Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and device, relates to the technical field of mobile communication, and is used for enabling a base station to provide downlink control channel monitoring configuration adaptive to the capability of terminal equipment for the terminal equipment so as to avoid missing detection of downlink control information. A network device can acquire capability information reported by a terminal device, including acquiring at least two downlink control channel monitoring time span combinations supported by the terminal device. The network device can also determine N downlink control channel monitoring time span combinations according to at least two downlink control channel monitoring time span combinations supported by the terminal device and the positions of the M downlink control channel monitoring opportunities. A subsequent network device can determine a PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring the PDCCH of the terminal device according to the maximum number of monitored candidate PDCCHs and / or the maximum number of non-overlapped CCEs corresponding to N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations, and send the PDCCH according to the combination.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] In a communication system, a network device can send downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal device through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). For example, the network device can configure the search space set (SS set) corresponding to each DCI to the terminal device through high-level signaling, but does not notify the terminal device on which candidate PDCCH in the search space set the DCI will be sent. The terminal device can determine the PDCCH monitoring occasion (MO) based on the search space set, and monitor the candidate PDCCH in the PDCCH MO to see if the DCI is carried. The terminal device will attempt to decode each candidate PDCCH to determine whether the corresponding DCI is received. This behavior is called blind detection (BD).

[0003] Currently, the monitoring mechanism of the terminal device for PDCCH MO needs to be optimized, which may lead to missed detection of DCI in some cases. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for enabling a base station to provide a terminal device with a PDCCH monitoring configuration adapted to the capabilities of the terminal device, so as to avoid DCI missed detection.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method may be implemented by a network device. The network device may be a network device or a component of a network device. The component in the present application may include at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, a transceiver, a processing unit, or a transceiver unit. Taking the execution subject as a network device as an example, the method can be implemented through the following steps: the network device receives capability information sent by the terminal equipment, the capability information includes at least two physical downlink control channel PDCCH monitoring time span combinations used to indicate the support of the terminal equipment, and the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations have different maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span; the network device determines the positions of M PDCCH monitoring opportunities according to the search space set configuration information, M is a positive integer greater than 1; the network device sends the search space set configuration information; the network device determines N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations according to the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations and the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities, N is a positive integer greater than 1; the network device determines the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring PDCCH according to the maximum number of monitored candidate PDCCHs and / or the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations; the network device can also send PDCCH according to the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring PDCCH.

[0006] It can be understood that the network device determines N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations based on the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations and the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities, and it can also be replaced by: the network device determines N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations based on the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations and / or the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities.

[0007] Based on the method shown in the first aspect, the network device can obtain the capability information reported by the terminal device, including obtaining at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations supported by the terminal device. The network device can also determine the positions of M PDCCH monitoring opportunities according to the search space set configuration information, and further determine N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations according to the positions of at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations supported by the terminal device and the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities. Therefore, the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations can be PDCCH monitoring time span combinations supported by the terminal device. The subsequent network device can determine the PDCCH monitoring time span combination used by the terminal device to monitor the PDCCH from the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations according to the maximum number of monitored candidate PDCCHs corresponding to the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations and / or the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs, and send the PDCCH according to the combination. Since the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations are determined based on multiple PDCCH monitoring time span combinations supported by the terminal device, the PDCCH monitoring time span combination finally used to send the PDCCH is the PDCCH monitoring time span combination supported by the terminal device, so that the terminal device can monitor the PDCCH sent by the base station and avoid DCI missed detection.

[0008] In a possible implementation manner, the base station may select the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations that match the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities from the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations.

[0009] Based on this implementation, the base station may sequentially use the PDCCH monitoring time span combinations supported by the terminal device to match the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities to determine N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations that can match the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities satisfy: the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities are located in the same time slot, the length of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities is 1 symbol or 2 symbols, and the three consecutive symbols in the time slot include three PDCCH monitoring opportunities with a length of 1 symbol, or include one PDCCH monitoring opportunity with a length of 2 symbols and one PDCCH monitoring opportunity with a length of 1 symbol; the next symbol of the three consecutive symbols does not include a PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

[0011] Based on this implementation method, the base station can execute the method shown in the present application when the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities meet the conditions, so as to avoid missing DCI due to inconsistent understanding of the PDCCH monitoring time span combination between the terminal device and the base station in the ambiguous scenario that meets the above conditions.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring PDCCH is a PDCCH monitoring time span combination with the smallest maximum number of corresponding monitored candidate PDCCHs among the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations; and / or, the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring PDCCH is a PDCCH monitoring time span combination with the smallest maximum number of corresponding non-overlapping CCEs among the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations.

[0013] Based on this implementation method, the base station can determine the PDCCH monitoring time span combination with the smallest maximum number of candidate PDCCHs among the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations and / or the PDCCH monitoring time span combination with the smallest maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs to avoid exceeding the configuration upper limit of the terminal device and causing DCI miss detection.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the number of candidate PDCCHs configured for the first PDCCH monitoring time span in the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring PDCCH does not exceed the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs monitored by the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring PDCCH; and / or the number of non-overlapping CCEs configured for the first PDCCH monitoring time span does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs of the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring PDCCH.

[0015] Based on this implementation, the base station does not allow PDCCH over-configuration in the first PDCCH monitoring time span, in order to avoid the terminal device missing DCI due to over-configuration.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations include: a PDCCH monitoring time span combination in which the minimum time interval between the starting symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 2 symbols, and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 2 symbols. In addition, the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations also include: a PDCCH monitoring time span combination in which the minimum time interval between the starting symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 4 symbols, and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 3 symbols; and / or. A PDCCH monitoring time span combination in which the minimum time interval between the starting symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 7 symbols, and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 3 symbols.

[0017] In a second aspect, a communication device is provided. The device can implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible design thereof. The device has the functions of the network device or the first terminal device. The device is, for example, a terminal device, or a functional module in a terminal device, or a network device or a functional module in a network device, etc.

[0018] In an optional implementation, the device may include a module corresponding to the method / operation / step / action described in the first aspect, and the module may be a hardware circuit, or software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In an optional implementation, the device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a communication unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module, a communication module, etc.). The transceiver unit can implement a sending function and a receiving function. When the transceiver unit implements the sending function, it may be referred to as a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module), and when the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it may be referred to as a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit may be the same functional module, which is called a transceiver unit, and the functional module can implement a sending function and a receiving function; or, the sending unit and the receiving unit may be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional modules.

[0019] Exemplarily, when the device is used to execute the method described in the first aspect, the device may include a communication unit and a processing unit.

