A communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present application disclose a communication method and apparatus, which are used to reduce the number of times a terminal detects DCI, thereby reducing the complexity of the terminal. The method includes: the terminal detects downlink control information DCI from a network device, where the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the formats of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel include multiple DCI formats; among them, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a terminal-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method and apparatus. Background Art

[0002] In a wireless communication system, such as in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system and a 5th generation (5G) communication system (or a New Radio (NR) system), a network device may send downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal device, such as a user equipment (UE), for scheduling data transmission between the network device and the terminal device. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Embodiments of this application provide a communication method and apparatus, which are used to reduce the types of sizes of DCI for scheduling a physical data channel, so as to reduce the number and complexity of blind detections by a terminal.

[0004] To solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of this application provide the following technical solutions:

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a communication method, including: detecting downlink control information DCI from a network device, where the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and a format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; where the number of types of sizes of the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a terminal-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI, the number of types of sizes of the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0006] Wherein, the RNTI is an identifier of the terminal. The terminal-specific RNTI may be a cell RNTI (C-RNTI) of the terminal, a configured scheduling RNTI (CS-RNTI), a modulation and coding scheme C-RNTI (MCS-C-RNTI), or the like.

[0007] The physical data channel is used to transmit uplink data. For example, the physical data channel is a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or is used to transmit downlink data. For example, the physical data channel is a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or includes a physical channel for transmitting uplink data (such as PUSCH) and a physical channel for transmitting downlink data (such as PDSCH).

[0008] Since the number of types of the size of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel does not exceed M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 3, and / or the number of types of the size of the DCI scrambled by the terminal-specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) does not exceed N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 2, compared with the prior art, the number of DCI detections by the terminal can be reduced, thereby reducing the complexity of the terminal and decreasing the power consumption of the terminal.

[0009] In a possible implementation manner, the number of types of the size of the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, including: when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled by a common RNTI or a terminal-specific RNTI, the number of types of the size of the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N.

[0010] Among them, the common RNTI may be a system information RNTI (SI-RNTI), a paging RNTI (P-RNTI), a random access RNTI (RA-RNTI), etc.

[0011] In this implementation manner, by limiting the scrambling method of the DCI, the number of types of the size of this type of DCI can be limited, the number of DCI detections by the terminal can be reduced, thereby reducing the complexity of the terminal and decreasing the power consumption of the terminal.

[0012] In a possible implementation manner, the multiple DCI formats include a first format and a second format detected in a terminal-specific search space (USS). The DCI corresponding to the first format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the second format is used to schedule downlink transmission. Among them, the DCI transmitted in the USS is scrambled by the terminal-specific RNTI. In this implementation manner, by limiting the number of types of the size of the DCI of the first format and the second format, the number of detections of the DCI of the first format and the second format by the terminal can be reduced, thereby reducing the complexity of the terminal and decreasing the power consumption of the terminal.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the DCI size corresponding to the first format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the DCI size corresponding to the first format is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the second format. This method can avoid information loss of the DCI in the second format.

[0015] Alternatively, the DCI size corresponding to the second format is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the first format. This method can avoid information loss of the DCI in the first format.

[0016] Alternatively, if the DCI size corresponding to the first format is smaller than the DCI size corresponding to the second format, then the DCI size corresponding to the first format is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the second format; if the DCI size corresponding to the second format is smaller than the DCI size corresponding to the first format, then the DCI size corresponding to the second format is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the first format. This implementation does not lose the information bits (payload) in the DCI corresponding to the first format and the second format, ensuring the accuracy of the transmission parameters.

[0017] In a possible implementation, aligning the DCI size corresponding to the second format to the DCI size corresponding to the first format includes: if the DCI size corresponding to the first format is smaller than the DCI size corresponding to the second format, then K fields of the DCI corresponding to the second format are truncated, and the DCI size corresponding to the second format after truncation is the same as the DCI size corresponding to the first format, where K is a positive integer; or, if the DCI size corresponding to the first format is larger than the DCI size corresponding to the second format, then at least one padding bit is filled in the DCI corresponding to the second format, and the DCI size corresponding to the second format after padding is the same as the DCI size corresponding to the first format.

[0018] In this implementation, the transmission performance and scheduling performance of the DCI corresponding to the first format can be guaranteed, and thus the uplink transmission performance of the terminal can be guaranteed.

[0019] In a possible implementation, aligning the DCI size corresponding to the first format to the DCI size corresponding to the second format includes: if the DCI size corresponding to the second format is smaller than the DCI size corresponding to the first format, then K fields of the DCI corresponding to the first format are truncated, and the DCI size corresponding to the first format after truncation is the same as the DCI size corresponding to the second format, where K is a positive integer; or, if the DCI size corresponding to the second format is larger than the DCI size corresponding to the first format, then at least one padding bit is filled in the DCI corresponding to the first format, and the DCI size corresponding to the first format after padding is the same as the DCI size corresponding to the second format.

[0020] In this implementation, the transmission performance and scheduling performance of the DCI in the second format can be ensured, and thus the downlink transmission performance of the terminal device can be ensured.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the K fields include at least one of the following fields: frequency domain resource allocation field; time domain resource allocation field; physical uplink control channel resource indication field; physical downlink shared channel to hybrid automatic repeat request feedback time indication field; and demodulation reference signal sequence initialization field.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the multiple DCI formats further include a third format and a fourth format detected in the USS. The DCI corresponding to the third format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the fourth format is used to schedule downlink transmission. The first format is different from the third format, and the second format is different from the fourth format. Among them, the DCI size corresponding to the third format is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the first format or aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the second format, and the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the first format or aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the second format, where the DCI size corresponding to the first format is equal to the DCI size corresponding to the second format. In this implementation, by aligning the DCI sizes of the third and fourth formats to the DCI sizes corresponding to the first and second formats, the number of DCI sizes that the terminal needs to detect can be reduced, and the blind detection times of the DCI by the terminal can be reduced. Therefore, the implementation complexity, power consumption, and cost of the terminal can be reduced.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the multiple DCI formats include a third format and a fourth format detected in a UE-specific search space (USS), and the third format and the fourth format detected in a common search space (CSS). The DCI corresponding to the third format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the fourth format is used to schedule downlink transmission. Among them, the DCI transmitted in the USS is scrambled with the UE-specific RNTI, and the DCI transmitted in the CSS is scrambled with the UE-specific RNTI or scrambled with a common RNTI. Among them, the size of the DCI corresponding to the third format detected in the USS is aligned with the size of the DCI corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS or aligned with the size of the DCI corresponding to the fourth format detected in the CSS. Also, the size of the DCI corresponding to the fourth format detected in the USS is aligned with the size of the DCI corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS or aligned with the size of the DCI corresponding to the fourth format detected in the CSS. In this implementation, by aligning the sizes of the DCI corresponding to the third and fourth formats in the USS and CSS, the number of blind detections of DCI when the time-frequency resources of the USS and CSS overlap can be reduced, and the implementation complexity, power consumption, and cost of the UE can be reduced.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the third format is 0_0 and the fourth format is 1_0.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to 2, which helps to reduce the number of types of DCI sizes that the UE needs to detect to 2. Or, when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with the UE-specific RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to 1, which helps to reduce the number of types of DCI sizes scrambled with the UE-specific RNTI that the UE needs to detect to 1. Or, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to 2, and when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with the UE-specific RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to 1, which helps to reduce the number of types of DCI sizes that the UE needs to detect to 2, and also reduce the number of types of DCI sizes scrambled with the UE-specific RNTI to 1.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the multiple DCI formats include a first format, a second format, a third format, and a fourth format detected in the USS, and the third format and the fourth format detected in the common search space CSS. The DCI corresponding to the first format and the third format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the second format and the fourth format is used to schedule downlink transmission. The first format is different from the third format, and the second format is different from the fourth format. Among them, the DCI size corresponding to the first format detected in the USS is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS or is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format detected in the CSS. Also, the DCI size corresponding to the second format detected in the USS is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS or is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format detected in the CSS. The DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the USS is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS or is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format detected in the CSS. Also, the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format detected in the USS is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS or is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format detected in the CSS. In this implementation, by aligning the sizes of the first format, the second format, the third format, the fourth format in the USS and the third format and the fourth format in the CSS, the number of blind detections of DCI when the time-frequency resources of the USS and the CSS overlap can be reduced, thereby reducing the implementation complexity, power consumption, and cost of the terminal.

[0027] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: detecting downlink control information DCI from a network device, where the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; among them, the DCI size corresponding to the sixth format in the multiple DCI formats is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the fifth format in the multiple DCI formats. The DCI corresponding to the fifth format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the sixth format is used to schedule downlink transmission.

[0028] In this implementation, aligning the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format for scheduling downlink transmission with the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format for scheduling uplink transmission can avoid information loss of the DCI of the fifth format and ensure the uplink transmission performance of the terminal.

[0029] In a possible implementation, the DCI size corresponding to the sixth format among the multiple DCI formats is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the fifth format among the multiple DCI formats, including: if the DCI size corresponding to the fifth format is smaller than the DCI size corresponding to the sixth format, then K fields of the DCI corresponding to the sixth format are truncated, and the DCI size corresponding to the sixth format after truncation is the same as the DCI size corresponding to the fifth format, where K is a positive integer; or, if the DCI size corresponding to the fifth format is larger than the DCI size corresponding to the sixth format, then at least one padding bit is filled in the DCI corresponding to the sixth format, and the DCI size corresponding to the sixth format after padding is the same as the DCI size corresponding to the fifth format.

[0030] In this implementation, the transmission performance and scheduling performance of the DCI corresponding to the fifth format can be guaranteed, and thus the uplink transmission performance of the terminal can be guaranteed.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the K fields include at least one of the following fields: frequency domain resource allocation field; time domain resource allocation field; physical uplink control channel resource indication field; physical downlink shared channel to hybrid automatic repeat request feedback time indication field; and demodulation reference signal sequence initialization field.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the DCI of the fifth format may be the DCI of the first format detected in the UE-specific search space (USS), and the DCI of the sixth format may be the DCI of the second format detected in the USS; or, the DCI of the fifth format may be the DCI of the third format detected in the USS, and the DCI of the sixth format may be the DCI of the fourth format detected in the USS; or, the DCI of the fifth format may be the DCI of the third format detected in the common search space (CSS), and the DCI of the sixth format may be the DCI of the fourth format detected in the CSS.

[0033] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device, or a device in the terminal, or a device that can be used in combination with the terminal. In one design, the device may include modules corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect or the second aspect, and the module may be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software.

[0034] In a possible design, the communication device may include a detection module, where the detection module is configured to detect downlink control information (DCI) from a network device. The DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats. Among them, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a terminal-specific radio network temporary identity (RNTI), the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0035] In a possible design, the specific formats included in the multiple DCI formats and the alignment method of the multiple DCI formats may refer to the specific description of the DCI format in the first aspect, and will not be elaborated here.

[0036] In a possible design, the communication device may include a detection module, where the detection module is configured to detect downlink control information (DCI) from a network device. The DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats. Among them, the DCI size corresponding to the sixth format in the multiple DCI formats is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the fifth format in the multiple DCI formats. The DCI corresponding to the fifth format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the sixth format is used to schedule downlink transmission.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the DCI of the fifth format may be the DCI of the first format detected in a terminal-specific search space (USS), and the DCI of the sixth format may be the DCI of the second format detected in the USS; or the DCI of the fifth format may be the DCI of the third format detected in the USS, and the DCI of the sixth format may be the DCI of the fourth format detected in the USS; or the DCI of the fifth format may be the DCI of the third format detected in a common search space (CSS), and the DCI of the sixth format may be the DCI of the fourth format detected in the CSS.

