CN116420406A

CN116420406A - Downlink control information alignment

Info

Publication number: CN116420406A
Application number: CN202180069745.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 石靖; 郝鹏; 刘星; 魏兴光
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2021-01-14
Filing date: 2021-01-14
Publication date: 2023-07-11
Also published as: WO2022151204A1

Abstract

The invention discloses a method, a device and a system for aligning control information of unicast and/or multicast scheduling information. In one example aspect, a method for wireless communication includes: the base station configures one or more control information formats, wherein the one or more control information formats include: a first type of control information having a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) scrambled by a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) and a second type of control information having a CRC scrambled by a second RNTI, and the one or more control information formats conform to a rule, wherein the rule specifies that a size of the second type of control information is aligned with a size of the first type of control information. The method further comprises the steps of: the base station transmits the configured control information to the terminal equipment.

Description

Downlink control information alignment

Technical Field

This patent document relates generally to wireless communications.

Background

Mobile communication technology is moving the world to increasingly interconnected and networked society. The rapid growth and technological advances in mobile communication technology have placed greater demands on capacity and connectivity. Other things, such as energy consumption, equipment cost, spectral efficiency, and latency are also important to meet the needs of various communication scenarios. Various technologies are being discussed, including new ways to provide higher quality service, longer battery life, and improved performance.

Disclosure of Invention

This patent document describes, among other things, techniques to align control information of unicast and/or multicast scheduling information, thereby minimizing additional decoding complexity at the receiving side.

In one example aspect, a method for wireless communication includes: the base station configures one or more control information formats, wherein the one or more control information formats include: a first type of control information having a cyclic redundancy check (Cyclic Redundancy Check, CRC) scrambled by a first radio network temporary identifier (Radio Network Temporary Identifier, RNTI) and a second type of control information having a CRC scrambled by a second RNTI, the one or more control information formats conforming to a rule, wherein the rule specifies that a size of the second type of control information is aligned with a size of the first type of control information. The method further comprises the steps of: the base station transmits the configured control information to the terminal equipment.

In another example aspect, a method for wireless communication includes: the terminal device monitors one or more control information formats from the base station, wherein the one or more control information formats include: the one or more control information formats conform to a rule specifying that a size of the second type of control information is aligned with a size of the first type of control information, and the second type of control information having a CRC scrambled by the first RNTI. The method further comprises the steps of: the terminal device performs data transmission based on the configured control information.

In another example aspect, a method for wireless communication includes: the base station configures one or more control information formats, wherein the one or more control information formats include: the one or more control information formats conform to rules specifying that a size of the second type of control information is determined independent of a size of the first type of control information, and the second type of control information having a CRC scrambled by the first RNTI. The method further comprises the steps of: the base station transmits the configured control information to the terminal equipment.

In another example aspect, a method for wireless communication includes: the terminal device monitors one or more control information formats from the base station, wherein the one or more control information formats include: the one or more control information formats conform to rules specifying that a size of the second type of control information is determined independent of a size of the first type of control information, and the second type of control information having a CRC scrambled by the first RNTI. The method further comprises the steps of: the terminal device performs data transmission based on the configured control information.

In another example aspect, a communication apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus includes a processor configured to implement the above-described method.

In yet another example aspect, a computer program storage medium is disclosed. The computer program storage medium includes code stored thereon. The code, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement the described methods.

These and other aspects are described in this patent document.

Drawings

FIG. 1A shows a sheet examples of broadcast transmissions.

Fig. 1B shows an example of broadcast transmission.

Fig. 1C shows an example of multicast transmission.

Fig. 2A is a flow chart representation of a method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2B is a flow chart representation of another method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3A is a flow chart representation of another method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3B is a flow chart representation of another method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system in which one or more embodiments in accordance with the disclosed technology may be employed.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram representation of a portion of a radio station in accordance with one or more embodiments to which the disclosed technology may be applied.

Detailed Description

Section headings are used in this patent document only to improve readability and do not limit the scope of the embodiments and techniques disclosed in each section to that section only. Certain features are described using an example of a Fifth Generation (5G) wireless protocol. However, applicability of the disclosed technology is not limited to 5G wireless systems.

In wireless communications, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) systems and 5G New Radio (NR) systems, downlink control information (Downlink Control Information, DCI) is used to indicate how to schedule and transmit data on a data channel (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (Physical Downlink Shared Channel, PDSCH)). Different DCI formats provide detailed information for a User Equipment (UE) such as the number of resource blocks, the type of resource allocation, the modulation scheme, the transport blocks, the redundancy version, the coding rate, etc. used for data transmission. The UE monitors a control channel, e.g., a physical downlink control channel (Physical Downlink Control Channel, PDCCH), to decode the control information for subsequent transmission.

In order to minimize the DCI monitoring complexity at the UE side, a limit is put on the number of different DCI sizes that the UE needs to detect. That is, the total number of different DCI sizes does not exceed 4 for one Cell, and the different DCI sizes scrambled using Cell RNTI (C-RNTI) does not exceed 3 for the Cell. It should be noted that other types of RNTIs (i.e., non-C-RNTIs) have a size budget of 1 and C-RNTIs have a size budget of 3. Different DCI sizes scrambled using C-RNTI refer to DCI formats (DCI formats) with CRC scrambled by C-RNTI. To meet the size constraint, certain DCI formats are aligned to reduce the number of different sizes. Table 1 shows example steps of aligning DCI sizes, e.g., DCI formats 0_0, 1_0, 1_1, 0_2, and/or 1_2.

Table 1 example DCI size alignment

The network demands and mobile applications of 5G NR systems will continue to grow rapidly, especially with increasing demands on multicast traffic load. Multicast traffic that may be received by multiple terminal devices is carried on a physical channel, such as a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). Fig. 1A-1C show examples of unicast (fig. 1A), broadcast (fig. 1B) and multicast (fig. 1C) transmissions from a base station to a terminal device. For multicast transmissions as shown in fig. 1C, network conditions may vary for different terminal devices or UEs. To improve multicast transmission efficiency, UEs operating under similar network conditions may be partitioned into the same group. The transmission mechanism for multicast transmission may be selected to better match the network conditions of each UE group.