[0020] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, comprising a processor for executing a computer program (or computer executable instructions) stored in a memory, so that when the computer program (or computer executable instructions) is executed, the device performs the method in the first aspect and its various possible implementations.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the processor and the memory are integrated together;

[0022] In another possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication device.

[0023] The communication device also includes a communication interface, which is used for the communication device to communicate with other devices, such as sending or receiving data and / or signals. Exemplarily, the communication interface can be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module or other type of communication interface.

[0024] According to a fourth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program or instruction, which, when executed, enables the method shown in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0025] According to a fifth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the method shown in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0026] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device for executing the method in the above-mentioned first aspect and its various possible implementations.

[0027] In the seventh aspect, a chip system is provided, which includes a logic circuit (or it can be understood that the chip system includes a processor, and the processor may include a logic circuit, etc.), and may also include an input and output interface. The input and output interface can be used to input messages or to output messages. The input and output interfaces may be the same interface, that is, the same interface can realize both the sending function and the receiving function; or, the input and output interface includes an input interface and an output interface, the input interface is used to realize the receiving function, that is, for receiving messages; the output interface is used to realize the sending function, that is, for sending messages. The logic circuit can be used to perform operations other than the sending and receiving functions in the method shown in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation thereof; the logic circuit can also be used to transmit messages to the input and output interface, or to receive messages from other communication devices from the input and output interface. The chip system can be used to implement the method shown in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation thereof. The chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0028] Optionally, the chip system may further include a memory, which may be used to store instructions, and the logic circuit may call the instructions stored in the memory to implement corresponding functions.

[0029] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, which may include a terminal device and a network device. The network device may be used to execute the method shown in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0030] The technical effects brought about by the second to eighth aspects above can be found in the description of the first aspect above, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a PDCCH MO position provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the upper limit of blind detection capability provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 4A span schematic diagram of different PDCCH blind detection span groupings provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 5 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a method for determining a PDCCH MO according to SS set configuration information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a method for determining a monitoring span combination for a UE to monitor a PDCCH provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of another method for determining a monitoring span combination for a UE to monitor a PDCCH provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of an unreasonable PDCCH MO position provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system used in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the communication system includes a wireless access network 100 and a core network 200. Optionally, the communication system may also include the Internet 300. The wireless access network 100 may include at least one wireless access network device (such as Figure 1 110a and 110b), and may further include at least one terminal (such as Figure 1 120a-120j in the figure). The terminal is connected to the wireless access network device by wireless means, and the wireless access network device is connected to the core network by wireless or wired means. The core network device and the wireless access network device can be independent and different physical devices, or the functions of the core network device and the logical functions of the wireless access network device can be integrated on the same physical device, or part of the functions of the core network device and part of the functions of the wireless access network device can be integrated on one physical device. Terminals and wireless access network devices can be connected to each other by wired or wireless means. Figure 1This is just a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices. Figure 1 Not drawn in.

[0043] Radio access network equipment is the access equipment that the terminal uses to access the communication system wirelessly. Radio access network equipment can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB) in the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation base station in the sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system; it can also be a module or unit that completes some functions of a base station, for example, a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU). The CU here completes the functions of the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the base station's radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer, and can also complete some or all of the physical layer functions. For detailed descriptions of the above-mentioned protocol layers, please refer to the relevant technical specifications of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). The wireless access network equipment can be a macro base station (such as Figure 1 110a), or a micro base station or an indoor station (such as Figure 1110b), it can also be a relay node or a donor node, etc. The wireless access network device can also be an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific equipment form adopted by the wireless access network device. For example, the access network device can be applied to point-to-point transmission between the access network device and the UE or between the UE and the UE, multi-hop or relay transmission between the base station and the UE, dual connectivity (dual connectivity, DC) or multi-connection between multiple base stations and UEs, and the present application can also be applied to uplink, downlink, access link, backhaul link, sidelink and other transmission scenarios. For the sake of ease of description, the network device is referred to as the abbreviation of the wireless access network device, and the base station is taken as an example of the wireless access network device.

[0044] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver function, which can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal can also be called a terminal device, user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely used in various scenarios, for example, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, automatic driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a mechanical arm, a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0045] Base stations and terminals can be fixed or movable. Base stations and terminals can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on the water surface; they can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminals.

[0046] The roles of the base station and the terminal can be relative, for example, Figure 1The helicopter or drone 120i in the figure can be configured as a mobile base station. For the terminal 120j that accesses the wireless access network 100 through 120i, the terminal 120i is a base station; but for the base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, that is, 110a and 120i communicate through the wireless air interface protocol. Of course, 110a and 120i can also communicate through the interface protocol between base stations. In this case, relative to 110a, 120i is also a base station. Therefore, base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. Figure 1 110a and 110b in the figure may be referred to as communication devices having base station functions. Figure 1 120a-120j in the figure can be called communication devices with terminal functions.

[0047] Base stations and terminals, base stations and base stations, and terminals and terminals can communicate through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; they can communicate through spectrum below 6 GHz, spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0048] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem including the base station function. The control subsystem including the base station function here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or a modem) in the terminal, or by a device including the terminal function.

[0049] In this application, the base station sends a downlink signal or downlink information to the terminal, and the downlink information is carried on the downlink channel; the terminal sends an uplink signal or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on the uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection with the cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal has established a wireless connection is called the service cell of the terminal. When the terminal communicates with the service cell, it will also be interfered by signals from neighboring cells.

[0050] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) are merely examples of downlink data channels, downlink control channels and uplink data channels, respectively. In different systems and different scenarios, data channels and control channels may have different names, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0051] The current 3GPP related technical specifications support terminal devices to monitor PDCCH with a time span (span) as the granularity (or called span level). Among them, a span can be defined as a number of consecutive orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in the time slot in which the terminal device is configured to monitor the PDCCH. It can be understood that one span contains at least one PDCCH monitoring occasion (PDCCH MO). The starting symbol of a span is the starting symbol of a PDCCH MO, and the ending symbol of a span is the ending symbol of a PDCCH MO. Each PDCCH MO is completely contained in one span, that is, one PDCCH MO cannot cross the boundary of a span.

[0052] Among them, PDCCH MO represents the starting time domain position and duration of a terminal device blindly detecting the PDCCH. PDCCH MO is jointly determined by the monitoring starting position of an SS set and the control resource set (CORESET) associated with the monitored SS set. In this application, "search space (SS)" and "search space set" can be interchangeable. Or it can be understood that the SS set configuration information in this application includes SS configuration information or parameters.

[0053] like Figure 2As shown, the monitoring start position of the terminal device monitoring an SS set is the first symbol in a slot. This SS set is bound to a CORESET with a duration of 3 OFDM symbols. Therefore, the PDCCH MO for monitoring this SS set is the first 3 symbols of the slot, that is, the 1st symbol, the 2nd symbol and the 3rd symbol. The time domain symbol interval between the two PDCCH MO#1 and PDCCH MO#2 is 3 OFDM symbols. In the various figures of this application, PDCCH MO can be represented as MO.