[0038] In a possible design, other limitations on the fifth format and the sixth format and the alignment method between the fifth format and the sixth format may refer to the specific description in the second aspect, and will not be elaborated here.

[0039] A fourth aspect of this application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device, a device in the terminal, or a device that can be used in combination with the terminal. The device includes a processor for implementing the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect above. The device may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect above can be implemented. The device may further include a communication interface for the device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other types of communication interfaces, and the other devices may be network devices.

[0040] In a possible design, the device includes: a memory for storing program instructions; a processor for detecting downlink control information DCI from a network device by using a communication interface, where the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; where the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a terminal-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0041] In a possible design, the specific formats included in the multiple DCI formats and the alignment manner of the multiple DCI formats may refer to the specific description of the DCI format in the first aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0042] In a possible design, the device includes: a memory for storing program instructions; a processor for detecting downlink control information DCI from a network device by using a communication interface, where the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; where the DCI size corresponding to the sixth format in the multiple DCI formats is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the fifth format in the multiple DCI formats, the DCI corresponding to the fifth format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the sixth format is used to schedule downlink transmission.

[0043] In a possible design, other limitations on the fifth format and the sixth format and the alignment manner between the fifth format and the sixth format may refer to the specific description in the second aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0044] In another possible design, the communication device may be implemented in the form of a chip.

[0045] The fifth aspect of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may further include a memory for implementing the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect above. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0046] The sixth aspect of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which includes instructions. When the instructions run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application.

[0047] The seventh aspect of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes instructions. When the instructions run on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect or the method in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application.

[0048] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: sending downlink control information DCI to a terminal, where the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; where the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a terminal-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0049] In a possible design, the specific formats included in the multiple DCI formats and the alignment manner of the multiple DCI formats may refer to the specific description of the DCI format in the first aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0050] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: a network device sending downlink control information DCI to a terminal, where the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; where the DCI size corresponding to the sixth format in the multiple DCI formats is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the fifth format in the multiple DCI formats, the DCI corresponding to the fifth format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the sixth format is used to schedule downlink transmission.

[0051] In a possible design, other limitations on the fifth format and the sixth format and the alignment manner between the fifth format and the sixth format may refer to the specific description in the second aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0052] In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device, a device in a network device, or a device that can be used in combination with a network device. In one design, the device may include modules corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the eighth or ninth aspect. The module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software.

[0053] In a possible design, the communication device may include a sending module, where the sending module is configured to send downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal. The DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats. The types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats are less than or equal to N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a terminal-specific radio network temporary identity (RNTI), the types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats are less than or equal to M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0054] In a possible design, the specific formats included in the multiple DCI formats and the alignment method of the multiple DCI formats may refer to the specific description of the DCI format in the eighth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0055] In a possible design, the communication device may include a sending module, where the sending module is configured to send downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal. The DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats. The DCI size corresponding to the sixth format in the multiple DCI formats is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the fifth format in the multiple DCI formats. The DCI corresponding to the fifth format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the sixth format is used to schedule downlink transmission.

[0056] In a possible design, other limitations on the fifth and sixth formats and the alignment method between the fifth and sixth formats may refer to the specific description in the ninth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0057] The eleventh aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processor for implementing the method described in the eighth aspect or the ninth aspect above. The communication device may further include a memory for storing instructions and data. The memory is coupled to the processor, and when the processor executes the instructions stored in the memory, the method described in the eighth aspect or the ninth aspect above can be implemented. The communication device may further include a communication interface for the device to communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other types of communication interfaces, and the other devices may be terminal devices.

[0058] In a possible design, the communication device includes: a memory for storing program instructions; a processor for sending downlink control information DCI to a terminal device by using a communication interface, where the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; wherein, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a terminal-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0059] In a possible design, the specific formats included in the multiple DCI formats and the alignment manner of the multiple DCI formats may refer to the specific description of the DCI format in the eighth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0060] In a possible design, the communication device includes: a memory for storing program instructions; a processor for sending downlink control information DCI to a terminal device by using a communication interface, where the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; wherein, the DCI size corresponding to the sixth format in the multiple DCI formats is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the fifth format in the multiple DCI formats, the DCI corresponding to the fifth format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the sixth format is used to schedule downlink transmission.

[0061] In a possible design, other limitations on the fifth format and the sixth format and the alignment manner between the fifth format and the sixth format may refer to the specific description in the ninth aspect, which will not be elaborated here.

[0062] In another possible design, the communication device may be implemented in the form of a chip.

[0063] The twelfth aspect of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may further include a memory for implementing the method described in the eighth aspect or the ninth aspect. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0064] The thirteenth aspect of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which includes instructions that, when running on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method in the eighth aspect or any possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect or the ninth aspect or any possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect of the embodiments of the present application.

[0065] The fourteenth aspect of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes instructions that, when running on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method in the eighth aspect or any possible implementation manner of the eighth aspect or the ninth aspect or any possible implementation manner of the ninth aspect of the embodiments of the present application.

[0066] In the fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes the device described in the third aspect or the fourth aspect and the device described in the tenth aspect or the eleventh aspect. Description of the Drawings

[0067] Figure 1 Shows the types of DCI sizes obtained by a rachi method;

[0068] Figure 2 Is a possible schematic diagram of the communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0069] Figure 3 Is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the communication method of the present application;

[0070] Figure 4 Is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the communication method of the present application;

[0071] Figure 5a Is Figure 4 A possible refined flowchart of step 402 in

[0072] Figure 5b Shows the format and scrambling method of the DCI sent by the gNB to UE1 after executing the Figure 5a scheme;

[0073] Figure 6a Is Figure 4 Another possible refined flowchart of step 402 in

[0074] Figure 6b Shows the gNB executing Figure 6aAfter the solution, the format and scrambling method of the DCI sent to UE1;

[0075] Figure 7a is Figure 4 Another possible refined flowchart of step 402 in;

[0076] Figure 7b Shows that gNB executes Figure 7a After the solution, the format and scrambling method of the DCI sent to UE1;

[0077] Figure 8a is Figure 4 Another possible refined flowchart of step 402 in;

[0078] Figure 8b Shows that gNB executes Figure 8a After the solution, the format and scrambling method of the DCI sent to UE1;

[0079] Figure 9a is Figure 4 Another possible refined flowchart of step 402 in;

[0080] Figure 9b Shows that gNB executes Figure 9a After the solution, the format and scrambling method of the DCI sent to UE1;

[0081] Figure 10 A possible structural schematic diagram of the UE in this application;

[0082] Figure 11 A possible structural schematic diagram of the communication device in this application;

[0083] Figure 12 A possible structural schematic diagram of the network device in this application;

[0084] Figure 13 Another possible structural schematic diagram of the communication device in this application. Detailed implementation manners

[0085] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and device. The embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0086] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application can be applied to various wireless communication systems or networks, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), 5th generation (5G) systems, future introduced communication systems, or the integration of multiple systems, etc. Among them, 5G can also be referred to as New Radio (NR).

[0087] The network device in the embodiments of this application can be, for example, an access node and / or other network entities. For example, although not shown, the access network may include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU). The access node in the embodiments of this application can be an evolved base station or an evolved Node B (eNodeB) in an LTE system, and can also be a radio controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario. Or, the access node in the embodiments of this application can be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a base station in a 5G network, or a base station in a future evolved PLMN network, etc. Among them, the base station in a 5G network can be called a Next Generation Node B (gNB), which is not limited in the embodiments of this application. In the embodiments of this application, the device for implementing the functions of the network device can be the network device; it can also be a device capable of supporting the network device to implement this function, such as a chip system, and this device can be installed in the network device. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application, taking the device for implementing the functions of the network device as the network device as an example, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are described.

[0088] The terminal device in the embodiments of the present application can be referred to as a terminal, which can be a device with wireless transceiver functions. It can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as a ship, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as an airplane, a balloon, a satellite, etc.). The terminal device can be a user equipment (UE), where the UE includes a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device or a computing device with wireless communication functions. Exemplarily, the UE can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer or a computer with wireless transceiver functions. The terminal device can also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal can be the terminal; it can also be a device capable of supporting the terminal to implement the functions, such as a chip system, and this device can be installed in the terminal. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or can include chips and other discrete devices. In the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, taking the device for implementing the functions of the terminal as the terminal and the terminal being the UE as an example, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are described.

[0089] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to wireless communication between communication devices. The wireless communication between communication devices can include: wireless communication between a network device and a terminal, wireless communication between network devices, and wireless communication between terminals. Among them, in the embodiments of the present application, the term "wireless communication" can also be abbreviated as "communication", and the term "communication" can also be described as "data transmission", "information transmission" or "transmission". This technical solution can be used for wireless communication between a scheduling entity (such as a network device) and a subordinate entity (such as a UE). Those skilled in the art can use the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application for wireless communication between other scheduling entities and subordinate entities, such as wireless communication between a macro base station and a micro base station, such as wireless communication between a first terminal and a second terminal. Among them, the scheduling entity can allocate resources for the subordinate entity, and / or, the scheduling entity can control the wireless communication between them.

[0090] The information exchanged between the UE and the network device is carried over physical channels. Among them, the control information sent by the network device to the UE, such as downlink control information (DCI), can be carried over the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH); the data sent by the network device to the UE, that is, downlink data, can be carried over the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); the data sent by the UE to the network device, that is, uplink data, can be carried over the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). Among them, the physical channel for carrying DCI can also be a channel with other names, such as the enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH); the channel for carrying downlink data at the physical layer can be a channel with other names other than PDSCH; the channel for carrying uplink data at the physical layer can be a channel with other names other than PUSCH, which is not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0091] In a wireless communication system, such as an NR communication system, the network device can configure a bandwidth part (BWP) for the UE from the system bandwidth or carrier bandwidth, and the UE and the network device exchange information within the BWP. The BWP can be understood as a frequency-domain working range configured by the network device for the UE, including the frequency-domain range and subcarrier spacing, etc. A BWP can be used only for transmitting uplink data, and this BWP can be called an uplink BWP; or a BWP can be used only for transmitting downlink data, and this BWP can be called a downlink BWP; for a time-division duplex system, the uplink BWP and the downlink BWP are often configured in pairs and their center frequencies are the same. The network device can configure one or more BWPs for the UE. In the downlink BWP, the UE can receive one or more of the following channels from the network device: PDCCH, PDSCH, and uplink demodulation reference signal. In the uplink BWP, the UE can send one or more of the following channels to the network device: PUSCH, PUCCH, and downlink demodulation reference signal.

[0092] When the network device configures a BWP for the UE, it can perform channel configuration on the channels transmitted in this BWP. Taking the configuration of the downlink BWP as an example, the network device can perform PDSCH configuration and PDCCH configuration. Among them, configuring the PDCCH includes configuring the search space of the PDCCH and the control resource set (CORESET). Optionally, configuring the PDCCH also includes configuring the DCI format that the UE needs to detect in each search space.

