Method and electronic device for wireless communication, and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and an electronic device for wireless communication, and a computer readable storage medium. The electronic equipment disclosed by the invention comprises a processing circuit which is configured to scramble first downlink control information (DCI) by using a predefined terminal identifier so as to indicate the terminal equipment to decode second DCI in a specified set of control channels; and sending the scrambled first DCI to the terminal device. (Figure 1).

Description

Method, electronic device, and computer-readable storage medium for wireless communication

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 22, 2022, with application number 202211655903.4 and invention name “Method and electronic device for wireless communication and computer-readable storage medium”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more specifically, to a method for wireless communication, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium that are beneficial for reducing power consumption of control channel monitoring on a terminal device side. Background Art

[0003] Downlink Control Information (DCI) is used for scheduling authorization and scheduling allocation for terminal equipment (UE). It is carried by the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) and sent from the network side to the UE.

[0004] In order to obtain the DCI carried by the PDCCH, the UE performs blind detection of the PDCCH from the search space (Search Space, SS) where the PDCCH may be sent, that is, it attempts to descramble the PDCCH with a specific terminal identifier (such as the cell radio network temporary identifier (Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier, C-RNTI)) in the search space. If valid control information, such as scheduling authorization, can be found, the UE can proceed to the next operation. The search space is a concept proposed in the New Radio (NR) standard to limit the maximum number of UE blind decoding attempts while introducing no restrictions on the scheduler as much as possible, and a search space is a group of candidate PDCCHs composed of control channel elements (Control-Channel Element, CCE) pre-configured by the network side. The network side can pre-configure multiple search spaces.

[0005] Even if the search space is introduced, the UE will blindly detect the PDCCH from all search spaces unless otherwise specified, resulting in higher power consumption for control channel monitoring on the terminal device side.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] A brief overview of the present disclosure is provided below to provide a basic understanding of certain aspects of the present disclosure. However, it should be understood that this overview is not an exhaustive overview of the present disclosure. It is not intended to identify key or important parts of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Its purpose is simply to present certain concepts of the present disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that will be given later.

[0008] An object of the embodiments of the present disclosure is to provide a method, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium for wireless communication, which can reduce the power consumption of control channel monitoring on the UE side by specifying a reduced control channel blind detection range for the UE.

[0009] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, which includes a processing circuit, which is configured to: scramble first downlink control information DCI with a predefined terminal identifier to instruct the terminal device to decode the second DCI in a set of designated control channels; and send the scrambled first DCI to the terminal device.

[0010] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided, which includes a processing circuit configured to: receive first downlink control information DCI encrypted with a predefined terminal identifier; and decode a second DCI in a set of designated control channels according to an indication of the terminal identifier.

[0011] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for wireless communication is provided, the method comprising: scrambling first downlink control information DCI with a predefined terminal identifier to instruct a terminal device to decode a second DCI in a set of designated control channels; and sending the scrambled first DCI to the terminal device.

[0012] According to another aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for wireless communication is provided, the method comprising: receiving first downlink control information DCI scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier; and decoding second DCI in a set of designated control channels according to an indication of the terminal identifier.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions is further provided. When the executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor executes the above-mentioned method for wireless communication or various functions of the above-mentioned electronic device.

[0014] According to other aspects of the present disclosure, computer program codes and computer program products for implementing the above-mentioned method according to the present disclosure are also provided.

[0015] According to at least one aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, by scrambling the first DCI with a predefined terminal identifier to instruct the UE to decode the second DCI in a specified set of control channels, a reduced control channel blind detection range is specified for the UE, which helps reduce the power consumption of control channel monitoring on the UE side. In addition, by implicitly indicating the reduced set of control channels for the second DCI by scrambling the first DCI with a predefined terminal identifier, this implicit indication method does not require modifying the format of the first DCI itself or using the payload of the first DCI to carry additional indication information, thereby facilitating compatibility with existing signaling and reducing signaling overhead.

[0016] Other aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are given in the following description, wherein the detailed description is used to fully disclose the preferred embodiments of the embodiments of the present disclosure without imposing limitations thereon. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In the drawings:

[0018] 1 is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of an electronic device on a base station side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG2 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of first and second DCI transmitted according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] 3 is a block diagram showing a second configuration example of an electronic device on the base station side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] 4 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of an electronic device on the terminal side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] FIG5 is a flowchart illustrating an example signaling interaction for transmitting and decoding DCI according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0023] 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process of a method for wireless communication on a base station side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] 7 is a flowchart illustrating a process example of a method for wireless communication on a terminal side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] FIG8 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematic configuration of an eNB to which the technology of the present disclosure may be applied;

[0026] FIG9 is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of an eNB to which the technology of the present disclosure may be applied;

[0027] FIG10 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone to which the technology of the present disclosure may be applied;

[0028] FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied.

[0029] While the present disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the description of specific embodiments herein is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but rather, the disclosure is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. It should be noted that throughout the several drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Examples of the present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.

[0031] Example embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be exhaustive and will fully convey its scope to those skilled in the art. Numerous specific details such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods are set forth to provide a detailed understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be used and that the example embodiments can be implemented in many different forms, none of which should be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.

[0032] The description will be in the following order:

[0033] 1. Overview

[0034] 2. Example of configuration of electronic equipment on the base station side

[0035] 2.1 First Configuration Example

[0036] 2.2 Second Configuration Example

[0037] 3. Example of terminal-side electronic device configuration

[0038] 4. Example signaling process

[0039] 5. Method Examples

[0040] 6. Application Examples

[0041] <1. Overview>

[0042] As mentioned above, although the NR standard introduces the concept of search space to limit the maximum number of UE blind decoding attempts, unless otherwise specified, the UE will blindly detect PDCCH from all search spaces, resulting in higher power consumption for UE control channel monitoring.

[0043] In view of the above problems, the inventors have proposed the following inventive concept: pre-define one or more terminal identifiers (predefined terminal identifiers) for specifying a set of candidate control channels for blind decoding for a terminal device, and scramble the first DCI with such a terminal identifier to instruct the UE to decode the second DCI in the set of specified control channels, so that the range of the UE's blind detection or monitoring is reduced to the set of specified control channels indicated by the terminal identifier, that is, reduced to a subset of the control channels in the entire search space. In this way, the reduced set of control channels is implicitly indicated, which is not only beneficial to reducing the power consumption of the UE's control channel monitoring but also beneficial to compatibility with existing signaling and reducing signaling overhead.

[0044] More specifically, the "predefined terminal identifier" proposed in this disclosure is a predefined terminal identifier used to specify a set of candidate control channels for blind decoding for a terminal device. For example, the predefined terminal identifier may be a predetermined scrambling code of a predetermined length and is a new terminal identifier that is different from existing terminal identifiers. This disclosure does not limit the specific form of the predefined terminal identifier, such as the specific scrambling code it uses, as long as it can be distinguished from existing terminal identifiers, such as various existing RNTIs.

[0045] According to the present disclosure, the devices on the base station side and the terminal side can obtain relevant information of the predefined terminal identifier (such as definition information or description information) in various appropriate ways. This information can, for example, indicate the scrambling code of each terminal identifier and the purpose of the terminal identifier to indicate the terminal device for decoding the set of designated control channels for subsequent DCI ("second DCI"). Such relevant information can be obtained by the devices on the base station side and the terminal side by writing to the storage unit of the devices on the base station side and the terminal side at the time of leaving the factory, hard-wiring to the above-mentioned devices, or pre-storing in the storage unit of the above-mentioned devices in other ways. Alternatively, the device on the base station side can obtain the relevant information of the predefined terminal identifier in advance in one of the above-mentioned ways, and then send the information to the device on the terminal side. The present disclosure does not limit the specific way in which the devices on the base station side and the terminal side obtain the relevant information of the predefined terminal identifier, and will not be repeated here.

[0046] Next, the apparatus and method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure and an example signaling process will be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] <2. Configuration Example of Electronic Equipment on the Base Station Side>

[0048] [2.1 First configuration example]

[0049] FIG1 is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of an electronic device on the base station side according to the embodiment.

[0050] As shown in Fig. 1 , the electronic device 100 may include a scrambling unit 110 and a communication unit 120. In addition, although not shown in the figure, the electronic device 100 may further include a storage unit.

[0051] Here, each unit of the electronic device 100 may be included in a processing circuit. It should be noted that the electronic device 100 may include either one processing circuit or multiple processing circuits. Furthermore, the processing circuit may include various discrete functional units to perform various functions and / or operations. It should be noted that these functional units may be physical entities or logical entities, and units with different names may be implemented by the same physical entity.

[0052] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the scrambling unit 110 of the electronic device 100 may be configured to: scramble the first downlink control information DCI with a predefined terminal identifier to instruct the terminal device (UE) to decode the second DCI in a set of designated control channels. The communication unit 120 of the electronic device 100 may be configured to send the first DCI scrambled with the predefined terminal identifier to the terminal device (UE). Optionally, the communication unit 120 may also be configured to send the second DCI to the UE after sending the scrambled first DCI, so that the UE that has received the first DCI can decode the second DCI in the set of designated control channels according to the indication of the predefined terminal identifier that scrambled the first DCI.

[0053] In addition, although not shown in the figure, the electronic device 100 may further include a configuration unit, which may, for example, pre-configure multiple search spaces by configuring the DCI format to be monitored, the aggregation level of the PDCCH (i.e., the number of consecutive CCEs that the PDCCH can use, such as 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16, etc.), the number of PDCCH candidates for each aggregation level, etc. for each search space. As an example, the electronic device 100 may pre-configure 10 search spaces and represent them with corresponding search space identifiers (Search Space Identifier, SS id) 0 to 9. In this case, the electronic device 100 uses the scrambling unit 110 to scramble the first DCI with a predefined terminal identifier, and may then instruct the UE to decode the second DCI from a set of specified control channels in all search spaces (e.g., all 10 search spaces with SS ids of 0 to 9).