[0054] In the present application, the time span may also be referred to as a PDCCH monitoring time span (PDCCH monitoring span).

[0055] Compared with slot-based PDCCH monitoring, span-based PDCCH monitoring can achieve more flexible PDCCH monitoring. Generally speaking, the length of a span is much smaller than a slot. Therefore, when using span-level PDCCH monitoring, the terminal device does not need to use the same configuration for monitoring within a slot.

[0056] In the present application, slot-level PDCCH monitoring or span-level PDCCH monitoring refers to the granularity of PDCCH monitoring or the granularity of the upper limit of blind detection capability. Among them, the granularity of PDCCH monitoring refers to the granularity of the upper limit of blind detection capability. The granularity of the upper limit of blind detection capability refers to the granularity applicable to the blind detection capability configured by the base station. If it is slot-level PDCCH monitoring, the upper limit of blind detection capability refers to the upper limit of blind detection capability within a slot; if it is span-level, the upper limit of blind detection capability refers to the upper limit of blind detection capability within a span. In the present application, the upper limit may refer to the maximum number. The maximum number may also be referred to as the maximum number.

[0057] like Figure 3 As shown in the figure, if it is slot-level PDCCH monitoring, the terminal device will monitor in a slot, and the upper limit of the terminal device's blind detection capability is defined according to the slot level. For example, for a cell with a subcarrier of 15 kHz, the upper limit of the number of blind detections of the terminal device is 44 times, which is defined by a slot with a subcarrier of 15 kHz. Figure 3 In the figure, MO#1 to MO#4 represent 4 different PDCCH MOs respectively.

[0058] If it is span-level PDCCH monitoring, the terminal device will monitor in each span in a slot, and the upper limit of the terminal device's blind detection capability is defined according to the span level. For example, for a cell with a subcarrier of 15kHz and a span combination of (2,2), the upper limit of the terminal device's blind detection is 14 times, which is defined by a span with a subcarrier of 15kHz and a span combination of (2,2) in a slot. For another example, Figure 3 The span#1 and span#2 shown in the figure represent different PDCCH monitoring spans respectively. For a cell with a subcarrier of 15kHz and a span combination of (4,3), the upper limit of the number of blind detections of the terminal device is 28 times. For span#1 and span#2 in Table 3, the upper limit of the number of blind detections of each span is 28 times.

[0059] Among them, the upper limit of blind detection capability includes the blind detection upper limit (BD limit) and the control channel element (CCE) upper limit. Among them, the blind detection upper limit refers to the maximum number of monitored PDCCH candidates. The number of blind detection times / numbers refers to the number of candidate PDCCHs to be monitored or the number of candidate PDCCHs used for monitoring or the number of monitored candidate PDCCHs. For example, the number of blind detections is 7 times, which can be understood as the number of candidate PDCCHs to be monitored is 7, or the number of candidate PDCCHs used for monitoring is 7, or the number of monitored candidate PDCCHs is 7. For span-level PDCCH monitoring, it refers to the maximum number of monitored candidate PDCCHs contained in a span. The control channel element upper limit refers to the maximum number of non-overlapped CCEs. For span-level PDCCH monitoring, it refers to the maximum number of non-overlapped CCEs contained in a span.

[0060] At present, the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP support a variety of span combinations, or combinations, or span patterns. The span combination can be expressed as a combination (X, Y), where X represents the minimum time domain interval between the start symbols of two adjacent spans, and the unit is, for example, OFDM symbols. For example, X represents the maximum number of symbols between the start symbols of every two adjacent spans. Y represents the maximum length of each span, and the unit is, for example, OFDM symbols. For example, Y represents the maximum number of symbols for each span. Span-level PDCCH monitoring introduces three span combinations, which are respectively denoted as (X, Y) = (7, 3), (X, Y) = (4, 3), and (X, Y) = (2, 2). In this application, the separation between the first symbols of every two spans is denoted as X'.

[0061] It can be understood that in the present application, (2, 2) can be used to represent the span combination of X=2 and Y=2, that is, the minimum time interval between the starting symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 2 symbols, and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 2 symbols. (4, 3) can be used to represent the span combination of X=4 and Y=3, that is, the minimum time interval between the starting symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 4 symbols, and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 3 symbols. (7, 3) can be used to represent the span combination of X=7 and Y=3, that is, the minimum time interval between the starting symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 7 symbols, and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 3 symbols. Subsequently, the span combination (X, Y) is represented by (X, Y).

[0062] In addition, the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP set different capacity upper limits for different span combinations (X, Y). As shown in Table 1, the blind detection upper limits of the three span combinations (X, Y) = (7, 3), (4, 3), and (2, 2) are recorded as In addition, as shown in Table 2, the upper limit of the control channel unit of the three span combinations (X, Y) = (7, 3), (4, 3), and (2, 2) is recorded as

[0063]

[0064] Table 1

[0065]

[0066] Table 2

[0067] In Table 1 and Table 2, μ=0 indicates that the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz, and μ=1 indicates that the subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz.

[0068] Currently in the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP, the description of the number of span time domain symbols Y is that each span contains at most Y symbols, that is, for a certain (X, Y), Y is the maximum number of consecutive OFDM symbols contained in a span. When a terminal device reports that it supports (X, Y) = {(2, 2), (4, 3)}, or reports (X, Y) = {(2, 2), (7, 3)}, or reports (X, Y) = {(2, 2), (4, 3), (7, 3)}, Y can take the value of 2 or 3. This will result in different understandings of the span combination used for PDCCH monitoring in a cell by the terminal device and the base station under certain PDCCH configurations. In this application, (X, Y) = {(X1, Y1), (X2, Y2)...} means that the UE supports all span combinations in {}.

[0069] For example, when Y can take the values ​​of 2 and 3, there may be at least two span combinations that meet the protocol constraints, that is, both span combinations can be used for the terminal device to monitor PDCCH. At this time, if the terminal device and the base station have different understandings of the span combination, it will cause the following problems: If the base station over-configures PDCCH on the first span of a slot, it may cause PDCCH miss detection, reduce the transmission success rate, and increase the transmission delay. Among them, PDCCH over-configuration means that the number of candidate PDCCHs for monitoring and / or the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the search space set configured by the base station exceeds the blind detection capability of the terminal device. For example, the first span of span combination (2, 2) screens candidate PDCCHs according to the BD upper limit of 14 and the CCE upper limit of 18, while the first span of span combination (4, 3) screens candidate PDCCHs according to the BD upper limit of 28 and the CCE upper limit of 36. Although (2, 2) and (4, 3) have the same maximum number of BDs or the same maximum number of CCEs in the first three symbols, when PDCCH is over-configured, the search space set or candidate PDCCH for the terminal's specific blind detection may be different from the search space set or candidate PDCCH for the base station to send PDCCH, resulting in missed PDCCH detection. Figure 4 The operation of the terminal device to screen candidate PDCCHs is performed according to the rules predefined in the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP (for example, the pseudocode in Section 38.213-ge0, 10.1).

