Information transmission method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an information transmission method and device, and relate to the field of communication. The method comprises: receiving, by a terminal device, first monitoring combination indication information from a network device, the first monitoring combination indication information indicating at least two candidate monitoring behaviors; receiving, by the terminal device, downlink control information (DCI) from the network device, the DCI indicating a monitoring behavior of the terminal device, the monitoring behavior being one of the at least two candidate monitoring behaviors; and performing, by the terminal device, a monitoring behavior of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first monitoring combination indication information and the DCI. In this way, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device can determine the monitoring behavior based on the configured monitoring combination indication and the DCI, thereby effectively reducing the power consumption of the terminal device and reducing the implementation complexity of the terminal device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communications, and more specifically, to an information transmission method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] In wireless communication systems, the power consumption of terminal devices is a crucial aspect of user experience, and one factor contributing to severe power consumption is the eavesdropping on the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) from network devices. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a solution to minimize unnecessary PDCCH eavesdropping. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The embodiments of this disclosure provide a listening indication scheme that can reduce terminal devices' listening to the PDCCH, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0004] In a first aspect, an information transmission method is provided. The method includes: a terminal device receiving first listening combination indication information from a network device, the first listening combination indication information indicating at least two candidate listening behaviors; the terminal device receiving downlink control information (DCI) from the network device, the DCI indicating a listening behavior of the terminal device, the listening behavior being one of at least two candidate listening behaviors; and the terminal device performing a listening behavior on a downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first listening combination indication information and the DCI.

[0005] Thus, in the embodiments of this disclosure, the terminal device can determine the listening behavior based on the configured listening combination indication and DCI, thereby effectively reducing the power consumption of the terminal device and reducing the implementation complexity of the terminal device.

[0006] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the terminal device receiving a first listening combination indication information from a network device includes: the terminal device receiving the first listening combination indication information from the network device, the first listening combination indication information indicating one of the following: a first listening combination including a first candidate listening behavior and a second candidate listening behavior; a second listening combination including a second candidate listening behavior, a third candidate listening behavior, and a fourth candidate listening behavior; a third listening combination including a second candidate listening behavior, a third candidate listening behavior, a fourth candidate listening behavior, and a fifth candidate listening behavior; a fourth listening combination including a third candidate listening behavior and a fourth candidate listening behavior; or a fifth listening combination including a third candidate listening behavior, a fourth candidate listening behavior, and a fifth candidate listening behavior, wherein the first candidate listening behavior indicates listening to PDCCH according to a configured search space set; the second candidate listening behavior indicates stopping listening to PDCCH within a preset time period; the third candidate listening behavior indicates listening to PDCCH according to a search space set in the first search space set; the fourth candidate listening behavior indicates listening to PDCCH according to a search space set in the second search space set; and the fifth candidate listening behavior indicates listening to PDCCH according to a search space set in the third search space set.

[0007] In this way, each monitoring combination can include at least two candidate monitoring behaviors that are not mutually exclusive, avoiding unreasonable arbitrary instructions.

[0008] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates a first listening combination, a second listening combination, or a third listening combination, and further includes: the terminal device receiving indication information from the network device for a preset time period.

[0009] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal device determining a listening behavior from at least two candidate listening behaviors based on DCI.

[0010] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first bandwidth portion (BWP), and further includes: the terminal device receiving second listening combination indication information from the network device, the second listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second BWP.

[0011] Thus, when a terminal device is configured with multiple BWPs, listening combinations can be configured for different BWPs, enabling flexible configuration for different BWPs.

[0012] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the listening combination of the first BWP is the same as that of the second BWP.

[0013] In particular, for multiple different BWPs belonging to the same cell, their monitoring combinations can be configured to be the same, ensuring consistency between different BWPs.

[0014] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first cell, and further includes: the terminal device receiving third listening combination indication information from the network device, the third listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second cell.

[0015] Thus, when a terminal device is configured with multiple cells, monitoring combinations can be configured for different cells, enabling flexible configuration for different cells.

[0016] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the listening combination of the first cell is the same as that of the second cell.

[0017] In particular, for multiple different cells belonging to the same cell group, their monitoring combinations can be configured to be the same, ensuring consistency between different cells.

[0018] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal device sending supported listening combination information to the network device, the supported listening combination information indicating the listening combinations supported by the terminal device.

[0019] In this way, the terminal device can inform the network device of the supported listening combinations, thereby ensuring that the listening combination indicated by the first listening combination indication information sent by the network device is supported by the terminal device, thus ensuring the accuracy of the information.

[0020] In some embodiments of the first aspect, the listening behavior is used for both the type 3 public search space set and the terminal device-specific search space set.

[0021] In a second aspect, an information transmission method is provided. The method includes: a network device sending a first listening combination indication information to a terminal device, the first listening combination indication information indicating at least two candidate listening behaviors; and the network device sending downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device, for the terminal device to perform listening behavior on the downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first listening combination indication information and the DCI, the listening behavior being one of at least two candidate listening behaviors.

[0022] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the network device sending a first listening combination indication message to the terminal device includes: the network device sending the first listening combination indication message to the terminal device, the first listening combination indication message indicating one of the following: a first listening combination including a first candidate listening behavior and a second candidate listening behavior; a second listening combination including a second candidate listening behavior, a third candidate listening behavior, and a fourth candidate listening behavior; a third listening combination including a second candidate listening behavior, a third candidate listening behavior, a fourth candidate listening behavior, and a fifth candidate listening behavior; a fourth listening combination including a third candidate listening behavior and a fourth candidate listening behavior; or a fifth listening combination including a third candidate listening behavior, a fourth candidate listening behavior, and a fifth candidate listening behavior, wherein the first candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a configured search space set; the second candidate listening behavior indicates stopping listening to the PDCCH within a preset time period; the third candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the first search space set; the fourth candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the second search space set; and the fifth candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the third search space set.

[0023] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first monitoring combination indication information indicates a first monitoring combination, a second monitoring combination, or a third monitoring combination, and further includes: the network device sending indication information for a preset time period to the terminal device.

[0024] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first bandwidth portion (BWP), and further includes: the network device sending a second listening combination indication information to the terminal device, the second listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second BWP.

[0025] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the listening combination of the first BWP is the same as that of the second BWP.

[0026] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first cell, and further includes: the network device sending a third listening combination indication information to the terminal device, the third listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second cell.

[0027] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the listening combination of the first cell is the same as that of the second cell.

[0028] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device receiving supported listening combination information from the terminal device, the supported listening combination information indicating the listening combination supported by the terminal device, and the listening combination indicated by the first listening combination indication information belonging to the listening combination supported by the terminal device.

[0029] In some embodiments of the second aspect, the listening behavior is used for both the Type 3 public search space set and the terminal device-specific search space set.

[0030] In a third aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a first receiving module configured to receive first listening combination indication information from a network device, the first listening combination indication information indicating at least two candidate listening actions; a second receiving module configured to receive downlink control information (DCI) from the network device, the DCI indicating a listening action of the communication apparatus, the listening action being one of at least two candidate listening actions; and an execution module configured to execute a listening action on a downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first listening combination indication information and the DCI.

[0031] In some embodiments of the third aspect, the first receiving module is configured to receive first listening combination indication information from a network device, the first listening combination indication information indicating one of the following: a first listening combination including a first candidate listening action and a second candidate listening action; a second listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, and a fourth candidate listening action; a third listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action; a fourth listening combination including a third candidate listening action and a fourth candidate listening action; or a fifth listening combination including a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action; and the first candidate listening action indicates listening to PDCCH according to a configured search space set; the second candidate listening action indicates stopping listening to PDCCH within a preset time period; the third candidate listening action indicates listening to PDCCH according to a search space set in the first search space set; the fourth candidate listening action indicates listening to PDCCH according to a search space set in the second search space set; and the fifth candidate listening action indicates listening to PDCCH according to a search space set in the third search space set.

[0032] In some embodiments of the third aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates a first listening combination, a second listening combination, or a third listening combination, and the communication device further includes a third receiving module configured to receive indication information from a network device for a preset time period.

[0033] In some embodiments of the third aspect, a determination module is also included, configured to determine a listening behavior from at least two candidate listening behaviors based on DCI.

[0034] In some embodiments of the third aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first bandwidth portion BWP, and the first receiving module is further configured to receive a second listening combination indication information from the network device, the second listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second BWP.

[0035] In some embodiments of the third aspect, the listening combination of the first BWP is the same as that of the second BWP.

[0036] In some embodiments of the third aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first cell, and the first receiving module is further configured to receive a third listening combination indication information from the network device, the third listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second cell.

[0037] In some embodiments of the third aspect, the listening combination of the first cell is the same as that of the second cell.

[0038] In some embodiments of the third aspect, a sending module is also included, configured to send supported listening combination information to a network device, the supported listening combination information indicating the listening combinations supported by the communication device.

[0039] In some embodiments of the third aspect, the listening behavior is used for both the type 3 public search space set and the terminal device-specific search space set.

[0040] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a first transmitting module configured to transmit a first listening combination indication information to a terminal device, the first listening combination indication information indicating at least two candidate listening behaviors; and a second transmitting module configured to transmit downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device, for the terminal device to perform listening behavior on a downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first listening combination indication information and the DCI, the listening behavior being one of at least two candidate listening behaviors.

[0041] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the first sending module is configured to send a first listening combination indication information to the terminal device. The first listening combination indication information indicates one of the following: a first listening combination including a first candidate listening action and a second candidate listening action; a second listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, and a fourth candidate listening action; a third listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action; a fourth listening combination including a third candidate listening action and a fourth candidate listening action; or a fifth listening combination including a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action. The first candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a configured search space set; the second candidate listening action indicates stopping listening to the PDCCH within a preset time period; the third candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the first search space set; the fourth candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the second search space set; and the fifth candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the third search space set.

[0042] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates a first listening combination, a second listening combination, or a third listening combination, and the communication device further includes a third sending module configured to send indication information for a preset time period to the terminal device.