[0093] The network device can configure multiple BWPs for the UE and activate one or more of them. The network device can transmit PDSCH, PUSCH, and / or PDCCH with the UE on the activated BWP, and cannot transmit PDSCH, PUSCH, and PDCCH with the UE on the non-activated BWP.

[0094] In a possible implementation, some or all of the configuration information in the BWP configuration information can also be pre-set, that is, this information is pre-known to the network device and the UE.

[0095] The communication system can support multiple different formats of DCI. A DCI can include multiple indication fields, and each indication field corresponds to its own indication function. The DCIs corresponding to different DCI formats can include one or more different indication fields. From the perspective of the transmission direction, the DCI can be divided into: the DCI for scheduling downlink (DL) transmission and the DCI for scheduling uplink (UL) transmission; from the perspective of whether it is independent of the UE-specific high-layer signaling configuration, or from the perspective of the function of the DCI, the DCI can be divided into: the fallback DCI, the non-fallback DCI. Among them, the fallback DCI can also be called the fallback DCI, and the non-fallback DCI can also be called the non-fallback DCI.

[0096] The format of the DCI for scheduling downlink transmission can be different from the format of the DCI for scheduling uplink transmission, and the format of the fallback DCI can be different from the format of the non-fallback DCI.

[0097] The fallback DCI hardly depends on the UE's high-layer signaling configuration. The indication fields it includes and the size of each field are only related to the cell-common configuration or are pre-defined; while many of the indication fields included in the non-fallback DCI and the size of these fields are usually determined according to the UE's high-layer signaling configuration. The non-fallback DCI can indicate more functions than the fallback DCI. Table 1 gives an example of the format classification of a DCI for scheduling PDSCH and PUSCH.

[0098] Table 1

[0099]

[0100] The DCI sizes corresponding to different DCI formats may be different. The DCI size specifically refers to the payload size of the DCI, or the number of bits included in the DCI. The network device sends the PDCCH in the time-frequency resources indicated by the CORESET and the search space. Correspondingly, the UE blindly detects the DCI carried in the PDCCH according to the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format to be detected in the time-frequency resources determined according to the CORESET and the search space. The process of receiving or detecting the DCI can also be regarded as the process of receiving or detecting the PDCCH.

[0101] Generally, in a search space, the UE can be configured to detect 1 or 2 formats of DCI. However, since the time-frequency resource positions of different search spaces may overlap, the UE may need to detect more formats of DCI at the same resource position. The more DCI formats there are, the more types of DCI sizes the UE needs to detect, the more times the UE blindly detects the PDCCH, the greater the UE overhead, and the higher the power consumption of the UE.

[0102] In a communication system, according to the nature of the search space of the PDCCH, the search space of the PDCCH can be divided into a common search space (CSS) and a UE-specific search space (USS). Among them, the DCI sent in the CSS can be received by all UEs in the cell, and the DCI sent in the USS can be received by a specific UE or UE group; or, the DCI sent in the CSS can be received by the UE group, and the DCI sent in the USS can be received by a specific UE. Among them, a UE group includes one or more UEs, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The CSS can send fallback DCI; the USS can send both fallback and non-fallback DCI.

[0103] Exemplarily, the search space of the PDCCH can be configured (indicated) for the UE by the network device through radio resource control (RRC) signaling. On one BWP of the UE, the network device can configure one or more search spaces for the UE. For a UE, this RRC signaling can be specific to this UE or can be shared (common) with other UEs, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0104] For a search space, the network device may configure for the UE whether the type of the search space is a common search space or a UE-specific search space. In addition, the network device may also configure for the UE one or more of the following parameters of the search space: frequency-domain resource location, aggregation level size, number of candidate PDCCHs, detection period, time-domain resource location, and format of the DCI transmitted in the search space. For example, the format of the DCI in a common search space may be configured as 0_0 and 1_0. For another example, the format of the DCI in a UE-specific search space may be configured as 0_1 and 1_1, or the format of the DCI in a UE-specific search space may be configured as 0_0 and 1_0. Among them, the time-domain resource location includes: the first time unit (such as a time slot) offset of the search space in the detection period, the number of consecutive first time units occupied by the search space in the detection period, the second time unit (such as a symbol) offset of the search space in each first time unit, and the number of second time units occupied by the search space in each first time unit.

[0105] Optionally, the frequency-domain resource location of the search space and the number of second time units of the search space in each first time unit may be configured in the following manner: The network device indicates to the UE the control resource set (CORESET) corresponding to the search space, and the parameters of the CORESET may be regarded as the parameters of the search space. The network device indicates, through RRC signaling, the frequency-domain resource location of the CORESET and the number of second time units of the CORESET in each first time unit. Optionally, a CORESET may correspond to one search space or multiple different search spaces, and the embodiments of the present application do not make any restrictions.

[0106] Exemplarily, search space A corresponds to CORESET A, and CORESET A occupies 3 symbols in the time domain. The detection period of search space A is 10 time slots, the offset of search space A in the detection period is 3 time slots, the number of consecutive time slots occupied by search space A in the detection period is 2 time slots, and the symbol offset of search space A in each time slot is 3 symbols. Then, the frequency-domain resource location of search space A is the frequency-domain resource location of CORESET A, and the time-domain resource location of search space A is: in every 10 time slots, in each of the 4th and 5th time slots, starting from the 3rd symbol, a total of 3 symbols are occupied. The time-frequency resource obtained from the frequency-domain resource location and the time-domain resource location of search space A may be referred to as the time-frequency resource indicated by search space A and CORESET A.

[0107] When a network device sends DCI to a UE, such as fallback DCI or non-fallback DCI, if it is used to schedule UE-specific data transmission (for example, scheduling PDSCH or PUSCH, and the data transmitted on the PDSCH or PUSCH is specific to the UE), then a UE-specific radio network temporary identity (RNTI) can be used to scramble the DCI. Among them, the UE-specific RNTI can be the UE's cell RNTI (C-RNTI), configured scheduling RNTI (CS-RNTI), modulation and coding scheme C-RNTI (MCS-C-RNTI), etc. C-RNTI is an important identifier for the network device (such as a base station) to identify the UE at the access network level, and the base station using C-RNTI to scramble the DCI is equivalent to the base station and the UE performing encrypted transmission of the DCI through C-RNTI. The detection ability of the DCI scrambled with C-RNTI to a certain extent reflects the basic ability of the UE to detect the DCI sent by the base station.

[0108] The network device can send fallback DCI to the UE for scheduling cell system messages, scheduling a group of UEs, or scheduling UEs in the non-connected state. At this time, public RNTIs such as system information RNTI (SI-RNTI), paging RNTI (P-RNTI), or random access RNTI (RA-RNTI) can be used to scramble the DCI. The non-connected state can also be considered the idle state or the inactive state. The connected state can be considered the active state. From the perspective of whether an RRC connection is established between the UE and the network device, the connected state is also called the RRC connected state, and the non-connected state includes the RRC inactive state and the RRC idle state.

[0109] In a possible implementation:

[0110] For the fallback DCI sent in the CSS, such as DCI in formats 0_0 and 1_0, the network device equalizes the sizes of these two formats of DCI by padding with zeros or puncturing, so that the sizes of DCI in different DCI formats are the same, and the size of DCI format 0_0 is equalized to the size of DCI format 1_0; the network device equalizes the sizes of the fallback DCI sent in the USS, specifically, the smaller of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 is padded with zeros to be equalized to the larger one.

[0111] Between non-backoff DCIs sent in the USS, such as between format 0_1 and 1_1, the network device does not perform any form of alignment.

[0112] Figure 1 Examples of DCI size categories reflecting the above provisions are shown. If the DCI sizes corresponding to DCI formats within the same dashed box are different, they are aligned to the same size. The RNTI in parentheses after the DCI format represents the RNTI that may be used to scramble the DCI of the corresponding format.

[0113] Furthermore, it can be stipulated that:

[0114] If the number of categories of DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats that the UE needs to detect exceeds 4, or the number of categories of DCI sizes of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI exceeds 3, then the network device aligns the backoff DCI size in the USS to the backoff DCI size in the CSS. Refer to the Figure 1 curved line with an arrow in it.

[0115] Figure 1 It is assumed in that the sizes of DCI format 0_1 and DCI format 1_1 in the USS are different. Then, the number of categories of DCI sizes of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI that the UE needs to detect is 4. These 4 categories of DCI respectively correspond to the Figure 1 DCI formats scrambled by C-RNTI within the 4 dashed boxes in. Since the number of categories of DCI sizes of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI that the UE needs to detect exceeds 3, therefore, as shown by the Figure 1 curved line with an arrow in, DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in the USS are aligned to DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in the CSS. After alignment, the number of categories of DCI sizes of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI that the UE needs to detect is 3. This alignment result is the most common case.

[0116] There may actually be other results. For example, the sizes of DCI format 0_1 and DCI format 1_1 in the USS do not require alignment and are the same; or, the size of DCI format 0_1 or DCI format 1_1 in the USS is the same as the size of DCI format 0_0 or DCI format 1_0 in the USS. In this case, since the number of categories of DCI sizes of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI does not exceed 3, no alignment operation is required either.

[0117] In the above method, the types of DCI sizes can only be limited to no more than 4, and the types of DCI sizes scrambled with C-RNTI are limited to no more than 3. The types of DCI sizes that the UE needs to detect are still relatively numerous. During the blind detection of the PDCCH at each resource location by the UE, the number of blind detections is still relatively large, and the blind detection process occupies a large amount of computing power and storage capacity of the UE, increasing the complexity of the UE.

[0118] To meet the terminal requirements of low cost and low complexity in scenarios such as industrial sensor networks and wearable devices, a reduced capability (REDCAP) UE will be supported in the NR communication system. Its official name is Reduced Capability NR Devices, and it can also be called NR-REDCAP UE. During the standard discussion process, it has also had former names such as Lightweight (NR-light) UE and Massive Machine Type Communication (NR mMTC) UE. Exemplarily, the maximum bandwidth supported by the REDCAP UE is less than that of traditional UEs, and / or the number of antennas supported is less than that of traditional UEs. To solve the above problems, especially considering reducing the complexity of the REDCAP UE, this application provides a communication method and apparatus to reduce the number of PDCCH detections of the UE (especially the REDCAP UE), thereby reducing the complexity of the UE. This method can be applied not only to REDCAP UEs but also to other types of UEs, such as UEs supporting enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services or UEs supporting ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services, for reducing the power consumption of the UE. The embodiments of this application are not limited in this regard.

[0119] First, an exemplary system architecture to which this application is applied will be introduced below.

[0120] The embodiments of this application can be applied to the NR communication system or other communication systems as long as there are entities for sending and receiving downlink control information in the communication system.

[0121] Figure 2 A possible schematic diagram of the communication system provided by the embodiments of this application is as Figure 2As shown in the figure, the communication system includes a network device and UEs UE1 to UE5. In this communication system, UEs UE1 to UE5 can send uplink data to the network device, and the network device can receive the uplink data sent by UEs UE1 to UE5; the network device can send downlink data to UEs UE1 to UE5, and UEs UE1 to UE5 can receive the downlink data sent by the network device. In addition, UE4 and UE5 can form a sub-communication system. After receiving the downlink information sent by the network device, UE5 can forward the downlink information to UE4. UE4 can send the uplink data to UE5, and UE5 forwards the uplink data to the network device.

