Communication method, equipment, device, chip, storage medium and program product

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a communication method, equipment, a device, a chip, a storage medium and a program product. In the method, a terminal device receives first information for scheduling a repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel of remaining minimum system information, and receives the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on the first information. The repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel is performed based on at least one of search space, control resource set, candidate location, control channel element. Therefore, the transmission reliability of the first downlink control channel used for scheduling the residual minimum system information can be improved, and the requirement of a future communication network can be met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a communication method, a communication device, a communication apparatus, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product for downlink control channel transmission. Background Art

[0002] A non-terrestrial network (NTN) is a wireless communication system operating above the earth's surface and will become a core pillar of the next-generation communication system. The Type 0 physical downlink control channel (Type0-PDCCH), as the core control channel for initial access in the Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR), is responsible for guiding a user equipment (UE) to obtain System Information Block 1 (SIB1) carrying the Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI) to ensure that the UE can smoothly complete subsequent communication processes. However, due to the large transmission loss in the NTN network, the existing PDCCH transmission mechanism can no longer meet the reliability requirements of future communication networks, especially for critical PDCCHs such as Type0-PDCCH. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the above problems, embodiments of this application aim to provide a communication solution to improve the reliability of downlink control channel transmission and meet the requirements of future communication networks.

[0004] According to a first aspect of embodiments of this application, a communication method is provided. The method may be executed by a terminal device. The method includes: receiving first information for repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel, where the first downlink control channel is used to schedule RMSI; and based on the first information, receiving repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, where the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel is performed based on at least one of the following: a search space, a control resource set (CORESET), a candidate location, and a control channel element (CCE).

[0005] According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present application, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by a network device. The method includes: sending first information for repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel, where the first downlink control channel is used to schedule RMSI; and sending a repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on the first information, where the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel is performed based on at least one of the following: search space, CORESET, candidate location, CCE.

[0006] According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present application, a communication device is provided. The device includes: a receiving component configured to receive first information for repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel, where the first downlink control channel is used to schedule RMSI; and a processing component configured to receive a repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on the first information, where the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel is performed based on at least one of the following: search space, CORESET, candidate location, CCE.

[0007] According to a fourth aspect of embodiments of the present application, a communication device is provided. The device includes: a sending component configured to send first information for repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel, where the first downlink control channel is used to schedule RMSI; and a processing component configured to send a repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on the first information, where the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel is performed based on at least one of the following: search space, CORESET, candidate location, CCE.

[0008] According to a fifth aspect of embodiments of the present application, a communication device is provided. The device includes a processor and a memory. The memory includes computer program code, and when the computer program code is run by the processor, the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect is executed.

[0009] According to a sixth aspect of embodiments of the present application, a chip is provided. The chip includes a processor, and the processor is connected to a memory located inside or outside the chip. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program from the memory so that the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect is executed.

[0010] According to a seventh aspect of embodiments of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium includes machine-executable instructions, and when the machine-executable instructions are executed by a device, the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect is executed.

[0011] According to an eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product includes computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed by a device, the method according to the first aspect or the second aspect is executed.

[0012] It will be understood from the following description of the exemplary embodiments that, according to the technical solutions proposed herein, repeated transmission of the downlink control channel can be achieved, thereby improving the reliability of downlink control channel transmission and meeting the requirements of future communication networks.

[0013] It should be understood that the content described in the Summary of the Invention section is not intended to identify the key or important features of the embodiments of the present application, nor is it used to limit the scope of the present application. Other features of the present application will be readily understood from the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] With reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description, the above and other features, advantages, and aspects of the embodiments of the present application will become more apparent. In the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements, where:

[0015] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an exemplary communication system in which the embodiments of the present application can be implemented is shown;

[0016] Figure 2A A schematic diagram of the structure of a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) in which the embodiments of the present application can be implemented is shown;

[0017] Figure 2B A diagram showing the configuration signaling of the Master Information Block (MIB) in the cell-defined SSB in which the embodiments of the present application can be implemented is shown;

[0018] Figure 2C A schematic diagram of multiplexing mode 1 of an SSB and an associated CORESET 0 in which the embodiments of the present application can be implemented is shown;

[0019] Figure 2D A schematic diagram of multiplexing mode 2 of an SSB and an associated CORESET 0 in which the embodiments of the present application can be implemented is shown;

[0020] Figure 2E A schematic diagram of multiplexing mode 3 of an SSB and an associated CORESET 0 in which the embodiments of the present application can be implemented is shown;

[0021] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an exemplary communication process according to the embodiments of the present application is shown;

[0022] Figures 4A to 4D respectively show schematic diagrams of exemplary downlink control channel retransmissions according to embodiments of the present application;

[0023] Figure 5 show a flowchart of a communication method implemented at a terminal device according to embodiments of the present application;

[0024] Figure 6 show a flowchart of a communication method implemented at a network device according to embodiments of the present application;

[0025] Figure 7 show a schematic block diagram of an exemplary communication device according to embodiments of the present application;

[0026] Figure 8 show a schematic block diagram of another exemplary communication device according to embodiments of the present application; and

[0027] Figure 9 show a simplified block diagram of a communication device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present application. Detailed Embodiments

[0028] Embodiments of the present application will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Although some embodiments of the present application are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present application can be implemented in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Instead, these embodiments are provided to more thoroughly and completely understand the present application. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present application are only for exemplary purposes and are not used to limit the protection scope of the present application.

[0029] The term "terminal device" in this document refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, UE, user station (SS), portable user station, mobile station (Mobile Station, MS), or access terminal (Access Terminal, AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, smart phones, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, game terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded equipment (Laptop Embedded Equipment, LEE), laptop mounted equipment (Laptop Mounted Iquipment, LME), Universal Serial Bus (Universal Serial Bus, USB) dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premise equipment (Customer Premise Equipment, CPE), Internet of Things (Internet of Things, IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (Head-Mounted Display, HMD), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (such as remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (such as robots and / or other wireless devices in the context of industrial and / or automation processing chains), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment", and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0030] The term "network device" in this document refers to a node in a communication network through which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. Depending on the terminology and technology of the application, a network device may refer to a base station (Base Station, BS) or an access point (Access Point, AP), for example, Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), NR NB (also known as gNB), remote radio unit (Remote Radio Unit, RRU), remote radio head (Remote Radio Head, RRH), relay, low-power nodes such as pico base stations or femto base stations, and so on. In some embodiments, the BS or AP may be movable, such as a satellite associated with a non-terrestrial network.

[0031] The network device can be implemented as a Central Unit (CU)-Distributed Unit (DU) split architecture. The CU-DU split architecture can include one CU and one or more DUs. It should be understood that the CU can also be referred to as gNB-CU, and the DU can also be referred to as gNB-DU. The CU is used to carry the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP). The DU is used to carry the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Medium Access Control (MAC), and Physical (PHY) layer. The CU controls the one or more DUs. Of course, the network device can also be implemented as a non-split architecture.

[0032] The term "communication device" in this document refers to a device that implements the functions of a terminal device or a network device. The communication device can be the terminal device or the network device itself, or a part of the terminal device or the network device, such as a chip. The chip can be, for example, a System on Chip (SoC), a modem, etc.

[0033] The term "including" or similar expressions in this document means open inclusion, that is, "including but not limited to". The term "based on" should be understood as "at least partially based on". The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The terms "first", "second", etc. can refer to different or the same objects. The term "and / or" means at least one of the two items associated with it. For example, "a and / or b" means a, b, or "a and b". The character " / " usually means that the related objects are in an "or" relationship. The term "at least one item" means one item or more. The term "at least one of the following items" or similar expressions means any combination of these items, including any combination of a single item or multiple items. For example, "at least one of a, b, c" can mean a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a, b, and c". Other terms will be defined in the following description.

[0034] As mentioned above, due to the large transmission loss in the NTN network, the existing PDCCH transmission mechanism can no longer meet the reliability requirements of future communication networks. A new transmission mechanism needs to be designed to ensure the reliable detection of key PDCCHs such as Type0-PDCCH.

[0035] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application proposes a scheme for repeated transmission of a downlink control channel. In this scheme, a network device may send information (for convenience, also referred to as first information) regarding repeated transmission of a downlink control channel for scheduling RMSI (for convenience, also referred to as the first downlink control channel). A terminal device may receive the first information and, based on the first information, receive repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel from the network device. The repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel may be performed based on at least one of the following: search space, CORESET, candidate location, CCE.

[0036] According to the scheme of the embodiment of the present application, repeated transmission of a downlink control channel can be achieved. Thereby, the reliability of future communication networks such as NTN networks can be improved.

[0037] It should be noted here that the term "first downlink control channel" herein refers to a downlink control channel for scheduling RMSI, such as Type0-PDCCH or a downlink control channel for scheduling RMSI named in other ways in the future. The term "repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel" refers to the repeated transmission of downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling RMSI at multiple candidate locations. It should be noted that the term "repeated transmission" may also be referred to as "repetition", and the term "candidate location" may also be referred to as "candidate".

[0038] The principle and implementation of this scheme will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an example communication system 100 in which an embodiment of the present application can be implemented is shown. As Figure 1 shown, the communication system 100 may include at least one terminal device ( Figure 1 terminal devices 110-1 and 110-2 are shown therein, and for convenience, they are collectively referred to as terminal device 110 hereinafter) and at least one network device ( Figure 1 network devices 120-1 and 120-2 are shown therein, and for convenience, they are collectively referred to as network device 120 hereinafter). The network device 120 herein is a radio access network (RAN) device. The network device 120 may provide one or more cells ( Figure 1 cell 121 is shown therein) for serving one or more terminal devices.

[0040] The terminal device 110 can be connected to the network device 120 wirelessly. The terminal devices 110-1 and 110-2 can be connected by wire or wirelessly. The network devices 120-1 and 120-2 can be connected by wire or wirelessly.

[0041] As Figure 1 shown, the communication system 100 may further include a core network (CN) 130. The terminal device 110 can communicate with one or more CN devices (not shown) in the CN 130 via the network device 120. The network device 120 can be connected to the CN 130 by wireless or wire. The network device 120 can be implemented as a physical device independent of the CN device, or can be implemented as a physical device integrating some functions of the CN device.