[0043] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first bandwidth portion (BWP), and the first sending module is further configured to send a second listening combination indication information to the terminal device, the second listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second BWP.

[0044] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the listening combination of the first BWP is the same as that of the second BWP.

[0045] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first cell, and the first sending module is further configured to send a third listening combination indication information to the terminal device, the third listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second cell.

[0046] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the listening combination of the first cell is the same as that of the second cell.

[0047] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, a receiving module is further included, configured to: receive supported listening combination information from a terminal device, wherein the supported listening combination information indicates a listening combination supported by the terminal device, and the listening combination indicated by the first listening combination indication information belongs to a listening combination supported by the terminal device.

[0048] In some embodiments of the fourth aspect, the listening behavior is used for both the type 3 public search space set and the terminal device-specific search space set.

[0049] In a fifth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a transceiver, a processor, and a memory, the memory storing instructions executed by the processor. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the terminal device performs the following actions: receiving, via the transceiver, a first listening combination indication information from a network device, the first listening combination indication information indicating at least two candidate listening actions; receiving, via the transceiver, downlink control information (DCI) from the network device, the DCI indicating a listening action of the terminal device, the listening action being one of at least two candidate listening actions; and performing a listening action on the downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first listening combination indication information and the DCI.

[0050] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the processor executes instructions that cause the terminal device to: receive, via a transceiver, a first listening combination indication message from a network device, the first listening combination indication message indicating one of the following: a first listening combination including a first candidate listening action and a second candidate listening action; a second listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, and a fourth candidate listening action; a third listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action; a fourth listening combination including a third candidate listening action and a fourth candidate listening action; or a fifth listening combination including a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action, wherein the first candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a configured search space set; the second candidate listening action indicates stopping listening to the PDCCH within a preset time period; the third candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the first search space set; the fourth candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the second search space set; and the fifth candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the third search space set.

[0051] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates a first listening combination, a second listening combination, or a third listening combination, and the processor executes instructions to cause the terminal device to: receive indication information from the network device for a preset time period via a transceiver.

[0052] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the processor executes instructions that cause the terminal device to: determine a listening behavior from at least two candidate listening behaviors based on DCI.

[0053] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, a first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of a first bandwidth portion (BWP), and the processor executes instructions that cause the terminal device to: receive, via a transceiver, a second listening combination indication information from a network device, the second listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of a second BWP.

[0054] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the listening combination of the first BWP is the same as that of the second BWP.

[0055] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, a first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of a first cell, and the processor executes instructions to cause the terminal device to: receive a third listening combination indication information from a network device via a transceiver, the third listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of a second cell.

[0056] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the listening combination of the first cell is the same as that of the second cell.

[0057] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the processor executes instructions that cause the terminal device to: send supported listening combination information to the network device, the supported listening combination information indicating the listening combinations supported by the terminal device.

[0058] In some embodiments of the fifth aspect, the listening behavior is used for both the type 3 public search space set and the terminal device-specific search space set.

[0059] In a sixth aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The memory stores instructions executed by the processor. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the network device performs the following actions: sending a first listening combination indication information to a terminal device via the transceiver, the first listening combination indication information indicating at least two candidate listening actions; and sending downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device via the transceiver, for the terminal device to perform listening actions on the downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first listening combination indication information and the DCI, the listening action being one of at least two candidate listening actions.

[0060] In some embodiments of the sixth aspect, the processor executes instructions that cause the network device to: send a first listening combination indication message to a terminal device via a transceiver, the first listening combination indication message indicating one of the following: a first listening combination including a candidate listening action and a second candidate listening action; a second listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, and a fourth candidate listening action; a third listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action; a fourth listening combination including a third candidate listening action and a fourth candidate listening action; or a fifth listening combination including a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action, wherein the first candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a configured search space set; the second candidate listening action indicates stopping listening to the PDCCH within a preset time period; the third candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the first search space set; the fourth candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the second search space set; and the fifth candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the third search space set.

[0061] In some embodiments of the sixth aspect, the first listening combination indication information indicates a first listening combination, a second listening combination, or a third listening combination, and the processor executes instructions to cause the network device to: send indication information for a preset time period to the terminal device via a transceiver.

[0062] In some embodiments of the sixth aspect, a first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of a first bandwidth portion (BWP), and the processor executes instructions that cause the network device to: send a second listening combination indication information to a terminal device via a transceiver, the second listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of a second BWP.

[0063] In some embodiments of the sixth aspect, the listening combination of the first BWP is the same as that of the second BWP.

[0064] In some embodiments of the sixth aspect, a first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of a first cell, and the processor executes instructions to cause the network device to: send a third listening combination indication information to a terminal device via a transceiver, the third listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of a second cell.

[0065] In some embodiments of the sixth aspect, the listening combination of the first cell is the same as that of the second cell.

[0066] In some embodiments of the sixth aspect, the processor executes instructions that cause the network device to: receive, via a transceiver, supported listening combination information from a terminal device, the supported listening combination information indicating a listening combination supported by the terminal device, and the listening combination indicated by the first listening combination indication information belonging to a listening combination supported by the terminal device.

[0067] In some embodiments of the sixth aspect, the listening behavior is used for both the type 3 public search space set and the terminal device-specific search space set.

[0068] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores computer-executable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, implement the operation of the method according to the first aspect or any embodiment thereof, or implement the operation of the method according to the second aspect or any embodiment thereof.

[0069] In an eighth aspect, a chip or chip system is provided. The chip or chip system includes processing circuitry configured to perform operations according to the method of the first aspect or any embodiment thereof, or to implement operations according to the method of the second aspect or any embodiment thereof.

[0070] In a ninth aspect, a computer program or computer program product is provided. The computer program or computer program product is tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium and includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed, implement the operation of the method according to the first aspect or any embodiment thereof, or implement the operation of the method according to the second aspect or any embodiment thereof. Attached Figure Description

[0071] The above and other features, advantages, and aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure will become more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. In the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements, wherein:

[0072] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of PDCCH monitoring is shown;

[0073] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating skipping PDCCH monitoring is shown;

[0074] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating the grouping of the four search space sets is shown;

[0075] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a communication system that may be implemented according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0076] Figure 5The diagram illustrates the interaction signaling between a terminal device and a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0077] Figure 6 A schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus for information transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0078] Figure 7 Another schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus for information transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0079] Figure 8 A schematic block diagram of an example device that can be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0080] Embodiments of this disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While some embodiments of this disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that this disclosure can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of this disclosure. It should be understood that the accompanying drawings and embodiments of this disclosure are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0081] In the description of embodiments of this disclosure, the term "comprising" and similar terms should be understood as open-ended inclusion, i.e., "including but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "at least partially based on". The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc., may refer to different or the same objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions may also be included below.

[0082] Embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as 3rd Generation (3G), 4th Generation (4G), 5th Generation (5G), and 6th Generation (6G), wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0083] The technical solutions of the embodiments disclosed herein are applicable to communication systems that follow any suitable communication protocol, such as: General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Datarate for GSM Evolution (EDGE), Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), Time Division-Synchronization Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, Time Division Duplex (TDD), 5G system or New Radio (NR), 6G system, etc.

[0084] For illustrative purposes, embodiments of this disclosure are described below with reference to NR communication systems in 3GPP. However, it should be understood that embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to this communication system, but can be applied to any communication system with similar problems, such as wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired communication systems, or other communication systems developed in the future.

[0085] As used in this disclosure, the term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wired or wireless communication with network devices or with each other. A terminal device may sometimes be referred to as User Equipment (UE). A terminal device can be any type of mobile terminal, fixed terminal, or portable terminal. As examples, a terminal device may include a mobile phone, site, unit, device, mobile terminal (MT), subscription station, portable subscription station, internet node, communicator, desktop computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, tablet computer, personal communication system device, personal navigation device, personal digital assistant (PDA), positioning device, radio receiver, e-book device, gaming device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, in-vehicle device, aircraft, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, wearable device, terminal device in a 5G network, or any terminal device in an evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), other devices that can be used for communication, or any combination thereof. Embodiments of this disclosure are not intended to limit this.

[0086] As used in this disclosure, the term "network device" refers to an entity or node that can be used to communicate with terminal devices, such as an access network device. An access network device can be a means deployed in a radio access network to provide wireless communication capabilities for mobile terminals, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN) network device. Access network devices can include various types of base stations. As examples, access network devices can include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, pico base stations, femtobase stations, relay stations, access points, Remote Radio Units (RRUs), Radio Heads (RHs), Remote Radio Heads (RRHs), etc. In systems employing different radio access technologies, the name of the access network device may vary; for example, in Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks it may be called an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), in 3G networks it may be called a Node B (NB), in 5G networks it may be called a g Node B (gNB) or NR Node B (NR NB), etc. In some scenarios, access network equipment may include a Central Unit (CU) and / or a Distributed Unit (DU). The CU and DU can be located in different locations; for example, the DU can be located remotely in a high-traffic area, while the CU is located in a central equipment room. Alternatively, the CU and DU can be located in the same equipment room. The CU and DU can also be different components within the same rack. For ease of description, in the subsequent embodiments of this disclosure, the aforementioned devices providing wireless communication functions for terminal devices are collectively referred to as network devices, and the embodiments of this disclosure are not specifically limited thereto.

[0087] The downlink physical channel corresponds to a set of resource elements (REs) carrying information from higher layers. The PDCCH is one such downlink physical channel, carrying scheduling information and other control information. The PDCCH can carry scheduling information about uplink and / or downlink data, and terminal devices can periodically listen to the PDCCH to obtain this information. If the terminal device detects scheduling information, it can further receive downlink data through the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) or send uplink data through the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). The PDCCH can also carry uplink power control command words, timeslot formats, and other information. PDCCHs carrying different control information can be scrambled using different Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (RNTIs).

[0088] It should be noted that the monitoring of PDCCH by the terminal device can also be referred to as listening, detecting, etc., and the embodiments of this disclosure do not limit the terminology.

