Downlink assignments for downlink control channels

1. A method comprising:

receiving a first indication comprising a first search space identity and a second search space identity, wherein the first search space identity and the second search space identity are for a set of associated search spaces comprising a first search space and a second search space;

determining a first set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions for the first search space;

determining a second set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions for the second search space;

determining a third set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions corresponding to the associated search spaces, wherein the third set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions comprises a subset of the first downlink control channel monitoring occasions and the second set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions, the first search space corresponds to a first control resource set, and the second search space corresponds to a second control resource set, and wherein:

demodulation reference signal ports of the first control resource set are quasi-collocated with first ports of a first set of reference signals;

demodulation reference signal ports of the second control resource set are quasi-collocated with second ports of a second set of reference signals; and

the first set of reference signals and the second set of reference signals are different; and

monitoring one or more downlink control channel candidates in at least one slot of the third set of monitoring occasions in response to the one or more downlink control channel candidates carrying the same downlink control information.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a second indication indicating that a transport block of downlink data to be delivered to a user equipment via one or more downlink shared channels at each hybrid automatic repeat request transmission stage;

wherein the one or more downlink shared channels are scheduled by one or more corresponding downlink control channels.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein in response to the user equipment receiving multiple downlink control channels carrying a same hybrid automatic repeat request process number in the downlink control information within a monitoring occasion window of at least one search space, the user equipment assumes that the multiple downlink control channels schedule multiple associated downlink shared channels carrying the same transport block, and the monitoring occasion window comprises a set of consecutive monitoring occasions comprising at least one monitoring occasion selected from the first set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions, the second set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions, and the third set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions.

4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

receiving a third indication indicating multiple hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resources, wherein each resource of the multiple hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resources corresponds to a downlink shared channel of the associated downlink shared channels;

decoding a first downlink shared channel of the associated downlink shared channel; and

in response to successful decoding of the first downlink shared channel:

determining a subset of the multiple hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resources that occur after a processing delay resulting from processing the first downlink shared channel;

selecting a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resource from the subset of the multiple hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resources that has an earliest starting symbol; and

transmitting a positive acknowledgment on the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resource.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the user equipment is configured to:

receive a first user equipment indication indicating that a transmission configuration index field is present in downlink control channels of the first control resource set; and

receive a second user equipment indication indicating that the transmission configuration index field is present in downlink control channels of the second control resource set;

wherein the transmission configuration index field in a downlink control channel provides information on quasi-co-location relationships between downlink reference signals in one reference signal set and the downlink control channel demodulation reference signal ports.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a fourth indication indicating a monitoring periodicity; and

determining the third set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions corresponding to the associated search spaces based on the monitoring periodicity;

wherein:

the first search space comprises a first monitoring periodicity and the second search space comprises a second monitoring periodicity; and

the monitoring periodicity is larger than the first monitoring periodicity and the second monitoring periodicity.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a fifth indication indicating a duration;

determining the third set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions corresponding to the associated search spaces based on the duration, wherein:

the first search space comprises a first monitoring periodicity and a first duration, and the second search space comprises a second monitoring periodicity and a second duration; and

the duration is different from the first duration and the second duration; and

monitoring downlink control channel candidates in the associated search spaces in a number of consecutive slots indicated by the duration.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

monitoring one or more downlink control channel candidates in a first slot of the first set of monitoring occasions;

monitoring one or more downlink control channel candidates in a second slot of the second set of monitoring occasions; and

assuming that the one or more downlink control channel candidates in the first slot of the first set of monitoring occasions and the one or more downlink control channel candidates in the second slot of the second set of monitoring occasions carry the same downlink control information.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein one or more downlink shared channels are scheduled by one or more corresponding downlink control channels, and the method further comprises:

receiving a sixth indication updating an interpretation of a transmission configuration index field in downlink data assignments; and

applying the interpretation after a last downlink shared channel reception corresponding to the one or more downlink shared channels.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the demodulation reference signal ports of the first control resource set comprise a first set of demodulation reference signal ports and a second set of demodulation reference signal ports;

the first set of demodulation reference signal ports are quasi-collocated with the first set of reference signals; and

the second set of demodulation reference signal ports are quasi-collocated with a third set of reference signals, and the first and the third sets of reference signals are different.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a receiver that receives a first indication comprising a first search space identity and a second search space identity, wherein the first search space identity and the second search space identity are for a set of associated search spaces comprising a first search space and a second search space; and

