Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

A communication method and device are beneficial to reduce the transmission delay of control information. The method comprises: a terminal can acquire at least one candidate channel configuration, each candidate channel configuration comprises the configuration of a beam corresponding to a monitoring occasion of a downlink control channel and the configuration of a time domain resource, in the case of needing to change the channel configuration corresponding to the monitoring occasion, the network side sends first information to the terminal to indicate the changed channel configuration, and the terminal can take the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first information as a first channel configuration, and synchronously change the beam and the time domain resource of the monitoring occasion according to the configuration of the first beam and the configuration of the first time domain resource included in the first channel configuration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to communication methods and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of communication technology, terminals have increasingly higher requirements for data transmission rates. To support high data rate transmission, millimeter-wave communication has gradually become the mainstream communication method. Because the channel attenuation in the millimeter-wave band is very large, beamforming and other techniques can be used to concentrate signal energy in a specific direction (i.e., a specific beam direction) to improve the equivalent channel gain between transceivers. This ensures the coverage performance and data transmission rate of millimeter-wave communication; in other words, it weakens the coverage range of millimeter waves to a certain extent while enhancing their coverage performance in a specific direction.

[0003] During the process of data interaction between the terminal and the base station via millimeter-wave communication, changes in the external environment and the movement of the terminal can affect the communication environment between the terminal and the base station. Therefore, when the base station schedules the terminal through the downlink control channel, it will flexibly change the channel configuration of the downlink control channel (such as beam or time and frequency resources) according to the communication environment.

[0004] However, current downlink control channel configuration change schemes are prone to causing significant transmission delays in control information. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and apparatus that helps reduce the transmission delay of control information.

[0006] Firstly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a terminal side, such as a terminal or a communication / processing module applied to a terminal, or a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions applied to a terminal (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core or a system-in-package (SIP) chip), or a circuit or chip responsible for processing functions applied to a terminal (such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), an artificial intelligence (AI) processor, or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC)). The method includes: receiving first information, the first information indicating a first channel configuration, the first channel configuration including a configuration of first time-domain resources and a configuration of a first beam, the first channel configuration being a candidate channel configuration among at least one candidate channel configuration, the candidate channel configuration including a beam configuration and a time-domain resource configuration; and monitoring a downlink control channel on the first time-domain resources using the first beam according to the first channel configuration.

[0007] Based on the above scheme, the terminal can obtain at least one candidate channel configuration. Each candidate channel configuration includes beam configuration and time-domain resource configuration. When a channel configuration needs to be changed, the network side can send first information to the terminal, indicating the changed channel configuration. The terminal can then select the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first information from the at least one candidate channel configuration as the first channel configuration. The first channel configuration includes the configuration of the first beam and the configuration of the first time-domain resources. After determining the first channel configuration based on the first information, the terminal monitors the downlink control channel on the first time-domain resources and the first beam according to the first channel configuration.

[0008] In other words, the RAN node can send first information to the terminal to indicate at least one candidate channel configuration (i.e., the first channel configuration) as the modified channel configuration. This allows the terminal to synchronously change the time-domain resources and beam of the monitoring downlink control channel based on the configuration of the first beam and the configuration of the first time-domain resources included in the first channel configuration. This avoids beam conflicts that may occur due to channel configuration changes from affecting the transmission delay of control information, thus reducing the transmission delay of control information. Furthermore, the synchronous change of beam and time-domain resources by the terminal based on the first information eliminates the need to send a large amount of configuration information, further reducing the channel configuration change delay and thus reducing the impact of the channel configuration change delay on the transmission delay of control information, further reducing the transmission delay of control information.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried in a medium access control control element (MAC CE) or downlink control information (DCI).

[0010] Based on this scheme, when the first information is carried by a MAC CE or a DCI, compared to the scheme of sending the changed time-domain resource configuration and beam configuration to the terminal separately through two signaling signals, on the one hand, the number of signaling interactions between the terminal and the RAN node during the channel configuration change process is reduced; on the other hand, the terminal's monitoring of the synchronous changes of the time-domain resources and beam of the downlink control channel does not need to be achieved through the radio resource control (RRC) layer. The number of protocol layers involved in the transmission of the first information and the application of the new channel configuration is reduced, which is beneficial to reducing the indication delay and configuration delay of the new channel configuration.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the first information includes indication information for the first channel configuration.

[0012] Based on this scheme, when the RAN node instructs the terminal on the first channel configuration, it can directly send instruction information to the terminal to determine the first channel configuration. The terminal then selects the candidate channel configuration as the first channel configuration from at least one candidate channel configuration based on the received instruction information. Compared with directly sending the configuration of the beam and / or the configuration of the time domain resources included in the first channel configuration, this reduces the amount of data contained in the first information, which helps to reduce the latency of the generation and transmission of the first information, and thus helps to reduce the configuration latency required for the first channel configuration to take effect.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the communication method further includes receiving second information, the second information indicating at least one candidate channel configuration.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of at least one monitoring opportunity, the candidate beam includes a beam corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity, the candidate time-domain resource includes a time-domain resource corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity, and the configuration of the monitoring opportunity further includes the configuration of frequency-domain resources; monitoring the downlink control channel using the first beam on the first time-domain resource includes: monitoring the downlink control channel on the first monitoring opportunity; wherein, the first time-domain resource is the time-domain resource corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity, the first beam is the beam corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity, and the first monitoring opportunity is all or part of at least one monitoring opportunity corresponding to the first channel configuration.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of a control resource set (CORESET) and a search space (SS). The configuration of at least one monitoring opportunity is determined based on the configuration of the CORESET and the configuration of the SS. The configuration of the CORESET includes the configuration of frequency domain resources and the transmission configuration indicator (TCI) status for at least one monitoring opportunity. The configuration of the SS includes the configuration of time domain resources for at least one monitoring opportunity. The TCI status is used to indicate the beam corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity.

[0016] Based on this scheme, multiple monitoring opportunities (which can also be understood as candidate channel monitoring opportunities) can be configured through the configuration of CORESET and SS as candidate channel configurations. Subsequently, the first channel configuration can be indicated by indicating the monitoring opportunity, thereby confirming the time domain resources and beams (i.e., the first time domain resources and the first beam) that need to be monitored for the control channel.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the first channel configuration includes the configuration of a first CORESET and the configuration of a first SS. The configuration of the first monitoring timing is determined based on the configuration of the first CORESET and the configuration of the first SS. The configuration of the first CORESET includes a first TCI state, which is used to indicate the beam corresponding to the first monitoring timing. The configuration of the first SS includes the configuration of a first time domain resource. The first information includes at least one of the following: indication information of the first CORESET, indication information of the first TCI state, or indication information of the first SS.

[0018] Based on this scheme, the first monitoring opportunity for control channel monitoring can be determined by indicating the first CORESET, the first SS, or the first TCI state.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the first information includes indication information of the first CORESET or indication information of the first TCI status, and the first monitoring timing is the monitoring timing determined based on the first CORESET and the first SS associated with the first CORESET.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the first monitoring timing and the third monitoring timing satisfy at least one of the following: the time domain duration is the same, the control channel element (CCE) size is the same, the resource mapping method is the same, the frequency domain resources are the same, the aggregation level (AL) is the same, and the supported DCI format is the same; wherein, the third monitoring timing is the monitoring timing when control channel monitoring is currently in progress or the monitoring timing when control channel monitoring is performed before receiving the first information.

[0021] Based on this scheme, it is beneficial to reduce the number of parameters that need to be reconfigured during the monitoring of the downlink control channel of the terminal change monitoring, improve the switching speed of the terminal to the first channel configuration, and reduce the configuration latency required for the first channel configuration.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the first CORESET and the second CORESET satisfy at least one of the following: the time domain duration is the same, the resource mapping method is the same, the CCE size is the same, or the frequency domain resources are the same; wherein, the second CORESET is the currently used CORESET.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the first information further includes: indication information for a fourth monitoring timing, wherein the first information indicates that the fourth monitoring timing is deactivated, that is, downlink control channel monitoring is no longer performed during the fourth monitoring timing.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the first information may further include at least one of the indication information of the third CORESET or the indication information of the second SS, wherein the first information indicates that at least one of the third CORESET or the second SS is deactivated.

[0025] Based on this scheme, the terminal does not need to continue monitoring the downlink control channel at the monitoring time indicated by the third CORESET and / or the second SS, reducing the number of times the terminal needs to perform blind detection of the downlink control channel, which helps to reduce the power consumption and overhead of the terminal in the process of monitoring the downlink control channel.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration further includes: a candidate channel configuration identifier, the first information including the first candidate channel configuration identifier, and the first channel configuration being the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier; wherein, the first time-domain resource is the time-domain resource indicated by the configuration of the time-domain resources in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier, and the first beam is the beam indicated by the beam configuration in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier.

[0027] Based on this scheme, the terminal can accurately determine the time-domain resources and beams that need to be monitored for downlink control channels according to the first information received, and thus synchronously change the beams and time-domain resources corresponding to the monitoring timing of downlink control channels.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the first information further includes indication information for a second monitoring timing. Monitoring the downlink control channel using a first beam on a first time-domain resource includes: monitoring the downlink control channel at a second monitoring timing; wherein the time-domain resource corresponding to the second monitoring timing is the first time-domain resource included in the first channel configuration, and the beam associated with the second monitoring timing is the first beam included in the first channel configuration.

[0029] Based on this scheme, the terminal can synchronously change the beam and time domain resources associated with one or more specific monitoring opportunities (i.e., the second monitoring opportunity) according to the first information and the first channel configuration, thereby reducing the impact of channel configuration changes on the transmission delay of control information.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration further includes: a frequency domain offset; the first channel configuration includes a first frequency domain offset, the starting frequency domain position of the second monitoring timing is the first frequency domain position, and the first frequency domain position is determined based on the first frequency domain offset.

[0031] Based on this scheme, when the candidate channel configuration includes frequency domain offset, the terminal can flexibly change the starting frequency domain position of the second monitoring timing, thereby adjusting the overall frequency domain position of the second monitoring timing. This helps to avoid the problem of insufficient control channel capacity or resource conflict caused by an excessive number of downlink control channels of multiple terminals under the first beam, and improves the transmission quality of downlink control information.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the beam configuration includes at least one of the following: TCI state, an identifier of a reference signal that satisfies type D quasi co-location (QCL) for the beam associated with the candidate channel configuration, a beam identifier, a beamforming vector, a beam direction, a beamwidth, or a beam type.

[0033] Secondly, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a RAN node, by a component applied to the RAN node (e.g., a circuit, processor, chip, or chip system), or by a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the RAN node's functions. The method includes: transmitting first information, the first information indicating a first channel configuration, the first channel configuration including a configuration of first time-domain resources and a configuration of a first beam, the first channel configuration being one of at least one candidate channel configuration, the candidate channel configuration including a beam configuration and a time-domain resource configuration; and transmitting downlink control information on the first time-domain resources using the first beam according to the first channel configuration.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried on a MAC CE or a DCI.

[0035] In one possible implementation, the first information includes indication information for the first channel configuration.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the communication method further includes: sending second information indicating at least one candidate channel configuration.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of at least one monitoring opportunity, the candidate beam includes a beam corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity, the candidate time-domain resource includes a time-domain resource corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity, and the configuration of the monitoring opportunity further includes the configuration of frequency-domain resources; transmitting downlink control information using the first beam on the first time-domain resource includes: transmitting downlink control information on the first monitoring opportunity; wherein, the first time-domain resource is the time-domain resource corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity, the first beam is the beam corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity, and the first monitoring opportunity is all or part of at least one monitoring opportunity corresponding to the first channel configuration.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of CORESET and the configuration of SS. The configuration of at least one monitoring opportunity is determined based on the configuration of CORESET and the configuration of SS. The configuration of CORESET includes the configuration of frequency domain resources and TCI status for at least one monitoring opportunity. The configuration of SS includes the configuration of time domain resources for at least one monitoring opportunity. The TCI status is used to indicate the beam corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the first channel configuration includes the configuration of a first CORESET and the configuration of a first SS. The configuration of the first monitoring timing is determined based on the configuration of the first CORESET and the configuration of the first SS. The configuration of the first CORESET includes a first TCI state, which is used to indicate the beam corresponding to the first monitoring timing. The configuration of the first SS includes the configuration of a first time domain resource. The first information includes at least one of the following: indication information of the first CORESET, indication information of the first TCI state, or indication information of the first SS.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the first information includes indication information of the first CORESET or indication information of the first TCI status, and the first monitoring timing is the monitoring timing determined based on the first CORESET and the first SS associated with the first CORESET.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the first monitoring timing and the third monitoring timing satisfy at least one of the following: the time domain duration is the same, the CCE size is the same, the resource mapping method is the same, the frequency domain resources are the same, the AL is the same, and the supported DCI format is the same; wherein, the third monitoring timing is the monitoring timing when control channel monitoring is currently being performed or the monitoring timing when control channel monitoring is performed before receiving the first information.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the first CORESET and the second CORESET satisfy at least one of the following: the time domain duration is the same, the resource mapping method is the same, the CCE size is the same, or the frequency domain resources are the same; wherein, the second CORESET is the currently used CORESET.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the first information further includes: indication information for a fourth monitoring timing, wherein the first information indicates that the fourth monitoring timing is deactivated, that is, downlink control channel monitoring is no longer performed during the fourth monitoring timing.

[0044] In one possible implementation, the first information may further include at least one of the indication information of the third CORESET or the indication information of the second SS, wherein the first information indicates that at least one of the third CORESET or the second SS is deactivated.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration further includes: a candidate channel configuration identifier, the first information including the first candidate channel configuration identifier, and the first channel configuration being the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier; wherein, the first time-domain resource is the time-domain resource indicated by the configuration of the time-domain resources in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier, and the first beam is the beam indicated by the beam configuration in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the first information further includes indication information for a second monitoring timing. Sending downlink control information on the first time domain resources and the first beam includes: sending downlink control information on the second monitoring timing; wherein the time domain resources corresponding to the second monitoring timing are the first time domain resources included in the first channel configuration, and the beam associated with the second monitoring timing is the first beam included in the first channel configuration.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration further includes: a frequency domain offset; the first channel configuration includes a first frequency domain offset, the starting frequency domain position of the second monitoring timing is the first frequency domain position, and the first frequency domain position is determined based on the first frequency domain offset.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the beam configuration includes at least one of the following: TCI state, an identifier of a reference signal that satisfies type D QCL for the beam associated with the candidate channel configuration, a beam identifier, a beamforming vector, a beam direction, a beamwidth, or a beam type.