To schedule downlink data transmissions for a group of UEs, each UE in the group may detect its own-specific control information (e.g., using unicast transmissions as shown in fig. 1A). Alternatively, all UEs in the group may detect the same multicast scheduling information common to the group. To indicate group common multicast scheduling information on the PDCCH, additional information needs to be added in the DCI format, which may cause a change in DCI size. Accordingly, there is a need to introduce a consistent mechanism to align DCI formats including unicast and/or multicast scheduling information while meeting size constraints.

This patent document discloses techniques applicable in various embodiments to ensure alignment of control information including unicast and/or multicast scheduling information to minimize additional decoding complexity at the receiving side.

Fig. 2A is a flow chart representation of a method for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 200 comprises the following steps: at operation 210, the base station configures one or more control information formats. The one or more control information formats include: a first type of control information having a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) scrambled by a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) and a second type of control information having a CRC scrambled by a second RNTI. The one or more control information formats conform to a rule, wherein the rule specifies that a size of the second type of control information is aligned with a size of the first type of control information. The method 200 further comprises: in operation 220, the base station transmits the configured control information to the terminal device.

Fig. 2B is a flowchart representation of a method 250 for wireless communication in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method 250 includes: at operation 260, the terminal device monitors one or more control information formats from the base station. The one or more control information formats include: a first type of control information with a cyclic redundancy check (Cyclic Redundancy Check, CRC) scrambled by a first radio network temporary identifier (Radio Network Temporary Identifier, RNTI) and a second type of control information with a CRC scrambled by a second RNTI. The one or more control information formats conform to a rule, wherein the rule specifies that a size of the second type of control information is aligned with a size of the first type of control information. The method 250 further includes: in operation 270, the terminal device performs data transmission with the base station based on the configured control information.

In some embodiments, the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information is determined based on the common frequency domain resources. The common frequency domain resources are configured by higher layer signaling. I.e. signaling messages at a layer higher than the physical layer (e.g. RRC layer).

In some embodiments, the format of the first type of control information and the format of the second type of control information are the same, and the bit fields of the first type of control information and the bit fields of the second type of control information are the same. In some embodiments, the rule specifies that the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information is based on a particular set of control resources or initial bandwidth portion, rather than on common frequency domain resources. In some embodiments, the rule further specifies one of: (1) Determining a size of a frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in a User-specific search space (User-equipment specific Search Space, USS) based on the particular control resource set or initial bandwidth portion before determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information based on the particular control resource set or initial bandwidth portion; (2) Determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information based on the particular control resource set or initial bandwidth portion prior to determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in the USS based on the particular control resource set or initial bandwidth portion; or (3) determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in the USS based on the common frequency domain resource before determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information and the first type of control information based on the particular set of control resources or the initial bandwidth portion.

In some embodiments, the rule specifies a size of a frequency domain resource allocation that determines the first type of control information based on the common frequency domain resources. In some embodiments, the rule further specifies one of: (1) Determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in the user equipment specific search space (USS) based on a specific set of control resources or an initial bandwidth portion before determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in the USS and the common search space (Common Search Space, CSS) based on the common frequency domain resource; (2) Determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information in the CSS based on the common frequency domain resource before determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in the USS based on the common frequency domain resource; or (3) determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in the USS based on the common frequency domain resource before determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information in the CSS based on the common frequency domain resource.

Fig. 3A is a flow chart representation of a method 300 for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 300 comprises the following steps: in operation 310, the base station configures one or more control information formats, where the one or more control information formats include: the method includes the steps of providing first type control information having a CRC scrambled by a first RNTI and second type control information having a CRC scrambled by a second RNTI, and one or more control information formats conforming to a rule, wherein the rule specifies that a size of the second type control information is determined independent of a size of the first type control information. The method 300 further comprises: in operation 320, the base station transmits the configured control information to the terminal device.

Fig. 3B is a flowchart representation of a method 350 for wireless communication in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The method 350 includes: in operation 360, the terminal device monitors one or more control information formats from the base station. The one or more control information formats include: a first type of control information with a CRC scrambled by a first RNTI and a second type of control information with a CRC scrambled by a second RNTI. The one or more control information formats conform to a rule, wherein the rule specifies that a size of the second type of control information is determined independent of a size of the first type of control information. The method 350 further includes: in operation 370, the terminal device performs data transmission with the base station based on the configured control information.

In some embodiments, the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information is determined based on the common frequency domain resources.

In some embodiments, the format of the first type of control information and the format of the second type of control information are the same, and the bit fields of the first type of control information and the bit fields of the second type of control information are different. In some embodiments, the size of the second type of control information is different from the size of the first type of control information, and the size limitation requirements for the one or more control information formats, the size of the second type of control information is classified in a different category than the first type of control information. In some embodiments, where the size of the second type of control information is classified in the same category as the first type of control information, the rule further specifies that the configured control information comprises a single set of non-fallback formats. In some embodiments, a single non-fallback format set includes DCI format 0_1 and DCI format 1_1, or DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2.

In some embodiments, the size of the first type of control information and the size of the second type of control information are aligned to a reference size. In some embodiments, the format of the first type of control information and the format of the second type of control information are different, and the size of the first type of control information and the size of the second type of control information are aligned to a reference size. In some embodiments, the reference size is determined based on one of: a value configured by higher layer signaling; the size of the second type of control information; or the maximum size of the first type of control information common to a group of terminal devices.

Some examples of the disclosed technology are further described in the following example embodiments.

