HK40009642B - Enabling multiple numerologies in a network - Google Patents

Description

Implementing multiple parameter sets in a network

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network, as well as a user equipment, a base station, a computer program and a computer program device of the network.

Background Art

The fifth generation of mobile telecommunications and wireless technology is not yet fully defined, but is at an advanced draft stage within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). It includes work on 5G New Radio (NR) access technology. The term Long Term Evolution (LTE) is used in this disclosure in a forward-looking sense to include equivalent 5G entities or functions, although different terminology is specified in 5G. To date, a general description of the protocols for 5G NR access technology is contained in 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 38.802 v0.3.0 (2016-10), the draft version of which has been published as R1-1610848.

Within 3GPP, ongoing study projects are looking at the NR interface for 5G. The terminology used to represent this new, next-generation technology has not yet converged, so the terms NR and 5G will be used interchangeably.

One of the first major decisions that 3GPP Working Group RAN1 needed to make regarding NR concerns was what are often referred to as "parameter set" and "frame structure." Within 3GPP RAN1, the term parameter set is used to define important numerical parameters that describe some fairly fundamental aspects of the OFDM radio interface, such as subcarrier spacing, OFDM symbol length, cyclic prefix length, number of symbols per subframe or slot, subframe length, and frame length. Some of these terms can also be subsumed under the term frame structure, such as frame length, number of subframes per frame, subframe length, the location and number of symbols carrying control information within a slot, frame, or subframe, and the location of channels carrying data. In NR, a subframe is 1ms and is clocked at 1ms. Transmissions use slots or subslots. A slot consists of either 7 or 14 symbols, with 7 symbols used for subcarrier spacing less than or equal to 60kHz and 14 symbols used for subcarrier spacing greater than 60kHz.

In addition, the term frame structure may include various additional aspects reflecting the structure of frames, subframes, and time slots, such as the positioning and density of reference signals (pilot signals), the arrangement and structure of control channels, the location and length of guard times for uplink to downlink switching (and vice versa) for time division duplexing (TDD), and time alignment. In general, parameter sets and frame structures contain a collection of fundamental aspects and parameters of the radio interface.

LTE supports a single subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz. There is additional flexibility for some other parameters in LTE. For example, the length of the cyclic prefix and the size of the control region can be configured within a subframe. Similarly, LTE can support multiple different frame structures, for example, for frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), and narrowband IoT (NB-IoT).

3GPP TSG RAN WG1 recently agreed that mixed subcarrier spacing can be supported on the same carrier in NR. For example, in 3GPP contribution R1-163224, the feasibility of mixed subcarrier spacing was studied, where it was shown that interference between non-orthogonal subcarriers can be successfully mitigated.

Summary of the Invention

The purpose of the embodiments proposed in this article is to implement hybrid numerology in 5G NR technology.

According to a first aspect, a method for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network is provided. The method is performed by a user equipment (UE) and includes: receiving system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; determining a second search space based on the received system information; and receiving other information in the second search space using a second parameter set.

The first parameter set may be different from the second parameter set. From the perspective of a UE performing the method of the first aspect, the case where the first parameter set and the second parameter set are different is supported, but is not a prerequisite for operation of the UE. Depending on the applicable configuration at a given point in time, the UE may also support and operate in a case where the first parameter set and the second parameter set are equal or identical. In other words, the second parameter set is configurable without being restricted by the first parameter set or relying on the characteristics of the first parameter set.

The broadcast channel may be a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

The step of receiving system information may further include detecting the system information.

The method may further include receiving synchronization information prior to receiving the broadcast channel.Based on receipt of the synchronization information received on one or more synchronization channels, the UE may infer a parameter set for a search space or region of the broadcast channel.

The second parameter set may be indicated in the received system information.

The second search space may be UE-specific.

The second search space may be a common search space.

The step of determining may further include determining a third search space having a third set of parameters.

According to a second aspect, a method for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network is provided. The method is performed by a base station (BS) and includes: sending system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; and sending other information in a second search space using a second parameter set.

The first parameter set may be different from the second parameter set.