[0042] It should be understood that Figure 1 the number and type of the terminal devices or network devices in

[0043] are only examples and do not imply any limitation to this application. The communication system 100 may involve any suitable number of terminal devices and / or network devices and / or cells suitable for implementing the embodiments of this application. The communication in the communication system 100 can conform to any suitable communication standard, including but not limited to Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Machine Type Communication (MTC), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to the Fourth Generation (4G), 5G, Sixth Generation (6G) communication protocol, or other existing or future suitable communication protocols.

[0044] It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various suitable communication systems. Considering the rapid development of communication technologies, there will of course be future types of communication technologies and systems, and the present application may be combined with them. The communication system 100 is only an example and does not imply limiting the scope of the present application to a specific system.

[0045] Continuing to refer to Figure 1 , the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 can communicate via a wireless communication channel. The channel from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120 can be referred to as an uplink channel. The channel from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110 can be referred to as a downlink channel. The channel used to transmit data signals is called a data channel, and the channel used to transmit signaling or control signals is called a control channel. The downlink channel used to transmit signaling or control signals is called a downlink control channel. The PDCCH is a typical downlink control channel.

[0046] The PDCCH carries DCI for scheduling uplink and downlink data transmission resources, power control instructions, system information, etc. The PDCCH is the "scheduling center" of a wireless communication system, so the design of the PDCCH directly affects network throughput, latency, and coverage capabilities.

[0047] To improve the efficiency and reliability of the control channel, 5G NR introduces CORESET. CORESET is essentially a set of physical resources for carrying the PDCCH, which defines the resource locations of the PDCCH in the frequency domain and time domain, and can achieve more flexible time-frequency resource configuration. CORESET occupies 1 - 3 consecutive Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in the time domain and supports continuous and discrete frequency domain resource allocation in the frequency domain. However, the configured CORESET must be within the frequency range of the bandwidth part (BWP), and the maximum value of the resource block (RB) is 270. According to factors such as the configuration method, usage, mapping method, and application scenario, CORESET is divided into cell-level CORESET and user-related CORESET.

[0048] The cell-level CORESET is mainly used to carry the scheduling information of SIB1 and is identified by CORESET 0. CORESET 0 refers to the CORESET configured through the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). CORESET 0 is configured through 4-bit information in the MIB. Due to the limited capacity of the MIB to carry information, most of the parameters of CORESET 0 are determined in a predefined manner.

[0049] User-related CORESETs are identified using CORESET 1 to 11. CORESET 1 to 11 are configured for specific user equipment or groups of user equipment and carry specific control information.

[0050] However, the CORESET only specifies the number of time-domain symbols and the number of frequency-domain RBs occupied by the time-frequency resources. The specific time-domain symbol positions of the corresponding time-frequency resources need to be determined through the Search Space. The Search Space is a region defined in 5G NR, and the terminal device needs to monitor the PDCCH in this region to obtain DCI. The search space type associated with CORESET 0 is Search Space 0 (SearchSpace0), which contains the monitoring positions of PDCCH candidates. The terminal device performs blind decoding at these positions to search for PDCCH information. The specific search space information of the terminal device is configured by RRC signaling. The main configuration parameters and functions include: search space ID (searchSpaceId) (obtain the search space through the MIB when the search space ID is 0); the corresponding CORESET ID (controlResourceSetId); the monitoring slot period (monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset), i.e., the transmission period; and the position of the monitored OFDM symbol within the slot (monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot).

[0051] Type0-PDCCH is a specific type of PDCCH dedicated to scheduling SIB1. Based on the pdcch-ConfigSIB1 information in the MIB, the terminal device can monitor Type0-PDCCH in SearchSpace0, perform blind detection using the System Information Radio Network Temporary Identifier (SI-RNTI), demodulate and receive SIB1, and thus obtain the RMSI required to access the wireless network system.

[0052] The PDCCH CORESET0 and SearchSpace0 can be indicated by the SSB. 5G NR supports two types of SSB. One is the non-cell-defined SSB, whose main purpose is radio resource management. The other is the cell-defined SSB, which carries the configuration information of the associated CORESET 0 and the configuration information of the monitoring opportunity of Type0-PDCCH. Figure 2A FIG. 200A shows a schematic structural diagram of the SSB in which the embodiments of the present application can be implemented. As Figure 2AAs shown, the MIB is included in the PBCH. When the terminal device detects a certain SSB during cell search, the terminal device first needs to determine which of the two types this SSB is. This process is determined according to the subcarrier offset K between the SSB and the common resource block grid SSB whether it is within the range of valid subcarrier offset values. If K SSB is within the range of valid subcarrier offset values, then this SSB is a cell-defined SSB, otherwise this SSB is a non-cell-defined SSB. When the carrier frequency belongs to Frequency Range 2 (FR2), the value of K SSB is given by the 4-bit parameter ssb-SubcarrierOffset in the MIB, and the range of valid subcarrier offset values is 0 ≤ K SSB ≤ 11. When the carrier frequency belongs to Frequency Range 1 (FR1), the value of K SSB is given by a 5-bit (bit) field. The highest bit of this field is the PBCH payload parameter, and the remaining 4 bits are the MIB parameter ssb-SubcarrierOffset, and the range of valid subcarrier offset values is 0 ≤ K SSB ≤ 23.

[0053] Figure 2B FIG. 200B shows the MIB configuration signaling in the cell-defined SSB in which the embodiments of the present application can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 200B, both CORESET0 and SearchSpace0 can be configured in the MIB through pdcch-ConfigSIB1. pdcch-ConfigSIB1 is an 8-bit (bit) field, where the upper 4 bits indicate the CORESET0 configuration index and represent controlResourceSetZero, and the lower 4 bits indicate the SearchSpace0 configuration index and represent searchSpaceZero.

[0054] Currently, index mapping tables for CORESET 0 and SearchSpace0 in different modes are provided, and the indication of PDCCH CORESET0 and SearchSpace0 in the SSB can be achieved by looking up the tables. For example, after the terminal device reads the MIB information, K is obtained from ssb-SubcarrierOffset SSBTo determine the SSB type. In addition, the RMSI subcarrier spacing (RMSI SCS) is obtained according to the configured index information subCarrierSpacingCommon, and the corresponding table can be found through the minimum channel bandwidth determined by combining the frequency band detected by the terminal device to determine the multiplexing mode of SSB and CORESET 0 and the time-frequency resource information of PDCCH. After determining the multiplexing mode of SSB and CORESET 0 and the RMSI SCS information, the corresponding table can be found by combining the lower 4-bit configuration index of pdcch-ConfigSIB1 to determine SearchSpace0.

[0055] NR defines three multiplexing modes for SSB and CORESET 0: multiplexing mode 1, multiplexing mode 2, and multiplexing mode 3.

[0056] Figure 2C FIG. 200C shows a schematic diagram of multiplexing mode 1 of SSB and associated CORESET 0 in which embodiments of the present application can be implemented. As Figure 2C shown, in the time domain, the SSB (i.e., the SS / PBCH block) and the associated CORESET 0 (i.e., CORESET#0) appear at different times. In the frequency domain, the channel bandwidth used for SSB transmission is covered by the channel bandwidth used for CORESET 0 transmission, that is, the starting position of CORESET 0 is always lower than or equal to the frequency domain lower boundary of the SSB, and the specific relative position is determined by the parameter K SSB and offsetToPonitA. K SSB refers to the subcarrier offset between the SSB and the common resource block grid, and offsetToPonitA refers to the frequency deviation between point A in the frequency domain and the lowest point in the frequency domain.

[0057] Figure 2D FIG. 200D shows a schematic diagram of multiplexing mode 2 of SSB and associated CORESET 0 in which embodiments of the present application can be implemented. As Figure 2D shown, in the time domain, the SSB (i.e., the SS / PBCH block) and the associated CORESET 0 (i.e., CORESET#0) appear at different times. In the frequency domain, the SSB is located on top of (as shown in 210) or at the bottom of (as shown in 220) the CORESET 0. In the configurations supported by NR, when the SSB is on top of the CORESET 0, the frequency domain interval between the SSB and the CORESET 0 is 12 + K SSB subcarriers. When the SSB is at the bottom of the CORESET 0, if K SSB ≠0, the frequency domain interval is 24 - K SSB subcarriers, if KSSB = 0, the frequency domain interval is 12 sub - carriers. The sub - carrier interval used to calculate the frequency domain interval is the same as the sub - carrier interval used for CORESET0, which is defined by the MIB parameter subCarrierSpacingCommon.

[0058] Figure 2E FIG. 200E shows a schematic diagram of multiplexing mode 3 of SSB and the associated CORESET 0 in which embodiments of the present application can be implemented. As Figure 2E shown, in the time domain, the SSB (i.e., SS / PBCH block) and the associated CORESET 0 (i.e., CORESET#0) appear in the same OFDM symbol. In the frequency domain, the SSB is exactly on top of (as shown at 230) or at the bottom of (as shown at 240) CORESET 0. In the configurations supported by NR, when the SSB is on top of CORESET 0, the interval in the frequency domain is K SSB sub - carrier intervals. When the SSB is at the bottom of CORESET 0, if K SSB ≠0, the frequency domain interval is 12 - K SSB sub - carrier intervals; if K SSB = 0, the frequency domain interval is 0 sub - carriers.

[0059] NTN is a wireless communication system operating above the earth's surface, including satellites in low - earth orbit (LEO), medium - earth orbit (MEO), and geostationary earth orbit (GEO), as well as high - altitude platform stations (HAPS) and unmanned aerial vehicles. As the core pillar of the next - generation communication system, NTN has broken through the shackles of traditional terrestrial network - assisted positioning and is reconstructing the underlying architecture and top - level design of the global communication system. Its strategic value is concentrated in building a three - dimensional "space - air - ground - sea" networking architecture. Through the heterogeneous integration of satellite communication systems and terrestrial cellular networks, it subversively breaks through the traditional coverage boundaries of geographical latitude and physical space. This full - domain seamless coverage ability promotes the paradigm shift of communication services from regional interconnection to ubiquitous intelligent connection. It not only extends the network service scope to traditional communication blind spots such as the ocean, polar regions, and aviation, but also significantly improves the service robustness of the system in complex environments such as emergency rescue, wide - area connection of the Internet of Things, and high - dynamic mobile scenarios through the satellite - ground collaborative dynamic resource scheduling mechanism. NTN is opening up a new era of "all things intelligently connected and globally reachable" for communication networks.

[0060] Compared with terrestrial networks, the ultra-long-distance nature of satellites makes the propagation loss magnitude presented by NTN networks much larger. In addition to the drawbacks brought by satellite characteristics, NTN networks are also significantly attenuated by adverse weather such as ionospheric scintillation and clouds and fog. Multiple propagation losses lead to a reduction in the reliability of NTN networks.

