METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR DL/UL FORMAT DETERMINATION WITHIN A SUBFRAME

Abstract

Aspects of the disclosure provide an apparatus that includes a transceiver circuit and a processing circuit. The transceiver circuit is configured to transmit/receive signals in a shared channel by the apparatus and other apparatuses. A portion of transmission resources in the shared channel is allocated to the apparatus to carry control information in a control information format that is adjustable in time domain and frequency domain. The processing circuit is configured to determine the control information format, encode/decode the control information based on the control information format and encode/decode data according to the control information.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from PCT Application Number PCT/CN2016/101229, entitled “DL/UL format determination within a subframe”, filed on Sep. 30, 2016; the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to wireless communication, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for control information configuration in wireless communication.

BACKGROUND

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.

In a wireless communication network, a network provider can use a shared channel to communicate with one or more user equipment (UE). In an example, the network provider provides downlink control information of the shared channel to the one or more user equipment. Then the one or more user equipment can receive/transmit data using the shared channel according to the downlink control information.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the disclosure provide an apparatus that includes a transceiver circuit and a processing circuit. The transceiver circuit is configured to transmit/receive signals in a shared channel by the apparatus and other apparatuses. A portion of transmission resources in the shared channel is allocated to the apparatus to carry control information in a control information format that is adjustable in time domain and frequency domain. The processing circuit is configured to determine the control information format, encode/decode the control information based on the control information format and encode/decode data according to the control information.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the transceiver circuit is configured to receive downlink signals from an allocation control apparatus to the apparatus and generate digital samples in response to the downlink signals. The downlink signals have a plurality of frequency sub-bands allocated as the transmission resources, a specific frequency sub-band is allocated to the apparatus to carry the data and the control information to the apparatus and to carry an indicator for the control information format. The processing circuit is configured to receive the digital samples, process the digital samples to generate symbols in the respective frequency sub-bands, determine the control information format based on the indicator, and decode the control information according to the control information format.

In an embodiment, the processing circuit is configured to determine the control information format based on a bandwidth of a frequency sub-band allocated to the apparatus.

In another embodiment, the processing circuit is configured to determine the control information format based on a transmission slot structure of the signals. In an example, the processing circuit is configured to determine the slot structure as one of an uplink-only structure, a downlink-only structure, an uplink-major structure, and a downlink-major structure.

Aspects of the disclosure provide a method of communication. The method includes determining, by a processing circuit in an apparatus, control information format that is adjustable in time domain and frequency domain. Control information is carried by a portion of transmission resources in a shared channel according to the control information format. The method further includes encoding/decoding the control information based on the control information format, and encoding/decoding data according to the control information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of this disclosure that are proposed as examples will be described in detail with reference to the following figures, wherein like numerals reference like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows format examples of resource structures 210-240 for downlink and uplink according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart outlining a process 300 according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart outlining a process 400 according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The communication system 100 includes a first electronic device 110 that communicates with one or more second electronic devices 160A-160N using a shared channel. According to the disclosure, the shared channel includes transmission resources that are allocated to carry data and control information. The shared channel is configured to use a flexible control information format for the control information, thus the shared channel can have more transmission resources saved to carry the data.

The communication system 100 can be any suitable wireless communication system that uses suitable wireless communication technology, such as second generation (2G) mobile network technology, third generation (3G) mobile network technology, fourth generation (4G) mobile network technology, fifth generation (5G) mobile network technology, global system for mobile communication (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE), a New Radio (NR) access technology, a wireless local area network (WLAN), and the like.

In an embodiment, the first electronic device 110 is an interface node, such as a base transceiver station, a Node B, an evolved Node B, and the like, in a telecommunication service provider. The first electronic device 110 includes hardware components and software components configured to enable wireless communications between the first electronic device 110 and the second electronic devices 160A-160N that have subscribed services of the telecommunication service provider. The first electronic device 110 is suitably coupled with other nodes, such as core nodes in a backbone of the telecommunication service provider, other interface nodes of the telecommunication service provider, and the like.

Further, in an embodiment, the second electronic devices 160A-160N are terminal devices. In an example, a terminal device is user equipment used by an end-user for mobile telecommunication, such as a cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop, a wearable device and the like. In another example, a terminal device is a stationary device, such as a desktop computer. In another example, a terminal device is a machine type communication device, such as a wireless sensor, an Internet of things (IoT) device and the like.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the communication system 100 is configured to use a shared channel in the physical layer to transmit information, such as data, control information, and the like, to/from the second electronic devices 160A-160N. In an example, when the shared channel is used to transmit information from the first electronic device 110 to the second electronic devices 160A-160N, the shared channel is referred to as a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); when the shared channel is used to transmit information from the second electronic devices 160A-160N to the first electronic device 110, the shared channel is referred to as a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). The shared channel includes transmission resources that are allocated to the second electronic devices 160A-160N. In an example, the resource allocation information for the downlink and/or uplink communication is included in downlink control information (DCI) with other control information. For example, a sub-frame in downlink carries DCI for transmission in the current sub-frame and further transmissions. The downlink control information (DCI) is carried by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the sub-frame.

