Communication method and device

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which relate to the field of communication technology and are used to reduce the power consumption of terminal equipment. The method includes: on the PDCCH monitoring opportunity of the first PO, the network device sends at least one DCI, all or part of the at least one DCI includes first indication information, each first indication information is used to indicate that at least one CSI-RS is available, the CSI-RS corresponds to the SSB, and the SSB corresponds to the PDCCH monitoring opportunity for sending the DCI where the first indication information is located; the network device sends the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information. In this way, a terminal device in an idle state or an inactive state can receive and measure the available CSI-RS. Since the power consumption generated when the terminal device performs CSI-RS measurement is less than the power consumption generated when the terminal device performs SSB measurement, the communication method provided by the present application can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on February 18, 2020, with application number PCT / CN2020 / 075764 and application name “Communication Method and Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference in this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0003] After the terminal device is powered on or changes from a connected state to an idle state or an inactive state, it needs to perform time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement. Specifically, the terminal device can achieve the purpose of time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement by measuring the synchronization signal block (SSB). However, the terminal device will have a problem of high power consumption during the SSB measurement process. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for reducing the power consumption of a terminal device.

[0005] To solve the above problems, this application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method comprising: on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring opportunity of a first paging opportunity (PO), a network device sends at least one downlink control information (DCI), all or part of the at least one DCI includes first indication information, each first indication information is used to indicate that at least one channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) is available, at least one CSI-RS corresponds to at least one SSB, and at least one SSB corresponds to a PDCCH monitoring opportunity for sending the DCI containing the first indication information; the network device sends the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information.

[0007] The method provided in the first aspect is that the network device monitors the DCI sent on the PDCCH corresponding to the SSB, indicating that the CSI-RS corresponding to the SSB is available, and the terminal device determines the available CSI-RS based on the DCI. The terminal device receives the available CSI-RS, so that the terminal device can further measure the CSI-RS to achieve the purpose of time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement. Since the power consumption generated when the terminal device performs CSI-RS measurement is less than the power consumption generated when the terminal device performs SSB measurement, the communication method provided in the present application can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0008] In a possible implementation, before sending at least one DCI, the network device configures N CSI-RS for the terminal device through a system information block (SIB) or high-level signaling, where the N CSI-RS include the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information, and N is a positive integer. In this way, the network device can configure the N CSI-RS for the terminal device in an idle state or an inactive state.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the network device configures the correspondence between N CSI-RS and M SSB for the terminal device through SIB or high-level signaling, where M SSB is the SSB actually sent by the network device, and M is a positive integer. In this way, the network device can configure the correspondence between the N CSI-RS and the M SSB for the terminal device in an idle state or an inactive state.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs is related to the order of the N CSI-RSs in the SIB or high-level signaling used to configure the N CSI-RSs; or, the correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs is related to the identifiers of the N CSI-RSs. In this way, the network device can determine the correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs according to the order of the N CSI-RSs in the SIB or high-level signaling, or the identifiers of the N CSI-RSs.

[0011] In one possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS has a spatial position relationship with at least one SSB. In this way, the network device indicates that the CSI-RS having a spatial position relationship with the SSB is available, so that the terminal device can receive and measure the CSI-RS having a spatial position relationship with the SSB, ensuring that measuring the CSI-RS and measuring the SSB achieve the same measurement purpose.

[0012] In one possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS has a quasi-collocation (QCL)-type D relationship with at least one SSB; or, at least one CSI-RS has the same or similar beam direction as at least one SSB.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the terminal device receiving DCI on the PDCCH monitoring opportunity of the first PO is divided into L terminal groups, where L is a positive integer; the first bit in each DCI is used to indicate whether the first indication information exists, and the second bit is used to indicate whether the second indication information exists, and the second indication information is used to indicate the terminal group receiving the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) scheduled by the DCI; when the first bit indicates that the first indication information exists and the second bit indicates that the second indication information exists, the first indication information occupies the third bit and the fourth bit, and the second indication information occupies the fifth bit and the sixth bit; when the first bit indicates that the first indication information exists and the second bit indicates that the second indication information does not exist, the first indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit; when the first bit indicates that the first indication information does not exist and the second bit indicates that the second indication information exists, the second indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit. In this way, the network device can improve the utilization rate of the bits in the DCI by flexibly setting the bits occupied by the first indication information and the second indication information in the DCI.

[0014] In a possible implementation manner, the same PO recorded in the first aspect is the first PO.

[0015] In a possible implementation, configuring N CSI-RS for a terminal device through SIB includes: configuring N CSI-RS for a terminal device through K SIBs; wherein the K SIBs correspond to the M SSBs, the M SSBs are SSBs actually sent by the network device, and K is a positive integer. In this way, the network device can configure the corresponding CSI-RS for the terminal device through different SIBs.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the network device configures the CSI-RS corresponding to the target SSB through the SIB in the K SIBs that has a corresponding relationship with the target SSB. In this way, the network device determines the corresponding relationship between the SIB and the CSI-RS through the corresponding relationship between the SIB and the SSB, and the network device can use the corresponding SIB to configure the CSI-RS corresponding to it.

[0017] In a possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS is a CSI-RS within a time window; the time window includes one or more time slots between the first PO and the second PO; the second PO is located after the first PO in the time domain. In this way, the network device further limits the CSI-RS indicated by the first indication information through the time window, which can further reduce the number of CSI-RS indicated by the first indication information, thereby reducing the number of bits occupied by the first indication information.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the time window and the second PO are in the same DRX cycle. In this way, the time interval between the time window and the second PO can be shortened, thereby reducing the shallow sleep time of the terminal device between the time window and the second PO.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the time window is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs. In this way, when the second PO is a relatively early PO in the DRX cycle, sufficient time domain positions can be reserved for the time window.

[0020] In a possible implementation, the first PO and the second PO are in the same DRX cycle. In this way, the time interval between the first PO and the second PO is short, which can improve the accuracy of the first indication information in the first PO indicating the available CSI-RS.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the first PO is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first PO and the second PO are POs monitored by the terminal device in different DRX cycles. In this way, when the first PO is the PO that the terminal device needs to monitor in the previous DRX cycle, the terminal device can receive the first indication information without additional wake-up.

[0023] In a possible implementation, if the time window includes multiple CSI-RS, at least one CSI-RS is all or part of the CSI-RS in the time window. In this way, the first indication information can indicate part of the CSI-RS in the time window, thereby further reducing the number of CSI-RS that the first indication information needs to indicate, thereby reducing the bits that the first indication information needs to occupy.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the maximum number of CSI-RS in the time window is predetermined. Thus, when the number of CSI-RS in the time window is determined, a fixed number of bits may be allocated in the DCI to carry the first indication information.

[0025] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, the method comprising: at a PDCCH monitoring opportunity of a PO, a terminal device receives a DCI, the DCI comprising first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that at least one CSI-RS is available, at least one CSI-RS corresponds to at least one SSB, and at least one SSB corresponds to a PDCCH monitoring opportunity; the terminal device receives the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information.

[0026] Based on the above technical solution, a terminal device in an idle or inactive state can determine the available CSI-RS through the DCI sent by the network device. The terminal device receives the CSI-RS indicated as available by the CSI-RS. The terminal device can further measure the CSI-RS to achieve the purpose of time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement. Since the power consumption generated when the terminal device performs CSI-RS measurement is less than the power consumption generated when the terminal device performs SSB measurement, the communication method provided in the present application can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0027] In a possible implementation, before receiving the DCI, the terminal device receives the SIB or high-layer signaling used by the network device to configure N CSI-RSs, where the N CSI-RSs include the CSI-RSs indicated as available by the first indication information, and N is a positive integer. In this way, when the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state, the information of the N CSI-RSs can be determined through the SIB or high-layer signaling.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the terminal device receives the SIB or high-level signaling used by the network device to configure the correspondence between N CSI-RS and M SSB, where M SSB is the SSB actually sent by the network device, and M is a positive integer. In this way, when the terminal device is in an idle state or an inactive state, the correspondence between N CSI-RS and M SSB can be determined through SIB or high-level signaling.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the correspondence between N CSI-RSs and M SSBs is related to the order of the N CSI-RSs in the SIB or high-layer signaling used to configure the N CSI-RSs; or, the correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and M SSBs is related to the identification of the N CSI-RSs.

[0030] In one possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS has a spatial position relationship with at least one SSB. In this way, the terminal device receives and measures the CSI-RS having a spatial position relationship with the SSB, ensuring that the terminal device measures the CSI-RS and measures the SSB to achieve the same measurement purpose.

[0031] In one possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS has a QCL-type D relationship with at least one SSB; or, at least one CSI-RS has the same or similar beam direction as at least one SSB.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the terminal devices receiving DCI on the PDCCH monitoring opportunity of the first PO are divided into L terminal groups, where L is a positive integer; the first bit in each DCI is used to indicate whether the first indication information exists, and the second bit is used to indicate whether the second indication information exists, and the second indication information is used to indicate the terminal group receiving the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH scheduled by the DCI; when the first bit indicates the existence of the first indication information and the second bit indicates the existence of the second indication information, the first indication information occupies the third bit and the fourth bit, and the second indication information occupies the fifth bit and the sixth bit; when the first bit indicates the existence of the first indication information and the second bit indicates the non-existence of the second indication information, the first indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit; when the first bit indicates the non-existence of the first indication information and the second bit indicates the existence of the second indication information, the second indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit.

[0033] In a possible implementation, K SIBs are configured for N CSI-RSs for a terminal device; wherein the K SIBs correspond to the M SSBs, the M SSBs are the SSBs actually sent by the network device, and K is a positive integer.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the SIB among the K SIBs that has a corresponding relationship with the target SSB is used to configure the CSI-RS corresponding to the target SSB.

[0035] In one possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS is a CSI-RS within a time window; the time window includes one or more time slots between a first PO and a second PO; and the second PO is located after the first PO in the time domain.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the time window and the second PO are located in the same DRX cycle.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the time window is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the first PO and the second PO are in the same DRX cycle.

[0039] In a possible implementation, the first PO is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the first PO and the second PO are POs monitored by the terminal device in different DRX cycles.

[0041] In a possible implementation manner, if a time window includes multiple CSI-RSs, the at least one CSI-RS is all or part of the CSI-RSs in the time window.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the maximum number of CSI-RSs in the time window is predetermined.

[0043] In a third aspect, the present application provides a network device, comprising: a processing unit and a communication unit, the processing unit being configured to send at least one DCI through the communication unit on a PDCCH monitoring opportunity belonging to the same PO, wherein all or part of the at least one DCI includes first indication information, and each first indication information is used to indicate that at least one CSI-RS is available, at least one CSI-RS corresponds to at least one SSB, and at least one SSB corresponds to the PDCCH monitoring opportunity for sending the DCI containing the first indication information; the processing unit is also configured to send the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information through the communication unit.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the processing unit is further configured to use the communication unit to configure N CSI-RSs for the terminal device through SIB or high-layer signaling, where the N CSI-RSs include the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information, and N is a positive integer.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the processing unit is also used to use the communication unit to configure the correspondence between N CSI-RS and M SSB for the terminal device through SIB or high-level signaling, where the M SSB is the SSB actually sent by the network device, and M is a positive integer.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the correspondence between N CSI-RSs and M SSBs is related to the order of the N CSI-RSs in the SIB or high-layer signaling used to configure the N CSI-RSs; or, the correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and M SSBs is related to the identification of the N CSI-RSs.

[0047] In one possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS has a spatial position relationship with at least one SSB.

[0048] In one possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS has a QCL-type D relationship with at least one SSB; or, at least one CSI-RS has the same or similar beam direction as at least one SSB.

[0049] In a possible implementation, the terminal devices receiving DCI on the PDCCH monitoring opportunity of the first PO are divided into L terminal groups, where L is a positive integer; the first bit in each DCI is used to indicate whether the first indication information exists, and the second bit is used to indicate whether the second indication information exists, and the second indication information is used to indicate the terminal group receiving the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH scheduled by the DCI; when the first bit indicates the existence of the first indication information and the second bit indicates the existence of the second indication information, the first indication information occupies the third bit and the fourth bit, and the second indication information occupies the fifth bit and the sixth bit; when the first bit indicates the existence of the first indication information and the second bit indicates the non-existence of the second indication information, the first indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit; when the first bit indicates the non-existence of the first indication information and the second bit indicates the existence of the second indication information, the second indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the processing unit is specifically used to: configure N CSI-RS for the terminal device through K SIBs; wherein the K SIBs correspond to the M SSBs, the M SSBs are the SSBs actually sent by the network device, and K is a positive integer.

[0051] In a possible implementation, the processing unit is specifically used to: configure the CSI-RS corresponding to the target SSB through the SIB in K SIBs that has a corresponding relationship with the target SSB.

[0052] In one possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS is a CSI-RS within a time window; the time window includes one or more time slots between a first PO and a second PO; and the second PO is located after the first PO in the time domain.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the time window and the second PO are located in the same DRX cycle.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the time window is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the first PO and the second PO are in the same DRX cycle.

[0056] In a possible implementation, the first PO is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

[0057] In a possible implementation, the first PO and the second PO are POs monitored by the terminal device in different DRX cycles.

[0058] In a possible implementation manner, if a time window includes multiple CSI-RSs, the at least one CSI-RS is all or part of the CSI-RSs in the time window.

[0059] In a possible implementation, the maximum number of CSI-RSs in the time window is predetermined.

[0060] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a terminal device, which includes: a processing unit and a communication unit, the processing unit is used to receive DCI through the communication unit on the PDCCH monitoring opportunity of the PO, the DCI including first indication information, the first indication information is used to indicate that at least one CSI-RS is available, at least one CSI-RS corresponds to at least one SSB, and at least one SSB corresponds to the PDCCH monitoring opportunity; the processing unit is also used to receive the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information through the communication unit.

[0061] In one possible implementation, the processing unit is further used to receive, through the communication unit, an SIB or high-layer signaling from a network device for configuring N CSI-RSs, where the N CSI-RSs include a CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information, and N is a positive integer.

[0062] In one possible implementation, the processing unit is also used to receive, through the communication unit, SIB or high-level signaling used by the network device to configure the correspondence between N CSI-RSs and M SSBs, where the M SSBs are the SSBs actually sent by the network device, and M is a positive integer.

[0063] In one possible implementation, the correspondence between N CSI-RSs and M SSBs is related to the order of the N CSI-RSs in the SIB or high-layer signaling used to configure the N CSI-RSs; or, the correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and M SSBs is related to the identification of the N CSI-RSs.

[0064] In one possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS has a spatial position relationship with at least one SSB.

[0065] In one possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS has a quasi-co-located QCL-type D relationship with at least one SSB; or, at least one CSI-RS has the same or similar beam direction as at least one SSB.

