Physical channel monitoring method and terminal device

Abstract

The present application relates to a physical channel monitoring method and a terminal device, the physical channel monitoring method including: configuring at least one serving cell group in a terminal device; and the terminal device performing PDCCH monitoring in a first serving cell based on a first serving cell group, the first serving cell being a serving cell included in the first serving cell group, and the first serving cell group being a serving cell group among the at least one serving cell group. By using embodiments of the present application, it is possible to determine a search space group switching operation when the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on search space groups in multiple cells within a serving cell group.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a physical channel monitoring method and terminal equipment. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, in a New Radio (NR-U) system operating in an unlicensed spectrum, two search space groups (SS groups) may be configured for a terminal in one serving cell, and the search space groups are also called search space sets groups (SSS groups) and are used to monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

[0003] When it is determined that two search space (SS) groups are configured, the terminal determines that it needs to monitor the PDCCH of one of the two SS groups within a certain time. Currently, in one serving cell, the terminal can support switching from PDCCH monitoring based on a search space set corresponding to a first group identifier to PDCCH monitoring based on a search space set corresponding to a second group identifier, and vice versa. However, for one serving cell group among multiple serving cell groups, how to determine the terminal's switching behavior for search space groups in multiple serving cells in the serving cell group is currently a problem to be studied. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the present embodiment provides a physical channel monitoring method and a terminal device that can be used to determine a terminal switching strategy for a search space group in multiple serving cells in a serving cell group.

[0005] An embodiment of the present application provides a physical channel monitoring method, the physical channel monitoring method comprising: The method includes: configuring at least one serving cell group in a terminal device; and performing physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring in a first serving cell based on the first serving cell group by the terminal device, the first serving cell being a serving cell included in the first serving cell group, and the first serving cell group being a serving cell group of the at least one serving cell group.

[0006] The present embodiment further provides a terminal device, the terminal device comprising: and a physical channel monitoring module configured to perform PDCCH monitoring in a first serving cell based on a first serving cell group when at least one serving cell group is configured in a terminal device, where the first serving cell is a serving cell included in the first serving cell group, and the first serving cell group is a serving cell group of the at least one serving cell group.

[0007] An embodiment of the present application further provides a terminal equipment, the terminal equipment comprising a processor and a memory, the memory being configured to store a computer program, and the processor executing the above-mentioned physical channel monitoring method by calling and executing the computer program stored in the memory.

[0008] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, the chip comprising a processor configured to call and execute a computer program from a memory, thereby causing a device equipped with the chip to execute the above physical channel monitoring method.

[0009] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, where the computer program causes a computer to execute the above physical channel monitoring method.

[0010] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including computer program instructions, where the computer program instructions cause a computer to perform the above physical channel monitoring method.

[0011] An embodiment of the present invention provides a computer program, which causes a computer to execute the above physical channel monitoring method.

[0012] By using the present embodiment, when at least one serving cell group is configured in a terminal device, for a first serving cell group of the at least one serving cell group and a first serving cell within the first serving cell group, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring in the first serving cell based on the first serving cell group, and thus can determine a switching operation of the terminal device for a search space group in at least one cell within a serving cell group of the at least one serving cell group. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] A schematic diagram of the principle and effect of implicit switching of search space groups when a terminal equipment performs physical channel monitoring. [Diagram 3] A schematic diagram of the principle and effect of implicit switching of search space groups when a terminal equipment performs physical channel monitoring. [Figure 4] A schematic diagram of the principle and effect of implicit switching of search space groups when a terminal equipment performs physical channel monitoring. [Diagram 5] 4 is an exemplary flowchart of a physical channel monitoring method according to an embodiment of the present application; [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary structure of a terminal device according to one embodiment of the present application. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 1 is an exemplary block diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0015] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application may be, for example, a Global System of Mobile communication (GSM), a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, a New Radio (NR) system, an evolution of the NR system, an LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, an NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, a Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN ... The present invention may be applied to various communication systems, such as WiFi (registered trademark), a 5th-generation communication (5G) system, or other communication systems.

[0016] Typically, traditional communication systems support a limited number of connections and are easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, mobile communication systems can not only support traditional communication, but also support, for example, device-to-device (D2D) communication, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, and the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to these communication systems.

[0017] For example, the communication system in the present embodiment may be applied to a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, or a standalone (SA) network deployment scenario.