In an embodiment, the shared channel is configured to support time division multiplexing (TDM) and/or frequency division multiplexing (FDM).

In an example, in the frequency domain, sub-carriers are defined in the frequency domain according to a sub-carrier spacing. In an example, a carrier of 20 MHz bandwidth can include 1200 sub-carriers according to 15 KHz sub-carrier spacing. In another example, a carrier of 160 MHz bandwidth can include 2400 sub-carriers according to 60 KHz sub-carrier spacing. Further, in an example, the carrier can be divided into sub-bands in the frequency domain. The sub-bands can have the same or different number of sub-carriers. In an example, a carrier of 160 MHz bandwidth can be divided into 20 sub-bands of the same bandwidth per sub-band, thus each sub-band includes 120 sub-carriers.

In the time domain, in an example, transmissions are structured in the time duration as radio frames. In an example, each radio frame is 10 ms long and consists of ten sub-frames of 1 ms each. In another example, each radio frame is 10 ms long and consists of forty sub-frames of 0.25 ms each. A sub-frame can be further divided into for example 2 time slots, and a time slot can be divided into 7 symbol periods in an example.

In an embodiment, transmission resources of a shared channel are allocated in time and frequency domains. For example, in the two dimensional time and frequency domain, a resource element (RE) is made up of a symbol in the time domain and a sub-carrier in the frequency domain. Further, in an example, a physical resource block (PRB) is made up of a slot in the time domain and 12 sub-carriers in the frequency domain.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, transmission resources of a shared channel (e.g., a sub-frame, a slot) are allocated by frequency sub-bands. The shared channel can be a downlink channel or an uplink channel Further, frequency sub-bands are respectively configured with flexible/adjustable control information formats, thus different frequency sub-bands can have different control information format. The control information format includes at least one of following elements: a transmission scheme (e.g., diversity vs beamforming, narrow band vs wide band), a channel duration in time domain, the channel resources in frequency domain or code domain.

In an embodiment, the frequency domain is partitioned into, for example a first sub-band of a first bandwidth, a second sub-band of a second bandwidth, and the like. The first sub-band is allocated to a first group of the second electronic devices, and the second sub-band is allocated to a second group of the second electronic devices. The first group and the second group respectively include one or more second electronic devices. The first bandwidth and the second bandwidth can be the same or can be different. The first sub-band and the second sub-band can be respectively configured to carry control information and data. In an example, the first sub-band is configured to have two symbol periods allocated for control information (referred to as control channel) and the rest of the symbol periods allocated for data (referred to as data channel), and the second sub-band is configured to have one symbol period allocated for control information (referred to as control channel) and the rest of the symbol periods allocated for data (referred to as data channel). Further, in an embodiment, resources in the control channel can be allocated according to TDM technique. In an example, the first sub-band is allocated to two devices, a first symbol period in the control channel can be allocated to carry control information of one device, and a second symbol period in the control channel can be allocated to the other device.

Further, according to an aspect of the disclosure, the control information format can be used to determine time and frequency information for control channel and data channel. In an example, the control information format can be used to determine a time duration of transmission resources that are allocated to carry the control information. In another example, the control information format is used to determine a starting time point and/or an ending time point of transmission resources that are allocated to carry the data.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the control information format can be explicitly or implicitly indicated, thus the second electronic devices 160A-160N can respectively determine corresponding control information format. In an embodiment, the first electronic device 110 includes one or more indicators in a DCI for one or more second electronic devices. The one or more indicators indicate the control information format. In an example, the control information format, such as a transmission scheme, a channel duration in time domain, the channel resources in frequency domain or code domain and the like, is collectively encoded in a single indicator to indicate a combination of the elements in the control information format. In another embodiment, the control information format is encoded as multiple independent indicators for respective elements.

In another embodiment, the control information format of a frequency sub-band depends on other characteristic of transmission resources in the frequency sub-band. In an example, control information format for a sub-band is associated with a bandwidth of the sub-band. For example, a control channel occupies 2 symbol period in the sub-band when the bandwidth of the sub-band is 5 MHz, and occupies 1 symbol period in the sub-band when the bandwidth of the sub-band is 10 MHz.

