A communication method and related equipment

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and related equipment for improving the transmission reliability of downlink control information, and in particular relates to reduced capability (REDCAP) terminal equipment. The method of the present application includes: a network device sends first information to a terminal device, the first information indicating whether the first downlink control information DCI includes a downlink allocation index DAI or does not include DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; the network device generates and sends the first DCI to the terminal device. In this embodiment, by indicating to the terminal device whether the downlink control information used to schedule uplink transmission includes DAI information, the DAI is sent according to specific needs, so as to improve the downlink transmission reliability while ensuring the reliability of downlink transmission feedback.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related equipment. Background Art

[0002] In wireless communication systems, information exchanged between base stations and terminal devices can be carried over physical channels. For example, downlink data sent from a base station to a terminal device can be carried over the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). For downlink data sent by the base station, the terminal device can provide feedback to the base station during the uplink feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data, indicating whether the downlink data was correctly received.

[0003] In the prior art, a terminal device can provide feedback on the reception of downlink data on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In order to ensure that the terminal device can correctly feedback the situation of its reception of downlink data in the PUSCH, the downlink control information (DCI) used to schedule the PUSCH will include a downlink assignment index (DAI). The DAI can be used to assist the terminal device in correctly feedbacking the situation of its reception of downlink data, wherein the DCI used to schedule the PUSCH is also called UL-DCI, and the DAI included in the DCI for scheduling the PUSCH is also called UL-DAI. It should be noted that the above-mentioned downlink assignment index DAI can also be called a downlink assignment indicator.

[0004] However, for some terminal devices that mainly perform uplink transmission services, these terminal devices have less downlink data. How to perform uplink scheduling for these terminal devices to improve transmission performance is a technical problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and related equipment, which indicates to the terminal device whether the downlink control information used to schedule uplink transmission includes DAI information, so as to realize the transmission of DAI according to specific needs, thereby reducing the load to improve the reliability of downlink transmission while ensuring the reliability of downlink transmission feedback.

[0006] The first aspect of the present application provides a communication method, which includes: a network device sends a first information to a terminal device, the first information indicates whether the first DCI includes DAI or does not include DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; the network device sends the first DCI to the terminal device. The first DCI is a DCI for scheduling uplink transmission of the terminal device, for example, the first DCI is a DCI for scheduling PUSCH. In addition, the first DCI is at least one DCI of a first format, and the first format can specifically be any one of DCI format 0_0, DCI format 0_1 ​​or DCI format 0_2. The DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for downlink data or to generate a codebook for downlink data. Specifically, the DAI is used for the terminal device to generate a dynamic hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK) codebook or to indicate whether the terminal device carries the semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook in the PUSCH for transmission.

[0007] Furthermore, the method also includes: a network device generating the first information and / or the first DCI.

[0008] Furthermore, the method further includes, the network device sending downlink data to the terminal device. Specifically, the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for the downlink data or to generate a codebook for the downlink data.

[0009] In the present application, the first DCI may be one or more first DCIs of the same format. The first information indicating that the first DCI includes DAI may specifically indicate that the number of bits of the DAI in the first DCI is not 0; the first information indicating that the first DCI does not include DAI may specifically indicate that the number of bits of the DAI in the first DCI is 0.

[0010] In this application, by indicating to the terminal device whether the downlink control information used to schedule uplink transmission includes DAI information, DAI can be sent according to specific needs to improve the reliability of downlink transmission while ensuring the reliability of downlink transmission feedback.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the first information may be used to indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI, or the first information may be used to indicate that the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is 0, or the first information may be used to indicate that the terminal device is in the first state. In the case indicated above, the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device does not include DAI. For example, in a scenario where the terminal device does not need to use the UL-DAI in the UL-DCI, such as a scenario where there is no downlink data transmission or only a small amount of downlink data transmission between the network device and the terminal device, the terminal device can determine to operate in the first state according to the indication of the first information. In other words, the first information can be used to simultaneously indicate at least one of the following: the first DCI does not include DAI, the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is 0, or the terminal device is in the first state. Specifically, the terminal device in the first state has no downlink data transmission or there is a small amount of downlink data transmission between the terminal device and the network device. Among them, the scenario where there is a small amount of downlink data transmission may include: for the terminal device, the number of PDSCHs actually scheduled by the network device is 1. Specifically, the terminal device being in the first state may specifically be that the terminal device is in a pre-set mode, for example, the terminal device is in mode 1, and the mode 1 may be pre-set for the terminal device when leaving the factory or configured during use of the terminal device. The terminal device in mode 1 has no downlink data transmission or only a small amount of downlink data transmission, and the terminal device may not need to use the UL-DAI in the UL-DCI.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the first information may be used to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI, or the first information may be used to indicate that the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is not 0, or the first information may be used to indicate that the terminal device is in the second state. In the case indicated above, the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device includes DAI. In other words, the first information can be used to simultaneously indicate at least one of the following: the first DCI includes DAI, the number of bits of the DAI field in the first DCI is not 0, or the terminal device is in the second state. Specifically, there is a large amount of downlink data transmission between the terminal device in the second state and the network device. Among them, the scenario in which there is a large amount of downlink data transmission between the network device and the terminal device may include: for the terminal device, the number of PDSCHs actually scheduled by the network device is greater than 1. Specifically, the terminal device being in the first state may also specifically be that the terminal device is in a pre-set mode, for example, the terminal device is in mode 2, and the mode 2 may be pre-set when the terminal device leaves the factory or configured during use of the terminal device. When the terminal device is in mode 2, there is a large amount of downlink data transmission between the network device and the terminal device, and the terminal device needs to use the UL-DAI in the UL-DCI.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried by a radio resource control (RRC) message, that is, the network device may send an RRC message to the terminal device, and the RRC message carries the first information. In another possible implementation, the first information may also be carried by a media access control (MAC) control element (CE), that is, the network device sends a MAC CE to the terminal device, and the MAC CE carries the first information.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the network device sending first time indication information to the terminal device, where the first time indication information is used to indicate a first time period. Specifically, the first information is used to indicate that a first DCI in the first time period does not include a DAI, or that the terminal device is in a first state during the first time period; or the first information is used to indicate that a first DCI in the first time period includes a DAI, or that the terminal device is in a second state during the first time period.

[0015] The first time indication information may be included in the first information, that is, the first information includes the first time indication information for indicating the first time period. Alternatively, the first time indication information may be other information different from the first information. The network device may carry the first time indication information via an RRC message or a MAC CE and send it to the terminal device.

[0016] By indicating the time period in which the first DCI includes or does not include DAI through the first time indication information, the terminal device can clearly know in which time periods the first DCI received includes DAI, and in which time periods the first DCI received does not include DAI, thereby improving communication performance and efficiency.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first time indication information is used to indicate one or more of the cycle length, time offset, and duration of the first time period. Specifically, the first time indication information may include one or more of the cycle length, time offset, and duration of the first time period, or the first time indication information may include information used to determine one or more of the cycle length, time offset, and duration of the first time period. The cycle length is the cycle of the first time period; the duration is the duration of the first time period; the time offset is the offset between the start time of the first time period and the start time of the cycle in which the first time period is located; or the time offset is the offset between the end time of the first time period and the end time of the cycle in which the first time period is located.

[0018] In other words, based on the cycle length, time offset and duration, multiple periodic first time periods can be determined, and the time intervals between each first time period are the same. The aforementioned cycle length is the time length between any two adjacent first time periods, that is, the cycle length is the period of the first time period; the aforementioned duration is the length of each first time period; the aforementioned time offset is the offset between the starting time of any first time period and the starting time of the cycle in which the first time period is located; or, the time offset is the offset between the end time of the first time period and the end time of the cycle in which the first time period is located.

[0019] In an optional design, the first time period is specifically determined by the cycle length, time offset and duration. The first time indication information may include the cycle length, time offset and duration, and the first time indication information may also include one or two of the cycle length, time offset and duration. For example, in the case where one or two of the cycle length, time offset and duration are predefined or indicated to the terminal device in other ways, the terminal device can obtain one or two of the cycle length, time offset and duration without relying on the first time indication information, so the first time indication information may include the remaining two or one of the three of the cycle length, time offset and duration.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the network device sends a first DCI to the terminal device, which may include: the network device sends the first DCI to the terminal device at or after the first moment, and the first DCI does not include DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured. Generally, considering the processing capability of the terminal device, there is often an effective time from the time the terminal device receives the first information until the content indicated by the first information takes effect. That is, after the terminal device receives the first information, the indication in the first information that the first DCI does not include DAI does not take effect immediately, but takes effect after an effective time. Therefore, an effective time for the first information can be defined to ensure that the network device sends the first DCI to the terminal device after the content indicated by the first information takes effect. That is, the length of time between the aforementioned first moment and the moment when the network device sends the first information is greater than or equal to the length of the effective time.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the network device sending a first DCI to the terminal device may include: the network device sending the first DCI to the terminal device at or after the first moment, the first DCI including the DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured. Similarly, in the case where the network device sends the first DCI including the DAI to the terminal device, the network device may also send the first DCI to the terminal device after the content indicated by the first information takes effect, that is, the network device sends the first DCI to the terminal device at or after the first moment.

[0022] In a possible implementation, after the network device sends the first information indicating that the first DCI does not include DAI or indicates that the first DCI includes DAI to the terminal device, the content indicated by the first information may be valid only for a period of time. Therefore, the network device sending the first DCI to the terminal device may include: the network device sends the first DCI to the terminal device within a second time period after the first moment, and the first DCI does not include DAI or includes DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a time length that is predefined, preconfigured for the terminal device, or indicated to the terminal device through the first information. That is, the network device may send the first DCI that does not include DAI to the terminal device within the time period when the content indicated by the first information is effective, wherein the second time period after the first moment is the time period when the content indicated by the first information is effective.

[0023] Specifically, the second time period can be, for example, predefined in the standard protocol or pre-specified by other means, or configured for the terminal device by the network device through RRC messages, etc., or sent to the terminal device through MAC CE, or indicated by the network device to the terminal device through the first information.

[0024] The second aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: a network device sends a second DCI to a terminal device, the second DCI is used to schedule downlink transmission; within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, the network device sends a first DCI to the terminal device, the first DCI includes a DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; wherein the second moment is the mth time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the second DCI, m is a positive integer, 1≤m≤M, and M is the number of time units occupied by the second DCI. The measurement unit of the time unit can be a measurement unit such as a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot or a symbol, or other measurement units. Specifically, the second DCI can be any format or any type of DCI for scheduling downlink transmission, that is, the second DCI can be any DL-DCI. For example, when the network device needs to instruct the terminal device to receive PDSCH, the network device can send a second DCI to the terminal device to schedule PDSCH through the second DCI.

[0025] Furthermore, the method also includes, the network device generating the second DCI and / or the first DCI.

[0026] Furthermore, the method further includes, the network device sending downlink data to the terminal device, wherein the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for the downlink data or to generate a codebook for the downlink data.

[0027] In an optional design, the second DCI is also used to indicate that the first DCI includes the DAI.

[0028] Among them, in addition to being used for scheduling downlink transmission, the second DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device can also be used to indicate to the terminal device that the first DCI includes DAI. The effective time point when the second DCI indicates that the DAI is included in the first DCI can specifically be the aforementioned second moment, and the time period when the second DCI indicates that the DAI is included in the first DCI can be a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment. That is to say, after receiving the second DCI, the terminal device can consider that the first DCI received within the predefined or preconfigured time period after the aforementioned second moment includes DAI. Specifically, the effective time period indicating that the DAI is included in the first DCI can be predefined or preconfigured, for example, it can be predefined in the standard protocol or pre-specified by other means, or it can be configured for the terminal device by the network device through RRC messages and the like. Therefore, the network device can send the first DCI including DAI to the terminal device within the predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment. After receiving the second DCI from the network device, the terminal device may consider that the first DCI received within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment includes the DAI.

[0029] After the effective time period in which the second DCI indicates that the DAI is included in the first DCI ends, and within a time period before the network device again indicates to the terminal device that the DAI is included in the first DCI, the DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device does not include the DAI. In other words, after the effective time period in which the second DCI sent by the network device ends, and before the network device sends the next information indicating that the DAI is included in the DCI to the terminal device, the content of the second DCI indicating that the DAI is included in the first DCI has become invalid, that is, the DCI of the same type as the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device after the time period does not include the DAI.

[0030] In the present application, the DL-DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device is used to indicate to the terminal device that the UL-DCI includes DAI. There is no need to send a special message to the terminal device to indicate whether the UL-DCI includes DAI, which can save signaling overhead.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending a first DCI to the terminal device within a third time period before the second moment does not include the DAI. That is, before the network device sends the second DCI to the terminal device, the terminal device may believe that the first DCI does not include the DAI, and the network device sends the first DCI that does not include the DAI to the terminal device.

[0032] The third aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: a network device sends downlink data to a terminal device; within a predefined or preconfigured time period after a second moment, the network device sends a first DCI to the terminal device, the first DCI includes a DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; wherein the second moment is the t-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the downlink data, t is a positive integer, 1≤t≤T, and T is the number of time units occupied by the downlink data; or, the second moment is the s-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data, s is a positive integer, 1≤s≤S, and S is the number of time units occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data. The measurement unit of the time unit can be a measurement unit such as a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot or a symbol, or other measurement units, which are not specifically limited. Among them, the downlink data sent by the network device to the terminal device can refer to a PDSCH, and the PDSCH can specifically be a PDSCH scheduled by a DCI, or a PDSCH based on semi-static scheduling (SPS).

[0033] Furthermore, the method also includes the network device generating the downlink data and / or the first DCI.

[0034] Among them, the downlink data sent by the network device can be used to indicate to the terminal device that the first DCI includes DAI. The effective time point when the downlink data indicates that the first DCI includes DAI can specifically be the aforementioned second moment, and the time period when the downlink data indicates that the first DCI includes DAI can be a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment. After the effective time period when the downlink data indicates that the first DCI includes DAI ends, and within the time period before the network device again indicates to the terminal device that the first DCI includes DAI, the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device does not include DAI. That is to say, after the effective time period of the downlink data sent by the network device ends, and before the network device sends the next downlink data indicating that the first DCI includes DAI to the terminal device, the content of the downlink data indicating that the first DCI includes DAI has expired, that is, the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device does not include DAI.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending a first DCI to the terminal device within a third time period before the second moment, not including the DAI. That is, before the network device sends the second DCI to the terminal device, the terminal device may believe that the first DCI does not include the DAI, and the network device sends the first DCI that does not include the DAI to the terminal device.

[0036] In the present application, the downlink data sent by the network device to the terminal device is used to indicate to the terminal device that the UL-DCI includes DAI. There is no need to send a special message to the terminal device to indicate whether the UL-DCI includes DAI, which can save signaling overhead.

