Method, device and medium for communication

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a communication method, equipment and a computer storage medium. The terminal equipment executes PDCCH monitoring according to the first PDCCH monitoring mode; and switching to a second PDCCH monitoring mode based on at least one of a plurality of conditions related to the timer in an active time of the DRX cycle, where the second PDCCH monitoring mode is denser than the first PDCCH monitoring mode. Therefore, since the first PDCCH monitoring mode is more sparse than the second PDCCH monitoring mode, the PDCCH monitoring overhead can be reduced, and the power consumption at the terminal equipment can be saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communication technology, and particularly to methods, devices, and computer-readable media for communication. Background Art

[0002] It is proposed to study Extended Reality (XR) enhancements in Release 18. It is proposed to study XR specific power saving techniques to reduce overall User Equipment (UE) power consumption.

[0003] Varying frame coding delays and network transmission times may introduce jitter in packet arrival times at network devices such as gNBs. Downlink (DL) bursts may arrive later than expected, and when the Discontinuous Reception (DRX) On Duration Start Offset is configured, the UE should wait for the DL burst to arrive while performing Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring, which increases UE power consumption. Therefore, it is beneficial for the UE to further reduce power consumption. Summary of the invention

[0004] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for communications.

[0005] In a first aspect, a method of communication is provided. The method comprises: at a terminal device, performing PDCCH monitoring according to a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring mode; and switching to a second PDCCH monitoring mode based on at least one of the following conditions: a drx-InactivityTimer configured for a discontinuous reception (DRX) group is running, a drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group, a drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is running on the serving cell in the DRX group, and a drx-RetransmissionTimerSL is running on the DRX group. The second PDCCH monitoring mode is running on the serving cell in, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running, msgB-ResponseWindow is running, a scheduling request is sent on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and is pending, or after successful reception of a random access response to a random access preamble in a contention-based random access preamble that was not selected by a medium access control (MAC) entity, a PDCCH indicating a new transmission of a cell radio network temporary identity (C-RNTI) addressed to the MAC entity has not been received, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring mode is more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0006] In a second aspect, a method of communication is provided. The method comprises: at a terminal device, determining a duration within a period for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring; and performing the PDCCH monitoring according to a first PDCCH monitoring mode during the duration; and switching to a second PDCCH monitoring mode to perform the PDCCH monitoring during the duration based on a determination that a PDCCH is detected in a time slot of the duration, the second PDCCH monitoring mode being more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method of communication is provided. The method comprises: determining, at a network device, a first PDCCH monitoring mode and a second PDCCH monitoring mode for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, the second PDCCH monitoring mode being more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode; and sending configuration information to a terminal device, the configuration information indicating at least one of the first PDCCH monitoring mode or the second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a processor and a memory. The memory is coupled to the processor and stores instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the terminal device executes the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes a processor and a memory. The memory is coupled to the processor and stores instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the network device executes the method according to the third aspect.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, having instructions stored thereon, which, when executed on at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to execute the method according to the first aspect, the second aspect, or the third aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent through a more detailed description of some example embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a DRX cycle is shown;

[0014] Figure 2A schematic diagram of the search space is illustrated;

[0015] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3B A schematic diagram of DL data due to jitter is illustrated;

[0016] Figure 4 illustrates an example communication system in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0017] Figure 5 illustrates a signaling diagram illustrating a communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 6 A schematic diagram for switching a PDCCH monitoring mode according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0019] Figure 7 A schematic diagram illustrating an example mode indication field in a low power wake-up signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0020] Figure 8 illustrates a signaling diagram illustrating a communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram for switching a PDCCH monitoring mode within a duration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0022] Fig.10 illustrates a flow chart of an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0023] Fig.11 illustrates a flow chart of an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0024] Fig.12 A flowchart illustrating an example method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0025] Fig.13 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0026] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only to illustrate and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various other ways except for the way described below.

[0028] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0029] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and "an example embodiment" indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments (whether or not explicitly described).

[0030] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the example embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0031] The terms used herein are only used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" shall also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprise", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes", and / or "including" when used herein specify the presence of the features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0032] In some examples, values, processes, or devices are referred to as "best," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. It should be understood that such descriptions are intended to indicate that one can choose among many functional alternatives that can be used, and that such a choice is not necessarily better, lesser, higher, or otherwise preferred over other choices.

[0033] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard (such as new radio (NR), long term evolution (LTE), advanced LTE (LTE-A), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high speed packet access (HSPA), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc.). In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, 5G advanced network, or sixth generation (6G) communication protocol, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be communication technologies and systems of future types that can embody the present disclosure. It should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to the above-mentioned systems.

[0034] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device with wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to, user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communications (MTC) devices, vehicle-mounted devices for V2X communications (where X represents pedestrians, vehicles, or infrastructure / network), devices for integrated access and backhaul (IAB), space vehicles or air vehicles (including unmanned aerial systems (UAS)) in non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) (including satellites and high altitude platforms (HAPs)), extended reality (XR) devices (including different types of reality such as augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR)), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) commonly referred to as drones (which are aircraft without any human pilots), devices on high-speed trains (HSTs), or image capture devices (such as digital cameras), sensors, gaming devices, music storage and playback devices, or Internet devices that enable wireless or wired Internet access and browsing, etc. The "terminal device" may also have "multicast / broadcast" features to support public safety and mission-critical, V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast delivery, IPTV, Smart TV, radio services, wireless software delivery, group communication, and IoT applications. It may also include one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs) (referred to as multi-SIM). The term "terminal device" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device.

[0035] As used herein, the term "network equipment" refers to equipment that is capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage area in which a terminal device can communicate. Examples of network equipment include, but are not limited to, satellites, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) platforms, Node Bs (NodeBs or NBs), evolved Node Bs (eNodeBs or eNBs), next generation Node Bs (gNBs), transmission reception points (TRPs), remote radio units (RRUs), radio heads (RHs), remote radio heads (RRHs), IAB nodes, low power nodes (such as femto nodes, pico nodes), reconfigurable smart surfaces (RISs), etc.

[0036] In one embodiment, the terminal device may be connected to a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a primary node, and the other may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs). In one embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device, and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device is an eNB, and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information related to different RATs may be sent from at least one of the first network device and the second network device to the terminal device. In one embodiment, the first information may be sent from the first network device to the terminal device, and the second information may be sent from the second network device directly or via the first network device to the terminal device. In one embodiment, information related to the configuration of the terminal device configured by the second network device may be sent from the second network device via the first network device. Information related to the reconfiguration of the terminal device configured by the second network device may be sent from the second network device directly or via the first network device to the terminal device.

[0037] The communications discussed herein may conform to any suitable standard, including but not limited to new radio access (NR), long term evolution (LTE), LTE evolution, advanced LTE (LTE-A), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), cdma2000, and global system for mobile communications (GSM), etc. In addition, communications may be performed according to any generation of communication protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include but are not limited to first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.85G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), and sixth generation (6G) communication protocols. The techniques described herein may be used for the above-mentioned wireless networks and radio technologies as well as other wireless networks and radio technologies. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed according to any generation of communication protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G advanced networks, or sixth generation (6G) networks.

[0038] The terminal device or network device may have artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning capabilities. It usually includes a model that is trained from a large amount of collected data according to a specific function and can be used to predict certain information.

[0039] The terminal device or network device can operate in several frequency ranges, such as FR1 (410MHz-7125MHz), FR2 (24.25GHz to 71GHz), frequency bands greater than 100GHz, and terahertz (THz). It can further operate on licensed / unlicensed / shared spectrum. In the multi-radio dual connection (MR-DC) application scenario, the terminal device can have more than one connection with the network device. The terminal device or network device can operate in full-duplex, flexible duplex, and cross-duplex modes.