[0066] In a possible implementation, the terminal devices receiving DCI on the PDCCH monitoring opportunity of the first PO are divided into L terminal groups, where L is a positive integer; the first bit in each DCI is used to indicate whether the first indication information exists, and the second bit is used to indicate whether the second indication information exists, and the second indication information is used to indicate the terminal group receiving the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH scheduled by the DCI; when the first bit indicates the existence of the first indication information and the second bit indicates the existence of the second indication information, the first indication information occupies the third bit and the fourth bit, and the second indication information occupies the fifth bit and the sixth bit; when the first bit indicates the existence of the first indication information and the second bit indicates the non-existence of the second indication information, the first indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit; when the first bit indicates the non-existence of the first indication information and the second bit indicates the existence of the second indication information, the second indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit.

[0067] In a possible implementation, K SIBs are configured for N CSI-RSs for a terminal device; wherein the K SIBs correspond to the M SSBs, the M SSBs are the SSBs actually sent by the network device, and K is a positive integer.

[0068] A possible implementation method includes: a SIB among K SIBs that has a corresponding relationship with the target SSB is used to configure a CSI-RS corresponding to the target SSB.

[0069] In one possible implementation, at least one CSI-RS is a CSI-RS within a time window; the time window includes one or more time slots between a first PO and a second PO; and the second PO is located after the first PO in the time domain.

[0070] In a possible implementation, the time window and the second PO are located in the same DRX cycle.

[0071] In a possible implementation, the time window is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

[0072] In a possible implementation, the first PO and the second PO are in the same DRX cycle.

[0073] In a possible implementation, the first PO is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

[0074] In a possible implementation, the first PO and the second PO are POs monitored by the terminal device in different DRX cycles.

[0075] In a possible implementation manner, if a time window includes multiple CSI-RSs, the at least one CSI-RS is all or part of the CSI-RSs in the time window.

[0076] In a possible implementation, the maximum number of CSI-RSs in the time window is predetermined.

[0077] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and a storage medium; the storage medium comprises instructions, and the processor is used to execute the instructions to implement the communication method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect. The communication device can be a network device or a chip in the network device.

[0078] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising: a processor and a storage medium; the storage medium comprises instructions, and the processor is used to execute the instructions to implement the communication method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect. The communication device can be a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device.

[0079] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a network device, the network device executes the communication method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0080] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions. When the instructions are executed on a terminal device, the terminal device executes the communication method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0081] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a network device, enables the network device to execute the communication method as described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0082] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a terminal device, enables the terminal device to execute the communication method as described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0083] In an eleventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system, comprising a network device, and a terminal device that communicates with the network device, wherein the network device is used to execute the communication method described in the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, and the terminal device is used to execute the communication method described in the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0084] It should be understood that the description of technical features, technical solutions, beneficial effects or similar language in this application does not imply that all features and advantages can be realized in any single embodiment. On the contrary, it is understood that the description of features or beneficial effects means that specific technical features, technical solutions or beneficial effects are included in at least one embodiment. Therefore, the description of technical features, technical solutions or beneficial effects in this specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the technical features, technical solutions and beneficial effects described in the present embodiment can also be combined in any appropriate manner. Those skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment can be realized without one or more specific technical features, technical solutions or beneficial effects of a specific embodiment. In other embodiments, additional technical features and beneficial effects can also be identified in a specific embodiment that does not embody all embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0085] Figure 1 A system architecture diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] Figure 2 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] Figure 3 A flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0088] Figure 4 The correspondence between a PDCCH monitoring opportunity and an SSB in a PO provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0089] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0090] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0091] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0092] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0093] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0094] Fig.10 A position relationship diagram of the first indication information, time window and second PO in the time domain provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0095] In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, " / " means "or", for example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this article is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, "at least one" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. The words "first", "second", etc. do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words "first", "second", etc. do not limit them to be different.

[0096] It should be noted that, in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific way.

[0097] This application can be applied to Figure 1 In the communication system 100 shown, the communication system 100 includes a network device 10 and a terminal device 20. The network device 10 and the terminal device 20 can communicate with each other via a wireless link.

[0098] The communication system in the embodiments of the present application includes but is not limited to a long term evolution (LTE) system, a fifth generation (5G) system, a new radio (NR) system, a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, and a future evolution system or a plurality of communication convergence systems. Exemplarily, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be specifically applied to an evolved-universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) and a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) system.

[0099] The network device in the embodiment of the present application is an entity on the network side for sending signals, or receiving signals, or sending and receiving signals. The network device can be a device deployed in a radio access network (RAN) to provide wireless communication functions for terminal devices, for example, a transmission reception point (TRP), a base station (evolved NodeB, eNB or eNodeB), a next generation base station node (next generation node base station, gNB), a next generation eNB (next generation eNB, ng-eNB), etc.), various forms of control nodes (e.g., network controllers, wireless controllers (e.g., wireless controllers in cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenarios)), road side units (road side units, RSUs), etc. Specifically, the network device can be various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also called small stations), relay stations, access points (APs), etc., and can also be antenna panels of base stations. The control node can connect to multiple base stations and configure resources for multiple terminal devices covered by the multiple base stations. In systems using different radio access technologies (RAT), the names of devices with base station functions may be different. For example, in an LTE system, it may be called eNB or eNodeB, and in a 5G system or NR system, it may be called gNB. This application does not limit the specific name of the base station. The network equipment may also be a network device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc.

[0100] The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application is an entity on the user side for receiving signals, or sending signals, or receiving signals and sending signals. The terminal device is used to provide one or more of voice services and data connectivity services to users. The terminal device can also be called user equipment (UE), terminal, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device can be a vehicle to everything (V2X) device, for example, a smart car (smart car or intelligent car), a digital car (digital car), an unmanned car (unmanned car or driverless car or pilotless car or automobile), an automatic car (self-driving car or autonomous car), a pure electric vehicle (pure EV or Battery EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (hybrid electric vehicle, HEV), a range extended EV (range extended EV, REEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (plug-in HEV, PHEV), a new energy vehicle (new energy vehicle), etc. The terminal device may also be a device to device (D2D) device, such as an electric meter, a water meter, etc. The terminal device may also be a mobile station (MS), a subscriber unit, a drone, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a station (ST) in a WLAN, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a cordless phone, a wireless data card, a tablet computer, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device (also referred to as a wearable smart device).The terminal device may also be a terminal device in a next generation communication system, for example, a terminal device in a 5G system or a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN, a terminal device in a NR system, etc.

[0101] In order to make this application clearer, some concepts involved in this application are first briefly introduced.

[0102] 1. Idle state

[0103] The idle state refers to the state of the terminal device when the terminal device completes the residency in the cell but does not perform the random access process. The terminal device usually enters the idle state after being powered on or after RRC is released.

[0104] 2. Connected state

[0105] The connected state refers to the state of the terminal device after completing the random access process and before RRC release. The terminal device can transmit data with the network device in the connected state.

[0106] When the terminal device is in the idle state, after the terminal device completes the random access process, the state of the terminal device is transferred to the connected state. When the terminal device is in the connected state, after completing the RRC release, the state of the terminal device is transferred to the idle state.

[0107] 3. Inactive state

[0108] The inactive state is a state between the connected state and the idle state.

[0109] For a terminal device in an inactive state, the user plane bearer of the air interface has been suspended, and the user plane bearer and control plane bearer between the radio access network (RAN) and the core network (CN) are still maintained. When the terminal device initiates a call or service request, the user plane bearer of the air interface needs to be activated, and the existing user plane bearer and control plane bearer between RAN and CN need to be reused.

[0110] 4. CSI-RS

[0111] CSI-RS is used to evaluate beam quality. Since beams can correspond to CSI-RS resources, the terminal device can determine the quality of CSI-RS resources by measuring and evaluating the CSI-RS resources. The terminal device reports the quality of the CSI-RS resources obtained by measurement and evaluation to the network device, and the network device can determine the quality of the beam based on the quality of the CSI-RS resources and the correspondence between the beam and the CSI-RS resources.

[0112] In order to determine the quality of the beam, the network device needs to send measurement configuration information to the terminal device. The measurement configuration information mainly includes two parts: resource configuration information and reporting configuration information.

[0113] Resource configuration information is information related to measurement resources, which is configured in the protocol through a three-level structure (resource configuration resourceConfig-resource set resourceSet-resource resource). The network device can configure one or more resource configurations for the terminal device. Each resource configuration includes one or more resource sets, and each resource set can include one or more resources. Each resource configuration / resource set / resource includes its own index. In addition, it also includes some other parameters, such as the resource cycle, the signal type corresponding to the resource, etc.

[0114] 5. Discontinuous reception (DRX) mode

[0115] DRX mode is a mode for receiving signals of terminal devices, which aims to reduce the power consumption of terminal devices. Terminal devices can decide whether to use DRX mode to receive signals according to the configuration of network devices. When a terminal device uses DRX mode to receive signals, in a DRX cycle, the terminal device can receive CSI-RS and perform channel state information (CSI) measurement during the active time, and enter the sleep time outside the active time. During the sleep time, the terminal device will not receive CSI-RS or perform CSI measurement.

[0116] 6. Paging message

[0117] The paging message is also called a paging message, which is used to trigger the terminal device to establish an RRC connection, or to notify the terminal device of system information updates, etc. The content of the paging message is sent to the terminal device through the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and the PDSCH is scheduled by the PDCCH scrambled by the paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI).

[0118] The process of a terminal device obtaining a paging message is as follows: a terminal device in an idle or inactive state wakes up periodically, and after the terminal device wakes up, it monitors the PDCCH encrypted by the P-RNTI, and parses the DCI in the PDCCH to determine the location (e.g., time-frequency location) information of the PDSCH. The terminal device receives the PDSCH according to the location information of the PDSCH, and the terminal device obtains the paging message in the PDSCH. The terminal device determines whether the paging message pagingrecordList includes its own terminal device identification. If so, the terminal device performs corresponding operations (e.g., establishing an RRC connection; or, returning from an inactive state to an idle state, etc.).

[0119] 7. PO

[0120] In the embodiment of the present application, PO is a collection of one or more PDCCH monitoring occasions. A PO includes one or more time slots. The network device sends PDCCH in the time slots included in the PO.

[0121] A terminal device in an idle or inactive state monitors a PDCCH sent by a network device within a PO in each DRX cycle.

[0122] 8. Beam

[0123] A beam is a communication resource. A beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beams. The technology for forming a beam can be beamforming technology or other technical means. Beamforming technology can specifically be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, and hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology. Different beams can be considered as different resources. The same information or different information can be sent through different beams. Optionally, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be regarded as a beam. A beam can include one or more antenna ports for transmitting data channels, control channels, and detection signals. For example, a transmit beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after the signal is sent out by the antenna, and a receive beam can refer to the signal strength distribution of the wireless signal received from the antenna in different directions in space. It can be understood that one or more antenna ports that form a beam can also be regarded as an antenna port set.

[0124] Beams can be divided into the transmit beam and receive beam of the network device, and the transmit beam and receive beam of the terminal device. The transmit beam of the network device is used to describe the beamforming information of the network device's transmit side, and the receive beam of the network device is used to describe the beamforming information of the network device's receive side. The transmit beam of the terminal device is used to describe the beamforming information of the terminal device's transmit side, and the receive beam of the terminal device is used to describe the beamforming information of the terminal device's receive side. That is, the beam is used to describe the beamforming information.

[0125] The beam may correspond to one or more of time resources, space resources, and frequency domain resources.

[0126] Optionally, the beam may also correspond to a reference signal resource (eg, a beamforming reference signal resource) or beamforming information.

[0127] Optionally, the beam may also correspond to information associated with a reference signal resource of the network device, where the reference signal may be CSI-RS, SSB, demodulation reference signal (DMRS), phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), tracking reference signal (TRS), etc., and the information associated with the reference signal resource may be a reference signal resource identifier, or QCL information (especially type D QCL), etc. The reference signal resource identifier corresponds to a transceiver beam pair previously established based on the reference signal resource measurement, and the terminal device may infer the beam information through the reference signal resource index.

[0128] Optionally, the beam may also correspond to a spatial filter (spatial domain filter), a spatial domain transmission filter (spatial domain transmission filter).

[0129] 9. QCL

[0130] The QCL information is used to indicate the QCL relationship between two reference signals, where the target reference signal can generally be DMRS, CSI-RS, etc. The source reference signal can generally be CSI-RS, TRS, SSB, etc. It should be understood that the spatial characteristic parameters of the two reference signals or channels that satisfy the QCL relationship are the same, so that the spatial characteristic parameters of the target reference signal can be inferred based on the source reference signal resource index. Among them, the spatial characteristic parameters include one or more of the following parameters:

[0131] Angle of arrival (AoA), dominant AoA, average AoA, power angular spectrum (PAS) of AoA, angle of departure (AoD), dominant AoD, average AoD, power angular spectrum of AoD, terminal device transmit beamforming, terminal device receive beamforming, spatial channel correlation, base station transmit beamforming, base station receive beamforming, average channel gain, average channel delay, delay spread, Doppler spread, Doppler shift, spatial Rx parameters, etc.

[0132] These spatial characteristic parameters describe the spatial channel characteristics between the antenna ports of the source reference signal and the target reference signal, which helps the terminal device to complete the receiving side beamforming or receiving side processing according to the QCL information. It should be understood that the terminal device can receive the target reference signal according to the receiving beam information of the source reference signal indicated by the QCL information.

[0133] Among them, in order to save the QCL information indication overhead of the network device side to the terminal device side, as an optional implementation, the network device side can indicate that the DMRS of the PDCCH or PDSCH satisfies the QCL relationship with one or more of the multiple reference signal resources previously reported by the terminal device, such as the reference signal can be CSI-RS. Here, each reported CSI-RS resource index corresponds to a transmit and receive beam pair previously established based on the CSI-RS resource measurement. It should be understood that the receiving beam information of the two reference signals or channels that satisfy the QCL relationship is the same, so that the terminal device can infer the receiving beam information of the received PDCCH or PDSCH based on the reference signal resource index.

[0134] The existing standards define four types of QCL. Network equipment can configure one or more types of QCL for terminal equipment at the same time. The four types of QCL are:

[0135] “QCL-TypeA” (i.e. QCL-Type A): {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}.

[0136] “QCL-TypeB” (i.e. QCL-type B): {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}.

[0137] “QCL-TypeC”: {Doppler shift, average delay}.

[0138] "QCL-TypeD" (ie QCL-Type D): {spatial reception parameters}.

[0139] Among them, "QCL-TypeD" can describe that the beams of two reference signals with a QCL relationship are similar, and some channel parameters are similar or identical.

