Downlink control information (DCI) reception, transmission method and device, and storage medium

Abstract

This disclosure provides a method, apparatus, and storage medium for receiving and transmitting Downlink Control Information (DCI). The DCI receiving method includes: determining multiple cells scheduled by Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI); determining the target size of the MC-DCI in the multiple cells; and receiving and parsing the MC-DCI in the scheduled cell based on the target size. This disclosure can achieve size alignment of the same multi-cell downlink control information in different scheduled cells, reducing terminal blind detection complexity and improving PDCCH transmission performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communications, and in particular to methods and apparatus for receiving and transmitting downlink control information (DCI), and storage media. Background Technology

[0002] 5G New Radio (NR) technology operates over a relatively wide spectrum. With the refarming of existing cellular network bands, spectrum utilization will steadily improve. This is especially true for Frequency Range 1 (FR1), where available frequency resources are becoming increasingly fragmented. To meet diverse spectrum needs, these dispersed spectrum resources require higher spectrum and power efficiency, and more flexible utilization, thereby achieving higher network throughput and better coverage.

[0003] Based on existing mechanisms, a single Downlink Control Information (DCI) within a serving cell can only schedule data from one cell. However, with the gradual fragmentation of frequency resources, the demand for scheduling data from multiple cells simultaneously will gradually increase. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce a DCI that schedules data from multiple cells, namely Multi-Cell DCI (MC-DCI).

[0004] However, according to the relevant mechanism, during the DCI alignment process, including MC-DCI, in each scheduled cell, there may be inconsistencies in the size of the same MC-DCI. This can cause the terminal and the base station to be unable to determine the actual size of the transmitted MC-DCI, thereby impairing the transmission performance of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). Summary of the Invention

[0005] To overcome the problems existing in related technologies, this disclosure provides a method and apparatus for receiving and transmitting downlink control information (DCI), as well as a storage medium.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for receiving downlink control information (DCI) is provided, the method being executed by a terminal, comprising:

[0007] Identify the multiple cells that are scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI);

[0008] Determine the target size of the MC-DCI in the multiple cells;

[0009] Based on the target size of the MC-DCI, the MC-DCI is received and parsed in the scheduling cell.

[0010] Optionally, determining the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells includes:

[0011] On at least one of the plurality of cells, the first size of the MC-DCI is determined;

[0012] The target size of the MC-DCI is determined based on the first size determined by the MC-DCI in at least one of the plurality of cells.

[0013] Optionally, determining the first size of the MC-DCI in at least one of the plurality of cells includes:

[0014] Based on the DCI alignment operation including the MC-DCI on the at least one cell, the first size of the MC-DCI on the at least one cell is determined such that the number of DCI sizes configured on each of the plurality of cells meets a preset constraint.

[0015] Optionally, the DCI alignment operation, including the MC-DCI, includes any of the following:

[0016] DCI alignment for different MC-DCI formats;

[0017] After DCI alignment of the MC-DCI in different formats, it is then DCI aligned with at least one traditional legacy DCI in a different format.

[0018] After DCI alignment of different formats of legacy DCI, it is then DCI aligned with at least one format of the MC-DCI.

[0019] Optionally, determining the target size of the MC-DCI based on the first size determined by the MC-DCI in at least one of the plurality of cells includes:

[0020] The maximum value among the first size determined by the MC-DCI on at least one cell is determined as the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0021] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0022] If the first size determined by the MC-DCI on the at least one cell is different, the MC-DCI corresponding to the first size is DCI aligned with the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size using a zero-padding method.

[0023] Optionally, the method further includes at least one of the following:

[0024] The terminal does not expect the number of MC-DCI formats configured on any cell to be greater than 1;

[0025] The terminal does not expect to be on any cell and needs to meet preset constraints through DCI alignment operations between different MC-DCI formats.

[0026] When one or more MC-DCIs are configured on any cell, the terminal does not expect the size of the MC-DCI to be changed through alignment.

[0027] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0028] If there is a first cell among the multiple cells that is simultaneously scheduled by different MC-DCIs, before determining the target size of the MC-DCI, it is determined that the different MC-DCIs are aligned using a zero-padding method.

[0029] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0030] If there is a second cell configured with legacy DCI among the plurality of cells, and the size of the legacy DCI before DCI alignment is larger than the target size of the MC-DCI in the second cell, it is determined that the legacy DCI is aligned with the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size in the second cell by means of truncation.

[0031] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0032] The terminal does not expect to configure a legacy DCI size larger than the target size of the MC-DCI on any cell.

[0033] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for receiving downlink control information (DCI) is provided, the method being executed by a base station, comprising:

[0034] Identify the multiple cells that are scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI);

[0035] Determine the target size of the MC-DCI in the multiple cells;

[0036] Based on the target size of the MC-DCI, the MC-DCI is sent to the terminal in the scheduling cell.

[0037] Optionally, determining the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells includes:

[0038] On at least one of the plurality of cells, the first size of the MC-DCI is determined;

[0039] The target size of the MC-DCI is determined based on the first size determined by the MC-DCI in at least one of the plurality of cells.

[0040] Optionally, determining the first size of the MC-DCI in at least one of the plurality of cells includes:

[0041] Perform a DCI alignment operation, including the MC-DCI, on the at least one cell to ensure that the number of DCI sizes configured on each of the plurality of cells meets a preset constraint, and determine the first size of the MC-DCI on the at least one cell.

[0042] Optionally, the DCI alignment operation, including the MC-DCI, includes any of the following:

[0043] DCI alignment for different MC-DCI formats;

[0044] After DCI alignment of different MC-DCI formats, DCI alignment is then performed with at least one traditional legacy DCI format.

[0045] After DCI alignment of different formats of legacy DCI, it is then DCI aligned with at least one format of MC-DCI.

[0046] Optionally, determining the target size of the MC-DCI based on the first size determined by the MC-DCI in at least one of the plurality of cells includes:

[0047] The maximum value among the first size determined by the MC-DCI on at least one cell is determined as the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0048] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0049] If the first size determined by the MC-DCI on at least one cell is different, the MC-DCI corresponding to the first size is DCI aligned to the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size using a zero-padding method.

[0050] Optionally, the method further includes at least one of the following:

[0051] In any given cell, the base station will not schedule MC-DCIs with a format number greater than 1;

[0052] In any given cell, the base station will not perform DCI alignment operations between different MC-DCI formats;

[0053] When the base station has configured one or more MC-DCIs on any cell, the base station will not change the size of any of the MC-DCIs by means of alignment.

[0054] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0055] If there is a first cell among the multiple cells that is simultaneously scheduled by different MC-DCIs, before determining the target size of the MC-DCI, DCI alignment operation is performed on the different MC-DCIs using zero-padding.

[0056] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0057] If there is a second cell configured with legacy DCI among the plurality of cells, and the size of the legacy DCI in the second cell is larger than the target size of the MC-DCI, the legacy DCI in the second cell is DCI aligned with the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size by means of truncation.

[0058] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0059] In any given cell, the base station will not configure a legacy DCI with a size larger than the target size.

[0060] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, a downlink control information (DCI) receiving apparatus is provided, the apparatus being applied to a terminal, comprising:

[0061] The first determining module is configured to determine multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI).

[0062] The second determining module is configured to determine the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells;

[0063] The receiving module is configured to receive and parse the MC-DCI in the scheduling cell based on the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0064] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a downlink control information (DCI) transmitting apparatus is provided, the apparatus being applied to a base station, comprising:

[0065] The third determination module is configured to determine the multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI);

[0066] The fourth determining module is configured to determine the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells;

[0067] The sending module is configured to send the MC-DCI to the terminal in the scheduling cell based on the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0068] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the storage medium storing a computer program for performing the downlink control information (DCI) receiving method described in any of the preceding claims.

[0069] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the storage medium storing a computer program for performing the downlink control information (DCI) transmission method described in any of the preceding claims.

[0070] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a downlink control information (DCI) receiving apparatus is provided, comprising:

[0071] processor;

[0072] Memory used to store processor-executable instructions;

[0073] The processor is configured to perform the downlink control information (DCI) receiving method described in any of the preceding embodiments.

[0074] According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a downlink control information (DCI) transmitting apparatus is provided, comprising:

[0075] processor;

[0076] Memory used to store processor-executable instructions;

[0077] The processor is configured to execute the downlink control information (DCI) transmission method described in any of the preceding embodiments.

[0078] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this disclosure may include the following beneficial effects:

[0079] This disclosure enables the alignment of the size of downlink control information for the same multi-cell system across different scheduled cells, reducing terminal blind detection complexity and improving PDCCH transmission performance.

[0080] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only, and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0081] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0082] Figure 1A This is a flowchart illustrating a DCI alignment mechanism according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0083] Figure 1B This is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario where different scheduled cells have different MC-DCI sizes, according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0084] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a DCI receiving method according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0085] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating another DCI receiving method flow according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0086] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating another DCI receiving method flow according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0087] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating another DCI receiving method flow according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0088] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a DCI transmission method according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0089] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating another DCI transmission method flow according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0090] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating another DCI transmission method flow according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0091] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram illustrating another DCI transmission method flow according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0092] Figure 10AThis is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario of performing DCI alignment according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0093] Figure 10B This is a schematic diagram of a DCI alignment scenario according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0094] Figure 11 This is a block diagram of a DCI receiving device according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0095] Figure 12 This is a block diagram of a DCI transmitting apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0096] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of a DCI receiving device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0097] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of a DCI transmitting apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0098] Exemplary embodiments will now be described in detail, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. When the following description relates to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numerals in different drawings denote the same or similar elements. The embodiments described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present invention. Rather, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with some aspects of the invention as detailed in the appended claims.

[0099] The terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. The singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” as used in this disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used herein refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of at least one associated listed item.

[0100] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used in this disclosure to describe various information, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, without departing from the scope of this disclosure, first information may also be referred to as second information, and similarly, second information may also be referred to as first information. Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when," "when," or "in response to determination."