[0061] Type0-PDCCH is the core control channel for initial access in 5G NR, responsible for guiding the terminal device to obtain SIB1 to ensure the terminal completes the subsequent communication process smoothly. Therefore, Type0-PDCCH is very important in simplifying the initial search process of the terminal device and reducing the complexity of system information acquisition. However, due to the large propagation loss in NTN networks, the existing PDCCH propagation method can no longer meet the reliability requirements of communication networks, and a new transmission mechanism needs to be designed to ensure the reliable detection of key PDCCHs such as Type0-PDCCH. For example, consider repeating the transmission of Type0-PDCCH. Since the position of Type0-PDCCH needs to be blindly detected by the terminal device in CORESET0 and SearchSpace0, when repeating the transmission of Type0-PDCCH, how to ensure that the network side and the terminal side understand it consistently still needs to be studied and designed. In addition, how to perform this repeated transmission also needs to be studied and designed.

[0062] In view of this, the embodiment of this application proposes a scheme for repeating the transmission of a first downlink control channel. The first downlink control channel can be any downlink control channel such as Type0-PDCCH used to schedule RMSI. In this scheme, the terminal device can receive the first information for the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel from the network device and receive the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on this first information. This can ensure that the network side and the terminal side understand the repeated transmission of the downlink control channel consistently. By designing the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on at least one of the search space, control resource set, candidate position, and control channel element, the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel can be flexibly implemented. While ensuring the scheduling flexibility of the system and the blind detection complexity, it significantly improves the PDCCH transmission reliability. The following will be combined with Figure 3 to describe this scheme in more detail.

[0063] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of an example communication process 300 according to an embodiment of this application. For convenience, reference will be made to Figure 1The communication process 300 is described by way of example. The communication process 300 may involve the terminal device 110 and the network device 120. It should be understood that the communication process 300 may be performed between the terminal device 110 and the network device 120, or between a communication device that supports the terminal device 110 to implement functions and the network device 120, or between the terminal device 110 and a communication device that supports the network device 120 to implement functions, or between a communication device that supports the terminal device 110 to implement functions and a communication device that supports the network device 120 to implement functions. For example, the communication device may be a chip such as an SoC, a modem, etc.

[0064] As Figure 3 shown, in step 310, the network device 120 may send first information for a repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel. Correspondingly, the terminal device 110 may receive the first information. The repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel may be performed based on at least one of the following: search space, CORESET, candidate location, CCE.

[0065] In some embodiments, the first information may be included in a signaling. For example, the first information may be indicated in the SSB. In some examples, the first information may be carried by using the MIB signaling or the PBCH reserved bits in the SSB. In other examples, the first information may be indicated in other signaling such as SIB1, RRC, MAC control element (MAC CE), PDCCH, etc. In still other examples, the first information may be indicated by a multi-level indication. For example, a set or list of first information is configured by RRC signaling, and the MIB signaling is used to indicate the activation of one or more first information. In this way, the first information can be explicitly indicated.

[0066] In some embodiments, the first information may be indicated by transmission parameters of the first downlink control channel. For example, the first information may be carried by one or more of transmission parameters such as bandwidth, subcarrier spacing, cyclic prefix type, etc. In this way, the first information can be implicitly indicated, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first information may include second information for indicating whether to perform repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel. In some examples, the second information may include an indication that the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel will be performed, or an indication that the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel will not be performed. For example, if the second information is a first value (e.g., 1), it indicates that the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel will be performed. If the second information is a second value (e.g., 0), it indicates that the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel will not be performed. Thus, it is possible to explicitly indicate whether to perform the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0068] In some other examples, the second information may refer to the presence or absence of an indication that the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel will be performed. If the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel will be performed, the first information includes an indication that the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel will be performed. If the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel will not be performed, the first information does not include an indication that the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel will be performed. Thus, it is possible to implicitly indicate whether to perform the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0069] In some embodiments, the first information may include the total number of repetitions (denoted as N' herein) of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0070] In some embodiments, the first information may include a set of configuration parameters for the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel. In some embodiments, the set of configuration parameters may include at least one of the following: control resource set configuration or control resource set configuration index; search space configuration or search space configuration index; subcarrier offset between a synchronization signal block and a common resource grid (i.e., K SSB ); aggregation level; number of candidate positions; indication of candidate positions or calculation method of candidate positions.

[0071] In some embodiments, the first information may include a set of types of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel. The set of types includes one or more types. The sum of the number of repetitions (also referred to as the first number and denoted as N herein) corresponding to each type in the set of types is equal to the total number of repetitions N' of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel. When the set of types includes only one type, the first number N is equal to N'.

[0072] In some embodiments, the types in the type set may indicate repetitions in a first number of search spaces. In some examples, the first number of search spaces may be configured with the same CORESET and different sets of time domain configuration parameters. For example, the set of time domain configuration parameters may include the period of the search space, the slot position, the OFDM symbol position, etc. In other examples, the first number of search spaces may be configured with different CORESETs.

[0073] In some embodiments, the types in the type set may indicate repetitions in a first number of time units within a search space (also referred to herein as the first search space). In some embodiments, the time unit may be a slot, a symbol, a subframe, a frame, etc. In some embodiments, each of the first number of time units may be a time unit available within the first search space. Alternatively or additionally, the first number of time units may be consecutive within the first search space, and the time domain position of the first repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel within the first search space may be configured.

[0074] Taking the time unit as a slot as an example, the first downlink control channel is repeatedly transmitted over N' slots of a search space. In some examples, the repeated transmission may be performed over N' slots available within the search space. In other examples, the slot indicated for the search space may be the time domain position of the first repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, and then the first downlink control channel may be repeatedly transmitted N'-1 times over N'-1 consecutive slots.

[0075] Taking the time unit as a symbol as an example, the first downlink control channel is repeatedly transmitted over N' symbols of a search space. In some examples, the repeated transmission may be performed over N' symbols available within the search space. In other examples, the symbol indicated for the search space may be the time domain position of the first repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, and then the first downlink control channel may be repeatedly transmitted N'-1 times over N'-1 consecutive symbols.

[0076] Of course, the repeated transmission can be similarly performed for other time units, which will not be elaborated here.

[0077] It should be noted that for such repetitions in the first number of time units within the first search space, resource conflicts of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel are expected to be avoided among the first number of time units in different first search spaces associated with different SSB indices. Taking the time unit as a slot as an example, resource conflicts of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel need to be avoided among multiple consecutive slots associated with different SSB indices. For example, SSBn The associated time slot is time slot slot n and slot n+1 , SSB n+1 The associated time slot is time slot slot n+1 and slot n+2 , then SSB n The associated time slot slot n+1 and SSB n+1 The associated time slot slot n+1 needs to avoid resource conflict phenomena of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel.

[0078] In some embodiments, the types in the type set may indicate repetitions in a first number of CORESETs. In some examples, two or more CORESETs in the first number of CORESETs may be configured with different starting position offset values. Alternatively or additionally, two or more CORESETs in the first number of CORESETs may be configured with different candidate position offset values. For example, the indexes of the candidate positions corresponding to N' repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel on N CORESETs may be the same, or calculated according to a predefined formula. It should be understood that the predefined formula may take any suitable form, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0079] In some embodiments, the CCE index corresponding to the index of the candidate position on each CORESET in the first number of CORESETs may be determined based on the candidate position offset value corresponding to the CORESET. For example, the CCE index may be determined based on formula (1):

[0080]

[0081] where L represents the aggregation level, takes a value of 0, represents the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p represents the number of CCEs of CORESET p, represents the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with an aggregation level of L, represents rounding down, n CI represents the carrier indication field value, 0 ≦ i ≦ L - 1, and n repetition represents the candidate position offset value. For example, the system may provide a non-zero n CI value only in two scenarios: the cell scheduling configuration field cif-InSchedulingCell of the same serving cell and the set of serving cells MC-DCI-SetofCells.

[0082] It should be noted that Formula (1) is only an example, and other suitable forms of formulas are also feasible.

[0083] In some embodiments, the types in the type set may indicate repetitions in the first number of candidate positions. In the existing solutions, only one candidate position is selected from the set of candidate positions in the same CORESET for PDCCH transmission. However, according to the solution of this embodiment, multiple candidate positions can be selected from the set of candidate positions for repeated transmission of the downlink control channel. In some embodiments, the first number of candidate positions may be a subset of the candidate positions in the same CORESET, for example, it can be calculated according to a predefined formula. It should be understood that the predefined formula can adopt any suitable form, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0084] In some embodiments, the types in the type set may indicate repetitions in the first number of CCE sets associated with a candidate position (also referred to as the first candidate position herein). Each CCE set can be referred to as a frequency domain resource block. For example, repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel can be performed on the first number of consecutive frequency domain resource blocks, where one frequency domain resource block is L CCEs, and L represents the aggregation level.

[0085] In some embodiments, the starting position of the first candidate position can be determined according to at least one of the length of the corresponding CORESET, the aggregation level, the first number, and at least one adjustment parameter. The at least one adjustment parameter is used to adjust the offset value of the starting position in the corresponding CORESET. In some embodiments, the CCE indices in the first number of CCE sets associated with the first candidate position can be determined based on the first number. For example, the CCE indices can be determined based on Formula (2):

[0086]

[0087] where L represents the aggregation level, takes a value of 0, represents the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p represents the number of CCEs of CORESET p, represents the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with an aggregation level of L, represents rounding down, n CI represents the carrier indication field value, 0 ≦ i ≦ N·L - 1, and N represents the first number.

[0088] It should be noted that Formula (2) is only an example, and other suitable forms of formulas are also feasible.

[0089] Example embodiments of the types in the type set have been described so far. It should be noted that any combination of the above types, that is, the repeated transmission mode of multiple type combinations, is also feasible. In some embodiments, the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel can be performed in N' CORESETs within S search spaces. Each search space is respectively configured with C1, C2,......, C S CORESETs for this repeated transmission, where 1 ≤ S < N' and It should be noted that the association between the search space and the CORESET can be indicated by the high and low bits of the same field in the first information, or different association combinations can be indicated through a predefined table.