[0122] That is to say, the downlink data received by a UE in the communication system can be directly sent to the UE by the network device, or can be forwarded to the UE by other communication nodes in the communication system; the uplink data sent by the UE can be directly sent to the network device, or can be forwarded to the network device by other communication nodes in the communication system.

[0123] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be introduced below.

[0124] Figure 3 For the schematic diagram of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, refer to Figure 3 A possible embodiment of the communication method of the present application may include the following steps:

[0125] 301. The network device sends DCI to the UE;

[0126] 302. The UE detects the DCI from the network device;

[0127] Figure 3 In, the line segment with an arrow between the network device and the UE represents both step 301 and step 302 at the same time.

[0128] The network device can send DCI to the UE, and the UE can detect the DCI. The DCI is used to schedule the physical data channel, and the formats of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel include multiple DCI formats. Among them, the types of the sizes of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel do not exceed N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3, and / or, the types of the sizes of the DCI scrambled by the UE-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI do not exceed M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0129] That is to say, the types of the sizes of the DCI corresponding to multiple DCI formats meet any one of the following three situations:

[0130] 1) The number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3. Moreover, when the DCI corresponding to multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a UE-specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0131] 2) The number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3.

[0132] 3) When the DCI corresponding to multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a UE-specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0133] Since the number of types of DCI sizes for scheduling the physical data channel does not exceed N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3, and / or the number of types of DCI sizes of the DCI scrambled with a UE-specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) does not exceed M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2, the number of types of DCI sizes is reduced, which is beneficial to reducing the number of PDCCH detections of the UE and thus reducing the complexity of the UE.

[0134] In a possible implementation manner, regarding "the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3", it can be understood that when the DCI corresponding to multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a common RNTI or a UE-specific RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3. Or, it can also be described as: multiple DCI formats can correspond to multiple DCIs. One DCI among the multiple DCIs can be scrambled with any one of a common RNTI or a UE-specific RNTI. Different DCIs among the multiple DCIs can be scrambled with the same type or different types of RNTIs, and the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCIs is less than or equal to N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3.

[0135] In a possible implementation manner, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or when the DCI corresponding to multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a UE-specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N - L, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3 and L is a positive integer less than N, for example, L is 1 or 2.

[0136] The physical data channel is used to transmit uplink data (e.g., the physical data channel is PUSCH), or to transmit downlink data (e.g., the physical data channel is PUSCH), or includes a physical channel for transmitting uplink data (e.g., PUSCH) and a physical channel for transmitting downlink data (e.g., PDSCH).

[0137] The DCI for scheduling the PDSCH can indicate one or more of the following transmission parameters of the PDSCH: DCI format indication, BWP indication, frequency-domain resource allocation, time-domain resource allocation, virtual RB (VRB) to physical RB (PRB) mapping, modulation and coding strategy, new data indication, redundancy version, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process number, downlink allocation index, transmit power control command for PUCCH, PUCCH resource indication, PDSCH to HARQ feedback time indication, antenna port, sounding reference signal (SRS) request, transmission configuration indication, and demodulation reference signal (DMRS) sequence initialization. Among them, the transmission parameters of the PDSCH can also be referred to as the indication information of the PDSCH.

[0138] The DCI for scheduling the PUSCH can indicate one or more of the following transmission parameters of the PUSCH: DCI format indication, BWP indication, frequency-domain resource allocation, time-domain resource allocation, hopping flag, modulation and coding strategy, new data indication, redundancy version, HARQ process number, downlink allocation index, transmit power command for PUSCH, antenna port, SRS request, channel state information (CSI) request, Beta offset indication, DMRS sequence initialization, uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) indication, and UL / supplementary UL (SUL) indication. Among them, the transmission parameters of the PUSCH can also be referred to as the indication information of the PUSCH.

[0139] After step 302, the UE can transmit the corresponding physical data channel according to the detected DCI.

[0140] Exemplarily, assuming that the DCI detected by the UE is used to schedule the PDSCH, then the UE can receive the PDSCH sent by the network device according to the transmission parameters of the PDSCH in the DCI. Assuming that the DCI detected by the UE is used to schedule the PUSCH, then the UE can send the PUSCH to the network device according to the transmission parameters of the PUSCH in the DCI.

[0141] For ease of description, the DCI sent by the network device in step 301 and detected by the UE in step 302 is referred to as DCI_b, and the DCI format corresponding to DCI_b is referred to as format A.

[0142] In a possible implementation, the size of DCI_b meets the requirements, and no padding or zero-filling operations such as puncturing are required for DCI_b, and DCI_b is the same as DCI_a. DCI_a is the original DCI obtained according to format A without alignment operations.

[0143] In a possible implementation manner, before step 301, the network device obtains DCI_a according to format A, and the network device adjusts the size of DCI_a according to the alignment rule to obtain DCI_b. The payloads of DCI_a and DCI_b are different, but the corresponding DCI formats of the two are the same, both being format A.

[0144] In step 301, the network device sends DCI_b.

[0145] Before step 302, the UE can determine the adjusted size of each DCI format according to this alignment rule, including determining the DCI size corresponding to format A. Optionally, the DCI corresponding to format A may meet the requirements without alignment operations.

[0146] In step 302, the UE can detect the DCI carried by the PDCCH according to the determined adjusted size of each DCI format, including detecting DCI_b carried by the PDCCH according to the adjusted DCI size corresponding to format A.

[0147] In a possible implementation manner, in step 302, the UE can decode DCI_b according to this alignment rule. For example, restore DCI_b to DCI_a, and then decode DCI_a to obtain the transmission parameters carried by it.

[0148] The network device performs a rachi operation on the DCI corresponding to some or all of the DCI formats for scheduling the physical data channel according to the rachi rule, so as to limit the types of the sizes of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel sent by the network device to be less than or equal to N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, limit the types of the sizes of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel sent by the network device and scrambled by the UE-specific radio network temporary identity (RNTI) used by the network device to be less than or equal to M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0149] By determining the sizes of the respective DCI formats that need to be adjusted according to the rachi rule, the UE is beneficial to successfully detecting the DCI corresponding to the respective DCI formats carried in the PDCCH and correctly parsing the information in the DCI according to the rachi rule.

[0150] The following introduces the possible rachi schemes provided by this application for different cases of the DCI formats included in the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel.

[0151] 1. The DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes the third format and the fourth format detected in the UE-specific search space (USS), and the third format and the fourth format detected in the common search space (CSS). Among them, the DCI corresponding to the third format is used to schedule uplink transmission (such as PUSCH), and the DCI corresponding to the fourth format is used to schedule downlink transmission (such as PDSCH). The DCI transmitted in the USS is scrambled by the UE-specific RNTI, and the DCI transmitted in the CSS is scrambled by the UE-specific RNTI or by the common RNTI.

[0152] In a possible implementation, the third format is 0_0 and the fourth format is 1_0.

[0153] Exemplarily, the fields included in the DCI format 0_0 and the DCI format 1_0 and the sizes of the respective fields are shown in Table 2 below:

[0154] Table 2

[0155]

[0156] The following briefly introduces the respective fields of the DCI format 0_0 as follows:

[0157] DCI format indication: 1 bit, used to distinguish whether the DCI schedules UL transmission or DL transmission. The value of this field in 0_0 is 0, indicating that it schedules a UL transmission;

[0158] Frequency domain resource allocation: X bits, used to indicate the frequency domain resources allocated in this scheduling. The specific size of X is related to the bandwidth of the UL BWP, specifically Indicates the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) included in the UL BWP. It can be seen that the larger the UL BWP, the more possible cases of the allocated frequency-domain resources, so the larger X is. For example, when the UL BWP bandwidth is 96 PRBs, X = 13, and the PUSCH scheduled by the DCI including this frequency-domain resource allocation field is transmitted in this UL BWP;

[0159] Time-domain resource allocation: 4 bits, used to indicate the time-domain resources allocated in this scheduling. The states 0 to 15 represented by these 4 bits indicate a row in a predefined table, and each row represents a certain time-domain start position and length;

[0160] Hopping flag: 1 bit, used to indicate whether the UL transmission of the UE performs frequency hopping;

[0161] Modulation and coding strategy: 5 bits, used to indicate the modulation method and coding rate of the PUSCH scheduled in this scheduling;

[0162] New data indication: 1 bit, used to indicate whether the data scheduled in this scheduling is new data or old data;

[0163] Redundancy version: 2 bits, used to indicate the redundancy version of the data scheduled in this scheduling; there are a total of four redundancy versions, 0, 1, 2, and 3, after the data is encoded;

[0164] HARQ process number: 4 bits, used to indicate which HARQ process the data scheduled in this scheduling belongs to;

[0165] PUSCH transmit power control command: 2 bits, used to indicate the adjustment amount of the power for the UE to transmit the PUSCH;

[0166] UL / SUL indication: 1 bit, used to indicate whether the UL transmission scheduled in this scheduling is on the UL carrier or the supplementary UL (SUL) carrier; optionally, this field may only exist when the SUL carrier is configured;

[0167] Similarly, the meanings of many fields in DCI format 1_0 are the same as those in DCI format 0_0, only UL becomes DL, which will not be elaborated here, but the different fields will be introduced:

[0168] DCI format indication field: 1 bit, used to distinguish whether the DCI schedules a UL transmission or a DL transmission. The value of this field in 1_0 is 1, indicating that it schedules a DL transmission;

[0169] Frequency-domain resource allocation: Y bits, similar to the X bits in the uplink, but the number of PRBs included in the DL BWP is used when calculating Y When the sizes of the UL BWP and the DL BWP are the same, Y = X;

[0170] VRB-to-PRB mapping: 1 bit, indicating whether interleaved mapping is performed between VRBs and PRBs in this DL transmission;

[0171] Downlink allocation index: 2 bits, used to indicate the cumulative number of downlink transmissions scheduled by the network device up to the current time and corresponding to the same hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledge character (HARQ-ACK) feedback;

[0172] PUCCH transmit power control command: 2 bits, used to indicate the adjustment amount of the power for transmitting the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) when the UE performs HARQ-ACK feedback for the PDSCH scheduled this time;

[0173] PUCCH resource indication: 3 bits, used to indicate the PUCCH resources used when the UE performs HARQ-ACK feedback for the PDSCH scheduled this time;

[0174] PDSCH-to-HARQ feedback time indication: 3 bits, used to indicate the time interval between the PDSCH scheduled this time and the HARQ feedback of this PDSCH.

[0175] In Table 2, p is a positive integer.

[0176] In a possible implementation, based on the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS being the same as the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format, or based on the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS and the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format being aligned to the same size, the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the USS is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS or to the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format detected in the CSS, and, the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format detected in the USS is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS or to the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format detected in the CSS, so as to limit the number of types of the DCI sizes for scheduling the physical data channel sent by the network device to be less than or equal to N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, limit the number of types of the DCI sizes for scheduling the physical data channel sent by the network device and scrambled with the UE-specific radio network temporary identity (RNTI) to be less than or equal to M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0177] Second, the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes a first format and a second format detected in the UE-specific search space USS. Among them, the DCI corresponding to the first format is used to schedule uplink transmission (such as PUSCH), and the DCI corresponding to the second format is used to schedule downlink transmission (such as PDSCH). The DCI transmitted in the USS is scrambled with the UE-specific RNTI.