[0049] The technical effects of the second aspect and any of its design methods can be referenced from the technical effects of the first aspect or similar design methods in the first aspect, and will not be elaborated here.

[0050] Thirdly, a communication device is provided for implementing various methods. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the implementation of the methods, which can be implemented in hardware, software, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the functions.

[0051] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module can be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may include a receiving module and a transmitting module, respectively used to implement the receiving function and the transmitting function in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0052] In some possible designs, the transceiver module can consist of transceiver circuits, transceivers, transceivers, or communication interfaces.

[0053] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a memory; the memory being used to store computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method described in either aspect.

[0054] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and a communication interface; the communication interface being used to communicate with a module outside the communication device; the processor being used to execute computer programs or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any one of these aspects.

[0055] A sixth aspect provides a communication device comprising: at least one processor; said processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in a memory to cause the communication device to perform the method described in any of the aspects. The memory may be coupled to the processor, or may be independent of the processor.

[0056] In a seventh aspect, a communication device (e.g., the communication device may be a chip or a chip system) is provided, the communication device including a processor for implementing the functions involved in either the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0057] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0058] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or contain chips and other discrete components.

[0059] It is understood that the communication device provided in the third to seventh aspects may be the terminal in the first aspect, or a module or unit (e.g., a chip, chip system, or circuit) in the terminal that performs the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect, or a module or unit that can be used in conjunction with the terminal, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the terminal's functions; or, the communication device may be the RAN node in the second aspect, or a module or unit (e.g., a chip, chip system, or circuit) in the RAN node that performs the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect, or a module or unit that can be used in conjunction with the RAN node, or a logical node, logical module, or software that can realize all or part of the RAN node's functions.

[0060] It is understandable that when the communication device provided by any of the third to seventh aspects is a chip, the sending action / function of the communication device can be understood as outputting information, and the receiving action / function of the communication device can be understood as inputting information.

[0061] Eighthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a communication device, enable the communication device to perform the method described in either the first or second aspect.

[0062] A ninth aspect provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a communication device, enables the communication device to perform the method described in either the first or second aspect.

[0063] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a terminal and a RAN node. The terminal is configured to perform the method described in any possible design of the first aspect, and the RAN node is configured to perform the method described in any possible design of the second aspect.

[0064] The technical effects of any of the design methods in aspects three through ten can be found in the technical effects of different design methods in aspects one and two, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0065] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating the beam coverage and time-frequency resources for monitoring the downlink control channel provided in this application;

[0066] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating a CORESET configuration based on beam coverage provided in this application;

[0067] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in this application;

[0068] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in this application;

[0069] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating a channel configuration change provided in this application;

[0070] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating the application flow of a communication method provided in this application;

[0071] Figures 7-9 A schematic diagram of the communication device provided in this application. Detailed Implementation

[0072] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " indicates that the objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this application is merely a description of the relationship between the related objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural.

[0073] In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of a single item or a plurality of items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0074] Furthermore, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish identical or similar items with substantially the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the terms "first" and "second" are not necessarily different.

[0075] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner to facilitate understanding.

[0076] In the embodiments of this application, "used for indication" can include direct indication and indirect indication, as well as explicit indication and implicit indication. When describing "a certain indication information is used to indicate A" or "indication information of A", it can include the indication information directly indicating A or indirectly indicating A, but does not necessarily mean that the indication information carries A. The information indicated by a certain information is called the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or its index; or indirectly indicating the information to be indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed upon in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can be achieved by using the arrangement order of various information in advance (e.g., stipulated by an agreement), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent. At the same time, the common parts of various information can be identified and indicated uniformly to reduce the indication overhead caused by individually indicating the same information.

[0077] It is understood that the term "embodiment" used throughout the specification means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic related to an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this application. Therefore, various embodiments throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these specific features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. It is understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0078] It is understood that in this application, "...when" and "if" both refer to the corresponding processing that will be carried out under certain objective circumstances, and are not limited to a specific time, nor do they require a judgment action to be performed during implementation, nor do they imply any other limitations.

[0079] It is understood that some optional features in the embodiments of this application can be implemented independently in certain scenarios without relying on other features, such as the current solution on which they are based, to solve the corresponding technical problems and achieve the corresponding effects. Alternatively, they can be combined with other features as needed in certain scenarios. Correspondingly, the apparatus given in the embodiments of this application can also implement these features or functions, which will not be elaborated here.

[0080] In this application, unless otherwise specified, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other. In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referenced. Technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments based on their inherent logical relationships. The following descriptions of the embodiments of this application do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0081] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of this application is given below.

[0082] 1. Millimeter wave:

[0083] Millimeter wave frequency bands are generally considered to be the electromagnetic wave band with frequencies ranging from 30 gigahertz (GHz) to 300 GHz. Compared to the traditional 3.5 GHz to 6 GHz band, millimeter waves have wider spectrum resources and can support high data rate transmission. In addition, the wavelength of millimeter waves is very small, and the antenna size required for transceiver devices using millimeter wave communication is also smaller. This facilitates the construction of antenna modules used in millimeter wave communication through multi-antenna integration. Therefore, millimeter wave communication is a key technology for the fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) system, new radio (NR) system, and future communication systems.

[0084] Because millimeter waves have very short wavelengths, channel attenuation is significantly higher compared to traditional low-frequency bands. To improve the equivalent channel gain between transceivers and ensure coverage and data transmission rates in millimeter-wave communication, transceivers using millimeter-wave band communication can employ beamforming or other techniques to concentrate the energy of millimeter-wave signals in a specific direction (i.e., the signal energy is concentrated in a specific beam direction). On devices with multiple antennas, beamforming can apply weights to different antennas, effectively creating a spatial filter, thereby amplifying the signal in a specific receiving or transmitting direction. Therefore, in this application, a beam can also be understood as a spatial parameter or a spatial filtering parameter; specifically, the transmitting beam can be understood as a transmitting spatial parameter or a transmitting spatial filtering parameter, and the receiving beam can be understood as a receiving spatial parameter or a receiving spatial filtering parameter.

[0085] The specific form of beam indication varies across different communication systems. For example, in 5G communication systems, it can be indicated through TCI status (see the relevant description in subsequent embodiments for specific implementation details). Alternatively, different beams can be indicated through different beamforming vectors (i.e., vectors composed of weights applied to different antennas). Furthermore, different beams can be indicated through beam direction, which may include the magnitude of the azimuth and / or elevation angles (or pitch angles), and the reference coordinate system can be a global coordinate system or a device local coordinate system. Another example is that different beams can be indicated through beam width, such as a beam width attenuated by 3dB relative to the main lobe direction. Finally, different beams can also be directly indicated through beam identifiers. For example, different beams can also be indicated by beam type. Beams can be categorized into wide beams and narrow beams, and beam width can be divided into multiple width levels. They can also be categorized by the type of reference signal they correspond to: synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (Synchronization / PBCH, SSB) beams and non-zero-power channel state information reference signal (NZP-CSI-RS) beams. Furthermore, it can be a combination of two or more of the above methods. This application does not limit the specific form of beam indication.

[0086] 2. Beamforming:

[0087] In the initial stage of establishing a connection, transceivers using millimeter-wave communication often lack information such as location and channel characteristics. Therefore, they need to perform beam training to find suitable beam directions and corresponding spatial filtering parameters. For example, assuming the transceivers are a terminal and a base station, respectively, since millimeter-wave coverage is prioritized, the base station typically divides the coverage area into multiple smaller coverage areas and configures a beam for each (or achieves full coverage of the target area through multiple beams). Therefore, the base station and terminal determine the channel configuration (such as beam configuration and time-frequency resource configuration) during information exchange through beam training. In NR systems, beam training between the base station and terminal is completed through the channel state information (CSI) reporting process.

[0088] During beam training via the CSI-reporting process, the base station can first configure multiple channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) for the terminal. The configuration of each CSI-RS can include: time-frequency resources, index, number of ports, port pattern, etc. For example, reference... Figure 1 In (a), the CSI-RS configured by the base station for the terminal may include three signals: CSI-RS1, CSI-RS2, and CSI-RS3. The base station can then send each CSI-RS to the terminal using different spatial transmission parameters (i.e., the base station sends CSI-RS corresponding to the beam direction in different beam directions).

[0089] The terminal receives signals from each CSI-RS configured by the base station and measures the reference signal received power (RSRP) of each CSI-RS. It then reports to the base station the reference signal index of the CSI-RS with the highest RSRP and its quantized RSRP value (e.g., the reference signal index and RSRP quantized value of CSI-RS1), or the reference signal indices and RSRP quantized values ​​of multiple CSI-RSs with relatively high RSRPs (e.g., the CSI-RSs corresponding to the top three RSRPs after sorting each RSRP from largest to smallest according to their quantized values). Upon receiving the terminal's report, the base station, knowing the beam direction (or the transmission beam used to send each CSI-RS) of each CSI-RS, can determine which beam directions or specific beam directions will allow the terminal to receive a higher-energy signal. When receiving and measuring CSI-RS, the terminal can also use different receiving beams. That is, for each transmitting beam (or each beam direction) of the base station, the terminal can train the optimal receiving beam for the corresponding transmitting beam, complete beam pair link (BPL) training, and thus determine the receiving beam corresponding to each transmitting beam (or beam direction), thereby completing beam training.

[0090] After the terminal and the base station establish a connection, considering the possible obstruction between the terminal and the base station and the movement of the terminal, the optimal beam alignment between the terminal and the base station may change. Therefore, in order to keep the beams aligned between the terminal and the base station, the base station can periodically send CSI-RS for beam tracking to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal will also send a measurement report of CSI-RS for beam tracking to the base station. This allows the base station to instruct the terminal to change the receiving beam of the received signal by issuing control information when it needs to change the beam or beam direction used to send the signal to the terminal.

[0091] Optionally, the CSI-RS configured by the base station for the terminal can be SSB, NZP-CSI-RS, or other signals.

[0092] 3. Blind detection of the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH):

[0093] Downlink control information between the base station and the terminal is carried on the PDCCH. After the terminal accesses the base station, the base station can configure a monitoring occasion (MO) for the terminal to perform blind detection of the PDCCH. The configuration of the monitoring occasion can include the time domain resources, frequency domain resources, beam used to receive the PDCCH, resource mapping method of the PDCCH in the monitoring occasion, size of control channel elements in the monitoring occasion, format of downlink control information (DCI) supported by the PDCCH in the monitoring occasion, and whether the DCI contained in the PDCCH is cell-specific or user-specific, etc.

[0094] For example, the base station can configure monitoring opportunities for the terminal by configuring a control resource set (CORESET) and a search space (SS). The terminal then performs PDCCH blind detection during these monitoring opportunities to determine whether the base station should schedule the terminal's data transmission or channel state information reporting. Furthermore, the terminal performing PDCCH blind detection can also be understood as the terminal monitoring the downlink control channel, or the terminal monitoring downlink control information; these interpretations are interchangeable in the embodiments of this application.

[0095] As one possible implementation, the configuration information of the CORESET configured by the base station for the terminal may include the CORESET's identity document (ID), frequency domain resources, time domain duration, resource mapping method, control channel element (CCE) size, and transmission configuration indicator state (TCI state). The TCI state indicates the quasi-co-location (QCL) reference signal (RS) of the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) of the PDCCH on the CORESET. The DMRS is used for channel reception and channel estimation of the PDCCH.

[0096] In the NR system, QCL can be understood as follows: if the channel characteristics represented by antenna port 1 on one symbol can be inferred from the channel characteristics represented by antenna port 2 on one symbol, then the two antenna ports can be considered as QCL.

[0097] For example, NR defines the following four QCL types: type A: {Doppler offset, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}, type B: {Doppler offset, Doppler spread}, type C: {Doppler offset, average delay}, and type D: {spatial reception parameters}.

[0098] Among them, the parameters of typeA, typeB, and typeC can be used for time-frequency synchronization and channel estimation. For example, obtaining the Doppler offset can be understood as completing frequency domain synchronization, obtaining the average delay can be understood as completing time domain synchronization, and obtaining the Doppler spread and delay spread can be used for channel estimation. typeD indicates that the spatial domain receiving parameters used by the two antenna ports are the same or similar, which is used to assist the receiving equipment in determining its own receiving beam. That is to say, spatial domain receiving parameters can also be understood as receiving beam, and receiving beam can also be understood as spatial domain receiving parameters.

[0099] Since the base station and terminal in the NR system establish a connection based on BPL, the QCL relationship of type D can also be understood as the two antenna ports using the same or similar spatial transmission parameters. Therefore, when the base station indicates to the terminal that the DMRS of the CORESET and a certain CSI-RS satisfy the QCL relationship of type D, the terminal can use the receiving beam that receives that CSI-RS to perform PDCCH blind detection on that CORESET. For example, the CSI-RS that satisfies the QCL relationship of type D with the DMRS of the CORESET can be a CSI-RS that was measured during previous beam training. During beam training, the terminal has already determined the optimal beam to use to receive that CSI-RS and stored this correspondence.

[0100] The QCL relationship between CORESET's DMRS and CSI-RS can be configured and indicated through the TCI state. For example, the TCI state contains a downlink reference signal and its QCL type; or the TCI state contains indication information for a first downlink reference signal and its corresponding QCL type, as well as a second downlink reference signal and its corresponding QCL type, where the QCL type for the first downlink reference signal is type A, type B, or type C, and the QCL type for the second downlink reference signal is type D.

[0101] In other words, once a CORESET is configured or a TCI state is activated, the receiving device (such as a terminal) can use the channel characteristics of the downlink reference signal indicated by the TCI state to assist the receiving device in channel estimation when performing PDCCH blind detection on that CORESET, or to determine the receiving beam used when performing PDCCH blind detection on that CORESET.

[0102] Optionally, the base station can pre-configure multiple TCI states for the terminal through the radio resource control (RRC) layer, which may be used for monitoring the downlink control channel (or PDCCH blind detection). During the process of configuring the CORESET used for PDCCH blind detection for the terminal, one of the TCI states is activated through the medium access control (MAC) element (MAC CE) at the medium access control (MAC) layer.

[0103] As one possible implementation, the configuration information of the SS configured by the base station for the terminal may include: the type of SS, the period of the SS, the offset of the SS, the starting symbol position, the duration of the SS, and the supported DCI format, etc.