[0018] Exemplarily, the communication system in the embodiment of the present application may be applied in an unlicensed spectrum, where the unlicensed spectrum may be considered as a shared spectrum, or the communication system in the embodiment of the present application may be applied in a licensed spectrum.

[0019] The present embodiments describe each embodiment by combining network equipment and terminal equipment, where the terminal equipment is also referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device.

[0020] The terminal device may be a station (ST: STATION) in a WLAN, a mobile phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communication system (e.g., an NR network), or a terminal device in a future-evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc.

[0021] In the present embodiment, the terminal equipment may be deployed indoors or outdoors, handheld, wearable, or on land, including in a vehicle, or on water (e.g., on a ship, etc.), or in the air (e.g., on an airplane, a balloon, a satellite, etc.).

[0022] In the present embodiment, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet, a computer with wireless transmission and reception capabilities, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical, a wireless terminal device in a smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in a smart city, or a wireless terminal device in a smart home, etc.

[0023] In the present embodiment, the terminal device may be a wearable device, which is merely illustrative and does not limit the present application. Wearable devices are also called wearable smart devices, which is a general term for wearable devices developed using wearable technology for intelligently designed daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothes and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also realize powerful functions through software support, data interaction and cloud integration. In a broad sense, wearable smart devices include full-featured and large-scale devices (such as smart watches or smart glasses) that can achieve full or partial functions without relying on smartphones, and devices (such as smart bracelets and smart jewelry for sign monitoring) that only focus on certain types of application functions and need to work with other devices (such as smartphones).

[0024] In the present embodiment, the network device may be a device for communicating with a mobile device, and the network device may be a WLAN access point (AP: Access Point), a GSM or CDMA base station (BTS: Base Transceiver Station), a WCDMA base station (NB: Node B), an LTE evolved base station (Evolutional Node B, eNB or eNodeB), or a relay station or an access point, or a network device (gNB) for an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, and an NG network, or a network device for a future evolution PLMN network, etc.

[0025] In the present embodiment, the network device may have a mobile function, for example, the network device may be a mobile device, which is merely exemplary and does not limit the present application. Exemplarily, the network device may be a satellite or a balloon station. For example, the satellite may be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, or a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite. Exemplarily, the network device may be a base station installed in a location such as on land or on water.

[0026] In the present embodiment, the network device can provide a service to a cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through a transmission resource (e.g., a frequency domain resource or a spectrum resource, etc.) used by the cell, and the cell may be a cell corresponding to the network device (e.g., a base station), and the cell may belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. Here, the small cell may include a metro cell, a micro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, etc., and these small cells have the characteristics of a small coverage area and low transmission power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0027] 1 illustrates one network device 1100 and two terminal devices 1200, and exemplarily, the wireless communication system 1000 may include multiple network devices 1100, and the coverage of each network device 1100 may include other numbers of terminal devices, and the embodiment of the present application is not particularly limited thereto. Exemplarily, the wireless communication system 1000 illustrated in FIG. 1 may include other network entities such as a mobility management entity (MME) and an access and mobility management function (AMF), and the embodiment of the present application is not particularly limited thereto.

[0028] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are always used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" in this specification simply represents an associated relationship between related objects, for example, there can be three types of relationships between context objects, for example, A and / or B represents three cases, such as A exists independently, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists independently. The symbol " / " in this specification generally indicates that the context objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0029] In order to clearly describe the gist of the embodiment of the present application, a process of search space group switching in one serving cell in a communication system will be briefly described first. The embodiment of the present application includes at least a part of the following contents.

[0030] In a communication system (e.g., an NR-U system), when configuring a search space (SS) for a UE, the configuration parameters corresponding to the search space may include a search space group identifier (ID) parameter (e.g., searchSpaceGroupIdList-r16), and when the search space group ID parameter is configured for the UE, the search space group ID parameter can indicate that the search space is one of the following three cases:

[0031] TIFF0007636421000001.tif90170

[0032] Exemplarily, a search space switching group indication parameter may be configured for the UE. If the UE is provided with a search space switching group indication parameter (e.g., searchSpaceSwitchingGroupList-r16) and the parameter indicates one or more serving cell groups, when performing PDCCH monitoring for one serving cell group among the one or more serving cell groups, the UE's SS group switching behavior on all cells in the serving cell group is the same. Otherwise, if the UE is provided with a search space group ID parameter, the UE performs SS group switching only for the SS group in the serving cell when performing PDCCH monitoring.