[0101] In carrier aggregation (CA) scenarios, based on relevant mechanisms, to reduce the complexity of blind detection for terminals, the number of bit length types of DCI configured in a single scheduled cell is limited to no more than four, and the number of DCI bit length types scrambled by the Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) configured within the cell is limited to no more than three (the "3+1" constraint). To meet these constraints, different formats of DCI configured within a single scheduled cell can be aligned to reduce the number of DCI bit lengths monitored by the terminal within the cell. This alignment mainly achieves consistency in the size of the same or different DCI formats through zero padding, truncating, and other methods.

[0102] It should be noted that in this disclosure, the DCI alignment process is performed by the base station. The terminal side can deduce the DCI alignment process performed by the base station to determine the size of the DCI, and then receive the DCI based on the determined size. Specifically, the DCI alignment process in the relevant mechanism can be, for example... Figure 1AAs shown, the base station performs DCI alignment between DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in the Common Search Space (CSS), and then performs DCI alignment between DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in the User Specific Search Space (USS). Then, it performs non-backoff DCI operations (for DCI format 0_1 / DCI format 1_1) and Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) DCI operations (for DCI format 0_2 (Supplementary Uplink SUL) / format 0_2 (Non-SUL)). Furthermore, the base station determines whether the number of DCI sizes is less than 3. If it is less than 3, the DCI alignment operation is considered complete. Otherwise, the base station performs DCI alignment operation on the DCI format 0_0 / format 1_0 of the USS and the DCI format 0_0 / format 1_0 of the CSS. If the number of DCI sizes is less than 3 at this time, the DCI alignment operation is considered complete. Otherwise, the DCI alignment operation on DCI format 0_2 and format 1_2 is performed. Similarly, if the number of DCI sizes is less than 3 at this time, the DCI alignment operation is considered complete. Otherwise, the DCI alignment operation on DCI format 0_1 ​​and format 1_1 is performed to make the number of DCI sizes less than 3.

[0103] In multi-cell scheduling scenarios, there may be two or more cells being scheduled. If a DCI alignment process, including MC-DCI, is performed in each scheduled cell based on relevant mechanisms, the size of the same MC-DCI may be inconsistent.

[0104] It should be noted that in this disclosure, MC-DCI includes, but is not limited to, the new DCI formats: DCI format 0_X: used for scheduling PUSCH for multiple cells (hereinafter referred to as DCI format 0_3); and DCI format 1_X: used for scheduling PDSCH for multiple cells (hereinafter referred to as DCI format 1_3). It is understood that DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are merely exemplary descriptions of the MC-DCI format. In actual applications, to distinguish it from legacy DCI, MC-DCI uses DCI format 0_X and DCI format 1_X, where X is an integer greater than or equal to 3, all of which should fall within the scope of this disclosure. Legacy DCI includes, but is not limited to, DCI formats defined based on existing protocol mechanisms (Rel-15, Rel-16, Rel-17). MC-DCI introduced in Rel-18 is not within the scope of legacy DCI.

[0105] One example scenario is as follows Figure 1B As shown, in scheduled cell #2, DCI 0_3 is aligned with the size of DCI 1_3 through zero padding, resulting in an increase in the size of DCI 0_3. However, in scheduled cell #4, the size of DCI 0_3 is not increased.

[0106] This means that for the same MC-DCI format 0_3, its size differs in different scheduled cells. In this scenario, the terminal and base station cannot determine the actual size of the transmitted MC-DCI, thus impairing the scheduling performance of the PDCCH.

[0107] To address the aforementioned technical issues, this disclosure provides a DCI receiving and transmitting method that can align the size of downlink control information from the same multi-cell network across different scheduled cells, thereby reducing terminal blind detection complexity and improving PDCCH transmission performance.

[0108] The following section will first introduce the DCI receiving method provided in this publication from the perspective of the terminal side.

[0109] This disclosure provides a DCI receiving method, referring to... Figure 2 As shown, Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a DCI receiving method according to an embodiment, which can be executed by a terminal. The method may include the following steps:

[0110] In step 201, multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI) are identified.

[0111] In this embodiment of the disclosure, Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI) is used to schedule data transmission across multiple cells. Each cell's data transmission corresponds to a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) and / or a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

[0112] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to one or more scheduled cells scheduled by the MC-DCI at the same time. For example, multiple cells {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3} scheduled by the MC-DCI (the format of the MC-DCI can be format0_3 or format1_3) at time t1.

[0113] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI at different times from a static or semi-static perspective. For example, the MC-DCI of format 0_3 supports dynamic handover of scheduled cells. At time t1, the scheduled cells are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3}, and at time t2, the scheduled cells are {cell #3, cell #4}. Then, in this disclosure, the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3, cell #4}.

[0114] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells that the MC-DCI can schedule. For example, if the set of cells that an MC-DCI can schedule is {cell #1, cell #2, cell #4}, and the MC-DCI can schedule one or more cells in this set, then multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to all cells included in this set of cells.

[0115] In step 202, the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells is determined.

[0116] In this embodiment, the terminal can deduce the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station, ensuring that the number of DCI sizes configured on each of the plurality of cells meets a preset constraint, thereby determining a unified target size for the MC-DCI across the plurality of cells. Specific implementation details will be described in subsequent embodiments and will not be presented here.

[0117] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the preset constraints can be the "3+1" constraint in the relevant mechanism, the "4+1" constraint, or other preset constraints that need to be met for the number of DCI sizes configured in each serving cell. This disclosure does not impose any restrictions on this. The "4+1" constraint means that the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI in the serving cell does not exceed 4, and the total number of DCI size types configured in the serving cell does not exceed 5.

[0118] In step 203, based on the target size of the MC-DCI, the MC-DCI is received and parsed in the scheduling cell.

[0119] It should be noted that the cell scheduled by MC-DCI is also called the scheduled cell. In this embodiment of the disclosure, multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI refer to multiple scheduled cells.

[0120] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the scheduling cell refers to the cell in which the terminal actually detects and receives the MC-DCI. The scheduling cell can be any one of multiple cells (i.e., multiple scheduled cells), or it can be a cell different from the multiple cells (i.e., multiple scheduled cells); this disclosure does not limit this. The terminal can receive and parse the MC-DCI in the scheduling cell based on the target size of the MC-DCI determined in step 202.

[0121] For example, if MC-DCI schedules cell #1 and cell #2, then the multiple (scheduled) cells refer to cell #1 and cell #2. The scheduling cell can be one of the multiple (scheduled) cells; for example, the scheduling cell can be cell #1 or cell #2. The terminal can receive and parse MC-DCI in cell #1 or cell #2.

[0122] For example, if MC-DCI schedules cell #1 and cell #2, then the multiple (scheduled) cells refer to cell #1 and cell #2. However, the scheduling cell can be a single cell different from the multiple (scheduled) cells. For example, the scheduling cell can be cell #3, and the terminal can receive and parse MC-DCI in cell #3.

[0123] In the above embodiments, the size of the downlink control information of the same multi-cell can be aligned in different scheduled cells, reducing the complexity of terminal blind detection and improving PDCCH transmission performance.

[0124] The following section details how to determine the target size of MC-DCI across multiple cells.

[0125] Method 1: The terminal performs DCI alignment operation in at least one of the scheduled cells among multiple cells, and combines the DCI alignment operation performed across scheduled cells to ensure that the number of DCI sizes configured on each scheduled cell meets the preset limit conditions, and finally determines the target size of MC-DCI.

[0126] This disclosure provides a DCI receiving method, referring to... Figure 3 As shown, Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating a DCI receiving method according to an embodiment, which can be executed by a terminal. The method may include the following steps:

[0127] In step 301, multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI) are identified.

[0128] In this embodiment of the disclosure, MC-DCI is used to schedule data transmission across multiple cells. Each cell's data transmission corresponds to one PDSCH and / or one PUSCH.

[0129] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to one or more scheduled cells scheduled by the MC-DCI at the same time. For example, multiple cells {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3} scheduled by the MC-DCI (the format of the MC-DCI can be format0_3 or format1_3) at time t1.

[0130] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI at different times from a static or semi-static perspective. For example, the MC-DCI of format 0_3 supports dynamic handover of scheduled cells. At time t1, the scheduled cells are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3}, and at time t2, the scheduled cells are {cell #3, cell #4}. Then, in this disclosure, the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3, cell #4}.

[0131] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells that the MC-DCI can schedule. For example, if the set of cells that an MC-DCI can schedule is {cell #1, cell #2, cell #4}, and the MC-DCI can schedule one or more cells in this set, then multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to all cells included in this set of cells.

[0132] In step 302, a first size of the MC-DCI is determined in at least one of the plurality of cells.

[0133] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the first size of the MC-DCI in the at least one cell is determined based on the DCI alignment operation including the MC-DCI in at least one of the plurality of cells, such that the number of DCI sizes configured in each cell meets a preset constraint.

[0134] In related technologies, DCI alignment is performed by the base station, and the base station performs DCI alignment on a per-cell basis. This includes, but is not limited to, performing DCI alignment based on the time-frequency resources of the cell. It may also include the number of DCI formats and the number of DCI sizes configured for the entire cell, and performing DCI alignment using zero padding or other methods such as truncation.

[0135] For example, if a base station determines that aligning a DCI for a certain format requires n1 bits, and the size of the determined DCI is n2 bits (n2 is less than n1), the base station can increase the size of the DCI to n1 by padding with zero bits. As another example, if a base station determines that aligning a DCI for a certain format requires n1 bits, and the size of the determined DCI is n2 bits (n2 is greater than n1), the base station can reduce the number of bits in the DCI to n1 by truncation.

[0136] For the terminal, it can receive Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling sent by the base station to determine information such as the DCI format and DCI size that the terminal may need to blindly detect. Based on the information such as the DCI format and DCI size that may need to be blindly detected, the terminal can deduce the DCI alignment operation, determine the actual size of the DCI, and then receive and parse the DCI.