[0054] As mentioned above, one or more terminal identifiers for a set of candidate control channels for specifying blind decoding for the terminal device can be pre-defined, and the electronic device 100 on the base station side and the UE on the terminal side can be pre-acquired relevant information (such as definition information or description information) of these terminal identifiers in various appropriate ways.

[0055] For example, a first terminal identifier for scrambling a first DCI including a wake-up indication (e.g., a first DCI as a wake-up signal (WUS DCI)) to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels may be predefined. The first terminal identifier uses a scrambling code different from the existing PS-RNTI for scrambling the WUS DCI and indicating the transmission of energy-saving information, and may be named, for example, a new energy-saving terminal identifier (new PS-RNTI).

[0056] In addition to indicating the scrambling code of the terminal identifier and the use of the terminal identifier as an indication of a set of designated control channels for decoding subsequent DCI ("second DCI") for the terminal device, which is of particular concern in this disclosure, the relevant information (such as definition information or description information) of the above-mentioned predefined first terminal identifier also needs to indicate the basic use of the terminal identifier for indicating the transmission of energy-saving information, that is, scrambling the DCI including the wake-up indication (such as WUS DCI), so that the UE that receives the WUS DCI scrambled with the first terminal identifier performs an activation operation and uses the designated set of control channels to blindly detect the second DCI when DRX (discontinues reception) ON (discontinuous reception wake-up) starts.

[0057] In addition, a second terminal identifier for scrambling the first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication (e.g., other DCI except the WUS DCI) to indicate that the subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels may also be predefined. The second terminal identifier may be named, for example, a monitoring reduction RNTI (MR-RNTI). The relevant information (e.g., definition information or description information) of the predefined second terminal identifier may simply indicate the scrambling code of the terminal identifier and the purpose of the terminal identifier for indicating to the terminal device the set of designated control channels for decoding the subsequent DCI ("second DCI").

[0058] In one example, when the first DCI includes a wake-up indication (for example, the first DCI is a WUS DCI), the terminal identifier used by the scrambling unit 120 to scramble the first DCI is the above-mentioned first terminal identifier. In another example, when the first DCI does not include a wake-up indication (for example, the first DCI is a DCI other than the WUS DCI), the terminal identifier used by the scrambling unit 120 to scramble the first DCI is the above-mentioned second terminal identifier. (A) in Figure 2 schematically shows an example of scrambling DCI 1 as a WUS DCI with a first terminal identifier to indicate a set of control channels for decoding DCI 2, and (B) in Figure 2 schematically shows an example of scrambling DCI 1 as a non-WUS DCI with a second terminal identifier to indicate a set of control channels for decoding DCI 2. As shown in Figure 2, this implicit indication method does not occupy the payload of DCI 1 or change the format of DCI 1, and the implicit indication is transmitted simultaneously with DCI 1, thereby reducing signaling overhead without affecting the DCI signaling format, while improving efficiency and reducing latency.

[0059] In one implementation, a predefined terminal identifier (such as but not limited to the first or second terminal identifier mentioned above) can also be directly defined as being associated with a set of specified control channels, and more specifically can be associated with a condition satisfied by the set of specified control channels. In this case, the relevant information of the predefined terminal identifier obtained by the devices on the base station side and the terminal side in various appropriate ways, in addition to indicating the scrambling code of the terminal identifier and the purpose of the terminal identifier for indicating the set of specified control channels for decoding subsequent DCI for the terminal device as described above, can also indicate the conditions satisfied by the set of control channels associated with the terminal identifier. Since the association between the terminal identifier and the conditions satisfied by the set of control channels is directly specified in the relevant information pre-obtained by the base station side and the terminal side respectively, it is beneficial to further reduce the signaling overhead.

[0060] As an example, the conditions that the set of designated control channels satisfies or complies with may include, but are not limited to: a first condition that the control channels in the set have the same DCI format as the first DCI; a second condition that the control channels in the set have the same aggregation level as the control channel carrying the first DCI; a third condition that the control channels in the set have the same search space identifier as the control channel carrying the first DCI; or a fourth condition that the control channels in the set have a scheduling DCI format. Although the first to fourth conditions will be further described below as examples, the conditions satisfied by the set of designated control channels disclosed in the present invention are not limited to these. Instead, as long as a subset of all candidate control channels (all search spaces) can be specified to narrow the scope of UE blind detection, they will not be elaborated here.

[0061] For example, it may be predefined that the first terminal identity used for scrambling the DCI including the wake-up indication is associated with the fourth condition that “a control channel in the set has a scheduling DCI format”.

[0062] Generally, after the electronic device 100 on the base station side sends the first DCI as WUS DCI to the UE via the communication unit 120, the UE will be awakened, and the electronic device 100 will subsequently send the second DCI for scheduling to the UE. Accordingly, the electronic device 100 can use the scrambling unit 110 to scramble the WUS DCI with the first terminal identifier associated with the fourth condition and used to indicate the transmission of energy-saving information, thereby activating the UE and instructing the UE to search for the subsequent second DCI directly in the PDCCH with the scheduling DCI format when DRX ON starts.

[0063] In a preconfigured search space, a smaller SS ID can be configured for the common search space (CSS) and a larger SS ID can be configured for the UE-specific search space (USS). When the UE performs blind detection in all search spaces, it performs blind detection in ascending order of SS IDs, i.e., PDCCH candidates contained in search spaces with smaller SS IDs are decoded first, while PDCCH candidates contained in search spaces with larger SS IDs are decoded later. However, when the scheduled DCI is the detection target, detecting the CSS first not only wastes energy but also reduces the efficiency of blind detection. Therefore, by scrambling the DCI including the wake-up indication using the first terminal identifier associated with the fourth condition of "the control channel in the set has a scheduled DCI format," PDCCH candidates in non-scheduled DCI formats can be excluded from the UE's blind detection range, thereby greatly reducing the power consumption of the UE's blind detection compared to blind detection in all search spaces, and also improving the efficiency of blind detection.

[0064] Similarly, the second terminal identity used for scrambling the DCI that does not include the wake-up indication may also be predefined to be associated with the fourth condition that “the control channel in the set has a scheduling DCI format”.

[0065] At this time, when the first DCI is other DCI other than WUS DCI, such as scheduling DCI, the electronic device 100 can use the scrambling unit 110 to scramble the first DCI with the second terminal identifier associated with the fourth condition when the second DCI to be sent subsequently is scheduling DCI, thereby instructing the UE to search directly in the PDCCH with the scheduling DCI format. Scrambling indicating such an association may be particularly beneficial in some applications. For example, in applications related to extended reality (XR), after DRX ON starts, in the data scheduling after the XR traffic arrives, the electronic device 100 on the base station side may send a large amount of scheduling DCI. In this case, by scrambling the DCI that does not include the wake-up indication (such as the previous scheduling DCI) using the second terminal identifier associated with the fourth condition of "the control channel in the set has a scheduling DCI format", the PDCCH candidates in the non-scheduling DCI format can be excluded from the UE's blind detection range, thereby greatly reducing the power consumption of the UE blind detection and also improving the efficiency of the blind detection.

[0066] Furthermore, alternatively, for example, a second terminal identity for scrambling the DCI that does not include a wake-up indication may be predefined to be associated with a first condition that “a control channel in the set has the same DCI format as the first DCI”.

[0067] At this time, when the first DCI is other than the WUS DCI, such as a scheduling DCI, the electronic device 100 can use the scrambling unit 110 to scramble the first DCI with the second terminal identifier associated with the first condition when the second DCI to be sent subsequently has the same DCI format as the first DCI, thereby instructing the UE to search directly in the PDCCH having the same DCI format as the first DCI. In some cases, the base station side may continuously send control information having the same DCI format to the terminal device, indicating that such associated scrambling excludes PDCCH candidates with different DCI formats, thereby greatly reducing the power consumption of the UE blind detection compared to blind detection in the entire search space.

[0068] Note that although the above describes as an example that the first terminal identifier used for the wake-up indication DCI and the second terminal identifier used for the non-wake-up indication DCI are each pre-defined and associated with the fourth condition of "the control channel in the set has a scheduling DCI format" or the first condition of "the control channel in the set has the same DCI format as the first DCI", the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this, but can be associated in other ways according to application requirements, system requirements, scheduling requirements of the base station, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0069] The above describes a first configuration example of an electronic device on the base station side of an embodiment of the present disclosure in conjunction with Figures 1 and 2. Utilizing the electronic device 100 according to this embodiment, the first DCI can be scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier to instruct the UE to decode the second DCI in a specified set of control channels, so that the range of the UE's blind detection or monitoring is reduced to a subset of the control channels in the entire search space. In this way, the reduced set of control channels is implicitly indicated, which is not only beneficial for reducing the power consumption of the UE's control channel monitoring but also beneficial for compatibility with existing signaling and reducing signaling overhead.

[0070] [2.2 Second configuration example]

[0071] FIG3 is a block diagram illustrating a second configuration example of an electronic device on the base station side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The second configuration example shown in FIG3 is proposed based on the first configuration example shown in FIG1 , and therefore, the following description will be based on the first configuration example shown in FIG1 .

[0072] As shown in FIG3 , the electronic device 300 may include a scrambling unit 310 and a communication unit 320, which are similar to the scrambling unit 110 and the communication unit 120 in the electronic device 100 of FIG1 , respectively. In addition, the electronic device 300 further includes a generation unit 330, which is configured to generate various indication information when necessary to provide the terminal device with (optional / additional) indication information about decoding the second DCI in a set of designated control channels, such as, but not limited to, indication information indicating the number of second DCIs described below and / or indication information indicating specific conditions met by the set of control channels used for decoding the second DCI. The UE that receives the indication information may decode the second DCI in the set of designated control channels according to the predefined terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI and the indication of the indication information.