[0178] In a possible implementation manner, both the DCI corresponding to the first format and the DCI corresponding to the second format are non-backoff DCIs.

[0179] Exemplarily, the first format may be 0_1, and the second format may be 1_1. However, the embodiments of this application do not limit that the domain and the size of the domain of the first format are the same as those of 0_1, nor do they limit that the domain and the size of the domain of the second format are the same as those of 1_1. Therefore, in the embodiments of this application, the first format is denoted as 0_3, and the second format is denoted as 1_3. The DCIs of the first format and the second format in the present invention may also have other identification methods. For example, the first format may be 4_0, the second format may be 4_1, etc., as long as the essence remains unchanged. The present invention does not limit this.

[0180] Table 3 below gives a possible definition method of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3. The domains included in DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 and the sizes of each domain are as shown in Table 3 below:

[0181] Table 3

[0182]

[0183]

[0184] The following introduces each domain of DCI formats 0_3 and 1_3 as follows:

[0185] BWP indication: 0 to 2 bits, used to indicate the BWP where the DL (or UL) transmission scheduled this time is located. The specific number of bits is determined by the number of DL BWPs or UL BWPs configured by the UE;

[0186] Antenna port: used to indicate the DMRS port sent by the UE. The specific number of bits is determined by the DMRS type and the maximum length configured by the UE;

[0187] SRS request: used to trigger the UE to transmit an aperiodic SRS. The specific number of bits is determined by the SRS configuration of the UE;

[0188] CSI request: used to trigger the UE to perform aperiodic CSI reporting. The specific number of bits is determined by the CSI reporting configuration of the UE;

[0189] Beta offset indication: It is used to indicate the resources for the UE to report CSI information in the PUSCH. The specific number of bits is determined by the configuration of the Beta offset indication;

[0190] DMRS sequence initialization: It is used to indicate the scrambling code used for the initialization of the UE's DMRS sequence. The specific number of bits is determined by the DMRS configuration;

[0191] UL-SCH indication: 1 bit, which is used to indicate whether the UE transmits the uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) on the PUSCH channel in this UL transmission, where UL-SCH is the uplink shared channel in the logical channel;

[0192] Transmission configuration indication: That is, TCI (transmission configuration indication), which is used to indicate the downlink reference signal quasi-co-located with the PDSCH or DMRS in this DL transmission. The specific number of bits is determined by the TCI configuration.

[0193] For the introduction of other fields in Table 3, reference can be made to the relevant introduction to Table 2 above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0194] It should be noted that Table 3 can be used as a possible design method for the UL non-backoff and DL non-backoff DCI of the UE, that is, the design methods of the DCI of the first format and the DCI of the second format. The order of the included fields can be changed, the number of bits of each field can be different, or it can include some other fields not listed here, or it may not include some fields.

[0195] In a possible implementation, the DCI size corresponding to the first format is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the second format.

[0196] Or, in a possible implementation, the DCI size corresponding to the second format is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the first format.

[0197] Or, in a possible implementation, if the DCI size corresponding to the first format is smaller than the DCI size corresponding to the second format, then the DCI size corresponding to the first format is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the second format; if the DCI size corresponding to the second format is smaller than the DCI size corresponding to the first format, then the DCI size corresponding to the second format is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the first format.

[0198] III. The DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes a first format, a second format, a third format, and a fourth format detected in the UE-specific search space USS. Among them, the DCI corresponding to the first format is used to schedule uplink transmissions (such as PUSCH), the DCI corresponding to the third format is used to schedule uplink transmissions (such as PUSCH), and the first format is different from the third format; the DCI corresponding to the second format is used to schedule downlink transmissions (such as PDSCH), the DCI corresponding to the fourth format is used to schedule downlink transmissions (such as PDSCH), and the second format is different from the fourth format. The DCI corresponding to each of the above formats transmitted in the USS is scrambled with the UE-specific RNTI.

[0199] In a possible implementation, the first format is the aforementioned DCI format 0_3, the second format is the aforementioned DCI format 1_3, the third format is 0_0, and the fourth format is 1_0.

[0200] In a possible implementation, based on the fact that the DCI sizes corresponding to the first format and the second format are the same, or based on the fact that the DCI sizes corresponding to the first format and the second format are aligned, the DCI size corresponding to the third format transmitted in the USS is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the first format or aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the second format, and the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the first format or aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the second format.

[0201] In any embodiment of this application, it can be considered that the following description methods express the same meaning: "The DCI size corresponding to a certain format (referred to as format A) is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to another format (referred to as format B)", "The DCI size corresponding to format A is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to format B", "Taking the DCI size corresponding to format B as the standard, align the DCI size corresponding to format A so that the DCI size corresponding to format A is the same as the DCI size corresponding to format B", "Adjust the DCI size corresponding to format A, and the adjusted DCI size corresponding to format A is the same as the DCI size corresponding to format B", etc.

[0202] In any embodiment of this application, the DCI size corresponding to format A being aligned to the DCI size corresponding to format B includes the following two methods:

[0203] Method 1: If the DCI size corresponding to format A is smaller than the DCI size corresponding to format B, then at least one padding bit (such as 0 or 1) is filled in the DCI corresponding to format A, and the DCI size corresponding to format A after being filled is the same as the DCI size corresponding to format B.

[0204] Method 2: If the size of the DCI corresponding to format A is greater than the size of the DCI corresponding to format B, then, K fields of the DCI corresponding to format A are truncated, or at least one bit in K fields of the DCI corresponding to format A is truncated. The size of the DCI corresponding to format B after truncation is the same as the size of the DCI corresponding to format A, where K is a positive integer.

[0205] In a possible implementation, among the truncated fields, at least one bit of its high bits is truncated, and even all bits in the truncated fields are truncated.

[0206] In a possible implementation, the K fields include at least one of the following fields:

[0207] Frequency domain resource allocation field, time domain resource allocation field, PUCCH resource indication field, PDSCH to HARQ feedback time indication field, SRS request field, and DMRS sequence initialization field. For example, if format A is format 1_3, the K fields include at least one of the following fields: frequency domain resource allocation field, time domain resource allocation field, PUCCH resource indication field, SRS request field, and PDSCH to HARQ feedback time indication field. For example, if format A is format 0_3, the K fields include at least one of the following fields: frequency domain resource allocation field, time domain resource allocation field, SRS request field, and DMRS sequence initialization field.

[0208] To ensure that DCIs of various formats are accurately notified, the DCI corresponding to the DCI format with less payload can be aligned with the DCI corresponding to the DCI format with more payload. In this way, only method 1 needs to be adopted for alignment, and the payload in the DCI will not be lost.

[0209] Taking format A as the second format (such as 1_3 as described above) and format B as the first format (such as 0_3 as described above) as an example, the above alignment method will be specifically introduced below.

[0210] Regarding method 1: If the size of the DCI corresponding to DCI format 0_3 is greater than the size of the DCI corresponding to DCI format 1_3, the network device can fill p padding bits into the DCI corresponding to DCI format 1_3. For example, p "0" or "1" can be filled at the end of the payload, so that the sizes of the DCIs corresponding to the two DCI formats are the same, where p is a positive integer.

[0211] If the UE detects the DCI corresponding to DCI format 1_3 from the network device, the UE can ignore the last p bits of the payload of the DCI, or truncate the last p bits of the DCI to obtain the DCI corresponding to the unadjusted DCI format 1_3.

[0212] For Method 2: If the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 is smaller than the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3, the network device can truncate at least one bit of at least one field in the DCI corresponding to DCI format 1_3. For example, truncate the high-order bit or bits of the frequency-domain resource allocation field in the DCI corresponding to DCI format 1_3, or truncate the high-order bit or bits of the time-domain resource allocation field in DCI format 1_3, or truncate all bits of the SRS request field, etc., so that the DCI sizes corresponding to the two DCI formats are the same.

[0213] Suppose the high 3 bits of the frequency-domain resource allocation field in the DCI corresponding to DCI format 1_3 are truncated, and the payload in the truncated field is "11". If the UE detects the DCI corresponding to DCI format 1_3 from the network device, the UE can fill the high 3 bits of the frequency-domain resource allocation field in this DCI with a predefined value (such as "0"), and consider the value indicated by this field as "00011".

[0214] Optionally, considering that the typical application scenarios of REDCAP UEs include industrial sensors and video surveillance, etc., and as sensor terminals or video terminals, REDCAP UEs have a large amount of uplink transmissions, so their transmission services are mainly uplink. Regardless of the relationship between the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 and the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3, the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3 is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3. That is to say, the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format for DL scheduling is aligned to the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format for UL scheduling, which is beneficial to protecting the scheduling performance of uplink transmissions. Specifically:

[0215] (1) If the number of bits of DCI format 0_3 is more than the number of bits of DCI format 1_3, the size can be aligned by padding zeros in DCI format 1_3 without truncating any field of DCI format 0_3, thus ensuring the accurate indication of the scheduling information for uplink transmissions. For example, if before alignment, the number of bits of DCI format 0_3 is p bits more than the number of bits of DCI format 1_3, then p predefined bits (such as "0") can be filled at the end of the valid bits of DCI format 1_3 to align DCI format 1_3 to the size of DCI format 0_3.

[0216] (2) If the number of bits of DCI format 0_3 is less than that of DCI format 1_3, some fields in DCI format 1_3 can be truncated without filling useless bits into DCI format 0_3, minimizing the payload of DCI format 0_3 and ensuring its detection reliability. For example, if the number of bits of DCI format 0_3 is q bits less than that of DCI format 1_3 before alignment, the high q bits of a specific indication field (such as the frequency domain resource allocation indication field) in DCI format 1_3 can be truncated, thus aligning DCI format 1_3 to the size of DCI format 0_3. Here, q is a positive integer.

[0217] The following takes Figure 2 the network device in Figure 3 as gNB and UE1 as UE for example, and based on

[0218] the method described in Figure 4 to introduce a possible specific embodiment of the communication method of this application.

[0219] 401. The gNB sends RRC configuration information to UE1.

[0220] The RRC configuration information is used to indicate the resource locations of the PDCCH configured for UE1 (including the resource locations of CSS and USS) and the DCI formats that UE1 needs to detect, etc.

[0221] In a possible implementation manner, the communication method provided in this application may also not perform step 401. The gNB and UE1 can determine the resource locations of the PDCCH allocated for UE1 and the DCI formats that UE1 needs to detect according to the pre-set or predefined configuration information.

[0222] 402. The gNB determines the alignment rules corresponding to each DCI format that UE1 needs to detect.

[0223] After the gNB performs RRC configuration on UE1, it determines each DCI format that UE1 needs to detect and determines the alignment rules corresponding to each DCI format. The alignment rule can be Figure 3 the alignment rule described in the method embodiment involved. The alignment rule is used to limit the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to each DCI format that UE1 needs to detect to no more than N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3, and / or limit the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to each DCI format scrambled with the UE-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI to less than or equal to M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0224] 403. UE1 determines the alignment rules corresponding to each DCI format that it needs to detect.

[0225] After the UE1 receives the RRC configuration information from the gNB, it determines each DCI format to be detected and determines the alignment rule corresponding to each DCI format. This alignment rule is the same as the alignment rule determined by the gNB in step 402.