[0137] In related technologies, the limitation of DCI size needs to meet the "3+1" constraint condition. The "3+1" constraint condition means that the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI in the serving cell does not exceed 3, and the total number of DCI size types configured in the serving cell does not exceed 4.

[0138] In this embodiment, the preset constraints can be the "3+1" constraint in the relevant mechanism, the "4+1" constraint, or other preset constraints that the number of DCI sizes configured in each serving cell must meet. This disclosure does not impose any restrictions on this. The "4+1" constraint means that the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI in the serving cell does not exceed 4, and the total number of DCI size types configured in the serving cell does not exceed 5.

[0139] In the embodiments of this disclosure, from the perspective of the base station side, the cell that performs the DCI alignment operation, including MC-DCI, can be each of the above-mentioned multiple cells, or it can be some of the multiple cells, or it can be one of the multiple cells. This disclosure does not limit it in this way.

[0140] Accordingly, in one possible implementation, the terminal can deduce the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station, including the MC-DCI, in each of the multiple cells, and determine the first size of the MC-DCI in each cell, provided that the number of DCI sizes configured in each cell meets a preset constraint.

[0141] In another possible implementation, the terminal can deduce the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station, including the MC-DCI, on one or more specific cells among multiple cells, and finally determine the first size of the MC-DCI on the one or more specific cells, while ensuring that the number of DCI sizes configured on each of the multiple cells meets the preset constraints.

[0142] Among them, one or more specific cells can be cells in which the number of DCI configuration sizes among multiple cells of the terminal does not meet the preset restrictions.

[0143] In one possible implementation, the DCI alignment operation, including the MC-DCI, may include, but is not limited to, any of the following: DCI alignment of MC-DCI in different formats; DCI alignment of MC-DCI in different formats followed by DCI alignment with at least one traditional legacy DCI in a different format; DCI alignment of legacy DCI in different formats followed by DCI alignment with at least one MC-DCI in a different format.

[0144] Among them, MC-DCI includes, but is not limited to, new DCI formats: DCI format0_3: PUSCH used for scheduling multiple cells; DCI format1_3: PDSCH used for scheduling multiple cells. Accordingly, DCI alignment of different MC-DCI formats can refer to size alignment between DCI format0_3 and DCI format1_3.

[0145] After DCI alignment of the MC-DCI formats of different types, further DCI alignment with at least one traditional legacy DCI format can refer to size alignment between DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, followed by size alignment with at least one traditional legacy DCI format. In this embodiment, legacy DCI refers to a DCI format defined based on existing protocol mechanisms (Rel-15, Rel-16, Rel-17). MC-DCI introduced in Rel-18 is not within the scope of legacy DCI.

[0146] For example, after DCI alignment of the MC-DCI in different formats, DCI alignment with at least one traditional legacy DCI format can mean that after size alignment between DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, size alignment with legacy DCI, such as DCI format 0_1 ​​and / or DCI format 1_1.

[0147] For example, after DCI alignment of the MC-DCI in different formats, DCI alignment with at least one traditional legacy DCI format can mean that after size alignment between DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, size alignment with legacy DCI, such as DCI format 0_2 and / or DCI format 1_2.

[0148] After DCI alignment of different formats of legacy DCI, DCI alignment with at least one format of MC-DCI can refer to first aligning the sizes of different formats of legacy DCI according to relevant mechanisms, including but not limited to aligning the sizes of DCIformat 0_1 ​​with DCIformat 1_1, and / or aligning the sizes of DCIformat 0_2 with DCIformat 1_2, and further aligning the sizes with DCIformat 0_3 and / or DCIformat 1_3.

[0149] In step 303, the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells is determined based on the first size determined by the MC-DCI in the at least one cell.

[0150] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the number of first sizes is equal to the number of cells in which the terminal infers the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station. Accordingly, if the number of first sizes determined by the MC-DCI on at least one of the plurality of cells is multiple and different, the terminal may determine the maximum value among the first sizes determined by the MC-DCI on the at least one cell as the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0151] In step 304, based on the target size of the MC-DCI, the MC-DCI is received and parsed in the scheduling cell.

[0152] In this embodiment of the disclosure, after the terminal determines the target size of the MC-DCI, it needs to re-determine the DCI alignment process, including the MC-DCI, performed by the base station in at least one of the plurality of cells, so that the number of configuration DCI formats in each cell meets the preset limit conditions, thereby determining the size of the configuration DCI of each cell. The specific deduction method is similar to the process of deducing the DCI alignment process, including the MC-DCI, performed by the base station in at least one cell in step 302 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0153] The cell performing DCI alignment operations, including MC-DCI, can be each of multiple cells, or some of multiple cells, or one of multiple cells; this disclosure does not limit this.

[0154] In this embodiment of the disclosure, if any of the plurality of cells has a cell configured with legacy DCI, the size of the legacy DCI is generally smaller than the size of the MC-DCI. That is, the legacy DCI needs to be aligned to the size of the MC-DCI. Therefore, after re-deducing the DCI alignment process in at least one of the plurality of cells, the determined size of the MC-DCI remains the target size. The terminal can receive and parse the MC-DCI in the scheduling cell based on the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0155] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the scheduling cell refers to the cell in which the terminal actually detects and receives MC-DCI. The scheduling cell can be any one of the multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, or the scheduling cell can be a cell different from the multiple cells. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0156] In the above embodiments, a DCI alignment mechanism is added between multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI, thereby realizing the alignment of the size of the downlink control information of the same multi-cell in different scheduled cells, reducing the complexity of terminal blind detection, and improving PDCCH transmission performance.

[0157] Method 2: For one or more specific cells among the multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, limit the number of MC-DCIs.

[0158] This disclosure provides a DCI receiving method, referring to... Figure 4 As shown, Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a DCI receiving method according to an embodiment, which can be executed by a terminal. The method may include the following steps:

[0159] In step 401, multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI) are identified.

[0160] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multi-cell downlink control information is used to schedule data transmission across multiple cells. Each cell's data transmission corresponds to one PDSCH and / or one PUSCH.

[0161] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to one or more scheduled cells scheduled by the MC-DCI at the same time. For example, multiple cells {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3} scheduled by the MC-DCI (the format of the MC-DCI can be format0_3 or format1_3) at time t1.

[0162] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI at different times from a static or semi-static perspective. For example, the MC-DCI of format 0_3 supports dynamic handover of scheduled cells. At time t1, the scheduled cells are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3}, and at time t2, the scheduled cells are {cell #3, cell #4}. Then, in this disclosure, the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3, cell #4}.

[0163] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells that the MC-DCI can schedule. For example, if the set of cells that an MC-DCI can schedule is {cell #1, cell #2, cell #4}, and the MC-DCI can schedule one or more cells in this set, then multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to all cells included in this set of cells.

[0164] In step 402, the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells is determined.

[0165] Under the relevant mechanism, DCI alignment is performed separately on each of the multiple cells (see reference). Figure 1A As shown in the figure, after the introduction of MC-DCI, there may be a situation where different scheduled cells correspond to different sizes after DCI alignment for the same MC-DCI.

[0166] To address the aforementioned issues, this disclosure considers that in most scenarios, the size of the MC-DCI is larger than that of the legacy DCI. The inconsistency in MC-DCI size mainly stems from the alignment process between DCI 0_3 and DCI 1_3. Therefore, embodiments of this disclosure primarily limit the number of MC-DCIs for one or more specific cells among multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, thereby avoiding the alignment process between DCI 0_3 and DCI 1_3 from the perspective of limiting MC-DCI scheduling.

[0167] In one possible implementation, the terminal does not expect to configure more than one MC-DCI format on any single cell. That is, the terminal does not expect to configure more than one MC-DCI format on any single cell among multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI.

[0168] For example, the cells scheduled by DCI format0_3 include cell #1 and cell #3. Neither cell #1 nor cell #3 will be scheduled by DCI format 1_3.

[0169] In another possible implementation, the terminal does not expect to meet preset constraints by performing DCI alignment operations between different MC-DCI formats on any given cell. That is, the terminal does not expect to meet preset constraints by performing DCI alignment operations between DCI format0_3 and DCI format 1_3 on any one of multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI.

[0170] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the preset constraints may be the "3+1" constraints in the relevant mechanism, or the "4+1" constraints, or other preset constraints that need to be met for the number of DCIs configured in each serving cell. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0171] In another possible implementation, when one or more MC-DCIs are configured on any one cell, the terminal does not expect the size of the MC-DCI to be changed through alignment.

[0172] In other words, if one or more MC-DCIs are configured on any one of the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI, the terminal does not expect the size of any MC-DCI configured on that cell to be changed through alignment methods such as zero padding or truncation.

[0173] Because this disclosure limits the number of MC-DCIs for one or more specific cells among multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, the terminal determines the target size of the MC-DCI on at least one of the multiple cells by deduce the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station side according to a relevant mechanism. Furthermore, the target size of the MC-DCIs ultimately determined by the terminal on multiple cells is the same. The implementation method of deduce the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station side according to the relevant mechanism is similar to... Figure 1A Similar to the example shown, the difference is the introduction of MC-DCI, and for any given cell, there is no alignment operation between different MC-DCI formats. The specific process will not be elaborated here.

[0174] It should be noted that since the size of the MC-DCI corresponding to any one of the multiple cells will not be changed by alignment methods such as zero padding or truncation, the target size of the MC-DCI on the multiple cells ultimately determined by the terminal is the same.

[0175] In step 403, based on the target size of the MC-DCI, the MC-DCI is received and parsed in the scheduling cell.

[0176] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the scheduling cell refers to the cell in which the terminal actually detects and receives MC-DCI. The scheduling cell can be any one of the multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, or the scheduling cell can be a cell different from the multiple cells. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0177] In the above embodiments, the size of MC-DCI can be changed through alignment. In the scenario of introducing MC-DCI, the DCI alignment process is simplified, the size of downlink control information of the same multi-cell is aligned in different scheduled cells, the complexity of terminal blind detection is reduced, and the transmission performance of PDCCH is improved.