[0070] For example, for Figure 4In the PDCCH MO shown in MO#1 to MO#4, the user-specific search space set (UE-specific search space set, USS) includes USS#1 and USS#2. Among them, USS#1 includes 7 blind detection times corresponding to the configured candidate PDCCH, and USS#2 includes 10 blind detection times corresponding to the configured candidate PDCCH. USS#1 and USS#2 are configured in the first two symbols respectively, and USS#3 includes 14 blind detection times corresponding to the configured candidate PDCCH, which is configured on symbol 2. When the terminal device understands according to the span combination (2, 2), USS#1 on span#1 does not exceed the BD upper limit of 14, and it exceeds the BD upper limit of 14 when USS#2 is included. At this time, the terminal device does not monitor USS#2 on span#1 but only monitors USS#1. It can be seen that the terminal device monitors USS#1 and USS#3 on the first 3 symbols of this slot. If the base station understands it according to the span combination (4, 3), USS#1 on span#1 does not exceed the BD upper limit of 28, and USS#2 does not exceed the BD upper limit, but USS#3 will exceed the BD upper limit. Therefore, the base station does not send DCI on USS#3, but can send DCI on USS#1 and USS#2. Therefore, the terminal device may miss the DCI sent on USS#2 in the first 3 symbols of this time slot. In addition, on other spans of a slot except the first span, the base station ensures that the number of blind detections does not exceed the terminal device capability. The terminal device performs blind detection according to the BD upper limit of 14 or the CCE upper limit of 18, while the base station sends according to the BD upper limit of 28 and the CCE upper limit of 36, which will cause PDCCH to be missed, reduce the transmission success rate, and increase the transmission delay.

[0071] The present application provides a communication method to avoid DCI missed detection caused by inconsistent understanding of span combination between terminal equipment and base station, so as to reduce transmission delay. The execution subject of the method can be a terminal equipment or a module applied to the terminal equipment, and a network equipment or a module applied to the network equipment. Figure 5 This method is introduced. Figure 5 In the description, the execution subject is a base station as an example. The base station can be replaced by a network device, an access network device, a network apparatus or an access network apparatus, etc. as needed.

[0072] S101: A base station receives capability information sent by a UE, where the capability information includes at least two PDCCH monitoring span combinations supported by the UE, wherein the at least two PDCCH span combinations have different maximum numbers of symbols of the PDCCH spans.

[0073] S102: The base station determines the positions of M PDCCH MOs according to the SS set configuration information, where M is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0074] S103: The base station sends SS set configuration information.

[0075] S104: The base station determines N PDCCH monitoring span combinations according to the positions of M PDCCH MOs of at least two PDCCH monitoring span combinations supported by the UE, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0076] S105: The base station determines a PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring the PDCCH according to the maximum number of monitored candidate PDCCHs and / or the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations.

[0077] S106: The base station sends the PDCCH according to the PDCCH monitoring span combination used by the UE to monitor the PDCCH.

[0078] Correspondingly, the UE monitors the PDCCH sent by the base station according to any one or more combinations of at least two PDCCH monitoring span combinations supported by the UE.

[0079] based on Figure 5 In the process shown, the base station can obtain at least two PDCCH monitoring span combinations supported by the UE based on the report of the UE, and select N PDCCH monitoring span combinations from them according to the positions of the M PDCCH MOs. Furthermore, the base station can determine a PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring the PDCCH from the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations. It can be seen that in the communication method, the base station can select the PDCCH monitoring span combination based on the capability information of the UE, thereby avoiding misunderstanding of the span combination. Optionally, the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs of the PDCCH monitoring span combination is the minimum value of the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs of the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations, and / or the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs of the PDCCH monitoring span combination is the minimum value of the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs of the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations.

[0080] The following is an introduction to S101.

[0081] In S101, the capability information sent by the UE may include information about span combinations supported by the UE, such as X information and / or Y information of span combinations supported by the UE, so that the base station can learn X information and / or Y information of span combinations supported by the UE. For example, the UE may report that it supports three PDCCH monitoring span combinations (X, Y) = {(7, 3), (4, 3), (2, 2)}, or the UE may report that it supports two PDCCH monitoring span combinations (X, Y) = {(7, 3), (2, 2)}, or the UE may report that it supports two PDCCH monitoring span combinations (X, Y) = {(4, 3), (2, 2)}. Accordingly, the UE and / or the base station may determine N span combinations based on the information about span combinations supported by the UE and the positions of the M PDCCH MOs determined in S102.

[0082] Exemplarily, in the capability information, one way to indicate the span combinations supported by the UE is that each span combination supported by the relevant 3GPP technical specifications corresponds to an information element (IE) field or bit or bit string, which is used to indicate whether the UE supports the corresponding span combination. Taking bits as an example, when the value of the bit corresponding to the span combination (2,2) is a numerical value indicating support (such as 0 or 1), it can be indicated that the UE supports the span combination (2,2). Taking a bit-map as an example, the information reported by the UE may be a bitmap, and the subcarrier spacings of 15kHz and 30kHz correspond to a three-bit bitmap respectively. The leftmost bit or the first bit (bit 0) of the bitmap indicates the combination (X, Y) = (7, 3), the next bit (bit 1) of the leftmost bit indicates the combination (X, Y) = (4, 3), and the rightmost bit (bit 2) indicates the combination (X, Y) = (2, 2). When the bit value is 1, it indicates that the corresponding span combination is supported, and when the bit value is 0, it indicates that the corresponding span combination is not supported. For example, the bitmap is "100", which means that the UE only supports the combination (X, Y) = (2, 2).

[0083] In addition, in the present application, it is not excluded that the capability information includes the value of Y supported by the UE, such as including Y=2 and Y=3.

[0084] S102 is introduced below.

[0085] In the present application, SS set configuration information can be used to determine the location of PDCCH MO.

[0086] For example, the SS set configuration information may include any one or more of the following configurations: the index of the SS set, such as the search space identifier (e.g., the RRC parameter searchSpaceID); the index of the CORESET associated with the SS set, such as the control resource set identifier (e.g., the RRC parameter controlResourceSetId); the PDCCH monitoring period and time slot offset value, such as the monitoring time slot period and offset (e.g., the RRC parameter monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset); the starting symbol of PDCCH monitoring within a time slot, such as the monitoring symbol within the time slot (e.g., the RRC parameter monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot); the format of the monitored DCI; the type of the SS set, such as the search space type (e.g., the RRC parameter searchSpaceType).