[0140] 10. SSB

[0141] SSB includes at least one of the primary synchronization signal (PSS), the secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and the physical broadcast channel (PBCH). SSB can be used for time-frequency tracking, wireless resource measurement, etc.

[0142] In the prior art, a terminal device in an idle or inactive state needs to measure SSB to achieve the purpose of time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement. However, since the SSBs sent by network devices are sparsely distributed in space, the terminal device may need to measure SSB multiple times to complete the SSB measurement. This will result in higher power consumption when the terminal device in an idle or inactive state performs SSB measurement.

[0143] Based on this, the present application proposes a method for a terminal device in an idle or inactive state to achieve the purpose of time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement by measuring CSI-RS. Since the density of the CSI-RS sent by the network device in space is usually greater than the density of the SSB in space. In this way, the terminal device does not need to measure CSI-RS multiple times to achieve the same purpose as measuring SSB (i.e., time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement), thereby making the power consumption generated by the terminal device when performing CSI-RS measurement less than the power consumption generated when the terminal device performs SSB measurement.

[0144] It should be pointed out that there are many reasons why the power consumption of terminal devices in idle or inactive states for SSB measurement is high. In addition to the above-mentioned reasons that the number of SSBs is small and their distribution is sparse in space, there are also reasons such as the long period when the terminal device uses SSB for beam measurement. This application will not go into details.

[0145] In order to solve the problem of high power consumption when a terminal device in an idle or inactive state performs SSB measurement in the prior art, the present application provides a communication method, in which a network device can indicate the available CSI-RS corresponding to the SSB to the terminal device through the DCI in the PDCCH. After the terminal device determines the available CSI-RS, it can receive the available CSI-RS and measure the CSI-RS to achieve the purpose of time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement. Since the power consumption generated when the terminal device performs CSI-RS measurement is less than the power consumption generated when the terminal device performs SSB measurement, compared with the use of SSB for time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement, the use of CSI-RS for time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0146] The present application embodiment provides a communication method, such as Figure 2 As shown, the method includes:

[0147] S101. In a PDCCH monitoring opportunity belonging to the same PO, a network device sends at least one DCI. Correspondingly, in a PDCCH monitoring opportunity of the PO, a terminal device receives a DCI. The DCI received by the terminal device is a DCI in the at least one DCI sent by the network device.

[0148] All or part of at least one DCI includes first indication information, each first indication information is used to indicate that at least one CSI-RS is available, at least one CSI-RS corresponds to at least one SSB, and at least one SSB corresponds to a PDCCH monitoring opportunity for sending the DCI containing the first indication information.

[0149] One PDCCH monitoring opportunity is used to send one PDCCH, and one PDCCH includes one DCI.

[0150] In one implementation, the PO includes L PDCCH monitoring opportunities. The L PDCCH monitoring opportunities correspond to M SSBs. For example, one SSB may correspond to one or more PDCCH monitoring opportunities, and one PDCCH monitoring opportunity may also correspond to one or more SSBs. The M SSBs are SSBs actually sent by the network device. Among them, L and M are both positive integers. The correspondence between the PDCCH monitoring opportunity and the SSB can also be understood as the correspondence between the DCI sent on the PDCCH monitoring opportunity and the SSB.

[0151] At each PDCCH monitoring opportunity, the network device sends the corresponding DCI. In this way, there is also a corresponding relationship between the DCI sent by the network device at the PDDCH monitoring opportunity and the SSB. Similarly, one SSB can correspond to one or more DCIs, and one DCI can also correspond to one or more SSBs.

[0152] When one SSB corresponds to multiple DCIs, the multiple DCIs all include the first indication information, or some of the multiple DCIs include the first indication information.

[0153] When a DCI corresponds to multiple SSBs, the first indication information included in the DCI is used to indicate whether the CSI-RS corresponding to one or more SSBs among the multiple SSBs are available. Among them, a CSI-RS is available means that the CSI-RS sent by the network device can be received and measured by the terminal device.

[0154] Taking the one-to-one correspondence between SSB and PDCCH monitoring opportunity as an example, if the network device sends 4 SSBs, namely SSB#0, SSB#1, SSB#2, and SSB#3, then one PO includes 4 PDCCH monitoring opportunities. The network device sends a DCI at each monitoring opportunity. For example, at the PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponding to SSB#0, the network device sends DCI-1, at the PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponding to SSB#1, the network device sends DCI-2, at the PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponding to SSB#2, the network device sends DCI-3, and at the PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponding to SSB#3, the network device sends DCI-4.

[0155] In this case, the first indication information included in DCI-1 is used to indicate whether the CSI-RS corresponding to SSB#0 is available, the first indication information included in DCI-2 is used to indicate whether the CSI-RS corresponding to SSB#1 is available, the first indication information included in DCI-3 is used to indicate whether the CSI-RS corresponding to SSB#2 is available, and the first indication information included in DCI-4 is used to indicate whether the CSI-RS corresponding to SSB#3 is available.

[0156] In this way, the network device only needs to indicate in each DCI whether the CSI-RS corresponding to the SSB corresponding to the DCI is available, without indicating in each DCI whether all CSI-RS are available, thereby saving the bit overhead of DCI.

[0157] S102: The network device sends a CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the CSI-RS.

[0158] In a possible implementation, the CSI-RS sent by the network device and indicated as available by the first indication information may be the CSI-RS configured by the network device for other terminal devices that are in a connected state. The network device instructs the terminal device in an idle state or an inactive state to receive and measure the CSI-RS through the first indication information. In this way, the network device does not need to reconfigure the CSI-RS for the terminal device in an idle state or an inactive state. This saves network resources of the network device.

[0159] It should be noted that after the terminal device receives the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information, the terminal device measures the CSI-RS to achieve the purpose of time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement.

[0160] In the above technical solution, the network device indicates the available CSI-RS corresponding to the SSB through the DCI sent on the PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponding to the SSB, and the terminal device determines and receives the available CSI-RS according to the DCI, and then measures the CSI-RS to achieve the purpose of time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement. Since the power consumption generated when the terminal device performs CSI-RS measurement is less than the power consumption generated when the terminal device performs SSB measurement, the communication method provided by the present application can reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0161] based on Figure 2 The technical solution shown in the figure is optional. If the network device sends N CSI-RS (N is a positive integer), in order to enable the terminal device to obtain the information of the N CSI-RS, such as Figure 3 As shown, before S101, the method further includes:

[0162] S103: The network device configures N CSI-RSs for the terminal device through SIB or high-layer signaling. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the SIB or high-layer signaling used by the network device to configure N CSI-RSs, where N is a positive integer.

[0163] The N CSI-RSs include a CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information.

[0164] based on Figure 2 The technical solution shown is optional, in order to enable the terminal device to obtain the corresponding relationship between N CSI-RS and M SSB, such as Figure 3 As shown, before S101, the method further includes:

[0165] S104. The network device determines the corresponding relationship between N CSI-RSs and M SSBs, where M is a positive integer.

[0166] The M SSBs are SSBs actually sent by the network device. The SSBs corresponding to any one of the PDCCH monitoring opportunities in the above embodiments belong to the M SSBs.

[0167] Among them, one CSI-RS corresponds to one or more SSBs, and one SSB corresponds to one or more CSI-RSs.

[0168] S105. The network device configures the correspondence between N CSI-RSs and M SSBs for the terminal device through SIB or high-layer signaling. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the SIB or high-layer signaling used by the network device to configure the correspondence between N CSI-RSs and M SSBs.

[0169] Optionally, in S105, the correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs may be in the following two cases: case 1: group correspondence, case 2: spatial position relationship correspondence. Case 1 and case 2 are introduced below respectively.

[0170] Case 1: Group correspondence

[0171] In case 1, the process of the network device determining the correspondence between N CSI-RSs and M SSBs includes the following steps I to III:

[0172] Ⅰ. The network device determines the number M of SSBs and the number N of CSI-RSs.

[0173] For example, the network device determines that the number of SSBs actually sent is 4, and then determines that the number of SSBs M = 4. The network device determines that 8 CSI-RSs are actually configured, and then determines that the number of CSI-RSs N = 8.

[0174] Ⅱ. The network device divides N CSI-RS into M CSI-RS groups.

[0175] The M CSI-RS groups correspond to the M SSBs one by one. The number of CSI-RSs in each CSI-RS group may be the same or different, and this application does not limit this.

[0176] It should be noted that, for one CSI-RS among the N CSI-RSs, the CSI-RS may belong to one or more CSI-RS groups. When the CSI-RS belongs to one CSI-RS group, the CSI-RS corresponds to one SSB. When the CSI-RS belongs to multiple CSI-RS groups, the CSI-RS corresponds to multiple SSBs.

[0177] For any one of the M SSBs, the CSI-RS group corresponding to the SSB may include one or more CSI-RSs. When the CSI-RS group corresponding to the SSB includes one CSI-RS, the SSB corresponds to one CSI-RS. When the CSI-RS group corresponding to the SSB includes multiple CSI-RSs, the SSB corresponds to multiple CSI-RSs.

[0178] III. The network device determines the CSI-RS group corresponding to each SSB among the M SSBs.

[0179] It should be pointed out that the correspondence between N CSI-RSs and M SSBs is related to the order of the N CSI-RSs in the SIB or high-layer signaling used to configure the N CSI-RSs; or, the correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and M SSBs is related to the identification of the N CSI-RSs.

[0180] Therefore, in the process of the network device dividing N CSI-RS into M CSI-RS groups, the network device may group the N CSI-RS according to the order of the N CSI-RS in the SIB or high-layer signaling used to configure the N CSI-RS (referred to as grouping mode a); or the network device may group the N CSI-RS according to the identifiers of the N CSI-RS (referred to as grouping mode b). The two grouping modes are described below.

[0181] Grouping method a: The network device groups the CSI-RS according to the order of the CSI-RS.

[0182] Among them, the order of CSI-RS may include: the order of bits occupied by CSI-RS in signaling, the order of CSI-RS in the time domain, the order of CSI-RS in the frequency domain, or any one of the orders in which the network device configures CSI-RS, and this application does not limit this.

[0183] For example, the network device is actually configured with 8 CSI-RS. The 8 CSI-RS are: CSI-RS1, CSI-RS2, CSI-RS3, CSI-RS4, CSI-RS5, CSI-RS6, CSI-RS7, CSI-RS8. The network device sorts the 8 CSI-RS according to the order of the bits occupied by the 8 CSI-RS in the signaling. After sorting, the network device groups the 8 CSI-RS in pairs from front to back. Specifically, the network device can determine that CSI-RS1 and CSI-RS2 form CSI-RS group 1, CSI-RS3 and CSI-RS4 form CSI-RS group 2, CSI-RS5 and CSI-RS6 form CSI-RS group 3, and CSI-RS7 and CSI-RS8 form CSI-RS group 4.

[0184] Grouping mode b: The network device groups the CSI-RS according to the identifier of the CSI-RS.

[0185] The CSI-RS identifier may be configured for each CSI-RS when the network device configures the CSI-RS.

[0186] For example, the network device is actually configured with 8 CSI-RS. The identifiers of the 8 CSI-RS are: identifier 1, identifier 2, identifier 3, identifier 4, identifier 5, identifier 6, identifier 7, and identifier 8. The network device groups the 8 CSI-RS in pairs according to the 8 identifiers. For example, the network device can determine that the CSI-RS corresponding to identifier 1 and identifier 2 constitute CSI-RS group 1, the CSI-RS corresponding to identifier 3 and identifier 4 constitute CSI-RS group 2, the CSI-RS corresponding to identifier 5 and identifier 6 constitute CSI-RS group 3, and the CSI-RS corresponding to identifier 7 and identifier 8 constitute CSI-RS group 4.

[0187] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the network device may also group the CSI-RS in other ways, and the present application does not limit this.

[0188] It should be noted that when the network device groups CSI-RS, the CSI-RS may be a CSI-RS configured by the network device or a CSI-RS set configured by the network device. When the CSI-RS is a CSI-RS set configured by the network device, the method for the network device to group the CSI-RS set is similar to the method for grouping the CSI-RS, and will not be described in detail.

[0189] After the CSI-RS group is determined by the above grouping method a or grouping method b, the network device can determine the SSB corresponding to each CSI-RS group. For example, the network device actually sends 4 SSBs, namely SSB#0, SSB#1, SSB#2, and SSB#3. Then the network device can determine that CSI-RS group 1 corresponds to SSB#0, CSI-RS group 2 corresponds to SSB#1, CSI-RS group 3 corresponds to SSB#2, and CSI-RS group 4 corresponds to SSB#3.

[0190] Case 2: Spatial position relationship correspondence

[0191] In an embodiment of the present application, at least one CSI-RS has a spatial position relationship with at least one SSB. For example, at least one CSI-RS has a QCL-TypeD relationship with at least one SSB; or, at least one CSI-RS has the same or similar beam direction as at least one SSB.

[0192] For the above CSI-RS and SSB with QCL-TypeD relationship. Since "QCL-TypeD" can describe that the beams of two reference signals with QCL relationship are similar, and some channel parameters are similar or identical. Therefore, the network device can consider that the CSI-RS with QCL-TypeD relationship with SSB corresponds to the SSB.

[0193] For the SSB and CSI-RS with the same or similar beam directions, when the network device sends the SSB, the network device first determines the beam direction of each SSB, and the network device sends the SSB according to the beam direction of each SSB, so that the SSB sent by the network device can cover as large an area as possible. Similarly, when the network device sends the CSI-RS, the network device first determines the beam direction of each CSI-RS. The network device sends each CSI-RS according to the beam direction of each CSI-RS.

[0194] In this way, the network device can determine the correspondence between the SSB and the CSI-RS according to the beam direction of the SSB and the beam direction of the CSI-RS. For example, the network device determines that the CSI-RS with the same beam direction as the SSB or the beam direction similarity greater than a preset value is the CSI-RS corresponding to the SSB.

[0195] In a possible implementation, the terminal device may determine the correspondence between the PDCCH monitoring opportunity and the SSB through the following steps 1 to 3. Steps 1 to 3 are described in detail below.

[0196] 1. The network device and the terminal device may determine the number of each PDCCH monitoring opportunity according to the time domain position corresponding to each PDCCH monitoring opportunity in the PO among the L PDCCH monitoring opportunities.

[0197] Each PDCCH monitoring opportunity in the PO corresponds to a different time domain position. The network device and the terminal device can determine the number of each PDCCH monitoring opportunity according to the sequence of the time domain positions corresponding to the PDCCH monitoring opportunities in the PO.

[0198] For example, the network device and the terminal device can determine that the PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponding to the first time domain position in PO is numbered 1, the PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponding to the second time domain position in PO is numbered 2, and the PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponding to the third time domain position in PO is numbered 3.