[0104] For example, the type of SS can be user-specific or cell-specific. The period of SS is usually in units of slots. The offset of SS can be understood as the slot offset of SS in the period. The starting symbol position can be understood as the starting time domain symbol position of SS in the slot where control channel monitoring is required. The duration of SS can be understood as the number of time slots in a period where control channel monitoring is required (or the timing of control channel monitoring exists).

[0105] Each SS is associated with a CORESET. A monitoring opportunity can be determined based on an SS and its associated CORESET (since monitoring opportunities determined by SS and CORESET typically occupy periodic time-frequency resources, a monitoring opportunity determined by an SS and its associated CORESET can also be understood as a set of monitoring opportunities). This involves determining the time-frequency resources (or time-domain and frequency-domain positions), beam, resource mapping method, control channel element size, and other configurations for that monitoring opportunity. The time-domain resources for this monitoring opportunity can be understood as being jointly determined by the SS's period, SS offset, start symbol position, SS duration, and the time-domain duration in the CORESET.

[0106] For example, the base station configures two cores for the terminal, and each core is configured with an SS. (Refer to...) Figure 1 In (b), the base station configures two CORESETs for the terminal: CORESET0, which occupies 2 symbols in the time domain and 12 physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the frequency domain, and CORESET1, which occupies 1 symbol in the time domain and 24 PRBs in the frequency domain. The base station also configures two SSs for the terminal. SS0 is associated with CORESET0. The period of SS0 is 1 time slot. The starting symbol in the time domain appears in symbol 0 in the corresponding time slot. Therefore, the terminal performing PDCCH blind detection based on CORESET0 and SS0 can determine that the monitoring time slot 0 includes the 12 PRBs corresponding to the first 2 symbols of each time slot (i.e., time slot 1, 2, 3, 4...n). SS1 is associated with CORESET1. SS1 has a period of 2 time slots. The starting symbol of the time domain appears in symbol 0 in the corresponding time slot. Based on CORESET1 and SS1, the terminal performing PDCCH blind detection can determine that the monitoring time 1 includes the 12 PRBs corresponding to the first 2 symbols of time slots 0, 2, 4...2n, where n is an integer greater than 0.

[0107] Furthermore, for ease of understanding, the above embodiments illustrate an example where the base station configures two cores for the terminal, with each core associated with one service tracker (SS). In practice, the base station can configure one or more cores for the terminal, and there is no limitation on the number of associated SSs that can be configured for each core. That is, the base station can configure multiple or more monitoring opportunities for the terminal. These monitoring opportunities can be determined based on a core and its associated SSs, or they can be determined by multiple cores and their associated SSs.

[0108] 4. Channel configuration change:

[0109] Since a base station typically serves multiple terminals, and the number of transmission beams that a base station can use at the same time is limited, it is common practice to configure the same or similar SS in the time domain for multiple terminals located under the same beam. This allows the base station to use the same beam to send control information to these terminals on different frequency domain resources, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency and reducing terminal scheduling latency through frequency division scheduling.

[0110] refer to Figure 2 Taking a scenario where six terminals (terminals 1 to 6) are connected to a base station, with terminals 1, 2, and 3 located within the coverage area of ​​base station beam 1, and terminals 4, 5, and 6 located within the coverage area of ​​base station beam 2, the base station can configure the CORESET beams used by terminals 1, 2, and 3 as the receiving beams corresponding to beam 1 during the scheduling of connected terminals. For example, the reference signal (type D QCL source reference signal) corresponding to the TCI state of the CORESET can be configured as a reference signal transmitted through beam 1. Similarly, the base station can configure the CORESET beams used by terminals 4 to 6 as the receiving beams corresponding to beam 2. Assuming that the base station can only transmit DCI in one beam direction at a time (or that the base station can only transmit one beam at a time), the base station can periodically alternate between beam 1 and beam 2 to send control information to the six connected terminals during the scheduling of connected terminals.

[0111] Optionally, the control information of terminals 1 to 3 can be transmitted simultaneously via frequency division (that is, the control information of terminals 1 to 3 can be carried by different frequency domain resources in the time slot where beam 1 is located). Similarly, the control information of terminals 4 to 6 can also be transmitted simultaneously via frequency division.

[0112] When the base station schedules the access terminals based on the above scheduling scheme, if the access terminal moves and moves from the current beam to a new beam, the BPL between the terminal and the base station will change. The terminal can report the beam change information of the base station through the RSRP measurement information. After receiving the RSRP measurement information reported by the terminal, the base station changes the monitoring timing or channel configuration (such as beam, time and frequency resources, etc.) of the terminal's downlink control channel and instructs the terminal to monitor the downlink control channel according to the changed monitoring timing.

[0113] Optionally, the timing for the base station to monitor the terminal's change of the downlink control channel includes the following two possible implementation methods:

[0114] Method 1: Change only the beam of the control channel.

[0115] For example, a base station can send a DCI or MACCE to the terminal to change the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel, thereby changing the beam configuration of the downlink control channel. For instance, if the base station detects that terminal 1 has moved from the coverage area of ​​beam 1 to the coverage area of ​​beam 2, it can send a DCI or MAC CE to configure the beam corresponding to the TCI state in the configured CORESET of terminal 1 to beam 2 (i.e., the type D QCL source reference signal in the new TCI state is the reference signal sent by the base station through beam 2). After receiving the DCI or MAC CE from the base station, terminal 1 begins to monitor the downlink control channel using the receive beam corresponding to beam 2. In this case, the time-frequency resources for the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel of terminal 1 do not change; that is, only the beam for the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel is changed.

[0116] Method 2: Change the beam and time-frequency resources of the control channel.

[0117] For example, the base station sends signaling to the terminal to change the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel, thereby changing both the beam and time-frequency resources of the downlink control channel. For instance, if the base station detects that terminal 1 has moved from the coverage area of ​​beam 1 to the coverage area of ​​beam 2, it can send a first RRC signaling, a first DCI, or a first MAC CE to configure the beam corresponding to the TCI state in the configured CORESET of terminal 1 as beam 2, and send a second RRC signaling to adjust the time-domain resources of the configured SS of terminal 1 from time-domain resource 1 corresponding to beam 1 to time-domain resource 2 corresponding to beam 2. After receiving the signaling from the base station, terminal 1 begins using the downlink control channel monitored on time-domain resource 2 by beam 2. In this case, both the beam and time-domain resources of the downlink control channel are changed.

[0118] However, if the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel is changed according to Method 1, and the base station can only send control information in one beam direction at a time (or the base station can only emit one beam at a time), then when the base station needs to send control information for both terminal 1 and terminal 2, it is impossible to achieve frequency division scheduling of terminal 1 and terminal 2 by sending beams at the same time. The base station can only send control information for one terminal in the current cycle and then send control information for the other terminal in the next cycle. That is, when only beam changes are performed, beam collisions are likely to occur during the base station's scheduling of terminals, which in turn leads to additional transmission delays for control information.

[0119] When changing the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel according to Method 2, the base station needs to generate signaling to change the beam configuration and time domain resource configuration respectively, and transmit the signaling to the terminal. The terminal then changes the monitoring timing (or the channel configuration corresponding to the monitoring timing) according to the received signaling. The signaling needs to go through many protocol layers, resulting in a large transmission delay. Furthermore, the synchronous change of beam configuration and time domain resource configuration requires the exchange of two signaling between the base station and the terminal, which can easily lead to additional effective delays in the monitoring timing change, thereby affecting the transmission delay of control information.

[0120] In other words, the current monitoring timing change scheme of the downlink control channel cannot efficiently realize the synchronous change of beam and time domain resources in the monitoring timing. The monitoring timing change has a large delay, which can easily lead to additional transmission delay in the transmission of control information.

[0121] Based on this, embodiments of this application provide a communication method in which a terminal can acquire at least one candidate channel configuration. Each candidate channel configuration includes a candidate beam configuration and a candidate time-domain resource configuration. When a channel configuration needs to be changed, the network side can send first information to the terminal, indicating the changed channel configuration. The terminal can, based on the received first information, select the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first information as the first channel configuration. The first channel configuration includes a first beam configuration and a first time-domain resource configuration. After determining the first channel configuration based on the first information, the terminal uses the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time-domain resource according to the first channel configuration.

[0122] In other words, the RAN node can send first information to the terminal to indicate at least one candidate channel configuration (i.e., the first channel configuration) as the modified channel configuration. This allows the terminal to synchronously change the time-domain resources and beam of the monitoring downlink control channel based on the configuration of the first beam and the configuration of the first time-domain resources included in the first channel configuration. This avoids beam conflicts that may occur due to channel configuration changes from affecting the transmission delay of control information, thus reducing the transmission delay of control information. Furthermore, the synchronous change of beam and time-domain resources by the terminal based on the first information eliminates the need to send a large amount of configuration information, further reducing the channel configuration change delay and thus reducing the impact of the channel configuration change delay on the transmission delay of control information, further reducing the transmission delay of control information.

[0123] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be used in various communication systems, including third-generation partnership project (3GPP) communication systems, such as fourth-generation (4G) systems like Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5G systems like NR, LTE and 5G hybrid networking systems, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), or other future communication systems. The communication system can also be a non-3GPP communication system; there is no limitation on this.

[0124] The communication systems described above are merely illustrative examples, and are not limited to those described herein. The communication systems provided in this application do not impose any limitations on the solutions described herein. This will be explained uniformly here and will not be repeated below.

[0125] Figure 3 A possible, non-limiting system schematic diagram is shown. For example... Figure 3 As shown, the communication system 20 includes a radio access network (RAN) 200 and a core network (CN) 300. The RAN 200 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., Figure 3 210a and 210b (collectively referred to as 210) and at least one terminal (such as Figure 3 RAN 200, denoted as 220a-220j, is collectively referred to as 220. RAN 200 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment. Figure 3(Not shown in the image). Terminal 220 is connected to RAN node 210 wirelessly. RAN node 210 is connected to core network 300 wirelessly or via wired connection. The core network equipment in core network 300 and RAN node 210 in RAN 200 can be different physical devices, or they can be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0126] RAN 200 can be a 3GPP-related cellular system, such as a 4G, 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system. RAN 200 can also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. RAN 200 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0127] RAN node 210, sometimes also referred to as access network equipment, RAN entity, or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and assists terminals in achieving wireless access. Multiple RAN nodes 210 in communication system 20 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of RAN node 210 and terminal 220 are relative, for example... Figure 3 Network element 220i can be a helicopter or a drone, and it can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 220j that access RAN 200 through network element 220i, network element 220i is a base station; however, for base station 210a, network element 220i is a terminal. RAN node 210 and terminal 220 are sometimes referred to as communication devices, for example... Figure 3 Network elements 210a and 210b can be understood as communication devices with base station functions, while network elements 220a-220j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0128] In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a future mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system, etc. A RAN node can also be a macro base station (such as...) Figure 3 210a), micro base stations or indoor stations (such as Figure 3The RAN node can be a relay node or donor node (as described in section 210b), or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the RAN node can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network device in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the RAN node in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform). The RAN node in this application can also be a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the RAN node functions.

[0129] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CU-control plane (CPs), CU-user plane (UPs), or radio units (RUs), etc. CUs and DUs can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0130] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0131] A terminal can also be called a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, etc. Terminals can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, drones, helicopters, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the terminal.

[0132] It should be noted that the communication system described in the embodiments of this application is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0133] The following is combined with Figure 3 The communication system shown, taking the interaction between a terminal and a RAN node as an example, describes the data transmission method based on quality of service provided in this application. It should be noted that in the following embodiments of this application, the message names, parameter names, or information names between the terminal and the RAN node are merely examples; other names may exist in other embodiments, and the method provided in this application does not specifically limit these.

[0134] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, the terminal or RAN node may execute some or all of the steps in the embodiments of this application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of this application may also perform other operations or variations thereof. Furthermore, the various steps may be executed in different orders as presented in the embodiments of this application, and it is not necessarily necessary to execute all the operations in the embodiments of this application.

[0135] It is understood that this application uses RAN nodes and terminals as examples to illustrate the execution of the interaction, but this application does not limit the execution subject of the interaction. For example, the method executed by the RAN node in this application can also be executed by a module applied to the RAN node (e.g., a chip, chip system, or processor), or by a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the RAN node's functions; similarly, the method executed by the terminal in this application can also be executed by a module applied to the terminal (e.g., a chip, chip system, or processor), or by a logical node, logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the terminal's functions.

[0136] Furthermore, in this application, "sending information" can be understood as one device sending information to another device, or it can also be understood as one logical module within a device sending information to another logical module. For example, "RAN node sending information" can be understood as the RAN node sending information to another device (such as a terminal), or it can be understood as logical module 1 (such as a processing module) in the RAN node sending information to logical module 2 (such as a transceiver module) in the RAN node.

[0137] In this application, "receiving information" can be understood as one device receiving information from another device, or it can also be understood as one logical module within a device receiving information from another logical module. For example, "terminal receiving information" can be understood as the terminal receiving information from another device (such as a RAN node), or it can be understood as logical module 1 (such as a processing module) in the terminal receiving information from logical module 2 (such as a transceiver module) in the terminal.

[0138] In this application, phrases such as "sending information to... (e.g., a terminal)" or related illustrations in the accompanying drawings can be understood as indicating that the destination of the information is the terminal. This can include sending information directly or indirectly to the terminal. Similarly, phrases such as "receiving information from... (e.g., a RAN node)," "receiving information from... (e.g., a RAN node)," or "receiving information sent by (e.g., a RAN node)," or related illustrations in the accompanying drawings, can be understood as indicating that the source of the information is the RAN node. This can include receiving information directly or indirectly from the RAN node. Information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be interpreted similarly and will not be elaborated further here.

[0139] See Figure 4 The flowchart below illustrates a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method may include the following steps:

[0140] S401, the RAN node sends first information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first information from the RAN node. The first information indicates a first channel configuration, which includes the configuration of a first time-domain resource and the configuration of a first beam.

[0141] The first channel configuration is one of at least one candidate channel configurations, and the candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of candidate beams and the configuration of candidate time-domain resources.

[0142] For example, the configuration of a candidate beam can be understood as the configuration of the beam associated with the candidate channel configuration. The beam associated with the candidate channel configuration can be understood as the receiving beam used by the terminal to monitor the downlink control channel when the candidate channel configuration is effective (or the beam in the monitoring time of the terminal monitoring the downlink control channel); or, it can also be understood as the transmitting beam used by the RAN node when sending downlink control information, and the receiving beam corresponding to the transmitting beam used by the terminal when monitoring the downlink control channel; or it can also be the transmitting beam used by the RAN node and the receiving beam used by the terminal when the candidate channel configuration is effective (i.e., it can also be understood as a beam pair for transmitting downlink control information).