[0087] As an example, the SS set configuration information may include the PDCCH monitoring start symbol of the SS set in a time slot and the index of the CORESET associated with the SS set. At this time, the base station may determine the position of the PDCCH MO according to the monitoring start symbol of the SS set and the CORESET associated with the SS set.

[0088] by Figure 6 For example, the starting symbol of SS set 1 in a time slot is symbol 0, and the time domain symbol length of CORESET 1 associated with SS set 1 is 3 OFDM symbols. Therefore, the base station can determine that the corresponding PDCCH MO 1 starts from symbol 0 in the time slot and continues for 3 consecutive OFDM symbols according to the time domain symbol length of SS set 1 and the associated CORESET 1, that is, the position of PDCCH MO 1 is symbol 0, symbol 1 and symbol 2, which can also be understood as the PDCCH monitoring opportunity 1 determined by SS set 1 and CORESET 1 is located at symbol 0, symbol 1 and symbol 2 of the time slot. Similarly, the starting symbol of SS set 2 in a time slot is symbol 4, and the time domain symbol length of CORESET 2 associated with SS set 2 is 2 OFDM symbols. Therefore, the base station determines that PDCCH MO 2 is located at symbol 4 and symbol 5 of the time slot according to SS set 2 and CORESET 2.

[0089] The positions of the M PDCCH MOs in this application may satisfy the following conditions 1 or 2:

[0090] Condition 1: M PDCCH MOs are located in the same time slot, the length of the M PDCCH MOs is 1 symbol or 2 symbols, 3 consecutive symbols in the time slot contain 3 PDCCH MOs with a length of 1 symbol, the next symbol after the 3 consecutive symbols does not contain PDCCH MO, or the two consecutive symbols after the 3 consecutive symbols do not contain PDCCH MO.

[0091] The three consecutive symbols may be the first three symbols of the time slot. When condition 1 is met, the positions of the M PDCCH MOs are as follows: Figure 7 As shown, it can be seen that symbols 0 to 3 in the time slot contain 3 PDCCH MOs with a length of 1 symbol.

[0092] Condition 2: M PDCCH MOs are located in the same time slot, the length of the M PDCCH MOs is 1 symbol or 2 symbols, the three consecutive symbols in the time slot contain one PDCCH MO with a length of 2 symbols and one PDCCH MO with a length of 1 symbol, the next symbol after the three consecutive symbols does not contain PDCCH MO, or the two consecutive symbols after the three consecutive symbols do not contain PDCCH MO.

[0093] The three consecutive symbols may be the first three symbols of the time slot. When condition 2 is met, the positions of the M PDCCH MOs are as follows: Figure 8 As shown, it can be seen that symbols 0 to 1 in the figure include a PDCCH MO with a length of 2 symbols, and symbol 3 includes a PDCCH MO with a length of 1 symbol.

[0094] The above conditions 1 and 2 can be used as the applicable conditions of the present application. For example, after determining that the PDCCH MO satisfies condition 1 or condition 2, the base station can implement the method shown in the embodiment of the present application.

[0095] It can be understood that if there is no interval of at least 1 symbol between 3 consecutive symbols containing PDCCH MO and the next PDCCH MO, then Fig. 9As shown, if Y=3 is used to determine the span, the starting symbol of span#1 will be symbol 0 and the ending symbol will be symbol 2, that is, span#1 contains 3 consecutive OFDM symbols. Span#2 is next to span#1, that is, the starting symbol of span#2 is the next symbol of the ending symbol of span#1, and there is no interval of at least one OFDM symbol. Then the interval between the starting symbols of span#1 and span#2 is 3, and the time domain length of span#1 is 3. This is the span combination (3, 3). However, this span combination is not defined in the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP at present, that is, this span combination is not the span combination specified by the protocol. The terminal device and the base station may think that the span combination determined by Y=3 is an unreasonable scenario, and thus think that the span combination determined by Y=2 is a reasonable scenario. This is not a span combination ambiguity problem scenario. Therefore, if there is no symbol interval between the three consecutive symbols containing PDCCH MO and the next PDCCH MO, it is not the scenario discussed in this application.

[0096] S103 is described below.

[0097] In S103, the SS set configuration information may refer to the description in S102.

[0098] It can be understood that the base station can execute S102 and S103 after generating the SS set configuration information of the UE. It can also be understood that the present application does not limit the time sequence between S103 and S102. For example, the base station can determine the positions of the M PDCCH MOs according to the SS set configuration information before sending the SS set configuration information to the UE. The base station can also determine the positions of the M PDCCH MOs after sending the SS set configuration information, or can send the SS set configuration information and determine the positions of the M PDCCH MOs at the same time.

[0099] S104 is described below.

[0100] Among them, the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations are PDCCH monitoring span combinations supported by the UE. In the present application, the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations may also be referred to as valid span combinations. For example, the base station may select N PDCCH monitoring span combinations that can match the positions of the M PDCCH MOs from at least two PDCCH monitoring span combinations supported by the UE, or the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations satisfy the predefined rules in the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP (e.g., 38.213-ge0). In the present application, "select" may also be replaced by "determine".

[0101] In the present application, the position matching of the PDCCH monitoring span combination with the M PDCCH MOs may mean that the span that meets the X and Y requirements of the PDCCH monitoring span combination can meet the following requirements: the start symbol of one span is the start symbol of one PDCCHMO among the M PDCCH MOs, the end symbol of one span is the end symbol of one PDCCH MO among the M PDCCH MOs, and each PDCCH MO among the M PDCCH MOs is completely contained in one span, that is, any PDCCH MO cannot cross the boundary of the span.

[0102] Optionally, among the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations, X of any two PDCCH monitoring span combinations is different, and / or Y of any two PDCCH monitoring span combinations is different. That is, the maximum number of symbols of the spans in any two PDCCH monitoring span combinations is different, and / or the minimum time intervals between the start symbols of adjacent spans in any two PDCCH monitoring span combinations are different. For example, the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations include at least two span combinations of (7, 3), (4, 3), and (2, 2). For example, the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations are the three span combinations of (X, Y) = {(7, 3), (4, 3), (2, 2)}, or the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations are the two span combinations of (X, Y) = {(4, 3), (2, 2)}, or the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations are the two span combinations of (X, Y) = {(7, 3), (2, 2)}.