[0040] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be executed in a test device, such as a signal generator, a signal analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a network analyzer, a test terminal device, a test network device, or a channel emulator.

[0041] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed according to any generation of communication protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G advanced networks, or sixth generation (6G) networks.

[0042] The term "circuitry" as used herein may refer to a combination of hardware circuits and / or hardware circuits and software. For example, a circuit system may be a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware. As another example, a circuit system may be any part of a hardware processor (including (multiple) digital signal processors), software, and (multiple) memories with software, which work together to enable devices such as terminal devices or network devices to perform various functions. In another example, a circuit system may be a hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or a part of a microprocessor, which requires software / firmware to operate, but when the operation is not required, the software may not exist. As used herein, the term circuit system also encompasses the implementation of only a hardware circuit or (multiple) processors or a part of a hardware circuit or (multiple) processors and their accompanying software and / or firmware.

[0043] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" shall also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "including" and its variations shall be understood as open-ended terms, meaning "including but not limited to". The term "based on" shall be understood as "based at least in part on". The terms "one embodiment" and "embodiment" shall be understood as "at least one embodiment". The term "another embodiment" shall be understood as "at least one other embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. may refer to different or the same objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions may be included below.

[0044] In some examples, values, processes, or devices are referred to as "best," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. It should be understood that such descriptions are intended to indicate that one can choose among many functional alternatives that can be used, and that such a choice is not necessarily better, lesser, higher, or otherwise preferred over other choices.

[0045] In some cases, the UE may use discontinuous reception (DRX) to reduce power consumption. When DRX is configured, the UE does not have to continuously monitor the PDCCH. Figure 1 The figure shows a schematic diagram of the DRX cycle. The characteristics of DRX are as follows:

[0046] - On Duration: The duration that the UE waits to receive a PDCCH after waking up. If the UE successfully decodes the PDCCH, the UE remains awake and the inactivity timer is started.

[0047] Timer;

[0048] - Inactivity timer: The duration that the UE waits for successful decoding of the PDCCH, starting from the last successful decoding of the PDCCH, if it fails, it can go back to sleep state. The UE should set the inactivity timer in a single decoding of the PDCCH only for the first transmission (i.e. not for retransmissions).

[0049] After a successful decode, the inactivity timer is restarted;

[0050] - Retransmission timer: the duration before a retransmission can be expected;

[0051] - Periodicity: Periodic repetition of a specified on-time duration, followed by possible inactivity

[0052] Time period (see Figure 1 );

[0053] -Active Time: The total duration that the UE monitors the PDCCH. This includes the "on duration" of the DRX cycle, the time that the UE performs continuous reception when the inactivity timer has not expired, and the time that the UE performs continuous reception when waiting for a retransmission opportunity.

[0054] The "active time" for a serving cell in a DRX group includes the time when:

[0055] - the drx-onDurationTimer or drx-InactivityTimer configured for the DRX group is running; or

[0056] - drx-RetransmissionTimerDL, drx-RetransmissionTimerUL, or drx-RetransmissionTimerSL is running on any serving cell in the DRX group; or

[0057] -ra-ContentionResolutionTimer or msgB-ResponseWindow is running; or

[0058] - A Scheduling Request is sent on PUCCH and is pending. If the serving cell is part of a non-terrestrial network, the Active Time starts after a Scheduling Request transmission that is performed when SR_COUNTER is 0 plus the UE-gNB RTT for all SR configurations with pending SR(s); or

[0059] -After successful reception of a random access response to a random access preamble in a contention-based random access preamble that was not selected by the MAC entity, a PDCCH indicating a new transmission of a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI) addressed to the MAC entity has not been received.

[0060] There are several DRX timers associated with active time, including:

[0061] -drx-onDurationTimer: duration when the DRX cycle starts;

[0062] -drx-SlotOffset: Delay before starting drx-onDurationTimer;

[0063] -drx-InactivityTimer: duration of new UL or DL ​​transmissions indicated by the PDCCH to the MAC entity after the PDCCH opportunity;

[0064] -drx-RetransmissionTimerDL (per DL Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process except broadcast process): Maximum duration before a DL retransmission is received

[0065] duration;

[0066] -drx-RetransmissionTimerUL (per UL HARQ process): maximum duration before a grant for UL retransmission is received.

[0067] The timer "drx-onDurationTimer" can be started in the following situations:

[0068] 1> If a short DRX cycle is used for a DRX group, and [(SFN×10)+subframe number]

[0069] modulo(drx-ShortCycle)=(drx-StartOffset)modulo

[0070] (drx-ShortCycle):

[0071] 2> After drx-SlotOffset at the start of the subframe, start drx-onDurationTimer for this DRX group.

[0072] 1> If long DRX cycle is used for DRX group, and [(SFN×10)+subframe number]

[0073] modulo(drx-LongCycle)=drx-StartOffset:

[0074] 2> If DCP monitoring is configured for the active DL BWP as specified in TS 38.213 clause 10.3:

[0075] 3> If the DCP indication associated with the current DRX cycle received from the lower layer indicates starting the drx-onDurationTimer as described in TS 38.213; or

[0076] 3> If all the (multiple) DCP occasions in the time domain associated with the current DRX cycle as specified in TS 38.213 occur within the active time, taking into account grants / allocations / DRX command MAC CE / long DRX command MAC CE received 4 ms before the start of the last DCP occasion or during a measurement gap, and transmitted scheduling requests, or when the MAC entity monitors PDCCH transmissions on the search space indicated by recoverySearchSpaceId of the SpCell identified by C-RNTI when running in the ra-ResponseWindow (as described in Clause 5.1.4); or

[0077] 3> If ps-Wakeup is configured with the value true and the DCP indication associated with the current DRX cycle has not been received from the lower layer:

[0078] 4> Start the drx-onDurationTimer after drx-SlotOffset from the start of the subframe.

[0079] 2> Otherwise:

[0080] 3> Start the drx-onDurationTimer for this DRX group after drx-SlotOffset from the start of the subframe.

[0081] As Figure 1 shown, the UE shall monitor the PDCCH during the on-duration. The PDCCH monitoring can be based on search spaces. For each DL bandwidth part (BWP) configured for the UE in the serving cell, the UE is provided by the upper layer with S ≤ 10 search space sets, where for each of the S search space sets, the UE is provided with the following by SearchSpace:

[0082] - The search space set index s, 0 < s < 40, by searchSpaceId,

[0083] - The association between the search space set s and CORESET p, by controlResourceSetId or controlResourceSetId-v1610,

[0084] - The PDCCH monitoring period of \(k_s\) time slots and the PDCCH monitoring offset of \(o_s\) time slots, via monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset or monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset-r17,

[0085] - The PDCCH monitoring pattern within a time slot, indicating the (multiple) first symbols of the CORESET for PDCCH monitoring within each time slot in which the UE monitors the PDCCH, via monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot,

[0086] - The duration \(T_s \lt k_s\), indicating the number of time slots in which the search space set \(s\) exists, via duration, or the number of time slots in a continuous group of time slots in which the search space set \(s\) can exist, via duration-r17,

[0087] - A bitmap, via monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup, which is applied to each time slot group and provides the PDCCH monitoring pattern indicating the time slots in the time slot group for PDCCH monitoring,

[0088] - The size of the time slot group is the same as the size of monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup,

[0089] - For a Type1-PDCCH CSS set provided by ra-SearchSpace in dedicated RRC signaling, or for a Type3-PDCCH CSS set, or for a USS set, the PDCCH monitoring pattern only indicates the continuous time slots in the time slot group for PDCCH monitoring, and for at least one combination \((X s , Y s ) indicated by the UE as a capability, the number of continuous time slots is not greater than Y s .