Example 1

In some embodiments, the DCI carrying the multicast scheduling information may have a new format (e.g., DCI format 2_x) and/or reuse an existing format (e.g., DCI format 1_0 and/or format 1_1/1_2). In particular, in the case where the multicast DCI format has the same size as an existing DCI format (e.g., a fallback DCI format), the same DCI format may be reused for multicast scheduling. To meet the DCI size restriction, DCI format 1_0 with multicast scheduling information is aligned with the fallback DCI (e.g., DCI format 1_0). If DCI format 1_1 is also used to schedule multicast PDSCH, DCI format 1_1 may be counted into the size budget of other RNTIs (i.e., non-C-RNTIs) for alignment purposes. This ensures that the maximum number of DCI sizes in PDCCH blind detection remains unchanged and the complexity at the UE side remains unchanged. Alternatively, if DCI format 1_1 is used to schedule a multicast PDSCH, DCI format 1_1 may be used with a CRC scrambled by a C-RNTI. This ensures that the maximum number of DCI sizes in PDCCH blind detection remains unchanged and the complexity at the UE side remains unchanged.

For example, DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1 carried by a group common PDCCH may be scrambled by a group common RNTI (e.g., single cell RNTI, SC-RNTI, or group RNTI, G-RNTI) to carry multicast scheduling information. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_0 may be used to schedule low quality of service (Quality of Service, qoS) MBS traffic and DCI format 1_1 may be used to schedule high QoS MBS traffic. In some embodiments, low QoS MBS traffic is scheduled using DCI format 1_0 and high QoS MBS traffic is scheduled using DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1. In some embodiments, high QoS MBS traffic may be scheduled in DCI format 2_x using an alignment rule similar to DCI format 1_1. The size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 1_0/1_1/2_x for scheduling MBS is determined based on common frequency domain resources configured by higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling) and is changed according to an alignment rule.

Alignment of DCI formats may be achieved using at least one of the following methods.

Method 1:

in this method, a fallback DCI format (e.g., a DCI format carrying unicast scheduling information or SIB/paging/RAR) is first aligned, and then a DCI format including multicast scheduling information is aligned with the fallback DCI format. For example, DCI format 1_0 may be reused for multicast scheduling and the size of the frequency domain resource allocation is determined based on common frequency domain resources configured by signaling messages on a layer higher than a physical layer (e.g., RRC layer). The base station may first align the size of the fallback DCI format 0_0/1_0 in the UE-specific search space (USS) to the size of the fallback DCI format 0_0/1_0 in the Common Search Space (CSS). The base station may then determine a multicast DCI format 1_0 with a CRC scrambled by a group common RNTI (e.g., SC/G-RNTI) based on a particular control resource set (e.g., CORESET 0) or an initial downlink bandwidth portion for Frequency domain resource allocation (Frequency-Domain Resource Allocation, FDRA). As a result, the multicast DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by the group common RNTI (e.g., SC-RNTI or G-RNTI) is then aligned with the size of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in the CSS, as shown in steps 4A and 4X in table 2 below. That is, the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in USS is determined based on a specific control resource set (CORESET 0) or an initial bandwidth portion before the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of multicast DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI is determined based on the specific control resource set (CORESET 0) or the initial bandwidth portion.

TABLE 2

Method 2

The method first aligns a DCI format including multicast scheduling information with a DCI format in a CSS and then aligns the DCI format in a USS with the DCI format in the CSS. As shown in steps 4A and 4X of table 3, DCI format 1_0 is reused for multicast scheduling and the size of FDRA is determined based on common frequency domain resources. As a result, DCI format 1_0 (for multicasting) with CRC scrambled by a group common RNTI (e.g., SC/G-RNTI) is first aligned according to the size of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in CSS. That is, before the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the DCI format 0_0/1_0uss is determined based on the specific control resource set (CORESET 0) or the initial bandwidth part, the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the DCI format 1_0 having CRC scrambled by the SC/G-RNTI is determined based on the specific control resource set (CORESET 0) or the initial bandwidth part.

TABLE 3 Table 3

Method 3

In this method, the DCI format in the CSS is aligned with the DCI format including the multicast scheduling information, and then the DCI format in the USS is also aligned with the multicast DCI format. For example, DCI format 1_0 may be reused for multicast scheduling and the size of the FDRA is determined based on common frequency domain resources. The base station may align the size of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in USS to the size of multicast DCI format 1_0 based on common frequency domain resources configured with signaling messages on layers above the physical layer (e.g., RRC layer). The base station may then determine DCI format 1_0 (for multicasting) with a CRC scrambled by a group common RNTI (e.g., SC/G-RNTI) based on the common frequency domain resources for the FDRA. As shown in step 4X and step 4Y in table 3, DCI format 1_0 is then aligned to the size of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in CSS. That is, before determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 1_0 in CSS with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI and the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 1_0 in CSS based on a specific control resource set (CORESET 0) or initial bandwidth portion, the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in USS is determined based on common frequency domain resources.

TABLE 4 Table 4

In one example, DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1 are both reused for scheduling MBS PDSCH, while DCI formats 0_1, 1_1, 0_2 and/or 1_2 may be used for scheduling unicast PDSCH. The common frequency domain resources of the group common PDCCH/PDSCH are different from CORESET 0/initial BWP. After step 3 is performed (as shown in table 4 above), the DCI size limit is not satisfied. In step 4, the multicast DCI format is aligned using one of the methods discussed above. For example, the multicast DCI format 1_0 size may be determined based on CORESET 0/initial BWP. The multicast DCI format 1_1 with CRC scrambled by the SC/G-RNTI may be factored into the size budget of other RNTI's (i.e., non-C-RNTI's) for alignment purposes. For this cell, the total number of different DCI sizes with C-RNTI is 3: DCI format 0_0/1_0, DCI format 0_1/1_1 and DCI format 0_2/1_2. The 4 th DCI size is a multicast DCI format 1_1 with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI. If format 2_0 or 2_1 is configured, the size of format 2_0 or 2_1 should be the same as 1 out of the 4 sizes described above.