In another example, control information format in a sub-band is associated with a structure of transmission resources in the sub-band, such as a slot structure, and the like in time domain. In an example, a time slot or a sub-frame can have one of four slot structures, such as a downlink-only structure, an uplink-only structure, a downlink-major structure and an uplink-major structure. For example, the downlink-only structure includes only downlink transmission within a slot; the uplink-only structure includes only uplink transmission within a slot; the downlink-major structure includes both downlink and uplink transmission in a slot, and downlink transmission duration in the slot is longer than uplink transmission duration in the slot; and uplink-major structure includes both downlink and uplink transmission in a slot, and uplink transmission duration is longer than the downlink transmission duration. Guard period (GP) may be included in the slot structure. In an example, each slot structure has an associated control information format. Thus, when, for example, the second electronic device 160A determines a slot structure, the second electronic device 160A can determine the control information format that is associated with the determined slot structure.

In an embodiment, the information of slot structure for, for example the second electronic device 160A, is carried in the DCI for the second electronic device 160A. In an example, the DCI includes an indicator for the slot structure of the transmission resources, such as in indicator for a slot structure. It is noted that the DCI that carries the indicator for the slot structure of the transmission resources can be user equipment (UE)-specific, or cell-specific.

In an example, a radio resource control (RRC) connection is setup between the first electronic device 110 and a second electronic device, such as the second electronic device 160A, thus the second electronic device 160A can receive UE-specific DCI that includes an indictor for the slot structure. For example, the UE-specific DCI is carried by transmission resources in a sub-band that is allocated to the second electronic device 160A. The second electronic device 160A can determine the slot structure based on the indicator in the UE-specific DCI.

In another example, when the RRC connection is released, the second electronic device 160A enters an idle state, and the second electronic device 160A can receive a cell-specific DCI that is broadcasted from the first electronic device 110, and is common to the second electronic devices 160A-160N. The second electronic device 160A can receive the cell-specific DCI that includes an indicator for the slot structure, determine the slot structure based on the cell-specific DCI.

In another example, the first electronic device 110 multicasts/group-casts an indicator to a group of the second electronic devices that have the same slot structure. The group of the second electronic devices can determine the slot structure based on the multi-casted/group-casted indicator.

In another example, an indicator of a slot structure for, for example the second electronic device 160A, is carried by transmission resources that are allocated for common usage by, for example, a group of the second electronic devices 160A-160N. The transmission resources allocated for common usage can carry multicast information to the group or unicast information, for example to the second electronic device 160A. In an example, the transmission resources allocated for common usage by the group occupy a smaller bandwidth than a full system bandwidth.

Specifically, in the FIG. 1 example, a radio frame that includes a sub-frame 150 is transmitted between the first electronic device 110 and the second electronic devices 160A-160N. The sub-frame 150 includes multiple frequency sub-bands in the frequency domain, such as a first sub-band 151 and a second sub-band 155. In an example, the first sub-band 151 is allocated to for example the second electronic device 160A, and the second sub-band 155 is allocated to the second electronic device 160N. The control information formats of the first sub-band 151 and the second sub-band 155 are respectively configured, and can be different.

In the FIG. 1 example, the first sub-band 151 includes transmission resources 152 allocated for transmitting control information, and includes transmission resources 153 allocated for transmitting data; and the second sub-band 155 includes transmission resources 156 allocated for transmitting control information, and transmission resources 157 allocated for transmitting data. In the FIG. 1 example, the time duration for the transmission resources 152 is different from the time duration for the transmission resources 156. For example, the transmission resources 152 occupy one symbol period, and the transmission resources 156 occupy two symbol periods.

In a related example, a centralized control channel is used to transmit downlink control information. In the related example, the centralized control channel occupies first one or two or three symbols in the time domain, and occupies across most of the system frequency domain to deliver DCI messages. For example, when the number of second electronic devices 160A-160N is less than a first threshold (e.g., 10), the centralized control channel occupies the first symbol in the time domain, and occupies across most of the system frequency domain; when the number of second electronic devices 160A-160N is between the first threshold and a second threshold (e.g., 20), the centralized control channel occupies the first two symbols in the time domain, and occupies across most of the frequency domain; and when the number of second electronic devices 160A-160N is between the second threshold and a third threshold (e.g., 30), the centralized control channel occupies the first three symbols in the time domain, and occupies across most of the system frequency domain.

In the FIG. 1 example, control information is distributed in the frequency sub-bands, and flexible control format is used in respective frequency sub-bands, transmission resources can be saved at the sub-band level, and the saved transmission resources can be used to transmit more data in the sub-band level in an example.

In an example, the sub-frame 150 is a downlink sub-frame, the second electronic devices 160A-160N receive the sub-frame 150, the second electronic devices 160A-160N are respectively configured to monitor the frequency sub-bands 151 and 155, decode the control channels 152 and 156, and determine the control information and the resource assignments based on the decoding.