[0143] For example, beam configuration can be characterized by at least one of the following parameters: TCI state, identifier of the reference signal that satisfies typeDQCL associated with the candidate channel configuration, beam identifier, beam type, beamforming vector, beam direction, or beamwidth. The meaning of each parameter can be found in the relevant descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0144] Similarly, the configuration of candidate time-domain resources can be understood as the configuration of time-domain resources corresponding to candidate channel configurations. The time-domain resources corresponding to candidate channel configurations can be understood as the time-domain resources used by the terminal to monitor the downlink control channel when the candidate channel configuration is effective; or, they can be understood as the time-domain resources used by the RAN node when issuing downlink control information. For example, candidate time-domain resources include periodic time-domain resources corresponding to one or more monitoring opportunities for the terminal to monitor the downlink control channel. The configuration of these periodic time-domain resources can include the period size (the time-domain interval between periodic time-domain resources corresponding to the monitoring opportunities) and the period offset, etc. Specific configurations of the time-domain resources can be found in the relevant descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0145] As one possible implementation, the first beam included in the first channel configuration is a beam with a signal strength greater than or equal to a first threshold, or a beam with a signal attenuation less than or equal to a second threshold.

[0146] For example, the multiple candidate channel configuration includes multiple candidate beams. Before step S401, the terminal can measure these candidate beams and then report the signal strength and / or signal attenuation of these candidate beams to the RAN node. Then, the RAN node selects the candidate beam that meets the above conditions from the multiple candidate beams as the first beam. That is, the first beam can be a candidate beam that meets at least one of the two conditions of maximum signal strength and minimum signal attenuation.

[0147] For example, before step S401, the RAN node sends multiple reference signals to the terminal through multiple transmit beams corresponding to the beams associated with each candidate channel configuration. Each reference signal corresponds to a different transmit beam. After receiving the multiple reference signals, the terminal reports the RSRP measurement result of each reference signal to the RAN node. Upon receiving the RSRP of each reference signal, the RAN node uses the RSRP of each reference signal as the signal strength of the beam in the candidate channel configuration associated with that reference signal's transmit beam, and then uses the candidate channel configuration with the highest beam signal strength as the first channel configuration.

[0148] Optionally, the first beam is a beam that the terminal did not use before step S401, or in other words, the terminal did not use the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel before step S401. For example, if the first beam is configured through the first TCI state, and the beam used by the terminal to monitor the downlink channel is configured through the TCI state in the CORESET, then the first TCI state is not included in the TCI state contained in the CORESET currently configured and in the active state. That is to say, the RAN node will only trigger the step of sending the first information if the beam used by the terminal to monitor the downlink control channel needs to be changed to a new beam (or if the beam used by the terminal to monitor the downlink control channel needs to be switched).

[0149] As one possible implementation, the RAN node can employ a semi-static scheduling method during terminal scheduling. That is, when terminal scheduling is required, the RAN node uses a specific transmit beam to send downlink control information to terminals within the coverage area of ​​that transmit beam on a specific periodic time-frequency resource. In other words, the RAN node can predefine the association between the transmit beam and the time-domain resource (or predefine the beam used to transmit downlink control information on a certain time-domain resource).

[0150] In other words, the first beam is the beam indicated by the configuration of the candidate beams in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first information, and the first time-domain resource is the time-domain resource indicated by the configuration of the candidate time-domain resources in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first information.

[0151] In addition, the candidate channel configuration can be pre-determined by the terminal according to the newly defined configuration rules of the protocol, or it can be pre-configured by the RAN node and sent to the terminal.

[0152] In one possible implementation, the first information includes indication information for the first channel configuration.

[0153] For example, the indication information of the first channel configuration may be a candidate channel configuration identifier as a candidate channel configuration of the first channel configuration, or an index of the candidate channel configuration of the first channel configuration, or it may be at least one of the following: a beam configuration identifier / index of the first beam or a time domain resource configuration identifier / index of the first time domain resource.

[0154] For example, each candidate channel configuration corresponds to a candidate channel configuration identifier. After the RAN node determines the first channel configuration from at least one candidate channel configuration, it can directly send the candidate channel configuration identifier, which is the first channel configuration, as first information or include it in the first information to the terminal. After receiving the first information, the terminal, based on the obtained candidate channel configuration identifier, uses the candidate channel configuration corresponding to that identifier as the first channel configuration.

[0155] For example, each beam configuration used to indicate different beams corresponds to a beam configuration identifier. After the RAN node determines the first channel configuration from at least one candidate channel configuration, it can send the beam configuration identifier corresponding to the first beam included in the first channel configuration as first information or carry it in the first information to the terminal. After receiving the first information, the terminal, based on the obtained beam configuration identifier, selects the candidate channel configuration from the at least one candidate channel configuration whose associated beam is the same as the beam indicated by the beam configuration identifier as the first channel configuration.

[0156] Based on this scheme, when the RAN node instructs the terminal on the first channel configuration, it can directly send instruction information to the terminal to determine the first channel configuration. The terminal then selects the candidate channel configuration as the first channel configuration from at least one candidate channel configuration based on the received instruction information. Compared with directly sending the configuration of the beam and time domain resources included in the first channel configuration, this reduces the amount of data in the first information, which helps to reduce the latency of the generation and transmission of the first information. This, in turn, helps to reduce the configuration latency required for the first channel configuration to take effect and reduces the interference caused by the channel configuration change on the transmission latency of control information.

[0157] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried on a MAC CE or a DCI.

[0158] For example, a MAC CE carrying the first information can be understood as: a newly defined MAC CE for instructing a terminal that the downlink control channel configuration has been changed to a first channel configuration (e.g., activating a candidate channel configuration MAC CE), or a MAC CE including an extended field used to carry the first information, meaning an existing MAC CE can be reused to carry the first information. Similarly, a DCI carrying the first information can be understood as: a newly defined DCI for instructing a terminal that the downlink control channel configuration has been changed to a first channel configuration (e.g., activating a candidate channel configuration DCI), or a DCI including an extended field used to carry the first information, meaning an existing DCI can be reused to carry the first information.

[0159] Currently, when changing the downlink control channel configuration (such as changing the beam and time domain resources of the downlink control channel) via RRC signaling, the terminal's RRC layer changes the beam and time domain resources of the monitoring downlink control channel according to the two received RRC signaling messages. During the channel configuration change process, the terminal needs to perform the relevant channel configuration changes layer by layer according to the protocol layer hierarchy, starting from the RRC layer. The application of channel configuration requires a large configuration time. In other words, the method of reconfiguring the beam and time-frequency resources of the terminal via RRC signaling has a large reconfiguration delay (usually reaching hundreds of milliseconds (ms)).

[0160] Based on the above scheme, when the first information is carried by a MAC CE or a DCI, compared to the scheme of sending the changed time-domain resource configuration and beam configuration to the terminal separately through two independent RRC signaling, on the one hand, the number of signaling interactions between the terminal and the RAN node during the channel configuration change process is reduced; on the other hand, the terminal's monitoring of the synchronous changes of the time-domain resources and beam of the downlink control channel does not need to be achieved through the RRC layer. The number of protocol layers involved in the transmission of the first information and the application of the new channel configuration is reduced, which helps to reduce the indication delay and configuration delay of the new channel configuration, thereby reducing the impact of channel configuration changes on the transmission delay of control information.

[0161] S402. According to the first channel configuration, the first beam is used to transmit downlink control information on the first time domain resource. That is, the RAN node, according to the first channel configuration, uses the first beam to send downlink control information on the first time domain resource. Correspondingly, the terminal, according to the first channel configuration, uses the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource.

[0162] Optionally, the RAN node using the first beam to transmit downlink control information on the first time domain resource can be understood as the RAN node transmitting downlink control information to the terminal on the first time domain resource through the transmit beam corresponding to the first beam; correspondingly, the terminal using the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource can be understood as the terminal using the first beam as the receive beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource. Alternatively, the RAN node using the first beam to transmit downlink control information on the first time domain resource can be understood as the RAN node using the first beam as the transmit beam to transmit downlink control information to the terminal on the first time domain resource; correspondingly, the terminal using the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource can be understood as the terminal monitoring the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource according to the receive beam corresponding to the first beam.

[0163] For example, refer to Figure 5 Taking time slots 1, 3, and 5 as the first time domain resources, and the receiving beam corresponding to beam 1 as the first beam, as an example: Before receiving the first information, the terminal is located within the coverage area of ​​RAN node beam 2 and monitors the downlink control channel in time slots 0, 2, and 4 (i.e., time domain resource 1) according to the receiving beam corresponding to beam 2. After the terminal moves to the coverage area of ​​RAN node beam 1, the RAN node sends the first information to the terminal, instructing the terminal to use the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel in the first time domain resources. After sending the first information, if the RAN node needs to schedule the terminal, it can use beam 1 as the transmitting beam in time slots 1, 3, and 5 (i.e., time domain resource 2) to send downlink control information for scheduling the terminal. Accordingly, after receiving the first information, the terminal starts using the receiving beam corresponding to beam 1 to monitor the downlink control channel in time slots 1, 3 and 5. The terminal can then stop using the receiving beam corresponding to beam 2 and monitor the downlink control channel in time slots 0, 2 and 4.

[0164] Furthermore, the RAN node's use of the first beam to transmit downlink control information on the first time domain resource includes: when the RAN node needs to schedule a terminal, it uses the first beam to transmit downlink control information on the first time domain resource. In other words, the RAN node does not send downlink control information to the terminal when it does not need to schedule the terminal, but uses the first beam to transmit downlink control information on the first time domain resource when it needs to schedule the terminal.

[0165] Based on this scheme, the terminal can obtain at least one candidate channel configuration. Each candidate channel configuration includes a candidate beam configuration and a candidate time-domain resource configuration. When a channel configuration needs to be changed, the RAN node can send first information to the terminal, indicating the changed channel configuration. The terminal can then select the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first information from the at least one candidate channel configuration as the first channel configuration. The first channel configuration includes a first beam configuration and a first time-domain resource configuration. After determining the first channel configuration based on the first information, the terminal uses the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time-domain resource according to the first channel configuration.

[0166] In other words, the RAN node can send first information to the terminal to indicate at least one candidate channel configuration (i.e., the first channel configuration) as the modified channel configuration. This allows the terminal to synchronously change the time-domain resources and beam corresponding to the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel based on the configuration of the first beam and the configuration of the first time-domain resources included in the first channel configuration. This avoids beam conflicts that may occur due to channel configuration changes affecting the transmission delay of control information, thus reducing the transmission delay of control information. Furthermore, the synchronous change of the beam and time-domain resources corresponding to the monitoring timing by the terminal based on the first information eliminates the need to send a large amount of configuration information to achieve the synchronous change of beam and time-domain resources, which helps reduce the channel configuration change delay. This, in turn, reduces the impact of the channel configuration change delay on the transmission delay of control information, further reducing the transmission delay of control information.

[0167] The overall process of the communication method provided in this application has been described above. The specific implementation of each step above will be introduced below.

[0168] In one possible implementation, prior to step S401, the RAN node further sends second information to the terminal, indicating at least one candidate channel configuration. Accordingly, the terminal receives at least one candidate channel configuration from the RAN node.

[0169] For example, the second information indicating at least one candidate channel configuration can be understood as the second information comprising multiple information blocks, each containing a candidate channel configuration.

[0170] Optionally, the RAN node can directly send all candidate channel configurations from at least one candidate channel configuration to the terminal in a single message, i.e., the second information is carried in one message. Alternatively, it can first send a portion of the candidate channel configurations from at least one candidate channel configuration to the terminal, and then, after receiving the terminal's response information, send the remaining candidate channel configurations from at least one candidate channel configuration to the terminal, i.e., the second information is carried in two different messages.

[0171] Based on this scheme, the RAN node can send the second information to the terminal in a timely manner before sending the first information, so that the terminal can determine at least one candidate channel configuration that may be used in the subsequent monitoring of the downlink control channel. Thus, when the terminal needs to monitor the downlink control channel according to a certain candidate channel configuration, it can enable the terminal to synchronously change the beam and time domain resources of the monitoring downlink control channel by directly indicating the candidate channel configuration to be activated.

[0172] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of at least one monitoring opportunity, the candidate beam includes at least one beam corresponding to a monitoring opportunity, and the candidate time-domain resource includes at least one time-domain resource corresponding to a monitoring opportunity. It should be noted that a beam corresponding to a monitoring opportunity may be one or more beams, and a time-domain resource corresponding to a monitoring opportunity may be one or more time-domain resources; this application does not limit this.

[0173] For example, the candidate beam including at least one beam corresponding to a monitoring time can be understood as the candidate channel configuration including the beam configuration of at least one monitoring time; the candidate time domain resource including at least one time domain resource corresponding to a monitoring time can be understood as the candidate channel configuration including the configuration of the time domain resource of at least one monitoring time.

[0174] The configuration of time-domain resources for monitoring opportunities can indicate the size and location of the time-domain resources corresponding to the monitoring opportunity. For example, the period interval (such as the time-domain interval between adjacent time-domain resources in the periodic time-domain resources), period offset, and the time-domain length occupied in each period (such as the number of time-domain symbols included in each time-domain resource in the periodic time-domain resources) of the periodic time-domain resources included in the monitoring opportunity; the beam configuration can indicate the transmit beam of the RAN node to transmit downlink control information at the monitoring opportunity, and / or the receive beam of the terminal to monitor the downlink control channel at the monitoring opportunity.

[0175] When the candidate channel configuration includes at least one monitoring opportunity, the terminal using the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource can be understood as the terminal monitoring the downlink control channel at the first monitoring opportunity. Similarly, the RAN node using the first beam to transmit downlink control information on the first time domain resource can be understood as the RAN node transmitting downlink control information at the first monitoring opportunity. In other words, the first time domain resource is the time domain resource corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity, and the first beam is the beam corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity.

[0176] As one possible implementation, a monitoring opportunity includes multiple time-frequency resources that are periodically distributed. That is, monitoring the downlink control channel at a monitoring opportunity involves monitoring the downlink control channel on multiple time-frequency resources corresponding to that monitoring opportunity.

[0177] Optionally, the first monitoring timing is all or part of at least one monitoring timing corresponding to the first channel configuration.