Example 2

As described above, the DCI carrying the multicast scheduling information may have a new format (e.g., DCI format 2_x) and/or reuse an existing format (e.g., DCI format 1_0 and/or format 1_1/1_2). In particular, in the case where the multicast DCI format has the same size as an existing DCI format (e.g., a fallback DCI format), the same DCI format may be reused for multicast scheduling. To meet the DCI size restriction, DCI format 1_0 with multicast scheduling information is aligned with the fallback DCI (e.g., DCI format 1_0). If DCI format 1_1/1_2 is also used to schedule multicast PDSCH, DCI format 1_1/1_2 with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI may be aligned with the same format 1_1/1_2 with CRC scrambled by C-RNTI. Alternatively, if DCI format 2_x is used to schedule a multicast PDSCH, DCI format 2_x scrambled by SC/G-RNTI may be aligned with format 1_1/1_2 having a CRC scrambled by C-RNTI. This ensures that the maximum number of DCI sizes in PDCCH blind detection remains unchanged and the complexity at the UE side remains unchanged.

For example, DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1/2_x carried by a group common PDCCH may be scrambled by a group common RNTI (e.g., SC-RNTI or G-RNTI) to carry multicast scheduling information. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_0 may be used to schedule low quality of service (QoS) MBS traffic and DCI format 1_1 may be used to schedule high QoS MBS traffic. In some embodiments, low QoS MBS traffic is scheduled using DCI format 1_0 and high QoS MBS traffic is scheduled using DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1. In some embodiments, high QoS MBS traffic may be scheduled in DCI format 2_x using an alignment rule similar to DCI format 1_1. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_2 may be used instead of and/or in addition to DCI format 1_1 to carry multicast scheduling information. The size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 1_0/1_1/2_x for scheduling MBS is determined based on common frequency domain resources configured by higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling). The alignment rule may specify that the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the fallback DCI format is determined based on the common frequency domain resources of the group common DCI format.

Method 1:

in this method, similarly to method 1 in embodiment 1, a fallback DCI format is first aligned, and then a DCI format including multicast scheduling information is aligned with the fallback DCI format. For example, DCI format 1_0 may be reused for multicast scheduling and the size of the FDRA is determined based on common frequency domain resources. The base station may first align the size of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in USS to the size of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in CSS. As shown in steps 4A and 4X in table 5, the size of the multicast DCI format 1_0 and the size of the unicast DCI format 0_0/1_0 in the CSS are aligned. That is, before determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in the CSS based on the common frequency domain resource of DCI format 1_0 having a CRC scrambled by the SC/G-RNTI, the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in the USS is determined based on a specific control resource set (CORESET 0) or an initial bandwidth portion.

In addition to aligning the multicast DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by the SC/G-RNTI, DCI formats 1_1 and/or 1_2 in the USS are also aligned with the multicast DCI formats 1_1 and/or 1_2 as shown in steps 4B2 and 4C2 in Table 5 below. It is noted that step 4B2 may be performed before or after step 4B and/or 4C, if desired. Similarly, step 4C2 may be performed before or after step 4B and/or 4C, if desired.

TABLE 5

For steps 4B2 and 4C2, DCI format 1_2 or 1_2 in USS is aligned with multicast DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 using a reference size known to all UEs in the group. The reference size may be configured (e.g., using radio resource configuration, RRC, signaling message). Alternatively or additionally, the reference size may be the largest DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 in the intra-group USS of the UE. The reference size may also be DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI. If DCI format 2_x is used, the alignment rules are similar to DCI formats 1_1 or 1_2.

Method 2

In this method, similar to method 2 of embodiment 1, DCI formats including multicast scheduling information are aligned. As shown in step 4X of table 6 below, DCI format 1_0 is reused for multicast scheduling and the size of the FDRA is determined based on common frequency domain resources. DCI format 1_0 (for multicasting) with CRC scrambled by group common RNTI is aligned according to the size of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in CSS. That is, before determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in USS based on the common frequency domain resources, the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in CSS is determined based on the common frequency domain resources.

In addition to aligning the multicast DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by the SC/G-RNTI, DCI formats 1_1 and/or 1_2 in the USS are also aligned with the multicast DCI formats 1_1 and/or 1_2 as shown in steps 4B2 and 4C2 in Table 6 below. It is noted that step 4B2 may be performed before or after step 4B and/or 4C, if desired. Similarly, step 4C2 may be performed before or after step 4B and/or 4C, if desired.

TABLE 6

For steps 4B2 and 4C2, DCI format 1_2 or 1_2 in USS is aligned with multicast DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 using a reference size known to all UEs in the group. The reference size may be pre-configured (e.g., using a radio resource configuration signaling message). Alternatively or additionally, the reference size may be the largest DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 in the intra-group USS of the UE. The reference size may also be a multicast DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 with CRC scrambled by the SC/G-RNTI.

Method 3

In this method, similarly to method 3 of embodiment 1, the DCI format in the CSS is aligned with the DCI format including the multicast scheduling information, and then the DCI format in the USS is also aligned with the multicast DCI format. For example, DCI format 1_0 may be reused for multicast scheduling and the size of the FDRA is determined based on common frequency domain resources. The base station may align the size of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in USS to the size of multicast DCI format 1_0. The base station may then determine a multicast DCI format 1_0 with a CRC scrambled by the inter-group common RNTI based on the common frequency domain resources for the FDRA. As shown in step 4X and step 4Y in table 7 below, multicast DCI format 1_0 is then aligned to the size of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in CSS. That is, the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in USS is determined based on the common frequency domain resources before aligning the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of DCI format 0_0/1_0 and the size of DCI format 0_0/1_0 in CSS based on the common frequency domain resources.

In addition to aligning the multicast DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by the SC/G-RNTI, DCI formats 1_1 and/or 1_2 in the USS are also aligned with the multicast DCI formats 1_1 and/or 1_2 as shown in steps 4B2 and 4C2 in Table 7 below. It is noted that step 4B2 may be performed before or after step 4B and/or 4C, if desired. Similarly, step 4C2 may be performed before or after step 4B and/or 4C, if desired.