[0090] Figure 2 The figure illustrates a schematic diagram of the search space. As Figure 2 shown, the PDCCH monitoring period is \(k s = 8\), the offset is \(O s = 1\), the duration is \(T s = 3\), and the monitoring symbols within the time slot can be 10000001000000. The information element "Searchspace" can be defined as Table 1:

[0091] Table 1

[0092]

[0093] The UE can determine the PDCCH monitoring timing on the active DL BWP based on the PDCCH monitoring period, PDCCH monitoring offset and PDCCH monitoring mode in the time slot. For the search space set s, if The UE determines that the PDCCH monitoring opportunity exists at the number n f The frame number is If monitoringSlotsWithinSlotGroup is provided, the slot is the first slot in the slot group and there is a PDCCH monitoring opportunity in the slot group. Start monitoring T s The search space set s of consecutive time slots contains PDCCH candidates, and the next k time slots are not monitored. s -T s The search space set s of consecutive time slots contains PDCCH candidates.

[0094] As mentioned above, due to jitter, a DL burst may arrive later than expected. FIG. 3A to FIG. 3B The figure shows a schematic diagram of DL data due to jitter. Figure 3A As shown in Figure 1, the DL data arrives later than the start time of OnDurationTimer, but still arrives when OnDurationTimer runs. Figure 3B As shown, the DL data arrives later than the start time of OnDurationTimer and misses the on-duration.

[0095] When the UE is waiting for DL ​​data, it Figure 3A During the period 310 or Figure 3B PDCCH monitoring is performed during period 320 in , which may result in power consumption at the UE.

[0096] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication solution. In the solution, a terminal device can perform PDCCH monitoring in a first PDCCH monitoring mode, and switch to a second PDCCH monitoring mode if one or more of some conditions are met. Since the first PDCCH monitoring mode is sparser than the second PDCCH monitoring mode, the PDCCH monitoring overhead can be reduced, and thus the power consumption at the terminal device can be saved. The principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0097] Figure 4 An example communication system 400 is illustrated in which some embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The communication network 400 includes a network device 410 and a terminal device 420. The network device 410 may provide services to the terminal device 420.

[0098] In system 100, it is assumed that terminal device 420 is within the coverage of network device 410. In some examples, the link from network device 410 to terminal device 420 is called a downlink (DL), and the link from terminal device 420 to network device 410 is called an uplink (UL). In the downlink, network device 410 is a transmission (TX) device (or transmitter), and terminal device 420 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In the uplink, terminal device 420 is a transmission TX device (or transmitter), and network device 410 is an RX device (or receiver). In some embodiments, network device 410 and terminal device 420 can communicate via a direct link / channel. DL may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). UL may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). As used herein, the term "channel" may refer to a carrier or a portion of a carrier consisting of a set of consecutive resource blocks (RBs) on which a channel access procedure is performed in a shared spectrum.

[0099] In some embodiments, the terminal device 420 may be in a master mode. In the context of the present disclosure, the terms "master radio" and "master receiver" may be used interchangeably. The terminal device 420 may utilize the master radio in the master mode to receive / send normal DL / UL transmissions (e.g., PDSCH, PDCCH, PUSCH, PUCCH, etc.). In some embodiments, the terminal device 420 may be in an idle / inactive mode. For example, the same coverage as normal DL / UL transmissions may not be provided, and the terminal device 420 may utilize a wake-up receiver (WUR) to receive a wake-up signal (WUS).

[0100] The communication in the system 100 (e.g., the communication between the network device 410 and the terminal device 420) can be implemented according to any appropriate (multiple) communication protocols, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G) and the fifth generation (5G), wireless local area network communication protocols (such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc.), and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplexer (FDD), time division duplexer (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and / or any other technology currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0101] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to any suitable scenario. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented on a capability-reduced NR device. Alternatively, embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented with one of the following: NR multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), NR sidechain enhancement, NR system with a frequency higher than 52.6 GHz, extended NR operation up to 71 GHz, narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IOT) / enhanced machine type communication (eMTC) on non-terrestrial networks (NTN), NTN, UE energy saving enhancement, NR coverage enhancement, NB-IoT and LTE-MTC, integrated access and backhaul (IAB), NR multicast and broadcast services, or enhancement of multi-radio dual connectivity.

[0102] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of devices (ie, network device 410 and terminal device 420) shown and their connection relationships and types are for illustration purposes only and do not represent any limitation. System 100 may include any suitable number of devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0103] Further references Figure 5 , which illustrates a signaling diagram of a communication process 500 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes only, reference will be made to Figure 4 Process 500 is described. Process 500 may involve network device 410 and terminal device 420.

[0104] The network device 410 determines 510 a first PDCCH monitoring pattern and a second PDCCH monitoring pattern, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring pattern is denser than the first PDCCH monitoring pattern, in other words, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern is sparser than the second PDCCH monitoring pattern.

[0105] The network device 410 may send 520 configuration information 522 to the terminal device 420. The configuration information 522 may indicate a first PDCCH monitoring pattern and / or a second PDCCH monitoring pattern, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring pattern is more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring pattern.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring mode may refer to a sparse PDCCH monitoring mode (or sparse mode), and the second PDCCH monitoring mode may refer to a dense PDCCH monitoring mode (or dense mode).

[0107] In some example embodiments, configuration information 522 may be sent via an RRC message or RRC signaling.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring mode is configured for an on-duration, for example, a drx-onDurationTimer configured for DRX operation. In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring mode may be configured for other active times, which will be described in detail below. In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring mode may be a continuous PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0109] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode have different time domain parameters, which may include a period, a time slot offset, a duration, or a monitoring symbol within a time slot. Examples of the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode can refer to the following Figure 6 .

[0110] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode may correspond to the same search space. For example, the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode may be defined for the search space. For example, the network device 410 may configure two different modes for the search space. For example, the configuration information 522 may be carried in the information element "SearchSpace" in the RRC signaling.

[0111] In some other example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern may correspond to the first search space, and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern may correspond to the second search space. In other words, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern may belong to two different search spaces.

[0112] In some other example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern may correspond to a first search space group (SSG), and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern may correspond to a second search space group. In other words, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern may belong to two different search space groups.

[0113] Alternatively, the configuration information 522 may indicate a PDCCH monitoring mode list. The PDCCH monitoring mode list may include multiple PDCCH monitoring modes. For example, the first mode in the list may indicate PDCCH monitoring of each time slot, the second mode in the list may indicate PDCCH monitoring of every 2 time slots, the third mode in the list may indicate PDCCH monitoring of every 4 time slots, and so on. It should be understood that these examples are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure.

[0114] Additionally or alternatively, the network device 410 may send a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring mode to the terminal device 420. For example, the first indication may be an index or identifier of the first PDCCH monitoring mode in the list. In some examples, the network device 410 may indicate a mode in the list as the first PDCCH monitoring mode through the first indication.

[0115] In some examples, the first indication may be sent via one or more of the following: an RRC message, downlink control information (DCI), a wake-up signal (WUS), or a MAC control element (CE). For example, the first indication may be carried in a new field of the DCI, a new field of the wake-up signal, or a new MAC CE.

[0116] Additionally or alternatively, the network device 410 may send a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring mode to the terminal device 420. For example, the second indication may be an index or identifier of the second PDCCH monitoring mode in the list. In some examples, the network device 410 may indicate another mode in the list as the second PDCCH monitoring mode through the second indication.

[0117] In some examples, the second indication may be sent via one or more of the following: an RRC message, downlink control information (DCI), a wake-up signal, or a MAC control element (CE). For example, the second indication may be carried in a new field of the DCI, a new field of the wake-up signal, or a new MAC CE.