[0103] by Figure 7Taking the PDCCH MO position shown as an example, the time domain symbol length of PDCCH MO#1 is 1, located at symbol 0; the time domain symbol length of PDCCH MO#2 is 1, located at symbol 1; the time domain symbol length of PDCCH MO#3 is 1, located at symbol 2; the time domain symbol length of PDCCH MO#4 is 2, located at symbols 5 and 6; the time domain symbol length of PDCCH MO#5 is 2, located at symbols 9 and 10. Assume that the PDCCH monitoring span combinations supported by the UE are (2, 2) and (4, 3), that is, the maximum time domain length of the span supported by the UE is Y=2 and / or Y=3. In S103, the base station can start from the starting symbol of the first PDCCH MO of a slot and determine the time domain position of the span according to Y=2 and Y=3 respectively. The determined span needs to meet the rules predefined by the protocol to be a valid span. For example, the protocol predefined rules may refer to: 1 span contains at least 1 PDCCH MO; the start symbol of 1 span is the start symbol of 1 PDCCH MO, the end symbol of 1 span is the end symbol of a PDCCH MO, and each PDCCH MO is completely contained in 1 span, that is, 1 PDCCH MO cannot cross the span boundary. Among them, it can be assumed that the time domain position of the PDCCH MO contained in each time slot is the same, or it can be assumed that the start symbol time of the first span of the next time slot and the start symbol time of the last span of the previous time slot are at least 4 symbols apart.

[0104] Specifically, for Figure 7 The PDCCH MO position shown in the figure, the base station can use Y=2 to determine the span. Among them, the starting symbol of span#1 is symbol 0, and the ending symbol is symbol 1, that is, span#1 contains two PDCCH MOs, namely PDCCH MO#1 and PDCCH MO#2, which meets the constraints predefined by the protocol. The starting symbol and ending symbol of span#2 are both symbol 2, which contains 1 PDCCH MO, namely PDCCH MO#3. The same is true for determining Figure 7The span#3 and span#4 shown. After determining all spans in a slot, the base station can determine the span combination (X, Y) according to the time domain positions of two adjacent continuous spans. The interval between the first symbols of span#1 and span#2 is X'=2, so span#1 and span#2 satisfy X of the span combination (2, 2). The interval between the first symbols of span#2 and span#3 is X'=3, which is greater than 2, so span#2 and span#3 satisfy X of the span combination (2, 2). The intervals between the first symbols of span#3 and span#4 are respectively X'=4, so span#3 and span#4 simultaneously satisfy X of the span combinations (2, 2) and (4, 3). In a possible case, the base station will also determine the satisfied span combination based on the distance between span#1 and span#3, determine the satisfied span combination based on the distance between span#1 and span#4, and determine the satisfied span combination based on the distance between span#2 and span#4. Since span#1 and span#2 only satisfy X of span combination (2, 2), and span#2 and span#3 as well as span#3 and span#4 both satisfy X of span combination (2, 2), then we can understand that the valid span combination corresponding to this cell is (2, 2).

[0105] In addition, the base station can also use Y=3 to determine the span. Among them, the starting symbol of span#1 is symbol 0, and the ending symbol is symbol 2, that is, span#1 can contain three PDCCH MOs, namely PDCCH MO#1, PDCCH MO#2 and PDCCH MO#3, which meets the constraints predefined by the protocol. The starting symbol of span#2 is symbol 5, and the ending symbol is symbol 6, which contains 1 PDCCH MO, namely PDCCH MO#4. The starting symbol of span#3 is symbol 9, and the ending symbol is symbol 10, which contains 1 PDCCH MO, namely PDCCH MO#5. After all spans in a slot are determined, the span combination (X, Y) is determined according to the time domain position of the span. The interval between the first symbols of span#1 and span#2 is X'=5, which is greater than 4 and greater than 2, so span#1 and span#2 meet the X of the span combinations (2, 2) and (4, 3). The interval between the first symbols of span#2 and span#3 is X'=4, which is equal to 4 and greater than 2, so span#2 and span#3 satisfy X of span combinations (2, 2) and (4, 3). In a possible case, the base station may also determine the satisfied span combination based on the distance between span#1 and span#3. The interval between the first symbols of span#1 and span#3 is X'=9, which is greater than 7, greater than 4, and greater than 2, so span#1 and span#3 satisfy X of span combinations (2, 2), (4, 3), and (7, 3). Since span#1, span#2 and span#3 simultaneously satisfy X of span combinations (2, 2) and (4, 3), according to the predefined rules of the protocol, when multiple span combinations are satisfied at the same time, the span combination (X, Y) with the smallest upper limit of the corresponding blind detection capability is determined as the span combination of the cell. According to Tables 1 and 2, the span combination with the smallest upper limit of the blind detection capability among the span combinations (2, 2) and (4, 3) is the span combination (4, 3). Therefore, the base station can determine that the valid span combination corresponding to this cell is (4, 3).

[0106] Therefore, the base station can determine Figure 7 The PDCCH MO shown has two valid span combinations, namely span combinations (2, 2) and (4, 3). That is, at this time, the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations are span combinations (2, 2) and (4, 3), that is, N=2.

[0107] Based on the same determination method, the base station can also determine Figure 8The PDCCH MO shown has two valid span combinations, namely span combinations (2, 2) and (7, 3). That is, at this time, the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations are span combinations (2, 2) and (7, 3), that is, N=2.

[0108] Based on the same method as the base station determines N PDCCH monitoring span combinations, the base station can determine N span combinations according to the positions of M PDCCH MOs. Figure 7 For example, the base station may determine that the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations are span combinations (2, 2) and (4, 3).

[0109] Similarly, based on Figure 8 In the scenario shown, the PDCCH monitoring span combination determined by the base station for monitoring the PDCCH is (7,3).

[0110] S105 is described below.

[0111] It can be understood that the PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring PDCCH in the present application can be used for the base station to send PDCCH (or DCI), and can also be used for UE to monitor PDCCH. Therefore, the "PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring PDCCH" in the present application can also be replaced by "PDCCH monitoring span combination used by UE to monitor PDCCH".

[0112] Among them, the maximum number of monitored candidate PDCCHs corresponding to the PDCCH monitoring span combination may be the BD upper limit corresponding to the PDCCH monitoring span combination, which can be obtained by querying Table 1. The maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH monitoring span combination may be the CCE upper limit corresponding to the PDCCH monitoring span combination, which can be obtained by querying Table 2.

[0113] As an example of S104, the base station may determine the PDCCH monitoring span combination used by the UE to monitor the PDCCH according to the size relationship between the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs corresponding to the N span combinations. For example, from the N span combinations, the PDCCH monitoring span combination with the smallest maximum number of candidate PDCCHs is selected as the PDCCH monitoring span combination used to monitor the PDCCH. For example, when the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations are the two PDCCH monitoring span combinations (X, Y) = {(4, 3), (2, 2)}, according to Table 1, taking the BD upper limit of 15kHz as an example, the BD upper limit corresponding to the span combination (4, 3) is 28, which is greater than the BD upper limit of 14 corresponding to the span combination (2, 2). Therefore, the predefined rules in the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP can enable the base station to select the PDCCH monitoring span combination (2, 2) as the PDCCH monitoring span combination used by the UE to monitor the PDCCH.