[0033] Exemplarily, a timer may be provided to the UE, and the time unit of the timer value may be a slot. For example, the timer value is decremented by 1 every time one slot elapses after the timer is started. The timer value may be configured by an upper layer, and may be provided by, for example, an upper layer parameter searchSpaceSwitchingTimer-r16.

[0034] The search space (SS) group switching by the UE may be realized in an explicit switching manner or an implicit switching manner.

[0035] For explicit switching, a switching instruction signaling for instructing a terminal device to switch SS groups may be configured in a downlink control information (DCI) format 2_0, and the terminal device may execute switching of SS groups according to the instruction of the switching instruction signaling in the detected DCI format 2_0. For implicit switching, the terminal device may decide whether to switch to an SS set, etc., corresponding to a second group identifier, depending on whether DCI is detected in an SS set, etc., corresponding to a first group identifier.

[0036] The following describes in more detail the implicit switching manner on one serving cell with reference to Figures 2, 3 and 4. When no switching indication signaling is provided for one serving cell UE, for example, the UE is not provided by the network device through DCI format 2_0, or the network device does not configure a SearchSpaceSwitchTrigger-r16 parameter corresponding to the serving cell, and / or the serving cell does not belong to any serving cell group, the switching process of the SS group in the serving cell may include at least one of the following cases:

[0037] 1) Referring to FIG. 2, if a DCI format is detected when the UE performs PDCCH monitoring based on a search space set corresponding to a first group identifier, from the first slot after at least P symbols after the last symbol of the PDCCH carrying the DCI format, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set corresponding to a second group identifier, and stops performing PDCCH monitoring with the search space set corresponding to the first group identifier.

[0038] 2) If one DCI format is detected when the UE is performing PDCCH monitoring in any search space set, the UE sets or resets a timer to a value configured in a higher layer parameter (e.g., searchSpaceSwitchingTimer-r16).

[0039] 3) Referring to FIG. 3, when the UE performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set of SS group 1, from the first slot after at least P symbols after the slot in which the timer expires, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set corresponding to the first group identifier, and stops performing PDCCH monitoring with the search space set corresponding to the second group identifier.

[0040] 4) Referring to FIG. 4, if the UE is configured to monitor a DCI format (e.g., DCI format 2_0), from the first slot after at least P symbols after the last symbol of the remaining channel occupancy time (COT) of the serving cell indicated by the DCI format, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set corresponding to the first group identifier and stops performing PDCCH monitoring with the search space set corresponding to the second group identifier.

[0041] For example, when the above conditions 3) and 4) exist, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set corresponding to the first group identifier, and the slot in which the UE stops performing PDCCH monitoring using the search space set corresponding to the second group identifier includes the slot that starts first among the above conditions 3) and 4).

[0042] However, when a search space switching group indication parameter is provided to the UE (e.g., the UE is configured by a network device with a parameter searchSpaceSwitchingGroupList-r16), and the parameter indicates at least one serving cell group, when PDCCH monitoring is performed for one serving cell group among the at least one serving cell group, the UE's SS group switching behavior in all cells included in the serving cell group may be the same. However, in the implicit switching manner, it is necessary to further clarify and optimize how to determine the search space (SS) group switching behavior in all cells in one serving cell group.

[0043] Therefore, an embodiment of the present application provides a physical channel monitoring method. Referring to FIG. 5, the physical channel monitoring method is applied to a terminal device, and includes the following steps:

[0044] In step S101, at least one serving cell group is configured in a terminal device.

[0045] In step S102, the terminal equipment performs physical channel monitoring in a first serving cell based on a first serving cell group, where the first serving cell is a serving cell included in the first serving cell group, and the first serving cell group is a serving cell group of the at least one serving cell group.

[0046] Exemplarily, the physical channel includes a control channel, specifically, the control channel includes a PDCCH.

[0047] For example, the physical channel may include a physical channel transmitted between terminal devices (e.g., a control channel transmitted between terminal devices), or the physical channel may include a physical channel transmitted between network devices (e.g., a control channel transmitted between network devices).

[0048] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the physical channel monitoring is taken as an example to be described as PDCCH monitoring. If the physical channel to be monitored includes other physical channels, the PDCCH can be replaced with the corresponding physical channel. This application will not repeat the description thereof.

