI 1_0. For example, when the CSS DCI 0_0 has a larger size than the CSS DCI 1_0, the UE may add a set of zero padding bits to the CSS DCI 0_0 until the payload size is equal to that of the DCI 10. In contrast, if the CSS DCI 00 has a smaller size than the CSS DCI 10 prior to truncation, the UE may reduce the bitwidth of the frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) field in the DCI 0_0 by truncating the first few most significant bits such that the size of DCI 0_0 equals to the size of the DCI 1_0; ¶52; As further shown in FIG. 3A, and by step 310, the UE may determine a second size, Size B, for a UE-specific search space (USS) DCI 0_0 and a USS DCI 1_0 (if USS DCI 0_0 or USS DCI 1_0 are configured, respectively). In some cases, the UE may align the USS DCI 0_0 and the USS DCI 1_0 to a common size by adding padding bits to a smaller one of the USS DCI 0_0 and the USS DCI 1_0; ¶53; ¶56; As further shown in FIG. 3B, and by step 330, the UE may perform a first set of size alignment actions. For example, the UE may maintain CSS DCI 0_0 and CSS DCI 1_0 (if configured) at Size A; the UE may align USS DCI 0_0 and/or USS DCI 1_0 (if configured) to Size A (e.g., using padding bits or truncating existing bits); the UE may remove the added bit in USS DCI 0_1 and USS DCI 1_1 (if configured) that was added with regard to step 315, and the UE may maintain a size of USS DCI 0_2 and USS DCI 1_2 (if configured); ¶57), and the at least one available downlink control information (DCI) format comprises a first downlink control information format for simultaneously scheduling a plurality of carriers and monitoring any of the at least one downlink control information format based on the configuration information (Fig. 4, Fig. 5A and 5B show the DCI comprising the DCI format simultaneously scheduling a plurality of carriers for PDSCH and/or PUSCH, Multi-CC DCI format; Fig. 6A; Fig. 6B; As shown in FIG. 4, and by reference number 410, a first example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting a DCI with a particular format on the SCell to schedule a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communication or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) communication on the P(S)Cell. As shown by reference number 420, a second example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting the DCI on the SCell to schedule a first PDSCH communication on the SCell and a second PDSCH on the P(S)Cell. The second example of cross-carrier scheduling may be a joint scheduling scenario (e.g., a scenario in which both cross-carrier scheduling and self-scheduling occur); ¶62; In some communications systems, such as 5G, a channel may be divided into a plurality of carriers, which may also be termed “component carriers” or “CCs”. For example, a secondary cell may include a first carrier and a second carrier, which may each be used for uplink and/or downlink communication. Similarly, a primary cell may have one or more carriers for uplink and/or downlink communication. In some cases, a component carrier, which may be a subdivision of a channel, may include multiple carriers, which may be subdivisions of the component carrier. In some cases, a cell (e.g., a serving cell) may have multiple carriers in multiple frequencies; ¶64; However, as described above, a UE may have one or more DCI size thresholds that are to be satisfied for a channel. If the UE were to attempt to monitor for more than a threshold quantity of DCI sizes, the UE may use excess processing resources, excess power resources, and/or the like. With a plurality of carriers in a cell, there may be additional DCI sizes that the UE may be configured to monitor for, but the aforementioned DCI size alignment procedures may not be applicable to multiple carrier (multi-carrier or multi-CC) scenarios. For example, multi-carrier scenarios may introduce a multi-carrier DCI that may be associated with a different DCI size than other DCI formats, such as DCIs 0_0/1_0, 0_2/1_2, and/or the like; ¶65; As shown in FIG. 6A, and by example 600, UE 120 may be configured to monitor DCIs for a first scheduled cell and a second scheduled cell. For example, UE 120 may be configured to monitor DCIs 0_0/1_0, 0_2/1_2, 0_1/1_1, a group-common (GC) physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and/or a multi-carrier DCI. In this case, after performing step 340 of FIG. 3B, UE 120 may determine whether a DCI size for the multi-carrier DCI is larger than a size of DCIs 0_1/1_1 and, if so, append bits to DCIs 0_1/1_1 to align a size of DCIs 0_1/1_1 to a size of the multi-carrier DCI. In contrast, as shown in example 610, if a DCI size for the multi-carrier DCI is smaller than a size of DCIs 0_1/1_1, UE 120 may append bits to the multi-carrier DCI to align a size of the multi-carrier DCI to a size of DCIs 0_1/1_1. In some aspects, rather than performing an alignment action for the multi-carrier DCI after step 340, UE 120 may perform an alignment action for the multi-carrier DCI before step 340. In this case, rather than aligning the multi-carrier DCI to DCIs 0_1/1_1, as described above, UE 120 may align the multi-carrier DCI to DCIs 0_2/1_2 (e.g., by appending bits to DCIs 0_2/1_2 or to the multi-carrier DCI to achieve size alignment); ¶77).