[0178] Method 3: Before deduce the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station on at least one of the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI, the terminal predetermines that different MC-DCIs will perform DCI alignment in a zero-filling manner.

[0179] This disclosure provides a DCI receiving method, referring to... Figure 5As shown, Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a DCI receiving method according to an embodiment, which can be executed by a terminal. The method may include the following steps:

[0180] In step 501, multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI) are identified.

[0181] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multi-cell downlink control information is used to schedule data transmission across multiple cells. Each cell's data transmission corresponds to one PDSCH and / or one PUSCH.

[0182] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to one or more scheduled cells scheduled by the MC-DCI at the same time. For example, multiple cells {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3} scheduled by the MC-DCI (the format of the MC-DCI can be format0_3 or format1_3) at time t1.

[0183] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI at different times from a static or semi-static perspective. For example, the MC-DCI of format 0_3 supports dynamic handover of scheduled cells. At time t1, the scheduled cells are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3}, and at time t2, the scheduled cells are {cell #3, cell #4}. Then, in this disclosure, the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3, cell #4}.

[0184] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells that the MC-DCI can schedule. For example, if the set of cells that an MC-DCI can schedule is {cell #1, cell #2, cell #4}, and the MC-DCI can schedule one or more cells in this set, then multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to all cells included in this set of cells.

[0185] In step 502, if there is a first cell among the plurality of cells that is simultaneously scheduled by different MC-DCIs, before determining the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells, it is determined that the different MC-DCIs are aligned by zero-padding.

[0186] In the embodiments of this disclosure, different MC-DCIs may refer to different formats of MC-DCI, such as DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 involved in this disclosure.

[0187] Alternatively, different MC-DCIs can refer to MC-DCIs that schedule different cell sets under the same format. It should be noted that each cell set includes at least one cell, and no two cell sets contain the same cell.

[0188] For example, if both MC-DCIs are format 0_3, and MC-DCI#1 schedules cells #1 and #2, while MC-DCI#2 schedules cells #3 and #4, then MC-DCI#1 and MC-DCI#2 are different MC-DCIs.

[0189] In this embodiment of the disclosure, before determining the target size of the MC-DCI in at least one of multiple cells by inferring the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station according to a relevant mechanism, the terminal can pre-determine that the different MC-DCIs are aligned using a zero-padding method, that is, the smaller MC-DCI is aligned to the larger MC-DCI using a zero-padding method. The inference of the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station according to the relevant mechanism is related to... Figure 1A Similar to the example shown, the difference is that before the base station performs legacy DCI alignment, it is determined that the base station will perform MC-DCI alignment in advance. The specific process will not be described here.

[0190] In step 503, the target size of the MC-DCI is determined.

[0191] In the first method described above, the terminal first deduces the DCI alignment operation, including MC-DCI, performed by the base station in at least one of the multiple cells. After determining the first size of the corresponding MC-DCI, it deduces the MC-DCI alignment operation performed by the base station between the scheduled cells (i.e., the MC-DCI of the first size is aligned with the MC-DCI of the target size through zero padding). Then, it re-deduces the DCI alignment operation, including MC-DCI, performed by the base station in at least one of the multiple cells, and finally determines the size of the MC-DCI as the target size.

[0192] In Method 3, if the first cell exists, the terminal first deduces the DCI alignment operation between different MC-DCIs performed by the base station, and then deduces the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station on at least one cell among multiple cells, so that the number of DCI formats configured in each cell meets the preset limit conditions, thereby determining the target size of MC-DCI in multiple cells.

[0193] The process of the terminal inferring the DCI alignment operation between different MC-DCIs performed by the base station includes aligning the smaller MC-DCI to the larger MC-DCI using zero-padding. The process of the terminal inferring the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station in at least one of multiple cells is similar to the implementation of step 302 above, and will not be described again here.

[0194] In step 504, the MC-DCI is received and parsed on the scheduling cell based on the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0195] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the scheduling cell refers to the cell in which the terminal actually detects and receives MC-DCI. The scheduling cell can be any one of the multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, or the scheduling cell can be a cell different from the multiple cells. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0196] In the above embodiments, by pre-implementing the alignment of different MC-DCI formats, the size alignment of downlink control information for the same multi-cell network is ensured in different scheduled cells, reducing terminal blind detection complexity and improving PDCCH transmission performance. Furthermore, compared to Method 1, MC-DCI requires relatively fewer bits to perform zero-padding, effectively ensuring PDCCH transmission performance.

[0197] In some alternative embodiments, if there is a second cell configured with legacy DCI among the plurality of cells, and the size of the legacy DCI before DCI alignment is larger than the target size of the MC-DCI in the second cell, it is determined that the legacy DCI is DCI aligned with the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size in the second cell by means of truncation.

[0198] In some alternative embodiments, the terminal does not expect to configure a legacy DCI size larger than the target size of the MC-DCI on any cell.

[0199] For example, in one possible implementation, before the terminal performs the DCI alignment operation on each cell, it aligns DCI format 0_3 with DCI format 1_3. The scheduled cells of DCI format 0_3 overlap with those of DCI format 1_3.

[0200] In another possible implementation, after aligning MC-DCI format 0_3 with format 1_3, the terminal infers the DCI alignment operation, including MC-DCI, performed by the base station on at least one of the aforementioned cells. For any given cell, if the configured MC-DCI size is larger than the legacy DCI size, considering that DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 have the same size, inconsistencies in MC-DCI size due to DCI alignment are avoided.

[0201] In another possible implementation, after aligning MC-DCI format 0_3 with format 1_3, the terminal infers the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station, including MC-DCI, on at least one of the aforementioned cells. If a second cell with a legacy DCI is present among the multiple cells, and the size of the legacy DCI is larger than the target size of the MC-DCI, the legacy DCI on the second cell can be aligned with the MC-DCI by truncation.

[0202] In another possible implementation, after aligning MC-DCI format 0_3 with format 1_3, the terminal infers the DCI alignment operation, including MC-DCI, performed by the base station on at least one of the aforementioned cells. The terminal does not expect the size of the configured legacy DCI on any given cell to be larger than the target size of the aforementioned MC-DCI.

[0203] Next, we will introduce the DCI transmission method provided in this disclosure from the perspective of the base station.

[0204] This disclosure provides a DCI transmission method, referring to... Figure 6 As shown, Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a DCI transmission method according to an embodiment, which can be executed by a base station. The method may include the following steps:

[0205] In step 601, multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI) are identified.

[0206] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multi-cell downlink control information is used to schedule data transmission across multiple cells. Each cell's data transmission corresponds to one PDSCH and / or one PUSCH.

[0207] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to one or more scheduled cells scheduled by the MC-DCI at the same time. For example, multiple cells {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3} scheduled by the MC-DCI (the format of the MC-DCI can be format0_3 or format1_3) at time t1.

[0208] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI at different times from a static or semi-static perspective. For example, the MC-DCI of format 0_3 supports dynamic handover of scheduled cells. At time t1, the scheduled cells are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3}, and at time t2, the scheduled cells are {cell #3, cell #4}. Then, in this disclosure, the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3, cell #4}.

[0209] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells that the MC-DCI can schedule. For example, if the set of cells that an MC-DCI can schedule is {cell #1, cell #2, cell #4}, and the MC-DCI can schedule one or more cells in this set, then multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to all cells included in this set of cells.

[0210] In step 602, the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells is determined.

[0211] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the base station performs a DCI alignment operation, such that the number of DCI sizes configured on each of the plurality of cells meets a preset constraint, and then determines a target size that is uniform across the plurality of cells for the MC-DCI.

[0212] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the preset constraints can be the "3+1" constraint in the relevant mechanism, the "4+1" constraint, or other preset constraints that need to be met for the number of DCI sizes configured in each serving cell. This disclosure does not impose any restrictions on this. The "4+1" constraint means that the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI in the serving cell does not exceed 4, and the total number of DCI size types configured in the serving cell does not exceed 5.

[0213] In step 603, based on the target size of the MC-DCI, the MC-DCI is sent to the terminal in the scheduling cell.

[0214] It should be noted that the multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI refer to multiple scheduled cells. The scheduled cell refers to the cell in which the terminal actually detects and receives MC-DCI. The scheduled cell can be any one of the multiple cells (i.e., multiple scheduled cells), or the scheduled cell can be a cell different from the multiple cells (i.e., multiple scheduled cells). This disclosure does not limit this.

[0215] The base station can send the MC-DCI to the terminal in the scheduling cell based on the target size of the MC-DCI determined in step 602 above.

[0216] In the above embodiments, the size of the downlink control information of the same multi-cell can be aligned in different scheduled cells, reducing the complexity of terminal blind detection and improving PDCCH transmission performance.

[0217] The following section details how to determine the target size of MC-DCI across multiple cells.

[0218] Method 1: The base station combines the DCI alignment operation performed on at least one scheduled cell among multiple cells with the DCI alignment operation performed across scheduled cells, so that the number of DCI sizes configured on each scheduled cell meets the preset limit conditions, and finally determines the target size of MC-DCI.

[0219] This disclosure provides a DCI transmission method, referring to... Figure 7 As shown, Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating a DCI transmission method according to an embodiment, which can be executed by a base station. The method may include the following steps:

[0220] In step 701, multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI) are identified.

[0221] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multi-cell downlink control information is used to schedule data transmission across multiple cells. Each cell's data transmission corresponds to one PDSCH and / or one PUSCH.

[0222] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to one or more scheduled cells scheduled by the MC-DCI at the same time. For example, multiple cells {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3} scheduled by the MC-DCI (the format of the MC-DCI can be format0_3 or format1_3) at time t1.

[0223] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI at different times from a static or semi-static perspective. For example, the MC-DCI of format 0_3 supports dynamic handover of scheduled cells. At time t1, the scheduled cells are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3}, and at time t2, the scheduled cells are {cell #3, cell #4}. Then, in this disclosure, the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3, cell #4}.