[0118] It should be understood that the first indication and the second indication may be sent separately or together. For example, the first indication and the second indication may be carried in the same field of the DCI, or in the same field of the wake-up signal, or in the same MAC CE. The present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0119] Alternatively, the configuration information 522 may indicate multiple modes (intensive PDCCH monitoring modes) associated with multiple conditions, which will be described in detail below.

[0120] On the other side of the communication, terminal device 420 may receive 524 configuration information 522. In some example embodiments, configuration information 522 may indicate a first PDCCH monitoring mode, and terminal device 420 may be aware of the first PDCCH monitoring mode based on configuration information 522. In some example embodiments, configuration information 522 may indicate a second PDCCH monitoring mode, and terminal device 420 may be aware of the second PDCCH monitoring mode based on configuration information 522. In some example embodiments, configuration information 522 may not indicate the second PDCCH monitoring mode, in which case terminal device 420 may determine that the second PDCCH monitoring mode is a continuous PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the configuration information 522 may indicate a list of PDCCH monitoring patterns. Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 420 may receive a first indication of a first PDCCH monitoring pattern. Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 420 may receive a second indication of a second PDCCH monitoring pattern.

[0122] The terminal device 420 performs 530 PDCCH monitoring according to the first PDCCH monitoring mode. In some examples, the terminal device 420 may perform PDCCH monitoring according to the first PDCCH monitoring mode by default during the "on-duration" of the DRX cycle.

[0123] If one or more of the following conditions are met, the terminal device 420 switches 540 to the second PDCCH monitoring mode:

[0124] (1) The drx-InactivityTimer configured for the discontinuous reception (DRX) group is running,

[0125] (2) drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is running on the serving cell in the DRX group,

[0126] (3) drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is running on the serving cell in the DRX group,

[0127] (4) drx-RetransmissionTimerSL is running on the serving cell in the DRX group,

[0128] (5)ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running,

[0129] (6)msgB-ResponseWindow is running,

[0130] (7) A scheduling request is sent on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and is pending, or

[0131] (8) After successful reception of a random access response to a random access preamble that is not selected by the MAC entity in a contention-based random access preamble, a PDCCH indicating a new transmission of the C-RNTI addressed to the MAC entity has not been received.

[0132] In some example embodiments, if one of the conditions for the intensive monitoring mode is met, the terminal device 420 may switch to performing PDCCH monitoring according to the second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0133] In some example embodiments, multiple modes associated with multiple conditions (such as M PDCCH monitoring modes) are configured, and the terminal device 420 can determine which condition (such as condition 1) is satisfied, and further select the PDCCH monitoring mode from the M PDCCH monitoring modes based on condition 1. Specifically, the terminal device 410 can select the mode associated with condition 1 as the second PDCCH monitoring mode. Then, the terminal device 420 can switch to the second PDCCH monitoring mode associated with condition 1.

[0134] In some examples, there may be one or more conditions associated with the same PDCCH monitoring pattern in the M PDCCH monitoring patterns. In some examples, different conditions may be associated with different PDCCH monitoring patterns in the M PDCCH monitoring patterns. The present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0135] For example, conditions (2)-(4) may be that drx-RetransmissionTimerDL, drx-RetransmissionTimerUL, or drx-RetransmissionTimerSL is running on any serving cell in the DRX group, and they may be associated with the same PDCCH monitoring pattern.

[0136] For example, conditions (5)-(6) may be that ra-ContentionResolutionTimer or msgB-ResponseWindow is running, and they may be associated with the same PDCCH monitoring pattern.

[0137] For example, condition (7) may be “A Scheduling Request (SR) is issued on the PUCCH and is pending. If the serving cell is part of a non-terrestrial network, the active time starts after the Scheduling Request transmission, which is performed when the SR_COUNTER is 0 plus the UE-gNB round trip time (RTT) for all SR configurations with (multiple) pending SRs”, and it may be associated with a PDCCH monitoring pattern that is different from the PDCCH monitoring pattern associated with condition (1).

[0138] It should be understood that these examples are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

[0139] In some example embodiments, if the drx-InactivityTimer is started, the terminal device 420 may switch to the second PDCCH monitoring mode. For example, if the drx-onDurationTimer is started while the drx-InactivityTimer is still running, the terminal device 420 may perform PDCCH monitoring according to the second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0140] In some examples, if none of the multiple conditions are met and the drx-onDurationTimer is running, the terminal device 420 can switch back to the first PDCCH monitoring mode. In other words, when the drx-InactivityTimer expires, if the drx-onDurationTimer is running and none of the multiple conditions for the second PDCCH monitoring mode are met, the terminal device 420 can switch from the second PDCCH monitoring mode to the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0141] In some other examples, after the drx-InactivityTimer is started, the terminal device 420 may keep performing PDCCH monitoring according to the second PDCCH monitoring mode until the next DRX cycle. In other words, since the drx-InactivityTimer is started, the second PDCCH monitoring mode has been used until the next DRX cycle, regardless of whether the drx-InactivityTimer is running or expired.

[0142] Therefore, the first PDCCH monitoring mode is configured for the on-duration of the DRX cycle, and the terminal device 420 can monitor the PDCCH according to the first PDCCH monitoring mode by default. Once the inactive timer (or another active timer of the DRX cycle) is running, the terminal device 420 should monitor the PDCCH according to a second PDCCH monitoring mode that is denser than the first PDCCH monitoring mode. Since the first PDCCH monitoring mode is sparser, unnecessary PDCCH monitoring overhead can be reduced, and power consumption at the terminal device 420 can be saved. In addition, in some examples, the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode can correspond to a search space, and the switching between the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode can be flexible, and delays including switching with SSSG can be avoided. Therefore, a good balance between delay and power consumption can be achieved.

[0143] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for switching a PDCCH monitoring mode 600 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 6 As shown, the terminal device 420 may perform PDCCH monitoring according to the first PDCCH monitoring mode by default, and if the drx-InactivityTimer is started, the PDCCH monitoring may be performed according to the second PDCCH monitoring mode. The first PDCCH monitoring mode is a comb mode for onDuration, and the first PDCCH monitoring mode is shorter than the second PDCCH monitoring mode (in Figure 6 The continuous PDCCH monitoring mode is more sparse. Figure 6 As shown, the switching of the PDCCH monitoring mode is based on a new transmission indication at 610, ie, a PDCCH indicating that the new transmission was successfully received.

[0144] As described above, if one or more of the multiple conditions (1)-(8) are met, the terminal device 420 can switch to the second PDCCH monitoring mode. In some example embodiments, the switching can be automatically performed based on the RRC configuration from the network device 410, or can be dynamically performed based on the DCI / WUS / MAC CE from the network device 410. Figure 7 FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example mode indication field 700 in a low power wake-up signal according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 7 As shown, the network device 410 may send different WUS to different UEs. Specifically, the WUS to UE#1 or UE#N may include a wake-up indication and an SCell sleep indication. For UE#2, the WUS may include a wake-up indication 721, an SCell sleep indication 722, and a mode indication 723. For example, the mode indication 723 may be a new field of the WUS.

[0145] Based on Figures 5 to 7 In the described example embodiment, the first sparse PDCCH monitoring mode can be used for PDCCH monitoring, thereby reducing power consumption at the terminal device. In addition, these conditions are related to the timer, so the switching can be performed automatically without additional switching indication (such as DCI), and the switching delay can be reduced.

[0146] Further references Figure 8 , which illustrates a signaling diagram of a communication process 800 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes only, reference will be made to Figure 4 Process 800 is described. Process 800 may involve network device 410 and terminal device 420.

[0147] The network device 410 determines 810 a first PDCCH monitoring pattern (or a first PDCCH monitoring time slot pattern) and a second PDCCH monitoring pattern (or a second PDCCH monitoring time slot pattern) within the duration of the search space, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring pattern is denser than the first PDCCH monitoring pattern, in other words, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern is sparser than the second PDCCH monitoring pattern.