[0073] As mentioned above, the second DCI may be a DCI to be sent after the first DCI. More specifically, the second DCI may include one or more DCIs to be sent after the first DCI. Accordingly, the generation unit 330 of the electronic device 300 may be configured to generate indication information indicating the number of second DCIs (hereinafter also referred to as number indication information) when the number of second DCIs is greater than 1, and may send the number indication information to the terminal device (UE) via the communication unit 320.

[0074] The number indication information may be carried and sent, for example, via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling or Media Access Control-Control Element (MAC CE) signaling.

[0075] In one example, the generation unit 330 can pre-generate number indication information specifying the number N of second DCIs greater than 1 (N is, for example, 2, 3 or 4, etc., and can be specified, for example, based on the characteristics or regularity of the data to be scheduled), and send the number indication information to the UE in advance via RRC signaling (for example, the above-mentioned number N can be indicated by a predefined RRC parameter), so that the UE that receives the indication information carried by the RRC signaling decodes or blindly detects the N (second) DCIs subsequent to the first DCI in a set of designated control channels each time it receives the first DCI encrypted with a predefined terminal identifier.

[0076] In another example, the generation unit 330 can generate number indication information specifying the number N of second DCIs greater than 1 for each first DCI in real time (N is, for example, 2, 3 or 4, etc., and can be appropriately specified according to the situation of subsequent DCIs), and can send the number indication information to the UE in real time via MAC CE signaling (for example, the above-mentioned number N can be indicated by a predefined field in the MAC CE), so that the UE that receives the indication information carried by the MAC CE signaling decodes or blindly detects the N (second) DCIs subsequent to the first DCI in a set of designated control channels after receiving the corresponding first DCI encrypted with a predefined terminal identifier.

[0077] Note that when the number of second DCIs is 1, the generation unit 330 may not generate any number indication information, and the communication unit 320 may not send any number indication information to the UE. If the UE does not receive the number indication information, it will decode only one second DCI in a set of designated control channels, for example, according to the indication of the predefined terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI.

[0078] In addition, in the first configuration example described with reference to FIG1 , an implementation method is described in which a predefined terminal identifier can be directly defined as being associated with a specified set of control channels (more specifically, associated with a condition satisfied by the specified set of control channels). In the second configuration example shown in FIG2 , another implementation method can be adopted: for example, the predefined terminal identifier is defined only to indicate the purpose of the specified set of control channels, without being defined as being associated with a specific set of control channels.

[0079] In this case, the generating unit 330 of the electronic device 300 may be configured to generate indication information (hereinafter referred to as condition indication information) indicating the conditions met by the set of control channels used to decode the second DCI, such as one of the first to fourth conditions described above, and may send the condition indication information to the terminal device (UE) via the communication unit 320. The UE that receives the condition indication information may directly decode the second DCI in the set of control channels that meet the conditions indicated by the indication information.

[0080] For example, the generation unit 330 may predefine condition parameters for the first to fourth conditions described above, and specify one of the first to fourth conditions with a specific condition parameter value. For example, the condition parameter values ​​of 0, 1, 2, and 3 may be defined to correspond to a first condition that the control channel in the specified set has the same DCI format as the first DCI, a second condition that the control channel in the set has the same aggregation level as the control channel carrying the first DCI, a third condition that the control channel in the set has the same search space identifier as the control channel carrying the first DCI, and a fourth condition that the control channel in the set has a scheduling DCI format.

[0081] In one example, the generation unit 330 may generate (condition) indication information specifying one of a plurality of conditions (such as, but not limited to, the first to fourth conditions described above), and the communication unit 320 may send the condition indication information to the UE. The UE that receives the condition indication information may directly decode the second DCI in a set of control channels that meet one of the indicated conditions.

[0082] For example, the generation unit 330 may generate conditional indication information having a conditional parameter (i.e., having a value of 0, 1, 2, or 3) based on the characteristics or regularity of the data / service to be scheduled, and the communication unit 320 may send the conditional indication information to the UE via RRC signaling (e.g., including the RRC conditional parameter). In this case, the conditional parameter in the conditional indication information applies to all predefined terminal identifiers, such as, but not limited to, the first and second terminal identifiers described above.

[0083] As an example, the above-mentioned condition indication information may specify a first condition having the same DCI format as the first DCI or a fourth condition having a scheduling DCI format, that is, the value of the condition parameter may be, for example, 0 or 3. Whenever the UE that receives the condition indication information receives a first DCI scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier, the UE decodes or blindly detects a second DCI subsequent to the first DCI in a set of control channels specified by the condition parameter (e.g., a set of control channels having the same DCI format as the first DCI or a set of control channels having a scheduling DCI format), regardless of whether the specific first DCI is scrambled with the first or second terminal identifier or whether the first DCI includes a wake-up indication.

[0084] In another example, the generation unit 330 may generate first (conditional) indication information and second (conditional) indication information, wherein the first (conditional) indication information specifies one condition (such as but not limited to the first to fourth conditions) of a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI including a wake-up indication, and the second (conditional) indication information specifies one condition (such as but not limited to the first to fourth conditions) of a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI not including a wake-up indication. The communication unit 320 may send such first and second (conditional) indication information to the UE. The UE receiving the above-mentioned conditional indication information may decode the second DCI in a set of control channels that meet the corresponding conditions for different first DCIs according to different conditional indication information.

[0085] For example, the generation unit 330 can generate first and second conditional indication information, each having a conditional parameter (i.e., each having a value of 0, 1, 2, or 3), wherein the conditional parameter of the first indication information is applicable to decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI including a wake-up indication (e.g., a DCI scrambled with a first terminal identifier), and the conditional parameter of the second indication information is applicable to decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication (e.g., a DCI scrambled with a second terminal identifier).

[0086] As an example, the first indication information may specify a fourth condition having a scheduling DCI format, that is, the value of the first condition parameter may be 3, and the second indication information may specify a first condition having the same DCI format as the first DCI, that is, the value of the second condition parameter may be 0.

[0087] The communication unit 320 may, for example, send the first and second condition indication information to the UE via RRC signaling (e.g., including two RRC condition parameters). The UE that receives the first and second condition indication information may decode or blindly detect the second DCI subsequent to the first DCI in the set of control channels specified by the first condition indication information (e.g., a set of control channels with a scheduling DCI format) whenever it receives a first DCI (e.g., WUS DCI) that is scrambled with the first terminal identifier and includes a wake-up indication, and may decode or blindly detect the second DCI subsequent to the first DCI in the set of control channels specified by the second condition indication information (e.g., a set of control channels with the same DCI format as the first DCI) whenever it receives a first DCI (e.g., DCI other than the WUS DCI) that is scrambled with the second terminal identifier and does not include a wake-up indication.

[0088] In the above two examples, the communication unit 320 sends one or more condition indication information with condition parameters in the form of RRC signaling, but the present embodiment is not limited thereto. For example, additionally or alternatively, the communication unit 320 may, for example, send one or more condition indication information (e.g., indicating one or two condition parameters in a designated field of the MAC CE signaling) to the UE via MAC CE signaling before sending the second DCI, so that the UE that receives the condition indication information decodes or blindly detects the subsequent (second) DCI in the set of designated control channels when receiving the first DCI scrambled with the predefined terminal identifier.

[0089] The second configuration example of the electronic device on the base station side of an embodiment of the present disclosure is described above in conjunction with Figure 3. Using the electronic device 300 according to this configuration example, (optional / additional) indication information about decoding the second DCI in a set of designated control channels can be generated and provided to the UE, thereby providing an optional explicit indication on the basis of the implicit indication of the first configuration example and providing more flexibility.

[0090] In the above description of the electronic device on the base station side according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, in addition to the electronic devices 100 and 300 on the base station side, a terminal device that receives the first DCI scrambled by the electronic device is also described. In other words, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the inventors have proposed an electronic device on the terminal side in addition to the electronic device on the base station side. The following description of the electronic device on the terminal side according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be based on the description of the electronic device on the base station side according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, and unnecessary details will be omitted.

[0091] <3. Configuration Example of Electronic Devices on the Terminal Side>

[0092] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an electronic device on the terminal side according to the embodiment.

[0093] As shown in Fig. 4 , the electronic device 400 may include a communication unit 410 and a decoding unit 420. In addition, although not shown in the figure, the electronic device 400 may further include a storage unit.

[0094] Here, each unit of electronic device 400 may be included in a processing circuit. It should be noted that electronic device 400 may include either one processing circuit or multiple processing circuits. Furthermore, the processing circuit may include various discrete functional units to perform various functions and / or operations. It should be noted that these functional units may be physical entities or logical entities, and units with different names may be implemented by the same physical entity.

[0095] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication unit 410 of the electronic device 400 may be configured to receive first downlink control information (DCI) scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier. The decoding unit 420 of the electronic device 400 may be configured to decode the second DCI in a set of designated control channels according to an indication of the terminal identifier. Here, the decoding unit 420 may, for example, determine the terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI by successfully decoding the first DCI with the predefined terminal identifier.

[0096] Optionally, the electronic device 400 may further receive configuration information about multiple search spaces from the base station side (e.g., the electronic device 100 or 300 on the base station side described previously with reference to Figures 1 and 3) via the communication unit 410. Here, each search space may be pre-configured by the network side by configuring the DCI format to be monitored, the aggregation level of the PDCCH (i.e., the number of consecutive CCEs that the PDCCH can use, such as 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16, etc.), the number of PDCCH candidates for each aggregation level, etc. As an example, the electronic device 400 may receive configuration information for 10 pre-configured search spaces, where each search space is represented by a corresponding search space identifier (Search Space Identifier, SS id) 0 to 9. In this case, when the electronic device 400 receives a first DCI scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier via the communication unit 420, the decoding unit 100 may decode the second DCI for a set of specified control channels in all search spaces (e.g., all 10 search spaces with SS ids of 0 to 9) according to the indication of the terminal identifier.