Claims 2, 10, 18, Takeda discloses wherein the first downlink control information format is used for scheduling a first carrier set in a single scheduling, wherein the first carrier set comprises at least two carriers comprising a first carrier; the configuration information comprises first configuration information, wherein the first configuration information is used for configuring the first downlink control information format and configuring a resource occupied by the first downlink control information format; and the first downlink control information format comprises a first uplink scheduling format for scheduling Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission and/or a first downlink scheduling format for scheduling Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission (Fig. 4, Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B show the DCI comprising the DCI format simultaneously scheduling a plurality of carriers for PDSCH and/or PUSCH, Multi-CC DCI format; Fig. 6A; Fig. 6B; As shown in FIG. 4, and by reference number 410, a first example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting a DCI with a particular format on the SCell to schedule a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communication or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) communication on the P(S)Cell. As shown by reference number 420, a second example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting the DCI on the SCell to schedule a first PDSCH communication on the SCell and a second PDSCH on the P(S)Cell. The second example of cross-carrier scheduling may be a joint scheduling scenario (e.g., a scenario in which both cross-carrier scheduling and self-scheduling occur); ¶62; In some communications systems, such as 5G, a channel may be divided into a plurality of carriers, which may also be termed “component carriers” or “CCs”. For example, a secondary cell may include a first carrier and a second carrier, which may each be used for uplink and/or downlink communication. Similarly, a primary cell may have one or more carriers for uplink and/or downlink communication. In some cases, a component carrier, which may be a subdivision of a channel, may include multiple carriers, which may be subdivisions of the component carrier. In some cases, a cell (e.g., a serving cell) may have multiple carriers in multiple frequencies; ¶64; However, as described above, a UE may have one or more DCI size thresholds that are to be satisfied for a channel. If the UE were to attempt to monitor for more than a threshold quantity of DCI sizes, the UE may use excess processing resources, excess power resources, and/or the like. With a plurality of carriers in a cell, there may be additional DCI sizes that the UE may be configured to monitor for, but the aforementioned DCI size alignment procedures may not be applicable to multiple carrier (multi-carrier or multi-CC) scenarios. For example, multi-carrier scenarios may introduce a multi-carrier DCI that may be associated with a different DCI size than other DCI formats, such as DCIs 0_0/1_0, 0_2/1_2, and/or the like; ¶65; As further shown in FIG. 5A, and by reference number 540, UE 120 may monitor for a set of DCIs. For example, UE 120 may monitor CC1 for a DCI scheduling a PDSCH or PUSCH in CC1 and CC2; ¶74; configuring the DCI formats and resources of the DCI formats; In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, monitoring for the set of DCIs comprises receiving a first DCI with a first format and with a particular size, receiving a second DCI with a second format and the particular size, and distinguishing between the first format and the second format based at least in part on at least one of respective search spaces, respective control resource sets, or respective monitoring occasions; ¶90).
Claims 3, 11, Takeda discloses if a number of sizes of downlink control information formats corresponding to a third carrier determined based on the configuration information exceeds a first threshold value, performing a size alignment operation on the downlink control information formats corresponding to the third carrier, the third carrier being one of carriers configured by a network device for the terminal device (performing size alignment operations on the DCI formats when the number of sizes of the DCI formats exceeding a threshold; In some aspects, a UE (e.g., the UE 120) includes means for determining, for a plurality of carriers in a cross-carrier scheduling scenario, whether a quantity of DCI sizes for a set of DCIs, that the UE monitors, satisfies a threshold, means for selectively performing a DCI size alignment procedure to adjust a DCI size configuration based at least in part on whether the quantity of DCI sizes satisfies the threshold, or means for monitoring for the set of DCIs based at least in part on the DCI size configuration, among other examples. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of UE 120 described in connection with FIG. 2, such as controller/processor 280, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, or the like; ¶48; As shown in FIG. 3B, and by step 325, the UE may determine whether a size threshold is satisfied. For example, based at least in part on which DCIs are configured for the UE, the UE may determine a quantity of DCI sizes. In other words, if CSS DCI 0_0 (Size A), CSS DCI 1_0 (Size A), USS DCI 0_1 (Size C), and USS DCI 0_2 (Size E) are configured, then there are three DCI sizes. In contrast, if CSS DCI 0_0 (Size A), USS DCI 0_0 (Size B), USS DCI 0_1 (Size C), and USS DCI 0_2 (Size E) are configured, then there are four DCI sizes. Based at least in part on determining the quantity of DCI sizes, the UE may determine whether there are more than 4 DCI sizes or more than 3 DCI sizes with a cell-specific radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) configured. If neither DCI size threshold is satisfied, then the UE may proceed without performing further steps of DCI size alignment. However, if either DCI size threshold is satisfied, then the UE may perform further steps of DCI size alignment, as described herein with regard to FIG. 3B and steps 330-340; ¶56; As further shown in FIG. 3B, and by step 340, the UE may perform a third set of alignment actions. For example, the UE may maintain CSS DCI 0_0, CSS DCI 1_0, USS DCI 0_0, USS DCI 1_0, USS DCI 0_2, and USS DCI 1_2 (if configured); and may align USS DCI 0_1 with USS DCI 1_1 (if configured) by adding padding bits to one or the other to cause USS DCI 0_1 and USS DCI 1_1 to have a common size (e.g., Size C or Size D). In some cases, the UE may repeat the check of step 325 after each of steps 330, 335, and 340. In other cases, the UE may perform a multiple of steps 330, 335, and/or 340 before repeating the check of step 325. After performing the size alignment procedure, the UE ensures that the DCI size thresholds are satisfied, which enables the UE to successfully monitor for the configured DCIs; ¶59; ¶65; Some aspects described herein provide for DCI size alignment in multi-carrier scenarios. For example, a UE may determine whether a DCI size threshold is satisfied for each scheduled cell and may perform DCI size alignment on different DCI formats, a multi-carrier DCI, and/or the like. In this way, the UE may ensure that a quantity of DCI sizes of DCI formats for which the UE is configured to monitor does not exceed the DCI size threshold, thereby avoiding excessive use of processing resources, excessive use of power resources, and/or the like; ¶66; ¶69; As shown in FIG. 6B, and by example 620, UE 120 may perform multiple alignment actions to achieve size alignment when UE 120 is configured to monitor for a multi-carrier DCI. For example, after performing step 340 of FIG. 3B, UE 120 may, as shown by reference number 622, add padding bits to the multi-carrier DCI to align the multi-carrier DCI to DCI 0_1/1_1 for the first scheduled cell. However, in this case, DCI 0_1/1_1 has a first size for the first scheduled cell and a second size for the second scheduled cell, so a quantity of DCI sizes still exceeds a threshold. In this case, UE 120 may, as shown by reference number 624, add padding bits to DCI 0_1/1_1 for the second scheduled cell to align DCI 0_1/1_1 to the multi-carrier DCI; ¶78).