[0037] The fourth aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: a terminal device receives first information from a network device; the terminal device receives a first DCI from the network device; wherein the first information indicates whether the first DCI includes DAI or does not include DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format.

[0038] Furthermore, the method further includes: the terminal device demodulating the first DCI. Specifically, the terminal device demodulates the first DCI according to the first information.

[0039] Furthermore, the method further includes, the terminal device receiving downlink data from the network device, wherein the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for the downlink data or to generate a codebook for the downlink data.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the first state; the first DCI from the network device does not include DAI.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the second state; the first DCI from the network device includes DAI.

[0042] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried by an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0043] In a possible embodiment, the method also includes: the terminal device receives first time indication information from the network device, and the first time indication information is used to indicate a first time period; wherein the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI located in the first time period does not include DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in a first state; or, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI located in the first time period includes DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in a second state.

[0044] In one possible embodiment, the first time indication information is used to indicate one or more of the cycle length, time offset and duration of the first time period; wherein the cycle length is the cycle of the first time period; the duration is the duration of the first time period; the time offset is the offset between the start time of the first time period and the start time of the cycle in which the first time period is located; or, the time offset is the offset between the end time of the first time period and the end time of the cycle in which the first time period is located.

[0045] In one possible implementation, a terminal device receives a first DCI from a network device, including: the terminal device receives the first DCI sent by the network device at or after the first moment, the first DCI not including the DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured. It is understandable that in a specific implementation, there is a time delay or error between the moment when the network device sends the information and the moment when the terminal receives the information, but here the first moment is uniformly recognized as the moment of sending the first information, ignoring the actual possible delay.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the terminal device receives a first DCI from a network device, including: the terminal device receives a first DCI sent by the network device at a first moment or after the first moment, the first DCI including a DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured.

[0047] In a possible implementation, a terminal device receives a first DCI from a network device, including: the terminal device receives the first DCI sent by the network device within a second time period after a first moment, the first DCI not including DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a time length that is predefined, preconfigured, or indicated by the first information.

[0048] In a possible implementation, a terminal device receives a first DCI from a network device, including: the terminal device receives the first DCI sent by the network device within a second time period after a first moment, the first DCI including a DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a time length that is predefined, preconfigured, or indicated by the first information.

[0049] A fifth aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: a terminal device receives a second DCI from a network device, the second DCI being used to schedule downlink transmission; within a predefined or preconfigured time period after a second moment, the terminal device receives a first DCI from the network device, the first DCI including a DAI, the first DCI being used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI being a first format; wherein the second moment is the mth time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the second DCI, m is a positive integer, 1≤m≤M, and M is the number of time units occupied by the second DCI.

[0050] Furthermore, the method also includes the terminal device demodulating the second DCI and / or the first DCI.

[0051] Furthermore, the method further includes, the terminal device receiving downlink data from the network device, wherein the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for the downlink data or to generate a codebook for the downlink data.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving a first DCI that does not include the DAI from the network device within a third time period before the second moment.

[0053] A sixth aspect of the present application provides a communication method, including: a terminal device receives downlink data from a network device; within a predefined or preconfigured time period after a second moment, the terminal device receives a first DCI from the network device, the first DCI includes a DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; wherein, the second moment is the tth time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the downlink data, t is a positive integer, 1≤t≤T, and T is the number of time units occupied by the downlink data; or, the second moment is the sth time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data, s is a positive integer, 1≤s≤S, and S is the number of time units occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data.

[0054] Furthermore, the method also includes: the terminal device demodulating the first DCI.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the first DCI received by the terminal device from the network device within a third time period before the second moment does not include the DAI.

[0056] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device or a chip system or integrated circuit inside a network device. The communication device includes: a sending unit; the sending unit is used to: send first information to a terminal device, the first information indicating whether the first downlink control information DCI includes a downlink allocation index DAI or does not include DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; send the first DCI to the terminal device. Furthermore, the communication device also includes a processing unit, which is used to generate the first information and / or the first DCI.

[0057] Furthermore, the sending unit is further configured to send downlink data to the terminal device, wherein the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for the downlink data or to generate a codebook for the downlink data.

[0058] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the first state; the first DCI sent to the terminal device does not include DAI.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the second state; the first DCI sent to the terminal device includes DAI.

[0060] In a possible implementation, the first information is carried by an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0061] In a possible embodiment, the sending unit is also used to: send first time indication information to the terminal device, the first time indication information is used to indicate a first time period; wherein the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI located in the first time period does not include DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in a first state; or, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI located in the first time period includes DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in a second state.

[0062] In one possible embodiment, the first time indication information is used to indicate one or more of the cycle length, time offset and duration of the first time period; wherein the cycle length is the cycle of the first time period; the duration is the duration of the first time period; the time offset is the offset between the start time of the first time period and the start time of the cycle in which the first time period is located; or, the time offset is the offset between the end time of the first time period and the end time of the cycle in which the first time period is located.

[0063] In a possible embodiment, the sending unit is also used to: send a first DCI to the terminal device at a first moment or after the first moment, and the first DCI does not include DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured.

[0064] In a possible embodiment, the sending unit is also used to: send a first DCI to the terminal device at a first moment or after the first moment, the first DCI including DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured.

[0065] In a possible embodiment, the sending unit is also used to: send a first DCI to the terminal device within a second time period after the first moment, and the first DCI does not include DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a time length that is predefined, preconfigured for the terminal device, or indicated to the terminal device through the first information.

[0066] In a possible embodiment, the sending unit is also used to: send a first DCI to the terminal device within a second time period after the first moment, the first DCI including the DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a time length that is predefined, preconfigured for the terminal device, or indicated to the terminal device through the first information.

[0067] The eighth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which can be a network device or a chip system or integrated circuit inside the network device. The communication device includes: a sending unit; the sending unit is used to: send a second DCI to the terminal device, the second DCI is used to schedule downlink transmission; within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, send a first DCI to the terminal device, the first DCI includes DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is the first format; wherein the second moment is the mth time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the second DCI, m is a positive integer, 1≤m≤M, and M is the number of time units occupied by the second DCI. Further, the communication unit also includes a processing unit, and the processing unit is used to generate the first DCI and / or the second DCI.

[0068] Furthermore, the sending unit is further configured to send downlink data to the terminal device, wherein the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for the downlink data or to generate a codebook for the downlink data.

[0069] In a possible implementation, the sending unit is further configured to send to the terminal device, within a third time period before the second moment, a first DCI that does not include the DAI.

[0070] The ninth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which can be a network device or a chip system or integrated circuit inside the network device. The communication device includes: a sending unit; the sending unit is used to: send downlink data to the terminal device; within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, send a first DCI to the terminal device, the first DCI includes a DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; wherein the second moment is the t-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the downlink data, t is a positive integer, 1≤t≤T, and T is the number of time units occupied by the downlink data; or, the second moment is the s-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data, s is a positive integer, 1≤s≤S, and S is the number of time units occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data. Further, the communication device also includes a processing unit, and the processing unit is used to generate the downlink data and / or the first DCI.

[0071] In a possible implementation, the sending unit is further configured to send to the terminal device, within a third time period before the second moment, a first DCI that does not include the DAI.

[0072] The tenth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which can be a terminal device or a chip system or integrated circuit inside the terminal device. The communication device includes: a receiving unit; the receiving unit is used to: receive first information from a network device; the terminal device receives a first DCI from the network device; wherein the first information indicates whether the first DCI includes DAI or does not include DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format. Further, the communication device also includes a processing unit, and the processing unit is used to demodulate the first DCI. Specifically, the processing unit demodulates the first DCI according to the first information.

[0073] Furthermore, the receiving unit is further configured to receive downlink data from the network device, wherein the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for the downlink data or to generate a codebook for the downlink data.

[0074] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the first state; the first DCI from the network device does not include DAI.

[0075] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the second state; the first DCI from the network device includes DAI.

[0076] In a possible implementation, the first information is carried by an RRC message.

[0077] In one possible implementation, the receiving unit is further used to: receive first time indication information from a network device, the first time indication information being used to indicate a first time period; wherein the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI in the first time period does not include DAI, or that the terminal device is in a first state in the first time period; or, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI in the first time period includes DAI, or that the terminal device is in a second state in the first time period.

[0078] In one possible embodiment, the first time indication information is used to indicate one or more of the cycle length, time offset and duration of the first time period; wherein the cycle length is the cycle of the first time period; the duration is the duration of the first time period; the time offset is the offset between the start time of the first time period and the start time of the cycle in which the first time period is located; or, the time offset is the offset between the end time of the first time period and the end time of the cycle in which the first time period is located.

[0079] In one possible embodiment, the receiving unit is also used to: receive a first DCI sent by a network device at a first moment or after the first moment, and the first DCI does not include DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured.

[0080] In one possible embodiment, the receiving unit is also used to: receive a first DCI sent by a network device at a first moment or after the first moment, the first DCI including a DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the first information is sent, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured.

[0081] In one possible embodiment, the receiving unit is also used to: receive a first DCI sent by a network device within a second time period after the first moment, and the first DCI does not include DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the sending moment of the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a predefined, preconfigured, or time length indicated by the first information.

[0082] In one possible embodiment, the receiving unit is also used to: receive a first DCI sent by a network device within a second time period after a first moment, the first DCI including a DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the first information is sent, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a predefined, preconfigured, or time length indicated by the first information.

[0083] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried by a MAC CE.

[0084] The eleventh aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which can be a terminal device or a chip system or integrated circuit inside the terminal device. The communication device includes: a receiving unit; the receiving unit is used to: receive a second DCI from a network device, the second DCI is used to schedule downlink transmission; within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, receive a first DCI from the network device, the first DCI includes a DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; wherein the second moment is the mth time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the second DCI, m is a positive integer, 1≤m≤M, and M is the number of time units occupied by the second DCI. Further, the communication device also includes a processing unit, the processing unit is used to demodulate the first DCI and / or the second DCI.

[0085] Furthermore, the receiving unit is further configured to receive downlink data from the network device, wherein the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for the downlink data or to generate a codebook for the downlink data.

[0086] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit is further configured to receive, from the network device within a third time period before the second moment, a first DCI that does not include the DAI.

[0087] The twelfth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, which can be a terminal device or a chip system or integrated circuit inside the terminal device. The communication device includes: a receiving unit; the receiving unit is used to: receive downlink data from the network device; receive a first DCI from the network device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, the first DCI includes a DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; wherein the second moment is the t-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the downlink data, t is a positive integer, 1≤t≤T, and T is the number of time units occupied by the downlink data; or, the second moment is the s-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data, s is a positive integer, 1≤s≤S, and S is the number of time units occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data. Further, the communication device also includes a processing unit, and the processing unit is used to demodulate the first DCI.

[0088] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit is further configured to receive, from the network device within a third time period before the second moment, a first DCI that does not include the DAI.

[0089] The thirteenth aspect of the present application provides a communication device, comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores operation instructions, and the processor reads the operation instructions in the memory to implement the method in any one of the embodiments of the first to third aspects. Alternatively, the communication device comprises at least one processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to provide information input and / or output to the at least one processor, and the at least one processor processes the information so that the communication device implements the method in any one of the embodiments of the first to third aspects. Specifically, the information includes instructions and / or data. The communication device may be a network device, or a chip system or integrated circuit inside a network device.

[0090] In the fourteenth aspect of the present application, there is provided a communication device, comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores operation instructions, and the processor reads the operation instructions in the memory to implement the method in any one of the embodiments in the fourth to sixth aspects. Alternatively, the communication device comprises at least one processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to provide information input and / or output to the at least one processor, and the at least one processor processes the information so that the communication device implements the method in any one of the embodiments in the fourth to sixth aspects. Specifically, the information includes instructions and / or data. The communication device may be a terminal device, or a chip system or integrated circuit inside the terminal device.

[0091] The fourteenth aspect of the present application provides a communication system, comprising: a communication device as in the aforementioned thirteenth aspect and a communication device as in the fourteenth aspect.

[0092] In a fifteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute a method as in any one of the embodiments of the first to sixth aspects.

[0093] In a sixteenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method as described in any one of the embodiments of the first to sixth aspects.

[0094] It can be seen from the above technical solutions that this application has the following advantages:

[0095] The present application provides a communication method and related equipment, which, by indicating to a terminal device whether the downlink control information used to schedule uplink transmission includes DAI information, enables the transmission of DAI according to specific needs, reduces the load to improve the reliability of downlink transmission while ensuring the reliability of downlink transmission feedback. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0096] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of HARQ-ACK feedback provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0097] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a DL-DAI application in a HARQ-ACK codebook provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0098] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of UL-DAI application in a HARQ-ACK codebook provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0099] Figure 4 A flow chart of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0100] Figure 5 A flow chart of a communication method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0101] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of an indication method of a first time period provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0102] Figure 7 A flow chart of a communication method 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0103] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of activating and deactivating a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0104] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of activation and activation termination provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0105] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of activation and activation termination provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0106] Figure 11 A flow chart of a communication method 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0107] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present application providing a method of indicating that a first DCI includes a DAI through a second DCI;

[0108] Figure 13 A flow chart of a communication method 1300 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0109] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device 1400 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0110] Figure 15 This is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0111] Figure 16 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1600 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0112] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clearly understood, the following describes the embodiments of this application in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of this application, rather than all the embodiments. It is known to those skilled in the art that with the emergence of new application scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0113] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the data used in this way can be interchangeable where appropriate so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in a sequence other than that illustrated or described herein. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device that includes a series of steps or modules is not necessarily limited to those steps or modules clearly listed, but may include other steps or modules that are not clearly listed or that are inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. The naming or numbering of steps in this application does not mean that the steps in the method flow must be executed in the time / logical sequence indicated by the naming or numbering. The process steps that have been named or numbered can be changed in the execution order according to the technical purpose to be achieved, as long as the same or similar technical effects can be achieved. The division of units in this application is a logical division. In actual application, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection between each other shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, and the indirect coupling or communication connection between units can be electrical or other similar forms, which are not limited in this application. Moreover, the units or sub-units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, may or may not be physical units, or may be distributed into multiple circuit units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this application.