[0049] Using the embodiment of the present application, when at least one serving cell group is configured in a terminal device, for a first serving cell group among the at least one serving cell group and a first serving cell within the first serving cell group, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring in the first serving cell based on the first serving cell group, thereby determining a switching operation of the terminal device for search space (SS) groups in all cells within a serving cell group.

[0050] It should be understood that in this embodiment, a serving cell is also called a cell, a search space is also called a search space set, and a search space group is also called a search space set group.

[0051] Exemplarily, in the present embodiment, the terminal device performing PDCCH monitoring in the first serving cell includes the terminal device performing PDCCH monitoring in a downlink activated bandwidth part (BWP) of the first serving cell.

[0052] Exemplarily, in the present embodiment, in the first serving cell, the search space (SS) set configured in the terminal device includes a search space group identifier, including in the BWP of the first serving cell, the search space (SS) set configured in the terminal device includes a search space group identifier. Exemplarily, since the SS sets in different BWPs in the same serving cell are configured separately, the number of configured SS set groups in different BWPs in the same serving cell may be the same, or the number of configured SS set groups may be different. For example, assuming that a first serving cell includes a first BWP and a second BWP, the first BWP and the second BWP may both include two SS set groups (e.g., group 0 and group 1), or the first BWP may include two SS set groups (e.g., group 0 and group 1) and the second BWP may include one SS set group (e.g., group 0), or the first BWP may include two SS set groups (e.g., group 0 and group 1) and the second BWP may not include any SS set groups, or the first BWP may include one SS set group (e.g., group 0) and the second BWP may not include any SS set groups.

[0053] Before describing in detail several embodiments according to the present application, first, SS group switching in several cells in a serving cell group will be briefly described. When a terminal device is configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on a serving cell group, for example, when a search space switching group indication parameter (e.g., searchSpaceSwitchingGroupList-r16) is provided to the terminal device and the parameter indicates one or several serving cell groups, for a first serving cell group among the one or several serving cell groups, the terminal device can perform PDCCH monitoring for at least one cell included in the first serving cell group based on the first serving cell group. Exemplarily, the SS group switching operation of the terminal device in at least two cells in the first serving cell group is the same. Exemplarily, the SS group switching operation of the terminal device in all cells in the first serving cell group is the same.

[0054] Exemplarily, the first serving cell group may be any one of the one or more serving cell groups. Exemplarily, one cell may be configured to belong to at most one serving cell group. For example, one cell cannot belong to two or more serving cell groups simultaneously. As another example, one cell may be configured to belong to one serving cell group or to no serving cell group. Exemplarily, for a cell belonging to the first serving cell group, when a terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring in the cell, a monitoring switching operation of the SS group and a monitoring switching operation of the SS group of other cells in the first serving cell group are the same.

[0055] Exemplarily, for a search space set, if the configuration parameters corresponding to the search space set do not include a search space group identifier ID parameter, the UE needs to perform PDCCH monitoring according to the search space set; or if a search space set does not correspond to any group identifier, the UE needs to perform PDCCH monitoring according to the search space set.

[0056] Exemplarily, for one search space set, when a search space group identifier corresponding to the search space set includes a first group identifier and also includes a second group identifier, when the UE performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set corresponding to the first group identifier or the second group identifier, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set.

[0057] Depending on the circumstances, the process of the terminal device according to the embodiments of the present application performing PDCCH monitoring in the first serving cell based on the first serving cell group may be different, and in each case, it may be possible to realize a search space (SS) group switching in at least one cell in the serving cell group. Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given through several embodiments.

[0058] Example 1 In this embodiment, a terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring in a first serving cell based on a search space (SS) set corresponding to a first group identifier, and when the terminal device detects a first DCI format based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in a second serving cell in the first serving cell group, from a first slot in the first serving cell, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring in the first serving cell based on the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier, and stops performing PDCCH monitoring using the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier.

[0059] As described above, for a first serving cell and a second serving cell belonging to a first serving cell group, if the terminal equipment detects a first DCI format (e.g., DCI format 2_0 or other DCI format) in the second serving cell, the terminal equipment thereby switches the SS group in the first serving cell. Exemplarily, the first serving cell and the second serving cell may be the same cell. For example, if the terminal equipment detects a first DCI format in the first serving cell, the terminal equipment thereby performs SS group switching in the first serving cell, or the terminal equipment thereby performs SS group switching in at least one cell in the first serving cell group, or the terminal equipment thereby performs SS group switching in all cells in the first serving cell group.