The broadcast channel may be a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

The method may further include transmitting synchronization information of the broadcast channel.

According to a third aspect, a UE is provided for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network. The UE includes a processor and a computer program product. The computer program product stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the UE to: receive system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; determine a second search space based on the received system information; and receive other information in the second search space using a second parameter set.

According to a fourth aspect, a base station is provided for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network. The base station includes a processor and a computer program product. The computer program product stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the base station to: transmit system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; and transmit other information in a second search space using a second parameter set.

According to a fifth aspect, a UE is provided for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network. The UE includes a communication manager and a determination manager. The communication manager is configured to receive system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set, and to receive other information in a second search space using a second parameter set. The determination manager is configured to determine the second search space based on the received system information.

According to a sixth aspect, a base station is provided for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network. The base station includes a communication manager for sending system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set and sending other information in a second search space using a second parameter set.

According to a seventh aspect, a computer program is provided for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network. The computer program includes computer program code that, when executed on a user equipment (UE), causes the UE to: receive system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; determine a second search space based on the received system information; and receive other information in the second search space using a second parameter set.

According to an eighth aspect, a computer program is provided for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network. The computer program includes computer program code that, when executed on a base station (BS), causes the BS to: transmit system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; and transmit other information in a second search space using a second parameter set.

According to a ninth aspect, a computer program product is proposed, comprising a computer program and a computer-readable storage device on which the computer program is stored.

In general, unless otherwise expressly defined herein, all terms used in the claims are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the technical field. Unless expressly stated otherwise, references to "element, device, component, means, step, etc." are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of an element, device, component, means, step, etc. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG1 is a schematic diagram showing an environment in which embodiments proposed herein may be applied;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram illustrating frequency reuse of sub-band regions with different sub-carrier spacings;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a search space according to an embodiment proposed herein;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a search space according to an embodiment proposed herein;

FIG5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a search space according to an embodiment proposed herein;

6A-6B are flow charts illustrating methods for embodiments presented herein;

7-8 are schematic diagrams showing some components of the device proposed herein;

9-10 are schematic diagrams illustrating the functional modules of the device proposed in this article.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Note that the present invention can be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Throughout the specification, like numbers refer to like elements.

In this document, the terms user equipment (UE), terminal, handheld device, etc. are interchangeable to refer to devices that communicate with the network infrastructure. These terms should not be interpreted as meaning any specific type of device, that is, it applies to all devices, and the embodiments described in this document are applicable to all devices that use the relevant technical solutions to solve the described problems. Similarly, the base station (BS) is intended to refer to a node in the network infrastructure that communicates with the UE. Different names such as NB, eNB, gNB can be applied, and the functions of the BS can also be distributed in various ways. For example, there may be a radio header that terminates various parts of the radio protocol and a centralized unit that terminates other parts of the radio protocol. The term BS will refer to all alternative architectures in which the relevant invention can be implemented, and will not distinguish between these implementations.

Figure 2 provides a schematic diagram of frequency reuse of three sub-band regions with different parameter sets. In the illustration, three different parameter sets are provided, such as three different carrier frequency parts using different subcarrier spacings.

It should be noted that many other parameters may depend at least in part on the subcarrier spacing. For example, the symbol length in OFDM is a function of the subcarrier spacing. The length of the time slot, defined in terms of the number of symbols or milliseconds, for example, depends on the parameter set selected. Many of these parameters have in common that the receiver needs to know, or at least would benefit from knowing in advance, the parameters used by the transmitter when sending a signal to the receiver. For example, a UE benefits from knowing the subcarrier spacing used by the transmitting BS so that the UE can make fewer assumptions about the different subcarrier spacings used by the BS when attempting to decode the signal. This applies to many parameters, including but not limited to the ones mentioned above. Some parameters can be identified by blind decoding, but if there are too many unknown parameters, the identification task will place a heavy processing burden on the UE.

The term "parameter set" will be used herein to refer to these parameters, or at least some of them. More specifically, in systems where one of the enumerated parameters is non-configurable, the parameter set may be understood to exclude the non-configurable parameter. Sometimes, the expression "parameter set" may refer to a set of values to be assigned to a configurable parameter.