[0114] In wireless communication systems, such as new radio (NR) communication systems, information exchanged between terminal devices and network devices is carried through physical channels. Data sent by a network device to a terminal device is also called downlink data, and downlink data can usually be carried through a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); control information sent by a base station is also called downlink control information (DCI), and DCI can usually be carried through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). Data sent by a terminal device to a network device is also called uplink data, and uplink data can usually be carried through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); control information sent by a terminal device to a network device is also called uplink control information (UCI), and UCI can usually be carried through a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

[0115] Generally, for ease of description, the process of "a network device sending downlink data to a terminal device via the PDSCH" can be referred to as "the network device sending the PDSCH to the terminal device." That is, the PDSCH can be understood as downlink data sent by the network device to the terminal device. Similarly, the PUSCH mentioned above can also be understood as uplink data sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0116] In order to improve the reliability of data transmission, the NR communication system supports a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) mechanism. For the PDSCH sent by the network device, the terminal device will feedback whether the PDSCH is correctly received in the uplink feedback opportunity corresponding to the PDSCH, that is, perform HARQ confirmation (HARQ-ACK) feedback. Among them, the terminal device can feedback HARQ-ACK information corresponding to one or more PDSCHs in the same uplink feedback opportunity. Specifically, the terminal device can encode multiple HARQ-ACK bits according to predefined rules to generate a HARQ-ACK codebook; then, the terminal device sends the HARQ-ACK codebook in the uplink feedback opportunity, thereby realizing HARQ-ACK feedback. The uplink feedback opportunity can be PUCCH. In addition, if the terminal device also sends PUSCH at the same time in the uplink feedback opportunity, the HARQ-ACK codebook can also be carried in the PUSCH and sent. At this time, the terminal device will provide feedback on whether the PDSCH is received correctly in the PUSCH.

[0117] See Figure 1 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of HARQ-ACK feedback provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the network device sends PDSCH1 and PDSCH2 to the terminal device, and the network device also sends a downlink (DL) DCI1 for scheduling PDSCH1 and a DL-DCI2 for scheduling PDSCH2 to the terminal device. Among them, DL-DCI1 and DL-DCI2 both instruct the terminal device to feedback the HARQ-ACK of PDSCH in the same uplink feedback opportunity. In addition, the network device also sends an uplink (UL) DCI for scheduling uplink transmission (such as PUSCH) to the terminal device, and the PUSCH scheduled by UL-DCI overlaps in time with the aforementioned uplink feedback opportunity. Therefore, the terminal device carries the HARQ-ACK codebook corresponding to PDSCH1 and PDSCH2 in the PUSCH.

[0118] It is understandable that the network device can instruct the terminal device to perform uplink transmission by sending UL-DCI to the terminal device, so that the terminal device sends uplink data through PUSCH based on the instruction of UL-DCI. This process can generally be referred to as "the network device schedules PUSCH through UL-DCI", and the UL-DCI can be referred to as UL-DCI for scheduling PUSCH. Similarly, the process in which the network device instructs the terminal device to receive PDSCH by sending DL-DCI to the terminal device can be referred to as "the network device schedules PDSCH through DL-DCI", and the DL-DCI can be referred to as DL-DCI for scheduling PSDCH.

[0119] exist Figure 1 In the example, the terminal device feeds back the HARQ-ACK codebook on the PUSCH. The two bits of the HARQ-ACK codebook correspond to the feedback of PDSCH1 and PDSCH2, respectively. For example, if the terminal device correctly receives PDSCH1, the bit corresponding to PDSCH1 in the HARQ-ACK codebook is set to "1." If the terminal device does not correctly receive PDSCH2, the bit corresponding to PDSCH2 in the HARQ-ACK codebook is set to "0," and the final value of the HARQ-ACK codebook is "10."

[0120] Generally, there are two ways to feedback the HARQ-ACK codebook: dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook feedback and semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook feedback. The differences between the two feedback methods are as follows:

[0121] 1. In dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook feedback, the HARQ-ACK codebook fed back by the terminal device in a certain uplink feedback opportunity is generated based on the number of PDSCHs actually received in the downlink reception time corresponding to the uplink feedback opportunity and whether the PDSCH is correctly received.

[0122] 2. In semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook feedback, the HARQ-ACK codebook fed back by the terminal device in a certain uplink feedback opportunity is generated based on the number of all possible PDSCHs received in the downlink reception time corresponding to the feedback opportunity and whether the PDSCH is correctly received.

[0123] For example, assuming that one uplink feedback opportunity corresponds to four possible PDSCH reception opportunities, and the terminal device only receives the PDSCH in the first two of these four PDSCH reception opportunities, and only the first of these two PDSCHs is correctly received, and the second PDSCH fails to be decoded. In this case, specific examples of dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook feedback and semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook feedback are as follows:

[0124] (1) If dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook feedback is used, the HARQ-ACK codebook generated by the terminal device is "10". Among them, the HARQ-ACK codebook "10" indicates that the terminal device received 2 PDSCHs, and the first PDSCH was received correctly, but the second PDSCH was not received correctly.

[0125] (2) If semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook feedback is used, the HARQ-ACK codebook generated by the terminal device is "1000". Among them, the HARQ-ACK codebook "1000" means that the terminal device correctly receives only the first PDSCH among the four possible PDSCHs, and fails to correctly receive the PDSCH in the remaining three possible PDSCH reception opportunities.

[0126] Generally speaking, the HARQ-ACK codebook feedback method used by the terminal device is configured by the network device. For a terminal device that has entered the connected state, the network device can configure the HARQ-ACK codebook feedback method of the terminal device through RRC signaling and schedule the terminal device through a specific DCI. Specifically:

[0127] 1) For dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook feedback, the DL-DCI includes a downlink assignment index (DAI), which can be called DL-DAI, and is used to indicate which PDSCH the current DL-DCI schedules for the terminal device. DL-DAI usually includes at least one of a counter DAI (C-DAI) and a total DAI (T-DAI), wherein C-DAI indicates the PDSCH count in the cell or carrier as of the current PDCCH monitoring occasion, and T-DAI indicates the PDSCH count in all cells or carriers as of the current PDCCH monitoring occasion. In scenarios where downlink carrier aggregation is not considered, only counter DAI is often used. It can be considered that in dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook feedback, DL-DAI can be used to assist the terminal device in generating the HARQ-ACK codebook. Based on DL-DAI, the terminal device can generate the HARQ-ACK codebook more accurately. For the explanation of the PDCCH detection timing, reference may be made to existing technologies and standards.

[0128] Specifically, see Figure 2 , Figure 2 A schematic diagram of DL-DAI application in a HARQ-ACK codebook provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 In (a), the terminal device correctly receives PDSCH1 and PDSCH2, and the DAI corresponding to PDSCH1 and PDSCH2 are 00 and 01 respectively, which means that PDSCH1 and PDSCH2 are the first and second PDSCH respectively. Therefore, the terminal device can generate a 2-bit HARQ-ACK codebook "11". Figure 2 In (b), the terminal device correctly receives PDSCH1 and PDSCH3, and the DAIs corresponding to PDSCH1 and PDSCH3 are 00 and 10, respectively, indicating that PDSCH1 and PDSCH3 are the first and third PDSCHs, respectively. Based on the DAIs corresponding to PDSCH1 and PDSCH3, the terminal device can determine that a PDSCH was missed between PDSCH1 and PDSCH3. Therefore, the terminal device can generate a 3-bit HARQ-ACK codebook "101", in which "0" indicates that the terminal device failed to correctly receive the second PDSCH.

[0129] In addition, a DAI may also be included in the UL-DCI, and the DAI may be referred to as UL-DAI. Specifically, the DAI included in the DCI for scheduling uplink transmission is used to indicate codebook feedback for downlink data or to generate a codebook for downlink data. The DAI used to indicate codebook feedback for downlink data includes the DAI used to indicate whether codebook feedback is performed for the downlink data. Optionally, the DAI may be used to indicate to the terminal device the PDSCH count in all cells or carriers corresponding to the same feedback opportunity. Specifically, the DAI is used by the terminal device to generate a HARQ-ACK codebook for the downlink data.

[0130] Specifically, see Figure 3 , Figure 3 A schematic diagram of UL-DAI application in a HARQ-ACK codebook provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 In the example, the terminal device correctly receives PDSCH1 and PDSCH3, and the DAI corresponding to PDSCH1 and PDSCH3 are 00 and 10 respectively, which means that PDSCH1 and PDSCH3 are the first and third PDSCH respectively. Therefore, the terminal device can determine that a PDSCH was missed between the two PDSCHs. In addition, the UL-DAI value in the UL-DCI received by the terminal device is 11, so the terminal device can further determine that a PDSCH4 was missed after PDSCH3. Ultimately, the terminal device can generate a 4-bit HARQ-ACK codebook "1010", in which "0" indicates that the terminal device failed to correctly receive the second and fourth PDSCHs.

[0131] (2) For semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook feedback, since the number of HARQ-ACK codebook bits required for feedback in each uplink feedback opportunity and the PDSCH time domain position corresponding to each bit are both determined, the DL-DCI does not need to include a DAI indicating the PDSCH count. For UL-DCI, a 1-bit UL-DAI is generally still included. The significance of this 1-bit is to indicate whether the terminal device can carry the HARQ-ACK codebook on the PUSCH for transmission.

[0132] From the above description, it can be known that no matter whether dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook feedback or semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook feedback is adopted, UL-DCI often includes UL-DAI. Specifically, when dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook feedback is adopted, UL-DAI is used to assist the terminal device in correctly generating the HARQ-ACK codebook. When semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook feedback is adopted, UL-DAI is used to indicate whether the terminal device can carry the HARQ-ACK codebook in PUSCH for transmission. That is, the DAI included in the DCI for scheduling uplink transmission is used to indicate codebook feedback for downlink data or to generate a codebook for downlink data. Among them, the DAI used to indicate codebook feedback for downlink data includes the DAI used to indicate whether codebook feedback is performed for the downlink data. For example, the DAI can be used for a terminal device to generate a dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook or to indicate whether a terminal device carries a semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook in PUSCH for transmission. Optionally, the DAI can be used to indicate to the terminal device the PDSCH count in a cell or carrier corresponding to the same feedback timing, or the PDSCH count in all cells or carriers corresponding to the same feedback timing. It should be noted that the interpretation of the DAI contained in the DCI for scheduling uplink transmission mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can refer to the definition in this paragraph.

[0133] That is to say, no matter which HARQ-ACK codebook feedback method is adopted, and whether or not there is a PDSCH sent to the terminal device, the UL-DCI needs to include UL-DAI. However, a reduced capability (REDCAP) terminal device is currently supported in the NR communication system. Typical application scenarios of REDCAP terminal devices include sensors and video surveillance. In the application scenarios of sensors and video surveillance, REDCAP terminal devices often need to upload a large amount of listening data and monitoring data. The wireless transmission service of REDCAP terminal devices is mainly uplink transmission service, that is, the REDCAP terminal devices correspond to more PUSCHs, while the REDCAP terminal devices have fewer or even no PDSCHs. This results in the DAI in the UL-DCI sent to REDCAP terminal devices being redundant most of the time.

[0134] However, given a fixed amount of time-frequency resources for PDCCH transmission, the greater the UL-DCI payload (i.e., the number of UL-DCI bits), the lower its transmission reliability; the smaller the UL-DCI payload, the higher its transmission reliability. In other words, consistently including useless UL-DAI in UL-DCI not only fails to improve the accuracy of HARQ-ACK feedback corresponding to the PDSCH, but also reduces UL-DCI transmission reliability.

[0135] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method and related equipment, which indicates to the terminal device whether the downlink control information used to schedule uplink transmission includes DAI information, so as to realize the sending of DAI according to specific needs, thereby improving the reliability of downlink transmission while ensuring the reliability of downlink transmission feedback.

[0136] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) and other systems. The term "system" can be interchangeable with "network". For example, the 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) system and various versions based on LTE evolution, as well as the fifth generation (5G) communication system, new radio (NR) and other communication systems. In addition, the communication system can also be applied to future-oriented communication technologies, all of which are applicable to the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. The system architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field will know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0137] For ease of understanding, the following Figure 1 , briefly introduce the application scenarios of the embodiments of this application. Figure 1 As shown, the application scenario includes a terminal device 101 and a network device 102. The terminal device 101 is wirelessly connected to the network device 102, and the network device 102 is used to connect the terminal device 101 to a wireless network.

[0138] The terminal device 101 is also referred to as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., and is a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connection capabilities. Currently, some examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, etc.

[0139] The network device 102 can be any device with wireless transceiver functions. The network device 102 includes, but is not limited to, base stations (e.g., base station BS, base station NodeB, evolved base station eNodeB or eNB, base station gNodeB or gNB in ​​the fifth generation 5G communication system, base station in future communication system, access node in WiFi system, wireless relay node, wireless backhaul node), etc. The base station can be: macro base station, micro base station, pico base station, small station, relay station, etc. Multiple base stations can support networks with one or more of the above-mentioned technologies, or future evolved networks. The base station can include one or more co-sited or non-co-sited transmission reception points (TRP). The network device 102 can also be a wireless controller, a central unit (CU), or a distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The following description takes the network device 102 as a base station as an example. Multiple network devices 102 can be base stations of the same type or different types. The base station can communicate with the terminal device 101, or it can communicate with the terminal device 101 through a relay station. The terminal device 101 can support communication with multiple base stations of different technologies. For example, the terminal device 101 can support communication with a base station supporting an LTE network, a base station supporting a 5G network, and can also support dual connectivity with base stations of an LTE network and a base station of a 5G network. For example, the terminal device 101 is connected to a RAN node of a wireless network. Currently, some examples of RAN nodes include: gNB, TRP, evolved Node B (eNB), next generation evolved Node B (LTE ng-eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), base band unit (BBU), or Wi-Fi access point (AP).

[0140] See Figure 4 , Figure 4 The following is a flow chart of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method 400 includes:

[0141] 401. A network device sends first information to a terminal device, where the first information indicates whether a first DCI includes a DAI or does not include a DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first information. Further, the terminal device determines, based on the first information, that the first DCI includes a DAI, or determines, based on the first information, that the first DCI does not include a DAI.

[0142] Among them, the first DCI is a DCI used to schedule the uplink transmission of the terminal device, for example, the first DCI is a DCI used to schedule PUSCH, that is, the first DCI is UL-DCI. Optionally, the first DCI includes DAI, then the DAI included in the first DCI is UL-DAI. The first DCI is at least one DCI of the first format, that is, the first DCI refers to one or more DCIs of the same format. For the convenience of explanation, this application uniformly uses "first DCI" to represent the above-mentioned multiple DCIs of the same format.

[0143] The DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for downlink data or to generate a codebook for downlink data. That is, before step 401, the method may further include: the network device sends the downlink data to the terminal device. Optionally, the downlink data may be at least one PDSCH. Specifically, the DAI is used by the terminal device to generate a HARQ-ACK codebook for the downlink data or to indicate whether the terminal device carries the semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook in the PUSCH for transmission.

[0144] Exemplarily, the format of the first DCI is a first format, and the first format may be any one of DCI format 0_0 (DCIformat0_0), DCI format 0_1 ​​(DCI format0_1), or DCI format 0_2 (DCI format0_2). Optionally, DCI format 0_0, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 0_2 are formats defined for DCI for scheduling uplink transmission in the NR communication system. In addition, the first format may also be a DCI format for scheduling uplink transmission in other possible communication systems or may be other DCI formats different from the above formats. This embodiment does not limit the first format.