[0089] PDCCH is transmitted on the aggregation of one or more consecutive Control Channel Elements (CCEs), where one CCE can correspond to six Resource Element Groups (REGs). Network devices can configure at least one Search Space Set (SSS) for terminal devices, where one SSS can define a set of candidate PDCCHs. Terminal devices can determine the PDCCH Monitoring Occasion (MO) based on the configuration information of the SSS, and thus can listen to PDCCHs at the determined MO, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the PDCCH listening timing can also be referred to as the PDCCH candidate position.

[0090] The configuration information for the search space set may include at least one of the following:

[0091] (1) Identification information of the search space set, used to identify the search space set.

[0092] (2) Identification information of the control resource set (CORESET) associated with the search space set. CORESET represents the time-frequency resource set used to carry PDCCH. A CORESET consists of several consecutive or non-consecutive resource blocks (RBs) in the frequency domain and one or more consecutive symbols in the time domain.

[0093] (3) PDCCH listening period (e.g., denoted as Ks) and offset (e.g., denoted as Os), where the units of Ks and Os can be slots, or alternatively, the units of Os can be symbols.

[0094] (4) In-slot PDCCH listening pattern, or in-slot PDCCH listening symbol, is used to indicate the starting symbol of the CORESET associated with the search space set listening to PDCCH in the time slot.

[0095] (5) Duration (e.g., denoted as Ts) is used to indicate the number of consecutive time slots in the search space set, where Ts is less than Ks and Ts can be 1 time slot.

[0096] (6) Aggregation level and the number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to each aggregation level.

[0097] (7) Search space set type indication information, used to indicate whether the search space set is a common search space set (CSS set) or a user equipment-specific search space set (USS set). For example, a common search space set can be abbreviated as CSS, and a user equipment-specific search space set can be abbreviated as USS.

[0098] For example, the common search space set includes a type-3 common search space set (type-3 CSS), which can be primarily used to listen to the PDCCH of a DCI carrying any of the following Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (RNTIs): Interruption RNTI (INT-RNTI), Slot Format Indication RNTI (SFI-RNTI), Transmit Power Control - Physical Uplink Shared Channel RNTI (TPC-PUSCH-RNTI), Transmit Power Control - Physical Uplink Control Channel RNTI (TPC-PUCCH-RNTI), Transmit Power Control - Sounding Reference Symbols RNTI (TPC-SRS-RNTI), or Cancellation Indication RNTI. RNTI (CI-RNTI), Cell-RNTI on the main cell (Cell-RNTI, C-RNTI), Modulation and Coding Scheme-Cell-RNTI (MCS-C-RNTI), Configured Scheduling-RNTI (CS-RNTI), Power Saving-RNTI (PS-RNTI), etc.

[0099] For example, the user equipment-specific search space set can be used to monitor the PDCCH carrying a DCI scrambled by any of the following RNTIs: C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, Semi-Persistent-Channel State Indication-RNTI (SP-CSI-RNTI), CS-RNTI, Side Link-RNTI (SL-RNTI), SL-CS-RNTI, and Side Link Semi-Persistent Scheduling V-RNTI, etc.

[0100] Furthermore, if the search space set type is CSS, the network device will also configure the downlink control information (DCI) format to be listened to at the PDCCH candidate position. For example, it can be DCI format 0_0, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 2_0, DCI format 2_1, DCI format 2_2, DCI format 2_3, DCI format 2_4, DCI format 2_5, or DCI format 2_6, etc. If the search space set type is USS, the network device will also configure the DCI format to be listened to at the PDCCH candidate position. For example, it can be DCI format 0_0, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 3_0, or DCI format 3_1, etc. For example, the different uses corresponding to different DCI formats are shown in Table 1 below. However, it should be understood that Table 1 is only illustrative. In actual scenarios, there may be more or fewer types of DCI formats, and in some scenarios, a certain DCI format may have different uses than those shown in Table 1.

[0101] In this way, the terminal device can listen to the PDCCH based on the configuration information of the search space set. Specifically, the terminal device can listen to the PDCCH on the CORESET associated with the search space set based on the PDCCH listening period and offset, PDCCH listening pattern in the time slot, etc., included in the configuration information of the search space set.

[0102] Table 1

[0103]

[0104] As can be seen, terminal devices can periodically listen to the PDCCH according to the PDCCH listening cycle. However, when there are no pending services between the network devices and the terminal devices, the periodic listening of the terminal devices will result in wasted power consumption. In order to save terminal power consumption, unnecessary PDCCH listening can be minimized by skipping the PDCCH listening mechanism or searching the space group switching mechanism.

[0105] Skip the PDCCH listening mechanism

[0106] Specifically, network devices can use DCI to instruct terminal devices to skip listening to PDCCH for a period of time (or stop listening to PDCCH for a period of time, or not listen to PDCCH for a period of time).

[0107] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating skipping PDCCH listening 200 is shown. See also Figure 2 Assuming that at PDCCH listening time 210, the terminal device obtains a DCI from the network device by listening to the PDCCH, and this DCI instructs the terminal device to skip PDCCH listening for a subsequent period (denoted as Tskip). Then, within Tskip, the terminal device does not listen to the PDCCH from 220-250, but resumes listening to the PDCCH at PDCCH listening time 260 after Tskip. This is understandable. Figure 2 The 220-250 values ​​are the PDCCH listening times that are skipped, determined according to the configuration information of the search space set.

[0108] Additionally, for example, the skipped duration (Tskip) can be indicated by DCI and / or configured by Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling or predefined by the protocol. For instance, RRC signaling can configure multiple skipped duration values, and DCI can indicate one of these values ​​as the current skipped duration.

[0109] It should be noted that skipping PDCCH monitoring includes skipping PDCCH monitoring on the Type 3 common search space set and PDCCH monitoring on the user equipment-specific search space set. For other types of common search space sets, such as Type 0, Type 0A, Type 1, and Type 2 common search space sets, the terminal device may or may not skip PDCCH monitoring of DCI scrambled by C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, or CS-RNTI, and the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited thereto. For Type 0, Type 0A, Type 1, and Type 2 common search space sets, whether the terminal device monitors the PDCCH of DCI scrambled by SI-RNTI, RA-RNTI, TC-RNTI, or P-RNTI is not limited in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0110] Type 0 and Type 0A common search space sets can be used to listen to the PDCCH of DCI scrambled with System Information RNTI (SI-RNTI); Type 1 common search space set can be used to listen to the PDCCH of DCI scrambled with Random Access RNTI (RA-RNTI), Message B RNTI (MsgB-RNTI), or Temporary Cell RNTI (TC-RNTI); Type 2 common search space set can be used to listen to the PDCCH of DCI scrambled with Paging RNTI (P-RNTI). For the common search space sets of type 0, type 0A, type 1, and type 2, on the time slots in which the terminal device listens to the PDCCH of DCI scrambled by SI-RNTI, RA-RNTI, MsgB-RNTI, or P-RNTI, the terminal device can listen to the PDCCH of DCI scrambled by C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, or CS-RNTI (DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0).

[0111] In this way, the terminal device can enter a sleep state by skipping PDCCH listening during the time period Tskip, thereby saving power.

[0112] It should be noted that the terminal device skipping PDCCH listening can also be referred to as stopping PDCCH listening, not listening to PDCCH, etc., and the embodiments of this disclosure do not limit the terminology.

[0113] Search Space Set Group (SSSG) switching mechanism

[0114] Referring to the above combination Figure 1For a single downlink bandwidth portion (BWP), network devices can configure multiple search space sets (SS sets) for end devices. Furthermore, these multiple search space sets can be grouped, for example, into two, three, or more groups.

[0115] When grouped, the configuration information for the search space set can also include indication of which SSSG the search space set belongs to. For example, suppose a search space set on a downlink BWP is divided into two groups, SSSG0 and SSSG1. It can then be indicated whether the search space set belongs to the first group (SSSG0) or the second group (SSSG1). Similarly, suppose it is divided into three groups, SSSG0, SSSG1, and SSSG2. It can then be indicated whether the search space set belongs to the first group (SSSG0), the second group (SSSG1), or the third group (SSSG2). In this way, the terminal device only needs to listen to the PDCCH according to the indicated search space set in the SSSG, which reduces the number of times the PDCCH is listened to, thereby reducing power consumption. It is understood that a search space set may belong to two or three different SSSGs simultaneously.

[0116] It is understood that for SS sets that are not grouped, the terminal device still listens to the PDCCH according to the configuration information of the SS set, and the embodiments disclosed herein are not limited to this.

[0117] Figure 3 This diagram illustrates the grouping of four search space sets (300) within a downlink BWP. (Refer to...) Figure 3 Based on the sparsity of the PDCCH listening cycle, the four search space sets can be divided into two groups: SSSG0 and SSSG1. SSSG0 includes search space set 3 and search space set 4, while SSSG1 includes search space set 1 and search space set 2.

[0118] For example, assuming the search space set indicated to the terminal device is SSSG1, the terminal device can listen to the PDCCH based on search space set 1 and search space set 2 belonging to SSSG1, instead of listening to the PDCCH based on search space set 3 and search space set 4. Since the PDCCH listening cycle of search space set belonging to SSSG1 is sparser, the number of listening times can be reduced, thus reducing power consumption.

[0119] Optionally, the network device can also instruct the terminal device to switch the search space group. As an example, the network device can explicitly indicate the SSSG switch via a bit field in the DCI or implicitly indicate it via the DCI.

[0120] For example, suppose the search space set is divided into two groups, SSSG0 and SSSG1. Explicit indication could be: a specific bit field in the DCI is "0", instructing the terminal device to listen to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to SSSG0; a specific bit field in the DCI is "1", instructing the terminal device to listen to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to SSSG1. Alternatively, explicit indication could be: a specific bit field in the DCI is "0", instructing the terminal device to listen to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to the current SSSG, i.e., not switching SSSGs; a specific bit field in the DCI is "1", instructing the terminal device to perform an SSSG switch (if the current SSSG is SSSG0, switch to SSSG1; or if the current SSSG is SSSG1, switch to SSSG0), and listen to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to the switched SSSG. Implicit indication can be implemented as follows: if the SSSG currently listening to the PDCCH is SSSG0, and the terminal device detects a specific DCI or any DCI, then switch to SSSG1; or, if the SSSG currently listening to the PDCCH is SSSG1, and the terminal device detects a specific DCI or any DCI, then switch to SSSG0.