[0090] In some embodiments, the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel can be performed in N' candidate positions within S CORESETs. Each CORESET is respectively configured with C1, C2,......, C S candidate positions for this repeated transmission, where 1 ≤ S < N' and

[0091] As described above, by including the type set of the repeated transmission in the first information, the repeated transmission mode of the first downlink control channel can be directly indicated. In some alternative embodiments, the repeated transmission mode of the first downlink control channel can be implicitly indicated to save signaling overhead. In this case, multiple tables and / or multiple resource mapping relationships can be predefined for determining the repeated transmission mode of the first downlink control channel.

[0092] For example, in some embodiments, the first information may include a first number of resource indices. The first number of resource indices can respectively indicate the resources for the first number of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel. That is, the first information can directly include N' indices for the N' repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel. For example, the resources for the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel can be determined by looking up N' predefined tables based on the N' indices, so that the sending or receiving of this repeated transmission can be performed. That is, each of the N' predefined tables can define the mapping relationship between the index for the repeated transmission and the resources.

[0093] In some alternative embodiments, the first information may include only one index (also referred to herein as the first index). The first index may be associated with at least one of the following: a first resource for a first retransmission in the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; a second index associated with a second resource for a second retransmission in the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; a mapping relationship between the first index and the second index. It should be noted that the first retransmission may refer to any retransmission in the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel (e.g., the first retransmission), and the second retransmission may refer to any one or more other retransmissions in the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0094] In some embodiments, the mapping relationship may include a predefined index combination. In some embodiments, the mapping relationship may include a consecutive arrangement of indexes, such as a consecutive arrangement in ascending or descending order. In some embodiments, the mapping relationship may include an interval arrangement of indexes, such as an interval arrangement in ascending or descending order. In some embodiments, the mapping relationship may include a predefined formula, such as the following formula (3):

[0095] i n =(i n-1 +G)modI (3)

[0096] where i n represents the resource index of the nth retransmission, n = 0, ……, N - 1, N represents the first number, G represents an interval constant, and I represents the maximum value of the index.

[0097] It should be understood that formula (3) is only an example, and other suitable forms of formulas are also feasible.

[0098] In some examples, a first predefined table may define the mapping relationship between the first index, the first resource, and the second index, and a second predefined table may define the mapping relationship between the second index and the second resource. In this example, the first index may be a logical index. Based on the first index in the first information, the first predefined table can be looked up to determine the first resource and the second index. Then, based on the second index, the second predefined table can be looked up to determine the second resource. Based on the determined resources for the repeated transmission, the sending or receiving of the repeated transmission can be performed.

[0099] In some other examples, the third predefined table may include a first index associated with a mapping relationship between the first index and the second index. By looking up the third predefined table based on the first index in the first information, the mapping relationship between the first index and the second index can be determined. In this example, the first index may be a resource index corresponding to the first resource. Based on the determined mapping relationship between the first index and the second index, the second index (i.e., the resource index of the second resource) can be determined based on the first index. Based on the determined resources for the retransmission, the sending or receiving of the retransmission can be performed.

[0100] In some alternative embodiments, the first information may include at least one parameter. The at least one parameter is used to determine an index for the type of retransmission of the first downlink control channel. Thus, the retransmission manner of the first downlink control channel can also be determined. It should be noted that there is no limitation on the at least one parameter here, and any suitable manner is feasible.

[0101] So far, various example embodiments of the first information have been described. It should be noted that various suitable combinations of the above first information are also feasible, and the embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0102] Continuing to refer to Figure 3 , in step 320, the network device 120 may send a retransmission of the first downlink control channel based on the first information. For example, the network device 120 may determine a set of candidate positions associated with the retransmission of the first downlink control channel based on the first information. Based on the set of candidate positions, the network device 120 may send a retransmission of the first downlink control channel. For example, the network device 120 may determine the retransmission manner or resources based on the first information, and then may determine the set of candidate positions. The network device 120 may perform a retransmission of the first downlink control channel at one or more candidate positions in the set of candidate positions.

[0103] Correspondingly, the terminal device 110 may receive a retransmission of the first downlink control channel based on the received first information. For example, the terminal device 110 may determine the set of candidate positions based on the first information in the same manner as the network device 120. Based on the set of candidate positions, the terminal device 110 may receive a retransmission of the first downlink control channel. For example, the terminal device 110 may determine the retransmission manner or resources based on the first information, and then may determine the set of candidate positions. The terminal device 110 may perform a blind detection at the candidate positions in the set of candidate positions to receive a retransmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0104] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine an orthogonal cover code (OCC) sequence associated with the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, and transmit the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on the OCC sequence. Accordingly, the terminal device 110 may determine the OCC sequence in the same manner as the network device 120, and receive the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on the OCC sequence. By superimposing the OCC sequence on the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, the system capacity can be increased.

[0105] In some embodiments, the OCC sequence may be selected based on the total number of repetitions N'. In some embodiments, the OCC sequence may be predefined. In some embodiments, an index associated with the OCC sequence may be included in the first information, and then the OCC sequence may be determined by looking up a predefined table based on the index, and the predefined table may indicate the mapping relationship between the index and the OCC sequence. In some embodiments, the OCC sequence may be calculated by a predefined formula based on the cell identity (ID) and / or the SSB demodulation reference signal, etc. It should be understood that the predefined formula may take any suitable form, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0106] For ease of understanding, some exemplary embodiments of the repeated transmission of the downlink control channel will be described below in conjunction with Figures 4A to 4D Describe some exemplary embodiments of the repeated transmission of the downlink control channel.

[0107] Figure 4A FIG. shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary downlink control channel repeated transmission 400A according to an embodiment of the present application. In this example, an example of the repeated transmission on N' time slots within a search space is shown.

[0108] Taking the Type0-PDCCH for scheduling SIB1 as an example for illustration. Assume that according to the current channel quality, the Type0-PDCCH needs to be repeatedly transmitted three times to meet the transmission reliability requirements of the NTN network, and the number of repetitions is indicated in the first information. Additionally, assume that an index needs to be determined from the first information, and the candidate positions (i.e., resource mapping candidate positions) for the repeated transmission of the Type0-PDCCH are obtained by looking up a table based on the index. For example, the table of SearchSpace 0 designed for the repeated transmission of the Type0-PDCCH three times may be as shown in Table 1 below:

[0109] Table 1

[0110]

[0111]

[0112] In Table 1, It refers to the number of symbols corresponding to the CORESET resource. The significance of such a value setting is to ensure that the search space resources associated with different SSB indexes do not conflict in the time domain.

[0113] The candidate positions for Type0-PDCCH repeated transmission can be determined according to the following formula (4):

[0114]

[0115] Where μ represents the SCS parameter based on PDCCH reception, μ ∈ {0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6}, i represents the SSB index, and M represents the parameter determining the PDCCH listening opportunity. It represents the number of radio frames in a time slot. Taking μ = 2 and i = 0 as an example, at this time the subcarrier spacing is 30KHz. When the index determined from the first information is 0, n0 = 0, 4, 8.

[0116] In this example, Type0-PDCCH is repeatedly transmitted on three time slots in a search space (SearchSpace 0) and is repeatedly transmitted at the same candidate positions within CORESET 0. Assume that the available time slots within SearchSpace 0 are time slot #0, time slot #4, and time slot #8.

[0117] In one implementation, it can be transmitted on three available time slots within SearchSpace 0. As Figure 4A shown in Embodiment 1, Type0-PDCCH can be repeatedly transmitted three times on the available time slot #0, time slot #4, and time slot #8. For example, in each time slot, any one of the candidate positions 0, 1, 2 can be selected for Type0-PDCCH transmission.

[0118] In another implementation, the available time slots within SearchSpace 0 are the time domain positions for the first repeated transmission of Type0-PDCCH, and the remaining two repeated transmissions of Type0-PDCCH are transmitted on the two consecutive time slots after that time slot. As Figure 4A shown in Embodiment 2, Type0-PDCCH can be repeatedly transmitted on the available time slot #0 and the two consecutive time slots #1 and time slot #2 after it. It should be understood that although not shown, Type0-PDCCH can also be repeatedly transmitted on the available time slot #4 and the two consecutive time slots #5 and time slot #6 after it, or on the available time slot #8 and the two consecutive time slots #9 and time slot #10 after it. For example, in each time slot, any one of the candidate positions 0, 1, 2 can be selected for Type0-PDCCH transmission.

[0119] After the terminal device 110 completes synchronization based on the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) / Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), it determines relevant parameters such as the candidate positions for each Type0-PDCCH repeated transmission, the multiplexing mode of CORESET 0 and SSB, the total number of repetitions (i.e., three times), and the multiplexing mode based on the information carried in the SSB (i.e., the first information), and performs blind detection on the Type0-PDCCH with three repeated transmissions. By jointly demodulating the detected Type0-PDCCH with three repeated transmissions, the time-frequency resource position of SIB1 can be correctly obtained, and then subsequent communication processes such as cell access control and system information scheduling can be accurately completed.

[0120] In this example, since multiple transmissions of Type0-PDCCH correspond to the same CORESET, it may limit the flexibility of frequency-domain resource allocation. The repeated transmission of Type0-PDCCH in multiple time slots may increase the transmission delay of Type0-PDCCH. However, by repeating the transmission of Type0-PDCCH on multiple time slots in a search space, while ensuring the reliable transmission of Type0-PDCCH, the flexibility of the base station to allocate Type0-PDCCH resources within a time slot can be retained, and the signaling overhead and reception complexity of configuring multiple search spaces can be reduced.

[0121] Figure 4B A schematic diagram showing an example of 400B repeated transmission of a downlink control channel according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. In this example, an example of repeated transmission in N' CORESETs in a search space is shown.

[0122] Taking the Type0-PDCCH scheduling SIB1 as an example for illustration. Assume that according to the current channel quality, the Type0-PDCCH needs to be repeatedly transmitted three times to meet the transmission reliability requirements of the NTN network, and this number of repetitions is indicated in the first information. The three Type0-PDCCH repeated transmissions are respectively mapped on three CORESETs (denoted as CORESET 0_1, CORESET 0_2, and CORESET 0_3), and these three CORESETs are associated with the same search space (e.g., search space 0). In this example, the aggregation level of the three CORESETs is 2, and it occupies 1 symbol in the time domain. It is necessary to determine the starting position of the corresponding CORESET through the starting position offset value K_offset of the CORESET, and it is necessary to determine the starting CCE position of the repeated transmission through the candidate position offset value n of the CORESET. K_offset and n repetition determine the starting CCE position of the repeated transmission. K_offset and n repetitionAre all indicated in the first piece of information.