[0178] For example, when the first channel configuration indicated by the first information includes a configuration of multiple monitoring opportunities, the terminal can use all the multiple monitoring opportunities corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity in the first channel configuration as the first monitoring opportunity. For instance, the terminal can use each monitoring opportunity corresponding to the first channel configuration as the first monitoring opportunity, and then use the time-domain resources corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity as the first time-domain resources (that is, use the time-domain resources corresponding to each monitoring opportunity as the first time-domain resources), and use the beam associated with the first monitoring opportunity as the first beam (that is, use the beam associated with each monitoring opportunity as the first beam).

[0179] In addition, the configuration of at least one monitoring opportunity included in the candidate channel configuration may also include: the configuration of frequency domain resources for the monitoring opportunity, which may indicate the size and location of the frequency domain resources corresponding to the monitoring opportunity, such as the number of PRBs included in the monitoring opportunity and / or the starting frequency domain location of the monitoring opportunity.

[0180] In addition, the configuration of monitoring timing may also include at least one of the following: CCE size, AL, resource mapping method, supported DCI format, or whether the DCI is cell-specific or user-specific. For example, the configuration of monitoring timing may also include CCE size and AL, or even CCE size, AL, and supported DCI format.

[0181] In this embodiment, the terminal using the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource can also be understood as monitoring the downlink control channel according to the first monitoring timing of the corresponding first time domain resource and the first beam. Similarly, the RAN node using the first beam to send downlink control information on the first time domain resource can also be understood as sending downlink control information at the first monitoring timing. Monitoring the downlink control channel at the first monitoring timing includes not only monitoring the downlink control channel using the first beam on the first time domain resource, but also monitoring the downlink control channel according to other configurations of that monitoring timing. The meaning of sending downlink control information at the first monitoring timing is similar and will not be elaborated further.

[0182] Furthermore, at least one monitoring opportunity included in the candidate channel configuration can be understood as a candidate monitoring opportunity. This candidate monitoring opportunity can be defaulted to an inactive state. That is, after receiving a candidate channel configuration, the terminal does not need to monitor the downlink control channel during the monitoring opportunity included in the candidate channel configuration (i.e., the candidate monitoring opportunity) unless it receives an indication to activate the candidate channel configuration (such as an indication to use the candidate channel configuration as the first channel configuration or before receiving the first information). This effectively controls the power consumption of the terminal during downlink control channel monitoring and avoids the terminal performing a large number of meaningless PDCCH blind checks.

[0183] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of CORESET and the configuration of SS. The configuration of at least one monitoring opportunity is determined based on the configuration of CORESET and the configuration of SS. The configuration of CORESET includes the configuration of frequency domain resources and TCI state for at least one monitoring opportunity. The configuration of SS includes the configuration of time domain resources for at least one monitoring opportunity. The TCI state is used to indicate the beam corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity.

[0184] For example, the TCI state used to indicate the beam corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity can be understood as the beam associated with or corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity included in the candidate channel configuration being determined according to the TCI state. That is, the beam configuration in the candidate channel configuration (i.e., the beam associated with the candidate channel configuration) can be determined according to the TCI state in the CORESET configuration. The specific method for determining the beam according to the TCI state can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0185] For example, the configuration of the SS, including the configuration of time-domain resources for at least one monitoring opportunity, can be understood as including all or part of the configuration of time-domain resources corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity (e.g., the configuration of the SS includes the period size and period offset of the time-domain resources corresponding to the monitoring opportunity), or it can also be understood as the time-domain resources indicated by the SS including the time-domain resources corresponding to at least one monitoring opportunity included in the candidate channel configuration. The time-domain resources indicated by the SS can be understood as periodic time-domain resources determined by the configuration of the SS and the configuration of the CORESET associated with the SS, or, in other words, periodic time-domain resources determined based on the configuration of the SS in the time-frequency resource set corresponding to the CORESET associated with the SS. The method of determining periodic time-domain resources according to the configuration of the CORESET and the configuration of the SS can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0186] Based on this scheme, the RAN node can directly send the configuration of the CORESET and SS that the terminal needs to use during the monitoring of the downlink control channel as a candidate channel configuration to the terminal. This allows the terminal to obtain the target channel configuration for monitoring the downlink control channel using different beams or in different beam directions in advance. This facilitates the RAN node to indicate the candidate channel configuration to be activated (i.e., the first channel configuration) to the terminal based on the beam or beam direction of the downlink control information sent to the terminal. The terminal can then directly change the CORESET and SS used for monitoring the downlink control channel according to the candidate channel configuration, thereby achieving synchronous changes in the beam and time domain resources for monitoring the downlink control channel.

[0187] When the candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of CORESET and the configuration of SS, the first channel configuration includes the configuration of the first CORESET and the configuration of the first SS. The configuration of the first monitoring opportunity is determined based on the configuration of the first CORESET and the configuration of the first SS. The configuration of the first CORESET includes the first TCI state, which is used to indicate the beam corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity. The configuration of the first SS includes the configuration of the first time domain resources.

[0188] In other words, when the candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of CORESET and the configuration of SS, the RAN node can take the CORESET contained in the candidate channel configuration to be activated by the terminal as the first CORESET, the SS contained in the candidate channel configuration to be activated by the terminal as the first SS, and the TCI state in the configuration of the first CORESET as the first TCI state. The terminal can determine the first monitoring opportunity based on the configuration of the first CORESET and the configuration of the first SS, that is, determine that the first monitoring opportunity is activated, and then perform downlink control channel monitoring at the first monitoring opportunity.

[0189] Optionally, the configuration of the SS in the candidate channel configuration can differ from the regular SS configuration. For example, the SS configuration in the candidate channel configuration may not include the association relationship between the SS and a certain CORESET. If the SS configuration does not include the association relationship between the SS and a certain CORESET, the terminal can associate the SS indicated by the first information with the CORESET based on the received first information. In other words, the SS indicated by the first information can be used as the SS associated with the CORESET indicated by the first information. The specific implementation method will be described in subsequent embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0190] In one possible implementation, when the RAN node instructs the terminal on the first channel configuration through the first information, the first information (or the indication information of the first channel configuration contained in the first information) includes at least one of the following: indication information of the first CORESET, indication information of the first TCI state, or indication information of the first SS.

[0191] For example, the indication information of the first CORESET can be understood as the identifier or index of the first CORESET. The indication information of the first TCI state and the indication information of the first SS have similar meanings, so they will not be described again.

[0192] As one possible implementation, if the first information includes the indication information of the first CORESET or the indication information of the first TCIstate, the first monitoring timing is the monitoring timing of the first CORESET and the SS indication associated with the first CORESET.

[0193] For example, after determining the first channel configuration, the RAN node sends the identifier of the first CORESET as first information or includes it in the first information to the terminal. Upon receiving the first information, the terminal determines, based on the received identifier of the first CORESET, that the first channel configuration includes the first CORESET and the first SS. The first SS is the SS associated with the first CORESET in the candidate channel configuration.

[0194] Optionally, the first SS can be one or more. For example, the first SS can be the first, the first X, the last, the last Y, or all SSs associated with the first CORESET in the candidate channel configuration, where X and Y are integers. The TCI state included in the first CORESET can be used as the first TCI state. The configuration of the first SS includes the configuration of the first time-domain resource (e.g., the period size and period offset of the first time-domain resource). The first monitoring timing can be determined based on the configuration of the first CORESET and the first SS. The first monitoring timing can be one or more. Then, the terminal activates the first CORESET and the first SS, and monitors the downlink control channel at the first monitoring timing determined by the first CORESET and the first SS; that is, it uses the first beam indicated by the first TCI state to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time-domain resource.

[0195] Optionally, the first information may include indication information for multiple first CORESETs.

[0196] For example, after determining the first channel configuration, the RAN node sends the first TCI state or its identifier as first information or includes it in the first information to the terminal. Upon receiving the first information, the terminal determines, based on the received first TCI state or its identifier, that the configuration includes a first CORESET containing the first TCI state. This leads to the determination that the first channel configuration includes the first CORESET and a first SS, where the first SS is the SS associated with the first CORESET in the candidate channel configuration. The terminal then activates the first CORESET and the first SS, monitoring the downlink control channel at the first monitoring time determined by the first CORESET and the first SS. That is, it uses the first beam indicated by the first TCI state to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time-domain resource. The implementation of determining the first CORESET and the first SS can be found in the description of the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0197] Optionally, the first information may include multiple first TCI states or indication information of the first TCI state.

[0198] For example, after determining the first channel configuration, the RAN node sends the identifier of the first SS as first information or includes it in the first information to the terminal. Upon receiving the first information, the terminal determines, based on the identifier of the first SS, that the first channel configuration includes a first CORESET and a first SS. The first CORESET is the CORESET associated with the first SS in the candidate channel configuration. When an SS is associated with only one CORESET, the first SS has only one associated first CORESET. The TCI state included in the first CORESET can be used as the first TCI state. The configuration of the first SS includes the configuration of the first time-domain resources. Based on the configuration of the first CORESET and the first SS, the first monitoring timing can be determined. Then, the terminal activates the first CORESET and the first SS, and monitors the downlink control channel at the first monitoring timing determined by the first CORESET and the first SS; that is, it uses the first beam indicated by the first TCI state to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time-domain resources.

[0199] Optionally, the first information may include indication information of multiple first SSs.

[0200] For example, after determining the first channel configuration, the RAN node sends the identifiers of the first SS and the first CORESET as first information or includes them in the first information to the terminal. In this example, the configuration of the first SS may not include the associated CORESET information. After receiving the first information, the terminal determines that the first channel configuration includes the first CORESET and the first SS based on the identifiers of the first SS and the first CORESET (that is, the terminal associates the first SS and the first CORESET indicated by the first information, or in other words, the first information indicates that the first SS and the first CORESET are associated). The TCI state included in the first CORESET can be used as the first TCI state, and the configuration of the first SS includes the configuration of the first time-domain resources. The first monitoring timing can be determined based on the configuration of the first CORESET and the first SS. Then, the terminal activates the first CORESET and the first SS, and monitors the downlink control channel at the first monitoring timing determined by the first CORESET and the first SS; that is, it uses the first beam indicated by the first TCI state to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time-domain resources. In this example, there is no constraint on the association between beams and time-domain resources in the candidate channel configuration, which allows RAN nodes to more freely indicate the association between beams and time-domain resources to the terminal. In other words, it allows RAN nodes to flexibly associate beams with time-domain resources and indicate the beams and time-domain resources that need to be associated to the terminal through the first information.

[0201] Optionally, the first information includes indication information of multiple first SS and indication information of multiple first CORESET. The indication information of the first CORESET can also be replaced with the indication information of the first TCI state or the first TCI state.

[0202] Based on this scheme, the RAN node can accurately indicate to the terminal the first channel configuration to be activated during the monitoring of the downlink control channel by issuing the first channel configuration indication information, so that the terminal can synchronously change the beam and time domain resources of the monitoring downlink control channel according to the first channel configuration.

[0203] In one possible implementation, the first monitoring timing and the third monitoring timing satisfy at least one of the following: the same time domain duration, the same CCE size, the same resource mapping method, the same frequency domain resources, the same AL, and the same supported DCI format. The third monitoring timing is the current monitoring timing of the terminal monitoring the downlink control channel, or it can also be understood as the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel before the terminal changes the channel configuration according to the first information.

[0204] For example, AL can be understood as the number of CCEs constituting PDCCH, CCE can be understood as the resource unit of PDCCH, frequency domain resources can be understood as the frequency domain location and / or frequency domain size that needs to be monitored for downlink control channels, time domain duration can be understood as the number of time domain symbols included, supported DCI format can be understood as the size, redundancy version, etc. of DCI, and resource mapping method can be understood as the resource mapping method of PDCCH.

[0205] For example, the third monitoring timing can be understood as the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel before the terminal receives the first information, or the third monitoring timing can also be understood as the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel before the terminal changes the channel configuration (i.e., the beam and time domain resources of the monitoring timing) according to the first information.

[0206] For example, when there are multiple third monitoring opportunities for the terminal, any one of the third monitoring opportunities can satisfy the above conditions.

[0207] For example, the first and third monitoring times may have the same AL (Altitude Range), the first and third monitoring times may have the same CCE (Central Component Earth Range) size, the first and third monitoring times may have the same AL and CCE sizes, or the first and third monitoring times may have the same AL, CCE sizes, and frequency domain resources. Furthermore, the first and third monitoring times may both be cell-specific or user-specific.

[0208] Based on this scheme, it is beneficial to reduce the number of parameters that need to be reconfigured during the monitoring of the downlink control channel of the terminal change monitoring, improve the switching speed of the terminal to the first channel configuration, and reduce the configuration latency required for the first channel configuration.

[0209] As one possible implementation, when the candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of CORESET and the configuration of SS, the first CORESET and the second CORESET satisfy at least one of the following: the time domain duration is the same, the resource mapping method is the same, the CCE size is the same, or the frequency domain resources are the same; wherein, the second CORESET is the currently used CORESET (or the currently active CORESET).

[0210] For example, the second CORESET being the currently used CORESET can be understood as the CORESET used by the terminal during the monitoring of the downlink control channel before receiving the first information (or the CORESET activated before receiving the first information), or it can also be understood as the CORESET used by the terminal before changing the beam and time domain resources of the downlink control channel being monitored.

[0211] For example, the first and second cores may have the same time-domain duration, the same CCE size, the same time-domain duration and CCE size, or the same frequency-domain resources. Furthermore, the first and second cores may both be cell-specific or user-specific.

[0212] Optionally, when the terminal has multiple second cores, any one of the second cores can satisfy the above conditions.

[0213] Based on this scheme, the first CORESET included in the first channel configuration has some configurations that are the same as the second CORESET currently used by the terminal. These identical configurations significantly reduce the number of parameters that need to be reconfigured in the control channel monitoring module or circuit during the process of the terminal monitoring the downlink control channel according to the first channel configuration. This improves the switching speed of the terminal to the first channel configuration, reduces the configuration latency required for the first channel configuration, and reduces the impact of channel configuration changes on the transmission latency of control information.

[0214] In one possible implementation, the first information further includes indication information for a fourth monitoring timing. The fourth monitoring timing is a deactivation monitoring timing.

[0215] For example, the deactivation monitoring timing can be understood as the monitoring timing that the terminal no longer uses during the monitoring of the downlink control channel, or it can be understood as the terminal no longer monitoring the downlink control channel at that monitoring timing.

[0216] In other words, if the first information includes the indication information for the fourth monitoring timing, the first information is also used to indicate that the fourth monitoring timing is deactivated.

[0217] Optionally, the fourth monitoring time may include a portion of the monitoring time currently used by the terminal, or may include all the monitoring time currently used by the terminal.