[0121] For another example, suppose all search space sets are divided into three groups: SSSG0, SSSG1, and SSSG2. Explicit indication can be as follows: a specific bit field in the DCI is "00", instructing the terminal device to listen to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to SSSG0; a specific bit field in the DCI is "01", instructing the terminal device to listen to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to SSSG1; a specific bit field in the DCI is "10", instructing the terminal device to listen to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to SSSG2; a specific bit field "11" in the DCI can be reserved. Explicit indication can also be achieved as follows: a specific bit field in the DCI is set to "0", instructing the terminal device to listen to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to the current SSSG, i.e., without switching SSSG; a specific bit field in the DCI is set to "1", instructing the terminal device to perform an SSSG switch and listen to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to the switched SSSG. The SSSG switch can be: if the current SSSG is 0, then switch to SSSG1; if the current SSSG is 1, then switch to SSSG2; if the current SSSG is 2, then switch to SSSG0. Implicit indication can be achieved as follows: the SSSG currently listening to the PDCCH is SSSGx, and if the terminal device listens to a specific DCI or any DCI, then switch to SSSGy. The protocol can predefine SSSGx and SSSGy, for example, SSSGx is SSSG0 and SSSGy is SSSG1.

[0122] Alternatively, the terminal device can also switch SSSG based on a timer.

[0123] For example, suppose the search space set is divided into two groups, SSSG0 and SSSG1. The terminal device listens to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to the current SSSG (SSSG1 as an example) and starts a timer. After the timer expires, it switches to SSSG0, and the terminal device listens to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to SSSG0.

[0124] For another example, suppose the search space is divided into three groups: SSSG0, SSSG1, and SSSG2. The terminal device listens to the PDCCH based on the search space set belonging to the current SSSG (taking SSSG1 as an example) and starts a timer. After the timer expires, it switches to SSSG2, and the terminal device listens to the PDCCH based on the search space set belonging to SSSG2 and resets the timer. After the timer expires, it switches to SSSG0, and the terminal device listens to the PDCCH based on the search space set belonging to SSSG0. For yet another example, when the terminal device listens to the PDCCH based on the search space set belonging to SSSG1 and starts a timer, after the timer expires, it switches to SSSG0, and the terminal device listens to the PDCCH based on the search space set belonging to SSSG0. When the terminal device listens to the PDCCH based on the search space set belonging to SSSG2 and starts a timer, after the timer expires, it switches to SSSG0, and the terminal device listens to the PDCCH based on the search space set belonging to SSSG0. That is, regardless of whether the terminal device is currently listening to the PDCCH based on the search space set of SSSG1 or the search space set of SSSG2, it will switch to SSSG0 after the timer expires.

[0125] It should be noted that listening to the PDCCH based on the search space set belonging to a certain SSSG means listening to the PDCCH based on the Type 3 common search space set and the user equipment-specific search space set belonging to a certain SSSG. Correspondingly, it can be understood that grouping multiple search space sets means grouping the Type 3 common search space set and the user equipment-specific search space set.

[0126] In this way, by switching SSSG, the terminal device can perform PDCCH listening based on only a portion of the search space set within the active downlink BWP, thereby saving power.

[0127] Based on the aforementioned skip PDCCH listening mechanism and the search space set switching mechanism, various different listening behaviors of the terminal device can be defined, such as the first to fifth candidate listening behaviors described below.

[0128] The first candidate listening behavior: Listen to the PDCCH according to the configured search space set. Specifically, the PDCCH can be listened to based on the configuration information of the search space set, which includes the PDCCH listening period. This can be understood as skipping the PDCCH listening mechanism if it is not activated or applied. If the terminal device is not configured with a search space set group on the active downlink BWP, the terminal device can listen to the PDCCH according to the search space set configured on the active downlink BWP. If the terminal device is configured with a search space set group on the active downlink BWP, the terminal device can listen to the PDCCH according to the search space set belonging to the current SSSG.

[0129] The second candidate listening behavior: Skip (or stop) listening to the PDCCH during the skipped duration. That is... Skip PDCCH listening mechanism .

[0130] The third candidate listening action: Listen to the PDCCH based on the search space set belonging to SSSG0. Specifically, stop listening to the PDCCH based on the search space sets of SSSG1 and SSSG2 (if SSSG2 exists).

[0131] Fourth candidate listening action: Listen to the PDCCH based on the search space set belonging to SSSG1. Specifically, stop listening to the PDCCH based on the search space sets of SSSG0 and SSSG2 (if SSSG2 exists).

[0132] Fifth candidate listening action: Listen to the PDCCH based on the search space set belonging to SSSG2. Specifically, stop listening to the PDCCH based on the search space sets of SSSG0 and SSSG1.

[0133] In some examples, the first candidate listening behavior can be represented as Behavior 1, the second candidate listening behavior as Behavior 1A, the third candidate listening behavior as Behavior 2, the fourth candidate listening behavior as Behavior 2A, and the fifth candidate listening behavior as Behavior 2B.

[0134] The terminal device can listen to the PDCCH based on one of the first to fifth candidate listening behaviors, but currently there is a lack of an effective scheme to instruct the terminal device on how to determine the specific listening behavior. If the five candidate listening behaviors can be arbitrarily instructed, it increases the implementation complexity of the terminal device without bringing any additional benefits.

[0135] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a scheme for a network device to configure a listening combination to a terminal device, which enables the terminal device to determine the listening behavior based on the configured listening combination indication, thereby effectively reducing the power consumption of the terminal device and reducing the implementation complexity of the terminal device.

[0136] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a communication system 400 that may be implemented in an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 4 The system 400 shown includes a terminal device 410 and a network device 420, and the terminal device 410 is capable of communicating with the network device 420.

[0137] Understandably, Figure 4 This is merely illustrative; the embodiments disclosed herein do not limit the type of terminal device 410, the type of network device 420, or the communication protocol used by the communication system 400. The following will be combined with... Figure 4 The communication system 400 shown describes some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0138] Figure 5 An interactive signaling diagram of a process 500 between a terminal device 410 and a network device 420 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0139] Network device 420 sends 510 first listening combination indication information to terminal device 410, the first listening combination indication information indicating at least two candidate listening behaviors.

[0140] The candidate listening behaviors involved in the embodiments of this disclosure include a first candidate listening behavior, a second candidate listening behavior, a third candidate listening behavior, a fourth candidate listening behavior, and a fifth candidate listening behavior. The first candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a configured search space set; the second candidate listening behavior indicates stopping listening to the PDCCH within a preset time period; the third candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH according to the search space set in the first search space set; the fourth candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH according to the search space set in the second search space set; and the fifth candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH according to the search space set in the third search space set.

[0141] Specifically, the listening combination indicated by the first listening combination indication information can be one of the following: a first listening combination, a second listening combination, a third listening combination, a fourth listening combination, or a fifth listening combination. In another example, the listening combination indicated by the first listening combination indication information can be one of the following: a first listening combination, a second listening combination, a fourth listening combination, or a fifth listening combination.

[0142] The first monitoring combination includes the first candidate monitoring action and the second candidate monitoring action. The second monitoring combination includes the second candidate monitoring action, the third candidate monitoring action, and the fourth candidate monitoring action. The third monitoring combination includes the second candidate monitoring action, the third candidate monitoring action, the fourth candidate monitoring action, and the fifth candidate monitoring action. The fourth monitoring combination includes the third candidate monitoring action and the fourth candidate monitoring action. The fifth monitoring combination includes the third candidate monitoring action, the fourth candidate monitoring action, and the fifth candidate monitoring action.

[0143] In embodiments of this disclosure, network device 420 may explicitly or implicitly indicate to terminal device 410 a first listening combination, a second listening combination, a third listening combination, a fourth listening combination, or a fifth listening combination via RRC signaling.

[0144] Specifically, network device 420 can configure the first monitoring combination indication information based on the skipping PDCCH monitoring mechanism and the search space set switching mechanism. For example, if terminal device 410 is not configured with a search space set on the active downlink BWP, the at least two candidate monitoring behaviors indicated by the first monitoring combination indication information do not include the third, fourth, and fifth candidate monitoring behaviors. If the search space set is divided into two groups on the active downlink BWP, the at least two candidate monitoring behaviors indicated by the first monitoring combination indication information do not include the fifth candidate monitoring behavior.

[0145] In some embodiments, specific parameters in the RRC signaling can serve as first listening combination indication information to indicate any one of the first listening combination, second listening combination, third listening combination, fourth listening combination, or fifth listening combination.

[0146] For example, a specific parameter could be a PdcchMonitorAdaptation parameter, allowing network device 420 to indicate the monitoring combination. For instance,

[0147]

[0148] “ENUMERATED” indicates an enumeration. “Beh 1and1A” indicates a first listener combination including the first and second candidate listener behaviors. “Beh 1Aand2and2A” indicates a second listener combination including the second, third, and fourth candidate listener behaviors. “Beh 1Aand2and2Aand2B” indicates a third listener combination including the second, third, fourth, and fifth candidate listener behaviors. “Beh2and2A” indicates a fourth listener combination including the third and fourth candidate listener behaviors. “Beh2and2Aand2B” indicates a fifth listener combination including the third, fourth, and fifth candidate listener behaviors.

[0149] For example, this specific parameter can be included in an Information Element (IE) of the RRC, such as in the PDCCH configuration, or in the BWP Downlink Dedicated configuration, or in the Serving Cell Configuration.