[0097] As mentioned above, one or more terminal identifiers for a set of candidate control channels for specifying blind decoding for the terminal device can be pre-defined, and the electronic device 400 on the base station side and the UE on the terminal side can be pre-acquired relevant information (such as definition information or description information) of these terminal identifiers in various appropriate ways.

[0098] For example, a first terminal identifier for scrambling a first DCI including a wake-up indication (e.g., a first DCI as a WUS DCI) to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of specified control channels may be predefined. The first terminal identifier uses a scrambling code different from the existing PS-RNTI for scrambling the WUS DCI, and may be named, for example, a new energy-saving terminal identifier (new PS-RNTI).

[0099] In addition to indicating the scrambling code of the terminal identifier and the use of the terminal identifier as an indication of a set of designated control channels for decoding subsequent DCI ("second DCI") for the terminal device, which is of particular concern in this disclosure, the relevant information (such as definition information or description information) of the above-mentioned predefined first terminal identifier also needs to indicate the basic use of the terminal identifier to indicate the transmission of energy-saving information, that is, for scrambling the DCI including the wake-up indication (such as WUS DCI), so that the electronic device 400 that receives the WUS DCI scrambled with the first terminal identifier can, for example, perform an activation operation under the control of a control unit (not shown) and use the set of designated control channels to blindly detect the second DCI via the decoding unit 420 when DRX ON starts.

[0100] In addition, a second terminal identifier for scrambling the first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication (e.g., other DCI except the WUS DCI) to indicate that the subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels may also be predefined. The second terminal identifier may be named, for example, a Monitor Reduced Terminal Identifier (MR-RNTI). The relevant information (e.g., definition information or description information) of the predefined second terminal identifier may simply indicate the scrambling code of the terminal identifier and the purpose of the terminal identifier for indicating to the terminal device the set of designated control channels for decoding the subsequent DCI ("second DCI").

[0101] In one example, the first DCI received by the communication unit 410 includes a wake-up indication (for example, the first DCI is a WUS DCI), and the terminal identifier for scrambling the first DCI is the above-mentioned first terminal identifier. In another example, the first DCI received by the communication unit 410 does not include a wake-up indication (for example, the first DCI is a DCI other than the WUS DCI), and the terminal identifier for scrambling the first DCI is the above-mentioned second terminal identifier. Examples of the above two cases are shown in (A) and (B) in Figure 2 described above and are not repeated here.

[0102] In one implementation, a predefined terminal identifier (such as but not limited to the first or second terminal identifier mentioned above) can also be directly defined as being associated with a set of specified control channels, and more specifically can be associated with a condition satisfied by the set of specified control channels. In this case, the relevant information of the predefined terminal identifier obtained by the devices on the base station side and the terminal side in various appropriate ways, in addition to indicating the scrambling code of the terminal identifier and the purpose of the terminal identifier for indicating the set of specified control channels for decoding for the terminal device as described above, can also indicate the conditions satisfied by the set of control channels associated with the terminal identifier. Since the association between the terminal identifier and the conditions satisfied by the set of control channels is directly specified in the relevant information pre-obtained by the base station side and the terminal side respectively, it is beneficial to further reduce the signaling overhead.

[0103] As an example, the conditions that the set of designated control channels satisfies or complies with may include, but are not limited to: a first condition that the control channels in the set have the same DCI format as the first DCI; a second condition that the control channels in the set have the same aggregation level as the control channel carrying the first DCI; a third condition that the control channels in the set have the same search space identifier as the control channel carrying the first DCI; or a fourth condition that the control channels in the set have a scheduling DCI format. Although further description is given herein in conjunction with the first to fourth conditions as examples, the conditions satisfied by the set of designated control channels disclosed herein are not limited thereto. Instead, as long as a subset of all candidate control channels (all search spaces) can be specified to narrow the scope of UE blind detection, details will not be given here.

[0104] For example, it may be predefined that the first terminal identity used for scrambling the DCI including the wake-up indication is associated with the fourth condition that “a control channel in the set has a scheduling DCI format”.

[0105] Generally, after the base station side sends the first DCI as WUS DCI to the electronic device 400 on the terminal side, the electronic device 400 will be awakened, and the base station side will subsequently send the second DCI for scheduling to the electronic device 400. Accordingly, the base station side can scramble the WUS DCI with the first terminal identifier associated with the fourth condition and used to indicate the transmission of energy-saving information, thereby activating the electronic device 400 and instructing the electronic device 400 to use the decoding unit 420 to directly search for the subsequent second DCI in the PDCCH with the scheduling DCI format when DRX ON starts. As mentioned above, the scrambling indicating such an association excludes PDCCH candidates in non-scheduled DCI formats from the blind detection range of the UE, thereby greatly reducing the power consumption of the decoding unit 420 for blind detection compared to blind detection in the entire search space, and can also improve the efficiency of blind detection.

[0106] Similarly, the second terminal identity used for scrambling the DCI that does not include the wake-up indication may also be predefined to be associated with the fourth condition that “the control channel in the set has a scheduling DCI format”.

[0107] At this time, when the first DCI is other than the WUS DCI, such as a scheduling DCI, the base station side can scramble the first DCI with the second terminal identifier associated with the fourth condition when the second DCI to be sent subsequently is also a scheduling DCI, thereby instructing the electronic device 400 on the terminal side to search directly in the PDCCH with the scheduling DCI format. As mentioned above, scrambling indicating such an association may be particularly beneficial in some applications, such as XR-related applications that send a large amount of scheduling DCI. It can not only greatly reduce the power consumption of the decoding unit 420 for blind detection, but also improve the efficiency of blind detection.

[0108] Furthermore, alternatively, for example, a second terminal identity for scrambling the DCI that does not include a wake-up indication may be predefined to be associated with a first condition that “a control channel in the set has the same DCI format as the first DCI”.

[0109] At this time, when the first DCI is other than the WUS DCI, such as a scheduling DCI, the base station side can scramble the first DCI with the second terminal identifier associated with the first condition when the second DCI to be sent subsequently has the same DCI format as the first DCI, thereby instructing the electronic device 400 on the terminal side to search directly in the PDCCH having the same DCI format as the first DCI. In some cases, the base station side may continuously send control information having the same DCI format to the electronic device 400, indicating that such associated scrambling excludes PDCCH candidates with different DCI formats, thereby greatly reducing the power consumption of the decoding unit 420 for blind detection compared to blind detection in the entire search space.

[0110] Note that although the above describes as an example that the first terminal identifier used for the wake-up indication DCI and the second terminal identifier used for the non-wake-up indication DCI are each pre-defined and associated with the fourth condition of "the control channel in the set has a scheduling DCI format" or the first condition of "the control channel in the set has the same DCI format as the first DCI", the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this, but can be associated in other ways according to application requirements, system requirements, scheduling requirements of the base station, etc., which will not be repeated here.

[0111] Optionally, the communication unit 410 of the electronic device 400 may be further configured to receive (optional / additional) indication information from the base station side regarding decoding the second DCI in a set of designated control channels, such as, but not limited to, indication information indicating the number of second DCIs and / or indication information indicating specific conditions met by the set of control channels used to decode the second DCI. The decoding unit 420 of the electronic device 400 may be further configured to decode the second DCI in the set of designated control channels based on the predefined terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI and the indication of the received indication information.

[0112] As mentioned above, the second DCI may be a DCI to be sent after the first DCI. More specifically, the second DCI may include one or more DCIs to be sent after the first DCI. Accordingly, the communication unit 410 of the electronic device 400 may be configured to receive indication information (number indication information) indicating the number of second DCIs, the indication information indicating a number greater than 1, and the decoding unit 420 may decode the corresponding number of second DCIs in a set of designated control channels according to the number indication information. When no indication information is received, the decoding unit 420 may, for example, decode only one second DCI in a set of designated control channels by default, based on an indication of a predefined terminal identifier for scrambling the first DCI.

[0113] The communication unit 410 may receive the above-mentioned number indication information through, for example, radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling.

[0114] In one example, the communication unit 410 may receive number indication information specifying the number N of second DCIs greater than 1, which is pre-sent by the base station side via RRC signaling (N is, for example, 2, 3, or 4, etc., and may be specified by the base station side according to the characteristics or regularity of the data to be scheduled, and the above number N may be indicated by a predefined RRC parameter). The electronic device 400 that receives the indication information carried by the RRC signaling decodes or blindly detects the N (second) DCIs subsequent to the first DCI in a set of designated control channels via the decoding unit 420 each time after receiving the first DCI scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier.

[0115] In another example, the communication unit 410 may receive indication information of the number N of second DCIs greater than 1, sent in real time by the base station side via MAC CE signaling, for example, for each first DCI (N is, for example, 2, 3, or 4, and may be appropriately specified by the base station side according to the situation of subsequent DCIs, and the number N may be indicated by a predefined field in the MAC CE). After receiving the corresponding first DCI scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier, the electronic device 400 that receives the indication information carried by the MAC CE signaling decodes or blindly detects the N (second) DCIs subsequent to the first DCI in a set of designated control channels via the decoding unit 420.

[0116] In addition, an implementation method has been described above in which a predefined terminal identifier can be directly defined to be associated with a specified set of control channels (more specifically, associated with a condition satisfied by the specified set of control channels). Alternatively, another implementation method can be adopted: for example, the predefined terminal identifier is defined only to indicate the purpose of the specified set of control channels, without being defined to be associated with a specific set of control channels.