The current agreement in RAN1 includes a subcarrier spacing that scales according to ^2m × 15kHz, where m is an integer or preferably m≥0. It is also agreed that a physical resource block consists of 12 subcarriers. The subframe duration is also fixed at 1ms. A slot consists of either 7 or 14 symbols, with 7 symbols used for subcarrier spacing less than or equal to 60kHz and 14 symbols used for subcarrier spacing greater than 60kHz.

As already noted, 3GPP TSG RAN WG1 has agreed that 5G NR should support multiple parameter sets within a carrier. Having different parameter sets within a carrier can be attractive, for example, to simultaneously meet low latency requirements for one subset of UEs while supporting good coverage for another group of UEs. More generally, different subbands on a carrier using different parameter sets can then be used for transmissions to and from different UEs, where different UEs have different requirements for quality of service.

However, this flexibility in supporting multiple parameter sets on a carrier also presents challenges. In particular, a receiver such as a UE would benefit greatly from knowing in advance the parameter set to assume when attempting to decode the signal from the transmitter. One challenge is that when a UE first discovers and connects to a cell, it does not necessarily know what parameter set is applied to the carriers in the cell, and in particular, it does not know whether there are subband portions to which different parameter sets are applied.

For the UE, it may be difficult or required to implement a solution where the UE has little or no knowledge of the downlink signal structure, i.e., the parameter set, and is forced to try a large number of different hypotheses through blind decoding before it can decode the signal from the BS. This problem is particularly severe when the UE is about to establish a connection with the BS, i.e., when the UE has not yet received specific information from the BS about how the BS intends to transmit signals to the UE.

A common and known solution to the problem of informing UEs about cell or carrier parameters is to broadcast such information in system information from the BS to UEs within the BS's coverage area. With this approach, basic parameters such as cell bandwidth, frame structure, cyclic prefix, etc. can be periodically made available to all UEs in the vicinity of the BS. However, this approach has some significant drawbacks, including:

1. Successful reception of relevant system information requires that the UE already knows some basic information about the parameter set in which the system information is transmitted. For example, in LTE, the UE knows a specific constant subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz and does not have to make assumptions in this regard. In LTE, based on synchronization information, the UE will also know the timing and location of certain basic system information, such as the Master Information Block (MIB), and will then know the System Information Block Type 1 (SIB1), so that it can then obtain more information about, for example, the frame structure in the cell.

2. The carrier on which the system information is broadcast will be subject to a considerable load. Broadcast system information has to be repeated relatively frequently, and if the intention is to provide significant flexibility by having many configurable parameter set parameters, this approach may result in significant overhead.

3. At high frequencies, signaling over a large area via broadcast methods may be very difficult, if not impossible, because propagation conditions may require beamforming or very careful coding and modulation to ensure that the broadcast information can be received by the UE regardless of its location.

Therefore, there is a need to provide a solution that can support or implement multiple parameter set solutions and the distribution of basic parameters without placing excessive load on the broadcast channel, so that the UE can quickly and unambiguously learn the parameter sets supported in different subband parts of the carrier. There is also a need for a forward-compatible solution so that new parameter sets expressed by physical layer parameters and, for example, new channel and frame structure designs can be put into use in the subband parts of the carrier. In this way, the backward-compatible sub-parts of the carrier can be minimized, and new subband solutions can be put into use in an efficient manner.

A technology for solving the aforementioned problems is proposed.

The proposed embodiments aim to enable a UE to obtain information about subband parameter sets on a carrier with minimal overhead (including low processing requirements).

An embodiment is also proposed in which the BS sends information about subbands with a specific parameter set to the UE, wherein this solution provides great flexibility, low overhead, and required future compatibility, for example when new transmission schemes are introduced in later network releases.