a processor that:

determines a first set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions for the first search space;

determines a second set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions for the second search space;

determines a third set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions corresponding to the associated search spaces, wherein the third set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions comprises a subset of the first downlink control channel monitoring occasions and the second set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions, the first search space corresponds to a first control resource set, and the second search space corresponds to a second control resource set, and wherein:

demodulation reference signal ports of the first control resource set are quasi-collocated with first ports of a first set of reference signals;

demodulation reference signal ports of the second control resource set are quasi-collocated with second ports of a second set of reference signals; and

the first set of reference signals and the second set of reference signals are different; and

monitors one or more downlink control channel candidates in at least one slot of the third set of monitoring occasions in response to the one or more downlink control channel candidates carrying the same downlink control information.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein:

the receiver receives a second indication indicating that a transport block of downlink data to be delivered to the apparatus via one or more downlink shared channels at each hybrid automatic repeat request transmission stage; and

the one or more downlink shared channels are scheduled by one or more corresponding downlink control channels.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein in response to the apparatus receiving multiple downlink control channels carrying a same hybrid automatic repeat request process number in the downlink control information within a monitoring occasion window of at least one search space, the apparatus assumes that the multiple downlink control channels schedule multiple associated downlink shared channels carrying the same transport block, and the monitoring occasion window comprises a set of consecutive monitoring occasions comprising at least one monitoring occasion selected from the first set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions, the second set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions, and the third set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 , further comprising a transmitter, wherein:

the receiver receives a third indication indicating multiple hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resources, wherein each resource of the multiple hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resources corresponds to a downlink shared channel of the associated downlink shared channels;

the processor decodes a first downlink shared channel of the associated downlink shared channel; and

in response to successful decoding of the first downlink shared channel:

the processor determines a subset of the multiple hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resources that occur after a processing delay resulting from processing the first downlink shared channel;

the processor selects a hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resource from the subset of the multiple hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resources that has an earliest starting symbol; and

the transmitter transmits a positive acknowledgment on the hybrid automatic repeat request-acknowledgment resource.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the apparatus is configured to:

receive a first user equipment indication indicating that a transmission configuration index field is present in downlink control channels of the first control resource set; and

receive a second user equipment indication indicating that the transmission configuration index field is present in downlink control channels of the second control resource set;

wherein the transmission configuration index field in a downlink control channel provides information on quasi-co-location relationships between downlink reference signals in one reference signal set and the downlink control channel demodulation reference signal ports.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein:

the receiver receives a fourth indication indicating a monitoring periodicity; and

the processor determines the third set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions corresponding to the associated search spaces based on the monitoring periodicity;

wherein:

the first search space comprises a first monitoring periodicity and the second search space comprises a second monitoring periodicity; and

the monitoring periodicity is larger than the first monitoring periodicity and the second monitoring periodicity.

17. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein:

the receiver receives a fifth indication indicating a duration;

the processor determines the third set of downlink control channel monitoring occasions corresponding to the associated search spaces based on the duration, wherein:

the first search space comprises a first monitoring periodicity and a first duration, and the second search space comprises a second monitoring periodicity and a second duration; and

the duration is different from the first duration and the second duration; and

the processor monitors downlink control channel candidates in the associated search spaces in a number of consecutive slots indicated by the duration.

18. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processor:

monitors one or more downlink control channel candidates in a first slot of the first set of monitoring occasions;

monitors one or more downlink control channel candidates in a second slot of the second set of monitoring occasions; and

assumes that the one or more downlink control channel candidates in the first slot of the first set of monitoring occasions and the one or more downlink control channel candidates in the second slot of the second set of monitoring occasions carry the same downlink control information.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein one or more downlink shared channels are scheduled by one or more corresponding downlink control channels, and:

the receiver receives a sixth indication updating an interpretation of a transmission configuration index field in downlink data assignments; and

the processor applies the interpretation after a last downlink shared channel reception corresponding to the one or more downlink shared channels.

20. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein:

the demodulation reference signal ports of the first control resource set comprise a first set of demodulation reference signal ports and a second set of demodulation reference signal ports;

the first set of demodulation reference signal ports are quasi-collocated with the first set of reference signals; and

the second set of demodulation reference signal ports are quasi-collocated with a third set of reference signals, and the first and the third sets of reference signals are different.