[0218] In one possible implementation, the first information further includes at least one of an indication of a third CORESET or an indication of a second SS. The third CORESET is a deactivated CORESET, and the second SS is a deactivated SS. A fourth monitoring timing can be determined based on the third CORESET and / or the second SS.

[0219] For example, a deactivated CORESET can be understood as a CORESET that is no longer used during the terminal's monitoring of the downlink control channel, or it can also be understood as the terminal no longer determining the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel based on the configuration of the CORESET; similarly, a deactivated SS can be understood as an SS that is no longer used during the terminal's monitoring of the downlink control channel, or it can also be understood as the terminal no longer determining the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel based on the configuration of the SS.

[0220] In other words, when the first information includes at least one of the indication information of the third CORESET or the indication information of the second SS, the first information is also used to indicate that at least one of the third CORESET or the second SS is deactivated. The specific implementation of the indication information of the CORESET and the indication information of the SS can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0221] Optionally, the third CORESET may include a portion of the CORESET currently used by the terminal (i.e., the second CORESET), such as the CORESET with the lowest RSRP corresponding to the associated beam in the second CORESET, or one or more CORESETs with an RSRP corresponding to the associated beam that is less than a given threshold. Alternatively, the third CORESET may also be all CORESETs currently used by the terminal (i.e., the second CORESET).

[0222] Optionally, the second SS may include some or all SS associated with the second CORESET with the smallest RSRP corresponding to the associated beam among the CORESET currently used by the terminal (i.e., all second CORESETs), or some or all SS associated with one or more second CORESETs whose RSRP corresponding to the associated beam is less than a given threshold.

[0223] In one possible implementation, when the terminal monitors the downlink control channel according to the first channel configuration, it may continue to monitor the downlink control channel based on the old channel configuration, or it may stop monitoring the downlink control channel based on the old channel configuration. Here, the old channel configuration can be understood as the channel configuration used by the terminal before receiving the first information, or the channel configuration used before changing the channel configuration according to the first information.

[0224] For example, the terminal may continue monitoring the downlink control channel based on the old channel configuration for a first period of time after receiving the first information, and then cease monitoring the downlink control channel based on the old channel configuration after the first period of time ends. The first period of time may be predefined by the protocol or pre-determined by the terminal and the RAN node.

[0225] When the first information includes indication information of the third CORESET and / or indication information of the second SS, the terminal can deactivate some CORESETs and / or SSs according to the first information, and monitor the downlink control channel according to the monitoring timing determined by the CORESETs and SSs in the activated state.

[0226] As one possible implementation, after receiving the first information, the terminal, during the downlink control channel monitoring process, can monitor the downlink control channel at a monitoring time determined based on the active CORESET and SS. For example, after receiving the first information, the terminal first determines the active CORESET. Based on the first channel configuration indicated by the first information and the indication information of the third CORESET included in the first information, the terminal determines the first CORESET and the second CORESET currently used by the terminal that does not belong to the third CORESET as active CORESETs. Then, the terminal monitors the downlink control channel at a monitoring time determined based on the active CORESET and the SS associated with that CORESET.

[0227] As another possible implementation, after receiving the first information, the terminal can monitor the downlink control channel at the monitoring timing indicated by the active SS during the downlink control channel monitoring process. For example, after receiving the first information, the terminal first determines the active SSs. Based on the first channel configuration indicated by the first information and the indication information of the second SS included in the first information, the terminal determines the active SSs among the first SSs associated with the first CORESET and the SSs currently used by the terminal that do not belong to the second SS. Then, the terminal monitors the downlink control channel at the monitoring timing determined based on the active SSs and the CORESET associated with those SSs.

[0228] Furthermore, the above embodiments illustrate how the terminal determines the monitoring timing for downlink control channel based on an active SS or an active CORESET. In practice, the two possible implementations mentioned in the embodiments can also be combined. After receiving the first information, the terminal determines the active SS associated with the active CORESET and monitors the downlink control channel at the monitoring timing determined based on the active CORESET and its associated active SS. Alternatively, both inactive SSs and active SSs associated with inactive CORESETs are considered inactive SSs, and downlink control channel monitoring is not performed at the monitoring timing indicated by the inactive SSs.

[0229] Based on this scheme, while the terminal monitors the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource using the first beam according to the first information, it does not need to continue monitoring the downlink control channel at the monitoring time indicated by the third CORESET and / or the second SS. This reduces the number of times the terminal needs to perform blind PDCCH detection, which helps to reduce the power consumption and overhead of the terminal in the process of monitoring the downlink control channel.

[0230] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of at least one set of time-domain resources and the configuration of the beam.

[0231] For example, the second information may include multiple information blocks, each information block including {time domain resource configuration, beam configuration}, and each information block corresponds to a candidate channel configuration, that is, there is an association between the time domain resources and the beam in each candidate channel configuration. The beam configuration is used to indicate the beam or beam direction associated with the information block. The implementation of the beam configuration can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments. The time domain resource configuration is used to indicate the periodic offset, periodic interval, etc., of periodic time domain resources, for example, the time domain symbol interval and / or the start time domain symbol between adjacent time domain resources in the periodic time domain resources corresponding to the monitoring timing.

[0232] Optionally, the candidate channel configuration may also include a candidate channel configuration identifier. For example, the identifier of the information block corresponding to the candidate channel configuration may be used as the candidate channel configuration identifier, or an additional identity identifier may be assigned to each candidate channel configuration and sent to the terminal as part of the candidate channel configuration via the second information.

[0233] When the candidate channel configuration includes a candidate channel configuration identifier, the first information may further include a first candidate channel configuration identifier. The first channel configuration may be a candidate channel configuration that includes the first candidate channel configuration identifier among at least one candidate channel configuration. The first time-domain resource is the time-domain resource indicated by the configuration of at least one set of time-domain resources in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier, and the first beam is the beam indicated by the beam configuration in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier.

[0234] In other words, the RAN node can directly send the candidate channel identifier (i.e., the first candidate channel configuration identifier) ​​corresponding to the candidate channel configuration used as the first channel configuration as the first information or carry it in the first information to the terminal. The terminal determines the candidate channel configuration used as the first channel configuration based on the received first candidate channel configuration identifier, and synchronously changes the time-frequency resources and beams corresponding to the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel based on the configuration of at least one set of time-domain resources and beams included in the candidate channel configuration. The downlink control channel is monitored at the changed monitoring timing, and the RAN node sends downlink control information at the changed monitoring timing.

[0235] For example, consider a candidate channel configuration including the periodic interval and periodic offset of the SS (i.e., the configuration of the time domain resources) and the TCI state (i.e., the beam configuration). Before receiving the first information, the terminal monitors the downlink control channel at the monitoring time indicated by CORESET2 and SS2 (denoted as monitoring time 1) according to the configuration of CORESET2 and SS2. After receiving the first information, the terminal can use the candidate channel configuration corresponding to the first candidate channel configuration identifier contained in the first information as the first channel configuration. Then, according to the first TCI state included in the first channel configuration, the beam associated with CORESET2 is changed to the first beam corresponding to the first TCI state (denoted as beam m2), and the periodic interval and periodic offset of SS2 are changed to the periodic interval and periodic offset contained in the first channel configuration. Combining other configurations of CORESET2 and SS2, the updated monitoring time 1 is determined, and then the downlink control channel is monitored at the updated monitoring time 1. Based on this scheme, the terminal can accurately determine the configuration of time domain resources corresponding to the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel using the first beam based on the received first information, thereby synchronously changing the beam and time domain resources corresponding to the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel.

[0236] In one possible implementation, the second information may further include the identifier / index of the time-domain resource and the identifier / index of the beam. The first information includes the identifier / index of the first time-domain resource and the identifier / index of the first beam.

[0237] In other words, the second information includes indication information of the configuration of at least one set of time-domain resources in the candidate channel configuration (denoted as time-domain resource configuration identifier), and indication information of the beam configuration in the candidate channel configuration (denoted as beam configuration identifier). After receiving the second information, the terminal determines the configuration of at least one set of time-domain resources in a candidate channel configuration based on the time-domain resource configuration identifier, and determines the beam configuration in the candidate channel configuration based on the beam configuration identifier, thus obtaining multiple candidate channel configurations. After receiving the first information, the terminal determines the first time-domain resource and the first beam based on the indication information of the time-domain resources and / or the beam indication information contained in the first information.

[0238] Optionally, the configuration of one or more sets of time-domain resources corresponding to different time-domain resource configuration identifiers, and the configuration of beams corresponding to different beam configuration identifiers, can be predefined by the protocol or pre-agreed upon by the RAN node and the terminal. In this case, the second information transmission and reception steps or some second information transmission and reception steps may not exist in the embodiments of this application, and are not limited.

[0239] For example, the correspondence between time-domain resource configuration identifiers and the configuration of at least one set of time-domain resources can be referred to in Table 1, and the correspondence between beam configuration identifiers and beam configurations can be referred to in Table 2.

[0240] Time-domain resource configuration identifier Configuration of time-domain resources Time-domain resource configuration identifier 1 Period size 1, period offset 1 Time-domain resource configuration identifier 1 Period size 2, period offset 2

[0241] Table 1

[0242] Beam configuration identifier Beam configuration Beam configuration identifier 1 TCI state1 Beam configuration identifier 2 TCI state2

[0243] Table 2

[0244] That is, the configuration of the time-domain resource associated with time-domain resource configuration identifier 1 includes the period size 1 and period offset 1 of the time-domain resource, and the configuration of the time-domain resource associated with time-domain resource configuration identifier 2 includes the period size 2 and period offset 2 of the time-domain resource; the configuration of the beam associated with beam configuration identifier 1 is TCI state 1, and the configuration of the beam associated with beam configuration identifier 2 is TCI state 2.

[0245] The table above illustrates the example of a time-domain resource configuration identifier associated with a set of time-domain resource configurations and a beam configuration identifier associated with a single beam configuration. However, a time-domain resource configuration identifier can also be associated with multiple sets of time-domain resource configurations, and a beam configuration identifier can also be associated with multiple beam configurations without limitation.

[0246] In the above embodiment, the configuration of time-domain resources associated with the time-domain resource configuration identifier includes the period size and period offset of the time-domain resources. In the application process, the configuration of time-domain resources associated with the time-domain resource configuration identifier may include at least one of the period size or period offset of the time-domain resources. During the process of changing the monitoring timing according to the first channel configuration, the configuration of other time-domain resources corresponding to the monitoring timing can remain unchanged.

[0247] As one possible implementation, the configuration of the time-domain resource associated with the time-domain resource configuration identifier can be not only a specific configuration, but also a relative time-domain offset corresponding to the configuration of the time-domain resource.

[0248] For example, the relative time-domain offset corresponding to the configuration of time-domain resources can be understood as the magnitude of the relative offset between the configuration of the time-domain resources corresponding to the time-domain resource configuration identifier and the current time-domain resource configuration, or the difference between the current time-domain resource configuration and the current time-domain resource configuration.

[0249] For example, if the current period size of the time-domain resource being monitored is T1, and the offset of the configuration indication of the time-domain resource associated with the time-domain resource configuration identifier is -1, then the period size of the time-domain resource indicated by the configuration of the time-domain resource associated with the time-domain resource configuration identifier can be understood as (T1-1). Alternatively, if the offset of the configuration indication of the time-domain resource associated with the time-domain resource configuration identifier is 1, the period size of the time-domain resource indicated by the configuration of the time-domain resource associated with the time-domain resource configuration identifier can be understood as (T1+1). The sign of the offset indicates the direction of the offset. Similarly, the period offset of the time-domain resource associated with the time-domain resource configuration identifier can also be implemented in the above manner, and will not be elaborated further here.

[0250] In one possible implementation, the first information further includes indication information for a second monitoring timing, and transmitting downlink control information on a first time domain resource using a first beam, including transmitting downlink control information on a second monitoring timing.

[0251] In other words, the terminal using the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource can be understood as the terminal monitoring the downlink control channel at the second monitoring time; correspondingly, the RAN node using the first beam to send downlink control information on the first time domain resource can be understood as the RAN node sending downlink control information at the second monitoring time.

[0252] In other words, when the first information includes the first candidate channel configuration identifier and the indication information of the second monitoring time, the terminal synchronously changes the beam and time domain resources corresponding to the monitoring time indicated by the indication information of the second monitoring time (i.e., the second monitoring time) according to the candidate channel configuration corresponding to the first candidate channel configuration identifier, and monitors the downlink control channel on the changed second monitoring time, that is, uses the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time domain resources. Correspondingly, the RAN node sends downlink control information on the changed second monitoring time.

[0253] Alternatively, the first information indicates that the downlink control channel is monitored at the second monitoring opportunity, and the time-domain resources corresponding to the second monitoring opportunity are set to the first time-domain resources indicated by the time-domain resource configuration in the first channel configuration, and the beam associated with the second monitoring opportunity is set to the first beam indicated by the beam configuration in the first channel configuration. The first time-domain resources included in the first channel configuration can be understood as the time-domain resources indicated by the time-domain resource configuration in the first channel configuration, and the first beam included in the first channel configuration can be understood as the beam indicated by the candidate beam configuration in the first channel configuration. Furthermore, other configurations for the second monitoring opportunity can remain unchanged.

[0254] For example, the first information also includes at least one of the indication information of the fourth CORESET or the indication information of the third SS, wherein the fourth CORESET and the third SS are used to determine the second monitoring timing. The indication information of CORESET, the indication information of SS, and the implementation method of determining the monitoring timing based on CORESET and SS can be referred to the relevant descriptions in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0255] Taking the first information, which includes the first candidate channel configuration identifier and the identifier SS3 of the third SS, and the first channel configuration, which includes the configuration of the first TCI state and the first time domain resources, as an example, after receiving the first information, the terminal updates the time domain resources of SS3 to the first time domain resources and updates the TCI state of CORESET3 associated with SS3 to the first TCI state. That is, it updates the time domain resources and beam of the second monitoring time determined according to SS3 and CORESET3. Other configurations of the second monitoring time can remain unchanged. Then, downlink control channel monitoring is performed on the updated second monitoring time.

[0256] Based on this scheme, the terminal can synchronously change the beam and time domain resources associated with one or more specific monitoring opportunities (i.e., the second monitoring opportunity) according to the first information and the first channel configuration, thereby reducing the impact of channel configuration changes on the transmission delay of control information.

[0257] In one possible implementation, the candidate channel configuration further includes frequency domain offset.