[0224] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells that the MC-DCI can schedule. For example, if the set of cells that an MC-DCI can schedule is {cell #1, cell #2, cell #4}, and the MC-DCI can schedule one or more cells in this set, then multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to all cells included in this set of cells.

[0225] In step 702, a first size of the MC-DCI is determined in at least one of the plurality of cells.

[0226] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the base station performs a DCI alignment operation, including the MC-DCI, on at least one of the plurality of cells, such that the number of DCI sizes configured on each cell meets a preset constraint, and determines the first size of the MC-DCI on the at least one cell.

[0227] In related technologies, base stations perform DCI alignment operations per cell, including but not limited to performing DCI alignment operations based on the time-frequency resources of the cell. This can also include performing DCI alignment based on the number of DCI formats and DCI sizes configured for the entire cell, using zero-padding or other methods such as truncation. For example, if a base station determines that aligning a certain format of DCI requires n1 bits, and the determined DCI size is n2 bits (n2 is less than n1), the base station can increase the DCI size to n1 by padding with zero bits. As another example, if a base station determines that aligning a certain format of DCI requires n1 bits, and the determined DCI size is n2 bits (n2 is greater than n1), the base station can reduce the number of bits in the DCI to n1 by truncation.

[0228] In related technologies, the limitation of DCI size needs to meet the "3+1" constraint condition. The "3+1" constraint condition means that the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI in the serving cell does not exceed 3, and the total number of DCI size types configured in the serving cell does not exceed 4.

[0229] In this embodiment, the preset constraints can be the "3+1" constraint in the relevant mechanism, the "4+1" constraint, or other preset constraints that the number of DCI sizes configured in each serving cell must meet. This disclosure does not impose any restrictions on this. The "4+1" constraint means that the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI in the serving cell does not exceed 4, and the total number of DCI size types configured in the serving cell does not exceed 5.

[0230] In the embodiments of this disclosure, from the perspective of the base station side, the cell that performs the DCI alignment operation, including MC-DCI, can be each of the above-mentioned multiple cells, or it can be some of the multiple cells, or it can be one of the multiple cells. This disclosure does not limit it in this way.

[0231] In one possible implementation, the base station can perform a DCI alignment operation, including the MC-DCI, on at least one of multiple cells, and determine the first size of the MC-DCI on at least one cell, provided that the number of DCI sizes configured on each cell meets a preset constraint.

[0232] In another possible implementation, the base station can perform DCI alignment operations, including the MC-DCI, on one or more specific cells among multiple cells, and finally determine the first size of the MC-DCI on the one or more specific cells, while ensuring that the number of DCI sizes configured on each of the multiple cells meets a preset constraint.

[0233] Among them, one or more specific cells can be cells in which the number of DCI configuration sizes does not meet the preset restrictions.

[0234] In one possible implementation, the DCI alignment operation, including the MC-DCI, may include, but is not limited to, any of the following: DCI alignment of MC-DCI in different formats; DCI alignment of MC-DCI in different formats followed by DCI alignment with at least one traditional legacy DCI in a different format; DCI alignment of legacy DCI in different formats followed by DCI alignment with at least one MC-DCI in a different format.

[0235] Among them, MC-DCI includes, but is not limited to, new DCI formats: DCI format0_3: PUSCH used for scheduling multiple cells; DCI format1_3: PDSCH used for scheduling multiple cells. Accordingly, DCI alignment of different MC-DCI formats can refer to size alignment between DCI format0_3 and DCI format1_3.

[0236] After DCI alignment of the MC-DCI formats of different types, further DCI alignment with at least one traditional legacy DCI format can refer to size alignment between DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, followed by size alignment with at least one traditional legacy DCI format. In this embodiment, legacy DCI refers to a DCI format defined based on existing protocol mechanisms (Rel-15, Rel-16, Rel-17). MC-DCI introduced in Rel-18 is not within the scope of legacy DCI.

[0237] For example, after DCI alignment of the MC-DCI in different formats, DCI alignment with at least one traditional legacy DCI format can mean that after size alignment between DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, size alignment with legacy DCI, such as DCI format 0_1 ​​and / or DCI format 1_1.

[0238] For example, after DCI alignment of the MC-DCI in different formats, DCI alignment with at least one traditional legacy DCI format can mean that after size alignment between DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, size alignment with legacy DCI, such as DCI format 0_2 and / or DCI format 1_2.

[0239] After DCI alignment of different formats of legacy DCI, DCI alignment with at least one format of MC-DCI can refer to first aligning the sizes of different formats of legacy DCI according to relevant mechanisms, including but not limited to aligning the sizes of DCIformat 0_1 ​​with DCIformat 1_1, and / or aligning the sizes of DCIformat 0_2 with DCIformat 1_2, and further aligning the sizes with DCIformat 0_3 and / or DCIformat 1_3.

[0240] In step 703, the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells is determined based on the first size determined by the MC-DCI in at least one of the plurality of cells.

[0241] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the number of first sizes is equal to the number of cells in which the terminal extrapolates the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station. Accordingly, if the number of first sizes determined by the MC-DCI on at least one of the plurality of cells is multiple and different, the base station may determine the maximum value among the first sizes determined by the MC-DCI on the at least one cell as the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0242] In step 704, based on the target size of the MC-DCI, the MC-DCI is sent to the terminal in the scheduling cell.

[0243] In this embodiment of the disclosure, after the base station determines the target size of the MC-DCI, it needs to re-execute the DCI alignment process, including the MC-DCI, in at least one of the plurality of cells so that the number of configuration DCI formats in each cell meets the preset limit conditions, thereby determining the size of the configuration DCI of each cell. The specific derivation method is similar to the process of performing DCI alignment, including the MC-DCI, in at least one cell in step 702 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0244] The cell performing DCI alignment operations, including MC-DCI, can be each of multiple cells, or some of multiple cells, or one of multiple cells; this disclosure does not limit this.

[0245] In this embodiment of the disclosure, if any of the plurality of cells has a cell configured with legacy DCI, the size of the legacy DCI is generally smaller than the size of the MC-DCI. That is, the legacy DCI needs to be aligned to the size of the MC-DCI. Therefore, after re-performing the DCI alignment process in at least one of the plurality of cells, the determined size of the MC-DCI remains the target size. The base station can send the MC-DCI to the terminal in the scheduling cell based on the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0246] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the scheduling cell refers to the cell in which the terminal actually detects and receives MC-DCI. The scheduling cell can be any one of the multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, or the scheduling cell can be a cell different from the multiple cells. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0247] In the above embodiments, a DCI alignment mechanism is added between multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI, thereby realizing the alignment of the size of the downlink control information of the same multi-cell in different scheduled cells, reducing the complexity of terminal blind detection, and improving PDCCH transmission performance.

[0248] Method 2: For one or more specific cells among the multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, limit the number of MC-DCIs.

[0249] This disclosure provides a DCI transmission method, referring to... Figure 8 As shown, Figure 8 This is a flowchart illustrating a DCI transmission method according to an embodiment, which can be executed by a base station. The method may include the following steps:

[0250] In step 801, multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI) are identified.

[0251] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multi-cell downlink control information is used to schedule data transmission across multiple cells. Each cell's data transmission corresponds to one PDSCH and / or one PUSCH.

[0252] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to one or more scheduled cells scheduled by the MC-DCI at the same time. For example, multiple cells {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3} scheduled by the MC-DCI (the format of the MC-DCI can be format0_3 or format1_3) at time t1.

[0253] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI at different times from a static or semi-static perspective. For example, the MC-DCI of format 0_3 supports dynamic handover of scheduled cells. At time t1, the scheduled cells are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3}, and at time t2, the scheduled cells are {cell #3, cell #4}. Then, in this disclosure, the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3, cell #4}.

[0254] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells that the MC-DCI can schedule. For example, if the set of cells that an MC-DCI can schedule is {cell #1, cell #2, cell #4}, and the MC-DCI can schedule one or more cells in this set, then multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to all cells included in this set of cells.

[0255] In step 802, the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells is determined.

[0256] Under the existing mechanism, DCI alignment is performed separately by the base station on each of the multiple cells. With the introduction of MC-DCI, different scheduled cells may have different sizes for the same MC-DCI after DCI alignment. To address this issue, this disclosure considers that in most scenarios, the size of the MC-DCI is larger than the legacy DCI. The inconsistency in MC-DCI size mainly stems from the alignment process between DCI 0_3 and DCI 1_3. Therefore, embodiments of this disclosure primarily limit the number of MC-DCIs for one or more specific cells among the multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, thereby avoiding the alignment process between DCI 0_3 and DCI 1_3 from the perspective of limiting MC-DCI scheduling.

[0257] In one possible implementation, the base station will not schedule MC-DCIs with more than one format. Correspondingly, from the terminal side, the terminal does not expect to configure more than one format of MC-DCI on any one of the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI.

[0258] In another possible implementation, the base station will not perform DCI alignment operations between different MC-DCI formats on any cell. Correspondingly, the terminal does not expect to meet preset constraints by performing DCI alignment operations between different MC-DCI formats on any cell.

[0259] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the preset constraints may be the "3+1" constraints in the relevant mechanism, or the "4+1" constraints, or other preset constraints that need to be met for the number of DCIs configured in each serving cell. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0260] In another possible implementation, if the base station configures one or more MC-DCIs on any cell, the base station will not change the size of any of the MC-DCIs through alignment. Accordingly, the terminal does not expect the size of the MC-DCIs to be changed through alignment.

[0261] Because this disclosure limits the number of MC-DCIs for one or more specific cells among multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, the target size of the determined MC-DCIs is the same across multiple cells after the base station performs DCI alignment operation on at least one cell according to the relevant mechanism based on the introduction of MC-DCI.

[0262] It should be noted that since the size of the MC-DCI corresponding to any one of the multiple cells will not be changed by alignment methods such as zero padding or truncation, the target size of the MC-DCI on the multiple cells ultimately determined by the base station is the same.

[0263] In step 803, based on the target size of the MC-DCI, the MC-DCI is sent to the terminal in the scheduling cell.