[0199] It should be noted that the numbering of the PDCCH monitoring opportunities is only for distinguishing different PDCCH monitoring opportunities. The network device and the terminal device may also distinguish different PDCCH monitoring opportunities in other forms. This application does not limit this.

[0200] 2. Network devices and terminal devices determine the SSB number.

[0201] In one implementation, the network device and the terminal device determine the number of the SSB as the index of the SSB.

[0202] Exemplarily, the SSB numbers determined by the network device and the terminal device are: number 0, number 1, number 2, respectively.

[0203] 3. The network equipment and the terminal equipment determine the correspondence between the SSB and the PDCCH monitoring opportunity according to the number of the PDCCH monitoring opportunity and the number of the SSB.

[0204] In one example, the network device and the terminal device sequentially match the numbers of the PDCCH monitoring opportunities with the numbers of the SSBs to determine the corresponding relationship between the SSBs and the PDCCH monitoring opportunities.

[0205] For example, the PDCCH monitoring opportunity numbered 1 corresponds to SSB#0 (ie, SSB numbered 0), the PDCCH monitoring opportunity numbered 2 corresponds to SSB#1 (ie, SSB numbered 1), and the PDCCH monitoring opportunity numbered 3 corresponds to SSB#2 (ie, SSB numbered 2).

[0206] In the embodiment of the present application, the correspondence between the PDCCH monitoring opportunity and the SSB can be: one-to-one correspondence between the PDCCH monitoring opportunity and the SSB; or one PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponds to multiple SSBs, and one SSB corresponds to multiple PDCCH monitoring opportunities. The correspondence between the PDCCH monitoring opportunity and the SSB is related to the search space identifier configured by the network device for the paging search space, and the mapping relationship between the SSB and the control resource set (CORESET) 0, which is explained in detail below.

[0207] Case 1: The search space identifier configured by the network device for the paging search space is not 0.

[0208] When the search space identifier configured by the network device for the paging search space is not 0, the network device configures L PDCCHs in one PO, and the L PDCCHs correspond to M SSBs. M is equal to L.

[0209] The Kth PDCCH monitoring opportunity among the L PDCCH monitoring opportunities corresponds to the Kth SSB among the M SSBs. The M SSBs correspond one-to-one to the L PDCCH monitoring opportunities.

[0210] For example, Figure 4 As shown, the network device actually sends three SSBs, namely SSB#0, SSB#1, and SSB#2. In this case, one PO includes three PDCCH monitoring opportunities, which are recorded as PDCCH-1, PDCCH-2, and PDCCH-3. In other words, one PO is a collection of three PDCCH monitoring opportunities.

[0211] Among them, PDCCH-1 corresponds to SSB#0, PDCCH-2 corresponds to SSB#1, and PDCCH-3 corresponds to SSB#2.

[0212] Case 2: the search space identifier configured by the network device for the paging search space is 0, and the mapping relationship mode between SSB and CORESET0 is the first mode (also referred to as mode 1).

[0213] When the search space identifier configured by the network device for the paging search space is 0, and the mapping relationship mode between SSB and CORESET0 is the first mode, one SSB corresponds to one or more paging search spaces. When one SSB corresponds to multiple paging search spaces, the network device may configure a PDCCH monitoring opportunity in each of the multiple paging search spaces, and the PDCCH monitoring opportunities configured by the network device in the multiple paging search spaces may be the same or different. At this time, one SSB can correspond to one or more PDCCH monitoring opportunities.

[0214] Similarly, the paging search spaces corresponding to multiple different SSBs may overlap (ie, multiple different SSBs correspond to the same paging search space). In this case, the PDCCH monitoring opportunities in the same paging search space correspond to the multiple SSBs.

[0215] Therefore, when the paging search space identifier is 0 and the mapping relationship between SSB and CORESET0 is the first mode, one SSB can correspond to one or more PDCCH monitoring opportunities, and one PDCCH monitoring opportunity can correspond to one or more SSBs. The correspondence between SSB and PDCCH monitoring opportunities needs to be determined based on the number of paging search spaces corresponding to each SSB, the PDCCH monitoring opportunities configured by the network device in each paging search space, and the overlapping relationship of the paging search spaces.

[0216] For example, in situation 2, the network device actually sends 3 SSBs, namely SSB#0, SSB#1, and SSB#2, and each SSB corresponds to 2 paging search spaces. Among them, SSB#0 corresponds to paging search space 1 and paging search space 2; SSB#1 corresponds to paging search space 2 and paging search space 3. SSB#2 corresponds to paging search space 3 and paging search space 4. The PDCCH monitoring opportunity configured by the network device in paging search space 1 is PDCCH-1, the PDCCH monitoring opportunity configured by the network device in paging search space 2 is also PDCCH-1, the PDCCH monitoring opportunity configured by the network device in paging search space 3 is PDCCH-2, and the PDCCH monitoring opportunity configured by the network device in paging search space 4 is PDCCH-3.

[0217] At this time, the network device determines that the PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponding to SSB#0 is PDCCH-1 (that is, the PDCCH monitoring opportunity configured by the network device in paging search space 1 and paging search space 2), and the network device determines that the PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponding to SSB#1 is PDCCH-1 and PDCCH-2 (that is, the PDCCH monitoring opportunity configured by the network device in paging search space 2 and paging search space 3), and the PDCCH monitoring opportunity corresponding to SSB#2 is PDCCH-2 and PDCCH-3 (that is, the PDCCH monitoring opportunity configured by the network device in paging search space 3 and paging search space 4).

[0218] Correspondingly, the network device determines that the SSB corresponding to PDCCH-1 is: SSB#0, SSB#1. The network device determines that the SSB corresponding to PDCCH-2 is: SSB#1, SSB#2. The network device determines that the SSB corresponding to PDCCH-3 is: SSB#2.

[0219] Correspondingly, the first indication information in PDCCH-1 is used to indicate whether the CSI-RS corresponding to SSB#0 and SSB#1 are available. The first indication information in PDCCH-2 is used to indicate whether the CSI-RS corresponding to SSB#1 and SSB#2 are available. The first indication information in PDCCH-3 is used to indicate whether the CSI-RS corresponding to SSB#2 is available.

[0220] Case 3: The search space identifier configured by the network device for the paging search space is 0, and the mapping relationship mode between SSB and CORESET0 is not the first mode.

[0221] In this case, the correspondence between the SSB determined by the network device within a PO and the PDCCH monitoring opportunity is the same as in Case 1 and will not be repeated here.

[0222] Based on the above technical solution, in different situations, both the network device and the terminal device can determine the corresponding relationship between the PDCCH monitoring opportunity and the SSB, thereby improving the applicability of the embodiments of the present application.

[0223] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the DCI generated by the network device includes, in addition to the first indication information, at least one of: second indication information, third indication information, and fourth indication information.

[0224] The second indication information in a DCI is used to indicate a terminal group that receives the PDSCH scheduled by the DCI.

[0225] The third indication information in a DCI is used to indicate whether the first indication information exists.

[0226] The fourth indication information in a DCI is used to indicate whether the second indication information exists.

[0227] It should be noted that since the network device cannot sense the terminal device in the idle or inactive state. Therefore, the network device will send the paging message in the form of broadcast. All terminal devices in a PO need to receive the DCI in the PDCCH and obtain the PDSCH scheduled by the DCI. The network device obtains the paging message from the PDSCH. The pagingrecordList in the paging message is used to indicate the terminal device that receives the paging message. For terminal devices other than the terminal device indicated by the identifier in the pagingrecordList, it is unnecessary to receive the paging message in the PDSCH, which will cause unnecessary power consumption of the terminal device.

[0228] Therefore, the network device can group the terminal devices in a PO, and add the second indication information in the DCI in a PO, and use the second indication information to indicate the terminal group receiving the PDSCH scheduled by the DCI, and the terminal devices in other terminal groups do not need to receive the PDSCH. This can reduce the power consumption of the terminal devices in other terminal groups.

[0229] The network device may carry these indication information through the reserved bits in the DCI. In the case where the indication information carried by the DCI is different, the bits of the DCI carrying the indication information are different, which are respectively described below.

[0230] Ⅰ. DCI only carries the first indication information.

[0231] When the DCI carries only the first indication information, the first indication information may occupy one or more bits in the DCI. The one or more bits may be all or part of the bits reserved in the DCI.

[0232] In a possible implementation, the one or more bits may be fixed bits. For example, when the DCI includes 6 reserved bits, the one or more bits may be the first 3 bits of the 6 reserved bits, and the other 3 bits are still reserved bits.

[0233] In another possible implementation, the one or more bits may also be bits determined by the network device according to the number of CSI-RS indicated by the first indication information. For example, when 6 reserved bits are included in the DCI, the network device determines that the first indication information indicates 2 CSI-RS, then the network device determines that the first indication information occupies the first 2 bits of the 6 reserved bits, and the other 4 bits are still reserved bits. The network device determines that the first indication information indicates 4 CSI-RS, then the network device determines that the first indication information occupies the first 4 bits of the 6 reserved bits, and the other 2 bits are still reserved bits. When the number of CSI-RS indicated by the first indication information is greater than or equal to 6, the network device determines that the first indication information occupies all 6 reserved bits.

[0234] II. DCI carries the first indication information and the third indication information.

[0235] In this case, the third indication information indicates that the first indication information exists.

[0236] The first indication information occupies one or more bits in the DCI, and the third indication information occupies one or more bits in the DCI. The first indication information and the third indication information occupy different bits respectively.

[0237] It should be noted that the bits occupied by the first indication information and the third indication information may be fixed bits in the DCI. For example, when the DCI includes 6 reserved bits, the network device determines that the third indication information occupies the first bit of the 6 reserved bits, and the first indication information occupies the second to fourth bits of the 6 bits.

[0238] The bits occupied by the first indication information may also be bits determined by the network device according to the number of CSI-RSs indicated by the first indication information. For details, please refer to the bits occupied by the first indication information in the above case I for understanding, and no further description is given.

[0239] III. DCI only carries the third indication information.

[0240] In this case, the third indication information indicates that the first indication information does not exist.

[0241] In this case, the third indication information may occupy one or more bits in the DCI. The one or more bits may be all or part of the bits reserved in the DCI.

[0242] It should be noted that in this case, the network device may not generate the first indication information, and the DCI does not need to carry the first indication information. The DCI only carries the third indication information, which is used to notify the terminal device that the first indication information does not exist. At this time, the terminal device can directly adopt the method of measuring SSB in the prior art to perform time-frequency tracking, wireless resource measurement, etc.

[0243] IV. DCI only carries the second indication information.

[0244] That is, the network device only indicates, through the DCI, the terminal group receiving the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH to which the DCI belongs.

[0245] When the DCI carries only the second indication information, the second indication information may occupy one or more bits in the DCI. The one or more bits may be all or part of the bits reserved in the DCI.

[0246] It should be noted that, when the DCI carries only the second indication information, the one or more bits occupied by the second indication information are similar to the one or more bits occupied by the first indication information when the DCI carries only the first indication information. The actual bits corresponding to the one or more bits occupied by the second indication information in the DCI can refer to the description of the bits occupied by the first indication information in the aforementioned case I, which will not be repeated here.

[0247] V. DCI carries the second indication information and the fourth indication information.

[0248] In this case, the fourth indication information indicates that the second indication information exists.

[0249] It should be noted that the case where the DCI carries the second indication information and the fourth indication information is similar to the case where the DCI carries the first indication information and the third indication information. For details, please refer to the description of the case where the DCI carries the first indication information and the third indication information, which will not be repeated here.

[0250] VI. DCI carries fourth indication information.

[0251] In this case, the fourth indication information indicates that the second indication information does not exist.

[0252] It should be noted that the case where the DCI carries the fourth indication information is similar to the case where the DCI carries the third indication information. For details, please refer to the description of the case where the DCI carries the third indication information, which will not be repeated here.

[0253] VII. DCI carries the first indication information and the second indication information.

[0254] The first indication information and the second indication information respectively occupy one or more bits in the DCI.

[0255] In a possible implementation, the bits occupied by the first indication information and the second indication information may be fixed bits in the DCI determined by the network device. For example, when the DCI includes 6 reserved bits, the first indication information occupies the first 3 bits of the 6 reserved bits. The second indication information occupies the last 3 bits of the 6 reserved bits.

[0256] In another possible implementation, the bits occupied by the first indication information and the second indication information may be bits allocated by the network device in the DCI according to the bits required to be occupied by the first indication message and the third indication message, respectively. For example, when 6 reserved bits are included in the DCI, if the first indication information needs to occupy 3 bits and the second indication information needs to occupy 2 bits. The network device determines that the first indication information occupies the first 3 bits of the 6 reserved bits, and the second indication information occupies the 4th bit and the 5th bit of the 6 reserved bits.

[0257] VIII. The DCI carries at least the third indication information and the fourth indication information.

[0258] At this time, the network device may respectively adopt the following method 1 and method 2 to determine the bits occupied by each indication information.

[0259] Method 1:

[0260] Each indication information occupies a fixed bit position.

[0261] For example, when the third indication information indicates the presence of the first indication information and the fourth indication information indicates the presence of the second indication information, the DCI also carries the first indication information and the second indication information. When the DCI includes 6 reserved bits, the third indication information occupies the first bit of the 6 reserved bits, the fourth indication information occupies the second bit of the 6 reserved bits, and the first indication information occupies the third and fourth bits of the 6 reserved bits. The second indication information occupies the fifth and sixth bits of the 6 reserved bits.

[0262] Method 2:

[0263] The network device determines the bits occupied by each indication information according to whether the first indication information indicated by the third indication information exists and whether the second indication information indicated by the fourth indication information exists.

[0264] It should be noted that, in mode 2, the third indication information occupies the first bit, and the fourth indication information occupies the second bit.

[0265] Case 1: the third indication information indicates that the first indication information exists, and the fourth indication information indicates that the second indication information exists.

[0266] In this case, the DCI also carries the first indication information and the second indication information. The first indication information occupies the third bit and the fourth bit, and the second indication information occupies the fifth bit and the sixth bit.

[0267] Case 2: the third indication information indicates that the first indication information exists, and the fourth indication information indicates that the second indication information does not exist.

[0268] In this case, the DCI also carries the first indication information. The first indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit.

[0269] Case 3: the third indication information indicates that the first indication information does not exist, and the fourth indication information indicates that the second indication information exists.

[0270] In this case, the DCI also carries second indication information. The second indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit.

[0271] Case 4: the third indication information indicates that the first indication information does not exist, and the fourth indication information indicates that the second indication information does not exist.

[0272] In this case, the DCI only carries the third indication information and the fourth indication information. The third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit are not occupied by any indication information.