[0148] The network device 410 may send 820 configuration information 822 to the terminal device 420. The configuration information 822 may indicate a first PDCCH monitoring mode and / or a second PDCCH monitoring mode within the same duration, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring mode is more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode. In some example embodiments, the configuration information 822 may be sent via an RRC message or RRC signaling.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring mode may refer to a sparse PDCCH monitoring mode (or a sparse time slot mode), and the second PDCCH monitoring mode may refer to a dense PDCCH monitoring mode (or a dense time slot mode). In some examples, the second PDCCH monitoring mode may be a continuous PDCCH monitoring time slot mode. In some examples, the second PDCCH monitoring mode may indicate that PDCCH monitoring is performed every time slot for the duration of the search space.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 420 may use the first PDCCH monitoring mode by default. In some example embodiments, when a PDCCH is detected, the terminal device 420 may use the second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode may correspond to the same search space. For example, the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode are configured for use in the search space by duration (T s ) specified time slot.

[0152] Alternatively, the configuration information 822 may indicate a PDCCH monitoring pattern list. The PDCCH monitoring pattern list may include multiple PDCCH monitoring patterns (or referred to as multiple PDCCH monitoring time slot patterns). For example, the first pattern in the list may indicate PDCCH monitoring of each time slot, the second pattern in the list may indicate PDCCH monitoring of every 2 time slots, the third pattern in the list may indicate PDCCH monitoring of every 4 time slots, and so on. It should be understood that these examples are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure.

[0153] Additionally or alternatively, the network device 410 may send a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring mode to the terminal device 420. For example, the first indication may be an index or identifier of the first PDCCH monitoring mode in the list. In some examples, the network device 410 may indicate a mode in the list as the first PDCCH monitoring mode through the first indication.

[0154] In some examples, the first indication may be sent via one or more of the following: an RRC message, a DCI, a WUS, or a MAC CE. For example, the first indication may be carried in a new field of the DCI, a new field of the wake-up signal, or a new MAC CE.

[0155] Additionally or alternatively, the network device 410 may send a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring mode to the terminal device 420. For example, the second indication may be an index or identifier of the second PDCCH monitoring mode in the list. In some examples, the network device 410 may indicate another mode in the list as the second PDCCH monitoring mode through the second indication.

[0156] In some examples, the second indication may be sent via one or more of the following: an RRC message, a DCI, a WUS, or a MAC CE. For example, the second indication may be carried in a new field of the DCI, a new field of the wake-up signal, or a new MAC CE.

[0157] It should be understood that the first indication and the second indication may be sent separately or together. For example, the first indication and the second indication may be carried in the same field of the DCI, or in the same field of the wake-up signal, or in the same MAC CE. The present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0158] On the other side of the communication, terminal device 420 may receive 824 configuration information 822. In some example embodiments, configuration information 822 may indicate a first PDCCH monitoring mode, and terminal device 420 may be aware of the first PDCCH monitoring mode based on configuration information 822. In some example embodiments, configuration information 822 may indicate a second PDCCH monitoring mode, and terminal device 420 may be aware of the second PDCCH monitoring mode based on configuration information 822. In some example embodiments, configuration information 822 may not indicate the second PDCCH monitoring mode, in which case terminal device 420 may determine that the second PDCCH monitoring mode is a continuous PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the configuration information 822 may indicate a list of PDCCH monitoring patterns. Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 420 may receive a first indication of a first PDCCH monitoring pattern. Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 420 may receive a second indication of a second PDCCH monitoring pattern.

[0160] The terminal device 420 determines 830 a duration within a period for PDCCH monitoring. The terminal device 420 performs 840 PDCCH monitoring according to the first PDCCH monitoring pattern. In some examples, the terminal device 420 may perform PDCCH monitoring according to the first PDCCH monitoring pattern by default in the search space for the duration.

[0161] If the PDCCH is received, the terminal device 420 switches to the second PDCCH monitoring mode 850. In some examples, if a PDCCH is detected in a time slot of the duration (such as a DCI is received), the terminal device 420 may switch to the second PDCCH monitoring mode for the duration, that is, the terminal device 420 may perform PDCCH monitoring according to the second PDCCH monitoring mode after receiving the PDCCH.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the switching may be performed automatically or autonomously based on the RRC configuration from the network device 410 , or may be performed dynamically based on the DCI / WUS / MAC CE from the network device 410 .

[0163] In some examples, the second PDCCH monitoring mode is a continuous PDCCH monitoring slotted mode.In some examples, after the PDCCH is received, the terminal device 420 may start continuously monitoring the PDCCH in the slots specified by the duration.

[0164] Fig. 9 FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for switching a PDCCH monitoring mode 900 within a duration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 9 As shown, it is assumed that the monitoring time slot period is 20 time slots, the offset is 0, and the duration is 10 time slots, as shown in Table 2.

[0165] Table 2

[0166]

[0167] The terminal device 410 performs PDCCH monitoring according to the first PDCCH monitoring time slot mode by default, and after receiving the PDCCH at 910 , switches to the second PDCCH monitoring time slot mode.

[0168] The first PDCCH monitoring slot pattern is a sparse slot pattern such as Fig. 9 The second PDCCH monitoring time slot mode is a dense time slot mode or a comb mode in which the terminal device 420 can perform PDCCH monitoring in time slots #0, #2 and #4 (but not in time slots #1 and #3). Fig. 9 In the continuous time slot mode, the terminal device 420 can perform PDCCH monitoring in each time slot.

[0169] Therefore, the first PDCCH monitoring time slot mode is configured for the duration of the search space, and the terminal device 420 can monitor the PDCCH according to the first PDCCH monitoring time slot mode by default. After the PDCCH is received, the terminal device 420 should monitor the PDCCH according to a second PDCCH monitoring time slot mode that is denser than the first PDCCH monitoring time slot mode. Since the first PDCCH monitoring time slot mode is sparser, unnecessary PDCCH monitoring overhead can be reduced, and power consumption at the terminal device 420 can be saved. In addition, since the first PDCCH monitoring time slot mode and the second PDCCH monitoring time slot mode correspond to the duration of the search space, the switching between the first PDCCH monitoring time slot mode and the second PDCCH monitoring time slot mode can be flexible, and delays including SSSG switching can be avoided. Therefore, a good balance between delay and power consumption can be achieved.

[0170] Fig.10 FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an example method 1000 implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 4 The method 1000 is described from the perspective of the terminal device 420 .

[0171] At box 1010, the terminal device 420 performs PDCCH monitoring according to the first PDCCH monitoring mode. At box 1020, the terminal device 420 switches to a second PDCCH monitoring mode based on at least one of the following conditions: a drx-InactivityTimer configured for the DRX group is running, a drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group, a drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group, a drx-RetransmissionTimerSL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group, a ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running, a msgB-ResponseWindow is running, a scheduling request is sent on the PUCCH and is pending, or after successful reception of a random access response to a random access preamble in a contention-based random access preamble that is not selected by the MAC entity, a PDCCH indicating a new transmission addressed to the C-RNTI of the MAC entity has not been received, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring mode is more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0172] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a first search space or a first search space group, and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a second search space or a second search space group.

[0173] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern are two different patterns of the same search space.

[0174] In some example embodiments, if none of the plurality of conditions is met and the drx-onDurationTimer is running, the terminal device 420 switches back to the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0175] In some example embodiments, after the drx-InactivityTimer is started, the terminal device 420 keeps performing PDCCH monitoring according to the second PDCCH monitoring mode until the next DRX cycle.

[0176] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 420 receives configuration information from the network device 410, the configuration information indicating at least one of the first PDCCH monitoring mode or the second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0177] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring pattern list, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list including a first PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the terminal device 420 receives a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring pattern from the network device 410 .

