Method and apparatus for communicating user data via a physical shared channel

1. A method at a user equipment, the method comprising:

receiving a downlink signal in a physical downlink control channel search space;

decoding a physical downlink control channel candidate according to a downlink control information format based on the received downlink signal,

where downlink control information of the downlink control information format dynamically indicates a transmission mode of a plurality of transmission modes, and

where the plurality of transmission modes include at least

transmission of multiple associated physical shared channels and

non-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel;

determining a transmission mode from the decoded physical downlink control channel candidate; and

communicating user data via at least one physical shared channel according to the determined transmission mode.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the downlink control information format includes a bit field indicating the transmission mode.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein transmission of multiple associated physical shared channels comprises transmitting a same transport block on each of multiple physical shared channels.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein non-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel comprises transmitting multiple spatial layers in the physical shared channel, where the multiple spatial layers comprise a plurality of subsets of spatial layers and each of the plurality of subsets of spatial layers is precoded independently from the other subsets of spatial layers.

5. The method according to claim 1 ,

wherein the downlink control information format comprises a first downlink control information format, and

wherein the physical downlink control channel search space is not associated with a second downlink control information format that indicates only a single transmission in a physical shared channel.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the downlink control information format includes information of a number of multiple associated physical shared channels and a number of spatial layers for each of the multiple associated physical shared channels.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of transmission modes include single transmission in a physical shared channel.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein determining the transmission mode comprises determining the transmission mode to be the single transmission in a physical shared channel based on a number of multiple associated physical shared channels being indicated as one or based on a number of independently precoded subsets of spatial layers of non-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel being indicated as one.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the downlink control information format includes information of a number of independently precoded subsets of spatial layers of non-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel and a number of spatial layers for each independently precoded subset of spatial layers of the non-coherent joint transmission in the physical shared channel.

10. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving at least one physical uplink control channel spatial setting in a physical uplink control channel spatial relation information configuration;

receiving a medium access control control element that indicates at least one active physical uplink control channel spatial setting selected from the at least one physical uplink control channel spatial setting;

determining a number of active physical uplink control channel spatial settings based on the received medium access control control element;

if the transmission mode is transmission of multiple associated physical uplink shared channels:

determining a number of multiple associated physical uplink shared channels based on the determined number of active physical uplink control channel spatial settings; and

determining spatial settings of the multiple associated physical uplink shared channels based on the active physical uplink control channel spatial settings indicated in the received medium access control control element; and

if the transmission mode is non-coherent joint transmission in a physical uplink shared channel:

determining a number of independently precoded subsets of spatial layers of non-coherent joint transmission in a physical uplink shared channel based on the determined number of active physical uplink control channel spatial settings; and

determining spatial settings of the independently precoded subsets of spatial layers of non-coherent joint transmission in a physical uplink shared channel based on the active physical uplink control channel spatial settings indicated in the received medium access control control element.

11. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a first spatial relation setting for a physical uplink control channel; and

receiving a second spatial relation setting,

wherein communicating comprises:

transmitting a first transmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based on the first spatial relation setting; and

transmitting a second transmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based on the second spatial setting, and

wherein the second spatial relation setting is a reference spatial relation setting.

12. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a plurality of transmission configuration indication-state configurations; and

receiving an indication of a first and second transmission configuration indication-states in the downlink control information,

wherein communicating comprises:

receiving a first transmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based on the first transmission configuration indication-state; and

receiving a second transmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based on the second transmission configuration indication-state.

13. The method according to claim 12 ,

wherein the multiple associated physical shared channels are multiple associated physical downlink shared channels,

wherein the first transmission is a first physical downlink shared channel of the multiple associated physical downlink shared channels, and

wherein the second transmission is a second physical downlink shared channel of the multiple associated physical downlink shared channels.

14. The method according to claim 12 ,

wherein the physical shared channel is a physical downlink shared channel,

wherein the first transmission is a first codeword of the non-coherent joint transmission in the physical downlink shared channel, and

wherein the second transmission is a second codeword of the non-coherent joint transmission in the physical downlink shared channel.

15. The method according to claim 12 ,

wherein the physical shared channel is a physical downlink shared channel,

wherein the first transmission is a first set of layers of a codeword of the non-coherent joint transmission in the physical downlink shared channel, and

wherein the second transmission is a second set of layers of the codeword of the non-coherent joint transmission in the physical downlink shared channel.

16. The method according to claim 12 , further comprising receiving a medium access control control element that indicates at least one active transmission configuration indication-state of the plurality of configured transmission configuration indication-states,

wherein the first and second transmission configuration indication-states are selected from the at least one active transmission configuration indication state.

17. An apparatus comprising:

a transceiver that receives a downlink signal in a physical downlink control channel search space; and

a controller coupled to the transceiver,

where the controller decodes a physical downlink control channel candidate according to a downlink control information format based on the received downlink signal,

where downlink control information of the downlink control information format dynamically indicates a transmission mode of a plurality of transmission modes, and

where the plurality of transmission modes include at least a mode for transmission of multiple associated physical shared channels and a mode for non-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel, and

where the controller determines a transmission mode from the decoded physical downlink control channel candidate,

wherein the transceiver communicates user data via at least one physical shared channel according to the determined transmission mode.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17 ,

wherein the transceiver

receives a first spatial relation setting for a physical uplink control channel,

receives a second spatial relation setting, and

communicates user data by transmitting a first transmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based on the first spatial relation setting and transmitting a second transmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based on the second spatial setting, and

wherein the second spatial relation setting is a reference spatial relation setting.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the transceiver

receives a plurality of transmission configuration indication-state configurations,

receives an indication of a first and second transmission configuration indication-states in the downlink control information, and

communicates user data by receiving a first transmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based on the first transmission configuration indication-state and receiving a second transmission corresponding to the determined transmission mode based on the second transmission configuration indication-state.

20. A method at a network entity, the method comprising:

transmitting a downlink signal in a physical downlink control channel search space the downlink signal including a physical downlink control channel candidate including downlink control information having a downlink control information format,

where the downlink control information dynamically indicates a transmission mode of a plurality of transmission modes, and

where the plurality of transmission modes include at least

transmission of multiple associated physical shared channels and

non-coherent joint transmission in a physical shared channel; and

communicating user data via at least one physical shared channel according to a transmission mode based on the physical downlink control channel candidate.