[0226] 404. The UE1 determines the size of the DCI after alignment corresponding to each DCI format according to the alignment rule.

[0227] The UE1 determines the size of the DCI after alignment corresponding to each DCI format according to the alignment rule. The types of the size of the DCI after alignment can be Figure 3 the types of the DCI sizes corresponding to multiple DCI formats described in the method embodiments involved. The types of the size of the DCI after alignment do not exceed N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3, and / or, the types of the DCI sizes corresponding to each DCI format scrambled with the UE-specific radio network temporary identity (RNTI) are less than or equal to M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2.

[0228] 405. The UE1 performs blind detection on the PDCCH according to the RRC configuration information and the size of the DCI after alignment corresponding to each DCI format to be detected.

[0229] 406. The gNB adjusts the size of DCI_a according to the alignment rule to obtain DCI_b.

[0230] The DCI to be sent by the gNB to the UE1 is called DCI_a, and the format of DCI_a is called format A. Then, the gNB adjusts the size of DCI_a according to the alignment rule corresponding to format A. In the embodiments of the present application, the adjusted DCI_a is called DCI_b. The DCI format indication fields of DCI_a and DCI_b both indicate that their formats are format A.

[0231] The gNB adjusts the size of DCI_a according to the alignment rule, which can refer to Figure 3 the adjustment process described in the method embodiments involved, which will not be elaborated here.

[0232] The execution order between step 402 and step 406 executed by the gNB and steps 403 to 405 executed by the UE1 is not limited.

[0233] 407. The gNB sends DCI_b to the UE1, and the UE1 detects DCI_b.

[0234] After the gNB sends DCI_b to the UE1 through the PDCCH, the UE1 can detect DCI_b carried in the PDCCH from the gNB at the configured resource location according to the adjusted DCI size corresponding to format A (the same as the size of DCI_b).

[0235] 408. UE1 restores DCI_b to DCI_a according to the scrambling rule.

[0236] After detecting DCI_b, UE1 can determine that the format of DCI_b is Format A according to the DCI format indication field, restore DCI_b to DCI_a according to the corresponding scrambling rule of Format A, and decode DCI_a to obtain the transmission parameters carried in DCI_a.

[0237] 409. UE1 transmits the corresponding physical data channel according to DCI_a.

[0238] Assume that the detected DCI_a by UE1 is used to schedule the PDSCH. Then, the UE can detect the PDSCH sent by the network device according to the transmission parameters of the PDSCH in DCI_a. Assume that the detected DCI_a by UE1 is used to schedule the PUSCH. Then, the UE can send the PUSCH to the network device according to the transmission parameters of the PUSCH in DCI_a.

[0239] Next, Figure 4 Step 402 in the corresponding embodiment will be introduced.

[0240] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of types of the size of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel does not exceed N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3, and / or, the number of types of the size of the DCI scrambled by the UE-specific radio network temporary identity (RNTI) used does not exceed M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2. Next, several possible specific implementation manners of Step 402 will be introduced for several possible value combinations of M and N.

[0241] 1. The value combination of M and N is: N = 3, M = 2.

[0242] In this value combination, the number of types of the size of the DCI that UE1 needs to detect can be reduced to 3, and / or, the number of types of the size of the DCI scrambled by the specific RNTI of UE1 that the UE needs to detect can be reduced to 2.

[0243] 1.1. Each DCI format that UE1 needs to detect includes DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 sent in the CSS, and DCI format 0_0, DCI format 0_3, DCI format 1_0, and DCI format 1_3 sent in the USS.

[0244] Refer to Figure 5a , Step 402 includes the following detailed steps 4021a to 4026a.

[0245] 4021a. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 transmitted in the CSS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0.

[0246] Aligning the DCI format 0_0 transmitted in the CSS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0 is considered because important public information or important configuration information often needs to be sent in the CSS. Therefore, it is more necessary to ensure the accuracy of the downlink transmission indication.

[0247] 4022a. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 transmitted in the USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0.

[0248] The DCI format with a smaller payload is aligned to the DCI format with a larger payload by supplementing padding bits. For example, if the payload number of 0_0 is less than that of 1_0 before alignment, then 0s are filled in 0_0 until the size of 0_0 is the same as that of 1_0; conversely, if the payload number of 0_0 is more than that of 1_0 before alignment, then 0s are filled in 1_0 until the size of 1_0 is the same as that of 0_0.

[0249] This method does not lose any information bits (payload) in any DCI format, ensuring the accuracy of the indication.

[0250] In the embodiments of this application, it can be assumed that the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 transmitted in the USS is smaller than the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0. Therefore, the gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 transmitted in the USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0.

[0251] The embodiments of this application do not limit the order of precedence between step 4021a and step 4022a.

[0252] 4023a. The gNB determines whether the size type of the DCI is less than or equal to 3, and whether the size type of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI is less than or equal to 2. If not, then step 4024a is executed; if so, then it ends.

[0253] After step 4021a and step 4022a, if the size type of the DCI that UE1 needs to detect is less than or equal to 3, and the size type of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI that UE1 needs to detect is less than or equal to 2, then it is considered that step 402 is completed, that is, the process of step 402 ends. If the size type of the DCI that UE1 needs to detect is greater than 3, or the size type of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI that UE1 needs to detect is greater than or less than or equal to 2, then step 4024a is executed.

[0254] 4024a. The gNB aligns the DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 to be sent in the USS with the DCI format 1_0 to be sent in the CSS.

[0255] Exemplarily, step 4024a may specifically include the following steps 1 to 3.

[0256] 1. Optionally, remove the padding bits in the DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in the current USS.

[0257] 2. Optionally, by using and in the CSS to replace and in the USS, so that the number of bits X and Y in the frequency-domain resource allocation field of the DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in the USS is the same as that of the DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in the CSS.

[0258] 3. Similar to the alignment method between the DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in the CSS, align the DCI format 0_0 in the USS after the above step 2 to the DCI format 1_0.

[0259] Since the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format 0_0 sent in the CSS has been aligned to the DCI size of the DCI format 1_0 in step 4021a, therefore, step 4024a can also be understood as the gNB aligning the DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 to be sent in the USS with the DCI format 0_0 to be sent in the CSS.

[0260] 4025a. The gNB determines whether the size type of the DCI is less than or equal to 3, and whether the size type of the DCI scrambled by the C-RNTI is less than or equal to 2. If not, perform step 4026a. If so, end.

[0261] After step 4024a, if the size type of the DCI that UE1 needs to detect is less than or equal to 3, and the size type of the DCI scrambled by the C-RNTI that UE1 needs to detect is less than or equal to 2, it is considered that step 402 is completed, that is, the process of step 402 ends. If the size type of the DCI that UE1 needs to detect is greater than 3, or the size type of the DCI scrambled by the C-RNTI that UE1 needs to detect is greater than or equal to 2, perform step 4026a.

[0262] 4026a. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format 0_3 sent in the USS with the DCI size corresponding to the DCI format 1_3.

[0263] Align from a DCI format with a smaller payload to a DCI format with a larger payload by supplementing padding bits, or, regardless of the relationship between the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 and the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3, align the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3 to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3.

[0264] In the embodiment of this application, it is assumed that the gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 sent in the USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3.

[0265] After steps 4021a to 4026a, the gNB can determine the alignment rules corresponding to each DCI format that UE1 needs to detect, that is: align the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the CSS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0; align the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0; align DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 sent in the USS to DCI format 1_0 sent in the CSS; align the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 sent in the USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3.

[0266] After the gNB determines the alignment rules corresponding to each DCI format that UE1 needs to detect, it can determine the alignment rule of DCI_a according to the search space of DCI_a and its format A. Assuming the search space is USS and format A is DCI format 0_0, then the gNB can align DCI_a to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0 sent in the CSS. Assuming that in step 406, the gNB fills p "0"s at the end of the payload of DCI_a, and the DCI_a filled with p "0"s is called DCI_b, where p is a positive integer.

[0267] The implementation manner of step 403 can refer to Figure 5a the corresponding embodiment, which will not be elaborated here. Therefore, UE1 can determine the alignment rules corresponding to each DCI format that UE1 needs to detect, that is: align the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the CSS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0; align the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0; align DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 sent in the USS to DCI format 1_0 sent in the CSS; align the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 sent in the USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3.

[0268] After that, in step 404, UE1 can determine the sizes of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 after alignment when sent in the CSS according to this alignment rule, and determine the sizes of the corresponding DCIs of DCI format 0_0, DCI format 0_3, DCI format 1_0, and DCI format 1_3 after alignment when sent in the USS.

[0269] In step 408, UE1 can restore DCI_b to DCI_a according to this alignment rule. For example, truncate the last p bits of the payload of DCI_b with zero bits to obtain the truncated DCI, that is, DCI_a.

[0270] Suppose after a certain period of time, the format and scrambling method of the DCI sent by gNB to UE1 are as Figure 5b shown. The DCIs corresponding to the DCI formats within the same dotted line box have the same size. It can be seen that Figure 5a the corresponding communication method is beneficial to limit the number of types of sizes of the DCIs scrambled by the UE's characteristic RNTI and sent by gNB (detected by UE1) to no more than 2. Among them, the DCI in the non-connected state means the DCI sent by gNB to UE when the RRC state of UE is in the non-connected state. The DCI in the connected state means the DCI sent by gNB to UE when the RRC state of UE is in the connected state.

[0271] Refer to Figure 6a and step 402 includes the following refinement steps 4021b to 4026b.

[0272] 4021b. gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the CSS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0.

[0273] 4022b. gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0.

[0274] 4023b. gNB determines whether the number of types of DCI sizes is less than or equal to 3, and whether the number of types of the DCIs scrambled by C-RNTI is less than or equal to 2. If not, then execute step 4024b. If so, then end.

[0275] Steps 4021b to 4023b can be understood with reference to Figure 5a the relevant descriptions of steps 4021a to 4023a in the corresponding embodiments, and will not be elaborated here.

[0276] 4024b. gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 sent in the USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3.

[0277] Step 4024b can be understood with reference to the relevant description of Step 4026a and will not be elaborated here.

[0278] 4025b. The gNB determines whether the size category of the DCI is less than or equal to 3, and whether the size category of the DCI scrambled by the C-RNTI is less than or equal to 2. If not, Step 4026b is executed; if so, the process ends.

[0279] After Step 4024b, if the size category of the DCI that UE1 needs to detect is less than or equal to 3, and the size category of the DCI scrambled by the C-RNTI that UE1 needs to detect is less than or equal to 2, it is considered that Step 402 is completed, that is, the process of Step 402 ends. If the size category of the DCI that UE1 needs to detect is greater than 3, or the size category of the DCI scrambled by the C-RNTI that UE1 needs to detect is greater than 2, Step 4026b is executed.

[0280] 4026b. The gNB aligns DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 sent in the USS with DCI format 1_3 sent in the USS.

[0281] Since the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 sent in the USS has been aligned with the DCI size of DCI format 1_3 in Step 4024b, Step 4026b can also be understood as the gNB aligning DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 sent in the USS with DCI format 0_3 sent in the CSS.

[0282] After Steps 4021b to 4026b, the gNB can determine the alignment rules corresponding to each DCI format that UE1 needs to detect, that is: the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the CSS is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0; the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 sent in the USS is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3; DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 sent in the USS are aligned with DCI format 1_3 sent in the USS.