[0150] Optionally, when at least two candidate listening behaviors include a second candidate listening behavior, network device 420 can further configure a skipped duration. For example, network device 420 can send an indication of a preset duration to terminal device 410, thereby causing terminal device 410 to stop listening to the PDCCH within the preset duration. It is understood that the indication of the preset duration can be included in the PDCCH configuration or can be independent of the PDCCH configuration; this disclosure does not limit this. The time unit of the preset duration can be seconds, milliseconds, frames, subframes, time slots, the number of PDCCH listening opportunities, or a set of time slots consisting of several consecutive time slots, etc.; this disclosure does not limit this.

[0151] In some embodiments, RRC signaling can be configured with at least two candidate listening behaviors directly by enumeration, for example, by the form of {parameter1, parameter2, ..., parameterN}, where each parameter corresponds to a candidate listening behavior.

[0152] Specifically, {Beh 1, Beh 1A} can represent a first listening combination including a first candidate listening action and a second candidate listening action. {Beh 1A, Beh 2, Beh 2A} can represent a second listening combination including a second, third, and fourth candidate listening action. {Beh 1A, Beh 2, Beh 2A, Beh 2B} can represent a third listening combination including a second, third, fourth, and fifth candidate listening action. {Beh 2, Beh 2A} can represent a fourth listening combination including a third and fourth candidate listening action. {Beh 2, Beh 2A, Beh 2B} can represent a fifth listening combination including a third, fourth, and fifth candidate listening action.

[0153] In some embodiments, network device 420 may indicate any one of the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth listening combinations by combining a first specific parameter and a second specific parameter in RRC signaling.

[0154] For example, the first specific parameter could be PDCCH monitor adaptation (PdcchMonitorAdaptation), and the second specific parameter could be the number of search space sets (nrofSearchSpaceSetGroup). For example,

[0155]

[0156] “ENUMERATED” represents an enumeration, and “INTEGER” represents an integer.

[0157] Specifically, the PdcchMonitorAdaptation instruction “PdcchSkipping” indicates a first listening combination that includes a first candidate listening action and a second candidate listening action.

[0158] Specifically, the PdcchMonitorAdaptation instruction "PdcchSkippingAndSearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching" and the nrofSearchSpaceSetGroup instruction "2" indicate a second listening combination that includes a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, and a fourth candidate listening action. Alternatively, the PdcchMonitorAdaptation instruction "PdcchSkippingAndSearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching" indicates a second listening combination that includes a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, and a fourth candidate listening action.

[0159] Specifically, PdcchMonitorAdaptation indicates “PdcchSkippingAndSearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching” and nrofSearchSpaceSetGroup indicates “3”, which means a third listening combination that includes the second, third, fourth and fifth candidate listening actions.

[0160] Specifically, PdcchMonitorAdaptation indicates "SearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching" and nrofSearchSpaceSetGroup indicates "2", which means a fourth listener combination that includes the third and fourth candidate listener actions.

[0161] Specifically, PdcchMonitorAdaptation indicates "SearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching" and nrofSearchSpaceSetGroup indicates "3", which means a fifth listener combination that includes the third, fourth, and fifth candidate listener actions.

[0162] Optionally, when at least two candidate listening behaviors include a second candidate listening behavior, network device 420 can further configure a skipped duration. For example, network device 420 can send an indication of a preset duration to terminal device 410, thereby causing terminal device 410 to stop listening to the PDCCH within the preset duration. It is understood that the indication of the preset duration can be included in the PDCCH configuration, or it can be sent independently of the PDCCH configuration (e.g., through another configuration information), and this disclosure does not limit this. The time unit of the preset duration can be seconds, milliseconds, frames, subframes, time slots, the number of PDCCH listening opportunities, or a set of time slots consisting of several consecutive time slots, etc., and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0163] In some embodiments, network device 420 may indicate any one of the first, second, third, fourth, or fifth listening combinations by combining the third and fourth specific parameters in the RRC signaling.

[0164] For example, a third specific parameter can indicate the skipped duration for stopping PDCCH listening. This third specific parameter can be included in the PDCCH configuration or can be independent of the PDCCH configuration; this disclosure is not limiting in this regard.

[0165] For example, the fourth specific parameter can indicate the index of the SSSG to which the search space set belongs, where the index can be at least one of 0, 1, and 2. The fourth specific parameter can be included in the configuration information of the search space set. Taking the search space set SS set 1 as an example, the configuration information of the search space set during the search can include the fourth specific parameter, which indicates the index of the SSSG to which the search space set belongs.

[0166] Specifically, network device 420 is configured with a third specific parameter but not a fourth specific parameter, indicating a first monitoring combination including the first candidate monitoring behavior and the second candidate monitoring behavior. Network device 420 is configured with both a third and a fourth specific parameter, where the fourth specific parameter has two values ​​(0 and 1), indicating a second monitoring combination including the second, third, and fourth candidate monitoring behaviors. Network device 420 is configured with both a third and a fourth specific parameter, where the fourth specific parameter has three values ​​(0, 1, and 2), indicating a third monitoring combination including the second, third, fourth, and fifth candidate monitoring behaviors. Network device 420 is configured with a fourth specific parameter but not a third specific parameter, where the fourth specific parameter has two values ​​(0 and 1), indicating a fourth monitoring combination including the third and fourth candidate monitoring behaviors. Network device 420 is configured with a fourth specific parameter but not a third specific parameter, where the fourth specific parameter has three values ​​(0, 1, and 2), indicating a fifth monitoring combination including the third, fourth, and fifth candidate monitoring behaviors.

[0167] Additionally or optionally, network device 420 may also send configuration information of search space set to terminal device 410. The configuration information of search space set may include at least one of the following: identification information of search space set, control resource set associated with search space set, PDCCH listening period and offset, PDCCH listening pattern in time slot, duration, aggregation level and number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to each aggregation level, and search space set type indication information, etc.

[0168] Optionally, in some embodiments of this disclosure, the first listening combination indication information may indicate the listening combination of the first BWP. Furthermore, the network device 420 may also send a second listening combination indication information to the terminal device 410, which indicates the listening combination of the second BWP. The first listening combination indication information may indicate one of the following: a first listening combination, a second listening combination, a third listening combination, a fourth listening combination, or a fifth listening combination. The second listening combination indication information may indicate one of the following: a first listening combination, a second listening combination, a third listening combination, a fourth listening combination, or a fifth listening combination. It is understood that although this is illustrated using two BWPs as an example, it is also applicable to situations with more BWPs; for example, the listening combination of each BWP may be indicated separately. Accordingly, the first candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH on the active downlink BWP according to the configured search space set; the second candidate listening behavior indicates stopping listening to the PDCCH on the active downlink BWP within a preset time period; the third candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH on the active downlink BWP according to the search space set in the first search space set group; the fourth candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH on the active downlink BWP according to the search space set in the second search space set group; and the fifth candidate listening behavior indicates listening to the PDCCH on the active downlink BWP according to the search space set in the third search space set group.

[0169] When terminal device 410 is configured with multiple BWPs, different listening combinations can be configured for different BWPs, and it is understood that the listening combinations configured for different BWPs can be the same or different. For example, network device 420 can configure the same listening combination for multiple BWPs belonging to the same cell.

[0170] Optionally, in some embodiments of this disclosure, the first listening combination indication information may indicate the listening combination of the first cell. Furthermore, the network device 420 may also send third listening combination indication information to the terminal device 410, which indicates the listening combination of the second cell. When the terminal device 410 is configured with multiple cells, listening combinations can be configured separately for different cells, and it is understood that the listening combinations configured for different cells may be the same or different. For example, the network device 420 may configure the same listening combination for multiple cells belonging to the same cell group.

[0171] Optionally, in some embodiments of this disclosure, the first monitoring combination indication information may indicate the monitoring combination of the first cell group. Furthermore, the network device 420 may also send a fourth monitoring combination indication information to the terminal device 410, which indicates the monitoring combination of the second cell group. When the terminal device 410 is configured with multiple cell groups, monitoring combinations can be configured for different cell groups separately, and it is understood that the monitoring combinations configured for different cell groups may be the same or different.

[0172] like Figure 5 As shown, additionally or optionally, terminal device 410 may send 502 supported listening combination information to network device 420.

[0173] Specifically, the supported monitoring combination information can indicate the monitoring combinations supported by the terminal device 410, wherein the monitoring combinations supported by the terminal device 410 may include at least one of a first monitoring combination, a second monitoring combination, a third monitoring combination, a fourth monitoring combination, and a fifth monitoring combination. Correspondingly, the candidate monitoring behaviors in the monitoring combinations indicated by the first monitoring combination indication information sent by the network device 420 are a subset or the entire set of candidate monitoring behaviors in the monitoring combinations supported by the terminal device 410. The supported monitoring combination information may be included in the UE capability information or in the UE auxiliary information. In another example, the monitoring combinations supported by the terminal device 410 may include at least one of a first monitoring combination, a second monitoring combination, a fourth monitoring combination, and a fifth monitoring combination.

[0174] In some embodiments, the monitoring combination supported by the terminal device 410 can be indicated by a first parameter in the UE capability information or UE assistance information. For example, the first parameter can be supported PdcchMonitoringAdaptation, such as...

[0175]

[0176] “ENUMERATED” indicates an enumeration. “Beh 1and1A” indicates a first listener combination including the first and second candidate listener behaviors. “Beh 1Aand2and2A” indicates a second listener combination including the second, third, and fourth candidate listener behaviors. “Beh 1Aand2and2Aand2B” indicates a third listener combination including the second, third, fourth, and fifth candidate listener behaviors. “Beh2and2A” indicates a fourth listener combination including the third and fourth candidate listener behaviors. “Beh2and2Aand2B” indicates a fifth listener combination including the third, fourth, and fifth candidate listener behaviors.

[0177] In some embodiments, UE capability information or UE assistance information can be directly indicated by listing the listening combinations supported by the terminal device 410. For example, it can be configured in the form of {parameter 1, parameter 2, ..., parameter N}, with each parameter corresponding to a candidate listening behavior.