Claims 4, 12, Takeda discloses wherein the size alignment operation comprises: adding one or more padding bits to at least one of the downlink control information formats, or performing a truncation operation on at least one of the downlink control information formats (size alignment operation comprising adding padding bits and/or performing a truncation; As shown in FIG. 3A, and by step 305, a UE may determine a first size, Size A, for a common search space (CSS) DCI 0_0 and for a CSS DCI 1_0 (if CSS DCI 0_0 or CSS DCI 1_0 are configured, respectively). In some cases, the UE may align the CSS DCI 0_0 to a size of the CSS DCI 1_0. For example, when the CSS DCI 0_0 has a larger size than the CSS DCI 1_0, the UE may add a set of zero padding bits to the CSS DCI 0_0 until the payload size is equal to that of the DCI 10. In contrast, if the CSS DCI 00 has a smaller size than the CSS DCI 10 prior to truncation, the UE may reduce the bitwidth of the frequency domain resource assignment (FDRA) field in the DCI 0_0 by truncating the first few most significant bits such that the size of DCI 0_0 equals to the size of the DCI 1_0; ¶52; As further shown in FIG. 3A, and by step 310, the UE may determine a second size, Size B, for a UE-specific search space (USS) DCI 0_0 and a USS DCI 1_0 (if USS DCI 0_0 or USS DCI 1_0 are configured, respectively). In some cases, the UE may align the USS DCI 0_0 and the USS DCI 1_0 to a common size by adding padding bits to a smaller one of the USS DCI 0_0 and the USS DCI 1_0; ¶53; As further shown in FIG. 3B, and by step 330, the UE may perform a first set of size alignment actions. For example, the UE may maintain CSS DCI 0_0 and CSS DCI 1_0 (if configured) at Size A; the UE may align USS DCI 0_0 and/or USS DCI 1_0 (if configured) to Size A (e.g., using padding bits or truncating existing bits); the UE may remove the added bit in USS DCI 0_1 and USS DCI 1_1 (if configured) that was added with regard to step 315, and the UE may maintain a size of USS DCI 0_2 and USS DCI 1_2 (if configured); ¶57; As shown in FIG. 6A, and by example 600, UE 120 may be configured to monitor DCIs for a first scheduled cell and a second scheduled cell. For example, UE 120 may be configured to monitor DCIs 0_0/1_0, 0_2/1_2, 0_1/1_1, a group-common (GC) physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and/or a multi-carrier DCI. In this case, after performing step 340 of FIG. 3B, UE 120 may determine whether a DCI size for the multi-carrier DCI is larger than a size of DCIs 0_1/1_1 and, if so, append bits to DCIs 0_1/1_1 to align a size of DCIs 0_1/1_1 to a size of the multi-carrier DCI. In contrast, as shown in example 610, if a DCI size for the multi-carrier DCI is smaller than a size of DCIs 0_1/1_1, UE 120 may append bits to the multi-carrier DCI to align a size of the multi-carrier DCI to a size of DCIs 0_1/1_1. In some aspects, rather than performing an alignment action for the multi-carrier DCI after step 340, UE 120 may perform an alignment action for the multi-carrier DCI before step 340. In this case, rather than aligning the multi-carrier DCI to DCIs 0_1/1_1, as described above, UE 120 may align the multi-carrier DCI to DCIs 0_2/1_2 (e.g., by appending bits to DCIs 0_2/1_2 or to the multi-carrier DCI to achieve size alignment); ¶77; As shown in FIG. 6B, and by example 620, UE 120 may perform multiple alignment actions to achieve size alignment when UE 120 is configured to monitor for a multi-carrier DCI. For example, after performing step 340 of FIG. 3B, UE 120 may, as shown by reference number 622, add padding bits to the multi-carrier DCI to align the multi-carrier DCI to DCI 0_1/1_1 for the first scheduled cell. However, in this case, DCI 0_1/1_1 has a first size for the first scheduled cell and a second size for the second scheduled cell, so a quantity of DCI sizes still exceeds a threshold. In this case, UE 120 may, as shown by reference number 624, add padding bits to DCI 0_1/1_1 for the second scheduled cell to align DCI 0_1/1_1 to the multi-carrier DCI; ¶78).