[0273] It should be noted that the above-mentioned first to sixth bits can respectively correspond to the first to sixth bits of the six reserved bits in the DCI, and the first to sixth bits and the six reserved bits in the DCI can also have other corresponding relationships, which is not limited in this application.

[0274] The following takes the DCI including 6 reserved bits as an example to illustrate the above cases 1 to 4 respectively.

[0275] The network device allocates the first bit of the six reserved bits to the third indication information, and allocates the second bit to the fourth indication information.

[0276] For the above situation 1, the network device determines that the first indication information occupies the 3rd bit and the 4th bit of the 6 reserved bits, and determines that the second indication information occupies the 5th bit and the 6th bit of the 6 reserved bits.

[0277] For the above situation 2, the network device determines that the first indication information occupies the 3rd bit, the 4th bit, the 5th bit and the 6th bit of the 6 reserved bits.

[0278] It should be noted that, for the above situation 2, the fourth indication information indicates that the second indication information does not exist. In this case, the DCI does not need to include the second indication information. At this time, the network device can make the first indication information occupy the remaining 4 bits of the 6 reserved bits.

[0279] It should be noted that the first indication information occupies the remaining 4 bits of the 6 reserved bits, which does not mean that the first indication information needs to occupy all of the remaining 4 bits. The network device can determine the bits actually occupied by the first indication information based on the bits required to be occupied by the first indication information. For example, if the first indication information only needs to occupy two bits, the network device can use the third bit of the 6 reserved bits and the fourth bit to carry the first indication information. The network device continues to use the remaining two bits as reserved bits, or the network device uses the remaining two bits to carry other information.

[0280] For the above situation 3, the network device determines that the third indication information occupies the 3rd bit, the 4th bit, the 5th bit and the 6th bit of the 6 reserved bits.

[0281] It should be noted that, for the above situation 3, the third indication information indicates that the first indication information does not exist. In this case, the DCI does not need to include the first indication information. At this time, the network device can make the second indication information occupy the remaining 4 bits of the 6 reserved bits.

[0282] It should be noted that the second indication information occupies the remaining 4 bits of the 6 reserved bits, which does not mean that the second indication information needs to occupy all of the remaining 4 bits. The network device can determine the bits actually occupied by the second indication information based on the bits required to be occupied by the second indication information. For example, if the second indication information only needs to occupy two bits, the network device can use the third bit of the 6 reserved bits and the fourth bit to carry the second indication information. The network device continues to use the remaining two bits as reserved bits, or the network device uses the remaining two bits to carry other information.

[0283] For the above situation 4, the network device determines that the 3rd bit, the 4th bit, the 5th bit and the 6th bit of the 6 reserved bits are not occupied by any indication information.

[0284] It should be noted that, for the above situation 4, the third indication information indicates that the first indication information does not exist, and the fourth indication information indicates that the second indication information does not exist. In this case, the DCI does not need to include the first indication information and the second indication information. Therefore, the network device determines that the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit, and the sixth bit of the six reserved bits are not occupied by any indication information. The network device can continue to use the remaining four bits as reserved bits, or the network device can use the remaining four bits to carry other information.

[0285] It should be noted that in the above embodiment, the bits occupied by each indication information are only examples. In actual implementation, each indication information may also occupy other bits. This application does not limit which bits are occupied.

[0286] It should be noted that the DCI sent by the network device on the PDCCH monitoring opportunity may also include a short message indication (Short Message Indicator). The short message indication can be used to indicate whether the DCI schedules a paging function. In the case where the short message indication indicates that the DCI does not schedule a paging function, the terminal device does not need to further receive the PDSCH scheduled by the PDCCH to which the DCI belongs. Therefore, in the case where the short message indication indicates that the DCI does not schedule a paging function, the DCI may not include the second indication information and / or the fourth indication information; or the DCI includes the second indication information and / or the fourth indication information, but the terminal device does not parse the second indication information and / or the fourth indication information included in the DCI.

[0287] In a possible implementation of S103, the network device configures N CSI-RS for the terminal device through K SIBs, wherein the K SIBs correspond to the M SSBs, the M SSBs are the SSBs actually sent by the network device, and K is a positive integer. The CSI-RS configured by the network device through different SIBs may be the same or different.

[0288] The network device configures the CSI-RS for the terminal device through the SIB as follows: the network device adds the configuration information of the CSI-RS to be configured in the SIB, and the network device sends the SIB to the terminal device. The terminal device determines the configuration information of the CSI-RS according to the SIB.

[0289] In a possible implementation, the network device may configure the CSI-RS corresponding to the target SSB for the terminal device through the SIB in the K SIBs that has a corresponding relationship with the target SSB. The corresponding relationship between the SIB and the SSB may be: the SSB includes configuration information of the PDCCH indicating the corresponding SIB; or, the SIB and the SSB are in the same or similar directions in space.

[0290] For example, the network device may use a SIB that has a corresponding relationship with the SSB to configure a CSI-RS that has a spatial position relationship with the SSB.

[0291] For another example, the network device may use a SIB that has a corresponding relationship with the SSB to configure a CSI-RS that has a QCL-TypeD relationship with the SSB.

[0292] For another example, the network device may use a SIB that corresponds to the SSB to configure a CSI-RS with the same or similar beam direction as the SSB. The same beam direction means that the beam direction of the SSB and the beam direction of the CSI-RS are exactly the same, and similar means that the similarity between the beam direction of the SSB and the beam direction of the CSI-RS is greater than a preset value.

[0293] In an implementation of S101, the first indication information may indicate, through one bit, whether all CSI-RSs in the at least one CSI-RS corresponding thereto are available (recorded as scenario a); or the first indication information may indicate, through multiple bits, whether each CSI-RS in the at least one CSI-RS corresponding thereto is available (recorded as scenario b). Scenario a and scenario b are described below respectively:

[0294] Whether the CSI-RS is available may also refer to whether the CSI-RS is sent by the network device. If the CSI-RS is sent by the network device, the CSI-RS is available; if the CSI-RS is not sent by the network device, the CSI-RS is not available.

[0295] Scenario a: The first indication information indicates, through one bit, whether all CSI-RSs in at least one CSI-RS corresponding thereto are available.

[0296] For example, the first indication information needs to indicate whether three CSI-RSs are available, and the first indication information may indicate whether the three CSI-RSs are available through a value of one bit.

[0297] The bit position may be a predetermined bit position, for example, the first bit position in the reserved bit positions of the DCI.

[0298] In a possible implementation, if the network device sets the bit value to "1", it means that the network device indicates that the CSI-RS is available through the first indication information. If the network device sets the bit value to "0", it means that the network device indicates that the CSI-RS is not available through the first indication information.

[0299] It should be noted that in scenario a, if all CSI-RSs corresponding to the first indication information are available, the network device sets the value of the bit to 1. If part of the CSI-RSs corresponding to the first indication information are available, or all are unavailable, the network device sets the value of the bit to 0.

[0300] Alternatively, if all or part of the CSI-RS corresponding to the first indication information is available, the network device sets the value of the bit to 1. If all of the CSI-RS corresponding to the first indication information is unavailable, the network device sets the value of the bit to 0.

[0301] Scenario b: The first indication information may indicate, through a plurality of bits, whether each CSI-RS in at least one CSI-RS corresponding thereto is available.

[0302] In a possible implementation manner, the number of bits in the multiple bits is equal to the number of CSI-RS indicated by the first indication information.

[0303] For example, when the first indication information indicates A CSI-RSs, the first indication information includes A bits to indicate whether the A CSI-RSs are available, wherein the A CSI-RSs correspond to the A bits one-to-one.

[0304] The following is an example in which the first indication information indicates three CSI-RSs.

[0305] The bits in the first indication information used to indicate whether the three CSI-RSs are available are the first three bits of the six reserved bits in the DCI to which the first indication information belongs.

[0306] The first bit of the three bits is used to indicate whether the first CSI-RS of the three CSI-RSs is available. The second bit of the three bits is used to indicate whether the second CSI-RS of the three CSI-RSs is available. The third bit of the three bits is used to indicate whether the third CSI-RS of the three CSI-RSs is available.

[0307] If the value of the bit is "1", it means that the bit is used to indicate that the corresponding CSI-RS is available; if the value of the bit is "0", it means that the bit is used to indicate that the corresponding CSI-RS is unavailable.

[0308] In an example, the three bits in the first indication information are "1", "0" and "1" respectively, then the first indication information is used to indicate that the first CSI-RS and the third CSI-RS among the three CSI-RS are available, and the second CSI-RS is not available.

[0309] Based on the above technical solution, in scenario a, the first indication information only occupies one bit to indicate whether all corresponding CSI-RS are available, which reduces the bit occupied by the first indication information. In scenario b, the first indication information indicates whether the corresponding CSI-RS is available through each bit, which can greatly improve the indication accuracy of the first indication information.

[0310] It should be noted that, in combination with the above S101, the first indication information is used to indicate that at least one CSI-RS is available, at least one CSI-RS corresponds to at least one SSB, and at least one SSB corresponds to a PDCCH monitoring opportunity for sending the DCI containing the first indication information.

[0311] That is to say, there is a corresponding relationship between the at least one CSI-RS indicated by the first indication information and the SSB corresponding to the PDCCH monitoring opportunity for sending the DCI containing the first indication information, and the corresponding relationship may be a QCL-TypeD relationship, a spatial position relationship, or having the same or similar beam direction, etc. Among them, the corresponding relationship between the first indication information, SSB and CSI-RS can refer to the records in the above S101, S104 and S105 and will not be repeated here.

[0312] Based on this, the network device limits the CSI-RS that needs to be indicated by the first indication information through the correspondence between SSB and CSI-RS, thereby reducing the number of CSI-RS that needs to be indicated by the first indication information, and thereby reducing the number of bits occupied by the first indication information.

[0313] However, since the PDCCH where a DCI is located may correspond to multiple SSBs, and one SSB may correspond to multiple CSI-RSs (the correspondence may be a QCL-TypeD relationship, or a spatial position relationship, or the same or similar beam direction, etc.), the first indication information on a DCI may still need to indicate multiple CSI-RSs. In other words, the number of CSI-RSs indicated by the first indication information may still be large. This will still cause the first indication information to occupy more bits.

[0314] In order to solve this problem, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method:

[0315] A time window is set between the first PO and the second PO to further limit the CSI-RS that the first indication information needs to indicate. The first indication information only indicates whether the CSI-RS located in the time window is available among the CSI-RS that has a corresponding relationship with the SSB corresponding to the first indication information. For the CSI-RS outside the time window, regardless of whether it is a CSI-RS that has a corresponding relationship with the SSB corresponding to the first indication information, the first indication information does not indicate whether it is available. In this way, the number of CSI-RS that the first indication information needs to indicate can be further reduced, and the bits occupied by the first indication information can be reduced. The first PO is the same PO recorded in S101.

[0316] It should be pointed out that, at the first PO, the network device sends a DCI including the first indication information. Within the time window, the terminal device measures the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information, and can perform time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement, thereby synchronizing the time and frequency of the terminal device and the network device. Time-frequency synchronization is beneficial for the terminal device to monitor the PDCCH within the second PO. At the second PO, the terminal device monitors the PDCCH within the PO and obtains the DCI sent by the network device. Among them, the second PO is located after the first PO; the time window is located between the first PO and the second PO, and the time window includes one or more time slots between the first PO and the second PO.

[0317] The process of the network device determining the CSI-RS in the time window is as follows: the network device determines the time domain information of the time window and the time domain information of the CSI-RS. If the CSI-RS is located within the time window in the time domain, the network device determines that the CSI-RS is the CSI-RS in the time window.

[0318] The start time of the time window may be the end time of the first PO, or after the end time of the first PO. The end time of the time window may be the start time of the second PO, or before the start time of the second PO.

[0319] In a possible implementation, the network device determines the start time and end time of the time window by one or more of the following parameters. The parameters include: a first PO, a second PO, an offset value (offset), and the size of the time window. An exemplary description is given below:

[0320] Example 1: The network device determines that the start time of the time window is the end time of the first PO. The network device determines that the end time of the time window = the end time of the first PO + the offset value; or, the end time of the time window = the start time of the second PO - the offset value.

[0321] Example 2: The network device determines the start time of the time window = the end time of the first PO + the offset value; or, the start time of the time window = the start time of the second PO - the offset value. The network device determines the end time of the time window to be the start time of the second PO.

[0322] Example 3: The network device sets two offset values, namely the first offset value and the second offset value. The network device determines that the start time of the time window = the end time of the first PO + the first offset value; the end time of the time window = the end time of the first PO + the second offset value. Among them, the first offset value is less than or equal to the second offset value.

[0323] Example 4: The network device determines the start time of the time window = the start time of the second PO - the first offset value; the end time of the time window = the start time of the second PO - the second offset value. The first offset value is greater than or equal to the second offset value.

[0324] Example 5: The network device determines that the start time of the time window = the end time of the first PO + the first offset value; the end time of the time window = the start time of the second PO - the second offset value.

[0325] Example 6: The network device determines that the start time of the time window = the start time of the second PO - the second offset value; the end time of the time window = the end time of the first PO + the first offset value.

[0326] Example 7: The network device determines that the start time of the time window is the end time of the first PO; the end time of the time window = the end time of the first PO + the size of the time window.

[0327] Example 8: The network device determines that the end time of the time window is the start time of the second PO; the start time of the time window = the start time of the second PO - the size of the time window.

[0328] Example 9: The network device determines that the start time of the time window = the end time of the first PO + the offset value; the end time of the time window = the start time of the time window + the size of the time window.

[0329] Example 10: The network device determines that the start time of the time window = the start time of the second PO - the offset value; the end time of the time window = the start time of the time window + the size of the time window.

[0330] The above offset values ​​are all positive numbers. The above offset values ​​can be expressed by the number of time slots, the number of symbols, or the length of time (for example, the length of time in milliseconds or microseconds). The following is an explanation of the offset value in conjunction with the above example:

[0331] Combined with the above example one: if the offset value is the number of time slots, then the offset value = the last time slot of the time window - the last time slot of the first PO; if the offset value is the number of symbols, then the offset value = the last symbol of the time window - the last symbol of the first PO; if the offset value is the length of time, then the offset value = the end time of the time window - the end time of the first PO.

[0332] Combined with the above example 2: if the offset value is the number of time slots, then the offset value = the first time slot of the time window - the last time slot of the first PO; if the offset value is the number of symbols, then the offset value = the first symbol of the time window - the last symbol of the first PO; if the offset value is the length of time, then the offset value = the start time of the time window - the end time of the first PO.