[0178] Specifically, {Beh 1, Beh 1A} can represent a first listening combination including a first candidate listening action and a second candidate listening action. {Beh 1A, Beh 2, Beh 2A} can represent a second listening combination including a second, third, and fourth candidate listening action. {Beh 1A, Beh 2, Beh 2A, Beh 2B} can represent a third listening combination including a second, third, fourth, and fifth candidate listening action. {Beh 2, Beh 2A} can represent a fourth listening combination including a third and fourth candidate listening action. {Beh 2, Beh 2A, Beh 2B} can represent a fifth listening combination including a third, fourth, and fifth candidate listening action.

[0179] In some embodiments, the monitoring combinations supported by the terminal device 410 can be indicated by a combination of the second and third parameters in the UE capability information or UE assistance information. For example, the second parameter can be supported PDCCH monitoring adaptation, and the third parameter can be the number of supported search space sets.

[0180]

[0181] “ENUMERATED” represents an enumeration, and “INTEGER” represents an integer.

[0182] Specifically, the supportedPdcchMonitoringAdaptation instruction “PdcchSkipping” indicates a first monitoring combination that includes a first candidate monitoring action and a second candidate monitoring action.

[0183] Specifically, the `supportedPdcchMonitoringAdaptation` directive "PdcchSkippingAndSearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching" and the `supportedNrofSearchSpaceSetGroup` directive "2" indicate a second monitoring combination including a second candidate monitoring action, a third candidate monitoring action, and a fourth candidate monitoring action. Optionally, the `supportedPdcchMonitoringAdaptation` directive "PdcchSkippingAndSearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching" indicates a second monitoring combination including a second candidate monitoring action, a third candidate monitoring action, and a fourth candidate monitoring action.

[0184] Specifically, supportedPdcchMonitoringAdaptation indicates “PdcchSkippingAndSearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching” and supportedNrofSearchSpaceSetGroup indicates “3”, which means a third listening combination that includes the second, third, fourth and fifth candidate listening actions.

[0185] Specifically, supportedPdcchMonitoringAdaptation indicates "SearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching" and supportedNrofSearchSpaceSetGroup indicates "2" to indicate a fourth monitoring combination that includes the third candidate monitoring action and the fourth candidate monitoring action.

[0186] Specifically, supportedPdcchMonitoringAdaptation indicates "SearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching" and supportedNrofSearchSpaceSetGroup indicates "3", which means a fifth monitoring combination that includes the third candidate monitoring action, the fourth candidate monitoring action, and the fifth candidate monitoring action.

[0187] Understandably, network device 420 can determine first listening combination indication information based on the supported listening combination information from terminal device 410. Subsequently, network device 420 can send the first listening combination indication information to terminal device 410 via RRC signaling. For example, one listening combination can be selected from the listening combinations indicated by the supported listening combination information, and the selected listening combination can be indicated by the first listening combination indication information.

[0188] In process 500, network device 420 sends 520 DCI to terminal device 410.

[0189] Specifically, terminal device 410 can determine the PDCCH listening time based on the configuration information of the search space set, and then listen to the PDCCH at the determined PDCCH listening time. At a certain PDCCH listening time, terminal device 410 listens to DCI from network device 420, which is carried on the PDCCH.

[0190] The DCI can be used to indicate the listening behavior of the terminal device 410, and the indicated listening behavior belongs to one of at least two candidate listening behaviors included in the first listening combination indication information.

[0191] In process 500, terminal device 410 can perform 530PDCCH listening behavior based on the first listening combination indication information and DCI.

[0192] Additionally or optionally, terminal device 410 may determine 522 listening behavior from at least two candidate listening behaviors based on the first listening combination indication information and DCI.

[0193] The first listening combination indication information indicates a listening combination that includes at least two candidate listening actions. Based on the specific value of the DCI, a candidate listening action corresponding to the DCI value can be selected from at least two candidate listening actions.

[0194] In embodiments of this disclosure, the DCI can have a predetermined number of bits, such as 1 bit, 2 bits, or more bits. Taking 2 bits as an example, the DCI can have four different values: 00, 01, 10, and 11. It is understood that 2 bits can be two consecutive bits in the DCI, for example, two bits in the same field, or it can be two separate bits, for example, two separate fields each containing 1 bit. In this case, the four different values ​​can be understood as values ​​represented by two separate, independent bits.

[0195] In some embodiments, the eavesdropping behavior can be determined using the examples shown in Table 2 below. For example, when the first eavesdropping combination indication information indicates a second eavesdropping combination and the DCI is a first value, the eavesdropping behavior is determined to be a second candidate eavesdropping behavior. When the first eavesdropping combination indication information indicates a fifth eavesdropping combination and the DCI is a second value, the eavesdropping behavior is determined to be a fourth candidate eavesdropping behavior. Optionally, when the first eavesdropping combination indication information indicates a first eavesdropping combination and the DCI is any one of the second, third, or fourth values, the eavesdropping behavior is determined to be a first candidate eavesdropping behavior. The first, second, third, and fourth values ​​shown in Table 2 are all different. As an example, the first value is 00, the second value is 01, the third value is 10, and the fourth value is 11. However, those skilled in the art will understand that this is only an example, and various other different examples can be derived based on this, and they still fall within the protection scope of this disclosure.

[0196] Table 2

[0197]

[0198] It should be noted that Table 2 shows only one example of this disclosure. Other examples include, for instance, when the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the first monitoring combination, the second candidate monitoring behavior can be indicated by using DCI as the first value, and the first candidate monitoring behavior by using DCI as the second value. Alternatively, the second candidate monitoring behavior can be indicated by using DCI as the second value, and the first candidate monitoring behavior by using DCI as the first value. Or, the second candidate monitoring behavior can be indicated by using DCI as the third value, and the first candidate monitoring behavior by using DCI as the fourth value. And so on. These will not be listed here.

[0199] In other embodiments, when the determined listening behavior is the second candidate listening behavior, a fixed preset time period (i.e., the skipped time period) can be used, or multiple different preset time periods can be used. As an example, see Table 3 below.

[0200] Table 3

[0201]

[0202] It should be noted that Table 3 only shows the case where the first monitoring combination indication information indicates either the first monitoring combination or the second monitoring combination. For other cases, please refer to Table 2. It is understood that Table 3 is only illustrative and various modifications can be made based on Table 3 to obtain other embodiments.

[0203] In other embodiments, the monitoring behavior can be determined by a one-to-one correspondence between the DCI value and the positions or indices of at least two candidate monitoring behaviors in the RRC signaling. In some embodiments, the RRC signaling can configure at least two candidate monitoring behaviors in an enumerated form. For example, when the at least two candidate monitoring behaviors configured in the RRC signaling are {Beh1A, Beh2, Beh2A}, the DCI is the candidate monitoring behavior with the first value corresponding to the first index, i.e., the second candidate monitoring behavior Beh1A; the DCI is the candidate monitoring behavior with the second value corresponding to the second index, i.e., the third candidate monitoring behavior Beh2; and the DCI is the candidate monitoring behavior with the third value corresponding to the third index, i.e., the fourth candidate monitoring behavior Beh2A. As an example, the monitoring behavior can be determined by a one-to-many correspondence between the DCI value and the positions or indices of at least two candidate monitoring behaviors in the RRC signaling. For example, when the RRC signaling configuration specifies at least two candidate listening behaviors as {Beh 1A, Beh 2, Beh 2A}, the DCI is the candidate listening behavior corresponding to the first index with the first value, i.e., the second candidate listening behavior Beh 1A, and uses the first preset time period; the DCI is the candidate listening behavior corresponding to the first index with the second value, i.e., the second candidate listening behavior Beh 1A, and uses the second preset time period; the DCI is the candidate listening behavior corresponding to the second index with the third value, i.e., the third candidate listening behavior Beh 2; and the DCI is the candidate listening behavior corresponding to the third index with the fourth value, i.e., the fourth candidate listening behavior Beh 2A.

[0204] Understandably, the listening behavior determined by terminal device 410 can be used for both the Type 3 public search space set and the terminal device-specific search space set. For example, assuming the listening behavior is the second candidate listening behavior, listening can be stopped for both the Type 3 public search space set and the terminal device-specific search space set within a preset time period, and then listening to the PDCCH can resume after that preset time period. For other types of public search space sets, such as Type 0, Type 0A, Type 1, and Type 2 public search space sets, terminal device 410 may skip or not skip listening to the PDCCH of DCI scrambled by C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, or CS-RNTI, which is not limited in the embodiments of this disclosure. For Type 0, Type 0A, Type 1, and Type 2 public search space sets, whether the terminal device listens to the PDCCH of DCI scrambled by SI-RNTI, RA-RNTI, TC-RNTI, or P-RNTI is not limited in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0205] When the terminal device 410 is configured with multiple BWPs and different BWPs are configured with different listening combinations, the DCI can further indicate the BWP identifier (ID). The terminal device 410 can determine the listening behavior based on the BWP listening combination corresponding to the BWP ID and the above embodiments.

[0206] Thus, in the embodiments of this disclosure, the network device can configure a listening combination for the terminal device. The terminal device can then determine the listening behavior based on the configured listening combination and the DCI from the network device. By executing this listening behavior, the terminal device can reduce unnecessary listening to the PDCCH, thereby significantly reducing power consumption. Furthermore, the configuration method of the listening combination in the embodiments of this disclosure achieves a reasonable combination of various listening behaviors, reducing the implementation complexity of the terminal device.

[0207] It should be understood that in the embodiments of this disclosure, terms such as "first," "second," and "third" are merely used to indicate that multiple objects may be different, but do not exclude the possibility that two objects are the same. "First," "second," and "third," etc., should not be construed as any limitation on the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0208] It should also be understood that the manner, situation, category, and division of embodiments in the present disclosure are for the convenience of description only and should not constitute a special limitation. Various manners, categories, situations, and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other where logically consistent.

