IP Library Granted Patent US 12,414,126
Granted Patent B2
US 12,414,126 · App. 17/883,560 · Granted Sep 9, 2025

Scheduled cell identification for multi-cell scheduling

Inventors: Kazuki Takeda (Tokyo, JP); Wanshi Chen (San Diego, CA)
Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
H04W72/23
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,414,126
App. No.
17/883,560
Granted
Sep 9, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. A user equipment (UE) may receive a multi-cell downlink control information (MC-DCI) that via a scheduling cell may schedule communications for more than one scheduled cells. The overhead of a DCI (e.g., an MC-DCI) may be reduced by compressing or removing the carrier indication field (CIF). For example, radio resource control signaling may indicate, to a UE, a DCI payload size, control channel elements (CCE)s, and/or physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) candidates per scheduled cell or per group of scheduled cells. If the DCI payload sizes, CCEs, and/or PDCCH candidates are different for the scheduled cells indicated in the radio resource control message, the UE may determine to which scheduled cell(s) a DCI received in a PDCCH monitoring occasion applies based on the payload size and/or CCEs of the PDCCH monitoring occasion without using a CIF.

Claims (68)

1. A first network node for wireless communication, comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

receive control signaling including an indication of a respective downlink control information payload size for each subset of scheduled cells of a set of scheduled cells, wherein the set of scheduled cells are associated with a scheduling cell, and wherein the control signaling further includes an indication of a respective set of control channel elements for each subset of scheduled cells;

determine, based on first comparison information corresponding to the respective downlink control information payload sizes and second comparison information corresponding to the respective sets of control channel elements, a downlink control information format for a downlink control channel monitoring occasion in the scheduling cell, wherein the downlink control information format is associated with a subset of scheduled cells of the set of scheduled cells, wherein the downlink control information format includes an absence or a presence of an indication of the subset of scheduled cells; and

receive, via the downlink control channel monitoring occasion, downlink control information in accordance with the determined downlink control information format.

2. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the control signaling further includes an indication of a respective set of downlink control channels for each subset of scheduled cells, wherein third comparison information corresponds to the respective sets of downlink control channels, and wherein, to determine the downlink control information format, the at least one processor is configured to:

determine the downlink control information format based on the third comparison information.

3. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the first comparison information is indicative that each respective downlink control information payload size for each subset of scheduled cells is different, wherein, to determine the downlink control information format, the at least one processor is configured to:

determine the downlink control information format based on a payload size for the downlink control channel monitoring occasion that matches a respective downlink control information payload size of the subset of scheduled cells.

4. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the second comparison information is indicative that each respective set of control channel elements for each subset of scheduled cells is different, wherein, to determine the downlink control information format, the at least one processor is configured to:

determine the downlink control information format based on a set of control channel elements for the downlink control channel monitoring occasion that matches a respective set of control channel elements for the subset of scheduled cells.

5. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the first comparison information is indicative that at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes for at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, wherein the second comparison information is indicative that respective sets of control channel elements for the at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

determine, based on the first comparison information being indicative that the at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes are equal and the second comparison information being indicative that the respective sets of control channel elements are equal, that the downlink control information includes the presence of the indication of the subset of scheduled cells, wherein the indication of the subset of scheduled cells comprises an explicit indication of the subset of scheduled cells.

6. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the first comparison information is indicative that at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes for at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, wherein the second comparison information is indicative that respective sets of control channel elements for the at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

determine, based on the first comparison information being indicative that the at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes are equal and the second comparison information being indicative that the respective sets of control channel elements are equal, that the downlink control information includes the presence of the indication of the subset of scheduled cells, wherein the indication of the subset of scheduled cells comprises a rule-based indication of the subset of scheduled cells.

7. The first network node of claim 6 , wherein the rule-based indication comprises information indicative of a rule to select the subset of scheduled cells of the set of scheduled cells based on one of a component carrier index associated with one or more scheduled cells within the subset of scheduled cells, a subcarrier spacing associated with one or more scheduled cells within the subset of scheduled cells, the subset of scheduled cells including a primary cell for the first network node, the subset of scheduled cells including the scheduling cell, or a number of cells associated with the subset of scheduled cells.

8. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the first comparison information is indicative that at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes for at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, wherein the second comparison information is indicative that respective sets of control channel elements for the at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

determine, based on the first comparison information being indicative that the at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes are equal and the second comparison information being indicative that the respective sets of control channel elements are equal, that the downlink control information includes the presence of the indication of the subset of scheduled cells, wherein the indication of the subset of scheduled cells comprises a radio network identifier used to scramble a cyclic redundancy check of the downlink control channel monitoring occasion.

9. The first network node of claim 8 , wherein the control signaling further includes an indication of an association between respective radio network identifiers and each subset of scheduled cells.

10. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the downlink control information includes scheduling information for one or more communications with the subset of scheduled cells.

11. The first network node of claim 10 , wherein the control signaling further includes an indication of a respective carrier indicator associated with each scheduled cell of the set of scheduled cells, and wherein a determination of the scheduling information is based on the indication of the respective carrier indicator associated with each scheduled cell of the set of scheduled cells.

12. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

compare the respective downlink control information payload sizes; and

generate the first comparison information based on the comparison of the respective downlink control information payload sizes.

13. The first network node of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

compare the respective sets of control channel elements; and

generate the second comparison information based on the comparison of the respective sets of control channel elements.

14. A first network node for wireless communication, comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

transmit, to a second network node, control signaling including an indication of a respective downlink control information payload size for each subset of scheduled cells of a set of scheduled cells, wherein the set of scheduled cells are associated with a scheduling cell, and wherein the control signaling further includes an indication of a respective set of control channel elements for each subset of scheduled cells;

determine, based on first comparison information corresponding to the respective downlink control information payload sizes and second comparison information corresponding to the respective sets of control channel elements, a downlink control information format for a downlink control channel monitoring occasion in the scheduling cell, wherein the downlink control information format is associated with a subset of scheduled cells of the set of scheduled cells, wherein the downlink control information format includes an absence or a presence of an indication of the subset of scheduled cells; and

transmit, via the downlink control channel monitoring occasion, a downlink control information in accordance with the determined downlink control information format.

15. The first network node of claim 14 , wherein the control signaling further includes an indication of a respective set of downlink control channels for each subset of scheduled cells, wherein third comparison information corresponds to the respective sets of downlink control channels, and wherein, to determine the downlink control information format, the at least one processor is configured to:

determine the downlink control information format based on the third comparison information.

16. The first network node of claim 14 , wherein the first comparison information is indicative that each respective downlink control information payload size for each subset of scheduled cells is different, wherein to determine the downlink control information format, the at least one processor is configured to:

determine the downlink control information format based on a payload size for the downlink control channel monitoring occasion that matches a respective downlink control information payload size of the subset of scheduled cells.

17. The first network node of claim 14 , wherein the second comparison information is indicative that each respective set of control channel elements for each subset of scheduled cells is different, wherein to determine the downlink control information format, the at least one processor is configured to:

determine is based on a set of control channel elements for the downlink control channel monitoring occasion that matches a respective set of control channel elements for the subset of scheduled cells.

18. The first network node of claim 14 , wherein the first comparison information is indicative that at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes for at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, wherein the second comparison information is indicative that respective sets of control channel elements for the at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

determine, based on the first comparison information being indicative that the at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes are equal and the second comparison information being indicative that the respective sets of control channel elements are equal, that the downlink control information includes the presence of the indication of the subset of scheduled cells, wherein the indication of the subset of scheduled cells comprises an explicit indication of the subset of scheduled cells.

19. The first network node of claim 14 , wherein the first comparison information is indicative that at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes for at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, wherein the second comparison information is indicative that respective sets of control channel elements for the at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

determine, based on the first comparison information being indicative that the at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes are equal and the second comparison information being indicative that the respective sets of control channel elements are equal, that the downlink control information includes the presence of the indication of the subset of scheduled cells, wherein the indication of the subset of scheduled cells comprises a rule-based indication of the subset of scheduled cells.

20. The first network node of claim 19 , wherein the rule-based indication comprises information indicative of a rule to select the subset of scheduled cells of the set of scheduled cells based on one of a component carrier index associated with one or more scheduled cells within the subset of scheduled cells, a subcarrier spacing associated with one or more scheduled cells within the subset of scheduled cells, the subset of scheduled cells including a primary cell for the first network node, the subset of scheduled cells including the scheduling cell, or a number of cells associated with the subset of scheduled cells.