The synchronization signal may be received over one or more channels with a known set of parameters. Alternatively, the set of available parameter sets is restricted, or preferably significantly restricted, so that the task of decoding the synchronization signal is manageable. The UE may then decode a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which may have a fixed set of parameters or otherwise be based on detection and information derived from the synchronization. Information on the PBCH may carry information about common and/or additional search spaces, wherein the information may include information about the parameter sets applied on these search spaces. Data such as system information scheduled on the common search space may further include references to UE-specific search spaces and corresponding parameter sets. The first search space may also provide scheduling information to the UE, which carries an indication of a second additional search space having another set of parameters. The scheduling information may specifically indicate the parameter set for the second additional search space.

The proposed solution can support multiple parameter sets of basic parameters without placing excessive load on the broadcast channel so that UEs can quickly and unambiguously learn the parameter sets supported in different subband parts of the carrier. The solution is also forward compatible, so new parameter sets expressed by physical layer parameters and new channel and frame structure designs can be put into use in subband parts of the carrier even if they are not present in the first one or more versions deployed and new channel and frame structures are developed in the future. In this way, once the new channel and frame structure is developed, the old backward compatible subpart of the carrier can be reduced to a minimum to serve only the remaining UEs that do not support the new channel and frame structure, and the new subband solution can be put into use in an efficient manner.

An example of a broadcast channel is the PBCH that carries system information. Typically, the PBCH is modeled as carrying broadcast messages on a broadcast transport channel (BCH), ie, traffic on the BCH is mapped onto the PBCH.

First, the UE obtains information on how and where to receive the broadcast channel. The information on how (parameter set) and where (physical resources) to receive the broadcast channel may be based on the reception of synchronization information, for example.

The reception of synchronization information provides some very basic information about the carrier cell structure and timing, and in one alternative, a parameter set for PBCH transmission is provided within one or more synchronization channels that the UE initially acquires. For example, the UE may be required to test some assumptions about the synchronization channel parameter set, and based on the reception of the synchronization channel, the UE can derive a parameter set or set of parameter sets that can be applied to the reception of the broadcast channel. Alternatively, however, some or all of the parameters, i.e., the parameter set, that define where and how the broadcast channel is received can be hard-coded into the UE, for example, based on some parameters agreed upon in a standard specification or the like; the parameters do not need to be configurable or changeable during normal operation of the UE.

For example, it can be defined that when reading information carried on the PBCH, the UE will use, for example, a specific location of the PBCH and/or a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz and/or a specific time slot format and/or cyclic prefix. In an alternative approach, the subcarrier spacing and other parameters dependent on the subcarrier spacing are defined and programmed into the UE so that the parameters depend on the carrier frequency. For example, it can be defined or pre-agreed that carriers implemented below frequency f1 have a subcarrier spacing of sc1 for the PBCH, carriers implemented between frequencies f1 and f2 have a subcarrier spacing of sc2 for the PBCH, and so on.

The same or similar methods may also be applied to one or more of the following: the timing of the PBCH, ie its periodicity, the location of the PBCH in the frequency and time domains, the resource blocks carrying the PBCH, and the modulation and coding of the PBCH.

On the PBCH, the UE can now receive some very basic information about the system, namely system information. However, to avoid excessive load on the PBCH that would occur if the PBCH also carried parameter set information for all subbands, the present invention uses the following method. The subband carrying the PBCH will also be referred to as the control subband below.

Information about the PBCH can now include references to search spaces and/or carrier regions for receiving additional information such as control channels and data. As used herein, the term search space will also include carrier regions. BCH information may, for example, include references to a common search space and/or one or more additional search spaces. The additional search spaces may be common or UE-specific. The BCH information may also include information about parameter sets to be used in the referenced search space or spaces. For example, the information about the parameter set may provide a reference to a table of different parameter sets, where the table identifies the parameter set that the UE should apply when decoding information about the one or more search spaces. Alternatively, the BCH data may include information about whether the one or more search spaces apply the same parameter set as the BCH, or whether the parameter set is different. Other information may also be provided, or the format may be, for example, the value of the integer m in the expression ^2m ×15kHz to identify a specific parameter set. The information about the additional search space may also include information about the location of the search space in the time-frequency resource grid.

The common search space may also be defined to have the same parameter set as the BCH to further reduce signaling on the BCH. In the common search space, the UE may be scheduled to receive additional information about one or more additional search spaces or other information.