[0145] It can be understood that including DAI in the first DCI may mean that the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is not 0, and not including DAI in the first DCI may mean that the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is 0 or the field originally used to indicate DAI in the first DCI is used to indicate other information, that is, the first information can indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI or includes DAI by indicating that the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is 0 or the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is not 0.

[0146] Optionally, in this embodiment, the first information may indicate whether the first DCI includes the DAI through a specific field. In one example, the first information may indicate whether the first DCI includes the DAI or not through a 1-bit field. For example, when the value of the 1-bit field is "0", the first information indicates that the first DCI does not include the DAI; when the value of the 1-bit field is "1", the first information indicates that the first DCI includes the DAI.

[0147] In another example, the first information may also indicate that the terminal is in the first state or the second state through a 1-bit field. For example, when the value of the 1-bit field is "0", the first information indicates that the terminal device is in the first state; when the value of the 1-bit field is "1", the first information indicates that the terminal device is in the second state. The terminal device being in the first state corresponds to the first DCI not including DAI, and the terminal device being in the second state corresponds to the first DCI including DAI. Therefore, the terminal device can determine whether the first DCI includes DAI based on the state indicated by the first information.

[0148] In another example, the first information may also indicate whether the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is 0 through a 1-bit field. For example, when the value of the 1-bit field is "0", the first information indicates that the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is 0; when the value of the 1-bit field is "1", the first information indicates that the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is not 0. The number of bits of DAI in the first DCI being 0 corresponds to that DAI is not included in the first DCI, and the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI being not 0 corresponds to that DAI is included in the first DCI. Therefore, the terminal device can also determine whether DAI is included in the first DCI based on the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI indicated by the first information.

[0149] In other words, the first information can be used to simultaneously indicate at least one of the following: the first DCI does not include DAI, the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is 0, or the terminal device is in the first state.

[0150] It is understandable that, for a terminal device, the terminal device may be in different states under different communication environments. The terminal device may correspond to multiple states, the first state may be one or more of these states, and the second state may also be one or more of these states.

[0151] In a scenario where there is no downlink data transmission or only a small amount of downlink data transmission between the network device and the terminal device, the network device may send first information to the terminal device indicating that the terminal device is in a first state, so as to instruct the terminal device to enter the first state. When the terminal device is in the first state, the terminal device may not need to use the UL-DAI in the UL-DCI, and the terminal device determines that the first DCI does not include DAI, that is, the terminal device being in the first state corresponds to the first DCI not including DAI.

[0152] In a scenario where there is a large amount of downlink data transmission between the network device and the terminal device, the network device may send first information indicating that the terminal device is in the second state to the terminal device, so as to instruct the terminal device to enter the second state. When the terminal device is in the second state, the terminal device may need to use the UL-DAI in the UL-DCI to correctly generate the HARQ-ACK codebook or determine whether the HARQ-ACK codebook can be carried in the PUSCH for transmission. The terminal device may determine that the first DCI includes the DAI, that is, the terminal device is in the second state corresponding to the first DCI including the DAI.

[0153] In addition, the terminal device being in the first state may specifically be that the terminal device is in a pre-set mode, for example, the terminal device is in mode 1, and the mode 1 may be pre-set for the terminal device when it leaves the factory or configured during use of the terminal device. When the terminal device is in mode 1, the terminal device has no downlink data transmission or only a small amount of downlink data transmission, and the terminal device may not need to use the UL-DAI in the UL-DCI.

[0154] The terminal device being in the second state may specifically be that the terminal device is in another pre-set mode, for example, the terminal device is in mode 2, which may also be pre-set by the terminal device at the factory or configured by the terminal device during use. When the terminal device is in mode 2, the terminal device has downlink data transmission, and the terminal device needs to correctly generate a dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook based on the UL-DAI in the UL-DCI, or the terminal device needs to determine whether the semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook can be carried in the PUSCH for transmission based on the UL-DAI in the UL-DCI.

[0155] It is understandable that the network device can determine whether to send the first information to the terminal device based on the downlink data transmission corresponding to the terminal device in the next time. For example, when the terminal device believes that the first DCI includes DAI, and the network device determines that the terminal device has no downlink data transmission or only a small amount of downlink data transmission in the next time, that is, when the network device determines that the terminal device does not need to use UL-DAI in the next time, the network device can send the first information to the terminal device, and the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI, so as to indicate to the terminal device that the first DCI does not include DAI. When the terminal device believes that the first DCI does not include DAI, and the network device determines that the terminal device has a certain amount of downlink data transmission in the next time, that is, when the network device determines that the terminal device needs to use UL-DAI in the next time, the network device can send the first information (or other information) to the terminal device, and the other information is used to indicate that the first DCI (or other DCI of the same type as the first DCI) includes DAI, so as to indicate to the terminal device that the first DCI includes DAI.

[0156] It should be noted that the above description uses the expression "first information" for the indication that the first DCI does not include or includes DAI, but it does not mean that the same "first information" can indicate that the first DCI includes DAI and can indicate that the same first DCI does not include DAI. Those skilled in the art will know that, on the premise of indicating that one or more first DCIs do not include DAI through "first information", it is necessary to indicate that one or more other first DCIs include the corresponding DAI through another "first information". Specifically, the format of the above-mentioned first DCI is the same, for example, the first format. The reuse of the same expression for the "first DCI" and "first information" issued multiple times here is for the purpose of simplifying the explanation of the solution.

[0157] Optionally, the network device may send the first information to the terminal device in a variety of ways.

[0158] Method 1: The network device sends an RRC message to the terminal device, and the first information is carried in the RRC message, that is, the network device configures the first information for the terminal device through the RRC message.

[0159] Method 2: The network device sends a MAC CE to the terminal device, and the first information is carried in the MAC CE.

[0160] Exemplarily, in an RRC message or MAC CE, the first information may be represented by a certain field, which is predefined or predetermined, and the value of the field may be used to indicate whether the first DCI includes DAI or does not include DAI, or to indicate that the terminal device is in the first state or the second state, or to indicate whether the number of bits of DAI in the first DCI is 0. The specific correspondence between the value of the field and the content indicated by the field can be found above and will not be repeated here. Among them, the field used to represent the first information in the RRC message or MAC CE may be one or more, and the correspondence between the value of the field and the content indicated by the field may also be as exemplified above, or in other ways, and this embodiment does not specifically limit this.

[0161] 402. The network device sends a first DCI to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first DCI. Further, the terminal device demodulates the first DCI according to the first information.

[0162] It can be understood that, when the first information sent by the network device to the terminal device indicates that the first DCI includes DAI, the network device generates a first DCI including DAI and sends the first DCI to the terminal device, that is, one or more DCIs in the first format sent by the network device to the terminal device include DAI. When the first information indicates that the first DCI does not include DAI, the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device does not include DAI, that is, one or more DCIs in the first format sent by the network device to the terminal device do not include DAI.

[0163] Because when the terminal device demodulates the received DCI, the terminal device needs to know the number of bits of the DCI in order to correctly demodulate the DCI. Otherwise, the terminal device cannot correctly demodulate the DCI without knowing the number of bits of the DCI. Correctly demodulating the DCI can be understood as successfully demodulating and decoding the PDCCH, and can further include correctly interpreting the information carried by the DCI. Therefore, in this embodiment, the network device indicates whether the first DCI includes the DAI by sending the first information to the terminal device, thereby ensuring that the terminal device can promptly determine the number of bits of the first DCI, thereby ensuring that the terminal device can correctly demodulate the received first DCI.

[0164] For example, assuming that the first DCI represents DAI with 2 bits, the number of bits of the first DCI including DAI is 52, and the number of bits of the first DCI not including DAI is 50. After receiving the first information sent by the network device, the terminal device can determine the number of bits of the first DCI according to the content indicated by the first information. If the first information indicates that the first DCI includes DAI, the number of bits of the first DCI is determined to be 52, and the terminal device can demodulate the received first DCI based on the fact that the first DCI is 52 bits; if the first information indicates that the first DCI does not include DAI, the number of bits of the first DCI is determined to be 50, and the terminal device can demodulate the received first DCI based on the fact that the first DCI is 50 bits.

[0165] In this embodiment, in a scenario where there is a large amount of downlink data transmission between the network device and the terminal device, for example, a scenario where the number of PDSCHs received by the terminal device that require HARQ-ACK feedback is greater than one, after the terminal device receives the first information indicating that the first DCI includes DAI, the terminal device can receive the first DCI from the network device, and demodulate the first DCI to obtain the DAI in the first DCI. In this way, when the terminal device adopts a dynamic HARQ-ACK codebook feedback method, the terminal device can generate a HARQ-ACK codebook based on the DAI obtained by demodulating the first DCI after receiving the PDSCH, and feedback the generated HARQ-ACK codebook in the uplink feedback opportunity corresponding to the PDSCH. When the terminal device adopts a semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook feedback method, the terminal device can determine whether to carry the HARQ-ACK codebook to the PUSCH for transmission based on the DAI obtained by demodulating the first DCI after receiving the PDSCH, and feedback the generated HARQ-ACK codebook in the uplink feedback opportunity corresponding to the PDSCH.

[0166] It can be understood that when there is a large amount of downlink data transmission between the network device and the terminal device, the network device sends the first information indicating that the first DCI includes DAI, and the first DCI including DAI to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can correctly demodulate the received first DCI and obtain DAI, thereby ensuring that the terminal device can accurately generate a HARQ-ACK codebook based on the demodulated DAI or determine whether to carry the HARQ-ACK codebook to the PUSCH for transmission, thereby ensuring the reliability of downlink transmission feedback.

[0167] In addition, in a scenario where there is no downlink data transmission or only a small amount of downlink data transmission between the network device and the terminal device, for example, in a scenario where the number of PDSCHs received by the terminal device that require HARQ-ACK feedback is less than or equal to 1, the network device sends a first information to the terminal device indicating that the first DCI does not include DAI, and the first DCI sent by the network device does not include DAI. In this way, the first DCI sent by the network device does not include DAI, that is, the number of bits of the first DCI is reduced, thereby improving the transmission reliability of the first DCI; and the terminal device can still correctly demodulate the received first DCI based on the indication of the first information. Moreover, in a scenario where there is no downlink data transmission between the network device and the terminal device, the terminal device does not need to perform HARQ-ACK feedback, nor does it need to use DAI; in a scenario where there is only a small amount of downlink data transmission between the network device and the terminal device, the HARQ-ACK codebook that the terminal device needs to feedback is relatively simple, and the terminal device can correctly determine the HARQ-ACK codebook without being based on DAI. That is to say, in this embodiment, by indicating to the terminal device whether the downlink control information used to schedule uplink transmission includes DAI information, DAI can be sent according to specific needs to improve the reliability of downlink transmission while ensuring the reliability of downlink transmission feedback.

[0168] The main process of the communication method is introduced above. The following will further introduce the first method for the network device to send the first information based on the above embodiment.

[0169] See Figure 5 , Figure 5 The following is a flow chart of a communication method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method 500 includes:

[0170] 501. A network device sends an RRC message to a terminal device, where the RRC message carries first information. Correspondingly, the terminal device obtains the first information carried in the RRC message.

[0171] In this embodiment, the network device sends the first information to the terminal device by sending an RRC message to the terminal device, and carrying the first information in the RRC message, wherein the first information indicates whether the first DCI includes DAI or does not include DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is the first format.

[0172] Wherein, the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for downlink data or to generate a codebook for downlink data. Wherein, the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for downlink data, including the DAI being used to indicate whether codebook feedback is performed for the downlink data. That is, before step 501, the method may further include: the network device sends the downlink data to the terminal device. Optionally, the downlink data may be at least one PDSCH. Specifically, the DAI is used by the terminal device to generate a HARQ-ACK codebook for the downlink data or to indicate whether the terminal device carries the semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook in the PUSCH for transmission.

[0173] For the first information and the first DCI involved in step 501, please refer to the relevant introduction in the aforementioned step 401, which will not be repeated here.

[0174] It should be noted that the above description uses the expression "first information" for the indication that the first DCI does not include or includes DAI, but it does not mean that the same "first information" can indicate that the first DCI includes DAI and can indicate that the same first DCI does not include DAI. Those skilled in the art will know that, on the premise of indicating that one or more first DCIs do not include DAI through "first information", it is necessary to indicate that one or more other first DCIs include the corresponding DAI through another "first information". Specifically, the format of the above-mentioned first DCI is the same, for example, the first format. The reuse of the same expression for the "first DCI" and "first information" issued multiple times here is for the purpose of simplifying the explanation of the solution.

[0175] In this embodiment, the first information carried by the RRC message can indicate whether the first DCI includes the DAI in multiple ways.

[0176] Mode 1: The first information directly indicates whether the first DCI includes DAI or does not include DAI.

[0177] Exemplarily, the first information in the RRC message may be defined as transmission control (TransControl) information, which includes ulDaiInclude sub-information. The ulDaiInclude sub-information is a Boolean binary variable whose value can be one of {true, false}. When ulDaiInclude takes the value true, it indicates that the first DCI includes DAI. When the value is false, it indicates that the first DCI does not include DAI. Specifically, a possible example of TransControl information is as follows:

[0178] TransControl information element

[0179] --ASN1START

[0180] --TAG-RLC-BEARERCONFIG-START

[0181] TransControl::=SEQUENCE{

[0182] ulDaiInclude BOOLEAN ...

[0184] }

[0185] --TAG-RLC-BEARERCONFIG-STOP

[0186] --ASN1STOP

[0187] It can be understood that in the scenario where the first information indicates whether the first DCI includes DAI through method 1, the indication of the first information can be effective until the network device performs RRC reconfiguration on the terminal device through an RRC message.

[0188] For example, the network device sends an RRC message 1 to the terminal device, and the RRC message 1 includes the first information. In the case where the first information indicates that the first DCI does not include DAI, for the terminal device, after the terminal device obtains the first information, the first information indicating that the first DCI includes DAI will remain valid, that is, the terminal device can assume that the first DCI received after obtaining the first information does not include DAI. If, after the terminal device obtains the first information, the terminal device receives an RRC message 2 sent by the network device, and the RRC message 2 includes second information, and the second information indicates that the first DCI includes DAI, the terminal device can assume that the first DCI received after obtaining the second information includes DAI. That is, when the network device carries the indication information for indicating whether the first DCI includes DAI in the RRC message, the terminal device can determine whether the first DCI received in the current or next time includes DAI based on the indication information in the RRC message, and the indication of the indication information will remain valid until the terminal device receives indication information with other indication content.

[0189] Method 2: using the first time indication information to indicate a time period in which the first DCI does not include the DAI or a time period in which the first DCI includes the DAI.