[0114] As an example of S104, the base station may determine the PDCCH monitoring span combination for the UE to monitor the PDCCH according to the size relationship between the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the N span combinations. For example, from the N span combinations, the PDCCH monitoring span combination with the smallest maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs is selected as the PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring the PDCCH. For example, when the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations are the two PDCCH monitoring span combinations (X, Y) = {(4, 3), (2, 2)}, according to Table 2, taking the CCE upper limit of the subcarrier spacing of 15kHz as an example, the CCE upper limit corresponding to the span combination (4, 3) is 36, which is greater than the CCE upper limit of 18 corresponding to the span combination (2, 2). Therefore, the predefined rules in the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP can enable the base station to select the PDCCH monitoring span combination (2, 2) as the PDCCH monitoring span combination for the UE to monitor the PDCCH.

[0115] by Figure 7 For example, based on S103, the base station can determine that the N PDCCH monitoring span combinations are span combinations (2, 2) and (4, 3). By querying Table 1, it can be seen that (2, 2) corresponds to Less than (4, 3) Therefore, the base station can determine the PDCCH monitoring span combination (4, 3) as the PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring the PDCCH. In addition, by querying Table 2, it can be known that (2, 2) corresponds to Less than (4, 3) Therefore, the base station may determine the PDCCH monitoring span combination (2, 2) as the PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring the PDCCH.

[0116] S106 is described below.

[0117] It can be understood that the present application does not make specific requirements on how the UE determines the PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring the PDCCH. As an example, the UE can adopt any one of the at least two PDCCH monitoring span combinations it supports as the PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring the PDCCH. As another example, after receiving the SS set configuration information shown in S103, the UE can determine the PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring the PDCCH with reference to the method for the base station to determine the PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring the PDCCH described in S105, that is, select the PDCCH monitoring span combination with the smallest blind detection capability.

[0118] For example, the UE may determine that the span combination used for PDCCH monitoring is the smallest span combination among the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs of N PDCCH monitoring span combinations, and / or, the span combination used for PDCCH monitoring is the smallest span combination among the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs of N PDCCH monitoring span combinations. The UE may also determine that the span combination used for PDCCH monitoring is the largest span combination among the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs of N PDCCH monitoring span combinations, and / or, the span combination used for PDCCH monitoring is the largest span combination among the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs of N PDCCH monitoring span combinations. Since the base station sends PDCCH according to the PDCCH monitoring span combination corresponding to the minimum value of the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs and / or the minimum value of the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs, if the UE also monitors PDCCH according to the PDCCH monitoring span combination corresponding to the minimum value of the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs and / or the minimum value of the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs, it is exactly consistent with the base station's understanding of the span combination of this cell, and the UE will not miss the PDCCH; in addition, if the UE monitors PDCCH according to the PDCCH monitoring span combination corresponding to the maximum value of the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs and / or the maximum value of the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs, the UE will also not miss the PDCCH. Therefore, it can avoid the UE and the base station using different PDCCH monitoring span combinations for transmission, which will cause the terminal device DCI to be missed, thereby improving the success rate of PDCCH transmission.

[0119] Still Figure 7For example, when the UE supports span combination (2, 2) and span combination (4, 3), the base station can use span combination (2, 2) to send PDCCH, and correspondingly, the UE can use span combination (2, 2) or span combination (4, 3) to monitor PDCCH.

[0120] In a possible embodiment, when configuring the blind detection capability at the span level, the base station may also ensure that the PDCCH is not over-configured in the first span in a time slot.

[0121] Among them, on the one hand, when the PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring PDCCH is adopted, the number of candidate PDCCHs configured by the first PDCCH monitoring span of the base station in any time slot does not exceed the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs monitored by the PDCCH monitoring span combination for monitoring PDCCH For example, for the span combination (2,2), when the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz, the number of candidate PDCCHs configured for the first PDCCH monitoring span in the time slot does not exceed 14.

[0122] On the other hand, the number of non-overlapping CCEs configured by the base station for the first PDCCH monitoring span in any time slot does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs in the PDCCH monitoring time span combination used to monitor the PDCCH. For example, for span combination (2,2), when the subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz, the number of non-overlapping CCEs configured for the first PDCCH monitoring span in the time slot does not exceed 18.

[0123] It is understood that this application does not limit Figure 5In the process, the base station determines the positions of M PDCCH MOs, determines N PDCCH monitoring span combinations, and determines the time sequence of the PDCCH monitoring span combinations used by the UE to monitor the PDCCH. For example, the base station may determine the positions of M PDCCH MOs, determines N PDCCH monitoring span combinations, and determines at least one of the PDCCH monitoring span combinations used by the UE to monitor the PDCCH according to the SS set configuration information before sending the SS set configuration information to the UE. The base station may also determine the positions of M PDCCH MOs, determines N PDCCH monitoring span combinations, and determines at least one of the PDCCH monitoring span combinations used by the UE to monitor the PDCCH after sending the SS set configuration information. The base station may also send the SS set configuration information and determine the positions of M PDCCH MOs, determines N PDCCH monitoring span combinations, and determines at least one of the PDCCH monitoring span combinations used by the UE to monitor the PDCCH at the same time.

[0124] It is understandable that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0125] Fig.10 and Fig.11 The following is a schematic diagram of the structure of possible communication devices provided in the embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or base station in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be as follows: Figure 1 One of the terminals 120a-120j shown may also be Figure 1 The base station 110a or 110b shown may also be a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal or a base station.

[0126] like Fig.10 As shown, the communication device 1000 includes a processing unit 1010 and a transceiver unit 1020. The communication device 1000 is used to implement the above Figure 5 Functions of a UE or a base station in the method embodiment shown in FIG.

[0127] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement Figure 5The functions of the base station in the method embodiment shown are: the transceiver unit 1020 can be used to receive the capability information of the UE; the processing unit 1010 can be used to execute one or more of S102, S104 and S105 to determine the listening time span combination for listening to the PDCCH to receive the PDCCH. The transceiver unit 1020 can also be used to send SS set configuration information and / or send the PDCCH according to the listening time span combination for the UE to listen to the PDCCH.

[0128] For more detailed description of the processing unit 1010 and the transceiver unit 1020, please refer to Figure 5 The method embodiment shown is described in detail.

[0129] like Fig.11 As shown, the communication device 1100 includes a processor 1110 and an interface circuit 1120. The processor 1110 and the interface circuit 1120 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1120 can be a transceiver or an input-output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1100 may also include a memory 1130 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1110 or storing input data required by the processor 1110 to execute instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1110 executes instructions.