[0333] Combined with the above example three: if the offset value is the number of time slots, then the first offset value = the first time slot of the time window - the last time slot of the first PO, the second offset value = the last time slot of the time window - the last time slot of the first PO; if the offset value is the number of symbols, then the first offset value = the first symbol of the time window - the last symbol of the first PO, the second offset value = the last symbol of the time window - the last symbol of the first PO; if the offset value is the length of time, then the first offset value = the start time of the time window - the end time of the first PO, the second offset value = the end time of the time window - the end time of the first PO.

[0334] Combined with the above example four: if the offset value is the number of time slots, then the first offset value = the first time slot of the second PO - the first time slot of the time window, the second offset value = the first time slot of the second PO - the last time slot of the time window; if the offset value is the number of symbols, then the first offset value = the first symbol of the second PO - the first symbol of the time window, the second offset value = the first symbol of the second PO - the last symbol of the time window; if the offset value is the length of time, then the first offset value = the start time of the second PO - the start time of the time window, the second offset value = the start time of the second PO - the end time of the time window.

[0335] Combined with the above example five: if the offset value is the number of time slots, then the first offset value = the first time slot of the time window - the last time slot of the first PO, the second offset value = the first time slot of the second PO - the last time slot of the time window; if the offset value is the number of symbols, then the first offset value = the first symbol of the time window - the last symbol of the first PO, the second offset value = the first symbol of the second PO - the last symbol of the time window; if the offset value is the length of time, then the first offset value = the start time of the determined time window - the end time of the first PO, the second offset value = the start time of the second PO - the end time of the time window.

[0336] Combined with the above example six: if the offset value is the number of time slots, then the second offset value = the first time slot of the second PO - the first time slot of the time window, and the first offset value = the last time slot of the time window - the last time slot of the first PO; if the offset value is the number of symbols, then the second offset value = the first symbol of the second PO - the first symbol of the time window, and the first offset value = the last symbol of the time window - the last symbol of the first PO; if the offset value is the length of time, then the second offset value = the start time of the second PO - the start time of the time window, and the first offset value = the end time of the time window - the end time of the first PO.

[0337] Similarly, the size of the time window can also be expressed by the number of time slots, the number of symbols, or the length of time (for example, the length of time in milliseconds or microseconds). The following describes the size of the time window in conjunction with the above example:

[0338] Combined with the above example seven: if the size of the time window is a time slot, the size of the time window = the last time slot of the time window - the last time slot of the first PO; if the size of the time window is a symbol, the size of the time window = the last symbol of the time window - the last symbol of the first PO; if the size of the time window is the length of time, the size of the time window = the end time of the time window - the end time of the first PO.

[0339] Combined with the above example eight: if the size of the time window is a time slot, the size of the time window = the first time slot of the second PO - the first time slot of the time window; if the size of the time window is a symbol, the size of the time window = the first symbol of the second PO - the first symbol of the time window;

[0340] In combination with the above Example 9 or the above Example 10: if the size of the time window is a time slot, the size of the time window = the last time slot of the time window - the first time slot of the time window.

[0341] like Fig.10As shown, it is a position relationship diagram of the first indication information, time window and second PO in the time domain provided by the embodiment of the present application. Among them, the first indication information may be the first indication information sent at the first PO, and the position relationship between the first indication information and the time window in the time domain is the same as the position relationship between the first PO and the time window in the time domain. After the first PO, the terminal device enters a deep sleep state (DeepSleep) (if the time interval between the first PO and the time window is short, the terminal device may not enter a deep sleep state, but enter a light sleep (LightSleep) state). At the time domain position of the CSI-RS indicated as available within the time window, the terminal device wakes up and enters the working state from the deep sleep state (or light sleep state); the terminal device performs CSI-RS measurement according to the CSI-RS indicated as available, and performs time and frequency synchronization between the terminal device and the network device. After completing the CSI-RS measurement, the terminal device enters a light sleep (LightSleep) state. At the time domain position of the second PO, the terminal device enters the working state from the light sleep state and monitors the PDCCH of the second PO.

[0342] It should be noted that before the first PO, the terminal device may be in a deep sleep state or a light sleep state. For example, if the terminal device performs CSI-RS measurement before the first PO, the terminal device may be in a light sleep state before the first PO. If the terminal device does not perform CSI-RS measurement before the first PO, the terminal device may be in a deep sleep state before the first PO.

[0343] Since the power consumption of the terminal device in the shallow sleep state is greater than the power consumption of the terminal device in the deep sleep state; therefore, in order to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device, it is necessary to shorten the time that the terminal device is in the shallow sleep state as much as possible. Based on this, in an embodiment of the present application, the end time of the time window can be fixed as the start time of the second PO, so that after the terminal device completes the CSI-RS measurement within the time window, it can enter the start time of the second PO as soon as possible, so as to reduce the shallow sleep time between the completion of the CSI-RS measurement and the start of the second PO, and increase the deep sleep time of the terminal device before the time window.

[0344] It should be noted that when the second PO is the first PO or a relatively early PO of a DRX cycle, the time window may be located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle.

[0345] In the embodiment of the present application, in order to avoid the situation where the first indication information occupies more bits due to the large number of CSI-RSs that need to be indicated by the first indication information, the network device can set the maximum number of CSI-RSs included in the time window, thereby further limiting the number of bits occupied by the first indication information. In addition, if the maximum number of CSI-RSs in the time window is limited, the network device only needs to allocate a fixed number of bits for the first indication information in the DCI.

[0346] For example, the network device sets the maximum number of CSI-RS included in the time window to 3, and the network device allocates 3 fixed bits for the first indication information in the DCI to indicate whether the CSI-RS in the time window is available.

[0347] Alternatively, when the number of CSI-RS included in the time window is large, the at least one CSI-RS indicated by the first indication information is at least one CSI-RS among the multiple CSI-RS in the time window. That is to say, the first indication information may only indicate whether a part of the CSI-RS in the time window is available, thereby reducing the bits occupied by the first indication information. Among them, the part of CSI-RS may be the Z consecutive CSI-RSs closest to the start time of the time window in the time window, or the Z consecutive CSI-RSs closest to the end time of the time window in the time window. Among them, the time window includes Y CSI-RSs, Y and Z are both positive integers, and Y≥Z.

[0348] For example, there are 6 CSI-RSs in the time window, and the first indication information only indicates whether the last 3 CSI-RSs of the 6 CSI-RSs are available.

[0349] Based on the above technical solution, the network device reduces the number of bits occupied by the first indication information by limiting the maximum number of CSI-RS in the time window, or only indicating part of the CSI-RS in the time window when the number of CSI-RS in the time window is large.

[0350] In a possible implementation, the length of the time window is related to the SSB.

[0351] For example, if the SSB period configured by the network device is greater than the preset period, the network device determines the duration of the time window to be the preset duration. If the SSB period configured by the network device is less than or equal to the preset period, the network device determines the duration of the time window to be 0.

[0352] For another example, if the SSB period configured by the network device is greater than or equal to the preset period, the network device determines the duration of the time window to be the preset duration. If the SSB period configured by the network device is less than the preset period, the network device determines the duration of the time window to be 0.

[0353] The duration of the time window may be expressed as the number of time slots or the length of time (eg, the length of time in milliseconds or microseconds). When the duration of the time window is 0, the network device may not set the time window.

[0354] This is because when the SSB period configured by the network device is less than the preset period, the terminal device measures the SSB for time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement, and the power consumption of the terminal device is still relatively small. At this time, the terminal device can measure the SSB for time-frequency tracking and wireless resource measurement. Therefore, in this case, the network device can configure the time window duration to be 0, or not set the time window, and the CSI-RS is not included in the time window. Before the second PO, the terminal can perform SSB measurement, but not CSI-RS measurement.

[0355] Correspondingly, in this case, in order to save the signaling overhead of the network device, the network device may not send the first indication information; in order to reduce the power consumption of the terminal device, the terminal device may not perform CSI-RS measurement.

[0356] In a possible implementation method of an embodiment of the present application, the first PO and the second PO can be located in the same DRX cycle (represented as case A), or the first PO and the second PO can be located in different DRX cycles (represented as case B). The positional relationship between the first PO and the second PO in the time domain under case A and case B is described below.

[0357] Case A: the first PO and the second PO are in the same DRX cycle.

[0358] It should be noted that the available CSI-RS in the time window indicated by the first indication information may be inconsistent with the CSI-RS actually sent by the network device. The shorter the time between the first indication information and the time window, the higher the consistency between the available CSI-RS in the time window indicated by the first indication information and the CSI-RS actually sent by the network device. Therefore, in order to improve the consistency between the available CSI-RS indicated by the first indication information and the CSI-RS actually sent by the network device, the time between the first PO and the time window can be made as close as possible.

[0359] Based on this, the first PO can be a PO adjacent to the second PO and located before the second PO. The time window is between the first PO and the second PO. At this time, if the second PO is not the first PO of the DRX cycle, the first PO and the second PO are in the same DRX cycle. If the second PO is the first PO of the DRX cycle, the first PO is in the DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

[0360] In this way, after the terminal device receives the first indication information in the first PO, it determines the CSI-RS indicated as available. In the time window, the terminal device measures these CSI-RS indicated as available. This can avoid the situation where the CSI-RS indicated as available in the first PO is not sent by the network device in the time window due to the long interval between the first PO and the time window.

[0361] It should be noted that, when the first PO is adjacent to the second PO and is located before the second PO, the time interval between the time window and the first PO is short. At this time, after the first PO, the terminal may not enter a deep sleep state, but a light sleep state. At the time domain position of the first available CSI-RS in the time window, the terminal device enters the awakening state from the light sleep state and measures the CSI-RS.

[0362] Case B: the first PO and the second PO are in different DRX cycles.

[0363] In this case, the DRX cycle to which the first PO belongs is adjacent to the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs, and the first PO and the second PO are POs that need to be monitored by the same terminal device.

[0364] In the first PO of the first DRX cycle, the terminal device receives the first indication information sent by the network device, and the terminal device determines the available CSI-RS based on the first indication information. At the time domain position of the first available CSI-RS in the time window, the terminal device wakes up and measures the CSI-RS in the time window. In the second PO of the second DRX cycle, the terminal device monitors the PDCCH of the second PO.

[0365] In this way, the terminal device only needs to wake up in the PO that the terminal device needs to monitor to obtain the first indication information, and does not need to wake up in other POs to obtain the first indication information. In this way, the time and number of wake-up of the terminal device can be reduced, thereby saving power consumption of the terminal device.

[0366] The above points out the possible implementation of the communication method described in the embodiment of the present application when the first indication information is carried in the DCI of the PO. In actual application, the first indication information can also be indicated by other signaling, such as by newly added signaling. The following will be specifically described by indicating the first indication information through the newly added signaling.

[0367] When the first indication information is indicated by a newly added signaling, the first signaling is a set of PDCCH monitoring opportunities. The first signaling includes multiple time slots. The first indication information is indicated by a DCI of the first signaling. The DCI of the first signaling is sent in the PDCCH monitoring opportunity of the first signaling.

[0368] Specifically, the DCI of the first signaling can be sent on any PDCCH monitoring opportunity before the time window (not limited to being sent on the PDCCH of PO). The specific implementation of the first signaling can refer to the above-mentioned implementation method of the DCI sent on the PDCCH monitoring opportunity, which will not be repeated here. The first signaling can have a similar structure to PO. For example, the first signaling consists of multiple PDCCH monitoring opportunities.

[0369] Similarly, the correspondence between the first signaling and the time window and the second PO (including the indicated CSI-RS information, the relationship in the time domain position, etc.) can refer to the above-mentioned correspondence between the first PO and the time window, and the second PO, and will not be repeated here.

[0370] The difference between the DCI indicating the first indication information through the first signaling and the DCI carrying the first indication information through the PO is that:

[0371] The first signaling is a newly added signaling, so the relationship between the first signaling and the time window, and the second PO in the time slot position may not be restricted by the time slot allocated by the network device for the PO. The DCI of the first signaling may be sent in any PDCCH time slot before the time window.

[0372] The time domain position of the first signaling may be configured by the search space. For example, the network device configures the time distance between the first signaling and the second PO to be a fixed value through the search space.

[0373] Alternatively, the time domain position of the first signaling may be determined according to the first CSI-RS in the time window, or the position of the first available CSI-RS in the time domain, and an offset value.

[0374] For example, the last time slot of the first signaling = the first time slot - the offset value.

[0375] For another example, the first time slot of the first signaling = the first time slot - the offset value.

[0376] For another example, the monitoring time slot of the first signaling = the first time slot - the offset value.

[0377] The first time slot is any time slot of the first CSI-RS (eg, the first time slot or the last time slot), or any time slot of the first available CSI-RS (eg, the first time slot or the last time slot).

[0378] In the embodiment of the present application, the time window may be located not only between two POs, but also within a paging frame (PF) or between two PFs.

[0379] For example, if the time window includes one or more time slots between multiple POs within a PF, the first indication information may indicate whether the CSI-RS within one or more time slots between the multiple POs within the PF is available.

[0380] For another example, if the time window includes the time slot before the first PO in the PF, the first indication information may indicate whether the CSI-RS in the time slot before the first PO is available.

[0381] The terminal device wakes up at the transmission time of the CSI-RS according to the time domain information of the available CSI-RS and measures the CSI-RS. In this way, when the network device is configured with fewer CSI-RS, the first indication information indicates the CSI-RS within a PF or between two PFs, which can improve the utilization rate of the first indication information and reduce the amount of first indication information that the network device needs to send.

[0382] The various solutions in the above embodiments of the present application can be combined without contradiction.

[0383] The above mainly introduces the scheme of the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of the interaction between various network elements. It can be understood that in order to realize the above functions, each network element, such as a network device and a terminal device, includes at least one of the hardware structure and software modules corresponding to each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware 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 exceed the scope of this application.

[0384] The embodiment of the present application can divide the network device and the terminal device into functional units according to the above method example. For example, each functional unit can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing unit. The above integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units. It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation.

[0385] In the case of an integrated unit, Figure 5A possible structural diagram of a communication device (denoted as communication device 120 ) involved in the above embodiment is shown. The communication device 120 includes a processing unit 1201 and a communication unit 1202 , and may also include a storage unit 1203 . Figure 5 The structural schematic diagram shown can be used to illustrate the structures of the network devices and terminal devices involved in the above embodiments.

[0386] when Figure 5 The schematic diagram of the structure shown in the figure is used to illustrate the structure of the terminal device involved in the above embodiment. The processing unit 1201 is used to control and manage the actions of the terminal device, for example, to control the terminal device to execute Figure 2 S101 and S102 in Figure 3 The processing unit 1201 may communicate with other network entities through the communication unit 1202, for example, with Figure 2 The storage unit 1203 is used to store program codes and data of the terminal device.

[0387] when Figure 5 When the structural schematic diagram shown is used to illustrate the structure of the terminal device involved in the above embodiment, the communication device 120 can be a terminal device or a chip in the terminal device.

