# US 2022/0046629 A1 · Communications device, infrastructure equipment and methods for receiving downlink control information > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2022/0046629 A1 - Document ID: US20220046629A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/507,812 - Filed: 2021-10-22 - Published: 2022-02-10 - Earliest claimed: 2013-12-02 - Assignees: Sony Group Corporation - Applicants: Sony Group Corporation - Inventors: Matthew William WEBB - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20220046629A1 ## CPC - H04W 72/046: {the resource being in the space domain, e.g. beams} - H04L 1/0038: {Blind format detection (for detection of modulation format H04L27/0012)} - H04L 1/0046: {Code rate detection or code type detection (H04L1/0038 takes precedence; detection of the data rate H04L25/0262; for packet format H04L1/0091)} - H04L 1/0067: {Rate matching (H04L1/0013 and H04L1/08 take precedence)} - H04L 1/0072: {Error control for data other than payload data, e.g. control data} - H04L 1/08: by repeating transmission, e.g. Verdan system {(H04L1/1858 and H04L1/189 take precedence)} - H04L 5/0053: {Allocation of signalling, i.e. of overhead other than pilot signals} - H04L 5/0098: {Signalling of the activation or deactivation of component carriers, subcarriers or frequency bands} - H04W 72/23: in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal - H04L 1/1607: Details of the supervisory signal - H04L 5/0094: {Indication of how sub-channels of the path are allocated} - H04W 4/70: Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] - H04W 72/0446: Resources in time domain, e.g. slots or frames - Y02D 30/70: in wireless communication networks - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - Y02D: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE ## Abstract A communications device transmitting/receiving data to/from a mobile communications network includes a transmitter to transmit data to the mobile communications network via a wireless access interface, a receiver to receive data from the mobile communications network via the wireless access interface, and a controller. The wireless access interface includes plural time divided temporal units and in each temporal unit a down-link control channel and a downlink shared channel. The temporal units may be sub-frames of an LTE carrier. The controller can control the receiver to receive downlink control channel information transmitted by the mobile communications network in one or more control channel elements of the downlink control channel, and to receive the downlink control channel information by searching the downlink control channel in a predetermined sub-set of plural possible sets of control channel elements in one or more of the temporal units according to a fixed aggregation level. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An infrastructure equipment for transmitting data to or receiving data from communication devices in a mobile communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising: circuitry configured to transmit data via a wireless access interface, the data provided in a radio frame that is divided into a plurality of time divided temporal units with a downlink control channel and a downlink shared channel included in each temporal unit; and transmit downlink control channel information in one or more control channel elements of the downlink control channel included in the radio frame, wherein the one or more control channel elements in which the downlink control channel information is transmitted is one of a plurality of sets of possible control channel elements in which infrastructure equipment can transmit the downlink control information in one of the temporal units of the radio frame, wherein the circuitry is configured to transmit the downlink control channel information in at least one of (i) a first sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements in one or more of the temporal units of the radio frame according to a fixed aggregation level, and (ii) a second sub-set of possible control channel elements which is selected from the plurality of possible sets of the control channel elements in one or more temporal units according to a configurable aggregation level. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The infrastructure equipment of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to transmit an indication, to the communication devices, of the second sub-set of possible sets of control channel elements for the one or more temporal units of the radio frame providing the configurable aggregation level. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The infrastructure equipment of claim 1, wherein the one or both of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements is common for a plurality of the communications devices. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The infrastructure equipment of claim 1, wherein the one or both of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements is specific to one communication device. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The infrastructure equipment of claim 1, wherein each of the control channel elements of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements each comprise enhanced control channel elements of an enhanced downlink control channel. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The infrastructure equipment of claim 1, wherein the one or both of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements changes from one of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements to another of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements from one of the temporal-units to another. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The infrastructure equipment of claim 1, wherein the communication devices are configured to search for the downlink control channel information in the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements according to the fixed aggregation level by searching a set of one or more control channel elements from the sub-set of possible sets of control channel elements in a temporal unit of the wireless access interface. ### Claim 8 Circuitry for an infrastructure equipment for transmitting data to or receiving data from communication devices in a mobile communications network, the circuitry configured to: transmit data via a wireless access interface, the data provided in a radio frame that is divided into a plurality of time divided temporal units with a downlink control channel and a downlink shared channel included in each temporal unit; and transmit downlink control channel information in one or more control channel elements of the downlink control channel included in the radio frame, wherein the one or more control channel elements in which the downlink control channel information is transmitted is one of a plurality of sets of possible control channel elements in which infrastructure equipment can transmit the downlink control information in one of the temporal units of the radio frame, wherein the downlink control channel information is transmitted in at least one of (i) a first sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements in one or more of the temporal units of the radio frame according to a fixed aggregation level, and (ii) a second sub-set of possible control channel elements which is selected from the plurality of possible sets of the control channel elements in one or more temporal units according to a configurable aggregation level. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The circuitry of claim 8, wherein the circuitry is configured to transmit an indication, to the communication devices, of the second sub-set of possible sets of control channel elements for the one or more temporal units of the radio frame providing the configurable aggregation level. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The circuitry of claim 8, wherein the one or both of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements is common for a plurality of the communications devices. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The circuitry of claim 8, wherein the one or both of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements is specific to one communication device. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The circuitry of claim 8, wherein each of the control channel elements of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements each comprise enhanced control channel elements of an enhanced downlink control channel. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The circuitry of claim 8, wherein the one or both of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements changes from one of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements to another of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements from one of the temporal-units to another. ### Claim 14 (depends on 8) The circuitry of claim 8, wherein the communication devices are configured to search for the downlink control channel information in the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements according to the fixed aggregation level by searching a set of one or more control channel elements from the sub-set of possible sets of control channel elements in a temporal unit of the wireless access interface. ### Claim 15 A method performed by infrastructure equipment in a mobile communications network for transmitting downlink control information to communication terminals, the method comprising: transmitting data via a wireless access interface, the data provided in a radio frame that is divided into a plurality of time divided temporal units with a downlink control channel and a downlink shared channel included in each temporal unit; and transmitting downlink control channel information in one or more control channel elements of the downlink control channel included in the radio frame, wherein the one or more control channel elements in which the downlink control channel information is transmitted is one of a plurality of sets of possible control channel elements in which infrastructure equipment can transmit the downlink control information in one of the temporal units of the radio frame, wherein the downlink control channel information is transmitted in at least one of (i) a first sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements in one or more of the temporal units of the radio frame according to a fixed aggregation level, and (ii) a second sub-set of possible control channel elements which is selected from the plurality of possible sets of the control channel elements in one or more temporal units according to a configurable aggregation level. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, further comprising: transmitting an indication, to the communication devices, of the second sub-set of possible sets of control channel elements for the one or more temporal units of the radio frame providing the configurable aggregation level. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein the one or both of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements is common for a plurality of the communications devices. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein the one or both of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements is specific to one communication device. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein each of the control channel elements of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements each comprise enhanced control channel elements of an enhanced downlink control channel. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, wherein the one or both of the predetermined sub-set of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements or the second sub-set of the possible sets of the control channel elements changes from one of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements to another of the plurality of possible sets of control channel elements from one of the temporal-units to another.