[0209] It should also be understood that the foregoing is merely to help those skilled in the art better understand the embodiments of this disclosure, and is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications, variations, or combinations based on the foregoing. Such modifications, variations, or combinations are also within the scope of the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0210] It should also be understood that the above description focuses on highlighting the differences between the various embodiments. Similarities or commonalities can be referenced or learned from each other, and for the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0211] Figure 6 A schematic block diagram of a communication device 600 for information transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The device 600 may be implemented as a terminal device 410 or as part of a terminal device 410 (such as a chip), etc., and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0212] like Figure 6The device 600 includes a first receiving module 610, a second receiving module 620, and an execution module 630. The first receiving module 610 is configured to receive first listening combination indication information from a network device, the first listening combination indication information indicating at least two candidate listening behaviors. The second receiving module 620 is configured to receive downlink control information (DCI) from the network device, the DCI indicating a listening behavior of the communication device, the listening behavior being one of at least two candidate listening behaviors. The execution module 630 is configured to perform listening behavior on the downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first listening combination indication information and the DCI.

[0213] Specifically, in some embodiments, the first receiving module 610 may be configured to receive first listening combination indication information from a network device. The first listening combination indication information indicates one of the following: a first listening combination including a first candidate listening action and a second candidate listening action; a second listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, and a fourth candidate listening action; a third listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action; a fourth listening combination including a third candidate listening action and a fourth candidate listening action; or a fifth listening combination including a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action. The first candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a configured search space set; the second candidate listening action indicates stopping listening to the PDCCH within a preset time period; the third candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the first search space set; the fourth candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the second search space set; and the fifth candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the third search space set.

[0214] When the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the first monitoring combination, the second monitoring combination, or the third monitoring combination, the device 600 further includes a third receiving module 640, which is configured to receive indication information from the network device for a preset time period.

[0215] Additionally or optionally, the device 600 may also include a determination module 650 configured to determine a listening behavior from at least two candidate listening behaviors based on DCI.

[0216] In some embodiments, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first bandwidth portion (BWP), and the first receiving module 610 is further configured to receive second listening combination indication information from the network device, the second listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second BWP. Optionally, the listening combination of the first BWP is the same as the listening combination of the second BWP.

[0217] In some embodiments, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first cell, and the first receiving module 610 is further configured to receive third listening combination indication information from the network device, the third listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second cell. Optionally, the listening combination of the first cell is the same as the listening combination of the second cell.

[0218] like Figure 6 As shown, the device 600 may further include a transmitting module 660 configured to transmit supported listening combination information to the network device, the supported listening combination information indicating the listening combinations supported by the communication device.

[0219] In some embodiments, the listening behavior performed by the execution module 630 is used for the type 3 public search space set and the terminal device-specific search space set.

[0220] The division of modules or units in the embodiments of this disclosure is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Furthermore, the functional units in the disclosed embodiments may be integrated into one unit, exist as separate physical entities, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit described above can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0221] Figure 6 The device 600 in the middle can be used to achieve the above-mentioned combination. Figure 5 For the sake of brevity, the various processes described by the terminal device 410 will not be repeated here.

[0222] Figure 7 A schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 for information transmission according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The device 700 may be implemented as a network device 420 or as part of a network device 420 (such as a chip), etc., and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0223] like Figure 7 As shown, the device 700 includes a first transmitting module 710 and a second transmitting module 720. The first transmitting module 710 is configured to transmit a first listening combination indication information to a terminal device, the first listening combination indication information indicating at least two candidate listening behaviors. The second transmitting module 720 is configured to transmit downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device, for the terminal device to perform listening behavior on the downlink control channel (PDCCH) based on the first listening combination indication information and the DCI, the listening behavior being one of at least two candidate listening behaviors.

[0224] Specifically, in some embodiments, the first sending module 710 may be configured to send a first listening combination indication information to the terminal device. The first listening combination indication information indicates one of the following: a first listening combination including a first candidate listening action and a second candidate listening action; a second listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, and a fourth candidate listening action; a third listening combination including a second candidate listening action, a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action; a fourth listening combination including a third candidate listening action and a fourth candidate listening action; or a fifth listening combination including a third candidate listening action, a fourth candidate listening action, and a fifth candidate listening action. The first candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a configured search space set; the second candidate listening action indicates stopping listening to the PDCCH within a preset time period; the third candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the first search space set; the fourth candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the second search space set; and the fifth candidate listening action indicates listening to the PDCCH according to a search space set in the third search space set.

[0225] When the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the first monitoring combination, the second monitoring combination, or the third monitoring combination, the device 700 further includes a third sending module 730, which is configured to send indication information for a preset time period to the terminal device.

[0226] In some embodiments, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first bandwidth portion (BWP), and the first sending module 710 is further configured to send a second listening combination indication information to the terminal device, the second listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second BWP. Optionally, the listening combination of the first BWP is the same as the listening combination of the second BWP.

[0227] In some embodiments, the first listening combination indication information indicates the listening combination of the first cell, and the first sending module 710 is further configured to send a third listening combination indication information to the terminal device, the third listening combination indication information indicating the listening combination of the second cell. Optionally, the listening combination of the first cell is the same as the listening combination of the second cell.

[0228] like Figure 7 As shown, the device 700 may further include a receiving module 740 configured to receive supported listening combination information from a terminal device, wherein the supported listening combination information indicates the listening combinations supported by the terminal device, and the listening combination indicated by the first listening combination indication information belongs to the listening combinations supported by the terminal device.

[0229] In some embodiments, the listening behavior is used for both the Type 3 public search space set and the terminal device-specific search space set.

[0230] The division of modules or units in the embodiments of this disclosure is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. Furthermore, the functional units in the disclosed embodiments may be integrated into one unit, exist as separate physical entities, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit described above can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0231] Figure 7 The device 700 in the middle can be used to achieve the above-mentioned combination. Figure 5 For the sake of brevity, the various processes described by network device 420 will not be elaborated here.

[0232] Figure 8 A schematic block diagram of an example device 800 that can be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Device 800 may be implemented as or included in... Figure 4 In the terminal device 410, it may be implemented as or included Figure 4 In the network device 420. As shown in the figure, device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 820 coupled to processors 810, and a communication module 840 coupled to processors 810.

[0233] The communication module 840 can be used for bidirectional communication. The communication module 840 may have at least one communication interface for communication. The communication interface may include any interface necessary for communication with other devices.

[0234] Processor 810 can be any type suitable for a local technology network and can include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), or a controller-based multi-core controller architecture. Device 800 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-dependent on a clock synchronized with the main processor.

[0235] Memory 820 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: Read-Only Memory (ROM) 824, Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), Flash Memory, Hard Disk, Compact Disc (CD), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), or other magnetic and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: Random Access Memory (RAM) 822, or other volatile memories that do not persist during the duration of a power outage.

[0236] Computer program 830 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by associated processor 810. Program 830 may be stored in ROM 824. Processor 810 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 830 into RAM 822.

[0237] The embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by means of program 830, enabling device 800 to perform as described in the reference. Figures 4 to 6 Any process discussed. Embodiments of this disclosure can also be implemented in hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0238] Program 830 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may include in device 800 (such as in memory 820) or other storage devices accessible by device 800. Program 830 may be loaded from the computer-readable medium into RAM 822 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.

[0239] In some embodiments, the communication module 840 in device 800 can be implemented as a transmitter and receiver (or transceiver), which can be configured to send / receive information such as a first listening combination indication, listening combination information supported by the terminal device, etc. Additionally, device 800 may further include one or more of a scheduler, a controller, and a radio frequency / antenna, which will not be described in detail in this disclosure.

[0240] For example, Figure 8 The device 800 can be implemented as an electronic device, or as a chip or chip system in an electronic device, and the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0241] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a chip, which may include an input interface, an output interface, and processing circuitry. In embodiments of this disclosure, the input and output interfaces can be used to complete the interaction of signaling or data, while the processing circuitry can be used to generate and process the signaling or data information.

[0242] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a chip system including a processor for supporting a computing device to implement the functions involved in any of the foregoing embodiments. In one possible design, the chip system may further include a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data, which, when executed by the processor, cause the device on which the chip system is mounted to implement the methods involved in any of the foregoing embodiments. Exemplarily, the chip system may consist of one or more chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0243] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a processor for coupling with a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform the methods and functions involved in any of the above embodiments.

[0244] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods and functions involved in any of the embodiments described above.

[0245] Embodiments of this disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium having computer instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the methods and functions involved in any of the above embodiments.

[0246] Generally, the various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software, which can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or represented using some other illustration, it should be understood that the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented as, as non-limiting examples, in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0247] This disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, which execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the processes / methods as described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. Typically, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of program modules can be combined or divided among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions for the program modules can execute within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can reside in both local and remote storage media.

[0248] Computer program code used to implement the methods of this disclosure may be written in one or more programming languages. This computer program code may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that when executed by the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be performed. The program code may be executed entirely on a computer, partially on a computer, as a stand-alone software package, partially on a computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server.

[0249] In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried on any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, and so on. Examples of signals may include electrical, optical, radio, sound, or other forms of propagation signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, etc.

[0250] A computer-readable medium can be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program for or relating to an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable medium can be, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of computer-readable storage media include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0251] Furthermore, although the operation of the methods of this disclosure is described in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, this does not require or imply that these operations must be performed in that specific order, or that all of the operations shown must be performed to achieve the desired result. Rather, the steps depicted in the flowcharts may be performed in a different order. Additionally or alternatively, certain steps may be omitted, multiple steps may be combined into one step, and / or one step may be broken down into multiple steps. It should also be noted that the features and functions of two or more devices according to this disclosure may be embodied in one device. Conversely, the features and functions of one device described above may be further divided and embodied by multiple devices.