[0123] There are different resource mapping relationships for three different CORESETs within the same search space. For example, Figure 4B as shown, CORESET 0_1 and CORESET 0_2 have the same starting position offset value K_offset0, and K_offset0 is equal to 1 CCE. In addition, CORESET 0_1 and CORESET 0_2 have different candidate position offset values n repetition , which are 1 candidate position step and 3 candidate position steps respectively. CORESET 0_3 has a starting position offset value K_offset1, and K_offset1 is equal to 25 CCEs. In addition, CORESET 0_3 has a candidate position offset value n repetition of 1 candidate position step. In this example, one candidate position step corresponds to two CCEs. It should be understood that this is only an example, and the candidate position step is not limited to this, but can be set appropriately according to needs.

[0124] When the three Type0-PDCCH repeated transmissions are mapped on CORESET 0_1, CORESET 0_2, and CORESET 0_3, they can correspond to the same candidate position index. For example, they are respectively mapped on candidate position 1 of the three CORESETs. The CCE position index corresponding to each candidate position index on each CORESET can be determined by the above formula (1).

[0125] For example, Figure 4B as shown, in CORESET 0_1, L = 2, N CCE,p = 24, n CI = 0, n repetition = 1. From this, it is calculated that for candidate position 0 in CORESET 0_1, it corresponds to CCE2 and 3, for candidate position 1, it corresponds to CCE10 and 11, and for candidate position 2, it corresponds to CCE18 and 19. Similarly, for candidate position 0 in CORESET 0_2, it corresponds to CCE6 and 7, for candidate position 1, it corresponds to CCE14 and 15, and for candidate position 2, it corresponds to CCE22 and 23. For CORESET 0_3 under another set of time-frequency resources, candidate position 0 corresponds to CCE2 and 3, candidate position 1 corresponds to CCE10 and 11, and candidate position 2 corresponds to CCE18 and 19. The three Type0-PDCCH repeated transmissions are respectively mapped on candidate position 1 of the 3 CORESETs for transmission.

[0126] In this example, due to the increase in the number of parameters indicated by the first piece of information, relatively large signaling overhead may be incurred. Blind detection needs to be performed on multiple CORESETs under the same time-domain resource, which may bring relatively high reception complexity to the terminal device side. However, by performing Type0-PDCCH repeated transmission in N' CORESETs within a search space, not only can the reliable transmission of Type0-PDCCH be ensured, but also the flexibility of the frequency-domain configuration on the network side can be improved.

[0127] Figure 4C FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of an example downlink control channel repeated transmission 400C according to an embodiment of the present application. In this example, the repetition in N' CCE sets (which may also be referred to as N' frequency-domain resource blocks) associated with a candidate position (i.e., the first candidate position) is shown. The N' CCE sets may be N' consecutive or spaced-apart CCE sets starting from the CCE set corresponding to the candidate position.

[0128] In this example, N' Type0-PDCCH repeated transmissions are performed on the N' CCE sets. The CCE index in the N' CCE sets associated with the first candidate position can be determined based on the following formula (5).

[0129]

[0130] where L represents the aggregation level, takes a value of 0, represents the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p represents the number of CCEs of CORESET p, represents the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with an aggregation level of L, represents rounding down, n CI represents the carrier indication field value. For each repeated transmission, the value of i can be different. For example, for the first repeated transmission with an index of 0, i = 0 to L - 1. For the second repeated transmission with an index of 1, i = L to 2L - 1. And so on, for the N' - th repeated transmission with an index of N' - 1, i = (N - 2)L to (N - 1)L - 1.

[0131] Taking the example that the Type0-PDCCH for scheduling SIB1 needs to be repeated twice, i.e., N ′ = 2. Assume that the aggregation level of the Type0-PDCCH is 2 and it occupies 1 symbol in the time domain. According to the first piece of information, L = 2, N CCE,p = 20, N = 2, n CI = 0. Taking 0, 1, 2 and substituting them in, the first Type0 - PDCCH repetition associated with candidate position 0 corresponds to CCE0, 1, and the second Type0 - PDCCH repetition corresponds to CCE2, 3; the first Type0 - PDCCH repetition associated with candidate position 1 corresponds to CCE6, 7, and the second Type0 - PDCCH repetition corresponds to CCE8, 9; the first Type0 - PDCCH repetition associated with candidate position 2 corresponds to CCE12, 13, and the second Type0 - PDCCH repetition corresponds to CCE14, 15, as Figure 4C shown.

[0132] In another embodiment, for N ′ times of Type0 - PDCCH repetitions among the candidate positions, the mapping positions can be calculated according to the above formula (2).

[0133] When L = 2, N CCE,p = 20, n CI = 0, N ′ = 2, when taking 0, 1, 2, the starting CCE numbers of the frequency - domain resource blocks of the three candidate positions are 0, 4, 12. Then the CCE indices corresponding to the candidate positions of the two Type - 0 PDCCH repetition transmissions in candidate position 0 are [0 1][2 3], the CCE indices corresponding to the candidate positions of the two Type - 0 PDCCH repetition transmissions in candidate position 1 are [4 5][6 7], and the CCE indices corresponding to the candidate positions of the two Type - 0 PDCCH repetition transmissions in candidate position 2 are [12 13][14 15].

[0134] In this example, by performing repeated transmissions on N' CCE sets, the flexibility of the mapping resource configuration for repeated transmissions may be restricted. However, the resource positions of the remaining repeated transmissions can be determined based on the resource position of the first repeated transmission while ensuring the transmission reliability of Type - 0 PDCCH. Therefore, the signaling configuration complexity can be reduced.

[0135] Figure 4D Fig. shows a schematic diagram of the example downlink control channel repeated transmission 400D according to an embodiment of the present application. In this example, an example of performing N' times of repeated transmissions of Type - 0 PDCCH in a manner of combining multiple search spaces and multiple CORESETs is shown. The multiple search spaces include SearchSpace0_0 and SearchSpace0_1. The multiple CORESETs include CORESET 0_1, 0_2, 0_3. N ′= 3. It should be understood that each search space can be regarded as a search space 0, and each CORESET can be regarded as a CORESET 0.

[0136] SearchSpace0_0 is associated with CORESET 0_1 and 0_2, and SearchSpace0_1 is associated with CORESET 0_3 for three - time repeated transmissions of Type - 0 PDCCH. The total number of repetitions, the number of CORESETs in each search space, and the CORESET distribution parameters are indicated by the first information. The number of repetitions in CORESET 0_1 is R1, the number of repetitions in CORESET 0_2 is R2, the number of repetitions in CORESET 0_3 is R3, the number of repetitions within SearchSpace0_0 is C1, and the number of repetitions within SearchSpace0_1 is C2. In this case, R1 + R2 = C1, R3 = C2, and C1 + C2 = N ′ .

[0137] To achieve three - time repeated transmissions in two search spaces, the number of RBs and the number of symbols occupied by all CORESETs are set to be the same. The two CORESETs 0_1 and 0_2 in SearchSpace0_0 adopt different offset values to avoid physical resource overlap, and the offset value information of CORESET 0_3 in SearchSpace0_1 is the same as that of CORESET 0_1. The time - domain resources corresponding to SearchSpace0_0 and SearchSpace0_1 are different. The three - time repeated transmissions of Type - 0 PDCCH are respectively mapped in CORESET 0_1, 0_2, and 0_3, and the mapped candidate position indexes are the same. The candidate positions in each CORESET can be calculated by the above formula (5), where i = 0, 1, ……, L - 1. According to the indication of the first information, the aggregation level L = 2, N CCE,p = 4. The three - time repeated transmissions of Type - 0 PDCCH are respectively mapped to the candidate positions in CORESET 0_1 and 0_2 associated with SearchSpace0_0 and CORESET 0_3 associated with SearchSpace0_1.

[0138] In another embodiment, the network side confirms the retransmission scheme according to information such as the total number of repetitions, and performs grouping according to the retransmission scheme and the first information. Each group respectively represents several retransmissions in the Type-0 PDCCH retransmission, and the indexes of the search space and the CORESET in each group can be indicated by the same information block. For example, in the case of performing three retransmissions of Type-0 PDCCH in two SearchSpace0 (i.e., SearchSpace0_0 and SearchSpace0_1), the indexes of the search space and the CORESET can be indicated by two 8-bit information blocks in SearchSpace0_0. One 8-bit information block indicates the CORESET 0_0 index and the SearchSpace0_0 index, and the other 8-bit information block indicates the CORESET 0_1 index and the SearchSpace0_0 index. In SearchSpace0_1, another 8-bit information block indicates the CORESET 0_3 index and the SearchSpace0_1 index.

[0139] In another embodiment, the first information indicates the index information of SearchSpace0 and CORESET 0, from which the first index table can be determined. The mapping information of the initial resource candidate positions of Type-0 PDCCH can be determined from the first index table. For example, the index table associated with the first retransmission is associated with the index table of the first retransmission, and the index table of the first retransmission is associated with the index table of the second retransmission, and so on, until the requirement of the total number of repetitions set by the network side is met.

[0140] In this example, it may bring relatively high signaling overhead, a relatively complex retransmission mechanism, increase the complexity of blind detection and demodulation of the terminal device, and have relatively high requirements for the computing power, power consumption, latency tolerance, etc. of the terminal device. However, the network side can obtain better system flexibility and dynamic adjustment capabilities, so as to better cope with frequency-selective fading or fast fading.

[0141] It should be understood that Figures 4A to 4D This is only an example and is not intended to limit the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application may also have other variant embodiments, and these embodiments are also within the protection scope of the present application.

[0142] So far, the communication process 300 according to the embodiments of the present application has been described. By designing the mapping method and indication rules of the repeated transmission of the downlink control channel on the search space and the CORESET, the repeated transmission of the downlink control channel can be performed in multiple resource dimensions of the time domain and the frequency domain. While ensuring the scheduling flexibility of the system and the acceptable blind detection complexity, the diversity gain can be obtained, and the transmission reliability of the control signaling for scheduling RMSI in the NTN network can be significantly improved.

[0143] Specifically, compared with the terrestrial network, due to the ultra-long distance attribute of the satellite in the NTN network, the transmission loss presented by the NTN network is of a large order of magnitude, and the NTN network is also greatly attenuated by adverse weather such as ionospheric scintillation and cloud cover. The multiple propagation losses result in a reduction in the reliability of the NTN system. Therefore, a repeated transmission rule for the downlink control channel is proposed to perform the repeated transmission of the downlink control channel at the candidate positions corresponding to different search spaces (SearchSpace0) or different control resource sets (CORESET 0) in the time-frequency resources. Compared with the existing PDCCH transmission mechanism, the transmission coverage can be enhanced, and the reliability of the NTN network can be provided.