[0264] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the scheduling cell refers to the cell in which the terminal actually detects and receives MC-DCI. The scheduling cell can be any one of the multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, or the scheduling cell can be a cell different from the multiple cells. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0265] In the above embodiments, the size of MC-DCI can be changed through alignment. In the scenario of introducing MC-DCI, the DCI alignment process is simplified, the size of downlink control information of the same multi-cell is aligned in different scheduled cells, the complexity of terminal blind detection is reduced, and the transmission performance of PDCCH is improved.

[0266] Method 3: Before performing DCI alignment on at least one of the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI, the base station pre-aligns the different MC-DCIs using a zero-filling method.

[0267] This disclosure provides a DCI transmission method, referring to... Figure 9 As shown, Figure 9 This is a flowchart illustrating a DCI transmission method according to an embodiment, which can be executed by a base station. The method may include the following steps:

[0268] In step 901, multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI) are identified.

[0269] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multi-cell downlink control information is used to schedule data transmission across multiple cells. Each cell's data transmission corresponds to one PDSCH and / or one PUSCH.

[0270] In this embodiment of the disclosure, multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to one or more scheduled cells scheduled by the MC-DCI at the same time. For example, multiple cells {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3} scheduled by the MC-DCI (the format of the MC-DCI can be format0_3 or format1_3) at time t1.

[0271] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI at different times from a static or semi-static perspective. For example, the MC-DCI of format 0_3 supports dynamic handover of scheduled cells. At time t1, the scheduled cells are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3}, and at time t2, the scheduled cells are {cell #3, cell #4}. Then, in this disclosure, the multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI are {cell #1, cell #2, cell #3, cell #4}.

[0272] Multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can also refer to the set of all cells that the MC-DCI can schedule. For example, if the set of cells that an MC-DCI can schedule is {cell #1, cell #2, cell #4}, and the MC-DCI can schedule one or more cells in this set, then multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to all cells included in this set of cells.

[0273] In step 902, if there is a first cell among the plurality of cells that is simultaneously scheduled by different MC-DCIs, before determining the target size of the MC-DCI among the plurality of cells, a DCI alignment operation is performed on the different MC-DCIs using a zero-padding method.

[0274] In this embodiment of the disclosure, different MC-DCI may refer to different formats of MC-DCI, such as DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3.

[0275] Alternatively, different MC-DCIs can refer to MC-DCIs with the same format but scheduling different sets of cells. It should be noted that no two sets of cells contain the same cells.

[0276] For example, both MC-DCIs are format 0_3. MC-DCI#1 schedules cells #1 and #2, and MC-DCI#2 schedules cells #3 and #4. MC-DCI#1 and MC-DCI#2 are also different MC-DCIs.

[0277] In step 903, the target size of the MC-DCI is determined.

[0278] In the first method described above, the base station first performs DCI alignment operations, including MC-DCI, on at least one of the multiple cells. After determining the first size of the MC-DCI on each cell, the base station performs MC-DCI alignment operations between the scheduled cells (i.e., the MC-DCI of the first size is aligned with the MC-DCI of the target size using zero-padding). Then, the base station performs DCI alignment operations, including MC-DCI, again on at least one of the multiple cells, and finally determines the size of the MC-DCI to be the target size.

[0279] In method three, the base station performs DCI alignment operation in advance for different MC-DCIs, and then performs DCI alignment operation on at least one cell among multiple cells, so that the number of DCI formats configured in each cell meets the preset limit conditions, thereby determining the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0280] In step 904, based on the target size of the MC-DCI, the MC-DCI is sent to the terminal in the scheduling cell.

[0281] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the scheduling cell refers to the cell in which the terminal actually detects and receives MC-DCI. The scheduling cell can be any one of the multiple cells scheduled by MC-DCI, or the scheduling cell can be a cell different from the multiple cells. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0282] In the above embodiments, by pre-implementing the alignment of different MC-DCI formats, the size alignment of downlink control information for the same multi-cell network is ensured in different scheduled cells, reducing terminal blind detection complexity and improving PDCCH transmission performance. Furthermore, compared to Method 1, MC-DCI requires relatively fewer bits to perform zero-padding, effectively ensuring PDCCH transmission performance.

[0283] In some optional embodiments, if there is a second cell configured with legacy DCI among the plurality of cells, and the size of the legacy DCI before DCI alignment is larger than the target size of the MC-DCI in the second cell, the base station performs DCI alignment between the legacy DCI and the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size by truncation in the second cell.

[0284] In some alternative embodiments, the base station will not configure a legacy DCI with a size larger than the target size on any given cell.

[0285] The specific implementation method is similar to that described on the terminal side, and will not be repeated here.

[0286] To facilitate understanding of the DCI receiving and transmitting methods provided in this disclosure, the above scheme is further illustrated below from the perspective of the terminal.

[0287] Assume the terminal is a Rel-18 or later version terminal, and the terminal receives a DCI used to schedule data transmission of multiple cells, i.e., MC-DCI, and the terminal receives PDSCH of multiple cells or transmits PUSCH of multiple cells based on the indication information corresponding to the DCI.

[0288] A new DCI format is introduced, for example, DCI format 0_3: used for scheduling PUSCH of multiple cells, or DCI format 1_3: used for scheduling PDSCH of multiple cells. DCI format 0_3 / DCI format 1_3 can be scrambled by C-RNTI or a new RNTI scrambling can be defined. This disclosure does not limit this.

[0289] This disclosure mainly considers the introduction of MC-DCI and the design of a DCI alignment mechanism to ensure that for each of the multiple cells being scheduled, the number of DCI sizes configured meets a preset limit, and the same MC-DCI corresponds to the same size.

[0290] From the perspective of the base station, DCI alignment refers to the base station achieving size consistency for different DCIs based on the DCI alignment mechanism through methods such as zero padding or truncating. The different DCIs include, but are not limited to: DCIs corresponding to different formats, or DCIs with the same DCI format but corresponding to different functions; this disclosure does not impose any limitations on this.

[0291] After determining the DCI size through methods such as zero padding and truncating, the base station sends the DCI, indicating the corresponding scheduling information. From the terminal's perspective, DCI alignment refers to the terminal deducing the DCI alignment operation performed by the base station based on the DCI alignment mechanism, determining the configured DCI size, and thus achieving blind detection of the DCI.

[0292] In this disclosure, the alignment of DCI format#1 and DCI format#2, from the terminal side, means that the terminal determines the size of DCI format#1 and DCI format#2 based on the alignment of DCI format#1 and DCI format#2, rather than the terminal performing alignment operations such as zero padding or truncating. This disclosure will not elaborate further on this.

[0293] This disclosure primarily addresses the issue of DCI alignment by introducing MC-DCI, ensuring that the number of DCI sizes configured in each of the multiple scheduled cells meets a preset constraint. This preset constraint can be a "3+1" constraint, meaning the number of DCI sizes scrambled by C-RNTI within a cell is no greater than 3, and the total number of DCI sizes configured within the cell is no greater than 4. Alternatively, the preset constraint can be a "4+1" constraint or other constraints; this disclosure does not impose any restrictions on this. The following explanation will use "3+1" as an example to illustrate the scheme. It is understood that other constraints also apply to the scheme of this disclosure.

[0294] Example 1, as described above, mainly considers the design of a DCI alignment mechanism after the introduction of MC-DCI to ensure that the number of DCI sizes configured for each cell scheduled by MC-DCI meets the "3+1" constraint.

[0295] Considering that under the existing mechanism, DCI alignment is performed separately on each (scheduled) cell, the introduction of MC-DCI may result in different sizes for the same MC-DCI after DCI alignment in different cells. To address this issue, this embodiment designs a mechanism for DCI alignment to be performed separately for each scheduled cell and between scheduled cells. The specific implementation scheme is as follows:

[0296] On each (scheduled) cell, a DCI alignment process, including MC-DCI, is performed separately. Alternatively, a DCI alignment process, including MC-DCI, can be performed on at least one specific cell.

[0297] The DCI alignment operation, including MC DCI, can be performed by aligning MC-DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, and then aligning with DCI format 0_1 / 1_1; it can also be performed by aligning legacy DCI based on existing mechanisms, and then aligning with DCI format 0_3 / DCI format 1_3; or it can be performed by aligning MC-DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, and then aligning with other legacy DCI formats (other legacy DCI formats can be DCI format 0_2 and / or format 1_2). This invention does not limit this.

[0298] For multiple (scheduled) cells scheduled under the same MC-DCI, if the first size of the corresponding MC-DCI on different scheduled cells is different after the DCI alignment per scheduled cell, the alignment should be made with the MC-DCI corresponding to the maximum value in the first size. The alignment method can be zero padding or zero padding in the corresponding field, and this disclosure does not limit this.

[0299] For example Figure 10A As shown, in the first step, because the MC-DCI in cell #2, i.e., DCI format0_3, is aligned with DCI format 1_3 using zero padding, its size is different from that of DCI format 0_3 in cell #4. Therefore, cell #4's DCI format 0_3 is aligned with cell #2's DCI format 0_3 using zero padding.

[0300] The second step is to determine the MC-DCI corresponding size for each (scheduled) cell in multiple cells to be the same size based on the above method.

[0301] The legacy DCIs (excluding MC-DCIs) on each scheduled cell are re-aligned based on the newly determined MC-DCI size to meet the "3+1" constraint. Figure 10A In cell #4, DCI format0_1 is aligned with DCI size 0_3, which is resized, by zero padding (the resized size is the maximum value in the first size, i.e., the target size).

[0302] In this disclosed scheme, legacy DCI refers to the DCI format defined based on existing protocol mechanisms (Rel-15 / 16 / 17). MC-DCI introduced in Rel-18 is not within the scope of legacy DCI.

[0303] In this disclosed scheme, multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI can refer to one or more cells scheduled by DCI format0_3 or DCI format 1_3 at the same time; it can also refer to the set of all cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI at different times from a static or semi-static perspective; or it can refer to the set of cells that MC-DCI can schedule.