[0178] In some example embodiments, the first indication is sent via at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC) message, downlink control information (DCI), a wake-up signal, or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0179] In some example embodiments, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes a second PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the terminal device 420 receives a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring pattern from the network device 410 .

[0180] In some example embodiments, the second indication is sent via at least one of: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0181] In some example embodiments, the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

[0182] In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring pattern is one of a plurality of patterns associated with a plurality of conditions.

[0183] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern have different time domain parameters, the time domain parameters including at least one of: a period, a time slot offset, a duration, or a monitoring symbol within a time slot.

[0184] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring mode is configured for a drx-onDurationTimer of DRX operation.

[0185] In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring mode comprises a continuous monitoring mode.

[0186] Fig.11 FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an example method 1100 implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 4 The method 1100 is described from the perspective of the terminal device 420 .

[0187] At block 1110, the terminal device 420 determines a duration within a period for PDCCH monitoring. At block 1120, the terminal device 420 performs PDCCH monitoring according to a first PDCCH monitoring mode during the duration. At block 1130, if a PDCCH is detected in a time slot of the duration, the terminal device 420 switches to a second PDCCH monitoring mode to perform PDCCH monitoring during the duration, the second PDCCH monitoring mode being more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0188] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 420 receives configuration information from the network device 410, the configuration information indicating at least one of the first PDCCH monitoring mode or the second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0189] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring pattern list, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list including a first PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the terminal device 420 receives a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring pattern from the network device 410 .

[0190] In some example embodiments, the first indication is sent via at least one of: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0191] In some example embodiments, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes a second PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the terminal device 420 receives a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring pattern from the network device 410 .

[0192] In some example embodiments, the second indication is sent via at least one of: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0193] In some example embodiments, the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

[0194] In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring mode comprises a continuous monitoring mode.

[0195] Fig.12 A flowchart of an example method 1200 implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 4 Method 1200 is described from the perspective of network device 410.

[0196] At block 1210, the network device 410 determines a first PDCCH monitoring mode and a second PDCCH monitoring mode for PDCCH monitoring, the second PDCCH monitoring mode being more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode. At block 1220, the network device 420 sends configuration information to the terminal device 420, the configuration information indicating at least one of the first PDCCH monitoring mode or the second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0197] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring pattern list, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes a first PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the network device 410 sends a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring pattern to the terminal device 420 .

[0198] In some example embodiments, the first indication is sent via at least one of: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0199] In some example embodiments, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes a second PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the network device 410 sends a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring pattern to the terminal device 420 .

[0200] In some example embodiments, the second indication is sent via at least one of: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0201] In some example embodiments, the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

[0202] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a first search space or a first search space group, and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a second search space or a second search space group.

[0203] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern are two different patterns of the same search space.

[0204] In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring mode is one of multiple modes associated with multiple conditions, the multiple conditions including: a drx-InactivityTimer configured for the DRX group at the terminal device is running, a drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group at the terminal device, a drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group at the terminal device, a drx-RetransmissionTimerSL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group at the terminal device, a ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running at the terminal device, a msgB-ResponseWindow is running at the terminal device, a scheduling request is sent by the terminal device on the PUCCH and is pending, and after successful reception of a random access response to a random access preamble in a contention-based random access preamble that was not selected by the MAC entity, a PDCCH indicating a new transmission addressed to the C-RNTI of the MAC entity has not been received.

[0205] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern have different time domain parameters, the time domain parameters including at least one of: a period, a time slot offset, a duration, or a monitoring symbol within a time slot.

[0206] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring mode is configured for a drx-onDurationTimer of DRX operation.

[0207] In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring mode comprises a continuous monitoring mode.

[0208] Already referenced Figures 4 to 12 Details of some embodiments according to the present disclosure are described. Example implementations of terminal devices and network devices will be discussed below.

[0209] In some example embodiments, a terminal device includes a circuit system configured to: perform PDCCH monitoring according to a first PDCCH monitoring mode; and switch to a second PDCCH monitoring mode based on at least one of the following multiple conditions: a drx-InactivityTimer configured for a DRX group is running, a drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group, a drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group, a drx-RetransmissionTimerSL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group, a ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running, a msgB-ResponseWindow is running, a scheduling request is sent on a PUCCH and is pending, or after successful reception of a random access response to a random access preamble in a contention-based random access preamble that is not selected by a MAC entity, a PDCCH indicating a new transmission of a C-RNTI addressed to the MAC entity has not been received, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring mode is more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0210] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a first search space or a first search space group, and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a second search space or a second search space group.

[0211] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern are two different patterns of the same search space.

[0212] In some example embodiments, the terminal device comprises circuitry configured to switch back to the first PDCCH monitoring mode if none of the plurality of conditions are met and the drx-onDurationTimer is running.

[0213] In some example embodiments, the terminal device includes circuitry configured to keep performing PDCCH monitoring according to the second PDCCH monitoring mode until the next DRX cycle after the drx-InactivityTimer is started.

[0214] In some example embodiments, the terminal device includes circuitry configured to: receive configuration information from a network device, the configuration information indicating at least one of a first PDCCH monitoring mode or a second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0215] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring pattern list including a first PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the terminal device includes circuitry configured to receive a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring pattern from a network device.

[0216] In some example embodiments, the first indication is sent via at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC) message, downlink control information (DCI), a wake-up signal, or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0217] In some example embodiments, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes a second PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the terminal device includes circuitry configured to receive a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring pattern from the network device.

[0218] In some example embodiments, the second indication is sent via at least one of: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0219] In some example embodiments, the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

[0220] In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring pattern is one of a plurality of patterns associated with a plurality of conditions.

[0221] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern have different time domain parameters, the time domain parameters including at least one of: a period, a time slot offset, a duration, or a monitoring symbol within a time slot.

[0222] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring mode is configured for a drx-onDurationTimer of DRX operation.

[0223] In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring mode comprises a continuous monitoring mode.

[0224] In some example embodiments, a terminal device includes a circuit system configured to: determine a duration within a period for PDCCH monitoring; perform PDCCH monitoring according to a first PDCCH monitoring mode during the duration; and if PDCCH is detected in a time slot of the duration, switch to a second PDCCH monitoring mode to perform PDCCH monitoring during the duration, the second PDCCH monitoring mode being more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0225] In some example embodiments, the terminal device includes circuitry configured to: receive configuration information from a network device, the configuration information indicating at least one of a first PDCCH monitoring mode or a second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0226] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring pattern list including a first PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the terminal device includes circuitry configured to receive a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring pattern from a network device.

[0227] In some example embodiments, the first indication is sent via at least one of: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0228] In some example embodiments, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes a second PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the terminal device includes circuitry configured to receive a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring pattern from the network device.

[0229] In some example embodiments, the second indication is sent via at least one of: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0230] In some example embodiments, the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

[0231] In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring mode comprises a continuous monitoring mode.

[0232] In some example embodiments, a network device includes a circuit system configured to: determine a first PDCCH monitoring mode and a second PDCCH monitoring mode for PDCCH monitoring, the second PDCCH monitoring mode being more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode; and send configuration information to a terminal device, the configuration information indicating at least one of the first PDCCH monitoring mode or the second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0233] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring pattern list including a first PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the network device includes circuitry configured to send a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring pattern to the terminal device.

[0234] In some example embodiments, the first indication is sent via at least one of: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0235] In some example embodiments, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes a second PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the network device includes circuitry configured to send a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring pattern to the terminal device.

[0236] In some example embodiments, the second indication is sent via at least one of: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0237] In some example embodiments, the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

[0238] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a first search space or a first search space group, and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a second search space or a second search space group.