In an embodiment, when the frequency sub-band 151 is allocated to the second electronic device 160A, the frequency sub-band 151 is encoded to be indicative of the second electronic device 160A. For example, some bits, such as cyclic redundancy check (CRC) bits in the frequency sub-band 151 is generated via an identifier (e.g., radio network temporary identifier) of the second electronic device 160A.

In the embodiment, the second electronic device 160A monitors the sub-bands 151 and 155, and decodes the control channel 152 and 156. During the decoding, in an example, the second electronic device 160A uses its own identifier to decode the control channel 152 and 156. Further, in an embodiment, the second electronic device 160A can decode the control channel 152 and 156 according to a plurality of formats. In an example, when the control channel 152 is decoded successfully according to one of the formats, the second electronic device 160A can determine the resource allocation and encoding format based on the decoding success, and extract the control information delivered by the control channel 152.

It is noted that, the other second electronic devices can operate similarly as the second electronic device 160A.

In another example, the sub-frame 150 is an uplink sub-frame that is transmitted by one or more of the second electronic devices 160A-160N according to resource assignments provided by the first electronic device 110. The resource assignments are carried by DCI in a downlink sub-frame.

Specifically, in the FIG. 1 example, the first electronic device 110 includes a first transceiver 113 and a first processing circuit 120 coupled together. In the example, the first processing circuit 120 includes a transmission processing circuit 130 for the flexible control format. The first electronic device 110 can include other suitable components (not shown), such as processors, memory, a reception processing circuit and the like. In an embodiment, the first electronic device 110 may include a memory which stores program instructions and/or data to control the operations of the first electronic device 110.

The second electronic device 160A includes a second transceiver 163A and a second processing circuit 170A coupled together. The second processing circuit 170A includes a reception processing circuit 180A for the flexible control format and a transmission processing circuit 185A for the flexible control format. The second electronic device 160A can include other suitable components (not shown), such as processors, memory, and the like. Other second electronic devices are configured similarly as the second electronic device 160A. In an embodiment, the second electronic device 160A may include a memory which stores program instructions and/or data to control the operations of the second electronic device 160A.

The first transceiver 113 is configured to receive and transmit wireless signals. In an example, the first transceiver 113 includes a receiving circuit RX 116 and a transmitting circuit TX 115. The receiving circuit RX 116 is configured to generate electrical signals in response to captured electromagnetic waves by an antenna 114, and process the electrical signals to extract digital samples from the electrical signals. For example, the receiving circuit RX 116 can filter, amplify, down convert, and digitalize the electrical signals to generate the digital samples. The receiving circuit RX 116 can provide the digital samples to the first processing circuit 120 for further processing.

In an example, the transmitting circuit TX 115 is configured to receive digital stream (e.g., output samples) from the first processing circuit 120, process the digital stream to generate radio frequency (RF) signals, and cause the antenna 114 to emit electromagnetic waves in the air to carry the digital stream. In an example, the transmitting circuit TX 115 can convert the digital stream to analog signals, and amplify, filter and up-convert the analog signals to generate the RF signals.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the transmission processing circuit 130 is configured to receive downlink control information and encode the downlink control information into a control channel according to the flexible control format. Further, the transmission processing circuit 130 is configured to suitably encode data, and generate a digital stream (e.g., output samples) in response to the encoded data and downlink control information.

In an embodiment, the transmission processing circuit 130 is configured to receive downlink control information message for a second electronic device, such as for the second electronic device 160A, or for a group of second electronic devices, and perform channel coding on the downlink control information to generate encoded control bits. In an example, the transmission processing circuit 130 is configured to insert cyclic redundancy check (CRC), and conduct rate matching and the like to generate the encoded control bits. In an example, the transmission processing circuit 130 generates the CRC bits with an identifier, such as an identifier of the second electronic device 160A, a system information identifier, and the like.

Then, in an example, the transmission processing circuit 130 is configured to map the encoded control bits to one or more control resource sets according to the flexible control format. For example, the transmission processing circuit 130 is configured to perform quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation, and generate orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols for the encoded control bits. Then, the transmission processing circuit 130 can map the OFDM symbols into a control channel in a frequency sub-band that is allocated to the second electronic device 160A.

It is noted that, in an embodiment, the transmission processing circuit 130 can encode DCI messages for respective second electronic devices into frequency sub-bands that are respectively allocated to the second electronic devices. In another embodiment, the transmission processing circuit 130 can encode group-specific DCI messages for respective groups of the second electronic devices into frequency sub-bands that are respectively allocated to the groups.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the transmission processing circuit 130 can also process the data according to suitable channel coding technique, such as error detection coding technique, rate matching coding technique, low density parity check (LDPC) coding technique, polar coding technique and the like. The processed data is suitably modulated and multiplexed. In an example, the data can be modulated using suitable modulation technique, such as quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) and the like, and can be multiplexed using suitable multiplexing technique, such as orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and the like. Then, the modulated symbols are interleaved and mapped to physical resource elements (REs) allocated for data transmission.