TABLE 7

In one example, DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1 are configured to schedule MBS PDSCH. DCI formats 0_1, 1_1, 0_2 and/or 1_2 are configured to schedule a unicast PDSCH. The common frequency domain resources of the group common PDCCH/PDSCH are different from CORESET 0/initial BWP. After step 3 is performed (as shown in table 4 above), the DCI size limit is not satisfied. In step 4, the multicast DCI format is aligned using one of the methods discussed above. The size of FDRA in DCI format 1_0 is determined by CORESET 0/initial BWP. The sizes of DCI format 1_1 and DCI format 1_1 with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI are aligned to a reference size (e.g., configured by RRC signaling). For this cell, the total number of different DCI sizes with C-RNTI is 3: DCI format 0_0/1_0, DCI format 0_1/1_1 and DCI format 0_2/1_2. If DCI format 2_0 is used for multicast scheduling, multicast DCI format 2_0 is classified as other RNTI for alignment purposes. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_1 may be replaced with DCI format 1_2 and the same mechanism may be used. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_1 may be replaced with DCI format 2_x and the same mechanism may be used, where the sizes of DCI format 2_x and DCI format 1_1 with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI are aligned to a reference size or the sizes of DCI format 2_x and DCI format 1_2 with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI are aligned to a reference size.

Example 3

The DCI carrying the multicast scheduling information may have one or more new formats (e.g., DCI format 1_0' and/or format 2_x) or reuse one or more existing formats (e.g., DCI format 1_0 and/or format 1_1/1_2). For example, one or more fields may be introduced in DCI format 1_0 for MBS scheduling information. When the size of the DCI carrying the multicast scheduling information is different from the existing DCI format (e.g., fallback DCI), the multicast DCI with CRC scrambled by the SC/G-RNTI may be counted into the size budget of other RNTIs (i.e., non-C-RNTIs) for the purpose of DCI size alignment. That is, the multicast DCI format 1_0 (or new format) is considered one of 4 different DCI sizes allowed by a cell. This ensures that the maximum number of DCI sizes in PDCCH blind detection remains unchanged and the complexity at the UE side remains unchanged.

For example, DCI format 1_0 is reused for multicast scheduling information but has a different number of bits or a different bit field than the fallback DCI format. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_0 may be used to schedule low and/or high quality of service (QoS) MBS services. Alignment of DCI formats may be achieved using the example methods shown in table 8 below. Alternatively, the new DCI format 1_0' is used for multicast scheduling. Since the size of DCI format 1_0/1_0 'with multicast scheduling information is different from the size of the fallback DCI format, multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0' with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI is classified as other RNTIs.

TABLE 8

In one example, DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1 are configured to schedule MBS PDSCH. DCI formats 0_1, 1_1, 0_2 and/or 1_2 are configured to schedule a unicast PDSCH. The common frequency domain resources of the group common PDCCH/PDSCH are different from CORESET 0/initial BWP. After step 3 is performed (as shown in table 4 above), the DCI size limit is not satisfied. In step 4, the multicast DCI formats are aligned using the methods discussed above. The size of the FDRA in the multicast DCI format 1_0 is determined by the frequency domain resources common to the UE group and is accounted for in the size budget of other RNTIs (i.e., non-C-RNTIs). The FDRA size of DCI format 1_0 in CSS is determined by CORESET 0/initial BWP. For this cell, the total number of different DCI sizes with C-RNTI is 3: DCI format 0_0/1_0, DCI format 0_1/1_1 and DCI format 0_2/1_2. The 4 th size of the multicast DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI is classified as other RNTI for alignment purposes. If DCI format 2_0 or 2_1 is also configured, the size of DCI format 2_0 or 2_1 should be the same as 1 out of the 4 sizes described above.

Example 4

The DCI carrying the multicast scheduling information may have one or more new formats (e.g., DCI format 1_0' and/or format 2_x) or reuse existing formats (e.g., DCI format 1_0 and/or format 1_1/1_2). As discussed in embodiment 3, one or more fields may be introduced in DCI format 1_0 for MBS scheduling information. When the size of the DCI carrying the multicast scheduling information is different from the existing DCI format (e.g., fallback DCI), the multicast DCI with CRC scrambled by the SC/G-RNTI may be counted into the size budget of other RNTIs (i.e., non-C-RNTIs) for the purpose of DCI size alignment. If DCI format 1_1/1_2 is also used to schedule multicast PDSCH, DCI format 1_1/1_2 may be designed to be scrambled by C-RNTI for alignment purposes. That is, multicast DCI format 1_0 is considered one of 4 different DCI sizes allowed by the cell, and multicast DCI format 1_1/1_2 is aligned to one of 3 different DCI sizes allowed by the C-RNTI. This ensures that the maximum number of DCI sizes in PDCCH blind detection remains unchanged and the complexity on the UE side does not increase.

For example, DCI format 1_0 is reused for multicast scheduling information but has a different number of bits compared to the fallback DCI format. Alternatively, the new DCI format 1_0'/2_x is used for multicast scheduling. In some cases, DCI format 1_1 may also be used to schedule a multicast PDSCH. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_0 may be used to schedule low quality of service (QoS) MBS traffic and DCI format 1_1 may be used to schedule high QoS MBS traffic. In some embodiments, low QoS MBS traffic is scheduled using DCI format 1_0 and high QoS MBS traffic is scheduled using DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1. In some embodiments, high QoS MBS traffic may be scheduled in DCI format 2_x using an alignment rule similar to DCI format 1_1. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_2 may be used instead of and/or in addition to DCI format 1_1 to carry multicast scheduling information.

Since the size of DCI format 1_0/1_0 'with multicast scheduling information is different from the size of the fallback DCI format, multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0' with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI is classified as other RNTIs. In addition to alignment considerations for multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0', DCI formats 1_1 and/or 1_2 in the USS are also aligned with multicast DCI formats 1_1 and/or 1_2 as shown in steps 4B2 and 4C2 in table 9 below. It is noted that step 4B2 may be performed before or after step 4B and/or 4C, if desired. Similarly, step 4C2 may be performed before or after step 4B and/or 4C, if desired.

TABLE 9

For steps 4B2 and 4C2, DCI format 1_2 or 1_2 in USS is aligned with multicast DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 using a reference size known to all UEs in the group. The reference size may be pre-configured (e.g., using radio resource configuration, RRC, signaling message). Alternatively or additionally, the reference size may be the largest DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 in the intra-group USS of the UE. The reference size may also be a multicast DCI format 1_1 or 1_2 with CRC scrambled by the SC/G-RNTI.