[0304] The above embodiments, by adding an alignment mechanism for MC-DCI between scheduled cells, ensure that the number of DCI sizes configured in each cell meets the "3+1" constraint, following the mechanism of existing standards, thereby effectively reducing the complexity of blind detection of DCI by the terminal.

[0305] Example 2, as described in Example 1, under the existing mechanism, DCI alignment is performed separately on each scheduled cell. After introducing MC-DCI, different scheduled cells may have different sizes for the same MC-DCI after DCI alignment. To address this issue, this embodiment of the invention considers that in most scenarios, the size of the MC-DCI is larger than the legacy DCI. In the above scenario, the inconsistency in MC-DCI size mainly stems from the alignment process between DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3. Therefore, this embodiment of the invention primarily avoids the alignment process between DCI format 0_3 and DCI 1_3 for specific scheduled cells by restricting MC-DCI scheduling.

[0306] In one possible implementation, the terminal does not expect the number of MC-DCI formats configured on any given cell to be greater than 1. For example... Figure 10B As shown, for cell #1, it is scheduled by DCI format 1_3 and will not be scheduled by DCI format 0_3. For cell #4, it is scheduled by DCI format 0_3 and will not be scheduled by DCI format 1_3.

[0307] In one possible implementation, the terminal does not expect DCI to be configured on any cell, and needs to be aligned with DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 to meet the "3+1" constraint.

[0308] In one possible implementation, if the terminal does not expect one or more MC-DCIs to be configured on any cell, the size of the MC-DCI is changed by alignment methods such as zero padding or truncation.

[0309] The above embodiments avoid changing the size of MC-DCI during the alignment process by restricting the way the scheduled cell is configured with MC-DCI, thus simplifying the DCI alignment process and reducing the complexity of terminal blind detection.

[0310] Example 3: As described in Example 1, under the existing mechanism, DCI alignment is performed separately on each scheduled cell. After introducing MC-DCI, different scheduled cells may have different sizes corresponding to the same MC-DCI after DCI alignment. To address the above problem, the present invention's embodiment design considers a combination of DCI alignment between multiple scheduled cells and per-scheduled-cell DCI alignment, with MC-DCI alignment between scheduled cells performed before per-scheduled-cell DCI alignment.

[0311] One possible implementation involves aligning MC-DCI format 0_3 with DCI format 1_3 before per-scheduled cell DCI alignment. The scheduled cells of DCI format 0_3 overlap with those of DCI format 1_3. A scheduled cell refers to one or more cells among multiple cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI. Multiple cells can refer to one or more scheduled cells scheduled by the MC-DCI at the same time, or it can refer to the set of all cells scheduled by the same MC-DCI at different times from a static or semi-static perspective, or it can refer to the set of all cells that the MC-DCI can schedule.

[0312] One possible implementation is to perform DCI alignment on the per scheduled cell after aligning MC-DCI format 0_3 with DCI format 1_3. For a specific serving cell, if the configured MC-DCI size is larger than the legacy DCI size, considering that DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 have the same size, there will be no inconsistency in MC-DCI size due to DCI alignment.

[0313] One possible implementation is to perform DCI alignment on the per-scheduled cell after aligning MC-DCI format 0_3 with DCI format 1_3. For a specific serving cell, if a legacy DCI is configured and its corresponding DCI size is larger than the MC-DCI size, the legacy DCI can be aligned with the MC-DCI through truncating.

[0314] One possible implementation involves aligning MC-DCI format 0_3 with DCI format 1_3, followed by DCI alignment on the per-scheduled cell. The terminal does not expect the configured legacy DCI size to be larger than the MC-DCI size in the cell where the MC-DCI is configured.

[0315] The above embodiment performs pre-alignment using DCI 0_3 / 1_3. When the MC-DCI size is larger than the legacy DCI, the misalignment issue within the same MC-DCI size mainly stems from the change in DCI0_3 / 1_3 size caused by alignment between DCI 0_3 and DCI 1_3. Pre-aligning 0_3 and 1_3 can resolve this problem. When the MC-DCI size is smaller than a specific legacy DCI, aligning the legacy DCI with the MC DCI through truncating can also avoid changes in the MC DCI size.

[0316] Corresponding to the aforementioned embodiments of the application function implementation method, this disclosure also provides embodiments of the application function implementation apparatus.

[0317] Reference Figure 11 , Figure 11 This is a block diagram of a downlink control information (DCI) receiving device according to an exemplary embodiment. The device is applied to a terminal and includes:

[0318] The first determining module 1101 is configured to determine multiple cells scheduled by the multi-cell downlink control information (MC-DCI);

[0319] The second determining module 1102 is configured to determine the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells;

[0320] The receiving module 1103 is configured to receive and parse the MC-DCI in the scheduling cell based on the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0321] Optionally, the second determining module is further configured to:

[0322] On at least one of the plurality of cells, the first size of the MC-DCI is determined;

[0323] The target size of the MC-DCI is determined based on the first size determined by the MC-DCI in at least one of the plurality of cells.

[0324] Optionally, the second determining module is further configured to:

[0325] Based on the DCI alignment operation including the MC-DCI on the at least one cell, the first size of the MC-DCI on the at least one cell is determined such that the number of DCI sizes configured on each of the plurality of cells meets a preset constraint.

[0326] Optionally, the DCI alignment operation, including the MC-DCI, includes any of the following:

[0327] DCI alignment for different MC-DCI formats;

[0328] After DCI alignment of the MC-DCI in different formats, it is then DCI aligned with at least one traditional legacy DCI in a different format.

[0329] After DCI alignment of different formats of legacy DCI, it is then DCI aligned with at least one format of the MC-DCI.

[0330] Optionally, the second determining module is further configured to:

[0331] The maximum value among the first size determined by the MC-DCI on at least one cell is determined as the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0332] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0333] The fifth determining module is configured to determine, if the first size determined by the MC-DCI on the at least one cell is different, to perform DCI alignment of the MC-DCI corresponding to the first size to the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size using a zero-padding method.

[0334] Optionally, the device further includes at least one of the following:

[0335] The first management module is configured such that the terminal does not expect the number of MC-DCI formats configured on any cell to be greater than 1;

[0336] The second management module is configured such that the terminal does not want to be on any cell and needs to meet preset restrictions through DCI alignment operations between different MC-DCI formats.

[0337] The third management module is configured such that, when one or more MC-DCIs are configured on any cell, the terminal does not expect the size of the MC-DCI to be changed through alignment.

[0338] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0339] The sixth determining module is configured to determine, before determining the target size of the MC-DCI, that if there is a first cell among the plurality of cells that is simultaneously scheduled by different MC-DCIs, the different MC-DCIs are aligned using a zero-padding method.

[0340] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0341] The seventh determining module is configured to determine that if there is a second cell configured with legacy DCI among the plurality of cells, and the size of the legacy DCI before DCI alignment is larger than the target size of the MC-DCI in the second cell, the legacy DCI is aligned with the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size in the second cell by means of truncation.

[0342] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0343] The fourth management module is configured such that the terminal does not expect to configure the size of the legacy DCI to be larger than the target size of the MC-DCI on any cell.

[0344] Reference Figure 12 , Figure 12 This is a block diagram of a downlink control information (DCI) transmission apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. The apparatus is applied to a base station and includes:

[0345] The third determination module 1201 is configured to determine multiple cells scheduled by the multi-cell downlink control information (MC-DCI);

[0346] The fourth determining module 1202 is configured to determine the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells;

[0347] The sending module 1203 is configured to send the MC-DCI to the terminal in the scheduling cell based on the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0348] Optionally, the fourth determining module is further configured to:

[0349] On at least one of the plurality of cells, the first size of the MC-DCI is determined;

[0350] The target size of the MC-DCI is determined based on the first size determined by the MC-DCI in at least one of the plurality of cells.

[0351] Optionally, the fourth determining module is further configured to:

[0352] Perform a DCI alignment operation, including the MC-DCI, on the at least one cell to ensure that the number of DCI sizes configured on each of the plurality of cells meets a preset constraint, and determine the first size of the MC-DCI on the at least one cell.

[0353] Optionally, the DCI alignment operation, including the MC-DCI, includes any of the following:

[0354] DCI alignment for different MC-DCI formats;

[0355] After DCI alignment of different MC-DCI formats, DCI alignment is then performed with at least one traditional legacy DCI format.

[0356] After DCI alignment of different formats of legacy DCI, it is then DCI aligned with at least one format of MC-DCI.

[0357] Optionally, the fourth determining module is further configured to:

[0358] The maximum value among the first size determined by the MC-DCI on at least one cell is determined as the target size of the MC-DCI.

[0359] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0360] A first execution module is configured to perform DCI alignment between the MC-DCI corresponding to the first size and the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size using a zero-padding method if the first size determined by the MC-DCI on the at least one cell is different.

[0361] Optionally, the device further includes at least one of the following:

[0362] The fifth management module is configured such that, in any cell, the base station will not schedule the MC-DCI with a format number greater than 1;

[0363] The sixth management module is configured such that, on any cell, the base station will not perform DCI alignment operations between different MC-DCI formats;

[0364] The seventh management module is configured such that, when the base station has configured one or more MC-DCIs on any cell, the base station will not change the size of any of the MC-DCIs by means of alignment.

[0365] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0366] The second execution module is configured to perform DCI alignment operation on the different MC-DCIs by zero-padding before determining the target size of the MC-DCI if there is a first cell among the multiple cells that is simultaneously scheduled by different MC-DCIs.

[0367] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0368] The third execution module is configured to, if there is a second cell with a legacy DCI configured among the plurality of cells, and the size of the legacy DCI in the second cell is larger than the target size of the MC-DCI, perform DCI alignment between the legacy DCI and the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size in the second cell by means of truncation.

[0369] Optionally, the device further includes:

[0370] The eighth management module is configured such that, on any cell, the base station will not configure a legacy DCI with a size larger than the target size.