[0258] For example, frequency domain offset can be understood as the offset between the starting frequency domain position corresponding to the monitoring timing during the process of monitoring the downlink control channel according to the first channel configuration and the starting frequency domain position corresponding to the monitoring timing during the process of monitoring the downlink control channel according to the current channel configuration; or, it can also be understood as the offset between the starting frequency domain position corresponding to the monitoring timing and a preset frequency domain position during the process of monitoring the downlink control channel according to the first channel configuration. The preset frequency domain position can be predefined by the protocol or pre-agreed upon by the RAN node and the terminal.

[0259] When the candidate channel configuration includes a frequency domain offset, the first channel configuration includes a first frequency domain offset. The starting frequency domain position of the terminal monitoring the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource and the first beam is the first frequency domain position (or, the starting frequency domain position of the second monitoring opportunity is the first frequency domain position). The first frequency domain position is determined based on the first frequency domain offset.

[0260] In other words, the starting frequency domain position of the terminal's monitoring of the downlink control channel at the second monitoring time is the first frequency domain position (or the starting frequency domain position of the RAN node's transmission of downlink control information at the second monitoring time is the first frequency domain position). The first frequency domain position is determined based on the first frequency domain offset (i.e., determined based on the frequency domain offset included in the candidate channel configuration as the first channel configuration).

[0261] For example, consider the frequency domain offset as the offset between the starting frequency domain position and the preset frequency domain position corresponding to the monitoring timing. During the terminal's monitoring of the downlink control channel at the second monitoring timing, part of the configuration for the second monitoring timing is determined based on the configuration of CORESET4. The starting frequency domain position corresponding to CORESET4 is changed from its current position to a position with an offset from the preset frequency domain position equal to the first frequency domain offset (i.e., the first frequency domain position). Here, CORESET4 is the CORESET associated with the first TCI in the first channel configuration.

[0262] As one possible implementation, when the candidate channel configuration includes frequency domain offset, the information block corresponding to the candidate channel configuration can be {time domain resource configuration, beam configuration, frequency domain offset}. When the candidate channel configuration also includes a candidate channel configuration identifier, the information block corresponding to the candidate channel configuration can be {candidate channel configuration identifier, time domain resource configuration, beam configuration, frequency domain offset}.

[0263] For example, the correspondence between candidate channel configuration identifiers and time-domain resource configurations, beam configurations, and frequency-domain offsets (or the information structure of at least one candidate channel) can be found in Table 3.

[0264] Candidate channel configuration identifier Configuration of time-domain resources Beam configuration Frequency domain bias Candidate Channel Configuration Identifier 1 Period size 1, period offset 1 TCI state1 Frequency domain offset 1 Candidate Channel Configuration Identifier 1 Period size 2, period offset 2 TCI state2 Frequency domain offset 2

[0265] Table 3

[0266] In other words, when the candidate channel identifier contained in the first information received by the terminal is candidate channel identifier 1, the time domain resources of the second monitoring opportunity are configured with period size 1, period offset 1, beam configuration as TCIstate1, and frequency domain offset as frequency domain offset 1; similarly, when the candidate channel identifier contained in the first information is candidate channel identifier 1, the time domain resources of the second monitoring opportunity are configured with period size 2, period offset 2, beam configuration as TCIstate2, and frequency domain offset as frequency domain offset 2.

[0267] As another possible implementation, when the channel selection configuration includes frequency domain offset, the information block corresponding to the candidate channel configuration can be {time domain resource configuration, beam configuration}, and the first information also includes frequency domain offset indication information or frequency domain offset.

[0268] In other words, the first information may include a first candidate channel configuration identifier and frequency domain offset indication information (such as an identifier or index) or frequency domain offset. After determining the first channel configuration based on the first information, and after changing the configuration of time domain resources and beam configuration for the second monitoring opportunity based on the first channel configuration, the starting frequency domain position of the second monitoring opportunity is changed according to the frequency domain offset indicated by the first information.

[0269] For example, the correspondence between frequency domain offset identifiers and frequency domain offsets can be found in Table 4:

[0270] Frequency domain offset flag Frequency domain bias Frequency domain offset flag 1 Frequency domain offset 1 Frequency domain offset flag 2 Frequency domain offset 2

[0271] Table 4

[0272] That is, when the first information includes frequency domain offset identifier 1, the starting frequency domain position of the second monitoring timing is determined according to frequency domain offset 1; when the first information includes frequency domain offset identifier 2, the starting frequency domain position of the second monitoring timing is determined according to frequency domain offset 2. The implementation method of determining the starting frequency domain position according to the frequency domain offset can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0273] Based on this scheme, when the candidate channel configuration includes frequency domain offset, the starting frequency domain position of the terminal monitoring the downlink control channel at the second monitoring time can be flexibly set. This helps to avoid multiple terminals using the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel, where the time and frequency resources for monitoring the downlink control channel are too close together or even conflict, thus improving the downlink control channel monitoring quality of the terminal.

[0274] In one possible implementation, the second information may further include indication information of time-domain resources, indication information of beam, and indication information of frequency-domain offset. The first information includes indication information of first time-domain resources, indication information of first beam, and indication information of first frequency-domain offset.

[0275] In other words, the second information includes indication information of the configuration of at least one set of time-domain resources that can constitute a candidate channel configuration (denoted as time-domain resource configuration identifier), indication information of beam configuration (denoted as beam configuration identifier), and indication information of frequency domain offset (denoted as frequency domain offset identifier). After receiving the second information, the terminal determines the configuration of at least one set of time-domain resources, the configuration of at least one beam, and at least one frequency domain offset that can constitute a candidate channel configuration. Then, based directly on the indication information of the first time-domain resources, the indication information of the first beam, and the indication information of the first frequency domain offset contained in the first information, the terminal associates the first time-domain resources, the first beam, and the first frequency domain offset to obtain the first channel configuration.

[0276] The implementation methods for the association between the time-domain resource configuration identifier and the configuration of at least one set of time-domain resources, the association between the beam configuration identifier and the beam configuration, and the association between the frequency-domain offset identifier and the frequency-domain offset can be referred to the relevant descriptions in the foregoing embodiments. Based on this scheme, the configuration of a set of time-domain resources, beams, and frequency-domain offsets can be directly associated and activated through the first information, further improving the flexibility of configuration changes during monitoring.

[0277] In one possible implementation, the RAN node may also determine first information before step S401.

[0278] For example, after receiving the beam information reported by the terminal, the RAN node detects a change in the optimal BPL between the terminal and the base station, and then re-determines the current optimal BPL between the terminal and the base station based on the beam information reported by the terminal. Based on the current optimal BPL, it determines the candidate channel configuration as the first channel configuration in the candidate channel configuration, and determines the first information based on the indication information of the candidate channel configuration and the frequency domain offset of the downlink control channel monitored by the terminal on the candidate channel configuration.

[0279] As one possible implementation, an application flow using the communication method in the above embodiments can be referred to. Figure 6 The main steps include the following:

[0280] S601, the RAN node sends the channel configuration for monitoring the downlink control channel to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the channel configuration for monitoring the downlink control channel from the RAN node.

[0281] For example, the channel configuration for monitoring the downlink control channel can include various configurations such as time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, and beamforming. For instance, the RAN node can send the CORESET configuration and SS configuration used during downlink control channel monitoring to the terminal.

[0282] For example, the configuration of CORESET may include the frequency domain resource configuration for monitoring the downlink control channel (such as the size and location of the frequency domain resources), a portion of the time domain resource configuration (such as the number of time domain symbols corresponding to each monitoring opportunity of the downlink control channel), and the configuration of the beam or beam direction for the RAN node to transmit downlink control information (such as the beam indicated by the TCI state). The configuration of SS may include a portion of the time domain resource configuration for monitoring the downlink control channel (such as the period size of SS and the offset size of SS in one period). In addition, both CORESET and SS may include other configurations. For specific implementation methods, please refer to the description of CORESET configuration and the description of SS configuration in the foregoing embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0283] S602, the RAN node sends configuration information for multiple candidate channel configurations to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the configuration information for multiple candidate channel configurations from the RAN node.

[0284] For example, the RAN node sends the configuration of multiple candidate CORESETs and the configuration of multiple candidate SSs associated with each CORESET to the terminal. These candidate CORESETs and SSs are in an inactive state by default. The reference signal corresponding to the TCI state in the candidate CORESET can be a reference signal that has not been configured to the terminal, or a reference signal that has been configured to the terminal but has not been measured by the terminal.

[0285] The RAN node sends configurations of multiple candidate channels to the terminal, which is similar to the RAN node sending second information to the terminal in the previous embodiment, where the second information indicates at least one candidate channel configuration. Please refer to the relevant descriptions in the previous embodiments, and they will not be repeated here.

[0286] In addition, after receiving an instruction from the RAN node, the terminal can monitor the downlink control channel at the monitoring time corresponding to the channel configuration issued in step S601, but will not monitor the downlink control channel at the monitoring time corresponding to the candidate channel configuration issued in step S602.

[0287] S603. The terminal sends beam information to the RAN node. Correspondingly, the RAN node receives the beam information from the terminal.

[0288] For example, the terminal measures multiple reference signals from the RAN node and reports the measurement results (such as the quantization value of RSRP) to the RAN node. Generally, the RAN node can use different beams (or transmit different reference signals along different beam directions) when transmitting different reference signals. Therefore, the terminal's measurement result for a reference signal can reflect the signal quality of the beam corresponding to that reference signal.

[0289] Optionally, after measuring multiple reference signals, the terminal can report the measurement results of each reference signal to the RAN node. Alternatively, it can report the measurement results of multiple reference signals with better measurement results to the RAN node. Or, it can estimate, based on the signal quality of the measured beams, one or more beams with the best signal quality among all beams corresponding to multiple reference signals using artificial intelligence or other methods, and then report the relevant information of the beam with the best signal quality to the RAN node.

[0290] S604, the RAN node sends the first information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first information from the RAN node.

[0291] The specific implementation of the RAN node determining and sending the first information to the terminal based on the beam information reported by the terminal can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0292] S605. The terminal sends an acknowledgment character (ACK) to the RAN node. Correspondingly, the RAN node receives the ACK from the terminal.

[0293] For example, after receiving the first information from the RAN node and changing the channel configuration of the monitoring downlink control channel to the first channel configuration according to the first information, the terminal sends an ACK to the RAN node confirming that the channel configuration has been successfully changed or that the first information has been successfully received. Upon receiving the ACK from the terminal, the RAN node determines that the terminal has completed the channel configuration change, and the RAN node and the terminal reach a consensus on the channel configuration change, and the first channel configuration takes effect.

[0294] S606, RAN nodes, and terminals transmit downlink control information at the changed monitoring time according to the first channel configuration.

[0295] According to the first channel configuration, the RAN node and the terminal synchronously change the time domain resources and beams corresponding to the monitoring timing for transmitting downlink control information. The time domain resources corresponding to the changed monitoring timing are the first time domain resources, and the corresponding beams are the first beams. The implementation method of the terminal and the RAN node transmitting downlink control information based on the first channel configuration, i.e., at the changed monitoring timing (i.e., using the first beam on the first time domain resources), can be referred to the relevant description in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0296] Based on this scheme, the terminal can obtain at least one candidate channel configuration. Each candidate channel configuration includes a candidate beam configuration and a candidate time-domain resource configuration. When a channel configuration needs to be changed, the RAN node can send first information to the terminal, indicating the changed channel configuration. The terminal can then select the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first information from the at least one candidate channel configuration as the first channel configuration. The first channel configuration includes a first beam configuration and a first time-domain resource configuration. After determining the first channel configuration based on the first information, the terminal uses the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time-domain resource according to the first channel configuration.

[0297] In other words, the RAN node can send first information to the terminal to indicate at least one candidate channel configuration (i.e., the first channel configuration) as the modified channel configuration. This allows the terminal to synchronously change the time-domain resources and beam corresponding to the monitoring timing of the downlink control channel based on the configuration of the first beam and the configuration of the first time-domain resources included in the first channel configuration. This avoids beam conflicts that may occur due to channel configuration changes affecting the transmission delay of control information, thus reducing the transmission delay of control information. Furthermore, the synchronous change of the beam and time-domain resources corresponding to the monitoring timing by the terminal based on the first information eliminates the need to send a large amount of configuration information to achieve the synchronous change of beam and time-domain resources, which helps reduce the channel configuration change delay. This, in turn, reduces the impact of the channel configuration change delay on the transmission delay of control information, further reducing the transmission delay of control information.

[0298] The method provided in this application has been described above. In addition, this application also provides a communication device for implementing the functions described in the above method embodiments.

[0299] It is understood that, in order to achieve the aforementioned functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and algorithm steps of the examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0300] This application embodiment can divide the communication device into functional modules according to the above method embodiment. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0301] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a communication device 70 is shown. The communication device 70 includes a processing module 701 and a transceiver module 702. This communication device 70 can be used to implement the functions of the aforementioned terminal or RAN node.

[0302] In some embodiments, the communication device 70 may further include a storage module ( Figure 7 (Not shown in the image) is used to store program instructions and data.

[0303] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 702, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is used to implement sending and / or receiving functions. The transceiver module 702 may consist of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver unit, or a communication interface.

[0304] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 702 may include a receiving module and a sending module, respectively configured to perform the receiving and sending steps performed by the terminal or RAN node in the above method embodiments, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein; the processing module 701 may be configured to perform the processing steps performed by the terminal or RAN node in the above method embodiments, and / or other processes to support the technology described herein.

[0305] When the communication device 70 is used to implement the functions of a terminal, in one possible implementation: the transceiver module 702 is used to receive first information, the first information indicating a first channel configuration, the first channel configuration including the configuration of a first time domain resource and the configuration of a first beam, the first channel configuration being a candidate channel configuration among at least one candidate channel configuration, the candidate channel configuration including the configuration of a candidate beam and the configuration of a candidate time domain resource; the processing module 701 is used to control the transceiver module 702 to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource using the first beam according to the first channel configuration.

[0306] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 702 is configured to receive second information indicating at least one candidate channel configuration; and the processing module 701 is configured to determine at least one candidate channel configuration based on the second information.

[0307] When the communication device 70 is used to implement the functions of a RAN node, in one possible implementation: the transceiver module 702 is used to send first information, the first information indicating a first channel configuration, the first channel configuration including the configuration of a first time domain resource and the configuration of a first beam, the first channel configuration being a candidate channel configuration among at least one candidate channel configuration, the candidate channel configuration including the configuration of a candidate beam and the configuration of a candidate time domain resource; the processing module 701 is used to control the transceiver module 702 to send downlink control information on the first time domain resource using the first beam according to the first channel configuration.