Claims 5, 13, Takeda discloses wherein the third carrier is the first carrier, and the first downlink control information format corresponding to the first carrier comprises a first uplink scheduling format for scheduling Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission and a first downlink scheduling format for scheduling Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission (Fig. 4, Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B show the DCI format comprising scheduling PDSCH and/or PUSCH; Figs. 3A; Figs. 3A; Fig. 6A; Fig. 6B; As shown in FIG. 4, and by reference number 410, a first example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting a DCI with a particular format on the SCell to schedule a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communication or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) communication on the P(S)Cell. As shown by reference number 420, a second example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting the DCI on the SCell to schedule a first PDSCH communication on the SCell and a second PDSCH on the P(S)Cell. The second example of cross-carrier scheduling may be a joint scheduling scenario (e.g., a scenario in which both cross-carrier scheduling and self-scheduling occur); ¶62; In some communications systems, such as 5G, a channel may be divided into a plurality of carriers, which may also be termed “component carriers” or “CCs”. For example, a secondary cell may include a first carrier and a second carrier, which may each be used for uplink and/or downlink communication. Similarly, a primary cell may have one or more carriers for uplink and/or downlink communication. In some cases, a component carrier, which may be a subdivision of a channel, may include multiple carriers, which may be subdivisions of the component carrier. In some cases, a cell (e.g., a serving cell) may have multiple carriers in multiple frequencies; ¶64; However, as described above, a UE may have one or more DCI size thresholds that are to be satisfied for a channel. If the UE were to attempt to monitor for more than a threshold quantity of DCI sizes, the UE may use excess processing resources, excess power resources, and/or the like. With a plurality of carriers in a cell, there may be additional DCI sizes that the UE may be configured to monitor for, but the aforementioned DCI size alignment procedures may not be applicable to multiple carrier (multi-carrier or multi-CC) scenarios. For example, multi-carrier scenarios may introduce a multi-carrier DCI that may be associated with a different DCI size than other DCI formats, such as DCIs 0_0/1_0, 0_2/1_2, and/or the like; ¶65; As further shown in FIG. 5A, and by reference number 540, UE 120 may monitor for a set of DCIs. For example, UE 120 may monitor CC1 for a DCI scheduling a PDSCH or PUSCH in CC1 and CC2; ¶74),
wherein performing the size alignment operation on the downlink control information formats corresponding to the third carrier comprises:
performing the size alignment operation on the first uplink scheduling format and the first downlink scheduling format; and if a number of sizes of the downlink control information formats corresponding to the first carrier exceeds the first threshold value after the size alignment operation, performing a further size alignment operation on other downlink control information formats corresponding to the first carrier (performing the size alignment operation selectively and repeatedly if the number/quantity of sizes of the DCI formats exceeds the first threshold; Figs. 5A, 5B, el. 540; In some aspects, a UE (e.g., the UE 120) includes means for determining, for a plurality of carriers in a cross-carrier scheduling scenario, whether a quantity of DCI sizes for a set of DCIs, that the UE monitors, satisfies a threshold, means for selectively performing a DCI size alignment procedure to adjust a DCI size configuration based at least in part on whether the quantity of DCI sizes satisfies the threshold, or means for monitoring for the set of DCIs based at least in part on the DCI size configuration, among other examples. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of UE 120 described in connection with FIG. 2, such as controller/processor 280, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, or the like; ¶48; As shown in FIG. 3B, and by step 325, the UE may determine whether a size threshold is satisfied. For example, based at least in part on which DCIs are configured for the UE, the UE may determine a quantity of DCI sizes. In other words, if CSS DCI 0_0 (Size A), CSS DCI 1_0 (Size A), USS DCI 0_1 (Size C), and USS DCI 0_2 (Size E) are configured, then there are three DCI sizes. In contrast, if CSS DCI 0_0 (Size A), USS DCI 0_0 (Size B), USS DCI 0_1 (Size C), and USS DCI 0_2 (Size E) are configured, then there are four DCI sizes. Based at least in part on determining the quantity of DCI sizes, the UE may determine whether there are more than 4 DCI sizes or more than 3 DCI sizes with a cell-specific radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) configured. If neither DCI size threshold is satisfied, then the UE may proceed without performing further steps of DCI size alignment. However, if either DCI size threshold is satisfied, then the UE may perform further steps of DCI size alignment, as described herein with regard to FIG. 3B and steps 330-340; ¶56; As further shown in FIG. 3B, and by step 340, the UE may perform a third set of alignment actions. For example, the UE may maintain CSS DCI 0_0, CSS DCI 1_0, USS DCI 0_0, USS DCI 1_0, USS DCI 0_2, and USS DCI 1_2 (if configured); and may align USS DCI 0_1 with USS DCI 1_1 (if configured) by adding padding bits to one or the other to cause USS DCI 0_1 and USS DCI 1_1 to have a common size (e.g., Size C or Size D). In some cases, the UE may repeat the check of step 325 after each of steps 330, 335, and 340. In other cases, the UE may perform a multiple of steps 330, 335, and/or 340 before repeating the check of step 325. After performing the size alignment procedure, the UE ensures that the DCI size thresholds are satisfied, which enables the UE to successfully monitor for the configured DCIs; ¶59; ¶65; Some aspects described herein provide for DCI size alignment in multi-carrier scenarios. For example, a UE may determine whether a DCI size threshold is satisfied for each scheduled cell and may perform DCI size alignment on different DCI formats, a multi-carrier DCI, and/or the like. In this way, the UE may ensure that a