[0190] In mode 2, the first time indication information is used to indicate the time period in which the first DCI includes or does not include the DAI, so that the terminal device can determine, based on the first time indication information, in which time periods the received first DCI includes the DAI, and in which time periods the received first DCI does not include the DAI. For example, when the first time indication information indicates that time period 1 is a time period in which the first DCI does not include the DAI, the terminal device can determine that the first DCI received in time period 1 does not include the DAI, while the first DCI received at other times outside time period 1 includes the DAI. Similarly, when the first information indicates that time period 2 is a time period in which the first DCI includes the DAI, the terminal device can determine that the first DCI received in time period 2 includes the DAI, while the first DCI received at other times outside time period 2 does not include the DAI.

[0191] The first time indication information may be included in the first information, that is, the first information includes the first time indication information for indicating the first time period. In this case, the first time indication information is included in the first information and sent by the network device to the terminal device. Alternatively, the first time indication information may be other information not included in the first information. The network device may carry the first time indication information via an RRC message and send it to the terminal device.

[0192] Specifically, in a possible implementation, the first time indication information can be used to indicate a first time period; correspondingly, the first information can also be used to indicate: the first DCI in the first time period does not include DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in the first state; or, the first DCI in the first time period includes DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in the second state. That is, the first time period can be indicated in the first time indication information, and the first time period is a time period in which the first DCI includes or does not include DAI, or the first time period is a time period indicating that the terminal device is in the first state or the second state. Based on the first time indication information and the first information, the terminal device can determine whether the first DCI received in the first time period includes DAI.

[0193] The first time period can be indicated in a variety of ways.

[0194] In one possible implementation, the first time indication information is used to indicate one or more of a cycle duration, a time offset, and a duration. Optionally, the first time indication information may include one or more of a cycle duration, a time offset, and a duration, and the terminal device determines the first time period based on the cycle duration, time offset, and / or duration included in the first time indication information. Alternatively, the first time indication information may include information for determining one or more of a cycle duration, a time offset, and a duration. Specifically, please refer to Figure 6 , Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an indication method of a first time period provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 As shown, taking the first time period as an example in which DAI is not included in the first DCI, multiple periodic first time periods can be determined based on the period length, time offset and duration. The time interval between each first time period is the same, and within these periodic first time periods, DAI is not included in the first DCI.

[0195] Among them, the aforementioned cycle length is the time length between any two adjacent first time periods, that is, the cycle length is the period of the first time period; the aforementioned duration is the length of each first time period; the aforementioned time offset is the offset between the start time of any first time period and the start time of the cycle in which the first time period is located; or, the time offset is the offset between the end time of the first time period and the end time of the cycle in which the first time period is located.

[0196] In other words, the time within a certain range can be divided according to the aforementioned cycle duration, thereby obtaining multiple cycles with the same cycle duration. The first time period is a time period in each cycle, and the duration of this time period is the duration of the first time period. The position of the first time period in the cycle can be determined based on the aforementioned time offset.

[0197] For example, 24 hours can be divided into 24 cycles from 0:00 to 1:00, and from 1:00 to 2:00, respectively. Each cycle is 1 hour long. Assuming that the duration of a first time period is 5 minutes, the time offset is the offset between the start time of the first time period and the start time of the cycle in which the first time period falls, and the time offset is 10 minutes, then within each cycle, the first time period is determined to be the 10th to 15th minute of each cycle.

[0198] It can be understood that the above examples use hours and minutes as the units of measurement to illustrate the cycle duration, time offset, and duration. In this embodiment, the units of measurement for the aforementioned cycle duration, time offset, and duration may be units of measurement such as radio frames, subframes, and time slots, or may be other units of measurement such as seconds, minutes, and hours. The specific units may be determined or adjusted according to actual conditions, and this embodiment does not specifically limit this. Furthermore, the units of measurement used for the cycle duration, time offset, and duration may be the same or different. For example, the cycle duration, time offset, and duration may all be in minutes; for another example, the cycle duration may be in radio frames, while the time offset and duration may both be in time slots, and so on. This embodiment will not be described in detail.

[0199] It should be noted that the first time period is specifically determined by the cycle duration, the time offset and the duration, and the first time indication information may include the cycle duration, the time offset and the duration, and the first time indication information may also include one or two of the cycle duration, the time offset and the duration. Exemplarily, when one or two of the cycle duration, the time offset and the duration are predefined (for example, specified by the protocol) or indicated to the terminal device in other ways, the terminal device can obtain one or two of the cycle duration, the time offset and the duration without being based on the first information, so the first time indication information may include the remaining two or one of the three of the cycle duration, the time offset and the duration. For example, when the cycle duration is predefined, the first time indication information may only include the time offset and the duration. After receiving the first time indication information, the terminal device may determine the first time period based on the time offset and the duration in the first time indication information and the predefined cycle duration.

[0200] In another possible implementation, the first time period may also be determined based on a mapping relationship between the first time period and one or more time periods. Specifically, the first time period has a mapping relationship with the one or more time periods, that is, the first time period may be represented by one or more time periods, and the first time indication information may indicate the first time period by indicating one or more time periods that have a mapping relationship with the first time period.

[0201] For example, the mapping relationship between the first time period and one or more time periods may be as shown in Table 1:

[0202] Table 1

[0203]

[0204] As can be seen from Table 1, the time range corresponding to the first time period can be directly determined based on the mapping relationship between the first time period and one or more time periods. For example, the terminal device can determine the time periods from 0:10 to 0:15, 1:10 to 1:15, 2:10 to 2:15, 3:10 to 3:15, etc. as the first time period based on the mapping relationship in Table 1.

[0205] It can be understood that in the example shown in Table 1, Table 1 shows the first time period and multiple specific time periods corresponding thereto, that is, the specific time period corresponding to the first time period is indicated in the first time indication information.

[0206] Exemplarily, the first time indication information is defined as transmission time (TransTime) information, which includes PeriodicityAndOffset sub-information and duration sub-information, wherein the value of the PeriodicityAndOffset sub-information indicates the period length and time offset, and the value of the duration sub-information indicates the duration; for example, if the value of the PeriodicityAndOffset sub-information is 500 in ms1000, it means that the period of the first time period is 1000ms and the time offset is 500ms; if the value of the duration sub-information is ms100, it means that the duration of the first time period is 100ms:

[0207] TransTime information element

[0208]

[0209] In other examples, the time within a certain range can be divided in advance to obtain multiple time periods, and each time period has its corresponding time period number, and the corresponding time period can be determined based on the time period number. For example, the 24 hours of a day are divided, and 0 o'clock to 23 o'clock are represented by letters A to X respectively (such as A represents 0 o'clock, B represents 1 o'clock, X represents 23 o'clock, etc.), and every 5 minutes in each hour is represented by numbers 1-12 (such as 1 represents the 0th minute to the 5th minute, 2 represents the 5th minute to the 10th minute, and 12 represents the 55th minute to the 60th minute). That is to say, when the first time indication information indicates one or more time periods corresponding to the first time period, the number of the one or more time periods can be directly indicated, and the terminal device can determine the one or more time periods corresponding to the first time period based on the time period number indicated by the first time indication information.

[0210] For example, the mapping relationship between the first time period and one or more time periods may be as shown in Table 2:

[0211] Table 2

[0212]

[0213] Based on the mapping relationship in Table 1, the terminal device can determine that the time periods from 0:10 to 0:15, 1:10 to 1:15, 2:10 to 2:15, 3:10 to 3:15, etc. are the first time period.

[0214] Exemplarily, the first time indication information is defined as TransTime information, which includes PeriodicityAndDuration sub-information. The value of the PeriodicityAndDuration sub-information indicates the period duration and the time belonging to the first time period in a period; for example, the value of the PeriodicityAndDuration sub-information is ms100 and the corresponding bitmap is "0100100000", which means that in the 100ms period, the second 10ms (10-20ms) and the fifth 10ms (40-50ms) belong to the first time period:

[0215] TransTime information element

[0216]

[0217]

[0218] It can be understood that by indicating one or more time periods corresponding to the first time period based on the time period number, the number of bits used to indicate the first time period in the first information can be reduced, thereby reducing resource overhead for transmitting the first information.

[0219] It should be noted that the first time indication information may be included in the first information as sub-information of the first information, or may not be included in the first information. Exemplary ways of including the first time indication information in the first information may be:

[0220] TransControl information element

[0221]

[0222] Optionally, in one possible embodiment, in addition to indicating the first time period by sending the first information to the terminal device, the network device may also indicate to the terminal device through other information the time period including / excluding the DAI in the first DCI. Moreover, the time period including (or excluding) the DAI in the first DCI indicated to the terminal device by the network device through other information may be effective at the same time as the aforementioned first time period. That is, the time period including / excluding the DAI in the first DCI indicated to the terminal device by the network device through different information may be effective at the same time. The terminal device may determine the actual time when the DAI is not included in the first DCI based on the time period indicated by the network device through various different information. For example, the terminal device may take the union of multiple time periods indicating that the DAI is not included in the first DCI indicated by the network device, thereby obtaining the actual time when the DAI is not included in the first DCI.

[0223] Exemplarily, the network device sends an RRC message 1 to the terminal device, where the RRC message 1 is used to indicate that time period 1 is a time period in which the first DCI does not include DAI; the network device also sends an RRC message 2 to the terminal device, where the RRC message 2 is used to indicate that time period 2 is a time period in which the first DCI does not include DAI; then the terminal device can determine, based on RRC message 1 and RRC message 2, that the time period constituted by time period 1 and time period 2 is a time in which the first DCI does not include DAI.

[0224] It is understandable that when the network device indicates the time period including / excluding the DAI in the first DCI through the cycle length, time offset, and duration, the network device can send multiple sets of "cycle length, time offset, and duration" configuration combinations to the terminal device. After the terminal device determines the time period corresponding to each configuration combination based on different configuration combinations, it can obtain the union of the time periods corresponding to the different configuration combinations, and ultimately determine the time period including / excluding the DAI in the first DCI.

[0225] 502. The network device sends a first DCI to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first DCI. Further, the terminal device demodulates the first DCI according to the first information.

[0226] Step 502 is similar to the aforementioned step 402. For details, please refer to the description of step 402 and will not be repeated here.

[0227] In this embodiment, the network device configures the first information for the terminal device by indicating it through an RRC message, and indicates in the first information whether the first DCI includes DAI, or indicates the time period in which the first DCI includes / does not include DAI, so that the terminal device can determine whether the first DCI received subsequently includes DAI, thereby improving the flexibility of the solution implementation.

[0228] Above Figure 5 In the embodiment shown, the first way for the network device to send the first information is introduced in detail. The second way for the network device to send the first information will be further introduced below.

[0229] See Figure 7 , Figure 7 The following is a flow chart of a communication method 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method 700 includes:

[0230] 701. A network device sends first information to a terminal device. Specifically, the first information is carried by a MAC CE. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information.

[0231] In this embodiment, the first information indicates whether the first DCI includes DAI or does not include DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is the first format.

[0232] Wherein, the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for downlink data or to generate a codebook for downlink data. Specifically, the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for downlink data, including the DAI being used to indicate whether codebook feedback is performed for downlink data. Before step 701, the method may further include: the network device sends the downlink data to the terminal device. Optionally, the downlink data may be at least one PDSCH. Specifically, the DAI is used by the terminal device to generate a HARQ-ACK codebook for the downlink data or to indicate whether the terminal device carries a semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook in the PUSCH for transmission.

[0233] For the first information and the first DCI involved in step 701, please refer to the relevant introduction in the aforementioned step 401, which will not be repeated here.

[0234] It should be noted that the above description uses the expression "first information" for the indication of whether the first DCI includes or does not include DAI, but it does not mean that the same "first information" can indicate that the first DCI includes DAI and can also indicate that the same first DCI does not include DAI. Those skilled in the art will know that, on the premise of indicating that one or more first DCIs do not include DAI through "first information", it is necessary to indicate that the other one or more first DCIs include the corresponding DAI through another "first information". For example, on the premise that the first information carried by a MAC CE indicates that one or more first DCIs do not include DAI, it is necessary to indicate that the other one or more DCIs include DAI through the first information carried by another MAC CE. Specifically, the format of the above-mentioned first DCI is the same, for example, the first format. The reuse of the same expression for the "first DCI" and "first information" issued multiple times here is for the purpose of simplifying the explanation of the solution.

[0235] In this embodiment, when the network device indicates whether the first DCI includes DAI by sending a MAC CE to the terminal device, "indicating that the first DCI includes DAI" can be called "activation", and "MAC CE used to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI" can be called "activation MAC CE"; correspondingly, "indicating that the first DCI does not include DAI" can be called "deactivation", and "MAC CE used to indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI" can be called "deactivation MAC CE".

[0236] It is worth noting that the relationship between "indicating that the first DCI includes DAI" and "activation" is not fixed. In actual applications, "indicating that the first DCI does not include DAI" may be referred to as "activation", and "indicating that the first DCI includes DAI" may be referred to as "deactivation". This embodiment does not impose any specific limitations. For ease of description, the communication method provided in this embodiment will be described below using "indicating that the first DCI does not include DAI" as "activation" and "indicating that the first DCI includes DAI" as "deactivation" as examples.

[0237] Specifically, after the network device is activated or deactivated through the MAC CE, the terminal device can determine the duration of the activation or deactivation in a variety of ways.

[0238] First way:

[0239] After the network device activates via a MAC CE, the terminal device can determine the activation expiration time after receiving a deactivation MAC CE. Similarly, after the network device deactivates via a MAC CE, the terminal device can determine the deactivation expiration time after receiving an activation MAC CE. This approach is referred to as "MAC CE activation + MAC CE deactivation."

[0240] That is, the activation duration is determined by the time the terminal device receives the next deactivation MAC CE, while the deactivation duration is determined by the time the terminal device receives the next activation MAC CE. After activating via a MAC CE, the network device may send a deactivation MAC CE to the terminal device to indicate the expiration of the activation duration; the network device may also send an activation MAC CE to the terminal device to indicate the expiration of the deactivation duration after deactivating via a MAC CE.

[0241] Specifically, see Figure 8 , Figure 8 A schematic diagram of activating and deactivating a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 As shown, the network device sends an activation MAC CE to the terminal device. The terminal device obtains the activation MAC CE and the activation MAC CE takes effect at time S1. Time S1 is the starting time of activation, that is, the terminal device can assume that the first DCI does not include DAI within the time after time S1.

[0242] After moment S1, the network device sends a deactivation MAC CE to the terminal device. The terminal device obtains the deactivation MAC CE and the deactivation MAC CE takes effect at moment S2. Moment S2 is the end time of activation and the start time of deactivation, that is, the terminal device can consider that the activation duration has expired (that is, the activation duration is the time period from moment S1 to moment S2) and the first DCI includes DAI within the time after moment S2.

[0243] After moment S2, the network device sends an activation MAC CE to the terminal device. The terminal device obtains the activation MAC CE and the activation MAC CE takes effect at moment S3. Moment S3 is the end time of deactivation and the start time of activation. That is, the terminal device can consider that the duration of deactivation has expired (that is, the duration of deactivation is the time period from moment S2 to moment S3) and the first DCI does not include DAI within the time after moment S3.