[0283] Assume that within a certain time period, the formats and scrambling methods of the DCI sent by the gNB to UE1 are as Figure 6b shown, and the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats within the same dashed box are the same. It can be seen that Figure 6a the corresponding communication method is beneficial to restricting the size category of the DCI scrambled by the characteristic RNTI of the terminal (detected by UE1) sent by the gNB to no more than 2.

[0284] 1.2. The DCI formats that UE1 needs to detect include DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 sent in CSS, and DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 sent in USS.

[0285] Reference Figure 7a , step 402 includes the following refined steps 4021c to 4025c.

[0286] 4021c. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in CSS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0.

[0287] 4022c. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0.

[0288] 4023c. The gNB determines whether the number of types of DCI sizes that UE1 needs to detect is less than or equal to 3, and whether the number of types of DCI sizes that are scrambled by C-RNTI and need to be detected by UE1 is less than or equal to 2. If not, step 4024c is executed; if so, it ends.

[0289] Steps 4021c to 4023c can be understood with reference to Figure 5a the relevant descriptions of steps 4021a to 4023a in the corresponding embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0290] 4024c. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 sent in USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3.

[0291] Step 4024c can be understood with reference to the relevant description of step 4026a, which will not be elaborated here.

[0292] Suppose that after a certain period of time, the DCI corresponding formats and scrambling methods sent by the gNB to UE1 are as Figure 7b shown, and the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats within the same dotted line box are the same. It can be seen that Figure 7a the corresponding communication method is beneficial to limiting the number of types of DCI sizes of (detected by UE1) and scrambled by the terminal's characteristic RNTI sent by the gNB to no more than 2.

[0293] 2. The value combination of M and N is: M = 2, N = 1.

[0294] In this value combination, the number of types of DCI sizes that UE1 needs to detect can be reduced to 2, and / or the number of types of DCI sizes that are scrambled by the specific RNTI of UE1 and need to be detected by UE can be reduced to 1.

[0295] 2.1. The DCI formats that UE1 needs to detect include DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 sent in CSS, and DCI format 0_0, DCI format 0_3, DCI format 1_0, and DCI format 1_3 sent in USS.

[0296] Reference Figure 8a , step 402 includes the following refinement steps 4021d to 4028d.

[0297] 4021d. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in CSS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0.

[0298] 4022d. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0.

[0299] 4023d. The gNB determines whether the size type of the DCI is less than or equal to 2, and whether the size type of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI is less than or equal to 1. If not, step 4024b is executed; if so, it ends.

[0300] 4024d. The gNB aligns DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 sent in USS to DCI format 1_0 sent in CSS.

[0301] 4025d. The gNB determines whether the size type of the DCI is less than or equal to 2, and whether the size type of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI is less than or equal to 1. If not, step 4026d is executed; if so, it ends.

[0302] Steps 4021d to 4025d can be understood with reference to Figure 5a the relevant descriptions of steps 4021a to 4025a in the corresponding embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0303] 4026d. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 sent in USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3.

[0304] 4027d. The gNB determines whether the size type of the DCI is less than or equal to 2, and whether the size type of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI is less than or equal to 1. If not, step 4028d is executed; if so, it ends.

[0305] After step 4026d, step 4027d is executed.

[0306] 4028d. The gNB aligns the DCI sizes corresponding to DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 sent in the USS with the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the USS.

[0307] Since the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the CSS has been aligned with the DCI size of DCI format 1_0 in step 4021d, and the DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 sent in the USS have been aligned with the DCI format 1_0 sent in the CSS in step 4024d, therefore, step 4028d can also be understood as the gNB aligning the DCI sizes corresponding to DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 sent in the USS with the DCI size of DCI format 1_0 sent in the USS, or with the DCI size of DCI format 0_0 sent in the CSS, or with the DCI size of DCI format 1_0 sent in the CSS.

[0308] Suppose after a certain period of time, the DCI formats and scrambling methods sent by the gNB to UE1 are as Figure 8b shown, and the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats within the same dotted line box are the same. It can be seen that Figure 8a the corresponding communication method is beneficial to limiting the number of types of DCI sizes of the DCI scrambled by the UE's characteristic RNTI (detected by UE1) sent by the gNB to no more than 1.

[0309] 2.2. Each DCI format that UE1 needs to detect includes DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 sent in the CSS, and DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 sent in the USS.

[0310] Refer to Figure 9a and step 402 includes the following refinement steps 4021e to 4026e.

[0311] 4021e. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the CSS with the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0.

[0312] 4022e. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the USS with the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_0.

[0313] 4023e. The gNB determines whether the number of types of DCI sizes is less than or equal to 2, and whether the number of types of DCI sizes scrambled by C-RNTI is less than or equal to 1. If not, it executes step 4024b. If so, it ends.

[0314] Steps 4021e to 4023e can refer to Figure 5aFor the relevant descriptions of steps 4021a to 4023a in the corresponding embodiments, understanding can be made with reference thereto, and details are not described herein again.

[0315] 4024e. The gNB aligns the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_3 sent in the USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 1_3.

[0316] Step 4024e can be understood with reference to the relevant descriptions of step 4026a, and details are not described herein again.

[0317] 4025e. The gNB determines whether the size type of the DCI is less than or equal to 2, and whether the size type of the DCI scrambled by C-RNTI is less than or equal to 1. If not, step 4026d is executed; if so, it ends.

[0318] Step 4025e is executed after step 4024e.

[0319] 4026e. The gNB aligns the DCI sizes corresponding to DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 sent in the USS to the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the CSS.

[0320] Since the DCI size corresponding to DCI format 0_0 sent in the CSS has been aligned to the DCI size of DCI format 1_0 in step 4021e, therefore, step 4026e can also be understood as the gNB aligning the DCI sizes corresponding to DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 sent in the USS to the DCI size of DCI format 1_0 sent in the CSS.

[0321] Assume that after a certain period of time, the format and scrambling method of the DCI sent by the gNB to UE1 are as Figure 9b shown, and the DCI sizes corresponding to the DCI formats within the same dotted line box are the same. It can be seen that Figure 9a the corresponding communication method is beneficial to limiting the size type of the DCI scrambled by the UE's characteristic RNTI (detected by UE1) sent by the gNB to no more than 1.

[0322] It should be understood that the specific examples in the embodiments of the present application are only for helping those skilled in the art better understand the embodiments of the present application, rather than limiting the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0323] It should be understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the magnitudes of the serial numbers of the above processes do not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined according to its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0324] In the embodiments provided in the present application above, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are introduced from the perspectives of network devices, terminals, and the interaction between network devices and terminals. To implement each function in the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application above, network devices and terminals may include a hardware structure and / or software module, and implement the above functions in the form of a hardware structure, software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module. Whether a certain function among the above functions is executed in the form of a hardware structure, software module, or a combination of a hardware structure and a software module depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0325] Figure 10 Fig. shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device. This communication device is used to implement the functions of the UE described in the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 10 shown, the communication device 10 may include: a detection module 1001. The detection module 1001 is used to execute Figure 3 the steps in 302, Figure 4 the steps in 405, the steps executed by UE1 in steps 407, etc. This detection module may also be referred to as a receiving module.

[0326] In a possible implementation manner, referring to the modules represented by the dashed boxes in Figure 10 , the communication device 10 may further include a processing module 1002. The processing module 1002 is coupled to the detection module 1001 and is used to execute Figure 4 the steps in 403, steps 404, and step 408. For the specific execution process, please refer to the detailed description of the corresponding steps in the above method embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0327] The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information interaction between devices, units, or modules.

[0328] In a possible implementation manner, the communication device 10 may further include a sending module ( Figure 10 not shown in ), for example, used to send PUSCH to a network device. The detection module and the sending module of the communication device 10 may be integrated into a transceiver module or a communication module.

[0329] Figure 11 Fig. is a schematic structural diagram of the communication device in the embodiments of the present application. This communication device is used to implement the functions of the network device described in the embodiments of the present application. Please refer to Figure 11 , the communication device 11 includes a sending module 1101. The sending module 1101 is used to execute Figure 3 the steps in 301, Figure 4 the steps in 401 and step 407. Optionally, referring to Figure 11For the module corresponding to the dashed box in the figure, the communication device 11 further includes a processing module 1102. The processing module 1102 is used to execute Figure 4 Steps 402 and 406 in etc. For the specific execution process, please refer to the detailed description of the corresponding steps in the above method embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0330] In a possible implementation manner, the communication device 11 may further include a receiving module ( Figure 11 not shown in the figure), for example, used to receive the PUSCH sent by the terminal. The receiving module and the sending module of the communication device 11 may be integrated into a transceiver module or a communication module.

[0331] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, in each embodiment of the present application, each functional module may be integrated in a processor, may also exist physically alone, or two or more modules may be integrated in one module. The above integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules.

[0332] As Figure 12 shown, the apparatus 1200 provided in the embodiments of the present application is used to implement the functions of the terminal in the above method. The apparatus may be a terminal or a device that can be used in combination with the terminal. The apparatus may be installed in the terminal. Exemplarily, the apparatus may be a chip system. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. The apparatus 1200 includes at least one processor 1220, which is used to implement the functions of the terminal in the method provided in the embodiments of the present application.

[0333] The apparatus 1200 may further include at least one memory 1230, which is used to store program instructions and / or data. The memory 1230 is coupled to the processor 1220. The processor 1220 may cooperate with the memory 1230. The processor 1220 may execute the program instructions stored in the memory 1230. One or more of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

[0334] The apparatus 1200 may further include a communication interface 1210, which is used to communicate with other devices through a transmission medium, so that the apparatus in the apparatus 1200 can communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface 1210 may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin or other types of communication interfaces, and the other device may be a network device. The processor 1220 uses the communication interface to send and receive data, for example, uses the communication interface to detect DCI from a network device to implement the functions of the terminal in the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. For the specific details, please refer to the detailed description in the method examples, which will not be elaborated here.

[0335] In the embodiments of the present application, the specific connection medium between the transceiver 1210, the processor 1220, and the memory 1230 is not limited. In the embodiments of the present application Figure 12 it is shown that the memory 1230, the processor 1220, and the transceiver 1210 are connected through a bus 1240. The bus is shown Figure 12 in thick lines. The connection manners between other components are only for illustrative purposes and are not to be taken as limiting. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of convenience of representation, Figure 12 it is only shown by a thick line in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0336] As Figure 13 shown in the figure, the apparatus 1300 provided by the embodiments of the present application is used to implement the functions of the network device in the above method. The apparatus can be a network device or an apparatus that can be used in combination with the network device. The apparatus can be installed in the network device. Exemplarily, the apparatus can be a chip system. The apparatus 1300 includes at least one processor 1320, which is used to implement the functions of the network device in the method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0337] The apparatus 1300 may further include at least one memory 1330, which is used to store program instructions and / or data. The memory 1330 is coupled to the processor 1320. The processor 1320 may cooperate with the memory 1330. The processor 1320 may execute the program instructions stored in the memory 1330. One or more of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

[0338] The apparatus 1300 may further include a communication interface 1310, which is used to communicate with other devices through a transmission medium, so that the apparatus in the apparatus 1300 can communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface 1310 may be a transceiver, a circuit, a bus, a module, a pin, or other types of communication interfaces. The other device may be a terminal. The processor 1320 uses the communication interface to send and receive data. For example, the processor 1320 sends DCI to the terminal through the communication interface to implement the functions of the network device in the method provided by the embodiments of the present application. For specific details, please refer to the detailed description in the method examples and will not be elaborated here.