[0060] It should be noted that the SS groups in different serving cells may be configured separately, so that the SS groups corresponding to the same group number on different cells are different, e.g., the SS set corresponding to a first group identifier in a first serving cell is different from the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in a second serving cell.

[0061] Exemplarily, the above-mentioned first slot includes a first slot after at least P1 symbols after the last symbol of a PDCCH carrying a first DCI format.

[0062] Exemplarily, the first DCI format may be a first DCI format detected in the second serving cell based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier. Exemplarily, the first DCI format includes any DCI format. For example, the first DCI format may be a first DCI format detected in the second serving cell based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier.

[0063] For example, the first slot may be determined based on the first subcarrier spacing, and the values ​​of the P1 symbols may be determined based on the first subcarrier spacing.

[0064] In some embodiments of the present application, the first subcarrier spacing and P1 satisfy at least one of the following relationships: a) If the first subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=0, P1 is 10 or greater. b) If the first subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=1, P1 is 12 or greater. c) If the first subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=2, P1 is 22 or greater. d) If the first subcarrier spacing is 120 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=3, P1 is 25 or greater.

[0065] Illustratively, at least one of the above cases corresponds to UE capability 1.

[0066] In some embodiments of the present application, the first subcarrier spacing and P1 satisfy at least one of the following relationships: a) If the first subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=0, P1 is 5 or greater. b) If the first subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=1, P1 is greater than or equal to 5.5. c) If the first subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=2, P1 is 11 or greater.

[0067] Illustratively, at least one of the above cases corresponds to UE capability 2.

[0068] In some embodiments of the present application, with respect to the first subcarrier spacing, illustratively, the first slot and / or the P1 symbols are determined based on the first subcarrier spacing. For example, the first slot includes a first slot after at least P1 symbols after the last symbol of a PDCCH carrying the first DCI format, where the P1 symbols and the first slot are determined based on the first subcarrier spacing. Of course, the P1 symbols and the first slot may be determined based on different subcarrier spacings, and the present application is not particularly limited thereto.

[0069] Exemplarily, the first subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing corresponding to the second serving cell, or the first subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing corresponding to the first serving cell, for example, the first subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing configured in an activated BWP of the second cell, or the first subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing configured in an activated BWP of the first cell.

[0070] Exemplarily, the first subcarrier spacing may be preset or configured by the network device, for example, the first subcarrier spacing configured by the network device is 15 kHz, or the first subcarrier spacing is configured as μ=0.

[0071] Exemplarily, the first subcarrier spacing is the minimum subcarrier spacing among the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the serving cells included in the first serving cell group. For example, if the minimum subcarrier spacing among the multiple subcarrier spacings corresponding to the multiple activated BWPs in the multiple cells included in the first serving cell group is 30 kHz, the first subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz. Exemplarily, when a BWP switching occurs in a specific cell included in the first serving cell group, the subcarrier spacing corresponding to the cell in the first serving cell group includes the minimum subcarrier spacing before the BWP switching and after the BWP switching, in other words, the first subcarrier spacing is determined based on the minimum subcarrier spacing before the BWP switching and after the BWP switching.

[0072] Exemplarily, the first subcarrier spacing is the maximum subcarrier spacing among the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the serving cells included in the first serving cell group. Exemplarily, when a BWP switching occurs in a cell included in the first serving cell group, the first subcarrier spacing is determined based on the maximum subcarrier spacing before and after the BWP switching.

[0073] Illustratively, the first subcarrier spacing is the minimum subcarrier spacing supported by the unlicensed carrier.

[0074] Illustratively, the first subcarrier spacing is a maximum subcarrier spacing supported by the unlicensed carrier.

[0075] In some embodiments of the present application, the second serving cell may include a serving cell in the first serving cell group that first detects the first DCI format based on an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier (e.g., group 0), or may include any serving cell in the first serving cell group.

[0076] In some embodiments of the present application, the second serving cell includes a pre-configured serving cell in the first serving cell group, for example, the second serving cell may be a special cell (SpCell) (e.g., a primary cell (PCell) or a primary secondary cell (PScell)) in the first serving cell group, the second serving cell may be a serving cell with the smallest cell index in the first serving cell group, the second serving cell may be a serving cell with the largest cell index in the first serving cell group, and the second serving cell may be a serving cell indicated by the network equipment in the first serving cell group. The second serving cell may be a configured cell in the first serving cell group (e.g., a cell configured by the network equipment via higher layer parameters).