The transmission processing circuit 130 then generates the digital stream based on the resource element mapping results of the data processing and the downlink control information processing.

It is noted that the transmission processing circuit 130 can perform other suitable functions, such as scrambling, and the like. It is noted that the transmission processing circuit 130 can be implemented using various techniques. In an example, the transmission processing circuit 130 is implemented as integrated circuits. In another example, transmission processing circuit 130 is implemented as one or more processors executing software instructions.

The second transceiver 163A is configured to receive and transmit wireless signals. In an example, the second transceiver 163A includes a receiving circuit RX 166A and a transmitting circuit TX 165A. The receiving circuit RX 166A is configured to generate electrical signals in response to captured electromagnetic waves by an antenna 164A, and process the electrical signals to extract digital samples from the electrical signals. For example, the receiving circuit RX 166A can filter, amplify, down convert, and digitalize the electrical signals to generate the digital samples. The receiving circuit RX 166A can provide the digital samples to the second processing circuit 170A for further processing.

In an example, the transmitting circuit TX 165A is configured to receive a digital stream (e.g., output samples) from the second processing circuit 170A, process the digital stream to generate radio frequency (RF) signals, and cause the antenna 164A to emit electromagnetic waves in the air to carry the digital stream. In an example, the transmitting circuit TX 165A can convert the digital stream to analog signals, and amplify, filter and up-convert the analog signals to generate the RF signals.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the reception processing circuit 180A is configured to receive the digital samples from the receiving circuit RX 166A, process the digital samples to generate symbols in the respective frequency sub-bands, decode the symbols in the respective frequency sub-bands to determine the specific frequency sub-band that is allocated to the second electronic device 160A, and extract the downlink control information for the second electronic device 160A.

In an embodiment, the reception processing circuit 180A is configured to receive the digital samples, and perform demodulation on the digital samples to generate symbols for resource elements in the two dimensional time frequency domain. Further, the reception processing circuit 180A is configured to decode symbols at the control channel according to the flexible control format.

In an embodiment, the reception processing circuit 180A is configured to decode symbols at the control channel candidates according to frequency sub-bands. In an example, for a frequency sub-band, the reception processing circuit 180A is configured to collect the symbols of the control channel, and attempt to decode the collected symbols. In an example, a control channel can have multiple formats. The reception processing circuit 180A can decode respectively according to the multiple formats. In another example, the second electronic device 160A can have multiple identifiers. The reception processing circuit 180A can de-mask CRC bits respectively according to the multiple identifier. The reception processing circuit 180A can perform CRC decoding.

In an example, when the reception processing circuit 180A achieves a success in CRC decoding (e.g., no CRC error) in a frequency sub-band, the reception processing circuit 180A determines that the frequency sub-band is allocated to the second electronic device 160A. Then, the reception processing circuit 180A can perform a full decoding to extract the control information and the data in the frequency sub-band.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the reception processing circuit 180A is configured to detect the control information format of the control channel for the second electronic device 160A. In an example, an indicator of the control information format is at a specific position in the two dimensional time frequency domain of a sub-frame of downlink, the reception processing circuit 180A checks the specific position for the indicator. In another example, the control information format is indicated by a characteristic of the frequency sub-band, such as a bandwidth of a frequency sub-band, a slot structure, and the like, and the reception processing circuit 180A detects an indicator for the characteristic or detects the characteristic.

In an embodiment, the reception processing circuit 180 can detect a control information format of a control channel. In an example, the reception processing circuit 180A collects symbols of a control channel in a potential frequency sub-band, and attempts to decode the collected symbols. In an example, the control channel has multiple potential formats. The reception processing circuit 180A can attempt to decode respectively according to the multiple potential formats. In another example, the second electronic device 160A has multiple identifiers. The reception processing circuit 180A can attempt to decode CRC bits respectively according to the multiple identifiers. Further, the reception processing circuit 180A performs CRC decoding. When an attempt of a potential control information format achieves a success in CRC decoding (e.g., no CRC error), the potential frequency sub-band is the frequency sub-band allocated to the second electronic device 160A, and the reception processing circuit 180 detects the control information format as the potential control information format.

It is noted that the reception processing circuit 180A can be implemented using various techniques. In an example, the reception processing circuit 180A is implemented as integrated circuits. In another example, the reception processing circuit 180A is implemented as one or more processors executing software instructions.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, the transmission processing circuit 185A is configured to receive uplink control information and encode the uplink control information into a control channel according to the flexible control format. Further, the transmission processing circuit 185A is configured to suitably encode data, and generate a digital stream (e.g., output samples) in response to the encoded data and uplink control information.