[0117] In this case, the communication unit 410 of the electronic device 400 on the terminal side can be configured to receive indication information (hereinafter also referred to as condition indication information) indicating the conditions met by a set of control channels for decoding the second DCI, such as one of the first to fourth conditions described previously, and the decoding unit 420 can be configured to directly decode the second DCI in the set of control channels that meet the conditions indicated by the indication information.

[0118] For example, conditional parameters for the first to fourth conditions described above may be predefined, wherein one of the first to fourth conditions is specified by a specific conditional parameter value. For example, it may be defined that the conditional parameter values ​​of 0, 1, 2, and 3 correspond to a first condition that the control channels in the specified set have the same DCI format as the first DCI, a second condition that the control channels in the set have the same aggregation level as the control channel carrying the first DCI, a third condition that the control channels in the set have the same search space identifier as the control channel carrying the first DCI, and a fourth condition that the control channels in the set have a scheduling DCI format.

[0119] In one example, the communication unit 410 can receive (condition) indication information specifying one condition among multiple conditions (for example, but not limited to the first to fourth conditions mentioned above) from the base station side, and the decoding unit 420 can decode the second DCI in a set of control channels that meet the one condition.

[0120] For example, the conditional indication information received by the communication unit 410 may include a conditional parameter (i.e., a value of 0, 1, 2, or 3) generated by the base station side, for example, based on the characteristics or regularity of the data / service to be scheduled, and the conditional indication information may be received via RRC signaling (e.g., including an RRC conditional parameter). In this case, the decoding unit 420 defaults to an implicit indication of a blind detection range of the second DCI for all first DCIs (e.g., an implicit indication of DCIs scrambled with all predefined terminal identifiers, such as, but not limited to, the first and second terminal identifiers described previously).

[0121] As an example, the above-mentioned condition indication information may specify a first condition having the same DCI format as the first DCI or a fourth condition having a scheduling DCI format, that is, the value of the condition parameter may be, for example, 0 or 3. The electronic device 400 that receives the condition indication information may decode or blindly detect the second DCI subsequent to the first DCI in the set of control channels specified by the condition parameter (for example, a set of control channels having the same DCI format as the first DCI or a set of control channels having a scheduling DCI format) via the decoding unit 420 whenever receiving the first DCI scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier, regardless of whether the specific first DCI is scrambled with the first or second terminal identifier or whether the first DCI includes a wake-up indication.

[0122] In another example, the communication unit 410 may receive first (conditional) indication information and second (conditional) indication information from the base station side, wherein the first (conditional) indication information specifies one condition met by a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI including a wake-up indication from a plurality of conditions (such as, but not limited to, the first to fourth conditions described above), and the second (conditional) indication information specifies one condition met by a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI not including a wake-up indication from a plurality of conditions. The decoding unit 420 may decode the second DCI from a set of control channels that meet the corresponding conditions for different first DCIs based on different conditional indication information.

[0123] For example, the first and second (conditional) indication information received by the communication unit 410 may respectively have a conditional parameter (i.e., respectively have a value of 0, 1, 2, 3), wherein the conditional parameter of the first indication information is applicable to decoding the second DCI subsequent to the first DCI including the wake-up indication (e.g., the DCI scrambled with the first terminal identifier), and the conditional parameter of the second indication information is applicable to decoding the second DCI subsequent to the first DCI that does not include the wake-up indication (e.g., the DCI scrambled with the second terminal identifier).

[0124] As an example, the first indication information may specify a fourth condition having a scheduling DCI format, that is, the value of the first condition parameter may be 3, and the second indication information may specify a first condition having the same DCI format as the first DCI, that is, the value of the second condition parameter may be 0.

[0125] The communication unit 410 may, for example, receive the above-mentioned first and second condition indication information (e.g., including two RRC condition parameters) via RRC signaling. The electronic device 400 that receives the above-mentioned first and second condition indication information may decode or blindly detect the second DCI subsequent to the first DCI in the set of control channels specified by the first condition indication information (e.g., a set of control channels with a scheduling DCI format) via the decoding unit 420 whenever the first DCI (e.g., WUS DCI) scrambled with the first terminal identifier and including the wake-up indication is received via the communication unit 410. In addition, the electronic device 400 may decode or blindly detect the second DCI subsequent to the first DCI in the set of control channels specified by the second condition indication information (e.g., a set of control channels with the same DCI format as the first DCI) via the decoding unit 420 whenever the first DCI (e.g., DCI other than the WUS DCI) scrambled with the second terminal identifier and including the wake-up indication is received via the communication unit 410.

[0126] In the above example, the communication unit 410 receives one or more condition indication information with condition parameters carried by RRC signaling, but the present embodiment is not limited thereto. For example, additionally or alternatively, the communication unit 410 may receive one or more condition indication information (e.g., one or two condition parameters indicated in a designated field of the MAC CE signaling) via MAC CE signaling, for example, before receiving or decoding the second DCI. The electronic device 400 that receives the condition indication information carried by the MAC CE signaling can, when receiving the first DCI scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier via the communication unit 410, decode or blindly detect the subsequent (second) DCI in the set of designated control channels via the decoding unit 420.

[0127] <4. Example Signaling Flow>

[0128] Next, the example signaling interaction for transmitting and decoding DCI between the electronic device on the base station side and the electronic device on the terminal side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in combination with the example shown in Figure 5, which can be implemented, for example, by utilizing the interaction between the above-mentioned electronic device 100 or 300 on the base station side and the electronic device 400 on the terminal side.

[0129] More specifically, in the example of FIG5 , the base station gNB may, for example, have a functional configuration of an electronic device 100 or 300 on the base station side, and the terminal device UE may, for example, have a functional configuration of an electronic device 400 on the terminal side.

[0130] As shown in Figure 5, in this example, first, the gNB and the UE (individually or jointly) pre-obtain relevant information (definition information or description information, etc.) of one or more predefined terminal identifiers (such as but not limited to the first and second terminal identifiers described previously) through an appropriate manner.

[0131] The gNB may then perform RRC configuration on the UE, which may include configuring multiple search spaces. Furthermore, when the number of second DCIs is greater than one, and / or when the predefined terminal identifier is not defined as being directly associated with a specific set of control channels, the RRC configuration may optionally further include the number indication information and / or one or more condition indication information described above.

[0132] Thereafter, the gNB may scramble the first DCI with the predefined terminal identifier and send the first DCI to the UE.

[0133] Accordingly, the UE can obtain the terminal identifier by successfully decoding the first DCI with a predefined terminal identifier, and can decode the second DCI in a set of designated control channels based on the indication of the terminal identifier (and optional number / condition indication information) of the encrypted first DCI.

[0134] In the example of Figure 5 , there is no distinction as to whether the first DCI is a DCI including a wake-up indication, such as a WUS DCI, because this is irrelevant to the focus of this example, which is scrambling the first DCI to implicitly indicate the set of control channels used to decode the second DCI. It will be understood that if the first DCI is a WUS DCI, after decoding the first DCI and obtaining the first terminal identifier of the scrambled first DCI, the UE is activated by the WUS DCI and subsequently performs the process of decoding the second DCI at the start of DRX ON. This will not be further described here.

[0135] In addition, the example of FIG5 shows that the gNB sends number indication information and condition indication information to the UE via RRC signaling. It will be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this. The gNB may send the number indication information and condition indication information to the UE via MAC CE signaling, for example, before sending the first DCI and / or the second DCI. This will not be repeated here.

[0136] <5. Method Example>

[0137] Corresponding to the device embodiments of the above embodiments, the present disclosure provides the following method embodiments.

[0138] [Method Example on Base Station Side]

[0139] FIG6 is a flowchart illustrating a process example of a method for wireless communication on a base station side according to an embodiment.

[0140] As shown in FIG6 , in step S601 , the first downlink control information DCI is scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier to instruct the terminal equipment (UE) to decode the second DCI in a set of designated control channels.

[0141] As an example, the second DCI may include one or more DCIs to be sent after the first DCI.

[0142] Next, in step S602, a scrambled first DCI is sent to the terminal device (UE).

[0143] In addition, although not shown in the figure, optionally, in the example process of Figure 6, for example, the step of sending a second DCI to the terminal device may be additionally included.

[0144] In one example, the first DCI may include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier may be a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that the subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels. In another example, the first DCI may not include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier may be a second terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI not including the wake-up indication to indicate that the subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels.

[0145] As an example, the set of designated control channels may satisfy one of the following conditions: a first condition that the control channels in the set have the same DCI format as the first DCI; a second condition that the control channels in the set have the same aggregation level as the control channel carrying the first DCI; a third condition that the control channels in the set have the same search space identifier as the control channel carrying the first DCI; or a fourth condition that the control channels in the set have a scheduling DCI format.

[0146] In one implementation, the first DCI may include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier may be the first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that the subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that satisfy the fourth condition. Alternatively, the first DCI may not include the wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier may be the first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI not including the wake-up indication to indicate that the subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that satisfy the fourth condition.

[0147] In addition, the example process of FIG. 6 may also include a step of sending various optional indication information.

[0148] For example, although not shown in the figure, the example process of Figure 6 may also additionally include the following step before the additional step of sending the second DCI: when the number of second DCIs is greater than 1, sending indication information indicating the number of second DCIs to the terminal device.

[0149] In addition, although not shown in the figure, the example process of Figure 6 may also additionally include the following step before the additional step of sending the second DCI: sending indication information to the terminal device, the indication information specifying one condition among the multiple conditions.