[0244] Similarly, after time S3, when the terminal device obtains the deactivation MAC CE and the deactivation MAC CE takes effect at time S4, the terminal device can consider the time period from time S3 to time S4 ​​as the activation duration.

[0245] It is understandable that in Figure 8 In the example, the network device sends an activation MAC CE to the terminal device to indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI when the terminal device defaults to including DAI in the first DCI; in other examples, the network device may also send a deactivation MAC CE to the terminal device to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI when the terminal defaults to not including DAI in the first DCI.

[0246] Second way:

[0247] After a network device activates a MAC CE, it automatically terminates the activation after a period of time. In other words, after a terminal device receives the activation MAC CE sent by the network device and activates itself, the terminal device considers the activation time to have expired after a period of time has passed. This method can be referred to as "MAC CE activation + duration."

[0248] Among them, for the terminal device, the period of time for activation can be predefined, for example, pre-defined in the protocol or pre-specified when the terminal device leaves the factory; the period of time for activation can also be pre-configured, for example, it can be pre-configured for the terminal device by the network device through RRC messages or system messages; the period of time for activation can also be indicated by the network device to the terminal device through the activation MAC CE, that is, the activation MAC CE sent by the network device to the terminal device also carries the length of time for activation to indicate the duration of this activation.

[0249] In a possible implementation, the network device carries activation duration indication information in the activation MAC CE sent to the terminal device, where the activation duration indication information is used to indicate the duration of the activation.

[0250] Optionally, in a possible implementation, the activation duration indication information may directly indicate the duration of this activation, for example, the activation duration indication information indicates that the duration of this activation is 5 minutes or 10 minutes.

[0251] Optionally, in another possible implementation, when the network device pre-configures multiple optional values ​​of duration for the terminal device, the activation duration indication information may indicate which of the multiple pre-configured optional values ​​is used. For example, when the network device pre-configures the terminal device with four optional values ​​of duration of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes and 20 minutes through an RRC message, the activation duration indication information may indicate any one of the four optional values ​​of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes and 20 minutes, and the terminal device may determine which of the four optional values ​​of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes and 20 minutes the duration of this activation is based on the activation duration indication information. Exemplarily, a 2-bit field may be used in the activation duration indication information to indicate which optional value the terminal device specifically adopts, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between the value of the 2-bit field and the optional value. Specifically, an example of the correspondence between the value of the field and the optional value of the activation duration indication information can be shown in Table 3:

[0252] Table 3

[0253] Field value Optional value for duration 00 5 minutes 01 10 minutes 10 15 minutes 11 20 minutes

[0254] The correspondence between the values ​​of the fields and the optional values ​​of the activation duration indication information may be predefined or preconfigured by the network device for the terminal device. Thus, upon receiving the activation duration indication information, the terminal device can determine the corresponding duration based on the values ​​of the fields in the activation duration indication information, thereby determining the duration of this activation.

[0255] In this embodiment, by pre-configuring multiple optional values ​​of duration for the terminal device and instructing the terminal device to determine the specific duration when sending an activation MAC CE to the terminal device, the activation duration can be flexibly adjusted according to actual conditions. Compared with determining a unique duration only through a predefined or pre-configured method, it has higher flexibility.

[0256] For ease of description, the activation duration is hereinafter referred to as a second time period. Specifically, the second time period may be a predefined, preconfigured, or time length indicated by the first information or the MAC CE. The second time period may be measured in units such as radio frames, subframes, and time slots, or in other units such as seconds, minutes, and hours. This embodiment does not limit the measurement unit of the second time period or the specific duration of the second time period.

[0257] Specifically, see Figure 9 , Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of activation and activation termination provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 9As shown, before moment H1, the terminal device assumes that the first DCI includes DAI; at moment H1, the terminal device obtains the activation MAC CE sent by the network device and the activation MAC CE takes effect, and moment H1 is the start time of activation. Based on the length of the second time period, the terminal device determines that the activation ends at moment H2, that is, the terminal device can consider that the first DCI does not include DAI in the time period from moment H1 to moment H2, wherein the time period from moment H1 to moment H2 is the second time period. After moment H2, the network device sends the activation MAC CE to the terminal device again, the terminal device receives the activation MAC CE and the activation MAC CE takes effect at moment H3, and moment H3 is the start time of reactivation. Based on the length of the second time period, the terminal device determines that the activation ends at moment H4, that is, the terminal device can consider that the first DCI does not include DAI in the time period from moment H3 to moment H4, wherein the time period from moment H3 to moment H4 is the second time period.

[0258] In this embodiment, whether the first DCI includes DAI is indicated based on the "MAC CE activation + duration" method, so that the terminal device can know the time period when the first DCI includes DAI and does not include DAI, which improves the flexibility of the solution and does not require the network device to send a deactivation MAC CE, saving signaling overhead.

[0259] The third way:

[0260] After a network device is activated via a MAC CE, it automatically terminates the activation after a period of time. Furthermore, during the activation period, the network device can also send a Deactivation MAC CE to prematurely terminate the activation. This third method can be understood as a combination of the first and second methods: activation based on the activation MAC CE and deactivation based on the duration or the Deactivation MAC CE.

[0261] Among them, the duration involved in the third method is similar to the duration described in the second method. For details, please refer to the description of the duration in the second method, and no further details will be given here.

[0262] Specifically, see Figure 10 , Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of activation and activation termination provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 10As shown, before time K1, the terminal device defaults to including DAI in the first DCI; at time K1, the terminal device obtains the activation MAC CE sent by the network device and the activation MAC CE takes effect, and time K1 is the start time of activation. Based on the duration of activation, the terminal device determines that activation ends at time K2, that is, the terminal device can assume that the first DCI does not include DAI during the time period from time K1 to time K2, where the time period from time K1 to time K2 is the second time period.

[0263] After time K2, the network device sends an activation MAC CE to the terminal device again. The terminal device receives the activation MAC CE and the activation MAC CE takes effect at time K3. Time K3 is the starting time of reactivation.

[0264] After time K3 and within the activation duration, the network device sends a deactivation MAC CE to the terminal device. The terminal device receives the deactivation MAC CE, and the deactivation MAC CE takes effect at time K4. The terminal device determines that the activation ends at time K4. The K4 time is after time K3 and within the activation duration, that is, the terminal device receives the deactivation MAC CE within the activation duration, thereby ending the activation early.

[0265] Optionally, in a possible implementation manner, the deactivation MAC CE sent by the network device may also carry information indicating the number of DAI bits to indicate the number of DAI bits included in the first DCI.

[0266] For example, in the deactivation MAC CE, a 2-bit DAI bit number indication field may be used to indicate the number of DAI bits included in the first DCI. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the value of the 2-bit DAI bit number indication field and the number of DAI bits. Specifically, an example of the correspondence between the value of the DAI bit number indication field and the number of DAI bits can be shown in Table 4:

[0267] Table 4

[0268] DAI bit number indication field value Number of DAI bits 00 1 bit 01 2 bits 10 3 bits 11 4 bits

[0269] The correspondence between the value of the DAI bit number indication field and the number of DAI bits may be predefined or preconfigured by the network device for the terminal device. Thus, upon receiving a deactivation MAC CE, the terminal device can determine the corresponding number of DAI bits based on the value of the DAI bit number indication field in the deactivation MAC CE, thereby determining the number of DAI bits in the first DAI received during the deactivation period.

[0270] Exemplarily, the activation MAC CE and the deactivation MAC CE may have the same information structure, and an activation MAC CE / deactivation MAC CE may indicate whether the first DCI includes DAI through a DAI indication field, and, if included, the number of bits of the DAI. An example may be shown in Table 5, where the DAI indication field is 2 bits:

[0271] Table 5

[0272] DAI indication field value Whether to include DAI / DAI bits 00 Does not include DAI, the DAI bit count is 0 bits 01 Including DAI, DAI bit number is 1 bit 10 Including DAI, DAI bit number is 2 bits 11 Including DAI, DAI bit number is 4 bits

[0273] The correspondence between the value of the DAI indication field and whether the DAI is included / the number of DAI bits can be predefined or preconfigured by the network device for the terminal device. In this way, when the terminal device receives the activation MAC CE / deactivation MAC CE, it can determine whether the DAI is included and the number of DAI bits if included based on the value of the DAI indication field in the activation MAC CE / deactivation MAC CE.

[0274] It is understandable that, for the terminal device, the number of bits of the DAI in the first DCI may also be predefined or preconfigured. When the deactivation MAC CE sent by the network device does not carry information indicating the number of DAI bits, the terminal device may determine that the number of bits of the DAI in the first DCI is a predefined or preconfigured number of bits; when the deactivation MAC CE sent by the network device carries information indicating the number of DAI bits, the terminal device determines the number of bits of the DAI in the first DCI based on the information carried by the deactivation MAC CE.

[0275] It should be noted that, since this embodiment is described by taking "indicating that the first DCI includes DAI" as corresponding to "deactivation" as an example, in this embodiment, information indicating the number of DAI bits is carried in the deactivation MAC CE. In other possible examples, if "indicating that the first DCI includes DAI" corresponds to "activation", information indicating the number of DAI bits may be carried in the activation MAC CE.

[0276] 702. The network device sends a first DCI to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first DCI. Further, the terminal device demodulates the first DCI according to the first information.

[0277] It is understandable that, when the network device sends an activation MAC CE to the terminal device, the network device generates and sends a first DAI that does not include DAI to the terminal device. Alternatively, when the network device sends a deactivation MAC CE to the terminal device, the network device generates and sends a first DAI that includes DAI to the terminal device.

[0278] In one possible implementation, the network device may send the first DCI to the terminal device at or after the first moment. The first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the aforementioned first information, where N is greater than or equal to 1 and is predefined or preconfigured. The measurement unit of the time unit may be a measurement unit such as a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot, or other measurement units, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment.

[0279] It is understandable that there is often an effective time from the time the terminal device receives the activation MAC CE until the activation MAC CE takes effect, or from the time the terminal device receives the deactivation MAC CE until the deactivation MAC CE takes effect. That is to say, after the terminal device receives the activation MAC CE or the deactivation MAC CE, the activation MAC CE or the deactivation MAC CE does not take effect immediately, but takes effect after a certain effective time. In simple terms, after receiving the MAC CE, the terminal device needs to demodulate the PDSCH containing the MAC CE, then read the content in the MAC CE, and then change its parameter configuration based on the MAC CE. These processes all take time; therefore, it is necessary to define an effective time to ensure that the network device sends the first DCI to the terminal device after the activation MAC CE or the deactivation MAC CE takes effect. That is to say, the time length between the aforementioned first moment and the moment when the network device sends the first information is greater than or equal to the time length of the effective time.

[0280] Among them, the effective time can be predefined, and the measurement unit of the effective time can be specifically a measurement unit such as wireless frame, subframe, time slot, symbol, etc.; for example, after the terminal device receives L time slots of the activation MAC CE, the activation takes effect, and the terminal device believes that the first DCI does not include DAI.

[0281] Optionally, in one possible implementation, when a network device is activated through a MAC CE and automatically terminates activation after a period of time, the network device may send a first DCI to the terminal device within a second time period after the aforementioned first moment; wherein the second time period is the duration of the activation, and the second time period may specifically be a predefined time period, a preconfigured time period for the terminal device, or a time length indicated to the terminal device through the first information.

[0282] Specifically, when "activation" corresponds to "indicating that DAI is not included in the first DCI", after the network device sends an activation MAC CE to the terminal device, the network device may send a first DCI that does not include DAI to the terminal device within the duration of activation (i.e., within the second time period).

[0283] When "activation" corresponds to "indicating that DAI is included in the first DCI", after the network device sends the activation MAC CE to the terminal device, the network device sends the first DCI including DAI to the terminal device within the duration of activation (i.e., the second time period).

[0284] 703. The network device sends second information to the terminal device. Specifically, the second information may be carried by a MAC CE. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second information.

[0285] In this embodiment, when the MAC CE carrying the first information is an activation MAC CE, the second information is a deactivation MAC CE; that is, when the first information indicates that the first DCI does not include DAI, the second information indicates that the first DCI includes DAI.

[0286] Among them, after receiving the second information, the terminal device can determine that the duration of activating MAC CE has expired, that is, the indication content of the first information is invalid, and the terminal device believes that the DAI is included in the first DCI received subsequently.

[0287] It should be noted that the above description uses the expression "first DCI" for the contents indicated by the first information and the second information, but it does not mean that the first DCI indicated by the first information and the second information are the same. Those skilled in the art will know that the first DCI indicated by the first information refers to the DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device during the effective time period of the activation MAC CE carrying the first information; and the first DCI indicated by the second information refers to the DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device during the effective time period of the deactivation MAC CE carrying the second information; wherein, the format of the DCI sent by the network device during the effective time period of the activation MAC CE and the effective time period of the deactivation MAC CE is the same, for example, the first format. The reuse of the same expression for the "first DCI" sent multiple times here is for the purpose of simplifying the explanation of the solution.

[0288] 704. The network device sends a first DCI to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first DCI. Further, the terminal device demodulates the first DCI according to the second information.

[0289] After the network device sends the second information indicating that the first DCI does not include the DAI to the terminal device, the network device generates and sends the first DCI that does not include the DAI to the terminal device. The terminal device can determine the number of bits of the received first DCI based on the indication of the second information, i.e., that the first DCI does not include the DAI, thereby achieving demodulation of the first DCI.

[0290] The above describes in detail the process of the network device indicating to the terminal device whether the first DCI includes DAI by sending the first information. The following describes the process of the network device indicating to the terminal device that the first DCI includes DAI in other ways.

[0291] In a possible embodiment, the network device may indicate to the terminal device that the first DCI includes DAI in the next period of time by sending downlink data to the terminal device; and the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device in the next period of time includes DAI.

[0292] Specifically, see Figure 11 , Figure 11 The following is a flow chart of a communication method 1100 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method 1100 includes:

[0293] 1101. A network device sends a second DCI to a terminal device, where the second DCI is used to schedule downlink transmission. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second DCI.

[0294] The second DCI may be any format or any type of DCI for scheduling downlink transmission, that is, the second DCI may be any type of DL-DCI. For example, when the network device needs to instruct the terminal device to receive the PDSCH, the network device may send the second DCI to the terminal device to schedule the PDSCH through the second DCI.

[0295] Exemplarily, the format of the second DCI is the second format, and the second format may specifically be any one of DCI format 1_0 (DCI format 1_0), DCI format 1_1 (DCI format 1_1), or DCI format 1_2 (DCI format 1_2). Optionally, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 1_1, and DCI format 1_2 are formats defined for DCI for scheduling downlink transmission in the NR communication system. In addition, the second format may also be a DCI format for scheduling downlink transmission in other possible communication systems or may be other DCI formats different from the above formats. This embodiment does not limit the second format.