In one example, DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1 are configured to schedule MBS PDSCH. DCI formats 0_1, 1_1, 0_2 and/or 1_2 are configured to schedule a unicast PDSCH. The common frequency domain resources of the group common PDCCH/PDSCH are different from CORESET 0/initial BWP. After step 3 is performed (as shown in table 9 above), the DCI size limit is not satisfied. In step 4, the multicast DCI formats are aligned using the methods discussed above. The size of the FDRA for the multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0' is determined as a common frequency domain resource for the UE group and is accounted for in the size budget of other RNTIs (i.e., non-C-RNTIs). The FDRA size of DCI format 1_0 in CSS is determined by CORESET 0/initial BWP. The sizes of DCI format 1_1/2_x with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI and DCI format 1_1 in USS are aligned to a reference size (e.g., configured by RRC signaling). For this cell, the total number of different DCI sizes with C-RNTI is 3: DCI format 0_0/1_0, DCI format 0_1/1_1 and DCI format 0_2/1_2. The 4 th size of the multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0' with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI is classified as other RNTI for alignment purposes. If DCI format 2_0 is used for multicast scheduling, multicast DCI format 2_0 is classified as other RNTI for alignment purposes.

Example 5

The DCI carrying the multicast scheduling information may have one or more new formats (e.g., DCI format 1_0') or reuse existing formats (e.g., DCI format 1_0 and/or format 1_1/1_2). As discussed in embodiments 3 and 4, one or more fields may be introduced in DCI format 1_0 for MBS scheduling information. In some embodiments, multicast DCI with CRC scrambled by the SC/G-RNTI may be factored into the DCI size budget with CRC scrambled by the C-RNTI for DCI size alignment purposes. In this case, only one set of fallback DCI formats (e.g., DCI format 0_1/1_1 or DCI format 0_2/1_2) may be used to schedule the unicast PDSCH. This ensures that the maximum number of DCI sizes in PDCCH blind detection remains unchanged and the complexity at the UE side remains unchanged.

For example, DCI format 1_0 is reused for multicast scheduling information but has a different number of bits compared to the fallback DCI format. Alternatively, the new DCI format 1_0' is used for multicast scheduling. In some cases, DCI format 1_1 may also be used to schedule a multicast PDSCH with CRC scrambled by the C-RNTI. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_0/1_0' may be used to schedule low quality of service (QoS) MBS traffic and DCI format 1_1 may be used to schedule high QoS MBS traffic. In some embodiments, low QoS MBS traffic is scheduled using DCI format 1_0/1_0 'and high QoS MBS traffic is scheduled using DCI formats 1_0/1_0' and 1_1. In some embodiments, high QoS MBS traffic may be scheduled in DCI format 2_x using an alignment rule similar to DCI format 1_1. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_2 may be used instead of and/or in addition to DCI format 1_1 to carry multicast scheduling information.

Alignment of DCI formats may be achieved using the example methods shown in table 9 below. In this method, the multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0' is different in size from the fallback DCI format 1_0. Multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0' with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI scheduling multicast PDSCH is classified as C-RNTI for alignment purposes. Only one set of fallback DCI formats (DCI format 0_1/1_1 or DCI format 0_2/1_2) may be used to schedule a unicast PDSCH.

TABLE 9

In one example, DCI format 1_0/1_0' is configured to schedule MBS PDSCH. DCI formats 0_1 and/or 1_1 are configured to schedule a unicast PDSCH. The common frequency domain resources of the group common PDCCH/PDSCH are different from CORESET 0/initial BWP. After step 3 is performed (as shown in table 9 above), the DCI size limit is not satisfied. In step 4, the multicast DCI formats are aligned using the methods discussed above. The size of the FDRA in the multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0' is determined by the frequency domain resources common to the UE groups and is accounted for in the size budget of the C-RNTI. The FDRA size of DCI format 1_0 in CSS is determined by CORESET 0/initial BWP. For this cell, the total number of different DCI sizes with C-RNTI is 3: DCI format 0_0/1_0, multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0', and DCI format 0_1/1_1 in CSS. If DCI format 2_0 is also configured, the 4 th size is determined based on DCI format 2_0 with CRC scrambled by the SFI-RNTI.

Example 6

The DCI carrying the multicast scheduling information may have one or more new formats (e.g., DCI format 1_0' and/or format 2_x) or reuse existing formats (e.g., DCI format 1_0 and/or format 1_1/1_2). As discussed in the above embodiments, one or more fields may be introduced in DCI format 1_0 for MBS scheduling information. In some embodiments, multicast DCI1_0/1_0' with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI may be accounted for in the size budget of C-RNTI for DCI size alignment purposes. If multicast scheduling is performed using DCI format 1_1/1_2/2_x with CRC scrambled by SC/G RNTI, DCI format 1_1/1_2/2_x may be factored into the size budget of DCI formats with CRC scrambled by other RNTI (i.e., not C-RNTI). In this case, only one set of fallback DCI formats (e.g., DCI format 0_1/1_1 or DCI format 0_2/1_2) may be used to schedule the unicast PDSCH. This ensures that the maximum number of DCI sizes in PDCCH blind detection remains unchanged and the complexity at the UE side remains unchanged.

For example, DCI format 1_0 is reused for multicast scheduling information but has a different number of bits compared to the fallback DCI format. Alternatively, the new DCI format 1_0' is used for multicast scheduling. In some cases, DCI format 1_1 may also be used to schedule a multicast PDSCH with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI. Alternatively, the new DCI format is used to schedule a multicast PDSCH with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_0/1_0' may be used to schedule low quality of service (QoS) MBS traffic and DCI format 1_1/2_x may be used to schedule high QoS MBS traffic. In some embodiments, low QoS MBS traffic is scheduled using DCI format 1_0/1_0 'and high QoS MBS traffic is scheduled using DCI formats 1_0/1_0' and 1_1. In some embodiments, high QoS MBS traffic may be scheduled in DCI format 2_x using an alignment rule similar to DCI format 1_1. In some embodiments, DCI format 1_2 may be used instead of and/or in addition to DCI format 1_1 to carry multicast scheduling information.