It is noted that the transmission processing circuit 185A can perform other suitable functions, such as scrambling, and the like. It is noted that the transmission processing circuit 185A can be implemented using various techniques. In an example, the transmission processing circuit 185A is implemented as integrated circuits. In another example, transmission processing circuit 185A is implemented as one or more processors executing software instructions.

It is also noted that while single antenna per device is used in the FIG. 1 example, the communication system 100 can be suitably modified to using multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology.

FIG. 2 shows format examples of resource structures 210-240 for downlink and uplink according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In an example, the resource structures 210-240 respectively correspond to a sub-frame or a time slot in a two dimensional time-frequency domain. In an example, the first electronic device 110 is configured to send a sub-frame according to the resource structure 210 or the resource structure 220. In another example, the second electronic device 160A and the second electronic device 160N are configured to send a sub-frame according to the resource structure 230 or the resource structure 240.

In the FIG. 2 example, the X-axis denotes to time domain, and the Y-axis denotes to frequency domain. The frequency domain can be partitioned into multiple sub-bands of same bandwidth or different bandwidths. The time domain can be partitioned into for example 14 symbol periods.

In the FIG. 2 example, the resource structure 210 includes a first sub-band 211 that is allocated to for example the second electronic device 160A (or a first group of devices), and a second sub-band 215 that is allocated to for example the second electronic device 160N (or a second group of devices). The first sub-band 211 includes resources 212 and resources 213 that are multiplexed according to TDM technique. In an example, the resources 212 form a control channel to carry control information, such as DCI and the like, to the second electronic device 160A (or the first group of devices), and the resources 213 form a data channel to carry data to the second electronic device 160A (or the first group of devices). The second sub-band 215 includes resources 216 and resources 217 that are multiplexed according to TDM technique. In an example, the resources 216 form a control channel to carry control information, such as DCI and the like, to the second electronic device 160N (or the second group of devices), and the resources 217 form a data channel to carry data to the second electronic device 160N (or the second group of devices). The control channels of the sub-bands are respectively formatted according to respect control information formats. For example, the resources 212 occupy one symbol period, and the resources 216 occupy two symbol periods.

In the FIG. 2 example, the resource structure 220 includes a first sub-band 221 that is allocated to a group of second electronic devices, such as the second electronic device 160A and the second electronic device 160N, and a second sub-band 225 that is allocated to for example a second electronic device that is not shown. In an embodiment, the first sub-band 221 includes resources 222, resources 223 and resources 224 that are multiplexed according to TDM technique. In an example, the resources 222 form a control channel to carry control information, such as DCI and the like, to the second electronic device 160A, the resources 223 form a control channel to carry control information, such as DCI and the like to the second electronic device 160N, and the resources 224 form a data channel to carry data to the second electronic device 160A and the second electronic device 160N. The resource assignments of the data channel respectively to the second electronic device 160A and the second electronic device 160N can be indicated in the control channels.

The second sub-band 225 includes resources 226 and resources 227 that are multiplexed according to TDM technique. In an example, the resources 226 form a control channel to carry control information, such as DCI and the like, to the second electronic device that is not shown, and the resources 227 form a data channel to carry data to the second electronic device that is not shown.

In an example, the resources 222 occupy one symbol period, the resources 223 occupy one symbol period and the resources 226 occupy three symbol periods.

In another example, resources 223 are not used by the second electronic device 160A and the second electronic device 160N, and can be used by other suitable device.

In the FIG. 2 example, the resource structure 230 includes a first sub-band 231 that is allocated to for example the second electronic device 160A (or a first group of devices), and a second sub-band 235 that is allocated to for example the second electronic device 160N (or a second group of devices). The first sub-band 231 includes resources 232 and resources 233 that are multiplexed according to TDM technique. In an example, the resources 232 form a data channel to carry data from the second electronic device 160A (or the first group of devices), and the resources 233 form a control channel to carry control information, such as hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgement (ACK)/negative-acknowledgement (NACK), channel quality indicators, scheduling requests for uplink transmission, and the likefrom the second electronic device 160A. The second sub-band 235 includes resources 236 and resources 237 that are multiplexed according to TDM technique. In an example, the resources 236 form a data channel to carry data from the second electronic device 160N (or the second group of devices), and the resources 237 form a control channel to carry control information, such as HARQ ACK/NACK, channel quality indicators, scheduling requests for uplink transmission, and the like from the second electronic device 160N. The control channels of the sub-bands are respectively formatted according to respect control information formats. For example, the resources 233 occupy two symbol periods, and the resources 237 occupy one symbol period.