quantity of DCI sizes of DCI formats for which the UE is configured to monitor does not exceed the DCI size threshold, thereby avoiding excessive use of processing resources, excessive use of power resources, and/or the like; ¶66; ¶69; As further shown in FIG. 5A, and by reference number 530, UE 120 may selectively perform DCI size alignment. For example, UE 120 may perform DCI size alignment on a downlink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling or an uplink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling, as described in more detail with regard to FIGS. 6A and 6B. In some aspects, UE 120 may perform DCI size alignment on a multi-carrier DCI. For example, UE 120 may be configured with the DCI size alignment procedure of FIGS. 3A and 3B, but with alignment actions for DCIs 0_2 and 1_2 replaced with a downlink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling and an uplink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling, respectively. In this case, rather than aligning DCIs 0_2 and 1_2 to the same size (e.g., Size E or Size F), UE 120 may align the downlink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling and the uplink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling to the same size (e.g., Size E or Size F). In this case, UE 120 may not be able to monitor DCIs 0_0/0_1, 0_1/1_0, 0_2/1_2, and the downlink and uplink DCIs for multi-carrier scheduling because DCIs 0_0/0_1, 0_1/1_0, and 0_2/1_2 already satisfy the requirement of having no more than 3 DCIs with a C-RNTI configured (but adding a multi-carrier DCI would exceed the requirement). As a result, in this case, base station 110 may configure UE 120, using radio resource control (RRC) signaling, to avoid a configuration that includes monitoring of DCIs 0_0/0_1, 0_1/1_0, 0_2/1_2, and the downlink and uplink DCIs for multi-carrier scheduling for the same scheduled cell; ¶72; As shown in FIG. 6B, and by example 620, UE 120 may perform multiple alignment actions to achieve size alignment when UE 120 is configured to monitor for a multi-carrier DCI. For example, after performing step 340 of FIG. 3B, UE 120 may, as shown by reference number 622, add padding bits to the multi-carrier DCI to align the multi-carrier DCI to DCI 0_1/1_1 for the first scheduled cell. However, in this case, DCI 0_1/1_1 has a first size for the first scheduled cell and a second size for the second scheduled cell, so a quantity of DCI sizes still exceeds a threshold. In this case, UE 120 may, as shown by reference number 624, add padding bits to DCI 0_1/1_1 for the second scheduled cell to align DCI 0_1/1_1 to the multi-carrier DCI; ¶78; As further shown in FIG. 7, in some aspects, process 700 may include selectively performing a DCI size alignment procedure to adjust a DCI size configuration based at least in part on whether the quantity of DCI sizes satisfies the threshold (block 720). For example, the UE (e.g., using antenna 252, demodulator 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, modulator 254, controller/processor 280, and/or memory 282) may selectively perform a DCI size alignment procedure to adjust a DCI size configuration based at least in part on whether the quantity of DCI sizes satisfies the threshold, as described above; ¶82).
Claims 6, 14, Takeda discloses wherein the third carrier is the first carrier, and the first downlink control information format corresponding to the first carrier comprises a first uplink scheduling format for scheduling Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission and a first downlink scheduling format for scheduling Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission (Fig. 4, Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B show the DCI format comprising scheduling PDSCH and/or PUSCH; Figs. 3A; Figs. 3A; Fig. 6A; Fig. 6B; As shown in FIG. 4, and by reference number 410, a first example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting a DCI with a particular format on the SCell to schedule a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communication or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) communication on the P(S)Cell. As shown by reference number 420, a second example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting the DCI on the SCell to schedule a first PDSCH communication on the SCell and a second PDSCH on the P(S)Cell. The second example of cross-carrier scheduling may be a joint scheduling scenario (e.g., a scenario in which both cross-carrier scheduling and self-scheduling occur); ¶62; In some communications systems, such as 5G, a channel may be divided into a plurality of carriers, which may also be termed “component carriers” or “CCs”. For example, a secondary cell may include a first carrier and a second carrier, which may each be used for uplink and/or downlink communication. Similarly, a primary cell may have one or more carriers for uplink and/or downlink communication. In some cases, a component carrier, which may be a subdivision of a channel, may include multiple carriers, which may be subdivisions of the component carrier. In some cases, a cell (e.g., a serving cell) may have multiple carriers in multiple frequencies; ¶64; However, as described above, a UE may have one or more DCI size thresholds that are to be satisfied for a channel. If the UE were to attempt to monitor for more than a threshold quantity of DCI sizes, the UE may use excess processing resources, excess power resources, and/or the like. With a plurality of carriers in a cell, there may be additional DCI sizes that the UE may be configured to monitor for, but the aforementioned DCI size alignment procedures may not be applicable to multiple carrier (multi-carrier or multi-CC) scenarios. For example, multi-carrier scenarios may introduce a multi-carrier DCI that may be associated with a different DCI size than other DCI formats, such as DCIs 0_0/1_0, 0_2/1_2, and/or the like; ¶65; As further shown in FIG. 5A, and by reference number 540, UE 120 may monitor for a set of DCIs. For example, UE 120 may monitor CC1 for a DCI scheduling a PDSCH or PUSCH in CC1 and CC2; ¶74),
wherein performing the size alignment operation on the downlink control information formats corresponding to the third carrier comprises:
performing a size alignment operation on other downlink control information formats than the first downlink control information format; and if a number of sizes of the downlink control information formats corresponding to the first carrier exceeds the first threshold value after the size alignment operation, performing a further size alignment operation on the first uplink scheduling format and the first downlink scheduling format (performing the size alignment operation selectively and repeatedly if the number/quantity of sizes of the DCI formats exceeds the first threshold; Figs. 5A, 5B, el. 540; In some aspects, a UE (e.g., the UE 120) includes means for determining, for a plurality of carriers in a cross-carrier scheduling scenario, whether a quantity of DCI sizes for a set of DCIs, that the UE monitors, satisfies a threshold, means for selectively performing a DCI size alignment procedure to adjust a DCI size configuration based at least in part on whether the quantity of DCI sizes satisfies the threshold, or means for monitoring for the set of DCIs based at least in part on the DCI size configuration, among other examples. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of UE 120 described in connection with FIG. 2, such as controller/processor 280, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, or the like; ¶48; As shown in FIG. 3B, and by step 325, the UE may determine whether a size threshold is satisfied. For example, based at least in part on which DCIs are configured for the UE, the UE may determine a quantity of DCI sizes. In other words, if CSS DCI 0_0 (Size A), CSS DCI 1_0 (Size A), USS DCI 0_1 (Size C), and USS DCI 0_2 (Size E) are configured, then there are three DCI sizes. In contrast, if CSS DCI 0_0 (Size A), USS DCI 0_0 (Size B), USS DCI 0_1 (Size C), and USS DCI 0_2 (Size E) are configured, then there are four DCI sizes. Based at least in part on determining the quantity of DCI sizes, the UE may determine whether there are more than 4 DCI sizes or more than 3 DCI sizes with a cell-specific radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) configured. If neither DCI size threshold is satisfied, then the UE may proceed without performing further steps of DCI size alignment. However, if either DCI size threshold is satisfied, then the UE may perform further steps of DCI size alignment, as described herein with regard to FIG. 3B and steps 330-340; ¶56; As further shown in FIG. 3B, and by step 340, the UE may perform a third set of alignment actions. For example, the UE may maintain CSS DCI 0_0, CSS DCI 1_0, USS DCI 0_0, USS DCI 1_0, USS DCI 0_2, and USS DCI 1_2 (if configured); and may align USS DCI 0_1 with USS DCI 1_1 (if configured) by adding padding bits to one or the other to cause USS DCI 0_1 and USS DCI 1_1 to have a common size (e.g., Size C or Size D). In some cases, the UE may repeat the check of step 325 after each of steps 330, 335, and 340. In other cases, the UE may perform a multiple of steps 330, 335, and/or 340 before repeating the check of step 325. After performing the size alignment procedure, the UE ensures that the DCI size thresholds are satisfied, which enables the UE to successfully monitor for the configured DCIs; ¶59; ¶65; Some aspects described herein provide for DCI size alignment in multi-carrier scenarios. For example, a UE may determine whether a DCI size threshold is satisfied for each scheduled cell and may perform DCI size alignment on different DCI formats, a multi-carrier DCI, and/or the like. In this way, the UE may ensure that a quantity of DCI sizes of DCI formats for which the UE is configured to monitor does not exceed the DCI size threshold, thereby avoiding excessive use of processing resources, excessive use of power resources, and/or the like; ¶66; ¶69; As further shown in FIG. 5A, and by reference number 530, UE 120 may selectively perform DCI size alignment. For example, UE 120 may perform DCI size alignment on a downlink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling or an uplink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling, as described in more detail with regard to FIGS. 6A and 6B. In some aspects, UE 120 may perform DCI size alignment on a multi-carrier DCI. For example, UE 120 may be configured with the DCI size alignment procedure of FIGS. 3A and 3B, but with alignment actions for DCIs 0_2 and 1_2 replaced with a downlink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling and an uplink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling, respectively. In this case, rather than aligning DCIs 0_2 and 1_2 to the same size (e.g., Size E or Size F), UE 120 may align the downlink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling and the uplink DCI for multi-carrier scheduling to the same size (e.g., Size E or Size F). In this case, UE 120 may not be able to monitor DCIs 0_0/0_1, 0_1/1_0, 0_2/1_2, and the downlink and uplink DCIs for multi-carrier scheduling because DCIs 0_0/0_1, 0_1/1_0, and 0_2/1_2 already satisfy the requirement of having no more than 3 DCIs with a C-RNTI configured (but adding a multi-carrier DCI would exceed the requirement). As a result, in this case, base station 110 may configure UE 120, using radio resource control (RRC) signaling, to avoid a configuration that includes monitoring of DCIs 0_0/0_1, 0_1/1_0, 0_2/1_2, and the downlink and uplink DCIs for multi-carrier scheduling for the same scheduled cell; ¶72; As shown in FIG. 6B, and by example 620, UE 120 may perform multiple alignment actions to achieve size alignment when UE 120 is configured to monitor for a multi-carrier DCI. For example, after performing step 340 of FIG. 3B, UE 120 may, as shown by reference number 622, add padding bits to the multi-carrier DCI to align the multi-carrier DCI to DCI 0_1/1_1 for the first scheduled cell. However, in this case, DCI 0_1/1_1 has a first size for the first scheduled cell and a second size for the second scheduled cell, so a quantity of DCI sizes still exceeds a threshold. In this case, UE 120 may, as shown by reference number 624, add padding bits to DCI 0_1/1_1 for the second scheduled cell to align DCI 0_1/1_1 to the multi-carrier DCI; ¶78; As further shown in FIG. 7, in some aspects, process 700 may include selectively performing a DCI size alignment procedure to adjust a DCI size configuration based at least in part on whether the quantity of DCI sizes satisfies the threshold (block 720). For example, the UE (e.g., using antenna 252, demodulator 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, modulator 254, controller/processor 280, and/or memory 282) may selectively perform a DCI size alignment procedure to adjust a DCI size configuration based at least in part on whether the quantity of DCI sizes satisfies the threshold, as described above; ¶82).