Method 1

In this method, the size of DCI format 1_0/1_0' having multicast scheduling information is different from the size of the fallback DCI format. Multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0' with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI is classified as C-RNTI. Only one set of fallback DCI formats (e.g., DCI format 0_1/1_1 or DCI format 0_2/1_2) may be used to schedule a unicast PDSCH. Alternatively, if DCI format 1_1/1_2/2_x with CRC scrambled by SC/G RNTI is also used for multicast scheduling, DCI format 1_1/1_2/2_x is counted into the size budget of other RNTIs (i.e. not C-RNTIs). This ensures that the maximum number of DCI sizes in PDCCH blind detection remains unchanged and the complexity at the UE side remains unchanged.

Table 10

In one example, DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1 are configured to schedule MBS PDSCH. DCI formats 0_1 and/or 1_1 are configured to schedule a unicast PDSCH. The common frequency domain resources of the group common PDCCH/PDSCH are different from CORESET 0/initial BWP. After step 3 is performed (as shown in table 10 above), the DCI size limit is not satisfied. In step 4, the multicast DCI formats are aligned using the methods discussed above. The size of the FDRA in the multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0' is determined by the frequency domain resources common to the UE groups and is accounted for in the size budget of the C-RNTI. The FDRA size of DCI format 1_0 in CSS is determined by CORESET 0/initial BWP. For this cell, the total number of different DCI sizes with C-RNTI is 3: DCI format 0_0/1_0 in CSS, multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0' with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI, and DCI format 0_1/1_1. If DCI format 2_0/2_1 is also configured, multicast DCI format 2_0/2_1 is classified as other RNTI, which is the 4 th DCI size.

Method 2

In this method, the size of DCI format 1_0/1_0' having multicast scheduling information is different from the size of the fallback DCI format. Multicast DCI format 1_0/1_0' with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI is classified as C-RNTI. Only one set of fallback DCI formats (e.g., DCI format 0_1/1_1 or DCI format 0_2/1_2) may be used to schedule a unicast PDSCH. DCI format 1_1/1_2/2_x is counted into the size budget of the C-RNTI. In addition to alignment considerations for multicast DCI formats 1_1/1_2/2_x, DCI formats 1_1 and/or 1_2 in USS are also aligned with multicast DCI formats 1_1 and/or 1_2 as shown in steps 4B2 and 4C2 in table 11 below. It is noted that step 4B2 may be performed before or after step 4B and/or 4C, if desired. Similarly, step 4C2 may be performed before or after step 4B and/or 4C, if desired. For DCI format 2_x, the alignment rule is similar to DCI format 1_1 or DCI format 1_2.

TABLE 11

In one example, DCI formats 1_0 and 1_1 are configured to schedule MBS PDSCH. DCI formats 0_1, 1_1, 0_2 and/or 1_2 are configured to schedule a unicast PDSCH. The common frequency domain resources of the group common PDCCH/PDSCH are different from CORESET 0/initial BWP. After step 3 is performed (as shown in table 11 above), the DCI size limit is not satisfied. In step 4, the multicast DCI formats are aligned using the methods discussed above. The size of the FDRA for multicast DCI format 1_0/1_1 is determined by the frequency domain resources common to the UE groups and is accounted for in the size budget of the C-RNTI. The FDRA size of DCI format 1_0 in CSS is determined by CORESET 0/initial BWP. The sizes of DCI format 1_1 with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI and DCI format 1_1 in USS are aligned to a reference size (e.g., configured by RRC signaling). For this cell, the total number of different DCI sizes with C-RNTI is 3: DCI format 0_0/1_0 in CSS, multicast DCI format 1_0 with CRC scrambled by SC/G-RNTI, and DCI format 0_1/1_1. If DCI format 2_0 is used for multicast scheduling, multicast DCI format 2_0 is counted into the size budget of other RNTI to achieve the aim of alignment.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 400 in which techniques according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure may be applied. The wireless communication system 400 may include one or more Base Stations (BSs) 405a, 405b, one or

more wireless devices

410a, 410b, 410c, 410d, and a core network 425. The

base stations

405a, 405b may provide access services for the

wireless devices

410a, 410b, 410c, and 410d in one or more wireless sectors. In some implementations, the

base stations

405a, 405b include directional antennas that generate two or more directional beams to provide wireless coverage for different sectors.

The core network 425 may communicate with one or

more base stations

405a, 405 b. The core network 425 provides connectivity to other wireless communication systems and to wired communication systems. The core network may include one or more service subscription databases to store information related to subscribed

wireless devices

410a, 410b, 410c, and 410 d. The first base station 405a may provide wireless service based on a first radio access technology and the second base station 405b may provide wireless service based on a second radio access technology. The

base stations

405a and 405b may be co-located or installed separately on site depending on the deployment scenario.

Wireless devices

410a, 410b, 410c, and 410d may support a plurality of different radio access technologies. The techniques and embodiments described in this patent document may be implemented by a base station of a wireless device described in this patent document.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram representation of a portion of a radio station in accordance with one or more embodiments to which the disclosed technology may be applied. A radio station 505, such as a base station or a wireless device (or terminal device), may include a processor 510, such as a microprocessor, that applies one or more of the wireless techniques presented herein. The radio station 505 may include a transceiver 515 to transmit and/or receive wireless signals over one or more communication interfaces, such as an antenna 520. Radio station 505 may include other communication interfaces for transmitting and receiving data. Radio station 505 may include one or more memories (not explicitly shown) configured to store information such as data and/or instructions. In some applications, processor 510 may include at least a portion of transceiver 515. In some embodiments, at least some of the techniques, modules, or functions of this disclosure are implemented using radio station 505. In some embodiments, radio station 505 may be configured to perform the methods described herein.