In such an embodiment, the information provided in the information scheduled at the common search space may include references to one or more additional search spaces, in which case the additional search spaces may use different sets of parameters. Such information may be scheduled and received over the data region of a frame or subframe, where the data is scheduled using a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) on the common search space.

A search space may refer to a location (referred to as a control channel element in LTE) where a UE may be expected to look for a downlink control channel (PDCCH) relevant to the UE. A common search space is a search space that multiple or even all UEs on a carrier need to monitor at least intermittently. Such a common search space may carry, for example, paging scheduling information (using paging-RNTI in LTE) or other system information (scheduled by system information-RNTI in LTE), or, for example, a random access response. In this common search space, UEs may be scheduled to receive information about additional search spaces. The information about the additional search space may include information about parameter sets for the additional search space. In one embodiment, the information is carried in the system information mapped to the data area of a frame, subframe or time slot.

A schematic illustration of an embodiment is provided in FIG3 . In FIG3 , the temporal relationship and the size of the different illustrated areas are merely schematic. According to an embodiment, a BCH is sent from a BS and received by a UE using a first parameter set, namely parameter set 1. As illustrated, the BCH information may include a reference to a common search space. The BCH information may also include information about the parameter set for the common search space as described above. In FIG3 , the parameter set for the common search space is the same as the parameter set for the BCH, namely parameter set 1 on subcarrier region 1. Next, the UE receives information about an additional search space in the common search space or in association with the common search space. In the illustration, the additional search space is now implemented using a second parameter set, namely parameter set 2 on subcarrier region 2. FIG3 also includes a third search space, which is not allocated to the UE. For illustration purposes, it is shown that the third search space can implement a third parameter set, namely parameter set 3 on subcarrier region 3.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, a reference to the additional second search space is provided in the common search space. However, a reference to the additional second search space may also be provided directly in the information carried on the BCH, as shown in Figure 4.

In FIG4 , it is illustrated that the common search space can also implement a parameter set 2, which is different from the parameter set of the BCH, that is, parameter set 1 on subcarrier region 1, i.e., parameter set 2 on subcarrier region 2. It should also be noted that all the illustrated regions (search space and BCH) can appear periodically, or even appear in every subframe or time slot (not shown). The periodicity for the relevant search spaces can be different.

The benefit of providing information about parameter sets for one or more additional search spaces via a common search space is that information scheduled by allocation, such as downlink control information (DCI) on a PDCCH, can be provided on a shared channel, as explained below. The UE searches for (data) scheduling allocations on the common search space. When the UE identifies a scheduling allocation associated with an RNTI intended for this purpose, the UE finds the allocation of downlink resources, i.e., the scheduling command and corresponding scheduling for downlink data. For example, the data can be control information, such as identified as system information, carried on the data area of a frame, subframe, or time slot. The downlink data area can carry information about the additional search space and its parameter set or other information as explained above. This is shown in Figure 5.

In one approach, scheduling allocations are directed to multiple UEs using an RNTI that is common to multiple UEs, such as a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI). In another solution, an allocation specific to the UE is used, i.e., the UE is directed to an additional search space using, for example, a UE Cell-RNTI (C-RNTI), where the C-RNTI is assigned to the UE. In the latter approach, the UE may first need to establish a connection to the network, through which it can receive such UE-specific control information about the additional search space via dedicated signaling such as radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The latter approach can reduce the need for repeated control information on the carrier because the UE is designated to receive the above-mentioned control information only when it is specifically needed.

In figure 1 a network 4 is presented in which embodiments described herein may be implemented. A UE 1 may be wirelessly connected to a BS 2. The BS 2 is connected to a core network (CN) 3.

6A , a method for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network according to an embodiment is provided. The method is performed by a UE and includes: receiving (S110) system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; determining (S120) a second search space based on the received system information; and receiving (S130) other information in the second search space using a second parameter set.

The first parameter set may be different from the second parameter set.

The broadcast channel may be a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

The step of receiving may also include detecting system information.

The method may further include: receiving S100 synchronization information for a broadcast channel before the step of receiving S110.