[0296] 1102. Within a predefined or preconfigured time period after a second moment, the network device sends a first DCI to the terminal device; the first DCI includes a DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format. Accordingly, the terminal device receives and demodulates the first DCI. Optionally, the first format is different from the second format.

[0297] Among them, the first DCI involved in this embodiment is Figure 4 The first DCI described in the corresponding embodiment is similar, and can be specifically referred to Figure 4 The description of the first DCI in the corresponding embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0298] In this embodiment, the second moment is the mth time unit in the time domain resource occupied by the second DCI, where m is a positive integer, 1≤m≤M, and M is the number of time units occupied by the second DCI. That is, the second moment can be any time unit in the time units occupied by the second DCI. The measurement unit of the time unit can be a measurement unit such as a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot, or a symbol, or other measurement units, which are not specifically limited in this embodiment. For example, m can be 1 or M, and the measurement unit of the time unit is a time slot. Then, the second moment can be the first time slot or the last time slot in the time domain resource occupied by the second DCI.

[0299] It can be understood that, in this embodiment, the second DCI generated by the network device and sent to the terminal device is used not only for scheduling downlink transmission, but also for indicating to the terminal device that the first DCI includes DAI. The effective time point when the second DCI indicates that the DAI is included in the first DCI can specifically be the aforementioned second moment, and the time period when the second DCI indicates that the DAI is included in the first DCI can be a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment. That is, after receiving the second DCI, the terminal device can consider that the first DCI received within the predefined or preconfigured time period after the aforementioned second moment includes DAI. Specifically, the effective time period indicating that the DAI is included in the first DCI can be predefined or preconfigured, for example, it can be predefined in the standard protocol or pre-specified by other means, or it can be configured for the terminal device by the network device through RRC messages and the like.

[0300] Therefore, within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, the network device may send a first DCI including the DAI to the terminal device. After the terminal device receives the second DCI sent by the network device, it may be considered that the first DCI received within the predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment includes the DAI. Furthermore, after the end of the time period, the DCI of the same type as the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device does not include the DAI until the next second DCI is received.

[0301] In one possible implementation, the second DCI may also carry information indicating the validity period of the DAI included in the first DCI, that is, the terminal device can determine the validity period of the DAI included in the first DCI based on the information carried in the second DCI.

[0302] Optionally, the information carried in the second DCI can directly indicate the effectiveness duration of the DAI included in the first DCI. For example, if the effectiveness duration is 5 minutes or 10 minutes, the terminal device can consider that the first DCI received within 5 minutes or 10 minutes after receiving the second DCI includes DAI.

[0303] Optionally, when the network device has pre-configured multiple optional values ​​of the effective duration for the terminal device, the information carried in the second DCI may also indicate which of the multiple pre-configured optional values ​​is to be adopted. For example, when the network device has pre-configured four optional values ​​of the effective duration of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes and 20 minutes for the terminal device through an RRC message, the information carried in the second DCI may indicate any one of the four optional values ​​of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes and 20 minutes, and the terminal device may determine which of the four optional values ​​of 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes and 20 minutes the effective duration of the DAI included in the first DCI is based on the information. Exemplarily, the information carried in the second DCI may indicate which optional value the terminal device specifically adopts through a 2-bit field, and there is a one-to-one correspondence between the value of the 2-bit field and the optional value.

[0304] In one possible implementation, the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device within a third time period before the second moment does not include the DAI. That is, before the network device sends the second DCI to the terminal device, the terminal device may believe that the first DCI does not include the DAI, and the network device sends the first DCI that does not include the DAI to the terminal device.

[0305] It should be noted that the above description uses the expression "first DCI" for both the DCI sent by the network device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment and the DCI sent by the network device within a third time period before the second moment, but this does not mean that the indicated DCI is the same. Those skilled in the art will know that the first DCI sent by the network device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment is DCI including DAI, and the first DCI sent by the network device within the third time period before the second moment is DCI not including DAI. The reuse of the same expression for the "first DCI" sent multiple times here is for the purpose of simplifying the explanation of the solution.

[0306] In one possible embodiment, each second DCI sent by the network device can be used to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI, that is, the network device sends the first DCI including DAI to the terminal device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment corresponding to each second DCI. Moreover, after the network device sends a second DCI to the terminal device, if the network device continues to send a new second DCI to the terminal device within the effective time period of the second DCI indicating that the first DCI includes DAI, the effective time of the DAI included in the first DCI is restarted, that is, the terminal device uses the second moment corresponding to the aforementioned new second DCI as the effective starting time point and restarts calculating the effective time of the DAI included in the first DCI.

[0307] That is to say, each time the terminal device receives the second DCI, the terminal device takes the second moment corresponding to the second DCI as the effective starting time point, and based on a predefined or preconfigured time period, recalculates the effective time of the DAI included in the first DCI until the terminal device no longer receives a new second DCI.

[0308] For example, see Figure 12 , Figure 12 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present application providing a method of indicating that a first DCI includes a DAI through a second DCI. Figure 12 As shown, before the R1 moment, the terminal device defaults to not including DAI in the first DCI.

[0309] At the R1 moment, the terminal device receives the first second DCI sent by the network device, and the terminal device may consider that the first DCI received within a period of time after the R1 moment includes the DAI. Specifically, the terminal device determines that the first DCI received within the time period between the R1 moment and the R2 moment includes the DAI based on a predefined or preconfigured time period, and the length of the time period between the R1 moment and the R2 moment is the length of the predefined or preconfigured time period. In other words, the time period between the R1 moment and the R2 moment is the effective time of the DAI included in the first DCI. After the R2 moment, before the terminal device receives the next second DCI, the terminal device may consider that the first DCI it receives does not include the DAI.

[0310] At the R3 moment, the terminal device receives the second second DCI sent by the network device. The terminal device may consider that the first DCI received within a period of time after the R3 moment includes the DAI.

[0311] At the R4 moment, the terminal device receives the third second DCI sent by the network device. The R4 moment is after the R3 moment, and the R4 moment is within the effective time period of the second second DCI indicating that the first DCI includes DAI, that is, the time length between the R4 moment and the R3 moment is less than the length of the predefined or preconfigured time period. The terminal device recalculates the effective time of the DAI included in the first DCI starting from the R4 moment, and determines that the first DCI received in the time period between the R4 moment and the R4 moment includes DAI, and the time period length between the R4 moment and the R5 moment is the length of the predefined or preconfigured time period. From the R4 moment to the R5 moment, the terminal device does not receive any new second DCI. Therefore, after the R5 moment, the terminal device believes that the first DCI it receives does not include DAI.

[0312] In this embodiment, the DL-DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device indicates to the terminal device that the UL-DCI includes DAI. There is no need to send a special message to the terminal device to indicate whether the UL-DCI includes DAI, which can save signaling overhead.

[0313] Specifically, see Figure 13 , Figure 13 The following is a flow chart of a communication method 1300 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication method 1300 includes:

[0314] 1301. A network device sends downlink data to a terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the downlink data.

[0315] The downlink data may refer to a PDSCH, and the PDSCH may specifically be a PDSCH scheduled by a DCI or a PDSCH based on an SPS.

[0316] 1302. Within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, the network device sends a first DCI to the terminal device, where the first DCI includes a DAI, is used to schedule uplink transmission, and is in a first format. Accordingly, the terminal device receives and demodulates the first DCI.

[0317] Among them, the first DCI involved in this embodiment is Figure 2 The first DCI described in the corresponding embodiment is similar, and can be specifically referred to Figure 2 The description of the first DCI in the corresponding embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0318] In this embodiment, the second moment is the t-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the downlink data, t is a positive integer, 1≤t≤T, and T is the number of time units occupied by the downlink data. Alternatively, the second moment is the s-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data, s is a positive integer, 1≤s≤S, and S is the number of time units occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data. The feedback opportunity of downlink data is the opportunity when the terminal device performs HARQ-ACK feedback on whether the downlink data (such as PDSCH) is received correctly. During this opportunity, the terminal device can feedback the HARQ-ACK codebook through PUCCH or PUSCH. The measurement unit of the time unit can be a measurement unit such as a radio frame, a subframe, a time slot or a symbol, or other measurement units, which are not specifically limited in this embodiment.

[0319] For example, t may be 1 or T, and the unit of measurement of the time unit is a time slot, and the second moment may be the first or last time slot in the time domain resources occupied by the downlink data. Alternatively, s may be 1 or S, and the unit of measurement of the time unit is a time slot, and the second moment may be the first or last time slot in the time domain resources occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data.

[0320] Further, after the end of a predefined or preconfigured time period after the above-mentioned second moment, the DCI of the same type as the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device does not include DAI until the next downlink data is received.

[0321] In one possible implementation, the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device in a third time period before the second moment does not include the DAI. That is, before the network device sends the SPS PDSCH to the terminal device, the terminal device may believe that the first DCI does not include the DAI, and the network device sends the first DCI that does not include the DAI to the terminal device.

[0322] It should be noted that the above description uses the expression "first DCI" for both the DCI sent by the network device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment and the DCI sent by the network device within a third time period before the second moment, but this does not mean that the indicated DCI is the same. Those skilled in the art will know that the first DCI sent by the network device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment is DCI including DAI, and the first DCI sent by the network device within the third time period before the second moment is DCI not including DAI. The reuse of the same expression for the "first DCI" sent multiple times here is for the purpose of simplifying the explanation of the solution.

[0323] In one possible embodiment, each PDSCH sent by the network device can be used to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI, that is, the network device sends the first DCI including DAI to the terminal device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment corresponding to each PDSCH. Moreover, after the network device sends a PDSCH to the terminal device, if the network device continues to send a new PDSCH to the terminal device within the effective time period when the PDSCH indicates that the first DCI includes DAI, the effective time of the DAI included in the first DCI is recalculated, that is, the terminal device uses the second moment corresponding to the aforementioned new PDSCH as the effective starting time point and recalculates the effective time of the DAI included in the first DCI.

[0324] That is to say, each time the terminal device receives PDSCH, the terminal device takes the second moment corresponding to the PDSCH as the effective starting time point, and based on a predefined or preconfigured time period, recalculates the effective time of the DAI included in the first DCI until the terminal device no longer receives a new PDSCH.

[0325] In this embodiment, the PDSCH sent by the network device to the terminal device is used to indicate to the terminal device that the UL-DCI includes DAI. There is no need to send a special message to the terminal device to indicate whether the UL-DCI includes DAI, which can save signaling overhead.

[0326] The communication method of the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above, and the network device and terminal device of the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below.

[0327] Figure 14 FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a communication device 1400 according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the communication device 1400 is capable of executing Figures 4 to 13 To avoid repetition, the various steps performed by the network device in the method are not described in detail here. The communication device 1400 can be a network device or a chip system or integrated circuit inside the network device.

[0328] The communication apparatus 1400 includes a transmitting unit 1401, wherein the transmitting unit 1401 is configured to transmit first information to a terminal device, the first information indicating whether a downlink allocation index (DAI) is included in first downlink control information (DCI) or not, the first DCI being used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI being a first format; and transmitting the first DCI to the terminal device. Furthermore, the communication apparatus further includes a processing unit configured to generate the first information and / or the first DCI.

[0329] Among them, the DAI is used to indicate the codebook feedback for downlink data or to generate a codebook for downlink data. That is, the sending unit 1401 can also be used to: send the downlink data to the terminal device. Optionally, the downlink data can be at least one PDSCH. Specifically, the DAI is used by the terminal device to generate a HARQ-ACK codebook for the downlink data or to indicate whether the terminal device carries the semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook in the PUSCH for transmission.

[0330] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the first state; the first DCI sent to the terminal device does not include DAI.

[0331] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the second state; the first DCI sent to the terminal device includes DAI.

[0332] In a possible implementation, the first information is carried via a radio resource control RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0333] In a possible embodiment, the network device also sends first time indication information to the terminal device, and the first time indication information is used to indicate a first time period; wherein the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI in the first time period does not include DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in a first state; or, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI in the first time period includes DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in a second state.

[0334] In one possible embodiment, the first time indication information is used to indicate one or more of the cycle length, time offset and duration of the first time period; wherein the cycle length is the cycle of the first time period; the duration is the duration of the first time period; the time offset is the offset between the start time of the first time period and the start time of the cycle in which the first time period is located; or, the time offset is the offset between the end time of the first time period and the end time of the cycle in which the first time period is located.

[0335] In a possible implementation, the sending unit 1401 is also used to: send a first DCI to the terminal device at a first moment or after the first moment, and the first DCI does not include DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured.

[0336] In a possible implementation, the sending unit 1401 is also used to: send a first DCI to the terminal device at or after the first moment, the first DCI including the DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured.

[0337] In a possible embodiment, the sending unit 1401 is also used to: send a first DCI to the terminal device within a second time period after the first moment, and the first DCI does not include DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a time length that is predefined, preconfigured for the terminal device, or indicated to the terminal device through the first information.

[0338] Further, after the second time period ends, the DCI of the same type as the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device does not include DAI.

[0339] In a possible implementation, the sending unit 1401 is further configured to: send a first DCI to a terminal device within a second time period after a first moment, the first DCI including a DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment when the network device sends the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a time length that is predefined, preconfigured for the terminal device, or indicated to the terminal device through the first information. Furthermore, after the end of the second time period, the DCI of the same type as the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device does not include a DAI.

[0340] In another embodiment, the sending unit 1401 is used to: send a second DCI to the terminal device, the second DCI is used to schedule downlink transmission; within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, send a first DCI to the terminal device, the first DCI includes DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is the first format; wherein the second moment is the mth time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the second DCI, m is a positive integer, 1≤m≤M, and M is the number of time units occupied by the second DCI.

[0341] Further, after the time period ends, the DCI of the same type as the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device does not include DAI.

[0342] In a possible implementation, the sending unit 1401 is further configured to send to the terminal device, within a third time period before the second moment, a first DCI that does not include the DAI.

[0343] In another embodiment, the sending unit 1401 is used to: send downlink data to the terminal device; send a first DCI to the terminal device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, the first DCI including DAI, the first DCI being used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI being the first format; wherein the second moment is the t-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the downlink data, t is a positive integer, 1≤t≤T, and T is the number of time units occupied by the downlink data; or, the second moment is the s-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data, s is a positive integer, 1≤s≤S, and S is the number of time units occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data.

[0344] Further, after the time period ends, the DCI of the same type as the first DCI sent by the network device to the terminal device does not include DAI.

[0345] In a possible implementation, the sending unit 1401 is further configured to send to the terminal device, within a third time period before the second moment, a first DCI that does not include the DAI.

[0346] Figure 15 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device 1500 according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that the communication device 1500 can perform Figures 4 to 15 To avoid repetition, the steps performed by the terminal device in the method are not described in detail here. The communication device 1500 can be a terminal device or a chip system or integrated circuit inside the terminal device.