[0150] Alternatively, although not shown in the figure, the example process of Figure 6 may further include the following steps before the additional step of sending the second DCI: sending first indication information and second indication information to the terminal device, wherein the first indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding the second DCI subsequent to the first DCI including the wake-up indication meets, and the second indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding the second DCI subsequent to the first DCI that does not include the wake-up indication meets. In a preferred example, the first indication information may specify the fourth condition, and the second indication information may specify the first condition.

[0151] As an example, the above indication information may be sent via radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling.

[0152] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the subject executing the above method may be the electronic device 100 or 300 on the base station side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, so all the embodiments of the electronic device on the base station side in the foregoing text are applicable here and will not be repeated here.

[0153] [User-side method embodiment]

[0154] FIG7 is a flowchart illustrating a process example of a method for wireless communication on the user side according to an embodiment.

[0155] As shown in FIG. 7 , in step S701 , first downlink control information DCI scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier is received.

[0156] Next, in step S702, according to the indication of the terminal identity of the scrambled first DCI, the second DCI is decoded in a set of designated control channels. Here, for example, the terminal identity used to scramble the first DCI can be determined by successfully decoding the first DCI with a predefined terminal identity.

[0157] As an example, the second DCI may include one or more DCIs to be sent after the first DCI.

[0158] In one example, the first DCI may include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier may be a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that the subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels. In another example, the first DCI may not include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier may be a second terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI not including the wake-up indication to indicate that the subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels.

[0159] As an example, the set of designated control channels may satisfy one of the following conditions: a first condition that the control channels in the set have the same DCI format as the first DCI; a second condition that the control channels in the set have the same aggregation level as the control channel carrying the first DCI; a third condition that the control channels in the set have the same search space identifier as the control channel carrying the first DCI; or a fourth condition that the control channels in the set have a scheduling DCI format.

[0160] In one implementation, the first DCI may include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier may be the first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that the subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that satisfy the fourth condition. Alternatively, the first DCI may not include the wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier may be the first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI not including the wake-up indication to indicate that the subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that satisfy the fourth condition.

[0161] In addition, the example process of FIG. 7 may also include a step of receiving various optional indication information.

[0162] For example, although not shown in the figure, the exemplary process of FIG. 7 may further additionally include the following step before step S702: receiving indication information indicating the number of second DCIs, where the indication information indicates a number greater than 1.

[0163] In addition, although not shown in the figure, the exemplary process of FIG. 7 may further include the following step before step S702: receiving indication information, where the indication information specifies one condition among the multiple conditions.

[0164] Alternatively, although not shown in the figure, the example process of FIG. 7 may further include the following steps before step S702: receiving first indication information and second indication information, wherein the first indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to the first DCI including a wake-up indication meets, and the second indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to the first DCI not including a wake-up indication meets. In a preferred example, the first indication information may specify the fourth condition, and the second indication information may specify the first condition.

[0165] As an example, the above indication information may be received through radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling.

[0166] In the case where one or more of the above-mentioned indication information is received, in step S702, the second DCI can be decoded in a set of designated control channels according to the terminal identifier of the scrambled first DCI and the indication of the indication information.

[0167] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the subject executing the above method may be the electronic device 400 on the terminal side according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, so all the embodiments of the electronic device on the terminal side in the foregoing text are applicable here and will not be repeated here.

[0168] <6. Application Examples>

[0169] The technology of the present disclosure can be applied to various products.

[0170] For example, the electronic devices 100 and 300 described with reference to Figures 1 and 3 can be implemented on the base station side. When the electronic device is implemented on the base station side, the electronic device can be implemented as any type of base station device, such as a macro eNB and a small eNB, and can also be implemented as any type of gNB (a base station in a 5G system). A small eNB can be an eNB that covers a cell smaller than a macro cell, such as a pico eNB, a micro eNB, and a home (femto) eNB. Alternatively, the base station can be implemented as any other type of base station, such as a NodeB and a base transceiver station (BTS). The base station may include: a main body (also referred to as a base station device) configured to control wireless communications; and one or more remote radio heads (RRHs) arranged in a place different from the main body.

[0171] The electronic device on the base station side can also be implemented as any type of TRP. This TRP can have both sending and receiving functions, for example, it can receive information from user equipment and base station equipment, and can also send information to user equipment and base station equipment. In a typical example, the TRP provides services to user equipment and is controlled by the base station equipment. Furthermore, the TRP can have a structure similar to the base station equipment, or it can only have the structures of the base station equipment related to sending and receiving information.

[0172] In addition, the electronic device 400 described with reference to Figure 4 can be implemented on the terminal side. When the electronic device is implemented on the terminal side, for example, as a terminal device, the electronic device can be various user devices, which can be implemented as mobile terminals (such as smart phones, tablet personal computers (PCs), notebook PCs, portable game terminals, portable / dongle-type mobile routers, and digital camera devices) or vehicle-mounted terminals (such as car navigation devices). The user device can also be implemented as a terminal that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication (also known as a machine type communication (MTC) terminal). In addition, the user device can be a wireless communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single chip) installed on each user device in the above-mentioned user devices.

[0173] [Application examples for base stations]

[0174] (First application example)

[0175] 8 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematic configuration of an eNB to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The eNB 1800 includes one or more antennas 1810 and a base station device 1820. The base station device 1820 and each antenna 1810 can be connected to each other via an RF cable.

[0176] Each of the antennas 1810 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as the multiple antenna elements included in a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) antenna) and is used for base station device 1820 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in FIG8 , eNB 1800 may include multiple antennas 1810. For example, multiple antennas 1810 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by eNB 1800. Although FIG8 shows an example in which eNB 1800 includes multiple antennas 1810, eNB 1800 may also include a single antenna 1810.

[0177] The base station device 1820 includes a controller 1821 , a memory 1822 , a network interface 1823 , and a wireless communication interface 1825 .

[0178] The controller 1821 may be, for example, a CPU or a DSP, and operates various functions of the higher layers of the base station device 1820. For example, the controller 1821 generates data packets based on the data in the signal processed by the wireless communication interface 1825, and transmits the generated packets via the network interface 1823. The controller 1821 may bundle data from multiple baseband processors to generate bundled packets, and transmit the generated bundled packets. The controller 1821 may have logic functions for performing the following controls: the control may be radio resource control, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control, and scheduling. The control may be performed in conjunction with a nearby eNB or core network node. The memory 1822 includes RAM and ROM, and stores programs executed by the controller 1821 and various types of control data (such as a terminal list, transmission power data, and scheduling data).

[0179] The network interface 1823 is a communication interface for connecting the base station device 1820 to the core network 1824. The controller 1821 can communicate with the core network node or another eNB via the network interface 1823. In this case, the eNB 1800 and the core network node or other eNB can be connected to each other through a logical interface (such as an S1 interface and an X2 interface). The network interface 1823 can also be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface for a wireless backhaul line. If the network interface 1823 is a wireless communication interface, the network interface 1823 can use a higher frequency band for wireless communication than the frequency band used by the wireless communication interface 1825.

[0180] The wireless communication interface 1825 supports any cellular communication scheme, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced, and provides wireless connectivity to terminals located in the cell of the eNB 1800 via the antenna 1810. The wireless communication interface 1825 may typically include, for example, a baseband (BB) processor 1826 and RF circuitry 1827. The BB processor 1826 can perform various signal processing functions, such as encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and performs various types of signal processing for layers such as Layer 1 (L1), Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP). In place of the controller 1821, the BB processor 1826 may perform some or all of the aforementioned logical functions. The BB processor 1826 may be a memory that stores communication control programs, or a module including a processor configured to execute programs and associated circuitry. Program updates can modify the functionality of the BB processor 1826. This module may be a card or blade inserted into a slot in the base station device 1820. Alternatively, the module may be a chip mounted on the card or blade. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 1827 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via the antenna 1810 .

[0181] As shown in FIG8 , the wireless communication interface 1825 may include multiple BB processors 1826. For example, multiple BB processors 1826 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the eNB 1800. As shown in FIG8 , the wireless communication interface 1825 may include multiple RF circuits 1827. For example, multiple RF circuits 1827 may be compatible with multiple antenna elements. Although FIG8 illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface 1825 includes multiple BB processors 1826 and multiple RF circuits 1827, the wireless communication interface 1825 may also include a single BB processor 1826 or a single RF circuit 1827.

[0182] In the eNB 1800 shown in FIG8 , the communication unit in the electronic device 100 or 300 described previously with reference to FIG1 or FIG3 can be implemented via the wireless communication interface 1825 and the optional antenna 1810. The functions of the scrambling unit in the electronic device 100 or 300 and at least a portion of the functions of the generating unit in the electronic device 300 can be implemented via the controller 1821. For example, the controller 1821 can implement some or all of the functions of the scrambling unit or the generating unit by executing instructions stored in the memory 1822. Furthermore, a storage unit (not shown) in the electronic device 100 or 300 can be implemented via the memory 1822.

[0183] (Second application example)

[0184] FIG9 is a block diagram illustrating a second example of a schematic configuration of an eNB to which the techniques of this disclosure may be applied. An eNB 1930 includes one or more antennas 1940, a base station 1950, and RRHs 1960. RRHs 1960 and each antenna 1940 may be connected to each other via an RF cable. Base station 1950 and RRHs 1960 may be connected to each other via a high-speed line such as an optical fiber cable.

[0185] Each of the antennas 1940 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for RRH 1960 to transmit and receive wireless signals. As shown in FIG9 , eNB 1930 may include multiple antennas 1940. For example, multiple antennas 1940 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by eNB 1930. Although FIG9 shows an example in which eNB 1930 includes multiple antennas 1940, eNB 1930 may also include a single antenna 1940.

[0186] Base station device 1950 includes a controller 1951, a memory 1952, a network interface 1953, a wireless communication interface 1955, and a connection interface 1957. Controller 1951, memory 1952, and network interface 1953 are the same as controller 1821, memory 1822, and network interface 1823 described with reference to FIG.