The second parameter set may be indicated in the received system information.

The second search space may be UE-specific.

The second search space may be a common search space.

The step of determining S120 may further include determining a third search space having a third parameter set.

6B , a method for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network is proposed. The method is performed by a base station and includes: transmitting ( S210 ) system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; and transmitting ( S220 ) other information in a second search space using a second parameter set.

The method may further include: sending S200 synchronization information for the broadcast channel.

7 , a UE for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network is presented. The UE 1 includes a processor 10 and computer program products 12 and 13. The computer program product stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the UE to: receive (S110) system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; determine (S120) a second search space based on the received system information; and receive (S130) other information in the second search space using a second parameter set.

8 , a base station (BS) for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network is presented. BS 2 includes a processor 20 and computer program products 22 and 23. The computer program product stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the BS to: transmit (S210) system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; and transmit (S220 other information in a second search space using a second parameter set.

9 , a UE for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network is presented. UE 1 includes a communication manager 91 and a determination manager 90. The communication manager is configured to receive (S110) system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set, and to receive (S130) other information in a second search space using a second parameter set. The determination manager is configured to determine (S120) a second search space based on the received system information.

10 , a BS for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network is proposed. BS 2 includes a communication manager 101 for sending S210 system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set, and for sending S220 other information in a second search space using a second parameter set.

A computer program 14, 15 for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network is proposed. The computer program comprises computer program code which, when executed on a UE, causes the UE 1 to: receive S110 system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; determine S120 a second search space based on the received system information; and receive S130 further information in the second search space using a second parameter set.

A computer program 24, 25 for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network is proposed. The computer program comprises computer program code which, when executed on a BS, causes the BS 2 to: send S210 system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set; and send S220 other information in a second search space using a second parameter set.

Also proposed are computer program products 12, 13 (Fig. 7), 22, 23 (Fig. 8) comprising a computer program 14, 15 (Fig. 7), 24, 25 (Fig. 8) and a computer-readable storage device having the computer program 14, 15, 24, 25 stored thereon.

FIG7 is a schematic diagram illustrating some components of UE 1. A processor 10 capable of executing software instructions of a computer program 14 stored in memory may be provided using any combination of one or more of a suitable central processing unit, CPU, multiprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, DSP, application specific integrated circuit, etc. The memory may therefore be considered to be or form part of the computer program product 12. The processor 10 may be configured to perform the method described herein with reference to FIG6A .

The memory may be any combination of read-write memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory may also include a permanent storage device, which may be any single memory or combination of magnetic memory, optical memory, solid-state memory, or even remotely mounted memory.

A second computer program product 13 in the form of a data memory may also be provided, for example, for reading and/or storing data during execution of software instructions in the processor 10. The data memory may be any combination of read-write memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM), and may also include a permanent storage device, which may be any single memory or combination of magnetic memory, optical memory, solid-state memory, or even remotely mounted memory. The data memory may, for example, store other software instructions 15 to improve functionality for the UE 1.

UE 1 may also include an input/output (I/O) interface 11, such as a user interface. UE 1 may also include a receiver configured to receive signaling from other nodes and a transmitter configured to send signaling to other nodes (not shown). Other components of UE 1 are omitted to avoid obscuring the concepts presented herein.

FIG9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the functional blocks of UE 1. These modules may be implemented solely as software instructions, such as a computer program executed in a cache server; or solely as hardware, such as an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, discrete logic components, a transceiver, or the like; or as a combination thereof. In alternative embodiments, some functional blocks may be implemented by software, while other functional blocks may be implemented by hardware. These modules correspond to the steps in the method shown in FIG6A , including a determination manager unit 90 and a communication manager unit 91. It should be understood that in embodiments where one or more modules are implemented by a computer program, these modules do not necessarily correspond to processing modules, but may be written as instructions according to the programming language in which they are to be implemented, as some programming languages generally do not contain processing modules.

The determination manager 90 is used to implement multiple parameter sets in the network. This module corresponds to the determination step S1210 of Figure 6A. When running the computer program, this module can be implemented by the processor 10 of Figure 7, for example.