In the FIG. 2 example, the resource structure 240 is allocated according to FDM, TDM and/or CDM techniques. In an example, the resource structure 240 is partitioned into resources 241, resources 242, resources 243 and resources 244. In an example, the resources 241 form a data channel for the second electronic device 160A, the resources 242 form a data channel for the second electronic device 160N, the resources 243 form a control channel for the second electronic device 160A, and the resources 244 form a control channel for the second electronic device 160N. In an example, the data channels occupied different frequency sub-band, and the control channels occupy for example system frequency domain.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart outlining a process 300 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In an example, the process 300 is executed by the first electronic device 110 to transmit radio frames according to flexible control format. The process starts at S301 and proceeds to S310.

At S310, resource allocation information is obtained. In an example, the first electronic device 110 receives the sub-band allocation information determined by other devices. In another example, a processor in the first electronic device 110 determines the resource allocation information, and provides the resource allocation information to the transmission processing circuit 130. The resource allocation information includes assignments of transmission resources of a sub-frame in the two dimensional time frequency domain to the second electronic devices 160A-160N, such as the resource structure 210, and the like.

At S320, downlink control information is encoded according to control information formats for control channels. In addition, indication of the control information formats is included in downlink control information. In an example, the transmission processing circuit 130 receives downlink control information for the second electronic device 160A and performs channel coding on the downlink control information to generate encoded control bits. In an example, the transmission processing circuit 130 can insert cyclic redundancy check (CRC), and conduct rate matching and the like to generate the encoded control bits. In an example, the transmission processing circuit 130 can also generate the CRC bits via an identifier, such as an identifier of the second electronic device 160A, a system information identifier, and the like.

Then, in the example, the transmission processing circuit 130 can perform quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation, and generate orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols for the encoded control bits. Further, the transmission processing circuit 130 can map the OFDM symbols into the control channel according to the control information format for the second electronic device 160A.

It is noted that the transmission processing circuit 130 can process downlink control information for other second electronic devices in the same or similar manner.

In an example, the control information format is implicitly indicated by, for example, a bandwidth of a sub-band allocated to the second electronic device 160A, a slot structure for the second electronic device 160A, and the like. In another example, one or more indicators are included in the DCI to explicitly indicate the control information format.

At S330, data is encoded according to the allocation information. In an example, the transmission processing circuit 130 then processes the data to the second electronic device 160A according to suitable channel coding technique, such as error detection coding technique, rate matching coding technique, low density parity check (LDPC) coding technique, polar coding technique and the like. The processed data is suitably modulated and multiplexed. In an example, the data can be modulated using suitable modulation technique, such as quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) and the like, and can be multiplexed using suitable multiplexing technique, such as orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and the like. Then, the modulated symbols are interleaved and mapped to physical resource elements (REs) that are allocated for data transmission to the second electronic device 160A.

It is noted that the transmission processing circuit 130 can process data to other second electronic devices in the same or similar manner. The transmission processing circuit 130 then generates a digital stream (e.g., output samples) based on the resource element mapping results of the data processing and the downlink control information processing.

At S340, wireless signals are transmitted to carry data and downlink control information. In an example, the transmitting circuit TX 115 receives the digital stream (e.g., output samples), processes the digital stream to generate radio frequency (RF) signals, and causes the antenna 114 to emit electromagnetic waves in the air to carry the digital stream. Then the process proceeds to S399 and terminates.

FIG. 4 shows a flow chart outlining a process 400 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In an example, the process 400 is executed by the second electronic device 160A. The process starts at S401 and proceeds to S410.

At S410, wireless signals are received. In an example, the receiving circuit RX 166A generates electrical signals in response to captured electromagnetic waves by the antenna 164A, and processes the electrical signals to extract digital samples from the electrical signals. For example, the receiving circuit RX 166A can filter, amplify, down convert, and digitalize the electrical signals to generate the digital samples.

At S420, symbols in a sub-frame are generated. In an example, the reception processing circuit 180A receives the digital samples, and performs demodulation on the digital samples to generate symbols for resource elements in the two dimensional time frequency domain.

At S430, an indicator for control information format is detected. In an example, the indicator is at a specific position in the two dimensional time frequency domain of the sub-frame, the reception processing circuit 180A checks the specific position for the indicator. In another example, the control information format is indicated by a characteristic of the frequency sub-band, such as a bandwidth of a frequency sub-band, a slot structure, and the like, and the reception processing circuit 180A detects the characteristic or indicators of the characteristic.