[0388] when Figure 5 The structural diagram shown is used to illustrate the structure of the network device involved in the above embodiment. The processing unit 1201 is used to control and manage the actions of the network device, for example, to control the network device to execute Figure 2 S101 and S102 in Figure 3 The processing unit 1201 may communicate with other network entities through the communication unit 1202, for example, Figure 2 The storage unit 1203 is used to store program codes and data of the terminal device.

[0389] when Figure 5 When the structural schematic diagram shown is used to illustrate the structure of the network device involved in the above embodiment, the communication device 120 can be a network device or a chip in the network device.

[0390] Wherein, when the communication device 120 is a terminal device or a network device, the processing unit 1201 may be a processor or a controller, and the communication unit 1202 may be a communication interface, a transceiver, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, a transceiver device, etc. Wherein, the communication interface is a general term and may include one or more interfaces. The storage unit 1203 may be a memory. When the communication device 120 is a chip in a terminal device or a network device, the processing unit 1201 may be a processor or a controller, and the communication unit 1202 may be an input interface and / or an output interface, a pin or a circuit, etc. The storage unit 1203 may be a storage unit in the chip (for example, a register, a cache, etc.), or a storage unit located outside the chip in the terminal device or the network device (for example, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), etc.).

[0391] Among them, the communication unit can also be called a transceiver unit. The antenna and control circuit with transceiver functions in the communication device 120 can be regarded as the communication unit 1202 of the communication device 120, and the processor with processing function can be regarded as the processing unit 1201 of the communication device 120. Optionally, the device used to implement the receiving function in the communication unit 1202 can be regarded as a receiving unit, and the receiving unit is used to perform the receiving steps in the embodiment of the present application. The receiving unit can be a receiver, a receiver, a receiving circuit, etc. The device used to implement the sending function in the communication unit 1202 can be regarded as a sending unit, and the sending unit is used to perform the sending steps in the embodiment of the present application. The sending unit can be a transmitter, a transmitter, a sending circuit, etc.

[0392] Figure 5 If the integrated unit in is implemented in the form of a software function module 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 embodiment 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 to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The storage medium for storing computer software products includes: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memories, random access memories, magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0393] Figure 5 A unit in may also be referred to as a module, for example, a processing unit may be referred to as a processing module.

[0394] The present application also provides a hardware structure diagram of a communication device (referred to as communication device 130), see Figure 6 or Figure 7 The communication device 130 includes a processor 1301 and, optionally, a memory 1302 connected to the processor 1301 .

[0395] In the first possible implementation, see Figure 6 , the communication device 130 also includes a transceiver 1303. The processor 1301, the memory 1302 and the transceiver 1303 are connected via a bus. The transceiver 1303 is used to communicate with other devices or a communication network. Optionally, the transceiver 1303 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The device used to implement the receiving function in the transceiver 1303 can be regarded as a receiver, and the receiver is used to perform the receiving step in the embodiment of the present application. The device used to implement the sending function in the transceiver 1303 can be regarded as a transmitter, and the transmitter is used to perform the sending step in the embodiment of the present application.

[0396] Based on the first possible implementation, Figure 6 The structural schematic diagram shown can be used to illustrate the structure of the network device or terminal device involved in the above embodiments.

[0397] when Figure 6 The schematic diagram of the structure shown in FIG. 1 is used to illustrate the structure of the terminal device involved in the above embodiment. The processor 1301 is used to control and manage the actions of the terminal device. For example, the processor 1301 is used to support the terminal device to execute Figure 2 S101 and S102 in Figure 3 The processor 1301 may communicate with other network entities through the transceiver 1303, for example, Figure 2 The memory 1302 is used to store program codes and data of the terminal device.

[0398] when Figure 6 The schematic diagram of the structure shown in FIG. 1 is used to illustrate the structure of the network device involved in the above embodiment. The processor 1301 is used to control and manage the actions of the network device. For example, the processor 1301 is used to support the network device to execute Figure 2 S101 and S102 in Figure 3 The processor 1301 may communicate with other network entities through the transceiver 1303, for example, Figure 2The memory 1302 is used to store program codes and data of the network device.

[0399] In a second possible implementation, the processor 1301 includes a logic circuit and at least one of an input interface and an output interface, wherein the output interface is used to execute the sending action in the corresponding method, and the input interface is used to execute the receiving action in the corresponding method.

[0400] Based on the second possible implementation, see Figure 7 , Figure 7 The structural schematic diagram shown can be used to illustrate the structure of the network device or terminal device involved in the above embodiments.

[0401] when Figure 7 The schematic diagram of the structure shown is used to illustrate the structure of the terminal device involved in the above embodiment. The processor 1301 is used to control and manage the actions of the terminal device. For example, the processor 1301 is used to support the terminal device to control the terminal device to execute Figure 2 S101 and S102 in Figure 3 The processor 1301 may communicate with other network entities through at least one of the input interface and the output interface, for example, Figure 2 The memory 1302 is used to store program codes and data of the terminal device.

[0402] when Figure 7 The schematic diagram of the structure shown in FIG. 1 is used to illustrate the structure of the network device involved in the above embodiment. The processor 1301 is used to control and manage the actions of the network device. For example, the processor 1301 is used to support the network device to execute Figure 2 S101 and S102 in Figure 3 The processor 1301 may communicate with other network entities through at least one of the input interface and the output interface, for example, Figure 2 The memory 1302 is used to store program codes and data of the network device.

[0403] in, Figure 6 and Figure 7 It can also illustrate a system chip in a network device. In this case, the actions performed by the above network device can be implemented by the system chip. The specific actions performed can be found above and will not be repeated here. Figure 6 and Figure 7It can also illustrate a system chip in the terminal device. In this case, the actions performed by the terminal device can be implemented by the system chip. The specific actions performed can be found above and will not be repeated here.

[0404] In addition, the present application embodiment also provides a hardware structure diagram of a terminal device (referred to as terminal device 150) and a network device (referred to as network device 160), which can be specifically referred to in Figure 8 and Fig. 9 .

[0405] Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the terminal device 150. For ease of explanation, Figure 8 Only the main components of the terminal device are shown. Figure 8 As shown, the terminal device 150 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and an input and output device.

[0406] The processor is mainly used to process the communication protocol and communication data, as well as to control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process the data of software programs. For example, it is used to control the terminal device to execute Figure 2 S101 and S102 in Figure 3 S101, S102, S103 and S105 in the embodiment of the present application, and / or the actions performed by the terminal device in other processes described in the embodiments of the present application. The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The control circuit (also referred to as the radio frequency circuit) is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing radio frequency signals. The control circuit and the antenna together can also be called a transceiver, which is mainly used to send and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc. are mainly used to receive data input by users and output data to users.

[0407] When the terminal device is turned on, the processor can read the software program in the memory, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent through the antenna, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent, and outputs the baseband signal to the control circuit in the control circuit. The control circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then sends the radio frequency signal outward through the antenna in the form of electromagnetic waves. When data is sent to the terminal device, the control circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0408] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that for ease of description, Figure 8Only one memory and processor are shown. In an actual terminal device, there may be multiple processors and memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0409] As an optional implementation, the processor may include a baseband processor and a central processing unit. The baseband processor is mainly used to process the communication protocol and communication data, and the central processing unit is mainly used to control the entire terminal device, execute software programs, and process software program data. Figure 8 The processor in integrates the functions of the baseband processor and the central processing unit. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may also be independent processors interconnected through technologies such as buses. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terminal device may include multiple baseband processors to adapt to different network formats, and the terminal device may include multiple central processing units to enhance its processing capabilities, and the various components of the terminal device may be connected through various buses. The baseband processor may also be described as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may also be described as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing the communication protocol and the communication data may be built into the processor, or may be stored in the memory in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to implement the baseband processing function.

[0410] Fig. 9 Schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the network device 160. The network device 160 may include one or more radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) 1601 and one or more baseband units (BBU) (also referred to as digital units (DU)) 1602.

[0411] The RRU 1601 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., and may include at least one antenna 1611 and a radio frequency unit 1612. The RRU 1601 is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals to baseband signals. The RRU 1601 and the BBU 1602 may be physically arranged together or physically separated, for example, a distributed base station.

[0412] The BBU 1602 is the control center of the network equipment, which can also be called a processing unit, and is mainly used to complete baseband processing functions such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spread spectrum, etc.

[0413] In one embodiment, the BBU 1602 may be composed of one or more single boards, and multiple single boards may jointly support a wireless access network of a single access standard (such as an LTE network), or may respectively support wireless access networks of different access standards (such as an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The BBU 1602 also includes a memory 1621 and a processor 1622, and the memory 1621 is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 1622 is used to control the network equipment to perform necessary actions. The memory 1621 and the processor 1622 may serve one or more single boards. In other words, a memory and a processor may be separately set on each single board. It is also possible that multiple single boards share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits may also be set on each single board.

[0414] It should be understood that Fig. 9 The network device 160 is shown to be capable of performing Figure 2 S101 and S102 in Figure 3 The operations, functions, or operations and functions of each module in the network device 160 are respectively configured to implement the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments. For details, please refer to the description in the above method embodiments. To avoid repetition, the detailed description is appropriately omitted here.

[0415] In the implementation process, each step in the method provided in this embodiment can be completed by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor or by instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiment of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor.

[0416] The processor in the present application may include but is not limited to at least one of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an artificial intelligence processor and other types of computing devices that run software, each of which may include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform operations or processing. The processor may be a separate semiconductor chip, or it may be integrated into a semiconductor chip together with other circuits. For example, it may form a SoC (system on chip) with other circuits (such as a codec circuit, a hardware acceleration circuit, or various buses and interface circuits), or it may be integrated into the ASIC as a built-in processor of an ASIC. The ASIC with the integrated processor may be packaged separately or with other circuits. In addition to the core for executing software instructions for operations or processing, the processor may further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), PLDs (programmable logic devices), or logic circuits that implement dedicated logic operations.

[0417] The memory in the embodiments of the present application may include at least one of the following types: read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, and may also be electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). In some scenarios, the memory may also be a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to this.

[0418] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to execute any of the above methods.

[0419] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute any of the above methods.

[0420] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, including: the above-mentioned network device and terminal device.

[0421] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit is coupled to the processor, the processor is used to run a computer program or instruction to implement the above method, and the interface circuit is used to communicate with other modules outside the chip.

[0422] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that contains one or more media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0423] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art may understand and implement other changes to the disclosed embodiments by viewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "one" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit may implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0424] Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely exemplary illustrations of the present application as defined by the appended claims, and are deemed to have covered any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending first downlink control information DCI on a first physical downlink control channel PDCCH monitoring opportunity, where the first DCI includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first channel state information reference signal CSI-RS is available within a first time window, where the first CSI-RS corresponds to a first synchronization signal block SSB, and where the first SSB corresponds to the first PDCCH monitoring opportunity; Send the first CSI-RS.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first CSI-RS is located in a first time slot, the first time slot is located in the first time window, and is located before the first PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

3. The communication method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first PDCCH monitoring opportunity belongs to the first paging opportunity PO.

4. The communication method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first PO belongs to a first paging frame PF.

5. A communication method, characterized in that: include: On a first physical downlink control channel PDCCH monitoring opportunity, receiving first downlink control information DCI, where the first DCI includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first channel state information reference signal CSI-RS is available within a first time window, where the first CSI-RS corresponds to a first synchronization signal block SSB, and where the first SSB corresponds to the first PDCCH monitoring opportunity; Receive the first CSI-RS.

6. The communication method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first CSI-RS is located in a first time slot, the first time slot is located in the first time window, and is located before the first PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

7. The communication method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The first PDCCH monitoring opportunity belongs to the first paging opportunity PO.

8. The communication method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first PO belongs to a first paging frame PF.

9. A network device, characterized in that: include: a processing unit and a communication unit; The processing unit is configured to send first downlink control information DCI on a first physical downlink control channel PDCCH monitoring opportunity through the communication unit, where the first DCI includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first channel state information reference signal CSI-RS is available within a first time window, the first CSI-RS corresponds to a first synchronization signal block SSB, and the first SSB corresponds to the first PDCCH monitoring opportunity; The processing unit is further configured to send the first CSI-RS through the communication unit.

10. The network device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The first CSI-RS is located in a first time slot, the first time slot is located in the first time window, and is located before the first PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

11. The network device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that: The first PDCCH monitoring opportunity belongs to the first paging opportunity PO.

12. The network device according to claim 11, characterized in that: The first PO belongs to a first paging frame PF.

13. A terminal device, characterized in that: include: a processing unit and a communication unit; The processing unit is configured to receive, through the communication unit, first downlink control information DCI on a first physical downlink control channel PDCCH monitoring opportunity, where the first DCI includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first channel state information reference signal CSI-RS is available within a first time window, where the first CSI-RS corresponds to a first synchronization signal block SSB, and where the first SSB corresponds to the first PDCCH monitoring opportunity; The processing unit is further configured to receive the first CSI-RS through the communication unit.

14. The terminal device according to claim 13, characterized in that: The first CSI-RS is located in a first time slot, the first time slot is located in the first time window, and is located before the first PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

15. The terminal device according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that: The first PDCCH monitoring opportunity belongs to the first paging opportunity PO.

16. The terminal device according to claim 15, characterized in that: The first PO belongs to a first paging frame PF.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending at least one downlink control information DCI on at least one physical downlink control channel PDCCH monitoring opportunity, where all or part of the at least one DCI includes first indication information, where each first indication information is used to indicate that at least one channel state information reference signal CSI-RS is available within a first time window, where the at least one CSI-RS corresponds to at least one synchronization signal block SSB, and where the at least one SSB corresponds to a PDCCH monitoring opportunity for sending the DCI where the first indication information is located; Sending a CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information.

18. The communication method according to claim 17, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS is located in the first time window, a first CSI-RS among the at least one CSI-RS is located in a first time slot, the first time slot is located in the first time window and is located before the at least one PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

19. The communication method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that: Before sending at least one DCI, the method further includes: N CSI-RSs are configured for the terminal device through the system information block SIB or high-layer signaling, where the N CSI-RSs include the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information, and N is a positive integer.

20. The communication method according to claim 19, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The correspondence between the N CSI-RS and the M SSB is configured for the terminal device through SIB or high-level signaling, where the M SSB is the SSB actually sent by the network device, and M is a positive integer.

21. The communication method according to claim 20, characterized in that: The correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs is related to the order of the N CSI-RSs in the SIB or high-layer signaling used to configure the N CSI-RSs; or, The correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs is related to the identifiers of the N CSI-RSs.

22. The communication method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS has a spatial position relationship with the at least one SSB.

23. The communication method according to claim 22, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS has a quasi co-located QCL-type D relationship with the at least one SSB; or, The beam direction of the at least one CSI-RS is the same as or similar to that of the at least one SSB.