[0308] In one possible implementation, processing module 701 is used to determine second information; transceiver module 702 is used to send the second information, which indicates at least one candidate channel configuration;

[0309] In one possible implementation, the processing module 701 is used to determine the first information.

[0310] All relevant content of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referenced from the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0311] In this application, the communication device 70 can be presented in an integrated manner, divided into various functional modules. Here, "module" can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory that executes one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuits, and / or other devices that can provide the above functions.

[0312] In some embodiments, when Figure 7When the communication device 70 is a chip or chip system, the function / implementation process of the transceiver module 702 can be implemented through the input / output interface (or communication interface) of the chip or chip system, and the function / implementation process of the processing module 701 can be implemented through the processor (or processing circuit) of the chip or chip system.

[0313] Since the communication device 70 provided in this embodiment can execute the above method, the technical effects it can achieve can be referred to the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0314] As a possible product form, the terminal or RAN node described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented using one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers, state machines, gate logic, discrete hardware components, any other suitable circuits, or any combination of circuits capable of performing the various functions described throughout this application.

[0315] As another possible product form, the terminal or RAN node described in the embodiments of this application can be implemented using a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, see [link to documentation]. Figure 8 , Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 800 includes a processor 801 and a transceiver 802. The communication device 800 can be a terminal, or a chip or chip system therein; or, the communication device 800 can be a RAN node, or a chip or module therein. Figure 8 Only the main components of the communication device 800 are shown. In addition to the processor 801 and transceiver 802, the communication device may further include a memory 803 and input / output devices (not shown).

[0316] Optionally, the processor 801 is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process the data of the software programs, thereby implementing the methods provided in the above-described method embodiments. The memory 803 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 802 may include a radio frequency (RF) circuit and an antenna. The RF circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals to RF signals and processing RF signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving RF signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as touch screens, displays, and keyboards, are mainly used to receive user input data and output data to the user.

[0317] Optionally, the processor 801, transceiver 802, and memory 803 can be connected via a communication bus.

[0318] When the communication device is powered on, the processor 801 can read the software program in the memory 803, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 801 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit processes the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 801. The processor 801 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0319] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be set up independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be arranged remotely, independent of the communication device.

[0320] In some embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the above-described communication device 70 can be implemented in hardware using... Figure 8 The communication device shown is in the form of 800.

[0321] As an example, Figure 7 The function / implementation process of the processing module 701 can be achieved through... Figure 8 The processor 801 in the communication device 800 shown calls computer execution instructions stored in the memory 803 to implement the function. Figure 7 The function / implementation process of the transceiver module 702 in the middle can be obtained through Figure 8 This is achieved through the transceiver 802 in the communication device 800 shown.

[0322] As another possible product form, the terminal or RAN node in this application can adopt... Figure 9 The shown composition structure, or including Figure 9 The components shown. Figure 9 This application provides a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device 900, which can be a terminal or a chip or system-on-a-chip in a terminal; or, it can be a RAN node or a module, chip or system-on-a-chip in a RAN node.

[0323] like Figure 9 As shown, the communication device 900 includes at least one processor 901 and at least one communication interface. Figure 9 (This is merely an example illustration, using a communication interface 904 and a processor 901 as examples.) Optionally, the communication device 900 may also include a communication bus 902 and a memory 903.

[0324] Processor 901 can be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a PLD, or any combination thereof. Processor 901 can also be other devices with processing functions, such as circuits, devices, or software modules, without limitation.

[0325] The communication bus 902 is used to connect different components in the communication device 900, enabling communication between them. The communication bus 902 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. This bus can be divided into address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of representation, Figure 9 The bus is represented by a single thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0326] Communication interface 904 is used for communicating with other devices or communication networks. For example, communication interface 904 can be a module, circuit, transceiver, or any device capable of communication. Optionally, communication interface 904 can also be an input / output interface located within processor 901, used to implement signal input and signal output for the processor.

[0327] The memory 903 may be a device with storage function, used to store instructions and / or data. The instructions may be computer programs.

[0328] For example, the memory 903 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and / or instructions; it may also be a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and / or instructions; it may also be an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital universal optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, etc., without limitation.

[0329] It should be noted that the memory 903 can exist independently of the processor 901, or it can be integrated with the processor 901. The memory 903 can be located inside or outside the communication device 900, without limitation. The processor 901 can be used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 903 to implement the methods provided in the following embodiments of this application.

[0330] As an optional implementation, the communication device 900 may also include an output device 905 and an input device 906. The output device 905 communicates with the processor 901 and can display information in various ways. For example, the output device 905 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. The input device 906 communicates with the processor 901 and can receive user input in various ways. For example, the input device 906 may be a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen device, or sensing device, etc.

[0331] In some embodiments, the hardware implementation will be apparent to those skilled in the art as described above. Figure 7 The communication device 70 shown can be adopted Figure 9 The communication device shown is in the form of 900.

[0332] As an example, Figure 7 The function / implementation process of the processing module 701 can be achieved through... Figure 9 The processor 901 in the communication device 900 shown calls computer execution instructions stored in the memory 903 to implement the function. Figure 7 The function / implementation process of the transceiver module 702 in the middle can be obtained through Figure 9 This is achieved through the communication interface 904 in the communication device 900 shown.

[0333] It should be noted that, Figure 9 The structures shown do not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal or RAN node. For example, in other embodiments of this application, the terminal or RAN node may include more or fewer components than illustrated, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0334] In some embodiments, this application also provides a communication device, which includes a processor for implementing the methods in any of the above method embodiments.

[0335] As one possible implementation, the communication device also includes a memory. This memory stores necessary computer programs and data. The computer program may include instructions, which a processor can invoke to instruct the communication device to execute the methods described in any of the above method embodiments. Alternatively, the memory may not be present in the communication device.

[0336] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is a code / data read / write interface circuit, used to receive computer execution instructions (which are stored in memory and may be read directly from memory or may be transmitted through other devices) and transmit them to the processor.

[0337] As another possible implementation, the communication device also includes a communication interface for communicating with modules outside the communication device.

[0338] It is understood that the communication device can be a chip or a chip system. When the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. This application does not specifically limit this.

[0339] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the above-described method embodiments.

[0340] This application also provides a computer program product that, when executed by a computer, implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments.

[0341] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0342] It is understood that the systems, apparatuses, and methods described in this application can also be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the couplings or direct couplings or communication connections shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; indirect couplings or communication connections between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0343] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0344] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0345] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software programs, implementation can be, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device containing one or more servers, data centers, etc., that can be integrated with the medium. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state drive (SSD)). In this embodiment, the computer may include the aforementioned apparatus.

[0346] Although this application has been described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, those skilled in the art, by reviewing the accompanying drawings, disclosure, and appended claims, will understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments in carrying out the claimed application. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit can implement several functions listed in the claims. While different dependent claims may recite certain measures, this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0347] Although this application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the scope of this application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely illustrative descriptions of the application as defined by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Clearly, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this application without departing from its scope. Thus, if such modifications and modifications fall within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, this application is also intended to include such modifications and modifications.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive first information, the first information indicating a first channel configuration, the first channel configuration including a first time domain resource configuration and a first beam configuration, the first channel configuration being a candidate channel configuration among at least one candidate channel configuration, the candidate channel configuration including a candidate beam configuration and a candidate time domain resource configuration; Based on the first channel configuration, the first beam is used to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first information is carried in a Media Access Control (MAC) layer control element (CE) or a downlink control information (DCI).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information includes indication information for the first channel configuration.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second information, which indicates the configuration of the at least one candidate channel.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of at least one monitoring opportunity, the candidate beam includes the beam corresponding to the at least one monitoring opportunity, the candidate time domain resource includes the time domain resource corresponding to the at least one monitoring opportunity, and the configuration of the monitoring opportunity also includes the configuration of frequency domain resources; The step of using the first beam to monitor the downlink control channel on the first time domain resource includes: The downlink control channel is monitored at the first monitoring opportunity; Wherein, the first time domain resource is the time domain resource corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity, the first beam is the beam corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity, and the first monitoring opportunity is all or part of the at least one monitoring opportunity corresponding to the first channel configuration.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of the control resource set CORESET and the search space SS. The configuration of the at least one monitoring opportunity is determined based on the configuration of the CORESET and the configuration of the SS. The configuration of the CORESET includes the configuration of the frequency domain resources of at least one monitoring opportunity and the transmission configuration indicator TCI status. The configuration of the SS includes the configuration of the time domain resources of at least one monitoring opportunity. The TCI status is used to indicate the beam corresponding to at least one monitoring time.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first channel configuration includes the configuration of the first CORESET and the configuration of the first SS. The configuration of the first monitoring timing is determined based on the configuration of the first CORESET and the configuration of the first SS. The configuration of the first CORESET includes the first TCI state, which is used to indicate the beam corresponding to the first monitoring timing. The configuration of the first SS includes the configuration of the first time domain resource. The first information includes at least one of the following: indication information of the first CORESET, indication information of the first TCI status, or indication information of the first SS.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The first information includes indication information of the first CORESET or indication information of the first TCI status, and the first monitoring timing is the monitoring timing determined based on the first CORESET and the first SS associated with the first CORESET.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The first CORESET and the second CORESET satisfy at least one of the following: the time domain duration is the same, the resource mapping method is the same, the control channel element size is the same, or the frequency domain resources are the same. The second CORESET is the currently used CORESET.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7-9, characterized in that, The first information also includes at least one of the indication information of the third CORESET or the indication information of the second SS, wherein the first information indicates that at least one of the third CORESET or the second SS is deactivated.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The candidate channel configuration further includes: a candidate channel configuration identifier, wherein the first information includes a first candidate channel configuration identifier, and the first channel configuration is the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier; Wherein, the first time-domain resource is the time-domain resource indicated by the configuration of the time-domain resource in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier, and the first beam is the beam indicated by the configuration of the beam in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The first information also includes indication information for a second monitoring timing, wherein monitoring the downlink control channel using the first beam on the first time domain resource includes: Monitor the downlink control channel during the second monitoring opportunity; Wherein, the time domain resource corresponding to the second monitoring opportunity is the first time domain resource included in the first channel configuration, and the beam associated with the second monitoring opportunity is the first beam included in the first channel configuration.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The candidate channel configuration also includes: frequency domain offset; The first channel configuration includes a first frequency domain offset, and the starting frequency domain position of the second monitoring timing is the first frequency domain position, which is determined based on the first frequency domain offset.

14. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send the first information, the first information indicating a first channel configuration, the first channel configuration including the configuration of a first time-domain resource and the configuration of a first beam, the first channel configuration being a candidate channel configuration among at least one candidate channel configuration, the candidate channel configuration including the configuration of a candidate beam and the configuration of a candidate time-domain resource; According to the first channel configuration, downlink control information is transmitted on the first time domain resource using the first beam.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The first information is carried in a Media Access Control (MAC) layer control element (CE) or a downlink control information (DCI).

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, The first information includes indication information for the first channel configuration.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14-16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second message, which indicates the configuration of the at least one candidate channel.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14-17, characterized in that, The candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of at least one monitoring opportunity, the candidate beam includes the beam corresponding to the at least one monitoring opportunity, the candidate time domain resource includes the time domain resource corresponding to the at least one monitoring opportunity, and the configuration of the monitoring opportunity also includes the configuration of frequency domain resources. Using the first beam to transmit downlink control information on the first time domain resource, including: Send downlink control information at the first monitoring opportunity; Wherein, the first time-domain resource is the time-domain resource corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity, the first beam is the beam corresponding to the first monitoring opportunity, and the first monitoring opportunity is all or part of the at least one monitoring opportunity corresponding to the first channel configuration.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The candidate channel configuration includes the configuration of the control resource set CORESET and the search space SS. The configuration of the at least one monitoring opportunity is determined based on the configuration of the CORESET and the configuration of the SS. The configuration of the CORESET includes the configuration of the frequency domain resources of at least one monitoring opportunity and the transmission configuration indicator TCI status. The configuration of the SS includes the configuration of the time domain resources of at least one monitoring opportunity. The TCI status is used to indicate the beam corresponding to at least one monitoring time.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The first channel configuration includes the configuration of the first CORESET and the configuration of the first SS. The configuration of the first monitoring timing is determined based on the configuration of the first CORESET and the configuration of the first SS. The configuration of the first CORESET includes the first TCI state, which is used to indicate the beam corresponding to the first monitoring timing. The configuration of the first SS includes the configuration of the first time domain resource. The first information includes at least one of the following: indication information of the first CORESET, indication information of the first TCI status, or indication information of the first SS.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that, The first information includes indication information of the first CORESET or indication information of the first TCI status, and the first monitoring timing is the monitoring timing determined based on the first CORESET and the first SS associated with the first CORESET.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The first CORESET and the second CORESET satisfy at least one of the following: the time domain duration is the same, the resource mapping method is the same, the control channel element size is the same, or the frequency domain resources are the same. The second CORESET is the currently used CORESET.

23. The method according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that, The first information further includes at least one of the indication information of the third CORESET or the indication information of the second SS, wherein the first information indicates that at least one of the third CORESET or the second SS is deactivated.

24. The method according to any one of claims 14-17, characterized in that, The candidate channel configuration further includes: a candidate channel configuration identifier, wherein the first information includes a first candidate channel configuration identifier, and the first channel configuration is the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier; Wherein, the first time-domain resource is the time-domain resource indicated by the configuration of the time-domain resource in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier, and the first beam is the beam indicated by the configuration of the beam in the candidate channel configuration indicated by the first candidate channel configuration identifier.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The first information also includes indication information for a second monitoring timing, and the step of using the first beam to transmit downlink control information over the first time domain resource includes: Send downlink control information at the second monitoring opportunity; Wherein, the time domain resource corresponding to the second monitoring opportunity is the first time domain resource included in the first channel configuration, and the beam associated with the second monitoring opportunity is the first beam included in the first channel configuration.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that, The candidate channel configuration also includes: frequency domain offset; The first channel configuration includes a first frequency domain offset, and the starting frequency domain position of the second monitoring timing is the first frequency domain position, which is determined based on the first frequency domain offset.

27. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processor; the processor is configured to run a computer program or instructions to cause the communication device to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-13, or to cause the communication device to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 14-26.

28. The communication device according to claim 27, characterized in that, The communication device is a chip or chip system.

29. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs that, when executed on a computer, cause the method described in any one of claims 1-13 to be performed, or cause the method described in any one of claims 14-26 to be performed.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions; when some or all of the computer instructions are run on a computer, they cause the method of any one of claims 1-13 to be performed, or cause the method of any one of claims 14-26 to be performed.

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