In an embodiment, the reception processing circuit 180A detects the control information format. In an example, the reception processing circuit 180A collects symbols of a control channel in a potential frequency sub-band, and attempts to decode the collected symbols. In an example, the control channel has multiple potential formats. The reception processing circuit 180A can attempt to decode respectively according to the multiple potential formats. In another example, the second electronic device 160A has multiple identifiers. The reception processing circuit 180A can attempt to de-mask CRC bits respectively according to the multiple identifiers. Further, the reception processing circuit 180A performs CRC decoding. When an attempt of a potential format achieves a success in CRC decoding (e.g., no CRC error), the reception processing circuit 180 determines that the potential format is the control information format.

At S440, control information is decoded based on the indicator. In an example, the reception processing circuit 180A determines the control information format that is indicated by the indicator. Then, the reception processing circuit 180A can perform decoding according to the control information format.

At S450, the control information is used for communication. In an example, the reception processing circuit 180A can decode the data to the second electronic device 160A according to the control information. Further, the second electronic device 160A can send uplink data according to the control information in an example. In another example, the transmission processing circuit 185A can use allocated resources for uplink to prepare digital samples for transmission. Then the process proceeds to S499 and terminates.

When implemented in hardware, the hardware may comprise one or more of discrete components, an integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.

While aspects of the present disclosure have been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments thereof that are proposed as examples, alternatives, modifications, and variations to the examples may be made. Accordingly, embodiments as set forth herein are intended to be illustrative and not limiting. There are changes that may be made without departing from the scope of the claims set forth below.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a transceiver circuit configured to transmit/receive signals in a shared channel by the apparatus and other apparatuses, a portion of transmission resources in the shared channel being allocated to the apparatus to carry control information in a control information format that is adjustable in time domain and frequency domain; and

a processing circuit configured to determine the control information format, encode/decode the control information based on the control information format and encode/decode data according to the control information.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the transceiver circuit is configured to receive downlink signals from an allocation control apparatus to the apparatus and generate digital samples in response to the downlink signals, the downlink signals having a plurality of frequency sub-bands allocated as the transmission resources, a specific frequency sub-band being allocated to the apparatus to carry the data and the control information to the apparatus and to carry an indicator for the control information format; and

the processing circuit is configured to receive the digital samples, process the digital samples to generate symbols in the respective frequency sub-bands, determine the control information format based on the indicator, and decode the control information according to the control information format.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine the control information format based on a bandwidth of a frequency sub-band allocated to the apparatus.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine the control information format based on a transmission time interval (TTI) structure of the signals.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine the slot structure as one of an uplink-only structure, a downlink-only structure, an uplink-major structure, and a downlink-major structure.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine a time duration of transmission resources that are allocated to carry the control information based on the control information format.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine a starting time point and/or an ending time point of transmission resources that are allocated to carry the data based on the control information format.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to determine the control information format based on downlink control information.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the downlink control information includes at least one of downlink control information that is specific for the apparatus, downlink control information that is broadcasted, downlink control information that is multi-casted.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the portion of transmission resources in the shared channel is configured to carry the control information of the apparatus and control information of another apparatus in a manner of time division multiplexing (TDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), and/or code division multiplexing (CDM).

11. A method of communication, comprising:

determining, by a processing circuit in an apparatus, control information format that is adjustable in time domain and frequency domain, control information being carried by a portion of transmission resources in a shared channel according to the control information format;

encoding/decoding the control information based on the control information format; and

encoding/decoding data according to the control information.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, by a receiving circuit in the apparatus, downlink signals from an allocation control apparatus to the apparatus, the downlink signals having a plurality of frequency sub-bands, a specific frequency sub-band being allocated to the apparatus to carry the data and the control information to the apparatus and to carry an indicator for the control information format.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

generating digital samples in response to the downlink signals;

generating symbols in the respective frequency sub-bands; and

determining the control information format based on the indicator.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein determining, by the processing circuit in the apparatus, the control information format that is adjustable in time domain and frequency domain further comprises:

determining the control information format based on a bandwidth of a frequency sub-band allocated to the apparatus.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein determining, by the processing circuit in the apparatus, the control information format that is adjustable in time domain and frequency domain further comprises:

determining the control information format based on a transmission slot structure of the transmission resources.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein determining the control information format based on the slot structure of the transmission resources further comprises:

determining the slot structure as one of an uplink-only structure, a downlink-only structure, an uplink-major structure, and a downlink-major structure.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining a time duration of transmission resources that are allocated to carry the control information based on the control information format.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining a starting time point and/or an ending time point of transmission resources that are allocated to carry the data based on the control information format.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein determining, by the processing circuit in the apparatus, the control information format that is adjustable in time domain and frequency domain further comprises:

determining the control information format based on downlink control information.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein determining the control information format based on downlink control information comprises at least one of:

determining the control information format based on downlink control information that is specific for the apparatus;

determining the control information format based on downlink control information that is broadcasted; and

determining the control information format based on downlink control information that is group casted.