[0144] In addition, in the existing PDCCH transmission rules, the distribution law of the PDCCH candidate positions is relatively single, which limits the configuration flexibility of the PDCCH repetition. In addition, the configuration of the existing PDCCH transmission mechanism is relatively fixed, and the anti-interference ability of the relatively single transmission frequency is weak. Therefore, the idea of time-division multiplexing and / or frequency-division multiplexing is proposed. The SearchSpace0 and the CORESET 0 are distinguished, the variable ranges of the two are controlled, and different variable combinations are used to achieve different time-frequency resource mappings. Thus, the configuration flexibility is improved to meet the requirement of the total repetition times.

[0145] In addition, in some cases, a large amount of time-frequency resources need to be mobilized to cooperate to implement the repetition scheme. If the original candidate positions are used for transmission, there will be a shortage of a large amount of time-frequency resources. The candidate positions in the existing time-frequency resources are relatively sparse, and more blind detection times need to be configured. Therefore, the idea of aggregation level extension and frequency-domain continuous resource block (i.e., continuous CCE set) transmission is proposed. For the purpose of constructing a frequency-domain continuous resource block, continuous CCE resources are obtained for the repeated transmission of the downlink control channel by expanding the aggregation level with the repetition factor. Thus, not only the candidate positions of the repeated transmission of the same downlink control channel are concentrated, but also the complexity of the blind detection candidate positions is reduced.

[0146] Corresponding to the above communication process 300, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication method that can be implemented at the terminal device and the network device. Figure 5The flowchart of a communication method 500 implemented at a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. For convenience, method 500 will be described in conjunction with Figure 1 an example of Figure 1 terminal device 110. It should be understood that method 500 may include additional steps not shown, or some of the shown steps may be omitted. The scope of the present application is not limited thereto.

[0147] In step 510, the terminal device 110 receives first information for a repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel. The first downlink control channel is used to schedule RMSI. The repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel is performed based on at least one of the following: search space, control resource set, candidate location, control channel element.

[0148] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: second information for indicating whether to perform the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; the total number of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel; a set of configuration parameters for the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; a set of types of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, and the sum of the number of repetitions corresponding to each type in the set of types is equal to the total number of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel.

[0149] In some embodiments, the set of configuration parameters includes at least one of the following: control resource set configuration or control resource set configuration index; search space configuration or search space configuration index; subcarrier offset between a synchronization signal block and a common resource grid; aggregation level; number of candidate locations; indication or calculation method of candidate locations.

[0150] In some embodiments, the types in the set of types indicate at least one of the following: repetition in a first number of search spaces, where the first number corresponds to the number of repetitions corresponding to the type; repetition in the first number of time units within a first search space; repetition in the first number of control resource sets; repetition in the first number of candidate locations; repetition in a set of the first number of control channel elements associated with a first candidate location.

[0151] In some embodiments, the first number of search spaces is configured with the same control resource set and different sets of time domain configuration parameters. In some embodiments, the first number of search spaces is configured with different control resource sets.

[0152] In some embodiments, each time unit among the first number of time units is a time unit available within the first search space. In some embodiments, the first number of time units are consecutive within the first search space, and the time domain position of the first repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel within the first search space is configured.

[0153] In some embodiments, the time unit among the first number of time units is a time slot or a symbol or a subframe or a frame.

[0154] In some embodiments, for the repetition among the first number of time units within the first search space, resource conflicts of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel are expected to be avoided among the first number of time units within different first search spaces associated with different synchronization signal block indices.

[0155] In some embodiments, two or more control resource sets among the first number of control resource sets are configured with different starting position offset values or different candidate position offset values.

[0156] In some embodiments, the control channel element index corresponding to the index of the candidate position on the control resource set among the first number of control resource sets is determined based on the candidate position offset value corresponding to the control resource set. In some embodiments, the control channel element index corresponding to the candidate position index on control resource set p among the first number of control resource sets is determined according to the following formula:

[0157]

[0158] where L represents the aggregation level, taking values of 0, representing the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p representing the number of control channel elements of control resource set p, representing the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with aggregation level L, representing floor function, n CI representing the carrier indication field value, 0 ≦ i ≦ L - 1, and n repetition representing the candidate position offset value.

[0159] In some embodiments, the first number of candidate positions are a subset of the candidate positions within the same control resource set.

[0160] In some embodiments, the starting position of the first candidate position is determined according to at least one of the length of the corresponding control resource set, the aggregation level, the first number, and at least one adjustment parameter, and the at least one adjustment parameter is used to adjust the offset value of the starting position in the corresponding control resource set.

[0161] In some embodiments, the control channel element indexes in the set of the first number of control channel elements associated with the first candidate position are determined based on the first number. In some embodiments, the control channel element indexes in the set of the first number of control channel elements associated with the first candidate position are determined according to the following formula:

[0162]

[0163] where L represents the aggregation level, takes a value of 0, represents the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p represents the number of control channel elements of the control resource set p, represents the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with the aggregation level L, represents rounding down, n CI represents the carrier indication field value, 0 ≦ i ≦ N·L - 1, and N represents the first number.

[0164] In some embodiments, the first information includes the first number of resource indexes, and the first number of resource indexes respectively indicate the resources for the first number of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel.

[0165] In some embodiments, the first information includes a first index. The first index is associated with at least one of the following: the first resource for the first repeated transmission in the repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel; a second index associated with the second resource for the second repeated transmission in the repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel; the mapping relationship between the first index and the second index. In some embodiments, the mapping relationship includes one of the following: a predefined index combination; consecutive arrangement of indexes; arrangement of indexes at intervals; or a predefined formula.

[0166] In some embodiments, the first information includes: at least one parameter, which is used to determine the index for the type of repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0167] In some embodiments, the first information is included in the signaling or indicated by the transmission parameters of the first downlink control channel.

[0168] At step 520, based on the first information, the terminal device 110 may receive the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0169] In some embodiments, receiving the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel includes: based on the first information, determining a set of candidate positions associated with the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; and based on the set of candidate positions, receiving the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0170] In some embodiments, receiving the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel includes: determining an orthogonal cover code sequence associated with the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; and based on the orthogonal cover code sequence, receiving the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0171] According to method 500, the reception of the repeated transmission of the downlink control channel for scheduling RMSI can be implemented, which better meets the requirements of future communication networks.

[0172] Figure 6 The flowchart of a communication method 600 implemented at a network device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. For convenience, method 600 will be described in conjunction with Figure 1 an example of. For example, method 600 may be implemented at a network device 120 of Figure 1 . It should be understood that method 600 may include other additional steps not shown, or some steps shown may be omitted. The scope of the present application is not limited thereto.

[0173] At step 610, the network device 120 may send first information for the repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel. The first downlink control channel is used to schedule RMSI. The repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel is performed based on at least one of the following: search space, control resource set, candidate position, control channel element.

[0174] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: second information for indicating whether to perform the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; the total number of repetitions of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; a set of configuration parameters for the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; a set of types of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, and the sum of the number of repetitions corresponding to each type in the set of types is equal to the total number of repetitions of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0175] In some embodiments, the set of configuration parameters includes at least one of the following: control resource set configuration or control resource set configuration index; search space configuration or search space configuration index; subcarrier offset between a synchronization signal block and a common resource grid; aggregation level; number of candidate positions; indication or calculation method of candidate positions.

[0176] In some embodiments, the type in the set of types indicates at least one of the following: repetition in a first number of search spaces, the first number corresponding to the number of repetitions corresponding to the type; repetition in the first number of time units within a first search space; repetition in the first number of control resource sets; repetition in the first number of candidate positions; repetition in the first number of sets of control channel elements associated with a first candidate position.

[0177] In some embodiments, the first number of search spaces is configured with the same control resource set and different sets of time domain configuration parameters. In some embodiments, the first number of search spaces is configured with different control resource sets.

[0178] In some embodiments, each of the first number of time units is a time unit available within the first search space. In some embodiments, the first number of time units is continuous within the first search space, and the time domain position of the first repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel within the first search space is configured.

[0179] In some embodiments, the time unit in the first number of time units is a time slot or a symbol or a subframe or a frame.

[0180] In some embodiments, for the repetition in the first number of time units within the first search space, resource conflicts of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel are expected to be avoided in the first number of time units within different first search spaces associated with different synchronization signal block indexes.

[0181] In some embodiments, two or more control resource sets in the first number of control resource sets are configured with different starting position offset values, or different candidate position offset values.

[0182] In some embodiments, the control channel element index corresponding to the candidate position index on the control resource set in the first number of control resource sets is determined based on the candidate position offset value corresponding to the control resource set. In some embodiments, the control channel element index corresponding to the candidate position index on control resource set p in the first number of control resource sets is determined according to the following formula:

[0183]

[0184] Where L represents the aggregation level, taking the value of 0, represents the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p represents the number of control channel elements of the control resource set p, represents the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with the aggregation level L, represents rounding down, n CI represents the carrier indication field value, 0 ≦ i ≦ L - 1, and n repetition represents the candidate position offset value.

[0185] In some embodiments, the first number of candidate positions is a subset of the candidate positions in the same control resource set.

[0186] In some embodiments, the starting position of the first candidate position is determined according to at least one of the length of the corresponding control resource set, the aggregation level, the first number, and at least one adjustment parameter, and the at least one adjustment parameter is used to adjust the offset value of the starting position in the corresponding control resource set.

[0187] In some embodiments, the control channel element indexes in the set of the first number of control channel elements associated with the first candidate position are determined based on the first number. In some embodiments, the control channel element indexes in the set of the first number of control channel elements associated with the first candidate position are determined according to the following formula:

[0188]

[0189] Where L represents the aggregation level, taking the value of 0, represents the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p represents the number of control channel elements of the control resource set p, represents the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with the aggregation level L, represents rounding down, n CI represents the carrier indication field value, 0 ≦ i ≦ N·L - 1, and N represents the first number.

[0190] In some embodiments, the first information includes the first number of resource indexes, and the first number of resource indexes respectively indicate the resources for the first number of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel.