Claims 7, 15, Takeda discloses wherein the first downlink control information format comprises first indication information for indicating that the first downlink control information format is used for uplink scheduling or downlink scheduling (Fig. 4, Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B show the DCI comprising the DCI format is used for uplink scheduling or downlink scheduling of the PDSCH and/or PUSCH; Fig. 3A; Fig. 3B; Fig. 4; Fig. 5; Fig. 6A; Fig. 6B; As shown in FIG. 4, and by reference number 410, a first example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting a DCI with a particular format on the SCell to schedule a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communication or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) communication on the P(S)Cell. As shown by reference number 420, a second example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting the DCI on the SCell to schedule a first PDSCH communication on the SCell and a second PDSCH on the P(S)Cell. The second example of cross-carrier scheduling may be a joint scheduling scenario (e.g., a scenario in which both cross-carrier scheduling and self-scheduling occur); ¶62; In some communications systems, such as 5G, a channel may be divided into a plurality of carriers, which may also be termed “component carriers” or “CCs”. For example, a secondary cell may include a first carrier and a second carrier, which may each be used for uplink and/or downlink communication. Similarly, a primary cell may have one or more carriers for uplink and/or downlink communication. In some cases, a component carrier, which may be a subdivision of a channel, may include multiple carriers, which may be subdivisions of the component carrier. In some cases, a cell (e.g., a serving cell) may have multiple carriers in multiple frequencies; ¶64; However, as described above, a UE may have one or more DCI size thresholds that are to be satisfied for a channel. If the UE were to attempt to monitor for more than a threshold quantity of DCI sizes, the UE may use excess processing resources, excess power resources, and/or the like. With a plurality of carriers in a cell, there may be additional DCI sizes that the UE may be configured to monitor for, but the aforementioned DCI size alignment procedures may not be applicable to multiple carrier (multi-carrier or multi-CC) scenarios. For example, multi-carrier scenarios may introduce a multi-carrier DCI that may be associated with a different DCI size than other DCI formats, such as DCIs 0_0/1_0, 0_2/1_2, and/or the like; ¶65; As further shown in FIG. 5A, and by reference number 540, UE 120 may monitor for a set of DCIs. For example, UE 120 may monitor CC1 for a DCI scheduling a PDSCH or PUSCH in CC1 and CC2; ¶74).
Claims 8, 16, Takeda discloses wherein a number of downlink control information formats for scheduling Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission corresponding to one carrier supported by the terminal device is less than or equal to 3; and/or a number of downlink control information formats for scheduling Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission corresponding to one carrier supported by the terminal device is less than or equal to 3 (the number/quantity of the DCI formats for PDSCH or PUSCH satisfying the threshold or exceeding the threshold, if the quantity of the DCI formats exceeds the threshold, performing DCI size alignment in order the number/quantity of the DCI formats satisfy the threshold; In some aspects, a UE (e.g., the UE 120) includes means for determining, for a plurality of carriers in a cross-carrier scheduling scenario, whether a quantity of DCI sizes for a set of DCIs, that the UE monitors, satisfies a threshold, means for selectively performing a DCI size alignment procedure to adjust a DCI size configuration based at least in part on whether the quantity of DCI sizes satisfies the threshold, or means for monitoring for the set of DCIs based at least in part on the DCI size configuration, among other examples. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of UE 120 described in connection with FIG. 2, such as controller/processor 280, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, or the like; ¶48; As shown in FIG. 3B, and by step 325, the UE may determine whether a size threshold is satisfied. For example, based at least in part on which DCIs are configured for the UE, the UE may determine a quantity of DCI sizes. In other words, if CSS DCI 0_0 (Size A), CSS DCI 1_0 (Size A), USS DCI 0_1 (Size C), and USS DCI 0_2 (Size E) are configured, then there are three DCI sizes. In contrast, if CSS DCI 0_0 (Size A), USS DCI 0_0 (Size B), USS DCI 0_1 (Size C), and USS DCI 0_2 (Size E) are configured, then there are four DCI sizes. Based at least in part on determining the quantity of DCI sizes, the UE may determine whether there are more than 4 DCI sizes or more than 3 DCI sizes with a cell-specific radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) configured. If neither DCI size threshold is satisfied, then the UE may proceed without performing further steps of DCI size alignment. However, if either DCI size threshold is satisfied, then the UE may perform further steps of DCI size alignment, as described herein with regard to FIG. 3B and steps 330-340; ¶56; As further shown in FIG. 3B, and by step 340, the UE may perform a third set of alignment actions. For example, the UE may maintain CSS DCI 0_0, CSS DCI 1_0, USS DCI 0_0, USS DCI 1_0, USS DCI 0_2, and USS DCI 1_2 (if configured); and may align USS DCI 0_1 with USS DCI 1_1 (if configured) by adding padding bits to one or the other to cause USS DCI 0_1 and USS DCI 1_1 to have a common size (e.g., Size C or Size D). In some cases, the UE may repeat the check of step 325 after each of steps 330, 335, and 340. In other cases, the UE may perform a multiple of steps 330, 335, and/or 340 before repeating the check of step 325. After performing the size alignment procedure, the UE ensures that the DCI size thresholds are satisfied, which enables the UE to successfully monitor for the configured DCIs; ¶59; ¶65; Some aspects described herein provide for DCI size alignment in multi-carrier scenarios. For example, a UE may determine whether a DCI size threshold is satisfied for each scheduled cell and may perform DCI size alignment on different DCI formats, a multi-carrier DCI, and/or the like. In this way, the UE may ensure that a quantity of DCI sizes of DCI formats for which the UE is configured to monitor does not exceed the DCI size threshold, thereby avoiding excessive use of processing resources, excessive use of power resources, and/or the like; ¶66; ¶69; As shown in FIG. 6B, and by example 620, UE 120 may perform multiple alignment actions to achieve size alignment when UE 120 is configured to monitor for a multi-carrier DCI. For example, after performing step 340 of FIG. 3B, UE 120 may, as shown by reference number 622, add padding bits to the multi-carrier DCI to align the multi-carrier DCI to DCI 0_1/1_1 for the first scheduled cell. However, in this case, DCI 0_1/1_1 has a first size for the first scheduled cell and a second size for the second scheduled cell, so a quantity of DCI sizes still exceeds a threshold. In this case, UE 120 may, as shown by reference number 624, add padding bits to DCI 0_1/1_1 for the second scheduled cell to align DCI 0_1/1_1 to the multi-carrier DCI; ¶78),