24. The communication method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that: The terminal devices receiving the DCI on the at least one PDCCH monitoring opportunity are divided into L terminal groups, where L is a positive integer; The first bit in each DCI is used to indicate whether the first indication information exists, and the second bit is used to indicate whether the second indication information exists, and the second indication information is used to indicate the terminal group receiving the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH scheduled by the DCI; In a case where the first bit indicates that the first indication information exists, and the second bit indicates that the second indication information exists, the first indication information occupies the third bit and the fourth bit, and the second indication information occupies the fifth bit and the sixth bit; When the first bit indicates that the first indication information exists and the second bit indicates that the second indication information does not exist, the first indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit; When the first bit indicates that the first indication information does not exist and the second bit indicates that the second indication information exists, the second indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit.

25. The communication method according to claim 20, characterized in that: The configuring N CSI-RSs for the terminal device through the SIB includes: The N CSI-RS are configured for the terminal device through K SIBs; wherein the K SIBs correspond to the M SSBs, the M SSBs are the SSBs actually sent by the network device, and K is a positive integer.

26. The communication method according to claim 25, characterized in that: include: The CSI-RS corresponding to the target SSB is configured through the SIB among the K SIBs that has a corresponding relationship with the target SSB.

27. The communication method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that: The at least one PDCCH monitoring opportunity belongs to the first paging opportunity PO.

28. The communication method according to claim 27, characterized in that: The first PO belongs to a first paging frame PF.

29. The communication method according to claim 28, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS is a CSI-RS within a time window; the time window includes one or more time slots between the first PO and the second PO; the second PO is located after the first PO in the time domain.

30. The communication method according to claim 29, characterized in that: The time window and the second PO are located in the same discontinuous reception DRX cycle.

31. The communication method according to claim 29, characterized in that: The time window is located in the DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

32. The communication method according to claim 29, characterized in that: The first PO and the second PO are in the same DRX cycle.

33. The communication method according to claim 29, characterized in that: The first PO is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

34. The communication method according to claim 33, characterized in that: The first PO and the second PO are POs monitored by the terminal device in different DRX cycles.

35. The communication method according to claim 29, characterized in that: If the time window includes multiple CSI-RSs, the at least one CSI-RS is all or part of the CSI-RSs in the time window.

36. The communication method according to claim 29, characterized in that: The maximum number of CSI-RSs in the time window is predetermined.

37. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving downlink control information DCI on at least one physical downlink control channel PDCCH monitoring opportunity, the DCI including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that at least one channel state information reference signal CSI-RS is available within a first time window, the at least one CSI-RS corresponds to at least one synchronization signal block SSB, and the at least one SSB corresponds to the PDCCH monitoring opportunity; Receive a CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information.

38. The communication method according to claim 37, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS is located in the first time window, a first CSI-RS among the at least one CSI-RS is located in a first time slot, the first time slot is located in the first time window and is located before the at least one PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

39. The communication method according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that: Before receiving the DCI, the method further includes: A system information block SIB or a higher layer signaling is received by a network device for configuring N CSI-RSs, where the N CSI-RSs include a CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information.

40. The communication method according to claim 39, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive the SIB or high-level signaling used by the network device to configure the correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs, where the M SSBs are the SSBs actually sent by the network device.

41. The communication method according to claim 40, characterized in that: The correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs is related to the order of the N CSI-RSs in the SIB or higher layer signaling used to configure the N CSI-RSs; or, The correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs is related to the identifiers of the N CSI-RSs.

42. The communication method according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS has a spatial position relationship with the at least one SSB.

43. The communication method according to claim 42, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS has a quasi co-located QCL-type D relationship with the at least one SSB; or, The beam direction of the at least one CSI-RS is the same as or similar to that of the at least one SSB.

44. The communication method according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that: The terminal devices receiving the DCI on the at least one PDCCH monitoring opportunity are divided into L terminal groups, where L is a positive integer; The first bit in each DCI is used to indicate whether the first indication information exists, and the second bit is used to indicate whether the second indication information exists, and the second indication information is used to indicate the terminal group receiving the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH scheduled by the DCI; In a case where the first bit indicates that the first indication information exists, and the second bit indicates that the second indication information exists, the first indication information occupies the third bit and the fourth bit, and the second indication information occupies the fifth bit and the sixth bit; When the first bit indicates that the first indication information exists and the second bit indicates that the second indication information does not exist, the first indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit; When the first bit indicates that the first indication information does not exist and the second bit indicates that the second indication information exists, the second indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit.

45. The communication method according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that: The number of SIBs configured for the N CSI-RSs for the terminal device is K; wherein the K SIBs correspond to the M SSBs, the M SSBs are the SSBs actually sent by the network device, and K and M are both positive integers.

46. ​​The communication method according to claim 45, characterized in that: include: The SIB among the K SIBs that has a corresponding relationship with the target SSB is used to configure the CSI-RS corresponding to the target SSB.

47. The communication method according to claim 37 or 38, characterized in that: The at least one PDCCH monitoring opportunity belongs to the first paging opportunity PO.

48. The communication method according to claim 47, characterized in that: The first PO belongs to a first paging frame PF.

49. The communication method according to claim 47, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS is a CSI-RS within a time window; the time window includes one or more time slots between the first PO and the second PO; the second PO is located after the first PO in the time domain.

50. The communication method according to claim 49, characterized in that: The time window and the second PO are located in the same discontinuous reception DRX cycle.

51. The communication method according to claim 49, characterized in that: The time window is located in the DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

52. The communication method according to claim 49, characterized in that: The first PO and the second PO are in the same DRX cycle.

53. The communication method according to claim 49, characterized in that: The first PO is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

54. The communication method according to claim 53, characterized in that: The first PO and the second PO are POs monitored by the terminal device in different DRX cycles.

55. The communication method according to claim 49, characterized in that: If the time window includes multiple CSI-RSs, the at least one CSI-RS is all or part of the CSI-RSs in the time window.

56. The communication method according to claim 49, characterized in that: The maximum number of CSI-RSs in the time window is predetermined.

57. A network device, characterized in that: include: a processing unit and a communication unit; The processing unit is configured to send at least one downlink control information DCI on at least one physical downlink control channel PDCCH monitoring opportunity through the communication unit, where all or part of the at least one DCI includes first indication information, each first indication information is used to indicate that at least one channel state information reference signal CSI-RS is available within a first time window, the at least one CSI-RS corresponds to at least one synchronization signal block SSB, and the at least one SSB corresponds to a PDCCH monitoring opportunity for sending the DCI where the first indication information is located; The processing unit is further configured to send, through the communication unit, the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information.

58. The network device according to claim 57, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS is located in the first time window, and a first CSI-RS among the at least one CSI-RS is located in a first time slot, which is before the at least one PDCCH monitoring opportunity and is located in the first time window.

59. The network device according to claim 57 or 58, characterized in that: The processing unit is further used to configure N CSI-RSs for the terminal device through the communication unit through the system information block SIB or high-layer signaling, and the N CSI-RSs include the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information.

60. The network device according to claim 59, characterized in that The processing unit is also used to configure the correspondence between the N CSI-RS and the M SSBs for the terminal device through the communication unit via SIB or high-level signaling, and the M SSBs are the SSBs actually sent by the network device.

61. The network device according to claim 60, characterized in that The correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs is related to the order of the N CSI-RSs in the SIB or high-layer signaling used to configure the N CSI-RSs; or, The correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs is related to the identifiers of the N CSI-RSs.

62. The network device according to claim 57 or 58, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS has a spatial position relationship with the at least one SSB.

63. The network device according to claim 62, characterized in that The at least one CSI-RS has a quasi co-located QCL-type D relationship with the at least one SSB; or, The beam direction of the at least one CSI-RS is the same as or similar to that of the at least one SSB.

64. The network device according to claim 57 or 58, characterized in that: The terminal devices receiving the DCI on the at least one PDCCH monitoring opportunity are divided into L terminal groups, where L is a positive integer; The first bit in each DCI is used to indicate whether the first indication information exists, and the second bit is used to indicate whether the second indication information exists, and the second indication information is used to indicate the terminal group receiving the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH scheduled by the DCI; In a case where the first bit indicates that the first indication information exists, and the second bit indicates that the second indication information exists, the first indication information occupies the third bit and the fourth bit, and the second indication information occupies the fifth bit and the sixth bit; When the first bit indicates that the first indication information exists and the second bit indicates that the second indication information does not exist, the first indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit; When the first bit indicates that the first indication information does not exist and the second bit indicates that the second indication information exists, the second indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit.

65. The network device according to claim 60, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically used for: The N CSI-RS are configured for the terminal device through K SIBs; wherein the K SIBs correspond to the M SSBs, the M SSBs are SSBs actually sent by the network device, and K and M are both positive integers.

66. The network device according to claim 65, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically used for: The CSI-RS corresponding to the target SSB is configured through the SIB among the K SIBs that has a corresponding relationship with the target SSB.

67. The network device according to claim 57 or 58, characterized in that: The at least one PDCCH monitoring opportunity belongs to the first paging opportunity PO.

68. The network device according to claim 67, characterized in that The first PO belongs to a first paging frame PF.

69. The network device according to claim 57 or 58, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS is a CSI-RS within a time window; the time window includes one or more time slots between the first PO and the second PO; the second PO is located after the first PO in the time domain.

70. The network device according to claim 69, characterized in that The time window and the second PO are located in the same discontinuous reception DRX cycle.

71. The network device according to claim 69, characterized in that The time window is located in the DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

72. The network device according to claim 69, characterized in that The first PO and the second PO are in the same DRX cycle.

73. The network device according to claim 69, characterized in that The first PO is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

74. The network device according to claim 73, characterized in that The first PO and the second PO are POs monitored by the terminal device in different DRX cycles.

75. The network device according to claim 69, characterized in that If the time window includes multiple CSI-RSs, the at least one CSI-RS is all or part of the CSI-RSs in the time window.

76. The network device according to claim 69, characterized in that The maximum number of CSI-RSs in the time window is predetermined.

77. A terminal device, characterized in that: include: a processing unit and a communication unit; The processing unit is configured to receive downlink control information DCI through the communication unit on at least one physical downlink control channel PDCCH monitoring opportunity, where the DCI includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate that at least one channel state information reference signal CSI-RS is available within a first time window, the at least one CSI-RS corresponds to at least one synchronization signal block SSB, and the at least one SSB corresponds to the PDCCH monitoring opportunity; The processing unit is further configured to receive, through the communication unit, a CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information.

78. The terminal device according to claim 77, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS is located in the first time window, a first CSI-RS among the at least one CSI-RS is located in a first time slot, the first time slot is located in the first time window and is located before the at least one PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

79. The terminal device according to claim 77 or 78, characterized in that: The processing unit is further used to receive, through the communication unit, a system information block SIB or a high-layer signaling used by a network device to configure N CSI-RSs, where the N CSI-RSs include the CSI-RS indicated as available by the first indication information.

80. The terminal device according to claim 79, characterized in that: The processing unit is also used to receive, through the communication unit, the SIB or high-level signaling used by the network device to configure the correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs, where the M SSBs are the SSBs actually sent by the network device.

81. The terminal device according to claim 80, characterized in that: The correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs is related to the order of the N CSI-RSs in the SIB or high-layer signaling used to configure the N CSI-RSs; or, The correspondence between the N CSI-RSs and the M SSBs is related to the identifiers of the N CSI-RSs.

82. The terminal device according to claim 77 or 78, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS has a spatial position relationship with the at least one SSB.

83. The terminal device according to claim 82, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS has a quasi co-located QCL-type D relationship with the at least one SSB; or, The beam direction of the at least one CSI-RS is the same as or similar to that of the at least one SSB.

84. The terminal device according to claim 77 or 78, characterized in that: The terminal devices receiving DCI on the PDCCH monitoring opportunity of the first PO are divided into L terminal groups, where L is a positive integer; The first bit in each DCI is used to indicate whether the first indication information exists, and the second bit is used to indicate whether the second indication information exists, and the second indication information is used to indicate the terminal group receiving the physical downlink shared channel PDSCH scheduled by the DCI; In a case where the first bit indicates that the first indication information exists, and the second bit indicates that the second indication information exists, the first indication information occupies the third bit and the fourth bit, and the second indication information occupies the fifth bit and the sixth bit; When the first bit indicates that the first indication information exists and the second bit indicates that the second indication information does not exist, the first indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit; When the first bit indicates that the first indication information does not exist and the second bit indicates that the second indication information exists, the second indication information occupies the third bit, the fourth bit, the fifth bit and the sixth bit.

85. The terminal device according to claim 80, characterized in that: The number of SIBs configured for the N CSI-RSs for the terminal device is K; wherein the K SIBs correspond to the M SSBs, the M SSBs are the SSBs actually sent by the network device, and K and M are both positive integers.

86. The terminal device according to claim 85, characterized in that: include: The SIB among the K SIBs that has a corresponding relationship with the target SSB is used to configure the CSI-RS corresponding to the target SSB.

87. The terminal device according to claim 77 or 78, characterized in that: The at least one PDCCH monitoring opportunity belongs to the first paging opportunity PO.

88. The terminal device according to claim 87, characterized in that: The first PO belongs to a first paging frame PF.

89. The terminal device according to claim 87, characterized in that: The at least one CSI-RS is a CSI-RS within a time window; the time window includes one or more time slots between the first PO and the second PO; the second PO is located after the first PO in the time domain.

90. The terminal device according to claim 89, characterized in that: The time window and the second PO are located in the same discontinuous reception DRX cycle.

91. The terminal device according to claim 89, characterized in that: The time window is located in the DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

92. The terminal device according to claim 89, characterized in that: The first PO and the second PO are in the same DRX cycle.

93. The terminal device according to claim 89, characterized in that: The first PO is located in a DRX cycle before the DRX cycle to which the second PO belongs.

94. The terminal device according to claim 93, characterized in that: The first PO and the second PO are POs monitored by the terminal device in different DRX cycles.

95. The terminal device according to claim 89, characterized in that: If the time window includes multiple CSI-RSs, the at least one CSI-RS is all or part of the CSI-RSs in the time window.

96. The terminal device according to claim 89, characterized in that: The maximum number of CSI-RSs in the time window is predetermined.

97. A communication device, characterized in that: The device includes a processor and a storage medium, the storage medium includes instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, or the method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 36, or the method according to any one of claims 37 to 56.

98. A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored therein, characterized in that: When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, or the method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 36, or the method according to any one of claims 37 to 56.

99. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions, which, when executed, enable the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, or the method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, or the method according to any one of claims 17 to 36, or the method according to any one of claims 37 to 56 to be implemented.

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