21. The first network node of claim 14 , wherein the first comparison information is indicative that at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes for at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, wherein the second comparison information is indicative that respective sets of control channel elements for the at least two subsets of scheduled cells are equal, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

determine, based on the first comparison information being indicative that the at least two respective downlink control information payload sizes are equal and the second comparison information being indicative that the respective sets of control channel elements are equal, that the downlink control information includes the presence of the indication of the subset of scheduled cells, wherein the indication of the subset of scheduled cells comprises a radio network identifier used to scramble a cyclic redundancy check of the downlink control channel monitoring occasion.

22. The first network node of claim 21 , wherein the control signaling further includes an indication of an association between respective radio network identifiers and each subset of scheduled cells.

23. The first network node of claim 14 , wherein the downlink control information includes scheduling information for one or more communications between the second network node and the subset of scheduled cells.

24. The first network node of claim 23 , wherein the control signaling further includes an indication of a respective carrier indicator associated with each scheduled cell of the set of scheduled cells, and wherein a determination of the scheduling information is based on the indication of the respective carrier indicator associated with each scheduled cell of the set of scheduled cells.

25. The first network node of claim 14 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

compare the respective downlink control information payload sizes; and

generate the first comparison information based on the comparison of the respective downlink control information payload sizes.

26. The first network node of claim 14 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

compare the respective sets of control channel elements; and

generate the second comparison information based on the comparison of the respective sets of control channel elements.

27. A method for wireless communications at a first network node, comprising:

receiving control signaling including an indication of a respective downlink control information payload size for each subset of scheduled cells of a set of scheduled cells, wherein the set of scheduled cells are associated with a scheduling cell, and wherein the control signaling further includes an indication of a respective set of control channel elements for each subset of scheduled cells;

determining, based on first comparison information corresponding to the respective downlink control information payload sizes and second comparison information corresponding to the respective sets of control channel elements, a downlink control information format for a downlink control channel monitoring occasion in the scheduling cell, wherein the downlink control information format is associated with a subset of scheduled cells of the set of scheduled cells, wherein the downlink control information format includes an absence or a presence of an indication of the subset of scheduled cells; and

receiving, via the downlink control channel monitoring occasion, downlink control information in accordance with the determined downlink control information format.

28. The method of claim 27 , wherein the control signaling further includes an indication of a respective set of downlink control channels for each subset of scheduled cells, wherein third comparison information corresponds to the respective sets of downlink control channels, and wherein determining the downlink control information format comprises:

determining the downlink control information format based on the third comparison information.

29. The method of claim 27 , wherein the first comparison information is indicative that each respective downlink control information payload size for each subset of scheduled cells is different, wherein determining the downlink control information format comprises:

determining the downlink control information format based on a payload size for the downlink control channel monitoring occasion that matches a respective downlink control information payload size of the subset of scheduled cells.

30. A method for wireless communications at a first network node, comprising:

transmitting, to a second network node, control signaling including an indication of a respective downlink control information payload size for each subset of scheduled cells of a set of scheduled cells, wherein the set of scheduled cells are associated with a scheduling cell, and wherein the control signaling further includes an indication of a respective set of control channel elements for each subset of scheduled cells;

determining, based on first comparison information corresponding to the respective downlink control information payload sizes and second comparison information corresponding to the respective sets of control channel elements, a downlink control information format for a downlink control channel monitoring occasion in the scheduling cell, wherein the downlink control information format is associated with a subset of scheduled cells of the set of scheduled cells, wherein the downlink control information format includes an absence or a presence of an indication of the subset of scheduled cells; and

transmitting, via the downlink control channel monitoring occasion, a downlink control information in accordance with the determined downlink control information format.

Assignments (2)
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE THE DOCUMENT OF THE ASSIGNMENT PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 060976 FRAME: 0133. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Feb 22, 2023
From: TAKEDA, KAZUKI; CHEN, WANSHI
To: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
Reel/Frame 062821/0506 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 2, 2022
From: TAKEDA, KAZUKI; CHEN, WANSHI
To: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
Reel/Frame 060976/0133 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240049244A1 · Feb 8, 2024
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