[0130] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement Figure 5 When the method is shown, the processor 1110 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 1010, and the interface circuit 1120 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1020.

[0131] When the above communication device is a chip applied to UE, the UE chip implements the functions of the UE in the above method embodiment. The UE chip receives information sent by the base station to the UE through other modules in the UE (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna); or the UE chip sends information to other modules in the UE (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the UE to the base station.

[0132] When the above-mentioned communication device is a module applied to a base station, the base station module implements the functions of the base station in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The base station module receives information from other modules in the base station (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the UE to the base station; or, the base station module sends information to other modules in the base station (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna), and the information is sent by the base station to the UE. The base station module here can be a baseband chip of a base station, or a CU, DU or other module, or a device under an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture, such as an open CU, an open DU and other devices.

[0133] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0134] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, register, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a UE. The processor and the storage medium can also be present in a base station or a UE as discrete components.

[0135] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device or other programmable device. The computer program or instruction may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer program or instruction may be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape; it may also be an optical medium, for example, a digital video disc; it may also be a semiconductor medium, for example, a solid-state hard disk. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0136] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or provided in a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between the different embodiments are consistent and may be referenced to each other, and the technical features in the different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0137] Part or all of the operations and functions performed by the communication device described in the above method embodiments of the present application can be completed using a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0138] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program includes instructions for executing the above method embodiment.

[0139] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above method embodiment.

[0140] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which may include a terminal device and a network device, for implementing the methods shown in the various embodiments of the present application.

[0141] In the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of the present application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship; in the formula of the present application, the character " / " indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in a "division" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0142] It is understood that the various numbers involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. The size of the sequence number of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

[0143] The technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to wireless communication between communication devices. Wireless communication between communication devices may include: wireless communication between network devices and terminals, wireless communication between network devices and network devices, and wireless communication between terminals. In the embodiment of the present application, the term "wireless communication" may also be referred to as "communication", and the term "communication" may also be described as "data transmission", "information transmission" or "transmission".

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving capability information sent by a terminal device, the capability information including at least two physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring time span combinations supported by the terminal device, the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations having different maximum numbers of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time spans; Determine the positions of M PDCCH monitoring opportunities according to the search space set configuration information, where M is a positive integer greater than 1; Sending the search space set configuration information; Determine N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations according to the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations and the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities, where N is a positive integer greater than 1; Determine a PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring the PDCCH according to the maximum number of monitored candidate PDCCHs and / or the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations; The PDCCH is sent according to the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring the PDCCH.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations according to the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations and the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities includes: The N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations matching the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities are selected from the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities satisfy: The M PDCCH monitoring opportunities are located in the same time slot, the length of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities is 1 symbol or 2 symbols, and 3 consecutive symbols in the time slot include 3 PDCCH monitoring opportunities with a length of 1 symbol, or include 1 PDCCH monitoring opportunity with a length of 2 symbols and 1 PDCCH monitoring opportunity with a length of 1 symbol; The next symbol of the three consecutive symbols does not include a PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring the PDCCH is the PDCCH monitoring time span combination with the smallest maximum number of corresponding monitored candidate PDCCHs among the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations; and / or, The PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring the PDCCH is a PDCCH monitoring time span combination with the smallest maximum number of corresponding non-overlapping CCEs among the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The number of candidate PDCCHs configured for the first PDCCH monitoring time span in the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring PDCCHs does not exceed the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs monitored in the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring PDCCHs; and / or, The number of non-overlapping CCEs configured in the first PDCCH monitoring time span does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs in the PDCCH monitoring time span combination used to monitor the PDCCH.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations include: A PDCCH monitoring time span combination in which the minimum time interval between the start symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 2 symbols and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 2 symbols; The N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations also include: A PDCCH monitoring time span combination in which the minimum time interval between the start symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 4 symbols and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 3 symbols; and / or, A PDCCH monitoring time span combination in which the minimum time interval between start symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 7 symbols and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 3 symbols.

7. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A communication module, configured to receive capability information sent by a terminal device, wherein the capability information includes at least two physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring time span combinations supported by the terminal device, wherein the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations have different maximum numbers of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time spans; A processing module, used to determine the positions of M PDCCH monitoring opportunities according to the search space set configuration information, where M is a positive integer greater than 1; The communication module may also be used to send the search space set configuration information; The processing module is further used to determine N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations according to the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations and the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities, where N is a positive integer greater than 1; and determine a PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring the PDCCH according to the maximum number of monitored candidate PDCCHs and / or the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations; The communication module may also be configured to send the PDCCH according to the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring the PDCCH.

8. The device according to claim 7, characterized in that The processing module is specifically used for: The N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations matching the positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities are selected from the at least two PDCCH monitoring time span combinations.

9. The device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that The positions of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities satisfy: The M PDCCH monitoring opportunities are located in the same time slot, the length of the M PDCCH monitoring opportunities is 1 symbol or 2 symbols, and 3 consecutive symbols in the time slot include 3 PDCCH monitoring opportunities with a length of 1 symbol, or include 1 PDCCH monitoring opportunity with a length of 2 symbols and 1 PDCCH monitoring opportunity with a length of 1 symbol; The next symbol of the three consecutive symbols does not include a PDCCH monitoring opportunity.

10. The device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that: The PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring the PDCCH is the PDCCH monitoring time span combination with the smallest maximum number of corresponding monitored candidate PDCCHs among the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations; and / or, The PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring the PDCCH is a PDCCH monitoring time span combination with the smallest maximum number of corresponding non-overlapping CCEs among the N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations.

11. The device according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that: The number of candidate PDCCHs configured for the first PDCCH monitoring time span in the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring PDCCHs does not exceed the maximum number of candidate PDCCHs monitored in the PDCCH monitoring time span combination for monitoring PDCCHs; and / or, The number of non-overlapping CCEs configured in the first PDCCH monitoring time span does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs in the PDCCH monitoring time span combination used to monitor the PDCCH.

12. The device according to any one of claims 7 to 11, characterized in that: The N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations include: A PDCCH monitoring time span combination in which the minimum time interval between the start symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 2 symbols and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 2 symbols; The N PDCCH monitoring time span combinations also include: A PDCCH monitoring time span combination in which the minimum time interval between the start symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 4 symbols and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 3 symbols; and / or, A PDCCH monitoring time span combination in which the minimum time interval between start symbols of adjacent PDCCH monitoring time spans is 7 symbols and the maximum number of symbols of the PDCCH monitoring time span is 3 symbols.

13. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor configured to execute a computer program or an instruction to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is implemented.

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