[0077] Example 2 In this embodiment, when the terminal device detects a second DCI format (e.g., DCI format 2_0 or another DCI format) in at least one SS set in a third serving cell in a first serving cell group, the terminal device sets a first timer with a first timer value.

[0078] Illustratively, the at least one SS set may include any SS set.

[0079] Exemplarily, at least one SS set may correspond to a first group identifier, or may correspond to a second group identifier, or may correspond to both the first group identifier and the second group identifier, or may correspond to neither the first group identifier nor the second group identifier.

[0080] Exemplarily, the first timer value of the first timer may be configured by an upper layer, for example, may be provided by an upper layer parameter searchSpaceSwitchingTimer-r16. The first timer value may be configured to include N time units (e.g., slots), where N is a positive integer. Exemplarily, the first timer may have a time unit such as a slot, a symbol, a subframe, or a subslot (e.g., one subslot includes an integer number of symbols less than 14) as a time unit. For example, the time unit of the value of the first timer is a slot, and after the value of the first timer is set, one is subtracted from the value of the first timer every time one slot has passed.

[0081] Illustratively, the time unit (eg, slot) corresponding to the first timer is determined based on the second subcarrier spacing.

[0082] Exemplarily, one first timer may be configured for each serving cell, or one first timer may be configured for each serving cell group, or one first timer may be configured for multiple serving cell groups, or one first timer may be configured for each terminal device. For example, the first timer may be a timer corresponding to a third serving cell, or the first timer may be a timer corresponding to a first serving cell group, or the first timer may be a timer for switching SS groups configured in a UE.

[0083] Exemplarily, the first serving cell and the third serving cell may be the same cell. For example, when the terminal device detects the second DCI format in at least one SS set in the first serving cell in the first serving cell group, the terminal device sets the first timer with a first timer value.

[0084] Exemplarily, the third serving cell may be any serving cell in the first serving cell group. Exemplarily, the third cell includes a cell in the first serving cell group that last detected the second DCI format. In other words, every time one second DCI format is detected, the UE sets the first timer with a first timer value. Exemplarily, the second DCI format includes any DCI format. For example, in order for the UE to detect one DCI format in any serving cell in the first serving cell group, the UE sets the first timer with a first timer value.

[0085] In the present embodiment, with respect to the second subcarrier interval, the first timer value is exemplarily determined based on the second subcarrier interval, for example, the first timer value is N slots determined based on the second subcarrier interval.

[0086] Exemplarily, the second subcarrier spacing may be a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a third serving cell in the first serving cell group, or the second subcarrier spacing may be a subcarrier spacing corresponding to the first serving cell. For example, the second subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing configured on an activated BWP of the third cell, or the second subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing configured on an activated BWP of the first cell.

[0087] Exemplarily, the second subcarrier spacing may be preset or configured by the network device, for example, the second subcarrier spacing configured by the network device is 15 kHz, or the second subcarrier spacing is configured as μ=0.

[0088] Exemplarily, the second subcarrier spacing is the minimum subcarrier spacing among the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the serving cells included in the first serving cell group. For example, if the minimum subcarrier spacing among the multiple subcarrier spacings corresponding to the multiple activated BWPs in the multiple cells included in the first serving cell group is 30 kHz, the second subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz. Exemplarily, when a BWP switching occurs in a specific cell included in the first serving cell group, the subcarrier spacing corresponding to the cell in the first serving cell group includes the minimum subcarrier spacing before the BWP switching and after the BWP switching, in other words, the second subcarrier spacing is determined based on the minimum subcarrier spacing before the BWP switching and after the BWP switching.

[0089] Exemplarily, the second subcarrier spacing is the maximum subcarrier spacing among the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the serving cells included in the first serving cell group. Exemplarily, when a BWP switching occurs in a cell included in the first serving cell group, the second subcarrier spacing is determined based on the maximum subcarrier spacing before and after the BWP switching.

[0090] Illustratively, the second subcarrier spacing is the minimum subcarrier spacing supported in the unlicensed carrier.

[0091] Illustratively, the second subcarrier spacing is the maximum subcarrier spacing supported by the unlicensed carrier.

[0092] Example 3 In this embodiment, when the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier (e.g., group 1) in the first serving cell, from the second slot in the first serving cell, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier (e.g., group 0) in the first serving cell, and stops performing PDCCH monitoring using the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier.