[0239] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern are two different patterns of the same search space.

[0240] In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring mode is one of multiple modes associated with multiple conditions, the multiple conditions including: a drx-InactivityTimer configured for the DRX group at the terminal device is running, a drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group at the terminal device, a drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group at the terminal device, a drx-RetransmissionTimerSL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group at the terminal device, a ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running at the terminal device, a msgB-ResponseWindow is running at the terminal device, a scheduling request is sent by the terminal device on the PUCCH and is pending, and after successful reception of a random access response to a random access preamble in a contention-based random access preamble that was not selected by the MAC entity, a PDCCH indicating a new transmission addressed to the C-RNTI of the MAC entity has not been received.

[0241] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern have different time domain parameters, the time domain parameters including at least one of: a period, a time slot offset, a duration, or a monitoring symbol within a time slot.

[0242] In some example embodiments, the first PDCCH monitoring mode is configured for a drx-onDurationTimer of DRX operation.

[0243] In some example embodiments, the second PDCCH monitoring mode comprises a continuous monitoring mode.

[0244] Fig.13 1 shows a simplified block diagram of a device 1300 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 1300 may be viewed as Figure 4 Another example implementation of the terminal device 420 and the network device 410 is shown. Thus, the device 1300 may be implemented at the terminal device 420 or the network device 410 or as at least a part thereof.

[0245] As shown, the device 1300 includes a processor 1310, a memory 1320 coupled to the processor 1310, a suitable transmitter (TX) and a receiver (RX) 1340 coupled to the processor 1310, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1340. The memory 1310 stores at least a portion of the program 1330. The TX / RX 1340 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 1340 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, but in fact, the access node mentioned in the present disclosure may have multiple. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between eNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a mobility management entity (MME) / serving gateway (S-GW) and an eNB, a Un interface for communication between an eNB and a relay node (RN), or a Uu interface for communication between an eNB and a terminal device.

[0246] Assume that program 1330 includes program instructions that, when executed by associated processor 1310, enable device 1300 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, as referred to herein. Figures 4 to 12 The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1310 of the device 1300, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1310 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. In addition, the combination of the processor 1310 and the memory 1320 may form a processing component 1350 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0247] The memory 1320 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as, as non-limiting examples, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. Although only one memory 1320 is shown in the device 1300, there may be several physically different memory modules in the device 1300. The processor 1310 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network and, as non-limiting examples, may include one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1300 may have multiple processors, such as a dedicated integrated circuit chip that is time-slave to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0248] In summary, the embodiments of the present disclosure may provide the following solutions.

[0249] The present disclosure provides a communication method, the method comprising: at a terminal device, performing PDCCH monitoring according to a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring mode; and switching to a second PDCCH monitoring mode based on at least one of the following multiple conditions: a drx-InactivityTimer configured for a discontinuous reception (DRX) group is running, a drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group, a drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is running on the serving cell in the DRX group, and a drx-RetransmissionTimerSL is running. Running on the serving cell in the DRX group, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running, msgB-ResponseWindow is running, a scheduling request is sent on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and is pending, or after successful reception of a random access response to a random access preamble in a contention-based random access preamble that was not selected by a medium access control (MAC) entity, a PDCCH indicating a new transmission of a cell radio network temporary identity (C-RNTI) addressed to the MAC entity has not been received, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring mode is more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0250] In one embodiment, in the above method, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a first search space or a first search space group, and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a second search space or a second search space group.

[0251] In one embodiment, in the above method, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern are two different patterns of the same search space.

[0252] In one embodiment, the method further includes: switching back to the first PDCCH monitoring mode based on a determination that none of the multiple conditions is satisfied and the drx-onDurationTimer is running.

[0253] In one embodiment, the method further comprises: after the drx-InactivityTimer is started, keeping executing the PDCCH monitoring according to the second PDCCH monitoring mode until the next DRX cycle.

[0254] In one embodiment, the method further includes: receiving configuration information from a network device, the configuration information indicating at least one of the first PDCCH monitoring mode or the second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0255] In one embodiment, in the above method, the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring mode list, the PDCCH monitoring mode list includes the first PDCCH monitoring mode, and the method further includes: receiving a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring mode from the network device.

[0256] In one embodiment, in the above method, the first indication is sent via at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) message, downlink control information (DCI), a wake-up signal, or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0257] In one embodiment, in the above method, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes the second PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the method further includes: receiving a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring pattern from the network device.

[0258] In one embodiment, in the above method, the second indication is sent via at least one of the following: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0259] In one embodiment, in the above method, the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

[0260] In one embodiment, in the above method, the second PDCCH monitoring mode is one of a plurality of modes associated with the plurality of conditions.

[0261] In one embodiment, in the above method, the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode have different time domain parameters, and the time domain parameters include at least one of the following: period, time slot offset, duration, or monitoring symbol within a time slot.

[0262] In one embodiment, in the above method, the first PDCCH monitoring mode is configured for drx-onDurationTimer of DRX operation.

[0263] In one embodiment, in the above method, the second PDCCH monitoring mode includes a continuous monitoring mode.

[0264] The present disclosure provides a method of communication, which includes: at a terminal device, determining a duration within a period for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring; and performing the PDCCH monitoring according to a first PDCCH monitoring mode during the duration; and switching to a second PDCCH monitoring mode based on a determination that PDCCH is detected in a time slot of the duration to perform the PDCCH monitoring during the duration, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring mode is more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0265] In one embodiment, the method further includes: receiving configuration information from a network device, the configuration information indicating at least one of the first PDCCH monitoring mode or the second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0266] In one embodiment, in the above method, the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring mode list, the PDCCH monitoring mode list includes the first PDCCH monitoring mode, and the method further includes: receiving a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring mode from the network device.

[0267] In one embodiment, in the above method, the first indication is sent via at least one of the following: a radio resource control (RRC) message, downlink control information (DCI), a wake-up signal, or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0268] In one embodiment, in the above method, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes the second PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the method further includes: receiving a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring pattern from the network device.

[0269] In one embodiment, in the above method, the second indication is sent via at least one of the following: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0270] In one embodiment, in the above method, the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

[0271] In one embodiment, in the above method, the second PDCCH monitoring mode includes a continuous monitoring mode.

[0272] The present disclosure provides a communication method, which includes: at a network device, determining a first PDCCH monitoring mode and a second PDCCH monitoring mode for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring mode is more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode; and sending configuration information to a terminal device, the configuration information indicating at least one of the first PDCCH monitoring mode or the second PDCCH monitoring mode.

[0273] In one embodiment, in the above method, the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring mode list, the PDCCH monitoring mode list includes the first PDCCH monitoring mode, and the method further includes: sending a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring mode to the terminal device.

[0274] In one embodiment, in the above method, the first indication is sent via at least one of the following: an RRC message, downlink control information (DCI), a wake-up signal, or a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE).

[0275] In one embodiment, in the above method, the PDCCH monitoring mode list includes the second PDCCH monitoring mode, and the method further includes: sending a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring mode to the terminal device.

[0276] In one embodiment, in the above method, the second indication is sent via at least one of the following: an RRC message, a DCI, a wake-up signal, or a MAC CE.

[0277] In one embodiment, in the above method, the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

[0278] In one embodiment, in the above method, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a first search space or a first search space group, and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern corresponds to a second search space or a second search space group.

[0279] In one embodiment, in the above method, the first PDCCH monitoring pattern and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern are two different patterns of the same search space.