[0191] In some embodiments, the first information includes a first index. The first index is associated with at least one of the following: a first resource for a first retransmission in the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; a second index associated with a second resource for a second retransmission in the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; a mapping relationship between the first index and the second index. In some embodiments, the mapping relationship includes one of the following: a predefined index combination; consecutive arrangement of indices; arrangement of indices at intervals; or a predefined formula.

[0192] In some embodiments, the first information includes: at least one parameter used to determine an index for the type of repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0193] In some embodiments, the first information is included in a signaling or indicated by transmission parameters of the first downlink control channel.

[0194] In step 620, based on the first information, network device 120 may send a repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0195] In some embodiments, sending a repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel includes: based on the first information, determining a set of candidate positions associated with the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; and based on the set of candidate positions, sending the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0196] In some embodiments, sending a repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel includes: determining an orthogonal cover code sequence associated with the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; and based on the orthogonal cover code sequence, sending the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0197] According to method 600, it is possible to implement the sending of a repeated transmission of a downlink control channel for scheduling RMSI, thereby improving the transmission reliability of the downlink control channel and better meeting the requirements of future communication networks.

[0198] It should be understood that the description made for communication process 300 also applies to the above communication methods 500 and 600, so other details will not be repeated.

[0199] Corresponding to the above communication method, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, which will be described below in combination with Figure 7 and Figure 8 for this.

[0200] Figure 7FIG. shows a schematic block diagram of an exemplary communication device 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 may be implemented at a terminal device (e.g., Figure 1 the terminal device 110). The communication device 700 may be a part of the terminal device or the terminal device itself. It should be understood that the communication device 700 may include more additional components than those shown or omit some of the components shown, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0201] As Figure 7 shown, the communication device 700 may include a receiving component 710 and a processing component 720. The receiving component 710 may be configured to receive first information for a repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel. The processing component 720 may be configured to receive the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on the first information. The first downlink control channel is used to schedule RMSI. The repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel is performed based on at least one of the following: search space, control resource set, candidate location, control channel element.

[0202] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: second information for indicating whether to perform the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; the total number of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel; a set of configuration parameters for the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; a set of types of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, and the sum of the number of repetitions corresponding to each type in the set of types is equal to the total number of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel.

[0203] In some embodiments, the set of configuration parameters includes at least one of the following: control resource set configuration or control resource set configuration index; search space configuration or search space configuration index; subcarrier offset between a synchronization signal block and a common resource grid; aggregation level; number of candidate locations; indication or calculation method of candidate locations.

[0204] In some embodiments, the types in the set of types indicate at least one of the following: repetition in a first number of search spaces, the first number corresponding to the number of repetitions corresponding to the type; repetition in the first number of time units within a first search space; repetition in the first number of control resource sets; repetition in the first number of candidate locations; repetition in a set of the first number of control channel elements associated with a first candidate location.

[0205] In some embodiments, the first number of search spaces are configured with the same control resource set and different sets of time domain configuration parameters. In some embodiments, the first number of search spaces are configured with different control resource sets.

[0206] In some embodiments, each of the first number of time units is a time unit available within the first search space. In some embodiments, the first number of time units are consecutive within the first search space, and the time domain position of the first repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel within the first search space is configured.

[0207] In some embodiments, the time units among the first number of time units are time slots or symbols or sub - frames or frames.

[0208] In some embodiments, for the repetition among the first number of time units within the first search space, resource conflicts of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel are expected to be avoided among the first number of time units within different first search spaces associated with different synchronization signal block indices.

[0209] In some embodiments, two or more control resource sets among the first number of control resource sets are configured with different starting position offset values, or different candidate position offset values.

[0210] In some embodiments, the control channel element index corresponding to the index of the candidate position on the control resource set among the first number of control resource sets is determined based on the candidate position offset value corresponding to the control resource set. In some embodiments, the control channel element index corresponding to the candidate position index on control resource set p among the first number of control resource sets is determined according to the following formula:

[0211]

[0212] where L represents the aggregation level, taking values of 0, represents the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p represents the number of control channel elements of control resource set p, represents the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with aggregation level L, represents rounding down, n CI represents the carrier indication field value, 0 ≦ i ≦ L - 1, and n repetition represents the candidate position offset value.

[0213] In some embodiments, the first number of candidate positions are a subset of the candidate positions within the same control resource set.

[0214] In some embodiments, the starting position of the first candidate position is determined according to at least one of the length of the corresponding control resource set, the aggregation level, the first number, and at least one adjustment parameter, where the at least one adjustment parameter is used to adjust the offset value of the starting position in the corresponding control resource set.

[0215] In some embodiments, the control channel element indices in the set of the first number of control channel elements associated with the first candidate position are determined based on the first number. In some embodiments, the control channel element indices in the set of the first number of control channel elements associated with the first candidate position are determined according to the following formula:

[0216]

[0217] where L represents the aggregation level, takes a value of 0, represents the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p represents the number of control channel elements of the control resource set p, represents the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with the aggregation level of L, represents rounding down, n CI represents the carrier indication field value, 0 ≦ i ≦ N·L - 1, and N represents the first number.

[0218] In some embodiments, the first information includes a first number of resource indices, and the first number of resource indices respectively indicate resources for the first number of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel.

[0219] In some embodiments, the first information includes a first index. The first index is associated with at least one of the following: the first resource for the first repeated transmission in the repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel; a second index associated with a second resource for the second repeated transmission in the repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel; the mapping relationship between the first index and the second index. In some embodiments, the mapping relationship includes one of the following: a predefined index combination; consecutive arrangement of indices; arrangement of indices at intervals; or a predefined formula.

[0220] In some embodiments, the first information includes: at least one parameter, which is used to determine an index for the type of repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0221] In some embodiments, the first information is included in a signaling, or is indicated by transmission parameters of the first downlink control channel.

[0222] In some embodiments, the processing component 720 includes (not shown): a first determination component configured to determine a set of candidate positions associated with the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on the first information; and a first channel receiving component configured to receive the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on the set of candidate positions.

[0223] In some embodiments, the processing component 720 includes (not shown): a second determination component configured to determine an orthogonal cover code sequence associated with the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; and a second channel receiving component configured to receive the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on the orthogonal cover code sequence.

[0224] Figure 8 A schematic block diagram of another exemplary communication device 800 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The communication device 800 may be implemented at a network device (such as Figure 1 network device 120). The communication device 800 may be part of a network device or a network device. It should be understood that the communication device 800 may include more additional components than those shown or omit some of the components shown, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0225] As Figure 8 shown, the communication device 800 may include a transmitting component 810 and a processing component 820. The transmitting component 810 may be configured to transmit first information for the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel. The processing component 820 may be configured to transmit the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel based on the first information. The first downlink control channel is used to schedule RMSI. The repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel is performed based on at least one of the following: a search space, a control resource set, candidate positions, and control channel elements.

[0226] In some embodiments, the first information includes at least one of the following: second information for indicating whether to perform the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; the total number of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel; a set of configuration parameters for the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; a set of types of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, and the sum of the number of repetitions corresponding to each type in the set of types is equal to the total number of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel.

[0227] In some embodiments, the set of configuration parameters includes at least one of the following: control resource set configuration or control resource set configuration index; search space configuration or search space configuration index; subcarrier offset between the synchronization signal block and the common resource grid; aggregation level; number of candidate positions; indication or calculation method of candidate positions.

[0228] In some embodiments, the type in the set of types indicates at least one of the following: repetition in a first number of search spaces, the first number corresponding to the number of repetitions corresponding to the type; repetition in the first number of time units within the first search space; repetition in the first number of control resource sets; repetition in the first number of candidate positions; repetition in the first number of sets of control channel elements associated with the first candidate position.

[0229] In some embodiments, the first number of search spaces is configured with the same control resource set and different sets of time domain configuration parameters. In some embodiments, the first number of search spaces is configured with different control resource sets.

[0230] In some embodiments, each of the first number of time units is a time unit available within the first search space. In some embodiments, the first number of time units is continuous within the first search space, and the time domain position of the first repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel within the first search space is configured.

[0231] In some embodiments, the time unit in the first number of time units is a time slot or a symbol or a subframe or a frame.

[0232] In some embodiments, for the repetition in the first number of time units within the first search space, resource conflicts of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel are expected to be avoided in the first number of time units within different first search spaces associated with different synchronization signal block indexes.

[0233] In some embodiments, two or more control resource sets in the first number of control resource sets are configured with different starting position offset values, or different candidate position offset values.

[0234] In some embodiments, the control channel element index corresponding to the candidate position index on the control resource set in the first number of control resource sets is determined based on the candidate position offset value corresponding to the control resource set. In some embodiments, the control channel element index corresponding to the candidate position index on control resource set p in the first number of control resource sets is determined according to the following formula:

[0235]

[0236] Where L represents the aggregation level, taking a value of 0, indicating the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p indicating the number of control channel elements of the control resource set p, indicating the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with an aggregation level of L, indicating rounding down, n CI indicating the carrier indication field value, 0 ≤ i ≤ L - 1, and n repetition indicating the candidate position offset value.

[0237] In some embodiments, the first number of candidate positions is a subset of the candidate positions in the same control resource set.

[0238] In some embodiments, the starting position of the first candidate position is determined according to at least one of the length of the corresponding control resource set, the aggregation level, the first number, and at least one adjustment parameter, and the at least one adjustment parameter is used to adjust the offset value of the starting position in the corresponding control resource set.

[0239] In some embodiments, the control channel element indexes in the set of the first number of control channel elements associated with the first candidate position are determined based on the first number. In some embodiments, the control channel element indexes in the set of the first number of control channel elements associated with the first candidate position are determined according to the following formula:

[0240]

[0241] Where L represents the aggregation level, taking a value of 0, indicating the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p indicating the number of control channel elements of the control resource set p, indicating the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with an aggregation level of L, indicating rounding down, n CI indicating the carrier indication field value, 0 ≤ i ≤ N·L - 1, and N represents the first number.

[0242] In some embodiments, the first information includes the first number of resource indexes, and the first number of resource indexes respectively indicate the resources for the first number of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel.

[0243] In some embodiments, the first information includes a first index. The first index is associated with at least one of the following: a first resource for a first retransmission in the retransmission of the first downlink control channel; a second index associated with a second resource for a second retransmission in the retransmission of the first downlink control channel; a mapping relationship between the first index and the second index. In some embodiments, the mapping relationship includes one of the following: a predefined index combination; consecutive arrangement of indexes; arrangement of indexes at intervals; or a predefined formula.