[0187] The wireless communication interface 1955 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and provides wireless communication to terminals located in the sector corresponding to the RRH 1960 via the RRH 1960 and the antenna 1940. The wireless communication interface 1955 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 1956. The BB processor 1956 is identical to the BB processor 1826 described with reference to FIG. 8 , except that the BB processor 1956 is connected to the RF circuit 1964 of the RRH 1960 via the connection interface 1957. As shown in FIG. 9 , the wireless communication interface 1955 may include multiple BB processors 1956. For example, multiple BB processors 1956 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the eNB 1930. Although FIG. 9 illustrates an example in which the wireless communication interface 1955 includes multiple BB processors 1956, the wireless communication interface 1955 may also include a single BB processor 1956.

[0188] The connection interface 1957 is an interface for connecting the base station device 1950 (wireless communication interface 1955) to the RRH 1960. The connection interface 1957 may also be a communication module for connecting the base station device 1950 (wireless communication interface 1955) to the RRH 1960 for communication in the high-speed line.

[0189] The RRH 1960 includes a connection interface 1961 and a wireless communication interface 1963 .

[0190] The connection interface 1961 is an interface for connecting the RRH 1960 (wireless communication interface 1963) to the base station device 1950. The connection interface 1961 may also be a communication module for communication in the above-mentioned high-speed line.

[0191] The wireless communication interface 1963 transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 1940. The wireless communication interface 1963 may generally include, for example, an RF circuit 1964. The RF circuit 1964 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 1940. As shown in FIG9 , the wireless communication interface 1963 may include multiple RF circuits 1964. For example, the multiple RF circuits 1964 may support multiple antenna elements. Although FIG9 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 1963 includes multiple RF circuits 1964, the wireless communication interface 1963 may also include a single RF circuit 1964.

[0192] In the eNB 1930 shown in FIG9 , the communication unit in the electronic device 100 or 300 described above with reference to FIG1 or FIG3 can be implemented, for example, via the wireless communication interface 1963 and the optional antenna 1940. The functions of the scrambling unit in the electronic device 100 or 300 and at least a portion of the functions of the generating unit in the electronic device 300 can be implemented by the controller 1951. For example, the controller 1951 can implement some or all of the functions of the scrambling unit or the generating unit by executing instructions stored in the memory 1952. Furthermore, a storage unit (not shown) in the electronic device 100 or 300 can be implemented by the memory 1952.

[0193] [Application examples on user devices]

[0194] (First application example)

[0195] 10 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone 2000 to which the technology of the present disclosure can be applied. The smartphone 2000 includes a processor 2001, a memory 2002, a storage device 2003, an external connection interface 2004, a camera 2006, a sensor 2007, a microphone 2008, an input device 2009, a display device 2010, a speaker 2011, a wireless communication interface 2012, one or more antenna switches 2015, one or more antennas 2016, a bus 2017, a battery 2018, and an auxiliary controller 2019.

[0196] The processor 2001 may be, for example, a CPU or a system on a chip (SoC), and controls the functions of the application layer and other layers of the smartphone 2000. The memory 2002 includes RAM and ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 2001. The storage device 2003 may include storage media such as semiconductor memories and hard disks. The external connection interface 2004 is an interface for connecting external devices (such as memory cards and universal serial bus (USB) devices) to the smartphone 2000.

[0197] The camera 2006 includes an image sensor (such as a charge coupled device (CCD) and a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)) and generates a captured image. The sensor 2007 may include a group of sensors such as a measurement sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor. The microphone 2008 converts the sound input to the smart phone 2000 into an audio signal. The input device 2009 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a keypad, a keyboard, a button, or a switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 2010, and receives an operation or information input from the user. The display device 2010 includes a screen (such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display) and displays the output image of the smart phone 2000. The speaker 2011 converts the audio signal output from the smart phone 2000 into sound.

[0198] The wireless communication interface 2012 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 2012 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 2013 and an RF circuit 2014. The BB processor 2013 may perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 2014 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 2016. The wireless communication interface 2012 may be a chip module on which the BB processor 2013 and the RF circuit 2014 are integrated. As shown in FIG10 , the wireless communication interface 2012 may include multiple BB processors 2013 and multiple RF circuits 2014. Although FIG10 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 2012 includes multiple BB processors 2013 and multiple RF circuits 2014, the wireless communication interface 2012 may also include a single BB processor 2013 or a single RF circuit 2014.

[0199] In addition, in addition to the cellular communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 2012 can support other types of wireless communication schemes, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near field communication scheme, and a wireless local area network (LAN) scheme. In this case, the wireless communication interface 2012 can include a BB processor 2013 and an RF circuit 2014 for each wireless communication scheme.

[0200] Each of the antenna switches 2015 switches the connection destination of the antenna 916 between a plurality of circuits (eg, circuits for different wireless communication schemes) included in the wireless communication interface 2012 .

[0201] Each of the antennas 2016 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals via the wireless communication interface 2012. As shown in FIG10 , the smartphone 2000 may include multiple antennas 2016. Although FIG10 shows an example in which the smartphone 2000 includes multiple antennas 2016, the smartphone 2000 may also include a single antenna 2016.

[0202] In addition, the smartphone 2000 may include an antenna 2016 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 2015 may be omitted from the configuration of the smartphone 2000.

[0203] The bus 2017 connects the processor 2001, the memory 2002, the storage device 2003, the external connection interface 2004, the camera 2006, the sensor 2007, the microphone 2008, the input device 2009, the display device 2010, the speaker 2011, the wireless communication interface 2012, and the auxiliary controller 2019. The battery 2018 supplies power to the various blocks of the smartphone 2000 shown in FIG10 via feeders, which are partially shown as dotted lines in the figure. The auxiliary controller 2019 operates the minimum necessary functions of the smartphone 2000, for example, in sleep mode.

[0204] In the smartphone 2000 shown in FIG10 , the communication unit in the electronic device 400 described previously with reference to FIG4 can be implemented via the wireless communication interface 2012 and the optional antenna 2016. At least a portion of the functionality of the decoding unit in the electronic device 400 can be implemented by the processor 2001 or the auxiliary controller 2019. For example, the processor 2001 or the auxiliary controller 2019 can implement all or part of the functionality of the decoding unit by executing instructions stored in the memory 2002 or the storage device 2003. In addition, the storage unit (not shown) in the electronic device 400 can be implemented by the memory 2002 or the storage device 2003.

[0205] (Second application example)

[0206] 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation device 2120 to which the technology of the present disclosure may be applied. The car navigation device 2120 includes a processor 2121, a memory 2122, a global positioning system (GPS) module 2124, a sensor 2125, a data interface 2126, a content player 2127, a storage medium interface 2128, an input device 2129, a display device 2130, a speaker 2131, a wireless communication interface 2133, one or more antenna switches 2136, one or more antennas 2137, and a battery 2138.

[0207] The processor 2121 may be, for example, a CPU or an SoC, and controls a navigation function and other functions of the car navigation device 2120. The memory 2122 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 2121.

[0208] The GPS module 2124 uses GPS signals received from GPS satellites to measure the position (such as latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation device 2120. The sensor 2125 may include a group of sensors such as a gyroscope sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an air pressure sensor. The data interface 2126 is connected to, for example, the vehicle network 2141 via a terminal not shown, and acquires data generated by the vehicle (such as vehicle speed data).

[0209] The content player 2127 reproduces content stored in a storage medium (such as a CD or DVD) inserted into the storage medium interface 2128. The input device 2129 includes, for example, a touch sensor, button, or switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 2130, and receives an operation or information input from the user. The display device 2130 includes a screen such as an LCD or OLED display and displays an image of a navigation function or reproduced content. The speaker 2131 outputs the sound of the navigation function or the reproduced content.

[0210] The wireless communication interface 2133 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as LTE and LTE-Advanced) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 2133 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 2134 and an RF circuit 2135. The BB processor 2134 may perform, for example, encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and multiplexing / demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 2135 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive wireless signals via an antenna 2137. The wireless communication interface 2133 may also be a chip module on which the BB processor 2134 and the RF circuit 2135 are integrated. As shown in Figure 11, the wireless communication interface 2133 may include multiple BB processors 2134 and multiple RF circuits 2135. Although Figure 11 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 2133 includes multiple BB processors 2134 and multiple RF circuits 2135, the wireless communication interface 2133 may also include a single BB processor 2134 or a single RF circuit 2135.

[0211] In addition, in addition to the cellular communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 2133 can support other types of wireless communication schemes, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near field communication scheme, and a wireless LAN scheme. In this case, for each wireless communication scheme, the wireless communication interface 2133 can include a BB processor 2134 and an RF circuit 2135.

[0212] Each of the antenna switches 2136 switches the connection destination of the antenna 2137 between a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 2133 , such as circuits for different wireless communication schemes.

[0213] Each of the antennas 2137 includes a single or multiple antenna elements (such as multiple antenna elements included in a MIMO antenna) and is used for transmitting and receiving wireless signals via the wireless communication interface 2133. As shown in FIG11, the car navigation device 2120 may include multiple antennas 2137. Although FIG11 shows an example in which the car navigation device 2120 includes multiple antennas 2137, the car navigation device 2120 may also include a single antenna 2137.

[0214] Furthermore, the car navigation device 2120 may include an antenna 2137 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 2136 may be omitted from the configuration of the car navigation device 2120.

[0215] The battery 2138 supplies power to the respective blocks of the car navigation device 2120 shown in Fig. 11 via a feeder line, which is partially shown as a dotted line in the figure. The battery 2138 accumulates the power supplied from the vehicle.