[0280] In one embodiment, in the above method, the second PDCCH monitoring mode is one of multiple modes associated with multiple conditions, and the multiple conditions include: the drx-InactivityTimer configured for the discontinuous reception (DRX) group at the terminal device is running, the drx-RetransmissionTimerDL at the terminal device is running on the service cell in the DRX group, the drx-RetransmissionTimerUL at the terminal device is running on the service cell in the DRX group, and the drx-RetransmissionTimerSL at the terminal device is running. running on the serving cell in the DRX group, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running at the terminal device, msgB-ResponseWindow is running at the terminal device, a scheduling request is sent by the terminal device on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and is pending, and after successful reception of a random access response to a random access preamble in a contention-based random access preamble that was not selected by a medium access control (MAC) entity, a PDCCH indicating a new transmission of a cell radio network temporary identity (C-RNTI) addressed to the MAC entity has not been received.

[0281] In one embodiment, in the above method, the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode have different time domain parameters, and the time domain parameters include at least one of the following: period, time slot offset, duration, or monitoring symbol within a time slot.

[0282] In one embodiment, in the above method, the first PDCCH monitoring mode is configured for drx-onDurationTimer of DRX operation.

[0283] In one embodiment, in the above method, the second PDCCH monitoring mode includes a continuous monitoring mode.

[0284] The present disclosure provides a terminal device, which includes: a processor; and a memory storing a computer program code; the memory and the computer program code are configured to work with the processor to enable the terminal device to execute the method implemented at the terminal device.

[0285] The present disclosure provides a network device, which includes: a processor; and a memory storing a computer program code; the memory and the computer program code are configured to work with the processor to enable the network device to execute the method implemented at the network device.

[0286] The present disclosure provides a computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, and when the instructions are executed by a processor of a device, the device executes the method implemented at a terminal device or a network device.

[0287] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented using hardware, while other aspects may be implemented using firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0288] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above referenced Figures 4 to 12 The process or method described. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. The machine executable instructions of the program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0289] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code is implemented when executed by the processor or controller in the flow chart and / or the block diagram. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0290] The above program code can be embodied in a machine-readable medium, which can be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by an instruction execution system, device or equipment or used in combination with it. The machine-readable medium can be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A more specific example of a machine-readable storage medium will include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0291] In addition, although the operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in order or performing all the operations shown to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0292] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising: At the terminal device, performing PDCCH monitoring according to a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring mode; as well as Based on at least one of the following conditions, switching to the second PDCCH monitoring mode: The drx-InactivityTimer configured for the discontinuous reception (DRX) group is running, drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is running on the serving cell in the DRX group, drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is running on the serving cell in the DRX group, drx-RetransmissionTimerSL is running on the serving cell in the DRX group, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running, msgB-ResponseWindow is running, A scheduling request is sent on the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and is pending, or After successful reception of a random access response for a random access preamble in a contention-based random access preamble that was not selected by a medium access control (MAC) entity, a PDCCH indicating a new transmission of a cell radio network temporary identity (C-RNTI) addressed to the MAC entity has not been received, The second PDCCH monitoring pattern is more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the second PDCCH monitoring pattern is one of a plurality of patterns associated with the plurality of conditions.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first PDCCH monitoring mode corresponds to a first search space or a first search space group, and the second PDCCH monitoring mode corresponds to a second search space or a second search space group, or wherein the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode are two different modes of the same search space.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Based on the determination that none of the multiple conditions are met and the drx-onDurationTimer is running, switching back to the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: After the drx-InactivityTimer is started, the PDCCH monitoring is continued to be performed according to the second PDCCH monitoring mode until the next DRX cycle.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Configuration information is received from a network device, where the configuration information indicates at least one of the first PDCCH monitoring mode or the second PDCCH monitoring mode, wherein the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring pattern list, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes the first PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the method further comprises: receiving a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring mode from the network device, The first indication is sent via at least one of the following: Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Downlink Control Information (DCI), wake-up signal, or Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes the second PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the method further comprises: receiving a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring mode from the network device, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring mode comprises a continuous monitoring mode, The second indication is sent via at least one of the following: RRC message, DCI, wake-up signal, or MAC CE.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first PDCCH monitoring mode is configured for a drx-onDurationTimer of a DRX operation, and wherein the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode have different time domain parameters, and the time domain parameters include at least one of the following: cycle, Time slot offset, Duration, or Monitoring symbols within a time slot.

9. A method of communication, comprising: At a terminal device, determining a duration within a period for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring; as well as performing the PDCCH monitoring according to a first PDCCH monitoring mode during the duration; as well as Based on a determination that a PDCCH is detected in a time slot of the duration, switching to a second PDCCH monitoring mode is performed to perform the PDCCH monitoring for the duration, the second PDCCH monitoring mode being more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: Configuration information is received from a network device, where the configuration information indicates at least one of the first PDCCH monitoring mode or the second PDCCH monitoring mode, wherein the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring pattern list, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes the first PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the method further comprises: receiving a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring mode from the network device, The first indication is sent via at least one of the following: Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages, Downlink Control Information (DCI), wake-up signal, or Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes the second PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the method further comprises: receiving a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring mode from the network device, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring mode comprises a continuous monitoring mode, The second indication is sent via at least one of the following: RRC message, DCI, wake-up signal, or MAC CE.

13. A method of communication, comprising: At a network device, determining a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring mode and a second PDCCH monitoring mode for PDCCH monitoring, the second PDCCH monitoring mode being more intensive than the first PDCCH monitoring mode; as well as Configuration information is sent to a terminal device, where the configuration information indicates at least one of the first PDCCH monitoring mode or the second PDCCH monitoring mode, wherein the configuration information is sent via an RRC message.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the configuration information indicates a PDCCH monitoring pattern list, the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes the first PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the method further comprises: sending a first indication of the first PDCCH monitoring mode to the terminal device, The first indication is sent via at least one of the following: RRC message, Downlink Control Information (DCI), wake-up signal, or Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the PDCCH monitoring pattern list includes the second PDCCH monitoring pattern, and the method further comprises: Sending a second indication of the second PDCCH monitoring mode to the terminal device, The second indication is sent via at least one of the following: RRC message, DCI, wake-up signal, or MAC CE.

16. A method according to claim 13, wherein the first PDCCH monitoring mode corresponds to a first search space or a first search space group, and the second PDCCH monitoring mode corresponds to a second search space or a second search space group, or wherein the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode are two different modes of the same search space.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the second PDCCH monitoring mode comprises a continuous monitoring mode, and wherein the second PDCCH monitoring mode is one of a plurality of modes associated with a plurality of conditions, the plurality of conditions comprising: At the terminal device, a drx-InactivityTimer configured for a discontinuous reception (DRX) group is running, At the terminal device, drx-RetransmissionTimerDL is running on a serving cell in the DRX group, At the terminal device, drx-RetransmissionTimerUL is running on the serving cell in the DRX group, At the terminal device, drx-RetransmissionTimerSL is running on the serving cell in the DRX group, At the terminal device, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running, At the terminal device, msgB-ResponseWindow is running, a scheduling request is sent by the terminal device on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and is pending, and After successful reception of a random access response to a random access preamble in a contention-based random access preamble that was not selected by a medium access control (MAC) entity, a PDCCH indicating a new transmission of a cell radio network temporary identity (C-RNTI) addressed to the MAC entity has not been received.

18. The method according to claim 13, wherein the first PDCCH monitoring mode is configured for a drx-onDurationTimer of a DRX operation, and wherein the first PDCCH monitoring mode and the second PDCCH monitoring mode have different time domain parameters, and the time domain parameters include at least one of the following: cycle, Time slot offset, Duration, or Monitoring symbols within a time slot.

19. A terminal device, comprising: processor; as well as a memory storing computer program code; The memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the processor, cause the terminal device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

20. A network device comprising: processor; as well as a memory storing computer program code; The memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the processor, cause the network device to perform the method according to any one of claims 13 to 18.

21. A computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor of a device, cause the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

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