[0347] The communication device 1500 includes a receiving unit 1501 configured to receive first information from a network device. The terminal device receives first DCI from the network device, wherein the first information indicates whether the first DCI includes or does not include a DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format. Furthermore, the communication device further includes a processing unit configured to demodulate the first DCI. Specifically, the processing unit is configured to demodulate the first DCI based on the first information.

[0348] Among them, the DAI is used to indicate codebook feedback for downlink data or to generate a codebook for downlink data. That is, the receiving unit 1501 can also be used to: receive downlink data from the network device. Optionally, the downlink data can be at least one PDSCH. Specifically, the DAI is used by the terminal device to generate a HARQ-ACK codebook for the downlink data or to indicate whether the terminal device carries the semi-static HARQ-ACK codebook in the PUSCH for transmission.

[0349] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the first state; the first DCI from the network device does not include DAI.

[0350] In a possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the second state; the first DCI from the network device includes DAI.

[0351] In a possible implementation manner, the first information is carried by an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0352] In one possible embodiment, the terminal device receives first time indication information from the network device, and the first time indication information is used to indicate a first time period; wherein the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI located in the first time period does not include DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in a first state; or, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI located in the first time period includes DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in a second state.

[0353] In one possible embodiment, the first time indication information is used to indicate one or more of the cycle length, time offset and duration of the first time period; wherein the cycle length is the cycle of the first time period; the duration is the duration of the first time period; the time offset is the offset between the start time of the first time period and the start time of the cycle in which the first time period is located; or, the time offset is the offset between the end time of the first time period and the end time of the cycle in which the first time period is located.

[0354] In one possible embodiment, the receiving unit 1501 is also used to: receive a first DCI sent by a network device at a first moment or after the first moment, and the first DCI does not include DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured.

[0355] It is understandable that in a specific implementation, there is a time delay or error between the time when the network device sends information and the time when the terminal receives the information. However, here the first time is uniformly recognized as the time when the first information is sent, ignoring the actual delay that may exist.

[0356] In one possible embodiment, the receiving unit 1501 is also used to: receive a first DCI sent by a network device at a first moment or after a first moment, the first DCI including a DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, and N is predefined or preconfigured.

[0357] In one possible embodiment, the receiving unit 1501 is also used to: receive a first DCI sent by a network device within a second time period after the first moment, and the first DCI does not include DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the sending moment of the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a predefined, preconfigured, or time length indicated by the first information.

[0358] In one possible embodiment, the receiving unit 1501 is also used to: receive a first DCI sent by a network device within a second time period after a first moment, the first DCI including a DAI; wherein the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a predefined, preconfigured, or time length indicated by the first information.

[0359] Further, after the second time period ends, the DCI received by the receiving unit 1501 and having the same type as the first DCI does not include DAI.

[0360] In another embodiment, the receiving unit 1501 is used to: receive a second DCI from the network device, the second DCI being used to schedule downlink transmission; receive a first DCI from the network device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, the first DCI including the DAI, the first DCI being used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI being the first format; wherein the second moment is the mth time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the second DCI, m is a positive integer, 1≤m≤M, and M is the number of time units occupied by the second DCI.

[0361] Further, after the second time period ends, the DCI received by the receiving unit 1501 and having the same type as the first DCI does not include DAI.

[0362] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit 1501 is further configured to receive, from the network device within a third time period before the second moment, a first DCI that does not include a DAI.

[0363] In another embodiment, the receiving unit 1501 is used to: receive downlink data from the network device; receive a first DCI from the network device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, the first DCI including the DAI, the first DCI being used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI being the first format; wherein the second moment is the t-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the downlink data, t is a positive integer, 1≤t≤T, and T is the number of time units occupied by the downlink data; or, the second moment is the s-th time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data, s is a positive integer, 1≤s≤S, and S is the number of time units occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data.

[0364] Further, after the second time period ends, the DCI received by the receiving unit 1501 and having the same type as the first DCI does not include DAI.

[0365] In a possible implementation, the receiving unit 1501 is further configured to receive, from the network device within a third time period before the second moment, a first DCI that does not include a DAI.

[0366] Figure 16 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1600 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1600 can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment, and the description of the above method embodiment can be referred to. The communication device 1600 can be a chip, a network device (such as a base station), or a terminal device.

[0367] The communication device 1600 includes one or more processors 1601. The processor 1601 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, it can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a base station, terminal, or chip), execute software programs, and process data of the software programs. The communication device may include a transceiver unit to implement signal input (reception) and output (transmission). For example, the communication device can be a chip, and the transceiver unit can be the input and / or output circuit of the chip, or a communication interface. The chip can be used in a terminal, base station, or other network device. For another example, the communication device can be a terminal, base station, or other network device, and the transceiver unit can be a transceiver or a radio frequency chip.

[0368] The communication device 1600 includes one or more processors 1601, which can implement Figure 2 The method of the network device or terminal device in the embodiment shown.

[0369] In one possible design, communications apparatus 1600 includes means for generating reference signal indication information and means for sending the reference signal indication information. The functions of the means for generating the reference signal indication information and the means for sending the reference signal indication information may be implemented by one or more processors. For example, the reference signal indication information may be generated by one or more processors and sent via a transceiver, input / output circuitry, or an interface of a chip. For details on the reference signal indication information, see the relevant description in the above method embodiments.

[0370] In one possible design, communication apparatus 1600 includes means for receiving reference signal indication information, and means for sending uplink data based on the reference signal indication information. Reference signal indication information and how to send uplink data based on the reference signal indication information can be found in the relevant descriptions of the above-mentioned method embodiments. For example, the reference signal indication information can be received via a transceiver, an input / output circuit, or an interface of a chip, and uplink data can be sent based on the reference signal indication information by one or more processors.

[0371] Optionally, in addition to implementing the method of the above embodiment, the processor 1601 may also implement other functions.

[0372] Optionally, in one design, processor 1601 may execute instructions to cause communication device 1600 to perform the method described in the above method embodiments. The instructions may be stored in whole or in part within the processor, such as instruction 1603, or in whole or in part in memory 1602 coupled to the processor, such as instruction 1604. Instructions 1603 and 1604 may also be used together to cause communication device 1600 to perform the method described in the above method embodiments.

[0373] In another possible design, the communication device 1600 may also include a circuit, which can implement the functions of the network device or terminal device in the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0374] In another possible design, the communication device 1600 may include one or more memories 1602, on which instructions 1604 are stored. The instructions can be executed on a processor, causing the communication device 1600 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. Optionally, the memory may also store data. The optional processor may also store instructions and / or data. For example, one or more memories 1602 may store the corresponding relationships described in the above embodiments, or related parameters or tables involved in the above embodiments. The processor and memory may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0375] In another possible design, communication device 1600 may further include a transceiver 1605 and an antenna 1606. Processor 1601 may be referred to as a processing unit, which controls the communication device (terminal or base station). Transceiver 1605 may be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., and is configured to implement the transceiver functions of the communication device via antenna 1606.

[0376] The present application also provides a communication system, which includes at least one of the aforementioned access network device, UE and core network device.

[0377] It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above-mentioned method embodiment can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or by software instructions. The above-mentioned processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented and executed by a hardware decoding processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium well-known in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above-mentioned method.

[0378] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0379] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, implements the communication method of any of the above method embodiments.

[0380] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which, when executed by a computer, implements the communication method of any of the above method embodiments.

[0381] It should be understood that “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” appearing throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0382] Additionally, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. The term "and / or" is simply used to describe a relationship between related objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between the related objects.

[0383] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "B corresponding to A" means that B is associated with A and B can be determined based on A. However, it should also be understood that determining B based on A does not mean determining B based solely on A, but B can also be determined based on A and / or other information.

[0384] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. In order to clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, the composition and steps of each example have been generally described in terms of function in the above description. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0385] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0386] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interface, device or unit, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0387] Units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0388] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0389] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending first information and first time indication information to a terminal device, where the first time indication information is used to indicate a first time period, and the first information indicates that the first downlink control information DCI located in the first time period includes a downlink allocation index DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in a second state; or, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI located in the first time period does not include DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in a first state, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; wherein, the first state is that the terminal device has no downlink data transmission or the terminal device corresponds to a first downlink data transmission amount, and the second state is that the terminal device corresponds to a second downlink data transmission amount, and the first downlink data transmission amount is less than the second downlink data transmission amount; Send the first DCI to the terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in a first state; The first DCI sent to the terminal device does not include DAI.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the second state; The first DCI sent to the terminal device includes DAI.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The first information is carried by a radio resource control RRC message or a media access control MAC control element CE.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The first time indication information is used to indicate one or more of a period length, a time offset, and a duration of the first time period; in: The cycle length is the cycle of the first time period; The duration is the length of the first time period; The time offset is the offset between the start time of the first time period and the start time of the cycle in which the first time period is located; or, The time offset is an offset between the end time of the first time period and the end time of the cycle in which the first time period belongs.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The sending the first DCI to the terminal device includes: Sending the first DCI to the terminal device at a first moment or after the first moment, where the first DCI does not include the DAI; The first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, the N is greater than or equal to 1, and the N is predefined or preconfigured.

7. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The sending the first DCI to the terminal device includes: Sending the first DCI to the terminal device at a first moment or after the first moment, where the first DCI includes the DAI; The first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, the N is greater than or equal to 1, and the N is predefined or preconfigured.

8. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The sending the first DCI to the terminal device includes: Sending the first DCI to the terminal device within a second time period after the first moment, where the first DCI does not include the DAI; Among them, the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, the N is greater than or equal to 1, the N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a time length that is predefined, preconfigured for the terminal device, or indicated to the terminal device through the first information.

9. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The sending the first DCI to the terminal device includes: Sending the first DCI to the terminal device within a second time period after the first moment, where the first DCI includes the DAI; Among them, the first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, the N is greater than or equal to 1, the N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a time length that is predefined, preconfigured for the terminal device, or indicated to the terminal device through the first information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that: The first information is carried by MAC CE.

11. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending a second DCI to the terminal device, where the second DCI is used to schedule downlink transmission, the second DCI is further used to indicate that the first DCI includes the DAI, and the second DCI is further used to indicate a second time; Sending the first DCI to the terminal device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, where the first DCI includes the DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; The second moment is the mth time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the second DCI, where m is a positive integer, 1≤m≤M, and M is the number of time units occupied by the second DCI.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending downlink data to the terminal device, where the downlink data is used to indicate that the first DCI includes the DAI, and the downlink data is further used to indicate the second time; Sending the first DCI to the terminal device within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, where the first DCI includes the DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; The second moment is the t-th time unit in the time domain resource occupied by the downlink data, t is a positive integer, 1≤t≤T, and T is the number of time units occupied by the downlink data; or, The second moment is the sth time unit in the time domain resource occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data, where s is a positive integer, 1≤s≤S, and S is the number of time units occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first DCI sent to the terminal device within a third time period before the second moment does not include DAI.

14. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving first information and first time indication information from a network device; receiving the first DCI from the network device; The first time indication information is used to indicate a first time period, and the first information indicates that the first DCI in the first time period includes DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in the second state; or, the first information is used to indicate that the first DCI in the first time period does not include DAI, or, in the first time period, the terminal device is in the first state, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is the first format; wherein, the first state is that the terminal device has no downlink data transmission or the terminal device corresponds to a first downlink data transmission volume, and the second state is that the terminal device corresponds to a second downlink data transmission volume, and the first downlink data transmission volume is less than the second downlink data transmission volume.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate that the first DCI does not include DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in a first state; The first DCI from the network device does not include DAI.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The first information is used to indicate that the first DCI includes DAI, or the first information is used to indicate that the terminal device is in the second state; The first DCI from the network device includes DAI.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that: The first information is carried by an RRC message or a MAC CE.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The first time indication information is used to indicate one or more of a period length, a time offset, and a duration of the first time period; in: The cycle length is the cycle of the first time period; The duration is the length of the first time period; The time offset is the offset between the start time of the first time period and the start time of the cycle in which the first time period is located; or, The time offset is an offset between the end time of the first time period and the end time of the cycle in which the first time period belongs.

19. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The receiving the first DCI from the network device includes: receiving the first DCI sent by the network device at a first moment or after the first moment, where the first DCI does not include the DAI; The first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, the N is greater than or equal to 1, and the N is predefined or preconfigured.

20. The method according to claim 16, wherein The receiving the first DCI from the network device includes: receiving the first DCI sent by the network device at a first moment or after the first moment, where the first DCI includes the DAI; The first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, the N is greater than or equal to 1, and the N is predefined or preconfigured.

21. The method according to claim 15, wherein The receiving the first DCI from the network device includes: receiving the first DCI sent by the network device within a second time period after the first moment, where the first DCI does not include the DAI; The first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a predefined, preconfigured, or time length indicated by the first information.

22. The method according to claim 16, wherein The receiving the first DCI from the network device includes: receiving the first DCI sent by the network device within a second time period after the first moment, where the first DCI includes the DAI; The first moment is the Nth time unit after the moment of sending the first information, N is greater than or equal to 1, N is predefined or preconfigured, and the second time period is a predefined, preconfigured, or time length indicated by the first information.

23. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, characterized in that: The first information is carried by MAC CE.

24. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving a second DCI from a network device, where the second DCI is used to schedule downlink transmission, the second DCI is further used to indicate that the first DCI includes the DAI, and the second DCI is further used to indicate a second time; receiving, within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, the first DCI from the network device, where the first DCI includes the DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; The second moment is the mth time unit in the time domain resources occupied by the second DCI, where m is a positive integer, 1≤m≤M, and M is the number of time units occupied by the second DCI.

25. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving downlink data from a network device, where the downlink data is used to indicate that the first DCI includes the DAI, and the downlink data is further used to indicate a second time; receiving, within a predefined or preconfigured time period after the second moment, the first DCI from the network device, where the first DCI includes the DAI, the first DCI is used to schedule uplink transmission, and the format of the first DCI is a first format; The second moment is the t-th time unit in the time domain resource occupied by the downlink data, t is a positive integer, 1≤t≤T, and T is the number of time units occupied by the downlink data; or, The second moment is the sth time unit in the time domain resource occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data, where s is a positive integer, 1≤s≤S, and S is the number of time units occupied by the feedback opportunity corresponding to the downlink data.

26. The method according to claim 24 or 25, characterized in that The method further comprises: The first DCI received from the network device within a third time period before the second moment does not include DAI.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: include: At least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores operating instructions, and the processor reads the operating instructions in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

28. A communication device, characterized in that: include: At least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the memory stores operating instructions, and the processor reads the operating instructions in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26.

29. A communication system, characterized in that: include: The communication device according to claim 27 and the communication device according to claim 28.

30. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, or enable the computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 14 to 26.

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