[0216] In the car navigation device 2120 shown in FIG11 , the communication unit in the sub-device 400 described above with reference to FIG4 can be implemented via the wireless communication interface 2133 and the optional antenna 2137. At least a portion of the functions of the decoding unit in the electronic device 400 can be implemented by the processor 2121. For example, the processor 2121 can implement some or all of the functions of the decoding unit by executing instructions stored in the memory 2122. In addition, the storage unit (not shown) in the electronic device 400 can be implemented by the memory 2122.

[0217] The technology of the present disclosure can also be implemented as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 2140 including a car navigation device 2120, an in-vehicle network 2141, and one or more blocks of a vehicle module 2142. The vehicle module 2142 generates vehicle data (such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and fault information) and outputs the generated data to the in-vehicle network 2141.

[0218] The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present disclosure is of course not limited to the above examples. Those skilled in the art may obtain various changes and modifications within the scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that these changes and modifications will naturally fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0219] For example, the units shown in dotted boxes in the functional block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings all indicate that the functional units are optional in the corresponding device, and the various optional functional units can be combined in an appropriate manner to achieve the required functions.

[0220] For example, a plurality of functions included in one unit in the above embodiments may be implemented by separate devices. Alternatively, a plurality of functions implemented by a plurality of units in the above embodiments may be implemented by separate devices, respectively. In addition, one of the above functions may be implemented by a plurality of units. Needless to say, such a configuration is included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

[0221] In this specification, the steps described in the flowchart include not only processing executed in time series in the order described, but also processing executed in parallel or individually rather than necessarily in time series. In addition, even in the steps processed in time series, it goes without saying that the order can be changed as appropriate.

[0222] Furthermore, the present disclosure may have configurations as described below.

[0223] 1. An electronic device comprising:

[0224] The processing circuit is configured to:

[0225] Scrambling the first downlink control information DCI with a predefined terminal identifier to instruct the terminal device to decode the second DCI in a set of designated control channels; and

[0226] Sending an encrypted first DCI to the terminal device.

[0227] 2. The electronic device according to configuration 1, wherein the second DCI includes one or more DCIs to be transmitted after the first DCI.

[0228] 3. The electronic device according to configuration 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: when the number of second DCIs is greater than 1, send indication information indicating the number of second DCIs to the terminal device.

[0229] 4. The electronic device according to configuration 1, wherein:

[0230] The first DCI includes a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels, or

[0231] The first DCI does not include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a second terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels.

[0232] 5. The electronic device according to configuration 1, wherein the set of designated control channels satisfies one of the following conditions:

[0233] A first condition that the control channels in the set have the same DCI format as the first DCI;

[0234] a second condition that the control channels in the set have the same aggregation level as the control channel carrying the first DCI;

[0235] A third condition that the control channel in the set has the same search space identifier as the control channel carrying the first DCI; or

[0236] The control channels in the set have a fourth condition of scheduling a DCI format.

[0237] 6. The electronic device according to configuration 5, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: send indication information to the terminal device, the indication information specifying one of the multiple conditions.

[0238] 7. An electronic device according to configuration 5, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: send first indication information and second indication information to the terminal device, wherein the first indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI including a wake-up indication meets, and the second indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication meets.

[0239] 8. The electronic device according to configuration 7, wherein the first indication information specifies the fourth condition, and the second indication information specifies the first condition.

[0240] 9. The electronic device according to any one of configurations 3 or 6 to 8, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: send the indication information via radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling.

[0241] 10. The electronic device according to configuration 5, wherein:

[0242] The first DCI includes a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that meet the fourth condition, or

[0243] The first DCI does not include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that meet a fourth condition.

[0244] 11. An electronic device comprising:

[0245] The processing circuit is configured to:

[0246] receiving first downlink control information DCI scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier; and

[0247] According to the indication of the terminal identifier, a second DCI is decoded in a set of designated control channels.

[0248] 12. The electronic device according to configuration 11, wherein the second DCI includes one or more DCIs to be sent after the first DCI.

[0249] 13. The electronic device according to configuration 11, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to receive indication information indicating the number of second DCIs, the indication information indicating a number greater than 1.

[0250] 14. The electronic device according to configuration 11, wherein:

[0251] The first DCI includes a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels, or

[0252] The first DCI does not include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a second terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels.

[0253] 15. The electronic device of configuration 11, wherein the set of designated control channels satisfies one of the following conditions:

[0254] A first condition that the control channels in the set have the same DCI format as the first DCI;

[0255] a second condition that the control channels in the set have the same aggregation level as the control channel carrying the first DCI;

[0256] A third condition that the control channel in the set has the same search space identifier as the control channel carrying the first DCI; or

[0257] The control channels in the set have a fourth condition of scheduling a DCI format.

[0258] 16. The electronic device according to configuration 15, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: receive indication information, the indication information specifying one condition among the plurality of conditions.

[0259] 17. An electronic device according to configuration 15, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: receive first indication information and second indication information, wherein the first indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI including a wake-up indication meets, and the second indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication meets.

[0260] 18. The electronic device according to configuration 17, wherein the first indication information specifies the fourth condition, and the second indication information specifies the first condition.

[0261] 19. The electronic device according to any one of configurations 13 or 16 to 18, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: receive the indication information through radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling.

[0262] 20. The electronic device according to configuration 15, wherein:

[0263] The first DCI includes a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that meet the fourth condition, or

[0264] The first DCI does not include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that meet a fourth condition.

[0265] 21. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

[0266] Scrambling the first downlink control information DCI with a predefined terminal identifier to instruct the terminal device to decode the second DCI in a set of designated control channels; and

[0267] Sending an encrypted first DCI to the terminal device.

[0268] 22. A method for wireless communication, comprising:

[0269] receiving first downlink control information DCI scrambled with a predefined terminal identifier; and

[0270] According to the indication of the terminal identifier, a second DCI is decoded in a set of designated control channels.

[0271] 23. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor performs the method for wireless communication according to configuration 21 or 22.

[0272] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are merely illustrative of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and variations can be made to the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the present disclosure is solely defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An electronic device comprising: The processing circuit is configured to: Scrambling the first downlink control information DCI with a predefined terminal identifier to instruct the terminal device to decode the second DCI in a set of designated control channels; as well as Sending an encrypted first DCI to the terminal device.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein The second DCI includes one or more DCIs to be transmitted after the first DCI.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein The processing circuit is further configured to: when the number of second DCIs is greater than 1, send indication information indicating the number of second DCIs to the terminal device.

4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein The first DCI includes a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels, or The first DCI does not include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a second terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels.

5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein The set of designated control channels meets one of the following conditions: A first condition that the control channels in the set have the same DCI format as the first DCI; a second condition that the control channels in the set have the same aggregation level as the control channel carrying the first DCI; A third condition that the control channel in the set has the same search space identifier as the control channel carrying the first DCI; or The control channels in the set have a fourth condition of scheduling a DCI format. The electronic device according to claim 5 , wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: send indication information to the terminal device, where the indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions.

7. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: send first indication information and second indication information to the terminal device, wherein the first indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI including a wake-up indication meets, and the second indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication meets.

8. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein: The first indication information specifies the fourth condition, and the second indication information specifies the first condition.

9. The electronic device according to any one of claims 3 or 6 to 8, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: send the indication information through radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling.

10. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein The first DCI includes a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that meet the fourth condition, or The first DCI does not include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that meet a fourth condition.

11. An electronic device comprising: The processing circuit is configured to: receiving first downlink control information DCI scrambled by a predefined terminal identifier; as well as According to the indication of the terminal identifier, a second DCI is decoded in a set of designated control channels.

12. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein The second DCI includes one or more DCIs to be transmitted after the first DCI.

13. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein The processing circuit is further configured to receive indication information indicating the number of second DCIs, where the indication information indicates a number greater than 1.

14. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein The first DCI includes a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels, or The first DCI does not include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a second terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of designated control channels.

15. The electronic device according to claim 11, wherein The set of designated control channels meets one of the following conditions: A first condition that the control channels in the set have the same DCI format as the first DCI; a second condition that the control channels in the set have the same aggregation level as the control channel carrying the first DCI; The control channels in the set have the same search order as the control channel carrying the first DCI. The third condition of spatial identification; or The control channels in the set have a fourth condition of scheduling a DCI format.

16. The electronic device according to claim 15, wherein The processing circuit is further configured to receive indication information, where the indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions.

17. The electronic device according to claim 15, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: receive first indication information and second indication information, wherein the first indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI including a wake-up indication meets, and the second indication information specifies one of the multiple conditions that a set of control channels for decoding a second DCI subsequent to a first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication meets.

18. The electronic device according to claim 17, wherein: The first indication information specifies the fourth condition, and the second indication information specifies the first condition.

19. The electronic device according to any one of claims 13 or 16 to 18, wherein: The processing circuit is further configured to: receive the indication information through radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling.

20. The electronic device according to claim 15, wherein The first DCI includes a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI including the wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that meet the fourth condition, or The first DCI does not include a wake-up indication, and the terminal identifier is a first terminal identifier used to scramble the first DCI that does not include a wake-up indication to indicate that a subsequent second DCI should be decoded in a set of control channels that meet a fourth condition.

21. A method for wireless communication, comprising: Scrambling the first downlink control information DCI with a predefined terminal identifier to instruct the terminal device to decode the second DCI in a set of designated control channels; as well as Sending an encrypted first DCI to the terminal device.

22. A method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving first downlink control information DCI scrambled by a predefined terminal identifier; as well as According to the indication of the terminal identifier, a second DCI is decoded in a set of designated control channels.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions, wherein when the executable instructions are executed by a processor, the processor is caused to perform the method for wireless communication according to claim 21 or 22.

Images