[0244] In some embodiments, the first information includes: at least one parameter used to determine an index for the type of retransmission of the first downlink control channel.

[0245] In some embodiments, the first information is included in a signaling or indicated by a transmission parameter of the first downlink control channel.

[0246] In some embodiments, the processing component 820 includes: a third determination component configured to determine a set of candidate positions associated with the retransmission of the first downlink control channel based on the first information; and a first channel transmission component configured to transmit the retransmission of the first downlink control channel based on the set of candidate positions.

[0247] In some embodiments, the processing component 820 includes: a fourth determination component configured to determine an orthogonal cover code sequence associated with the retransmission of the first downlink control channel; and a second channel transmission component configured to transmit the retransmission of the first downlink control channel based on the orthogonal cover code sequence.

[0248] It should be understood that the above communication devices 700 and 800 respectively correspond to the above communication methods 500 and 600 and correspond to the descriptions in the above communication process 300, so other details will not be repeated.

[0249] Embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device. Figure 9 It is a simplified block diagram of a communication device 900 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present application. The device 900 can be provided to implement a terminal device or a network device. As shown, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910 and one or more memories 920 coupled to the processors 910. Optionally, one or more memories 920 can also be integrated with one or more processors 910.

[0250] The processor 910 can be of any type suitable for the local technical network and, by way of non-limiting example, can include one or more of the following: general-purpose computers, special-purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors, and processors based on multi-core processor architectures. The device 900 can have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip, which is subordinate to a clock synchronized with the main processor in time.

[0251] The memory 920 can include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 924, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that do not persist during a power outage duration.

[0252] The computer program 930 includes computer-executable instructions executed by the associated processor 910. The program 930 can be stored in the ROM 920. The processor 910 can execute any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 930 into the RAM 920.

[0253] Embodiments of the present application can be implemented by means of the program 930 such that the device 900 executes the solutions of the embodiments of the present application as described with reference to Figures 1 to 8 The device 900 can correspond to the above-mentioned communication device 700 or 800, and the functional modules in the communication device 700 or 800 can be implemented by software of the device 900. In other words, the functional modules included in the communication device 700 or 800 can be generated after the processor 910 of the device 900 reads the program code stored in the memory 920. Embodiments of the present application can also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0254] In some embodiments, the program 930 can be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, which can be included in the device 900 (such as in the memory 920) or other storage devices accessible by the device 900. The program 930 can be loaded from the computer-readable medium into the RAM 922 for execution. The computer-readable medium can include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.

[0255] In some embodiments, device 900 may further include one or more communication modules (not shown). The one or more communication modules may be coupled to processor 910. The one or more communication modules may be used for two-way communication. The one or more communication modules may have a communication interface to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required to communicate with other network elements.

[0256] The term "circuit" as used herein refers to one or more of the following:

[0257] · Only hardware circuit implementations, such as only analog and / or digital circuit implementations; and

[0258] · Combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as: 1) combinations of analog and / or digital hardware circuits with software / firmware, 2) any part of a hardware processor with software, including a digital signal processor, software, and memory (which work together to enable a device such as a terminal device or a network device to perform various functions), and 3) hardware circuits and / or processors that require software / firmware to operate.

[0259] The term "circuit" as used herein also encompasses implementations that are only hardware circuits or processors, or implementations of a part of a hardware circuit or processor and its accompanying software / firmware.

[0260] In general, the various example embodiments of the present application may be implemented in hardware or a dedicated circuit, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, a microprocessor, or other computing devices. When aspects of the embodiments of the present application are illustrated or described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it will be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented as non-limiting examples in hardware, software, firmware, a dedicated circuit or logic, general hardware or a controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof. Examples of hardware devices that can be used to implement the embodiments of the present application include, but are not limited to: Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Application Specific Standard Parts (ASSP), SoC, Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), and the like.

[0261] As an example, embodiments of the present application may be described in the context of machine-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., which perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data structures. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules may be combined or split among the described program modules. The machine-executable instructions for the program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0262] The computer program code for implementing the methods of the present application may be written in one or more programming languages. These computer program codes may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, such that when the program code is executed by the computer or other programmable data processing device, the functions / operations specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram are implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on the computer, partially on the computer, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server.

[0263] In the context of the present application, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of the carrier include signals, computer-readable media, and the like. Examples of signals may include electrical, optical, radio, acoustic, or other forms of propagated signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, etc. A machine-readable medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program for or related to an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. A machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or apparatuses, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, RAM, ROM, EPROM, or flash memory, optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0264] Additionally, although the operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be construed as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing may be beneficial. Similarly, although the foregoing discussion includes certain specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of any invention or claims, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of a particular invention. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments in this specification may also be implemented integrally in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented separately in multiple embodiments or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0265] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, comprising: Receiving first information for a repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel, the first downlink control channel being used to schedule remaining minimum system information; And Based on the first information, receiving the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, Wherein the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel is performed based on at least one of the following: search space, control resource set, candidate location, control channel element.

2. A communication method, comprising: Sending first information for a repeated transmission of a first downlink control channel, the first downlink control channel being used to schedule remaining minimum system information; And Based on the first information, sending the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, Wherein the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel is performed based on at least one of the following: search space, control resource set, candidate location, control channel element.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first information comprises at least one of the following: Second information for indicating whether to perform the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; The total number of repetitions of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; A set of configuration parameters for the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; A set of types of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel, and the sum of the number of repetitions corresponding to each type in the set of types is equal to the total number of repetitions of the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the set of configuration parameters comprises at least one of the following: Control resource set configuration or control resource set configuration index; Search space configuration or search space configuration index; Subcarrier offset between a synchronization signal block and a common resource grid; Aggregation level; The number of candidate locations; Indicator or calculation method of candidate location.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the types in the set of types indicate at least one of the following: Repetition in a first number of search spaces, the first number corresponding to the number of repetitions corresponding to the type; Repetition in the first number of time units within a first search space; Repetition in the first number of control resource sets; Repetition in the first number of candidate locations; Repetition in the first number of sets of control channel elements associated with a first candidate location.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first number of search spaces is configured with the same control resource set and different sets of time domain configuration parameters, or Wherein the first number of search spaces is configured with different control resource sets.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein each of the first number of time units is a time unit available within the first search space, or Wherein the first number of time units is continuous within the first search space, and the time domain position of the first repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel within the first search space is configured.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein the time unit in the first number of time units is a time slot or a symbol or a subframe or a frame.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein for the repetition in the first number of time units in the first search space, resource conflicts of repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel are expected to be avoided in the first number of time units in different first search spaces associated with different synchronization signal block indices.

10. The method according to claim 5, wherein two or more of the first number of control resource sets are configured with different starting position offset values, or different candidate position offset values.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the control channel element index corresponding to the index of the candidate position on the control resource set in the first number of control resource sets is determined based on the candidate position offset value corresponding to the control resource set.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the control channel element index corresponding to the candidate position index on the control resource set p in the first number of control resource sets is determined according to the following formula: where L represents the aggregation level, takes the value of 0, represents the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p represents the number of control channel elements of the control resource set p, represents the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with the aggregation level of L, represents rounding down, n CI represents the carrier indication field value, 0 ≦ i ≦ L - 1, and n repetition represents the candidate position offset value.

13. The method according to claim 5, wherein the first number of candidate positions is a subset of the candidate positions in the same control resource set.

14. The method according to claim 5, wherein the starting position of the first candidate position is determined according to at least one of the length of the corresponding control resource set, the aggregation level, the first number, and at least one adjustment parameter, and the at least one adjustment parameter is used to adjust the offset value of the starting position in the corresponding control resource set.

15. The method according to claim 5, wherein the control channel element index in the set of the first number of control channel elements associated with the first candidate position is determined based on the first number.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the control channel element index in the set of the first number of control channel elements associated with the first candidate position is determined according to the following formula: where L represents the aggregation level, takes a value of 0, represents the index of the candidate position of the first downlink control channel, N CCE,p represents the number of control channel elements of the control resource set p, represents the number of candidate positions of the first downlink control channel with the aggregation level of L, represents rounding down, n CI represents the carrier indication field value, 0 ≦ i ≦ N·L - 1, and N represents the first number.

17. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first information includes a first number of resource indices, and the first number of resource indices respectively indicate resources for the repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel.

18. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first information includes a first index, and the first index is associated with at least one of the following: the first resource for the first repeated transmission in the repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel; a second index associated with a second resource for the second repeated transmission in the repeated transmissions of the first downlink control channel; the mapping relationship between the first index and the second index.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the mapping relationship includes one of the following: a predefined index combination; indices arranged continuously; indices arranged at intervals; or a predefined formula.

20. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first information includes: at least one parameter, which is used to determine an index for the type of repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

21. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first information is included in a signaling or indicated by transmission parameters of the first downlink control channel.

22. The method according to claim 1, wherein receiving the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel comprises: determining, based on the first information, a set of candidate positions associated with the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; and receiving, based on the set of candidate positions, the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein receiving the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel comprises: determining an orthogonal cover code sequence associated with the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; and receiving, based on the orthogonal cover code sequence, the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

24. The method according to claim 2, wherein transmitting the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel comprises: determining, based on the first information, a set of candidate positions associated with the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; and transmitting, based on the set of candidate positions, the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein transmitting the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel comprises: determining an orthogonal cover code sequence associated with the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel; and transmitting, based on the orthogonal cover code sequence, the repeated transmission of the first downlink control channel.

26. A communication device, comprising: a processor; and a memory including computer program code, wherein the computer program code, when run by the processor, causes the method according to any one of claims 1 and 3 to 23 or according to any one of claims 2 to 21, 24 and 25 to be executed.

27. A communication apparatus, comprising components for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 and 3 to 23 or according to any one of claims 2 to 21, 24 and 25.

28. A chip, comprising a processor, the processor being connected to a memory located inside or outside the chip, the memory being used for storing a computer program, and the processor being used for calling and running the computer program from the memory so that the method according to any one of claims 1 and 3 to 23 or according to any one of claims 2 to 21, 24 and 25 is executed.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising machine-executable instructions, which, when executed by a device, cause the method according to any one of claims 1 and 3 to 23 or according to any one of claims 2 to 21, 24 and 25 to be executed.

30. A computer program product, comprising a computer program, which, when run on a device, causes the method according to any one of claims 1 and 3 to 23 or according to any one of claims 2 to 21, 24 and 25 to be executed.

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