wherein the method further comprises: determining, on the plurality of carriers, a resource for transmitting Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) and/or a resource for transmitting Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) based on first downlink control information, wherein a format corresponding to the first downlink control information is the first downlink control information format (Fig. 4, Fig. 5A and Fig. 5B show the DCI scheduling the resources of the PDSCH and/or the PUSCH; As shown in FIG. 4, and by reference number 410, a first example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting a DCI with a particular format on the SCell to schedule a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) communication or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) communication on the P(S)Cell. As shown by reference number 420, a second example of cross-carrier scheduling may include the BS transmitting the DCI on the SCell to schedule a first PDSCH communication on the SCell and a second PDSCH on the P(S)Cell. The second example of cross-carrier scheduling may be a joint scheduling scenario (e.g., a scenario in which both cross-carrier scheduling and self-scheduling occur); ¶62; In some communications systems, such as 5G, a channel may be divided into a plurality of carriers, which may also be termed “component carriers” or “CCs”. For example, a secondary cell may include a first carrier and a second carrier, which may each be used for uplink and/or downlink communication. Similarly, a primary cell may have one or more carriers for uplink and/or downlink communication. In some cases, a component carrier, which may be a subdivision of a channel, may include multiple carriers, which may be subdivisions of the component carrier. In some cases, a cell (e.g., a serving cell) may have multiple carriers in multiple frequencies; ¶64; However, as described above, a UE may have one or more DCI size thresholds that are to be satisfied for a channel. If the UE were to attempt to monitor for more than a threshold quantity of DCI sizes, the UE may use excess processing resources, excess power resources, and/or the like. With a plurality of carriers in a cell, there may be additional DCI sizes that the UE may be configured to monitor for, but the aforementioned DCI size alignment procedures may not be applicable to multiple carrier (multi-carrier or multi-CC) scenarios. For example, multi-carrier scenarios may introduce a multi-carrier DCI that may be associated with a different DCI size than other DCI formats, such as DCIs 0_0/1_0, 0_2/1_2, and/or the like; ¶65; As further shown in FIG. 5A, and by reference number 540, UE 120 may monitor for a set of DCIs. For example, UE 120 may monitor CC1 for a DCI scheduling a PDSCH or PUSCH in CC1 and CC2; ¶74; In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, monitoring for the set of DCIs comprises receiving a first DCI with a first format and with a particular size, receiving a second DCI with a second format and the particular size, and distinguishing between the first format and the second format based at least in part on at least one of respective search spaces, respective control resource sets, or respective monitoring occasions; ¶90).
Claim 9, analyzed with respect to claim 1, the further limitation of claim 9 disclosed by Takeda, a network device (BS; Fig. 2, el. 110; Fig. 5A, el. 110; Fig. 5B, el. 110), comprising: a memory (Fig. 2, el. 242) and a processor (Fig. 2, el. 240), wherein the memory has stored therein a computer program, and the processor, when executing the computer program (memory (Fig. 2, el. 242) storing programs to be executed by the processor (Fig. 2, el. 240); ¶46; The memory 242 and the memory 282 may store data and program codes for the base station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. In some examples, the memory 242 and/or the memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compiling, converting, and/or interpreting) by one or more processors of the base station 110 and/or the UE 120, may cause the one or more processors, the UE 120, and/or the base station 110 to perform or direct operations of, for example, process 700 of FIG. 7 and/or other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and/or interpreting the instructions, among other examples; ¶47).
Claim 17, analyzed with respect to claim 1, the further limitation of claim 17 disclosed by Takeda, a terminal device (UE; Figs. 1,2, 5, el. 120), comprising a memory (Fig. 2, el. 282) and a processor (Fig. 2, el. 280), wherein the memory has stored therein a computer program, and the processor, when executing the computer program (memory (Fig. 2, el. 282) storing programs to be executed by the processor (Fig. 2, el. 280); The memory 242 and the memory 282 may store data and program codes for the base station 110 and the UE 120, respectively. In some examples, the memory 242 and/or the memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compiling, converting, and/or interpreting) by one or more processors of the base station 110 and/or the UE 120, may cause the one or more processors, the UE 120, and/or the base station 110 to perform or direct operations of, for example, process 700 of FIG. 7 and/or other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and/or interpreting the instructions, among other examples; ¶47; ¶81; ¶83).
Claim 19, analyzed with respect to claim 3 and claim 4.
Claim 20, analyzed with respect to claim 5 and claim 6.
Conclusion
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/KOUROUSH MOHEBBI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2471
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