[0339] In the embodiments of the present application, the specific connection medium between the transceiver 1310, the processor 1320, and the memory 1330 is not limited. In the embodiments of the present application Figure 13 it is shown that the memory 1330, the processor 1320, and the transceiver 1310 are connected through a bus 1340. The bus is shown Figure 13The medium is represented by a thick line. The connection manners between other components are only for illustrative purposes and are not limiting. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of convenience of representation, Figure 13 it is only represented by a thick line in the figure, but it does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0340] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and can implement or execute the various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0341] In the embodiments of the present application, the memory can be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), etc., or can also be a volatile memory, such as a random-access memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiments of the present application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0342] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present invention are generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a terminal device, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center that includes one or more integrated available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (such as a digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium, etc.

[0343] In the embodiments of this application, on the premise of no logical contradiction, the embodiments can refer to each other. For example, the methods and / or terms between method embodiments can refer to each other, for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments can refer to each other, and for example, the functions and / or terms between device embodiments and method embodiments can refer to each other.

[0344] In the embodiments of this application, at least one can also be described as one or more, and multiple can be two, three, four, or more, which is not limited in this application.

[0345] In the embodiments of the present application, " / " may indicate that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B may represent A or B; "and / or" may be used to describe three relationships of associated objects. For example, A and / or B may represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Here, A and B may be singular or plural. To facilitate the description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to distinguish technical features with the same or similar functions. These terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and these terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit being different. In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. The use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present relevant concepts in a specific way for easy understanding.

[0346] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalent technologies, the present application is also intended to include these changes and modifications.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, comprising: detecting downlink control information DCI from a network device, wherein the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; wherein, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a terminal-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2; the multiple DCI formats include a first format, a second format, a third format, and a fourth format detected in a terminal-specific search space USS. The DCI corresponding to the first format is used to schedule uplink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the second format is used to schedule downlink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the third format is used to schedule uplink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the fourth format is used to schedule downlink transmission. The first format is different from the third format, the second format is different from the fourth format. The DCI corresponding to the first format and the DCI corresponding to the second format are non-fallback DCIs, and the DCI corresponding to the third format and the DCI corresponding to the fourth format are fallback DCIs; the DCI transmitted in the USS is scrambled with the terminal-specific RNTI, and the DCI size corresponding to the first format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, or the DCI size corresponding to the second format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format; the DCI size corresponding to the third format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format or aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, and the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format or aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, wherein the DCI size corresponding to the first format is equal to the DCI size corresponding to the second format.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats being less than or equal to N includes: when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a common RNTI or a terminal-specific RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the DCI size corresponding to the second format being aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format includes: if the DCI size corresponding to the first format is less than the DCI size corresponding to the second format, then K fields of the DCI corresponding to the second format are truncated, and the DCI size corresponding to the second format after truncation is the same as the DCI size corresponding to the first format, where K is a positive integer; Alternatively, if the DCI size corresponding to the first format is greater than the DCI size corresponding to the second format, at least one padding bit is filled in the DCI corresponding to the second format, and the DCI size corresponding to the second format after padding is the same as the DCI size corresponding to the first format.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, the K fields include at least one of the following fields: Frequency domain resource allocation field; Time domain resource allocation field; Physical uplink control channel resource indication field; Physical downlink shared channel to hybrid automatic repeat request feedback time indication field; and Demodulation reference signal sequence initialization field.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, the multiple DCI formats further include the third format and the fourth format detected in the common search space CSS, wherein the DCI transmitted in the CSS is scrambled with the terminal-specific RNTI or scrambled with the common RNTI; wherein, the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the USS is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS or aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format detected in the CSS, and the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format detected in the USS is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the third format detected in the CSS or aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format detected in the CSS.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, the third format is 0_0 and the fourth format is 1_0.

7. A communication method, wherein, comprising: sending downlink control information DCI to a terminal, wherein the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; wherein, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with the terminal-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2; the multiple DCI formats include a first format, a second format, a third format, and a fourth format detected in a terminal-specific search space USS, the DCI corresponding to the first format is used to schedule uplink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the second format is used to schedule downlink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the third format is used to schedule uplink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the fourth format is used to schedule downlink transmission, the first format is different from the third format, the second format is different from the fourth format, the DCI corresponding to the first format and the DCI corresponding to the second format are non-fallback DCIs, and the DCI corresponding to the third format and the DCI corresponding to the fourth format are fallback DCIs; The DCI transmitted in the USS is scrambled with the terminal-specific RNTI, and the DCI size corresponding to the first format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, or the DCI size corresponding to the second format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format; The DCI size corresponding to the third format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format or is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, and the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format or is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, where the DCI size corresponding to the first format is equal to the DCI size corresponding to the second format.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, including: when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a common RNTI or a terminal-specific RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, the DCI size corresponding to the second format being aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format includes: if the DCI size corresponding to the first format is less than the DCI size corresponding to the second format, then K fields of the DCI corresponding to the second format are truncated, and the DCI size corresponding to the second format after truncation is the same as the DCI size corresponding to the first format, where K is a positive integer; or, if the DCI size corresponding to the first format is greater than the DCI size corresponding to the second format, then at least one padding bit is filled in the DCI corresponding to the second format, and the DCI size corresponding to the second format after padding is the same as the DCI size corresponding to the first format.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, the K fields include at least one of the following fields: frequency domain resource allocation field; time domain resource allocation field; physical uplink control channel resource indication field; physical downlink shared channel to hybrid automatic repeat request feedback time indication field; and demodulation reference signal sequence initialization field.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that, the multiple DCI formats further include the third format and the fourth format transmitted in the common search space CSS, where the DCI transmitted in the CSS is scrambled with the terminal-specific RNTI or is scrambled with a common RNTI; where, the DCI size corresponding to the third format transmitted in the USS is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the third format transmitted in the CSS or is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format transmitted in the CSS, and the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format transmitted in the USS is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the third format transmitted in the CSS or is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format transmitted in the CSS.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, the third format is 0_0 and the fourth format is 1_0.

13. A communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory being coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

14. A communication device, comprising a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor uses the communication interface to detect downlink control information DCI from a network device, wherein, the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; wherein, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a terminal-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2; the multiple DCI formats include a first format, a second format, a third format, and a fourth format detected in a terminal-specific search space USS, the DCI corresponding to the first format is used to schedule uplink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the second format is used to schedule downlink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the third format is used to schedule uplink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the fourth format is used to schedule downlink transmission, the first format is different from the third format, the second format is different from the fourth format, the DCI corresponding to the first format and the DCI corresponding to the second format are non-fallback DCIs, and the DCI corresponding to the third format and the DCI corresponding to the fourth format are fallback DCIs; the DCI transmitted in the USS is scrambled with the terminal-specific RNTI, and the DCI size corresponding to the first format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, or the DCI size corresponding to the second format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format; the DCI size corresponding to the third format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format or aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, and the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format or aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, wherein the DCI size corresponding to the first format is equal to the DCI size corresponding to the second format.

15. A communication device, wherein, it includes a detection module; the detection module is configured to detect downlink control information DCI from a network device, wherein the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; wherein, the number of types of DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, When the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a terminal-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI, the number of types of the DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2; The multiple DCI formats include a first format, a second format, a third format, and a fourth format detected in a terminal-specific search space USS. The DCI corresponding to the first format is used to schedule uplink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the second format is used to schedule downlink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the third format is used to schedule uplink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the fourth format is used to schedule downlink transmission. The first format is different from the third format, the second format is different from the fourth format. The DCI corresponding to the first format and the DCI corresponding to the second format are non-fallback DCIs, and the DCI corresponding to the third format and the DCI corresponding to the fourth format are fallback DCIs; The DCI transmitted in the USS is scrambled with the terminal-specific RNTI, and the DCI size corresponding to the first format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, or the DCI size corresponding to the second format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format; The DCI size corresponding to the third format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format or aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, and the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format or aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, where the DCI size corresponding to the first format is equal to the DCI size corresponding to the second format.

16. A communication device, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory being coupled to the processor, and the processor being configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 7 to 12.

17. A communication device, comprising a processor and a communication interface, The processor uses the communication interface to send downlink control information DCI to a terminal, wherein, the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; wherein, the number of types of the DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, where N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, when the DCI corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is scrambled with a terminal-specific radio network temporary identity RNTI, the number of types of the DCI sizes corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, where M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2; The multiple DCI formats include a first format, a second format, a third format, and a fourth format detected in a UE-specific search space (USS). The DCI corresponding to the first format is used to schedule uplink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the second format is used to schedule downlink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the third format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the fourth format is used to schedule downlink transmission. The first format is different from the third format, the second format is different from the fourth format. The DCI corresponding to the first format and the DCI corresponding to the second format are non-fallback DCIs, and the DCI corresponding to the third format and the DCI corresponding to the fourth format are fallback DCIs; The DCI transmitted in the USS is scrambled with the UE-specific RNTI. The size of the DCI corresponding to the first format is aligned with the size of the DCI corresponding to the second format, or the size of the DCI corresponding to the second format is aligned with the size of the DCI corresponding to the first format; The size of the DCI corresponding to the third format is aligned with the size of the DCI corresponding to the first format or the size of the DCI corresponding to the second format, and the size of the DCI corresponding to the fourth format is aligned with the size of the DCI corresponding to the first format or the size of the DCI corresponding to the second format, where the size of the DCI corresponding to the first format is equal to the size of the DCI corresponding to the second format.

18. A communication device, characterized in that, it includes a transmitting module; The transmitting module is configured to send downlink control information (DCI) to a UE, where the DCI is used to schedule a physical data channel, and the format of the DCI for scheduling the physical data channel includes multiple DCI formats; where, the number of types of the sizes of the DCIs corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to N, and N is a positive integer less than or equal to 3; and / or, when the DCIs corresponding to the multiple DCI formats are scrambled with a UE-specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), the number of types of the sizes of the DCIs corresponding to the multiple DCI formats is less than or equal to M, and M is a positive integer less than or equal to 2; The multiple DCI formats include a first format, a second format, a third format, and a fourth format detected in a UE-specific search space (USS). The DCI corresponding to the first format is used to schedule uplink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the second format is used to schedule downlink transmission, the DCI corresponding to the third format is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the DCI corresponding to the fourth format is used to schedule downlink transmission. The first format is different from the third format, the second format is different from the fourth format. The DCI corresponding to the first format and the DCI corresponding to the second format are non-fallback DCIs, and the DCI corresponding to the third format and the DCI corresponding to the fourth format are fallback DCIs; The DCI transmitted in the USS is scrambled with the terminal-specific RNTI, and the DCI size corresponding to the first format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, or the DCI size corresponding to the second format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format; The DCI size corresponding to the third format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format or is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, and the DCI size corresponding to the fourth format is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the first format or is aligned with the DCI size corresponding to the second format, wherein the DCI size corresponding to the first format is equal to the DCI size corresponding to the second format.

19. A communication system, comprising the communication device according to any one of claims 13 to 15 and the communication device according to any one of claims 16 to 18.

20. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

21. A computer program product, comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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