[0252] Various implementations of this disclosure have been described above. These descriptions are exemplary and not exhaustive, nor are they limited to the disclosed implementations. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described implementations. The terminology used herein is chosen to well explain the principles, practical applications, or improvements to technology in the market, or to enable others skilled in the art to understand the various implementations disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An information transmission method, applied to a terminal device or a chip inside the terminal device, the method comprising: Receive Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling from a network device. The RRC signaling includes a first listening combination indication information, which indicates a listening combination including at least two candidate listening behaviors by whether it includes a third specific parameter and whether it includes a fourth specific parameter. The third specific parameter indicates the time period skipped when stopping PDCCH listening, and the fourth specific parameter indicates the index of the search space set of the PDCCH listening. Receive downlink control information (DCI) from the network device, the DCI instructing the terminal device to perform a PDCCH listening action, the listening action being one of at least two candidate listening actions; and Based on the first monitoring combination indication information and the DCI, the monitoring behavior of the PDCCH monitoring is performed; in, If the first monitoring combination indication information includes the third specific parameter but not the fourth specific parameter, then the monitoring combination is the first monitoring combination, including a first candidate monitoring behavior and a second candidate monitoring behavior; or The first monitoring combination indication information includes the third specific parameter and the fourth specific parameter. If the index of the search space set indicated by the fourth specific parameter has two values, 0 and 1, then the monitoring combination is the second monitoring combination, including the second candidate monitoring behavior, the third candidate monitoring behavior, and the fourth candidate monitoring behavior; or The first monitoring combination indication information includes the third specific parameter and the fourth specific parameter. If the index of the search space set indicated by the fourth specific parameter has three values: 0, 1, and 2, then the monitoring combination is the third monitoring combination, including the second candidate monitoring behavior, the third candidate monitoring behavior, the fourth candidate monitoring behavior, and the fifth candidate monitoring behavior; or If the first monitoring combination indication information includes the fourth specific parameter but not the third specific parameter, and the index of the search space set indicated by the fourth specific parameter has two values, 0 and 1, then the monitoring combination is the fourth monitoring combination, including the third candidate monitoring behavior and the fourth candidate monitoring behavior; or If the first monitoring combination indication information includes the fourth specific parameter but not the third specific parameter, and the index of the search space set indicated by the fourth specific parameter has three values: 0, 1, and 2, then the monitoring combination is the fifth monitoring combination, which includes the third candidate monitoring behavior, the fourth candidate monitoring behavior, and the fifth candidate monitoring behavior. The first candidate listening behavior indicates that the PDCCH is listened to according to the configured search space set; the second candidate listening behavior indicates that the PDCCH is stopped within a preset time period; the third candidate listening behavior indicates that the PDCCH is listened to according to the search space set in the first search space set group; the fourth candidate listening behavior indicates that the PDCCH is listened to according to the search space set in the second search space set group; and the fifth candidate listening behavior indicates that the PDCCH is listened to according to the search space set in the third search space set group.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first monitoring combination indication information indicates that when the first monitoring combination is used and the DCI is a first value, the monitoring behavior is the first candidate monitoring behavior; When the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the second monitoring combination and the DCI is a first value, the monitoring behavior is the third candidate monitoring behavior.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first monitoring combination indication information indicates that when the first monitoring combination is used and the DCI is a second value, the monitoring behavior is the second candidate monitoring behavior, and the preset time period is included in the first preset time period in the PDCCH configuration; When the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the second monitoring combination and the DCI is the second value, the monitoring behavior is the fourth candidate monitoring behavior.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first monitoring combination indication information indicates that when the first monitoring combination is used and the DCI is a third value, the monitoring behavior is the second candidate monitoring behavior, and the preset time period is the second preset time period included in the PDCCH configuration; When the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the second monitoring combination and the DCI is a third value, the monitoring behavior is the second candidate monitoring behavior, and the preset time period is the first preset time period included in the PDCCH configuration.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The first monitoring combination indication information indicates that when the first monitoring combination is used and the DCI is the fourth value, the monitoring behavior is the second candidate monitoring behavior, and the preset time period is the third preset time period included in the PDCCH configuration; When the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the second monitoring combination and the DCI is the fourth value, the monitoring behavior is the second candidate monitoring behavior, and the preset time period is the second preset time period included in the PDCCH configuration.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the monitoring combination of the first bandwidth portion (BWP), and wherein the method further comprises: Receive a second listening combination indication message from the network device, the second listening combination indication message indicating the listening combination of the second BWP.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: The UE capability information is used to send supported listening combination information to the network device. The supported listening combination information indicates the listening combinations supported by the terminal device. The supported listening combinations include at least one of the first listening combination, the second listening combination, the third listening combination, the fourth listening combination, and the fifth listening combination.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, If the UE capability information includes the "PdcchSkipping" information element, then the terminal device supports the first monitoring combination including the first candidate monitoring behavior and the second candidate monitoring behavior.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein, If the UE capability information includes the "PdcchSkippingAndSearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching" information element, then the terminal device supports a second listening combination including the second candidate listening behavior, the third candidate listening behavior, and the fourth candidate listening behavior.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, 8 to 9, wherein the listening behavior is used for a type 3 public search space set and a terminal device-specific search space set.

11. An information transmission method, applied to a network device or a chip within the network device, the method comprising: A Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message is sent to the terminal device. The RRC signaling message includes first listening combination indication information. This first listening combination indication information represents a listening combination including at least two candidate listening behaviors by whether it includes a third specific parameter and whether it includes a fourth specific parameter. The third specific parameter indicates the time period skipped when stopping PDCCH listening, and the fourth specific parameter indicates the index of the search space set of the PDCCH listening. Send downlink control information (DCI) to the terminal device, wherein the DCI instructs the terminal device to perform PDCCH monitoring, and the monitoring behavior is one of the at least two candidate monitoring behaviors; in, If the first monitoring combination indication information includes the third specific parameter but not the fourth specific parameter, then the monitoring combination is the first monitoring combination, including a first candidate monitoring behavior and a second candidate monitoring behavior; or The first monitoring combination indication information includes the third specific parameter and the fourth specific parameter. If the index of the search space set indicated by the fourth specific parameter has two values, 0 and 1, then the monitoring combination is the second monitoring combination, including the second candidate monitoring behavior, the third candidate monitoring behavior, and the fourth candidate monitoring behavior; or The first monitoring combination indication information includes the third specific parameter and the fourth specific parameter. If the index of the search space set indicated by the fourth specific parameter has three values: 0, 1, and 2, then the monitoring combination is the third monitoring combination, including the second candidate monitoring behavior, the third candidate monitoring behavior, the fourth candidate monitoring behavior, and the fifth candidate monitoring behavior; or If the first monitoring combination indication information includes the fourth specific parameter but not the third specific parameter, and the fourth specific parameter has two values, 0 and 1, then the monitoring combination is the fourth monitoring combination, including the third candidate monitoring behavior and the fourth candidate monitoring behavior; or If the first monitoring combination indicates that it includes a fourth specific parameter but not the third specific parameter, and the fourth specific parameter has three values: 0, 1, and 2, then the monitoring combination is a fifth monitoring combination, which includes the third candidate monitoring behavior, the fourth candidate monitoring behavior, and the fifth candidate monitoring behavior. Wherein, the first candidate listening behavior indicates that the PDCCH is listened to according to the configured search space set, the second candidate listening behavior indicates that the PDCCH is stopped within a preset time period, the third candidate listening behavior indicates that the PDCCH is listened to according to the search space set in the first search space set group, the fourth candidate listening behavior indicates that the PDCCH is listened to according to the search space set in the second search space set group, and the fifth candidate listening behavior indicates that the PDCCH is listened to according to the search space set in the third search space set group.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein, The first monitoring combination indication information indicates that when the first monitoring combination is used and the DCI is a first value, the monitoring behavior is the first candidate monitoring behavior; When the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the second monitoring combination and the DCI is a first value, the monitoring behavior is the third candidate monitoring behavior.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein, The first monitoring combination indication information indicates that when the first monitoring combination is used and the DCI is a second value, the monitoring behavior is the second candidate monitoring behavior, and the preset time period is included in the first preset time period in the PDCCH configuration; When the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the second monitoring combination and the DCI is the second value, the monitoring behavior is the fourth candidate monitoring behavior.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein, The first monitoring combination indication information indicates that when the first monitoring combination is used and the DCI is a third value, the monitoring behavior is the second candidate monitoring behavior, and the preset time period is the second preset time period included in the PDCCH configuration; When the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the second monitoring combination and the DCI is a third value, the monitoring behavior is the second candidate monitoring behavior, and the preset time period is the first preset time period included in the PDCCH configuration.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein, The first monitoring combination indication information indicates that when the first monitoring combination is used and the DCI is the fourth value, the monitoring behavior is the second candidate monitoring behavior, and the preset time period is the third preset time period included in the PDCCH configuration; When the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the second monitoring combination and the DCI is the fourth value, the monitoring behavior is the second candidate monitoring behavior, and the preset time period is the second preset time period included in the PDCCH configuration.

16. The method of any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the first monitoring combination indication information indicates the monitoring combination of the first bandwidth portion (BWP), and wherein the method further comprises: Send a second listening combination indication message to the terminal device, the second listening combination indication message indicating the listening combination of the second BWP.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, further comprising: The terminal device receives UE capability information, which includes supported listening combination information. The supported listening combination information indicates the listening combinations supported by the terminal device. The supported listening combinations include at least one of the first listening combination, the second listening combination, the third listening combination, the fourth listening combination, and the fifth listening combination.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, If the UE capability information includes the "PdcchSkipping" information element, then the terminal device supports the first monitoring combination including the first candidate monitoring behavior and the second candidate monitoring behavior.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein, If the UE capability information includes the "PdcchSkippingAndSearchSpaceSetGroupSwitching" information element, then the terminal device supports a second listening combination including the second candidate listening behavior, the third candidate listening behavior, and the fourth candidate listening behavior.

20. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the listening behavior is used for a type 3 public search space set and a terminal device-specific search space set.

21. A communication apparatus comprising a plurality of functional units for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 20.

22. A communication device, comprising at least a processor, wherein the processor invokes a computer program to cause the communication device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-20.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions that, when executed, implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

25. A chip, characterized in that, Includes processing circuitry configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20.

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