[0371] For the device embodiments, since they basically correspond to the method embodiments, the relevant parts can be referred to in the description of the method embodiments. The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative, wherein the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. The purpose of this disclosure can be achieved by selecting some or all of the modules according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without any inventive effort.

[0372] Accordingly, this disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for executing the downlink control information (DCI) receiving method described above for any of the terminal sides.

[0373] Accordingly, this disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program for executing the downlink control information (DCI) transmission method described above for any of the base station side methods.

[0374] Accordingly, this disclosure also provides a downlink control information (DCI) receiving device, comprising:

[0375] processor;

[0376] Memory used to store processor-executable instructions;

[0377] The processor is configured to execute any of the downlink control information (DCI) receiving methods described above on the terminal side.

[0378] Figure 13 This is a block diagram illustrating a downlink control information (DCI) receiving device 1300 according to an exemplary embodiment. For example, device 1300 may be a mobile phone, tablet computer, e-book reader, multimedia playback device, wearable device, in-vehicle user equipment, iPad, smart TV, or other terminal.

[0379] Reference Figure 13 The device 1300 may include one or more of the following components: a processing component 1302, a memory 1304, a power supply component 1306, a multimedia component 1308, an audio component 1310, an input / output (I / O) interface 1312, a sensor component 1316, and a communication component 1318.

[0380] Processing component 1302 typically controls the overall operation of device 1300, such as operations associated with display, telephone calls, random data access, camera operation, and recording operations. Processing component 1302 may include one or more processors 1320 to execute instructions to complete all or part of the steps of the downlink control information (DCI) receiving method described above. Furthermore, processing component 1302 may include one or more modules to facilitate interaction between processing component 1302 and other components. For example, processing component 1302 may include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between multimedia component 1308 and processing component 1302. Alternatively, processing component 1302 may read executable instructions from memory to implement the steps of a downlink control information (DCI) receiving method provided in the above embodiments.

[0381] Memory 1304 is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of device 1300. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on device 1300, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, etc. Memory 1304 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic storage, flash memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0382] Power supply component 1306 provides power to various components of device 1300. Power supply component 1306 may include a power management system, one or more power supplies, and other components associated with generating, managing, and distributing power to device 1300.

[0383] The multimedia component 1308 includes a display screen that provides an output interface between the device 1300 and the user. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 1308 includes a front-facing camera and / or a rear-facing camera. When the device 1300 is in an operating mode, such as a shooting mode or a video mode, the front-facing camera and / or the rear-facing camera can receive external multimedia data. Each front-facing camera and rear-facing camera can be a fixed optical lens system or have focal length and optical zoom capabilities.

[0384] Audio component 1310 is configured to output and / or input audio signals. For example, audio component 1310 includes a microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when device 1300 is in an operating mode, such as call mode, recording mode, and voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may be further stored in memory 1304 or transmitted via communication component 1318. In some embodiments, audio component 1310 also includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

[0385] I / O interface 1312 provides an interface between processing component 1302 and peripheral interface modules, such as keyboards, click wheels, buttons, etc. These buttons may include, but are not limited to, home buttons, volume buttons, power buttons, and lock buttons.

[0386] Sensor assembly 1316 includes one or more sensors for providing status assessments of various aspects of device 1300. For example, sensor assembly 1316 may detect the on / off state of device 1300, the relative positioning of components such as the display and keypad of device 1300, changes in the position of device 1300 or a component of device 1300, the presence or absence of user contact with device 1300, the orientation or acceleration / deceleration of device 1300, and temperature changes of device 1300. Sensor assembly 1316 may include a proximity sensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. Sensor assembly 1316 may also include an optical sensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imaging applications. In some embodiments, sensor assembly 1316 may also include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

[0387] Communication component 1318 is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between device 1300 and other devices. Device 1300 can access wireless networks based on communication standards, such as Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G, or combinations thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, communication component 1318 receives broadcast signals or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, communication component 1318 also includes a near-field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communication. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) technology, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

[0388] In an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus 1300 may be implemented by one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic components to perform any of the downlink control information (DCI) receiving methods described above on the terminal side.

[0389] In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium including instructions is also provided, such as a memory 1304 including instructions, which can be executed by a processor 1320 of the device 1300 to complete the aforementioned downlink control information (DCI) receiving method. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, random access memory (RAM), CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, and optical data storage device, etc.

[0390] Accordingly, this disclosure also provides a downlink control information (DCI) transmission device, comprising:

[0391] processor;

[0392] Memory used to store processor-executable instructions;

[0393] The processor is configured to execute any of the downlink control information (DCI) transmission methods described above on the base station side.

[0394] like Figure 14 As shown, Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of a downlink control information (DCI) transmitting apparatus 1400 according to an exemplary embodiment. The apparatus 1400 can be provided as a base station. (Refer to...) Figure 14 The device 1400 includes a processing component 1422, a wireless transmitting / receiving component 1424, an antenna component 1426, and a signal processing section specific to the wireless interface. The processing component 1422 may further include at least one processor.

[0395] One of the processors in the processing component 1422 can be configured to perform any of the downlink control information (DCI) transmission methods described above.

[0396] Other embodiments of this disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure that follow the general principles of this disclosure and include common knowledge or customary techniques in the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are to be considered exemplary only, and the true scope and spirit of this disclosure are indicated by the following claims.

[0397] It should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the precise structures described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of this disclosure is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for receiving downlink control information (DCI), characterized in that, The method is executed by a terminal and includes: Identify the multiple cells that are scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI); Determine the target size of the MC-DCI in the multiple cells; Based on the target size of the MC-DCI, the MC-DCI is received and parsed in the scheduling cell; If there is a first cell among the multiple cells that is simultaneously scheduled by different MC-DCIs, before determining the target size of the MC-DCI, it is determined that the different MC-DCIs are aligned by zero-padding. The terminal does not expect the size of the legacy DCI to be larger than the target size of the MC-DCI in any cell. Furthermore, if there is a second cell with a legacy DCI configured among the plurality of cells, and the size of the legacy DCI before DCI alignment is larger than the target size of the MC-DCI in the second cell, it is determined that the legacy DCI is aligned with the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size in the second cell by means of truncation.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Determining the target size of the MC-DCI in the multiple cells includes: If the first cell exists, determine the DCI alignment operation between different MC-DCIs performed by the base station; The DCI alignment operation performed by the base station in at least one of the multiple cells is determined such that the number of configured DCI formats in each cell meets a preset constraint, thereby determining the target size of the MC-DCI in the multiple cells.

3. A method for receiving downlink control information (DCI), characterized in that, The method is executed by the base station and includes: Identify the multiple cells that are scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI); Determine the target size of the MC-DCI in the multiple cells; Based on the target size of the MC-DCI, the MC-DCI is sent to the terminal in the scheduling cell; If there is a first cell among the multiple cells that is simultaneously scheduled by different MC-DCIs, before determining the target size of the MC-DCI, a DCI alignment operation is performed on the different MC-DCIs using zero-padding. In any cell, the base station will not configure a legacy DCI with a size larger than the target size. Furthermore, if there is a second cell among the plurality of cells that has configured a legacy DCI, and the size of the legacy DCI in the second cell is larger than the target size of the MC-DCI, the legacy DCI in the second cell will be DCI aligned with the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size by means of truncation.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, Determining the target size of the MC-DCI in the multiple cells includes: If the first cell exists, perform alignment operations between different MC-DCIs; Perform a DCI alignment operation on at least one of the multiple cells, such that the number of DCI formats configured in each cell meets a preset constraint, to determine the target size of the MC-DCI in the multiple cells.

5. A downlink control information (DCI) receiving device, characterized in that, The device is applied to a terminal and includes: The first determining module is configured to determine multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI). The second determining module is configured to determine the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells; The receiving module is configured to receive and parse the MC-DCI in the scheduling cell based on the target size of the MC-DCI; The sixth determining module is configured to determine, before determining the target size of the MC-DCI, that if there is a first cell among the plurality of cells that is simultaneously scheduled by different MC-DCIs, the different MC-DCIs are aligned using a zero-padding method. The fourth management module is configured such that the terminal does not expect to be on any cell, and the size of the legacy DCI is configured to be larger than the target size of the MC-DCI; The seventh determining module is configured to determine that if there is a second cell configured with legacy DCI among the plurality of cells, and the size of the legacy DCI before DCI alignment is larger than the target size of the MC-DCI in the second cell, the legacy DCI is aligned with the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size in the second cell by means of truncation.

6. A downlink control information (DCI) transmitting device, characterized in that, The device is applied to a base station and includes: The third determination module is configured to determine the multiple cells scheduled by the Multi-Cell Downlink Control Information (MC-DCI); The fourth determining module is configured to determine the target size of the MC-DCI in the plurality of cells; The sending module is configured to send the MC-DCI to the terminal in the scheduling cell based on the target size of the MC-DCI; The second execution module is configured to perform DCI alignment operation on the different MC-DCIs by zero-padding before determining the target size of the MC-DCI if there is a first cell among the multiple cells that is simultaneously scheduled by different MC-DCIs. The eighth management module is configured such that, in any cell, the base station will not configure a legacy DCI with a size larger than the target size; The third execution module is configured to, if there is a second cell with a legacy DCI configured among the plurality of cells, and the size of the legacy DCI in the second cell is larger than the target size of the MC-DCI, perform DCI alignment between the legacy DCI and the MC-DCI corresponding to the target size in the second cell by means of truncation.

7. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program for executing the downlink control information (DCI) receiving method as described in claim 1 or 2.

8. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program for executing the downlink control information (DCI) transmission method as described in claim 3 or 4.

9. A downlink control information (DCI) receiving device, characterized in that, include: processor; Memory used to store processor-executable instructions; The processor is configured to perform the downlink control information (DCI) receiving method as described in claim 1 or 2.

10. A downlink control information (DCI) transmitting device, characterized in that, include: processor; Memory used to store processor-executable instructions; The processor is configured to perform the downlink control information (DCI) transmission method as described in claim 3 or 4.

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