The communication manager 91 is used to implement multiple parameter sets in the network. This module corresponds to the receiving steps S100, S110, and S130 of FIG6A. When the computer program is executed, this module can be implemented by the processor 10 of FIG7, for example.

FIG8 is a schematic diagram illustrating some components of base station 2. Processor 20, capable of executing software instructions of a computer program 24 stored in memory, may be provided using any combination of one or more of a suitable central processing unit, CPU, multiprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, DSP, application specific integrated circuit, etc. The memory may therefore be considered to be or form part of computer program product 22. Processor 20 may be configured to perform the method described herein with reference to FIG6B.

The memory may be any combination of read-write memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The memory may also include a permanent storage device, which may be any single memory or combination of magnetic memory, optical memory, solid-state memory, or even remotely mounted memory.

A second computer program product 23 in the form of a data memory may also be provided, for example, for reading and/or storing data during execution of software instructions in the processor 20. The data memory may be any combination of read-write memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM), and may also include a permanent storage device, which may be any single memory or combination of magnetic memory, optical memory, solid-state memory, or even remotely mounted memory. The data memory may, for example, store further software instructions 25 to improve the functionality of the BS 2.

BS 2 may also include an input/output (I/O) interface 21, such as a user interface. BS 2 may also include a receiver configured to receive signaling from other nodes and a transmitter configured to send signaling to other nodes (not shown). Other components of BS 2 are omitted to avoid obscuring the concepts presented herein.

FIG10 is a schematic diagram illustrating the functional blocks of BS 2. These modules may be implemented solely as software instructions, such as a computer program executed in a cache server; or solely as hardware, such as an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, discrete logic components, a transceiver, or the like; or as a combination thereof. In alternative embodiments, some functional blocks may be implemented by software, while other functional blocks may be implemented by hardware. These modules correspond to the steps in the method shown in FIG6B , including the communication manager unit 101. It should be understood that in embodiments where one or more modules are implemented by a computer program, these modules do not necessarily correspond to processing modules, but may be written as instructions according to the programming language in which they are to be implemented, as some programming languages generally do not contain processing modules.

The communication manager 101 is used to implement multiple parameter sets in the network. This module corresponds to the sending step S200, the sending step S210, and the sending step S220 of Figure 6B. When the computer program is executed, this module can be implemented by the processor 20 of Figure 8, for example.

The invention has mainly been described above with reference to a few embodiments. However, as is readily appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the ones disclosed above are equally possible within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (19)