It should be appreciated that this document discloses techniques that may be embodied in various embodiments to align control information of unicast and/or multicast scheduling information to reduce or minimize additional decoding complexity at the receiving side. Other embodiments, modules, and functional operations of the present disclosure are applicable to digital electronic circuitry, or computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the architectures disclosed in the present disclosure and their equivalent architectures, or combinations of one or more of them. Other embodiments disclosed and described may be implemented as one or more computer program products, such as one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer-readable medium, for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. The computer readable medium can be a machine readable storage device, a machine readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter effecting a machine readable transmission signal, or a combination of one or more thereof. The term "data processing apparatus" encompasses all apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. The apparatus may comprise, in addition to hardware, code for creating an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code, comprising processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them. A transmitted signal is a manually generated signal, such as a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiving devices.

A computer program (also known as a program, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computer environment. The computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in the file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language publication), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code). The computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network. .

The processes and logic flows described in this disclosure can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose functional processors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operable to receive, or transmit, data to, or from, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., a magnetic, magneto-optical disk, or optical disk. However, the computer need not have such devices. Computer readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disk; and CD ROM and DVD-ROM discs. The processor and the memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated in special purpose logic circuitry.

Since this patent document contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions. Suitable features described in the text of different embodiments in this patent document can also be applied in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple discrete embodiments or in any suitable subcombination. Furthermore, although features may be described above as applied in appropriate combinations and as initially claimed, one or more features from a claimed combination may in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, which should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. Furthermore, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described in this patent document should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments.

Only some applications and examples are described, while other applications, enhancements and variations may be made based on the description and illustrations of this patent document.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

the base station configures one or more control information formats, wherein the one or more control information formats include: a first type of control information having a cyclic redundancy check, CRC, scrambled by a first radio network temporary identifier, RNTI, and a second type of control information having a CRC scrambled by a second RNTI, and the one or more control information formats conform to a rule, wherein the rule specifies that a size of the second type of control information is aligned with a size of the first type of control information; and

and the base station sends the configured control information to the terminal equipment.

2. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

the terminal device monitors one or more control information formats from the base station, wherein the one or more control information formats include: a first type of control information having a cyclic redundancy check, CRC, scrambled by a first radio network temporary identifier, RNTI, and a second type of control information having a CRC scrambled by a second RNTI, and the one or more control information formats conform to a rule, wherein the rule specifies that a size of the second type of control information is aligned with a size of the first type of control information; and

the terminal device performs data transmission based on the configured control information.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information is determined based on common frequency domain resources.

4. A method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the format of the first type of control information and the format of the second type of control information are the same and the bit fields of the first type of control information and the bit fields of the second type of control information are the same.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the rule specifies that a size of frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information is based on a particular set of control resources or an initial bandwidth portion, rather than on common frequency domain resources.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the rule further specifies one of:

determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in a user equipment specific search space USS based on the specific control resource set or the initial bandwidth part before determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information based on the specific control resource set or the initial bandwidth part; or (b)

Determining a size of a frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information based on the particular set of control resources or the initial bandwidth portion prior to determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in the USS based on the particular set of control resources or the initial bandwidth portion; or (b)

The size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in the USS is determined based on the common frequency domain resource before the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information and the first type of control information is determined based on the particular set of control resources or the initial bandwidth portion.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the rule specifies a size of a frequency domain resource allocation that determines the first type of control information based on common frequency domain resources.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the rule further specifies one of:

determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in the user equipment specific search space USS based on a specific set of control resources or an initial bandwidth part before determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in USS and common search space CSS based on the common frequency domain resources; or (b)

Determining a size of a frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information in the CSS based on the common frequency domain resource before determining the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in the USS based on the common frequency domain resource; or (b)

The size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the first type of control information in the USS is determined based on the common frequency domain resource before the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information in the CSS is determined based on the common frequency domain resource.

9. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

the base station configures one or more control information formats, wherein the one or more control information formats include: a first type of control information having a cyclic redundancy check, CRC, scrambled by a first radio network temporary identifier, RNTI, and a second type of control information having a CRC scrambled by a second RNTI, and the one or more control information formats conform to a rule, wherein the rule specifies that a size of the second type of control information is determined independent of a size of the first type of control information; and

10. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

the terminal device monitors one or more control information formats from the base station, wherein the one or more control information formats include: a first type of control information having a cyclic redundancy check, CRC, scrambled by a first radio network temporary identifier, RNTI, and a second type of control information having a CRC scrambled by a second RNTI, and the one or more control information formats conform to a rule, wherein the rule specifies that a size of the second type of control information is determined independent of a size of the first type of control information; and

the terminal device performs data transmission with the base station based on the configured control information.

11. The method of claim 9 or 10, wherein the size of the frequency domain resource allocation of the second type of control information is determined based on common frequency domain resources.

12. The method of any of claims 9 to 11, wherein the format of the first type of control information and the format of the second type of control information are the same and the bit fields of the first type of control information and the bit fields of the second type of control information are the same.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein a size of the second type of control information is different from a size of the first type of control information, and a size limitation requirement for the one or more control information formats, the size of the second type of control information being classified in a different category than the first type of control information.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the rule further specifies that the control information of a configuration comprises a single set of non-fallback formats if a size of the second type of control information is classified in the same category as the first type of control information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the single set of non-fallback formats comprises downlink control information DCI format 0_1 and DCI format 1_1, or DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2.

16. The method of claim 4 or 12, wherein the size of the first type of control information and the size of the second type of control information are aligned to a reference size.

17. The method of claim 1, 2, 9 or 10, wherein the format of the first type of control information and the format of the second type of control information are different and the size of the first type of control information and the size of the second type of control information are aligned to a reference size.

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein the reference size is determined based on one of:

a value configured by higher layer signaling; or (b)

The size of the second type of control information; or (b)

A maximum size of the first type of control information common to a group of terminal devices.

19. A communication device comprising a processor configured to implement the method of any one or more of claims 1 to 18.

20. A computer program product having code stored thereon, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to carry out the method of any one or more of claims 1 to 18.