1. A method for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network, the method being performed by a user equipment (UE), and comprising: (S110) Receive system information in the first search space on the broadcast channel using the first parameter set; Based on the received system information, a second search space is determined (S120), wherein the second search space is a common search space; and Receive (S130) other system information scheduled in the second search space using a second parameter set, wherein the second parameter set is indicated in the received system information, and the other system information includes references to one or more UE-specific search spaces; The parameter set includes digital parameters for describing the radio interface, which include at least one of the following parameters: subcarrier spacing, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol length, cyclic prefix length, number of symbols per subframe or time slot, subframe length, and frame length. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first parameter set is different from the second parameter set. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the receiving (S110) step further includes: detecting system information. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, comprising: Before receiving on the broadcast channel (S110), synchronization information for the broadcast channel is received (S100). 5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the second search space is indicated in the received system information. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the other system information received in the public search space is one or more of the following: paging information scheduling, random access response, and additional search space scheduling. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the determining step further comprises: determining a third search space having a third parameter set. 8. A method for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network, the method being performed by a base station (BS), and comprising: (S210) System information is transmitted in the first search space on the broadcast channel using the first parameter set; and (S220) Other system information scheduled in the second search space is sent using the second parameter set, wherein the second search space is a common search space, the second parameter set is indicated in the sent system information, and the other system information includes references to one or more UE-specific search spaces. The parameter set includes digital parameters for describing the radio interface, which include at least one of the following parameters: subcarrier spacing, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol length, cyclic prefix length, number of symbols per subframe or time slot, subframe length, and frame length. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the first parameter set is different from the second parameter set. 10. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, wherein the second search space is indicated in the transmitted system information. 11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, comprising: Transmit (S200) synchronization information for broadcast channel. 12. The method of claim 8, wherein the other system information transmitted in the public search space is one or more of the following: paging information scheduling, random access response, and additional search space scheduling. 13. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 9, further comprising: sending additional information in a third search space using a third set of parameters. 14. A user equipment (UE) for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network, the UE (1) comprising: Processor (10); and A computer-readable storage device for storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the UE to: (S110) Receive system information in the first search space on the broadcast channel using the first parameter set; Based on the received system information, a second search space is determined (S120), wherein the second search space is a common search space; and Receive (S130) other system information scheduled in the second search space using a second parameter set, wherein the second parameter set is indicated in the received system information, and the other system information includes references to one or more UE-specific search spaces; The parameter set includes digital parameters for describing the radio interface, which include at least one of the following parameters: subcarrier spacing, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol length, cyclic prefix length, number of symbols per subframe or time slot, subframe length, and frame length. 15. A base station (BS) for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network, the BS (2) comprising: Processor (20); and A computer-readable storage device for storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the BS to: (S210) System information is transmitted in the first search space on the broadcast channel using the first parameter set; and (S220) Other system information scheduled in the second search space is sent using the second parameter set, wherein the second search space is a common search space, the second parameter set is indicated in the sent system information, and the other system information includes references to one or more UE-specific search spaces. The parameter set includes digital parameters for describing the radio interface, which include at least one of the following parameters: subcarrier spacing, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol length, cyclic prefix length, number of symbols per subframe or time slot, subframe length, and frame length. 16. A user equipment (UE) for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network, the UE (1) comprising: A communication manager (91) is configured to receive (S110) system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set, and to receive (S130) other system information scheduled in a second search space using a second parameter set, wherein the second parameter set is indicated in the received system information, and the other system information includes references to one or more UE-specific search spaces; and The manager (90) determines (S120) the second search space based on the received system information, wherein the second search space is a common search space; The parameter set includes digital parameters for describing the radio interface, which include at least one of the following parameters: subcarrier spacing, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol length, cyclic prefix length, number of symbols per subframe or time slot, subframe length, and frame length. 17. A base station (BS) for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network, the BS (2) comprising: The communication manager (101) is configured to transmit (S210) system information in a first search space on a broadcast channel using a first parameter set, and to transmit (S220) other system information scheduled in a second search space using a second parameter set, wherein the second search space is a common search space, the second parameter set is indicated in the transmitted system information, and the other system information includes references to one or more UE-specific search spaces. The parameter set includes digital parameters for describing the radio interface, which include at least one of the following parameters: subcarrier spacing, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol length, cyclic prefix length, number of symbols per subframe or time slot, subframe length, and frame length. 18. A computer-readable storage device storing a computer program (14, 15) for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network, said computer program including computer program code that, when executed on a user equipment (UE), causes the UE to: (S110) Receive system information in the first search space on the broadcast channel using the first parameter set; Based on the received system information, a second search space is determined (S120), wherein the second search space is a common search space; and Receive (S130) other system information scheduled in the second search space using a second parameter set, wherein the second parameter set is indicated in the received system information, and the other system information includes references to one or more UE-specific search spaces; The parameter set includes digital parameters for describing the radio interface, which include at least one of the following parameters: subcarrier spacing, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol length, cyclic prefix length, number of symbols per subframe or time slot, subframe length, and frame length. 19. A computer-readable storage device storing a computer program (24, 25) for implementing multiple parameter sets in a network, said computer program including computer program code that, when executed on a base station (BS), causes the BS to: (S210) System information is transmitted in the first search space on the broadcast channel using the first parameter set; and (S220) Other system information scheduled in the second search space is sent using the second parameter set, wherein the second search space is a common search space, the second parameter set is indicated in the sent system information, and the other system information includes references to one or more UE-specific search spaces. The parameter set includes digital parameters for describing the radio interface, which include at least one of the following parameters: subcarrier spacing, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol length, cyclic prefix length, number of symbols per subframe or time slot, subframe length, and frame length.