[0093] Illustratively, the second slot may include a first slot that is at least P2 symbols after the slot corresponding to when the first timer expires.

[0094] Exemplarily, the second slot may include a first slot after at least P2 symbols after the last symbol of the first residual channel occupation length, where the first residual channel occupation length includes a residual channel occupation length having a latest ending position among at least one residual channel occupation length corresponding to a serving cell in the first serving cell group, or a residual channel occupation length having an earliest ending position among at least one residual channel occupation length corresponding to a serving cell in the first serving cell group, or a residual channel occupation length corresponding to a second serving cell in the first serving cell group, or a residual channel occupation length corresponding to a first serving cell in the first serving cell group.

[0095] Exemplarily, the second slot may include the earliest arriving slot among the above slots, for example, the first slot after at least P2 symbols after the slot corresponding to when the first timer expires is slot m, and the first slot after at least P2 symbols after the last symbol of the first residual channel occupancy length is slot m+1, where slot m+1 is later in time than slot m, in which case the second slot includes slot m.

[0096] Exemplarily, the second slot may include the latest arriving slot among the above slots, for example, the first slot after at least P2 symbols after the slot corresponding to when the first timer expires is slot m, and the first slot after at least P2 symbols after the last symbol of the first residual channel occupancy length is slot m+1, where slot m+1 is later in time than slot m, in which case the second slot includes slot m+1.

[0097] Exemplarily, the first residual channel occupancy length is determined by the detected DCI format 2_0, or the first residual channel occupancy length is determined based on a higher layer configuration parameter. For example, if the terminal device is configured to monitor the DCI format 2_0, and the DCI format 2_0 includes slot format indicator (SFI) information or channel occupancy time (COT) length indication information of at least one serving cell in a first serving cell group, the terminal device can determine the residual channel occupancy length of the at least one serving cell based on the DCI format 2_0. As another example, if the system is an NR-U system on an unlicensed spectrum and the systematic channel access manner is quasi-static channel occupancy, the terminal device can determine the residual channel occupancy length of the at least one serving cell based on a periodic channel occupancy length configured for the at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group by the network device.

[0098] Illustratively, the residual channel occupancy length may also be considered to be the channel occupancy length.

[0099] In the present embodiment, with respect to the third subcarrier interval, exemplarily, the second slot may be determined based on the third subcarrier interval, and / or the P2 symbols may be determined based on the third subcarrier interval. For example, the second slot includes a first slot after at least P2 symbols after the slot corresponding to when the first timer value expires, where the P2 symbols and the second slot are determined based on the third subcarrier interval. Of course, the P2 symbols and the second slot may be determined based on different subcarrier intervals, and the present application is not particularly limited thereto.

[0100] Exemplarily, the third subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a second serving cell in a first serving cell group, or the third subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a first serving cell, or the third subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a cell corresponding to a first residual channel occupation length. For example, the third subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing configured on an activated BWP of a second cell, or the third subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing configured on an activated BWP of a first cell, or the third subcarrier spacing is a subcarrier spacing configured on an activated BWP of a cell corresponding to a first residual channel occupation length.

[0101] Exemplarily, the third subcarrier spacing may be preset or configured by the network device, for example, the third subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz, or the third subcarrier spacing is configured as μ=0.

[0102] Exemplarily, the third subcarrier spacing is the minimum subcarrier spacing among the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the serving cells included in the first serving cell group. For example, if the minimum subcarrier spacing among the multiple subcarrier spacings corresponding to the multiple activated BWPs in the multiple cells included in the first serving cell group is 30 kHz, the third subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz. Exemplarily, when a BWP switching occurs in a specific cell included in the first serving cell group, the subcarrier spacing corresponding to the cell in the first serving cell group includes the minimum subcarrier spacing before the BWP switching and after the BWP switching, in other words, the third subcarrier spacing is determined based on the minimum subcarrier spacing before the BWP switching and after the BWP switching.

[0103] Exemplarily, the third subcarrier spacing is the maximum subcarrier spacing among the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the serving cells included in the first serving cell group. Exemplarily, when a BWP switching occurs in a cell included in the first serving cell group, the third subcarrier spacing is determined based on the maximum subcarrier spacing before and after the BWP switching.

[0104] Illustratively, the third subcarrier spacing is the minimum subcarrier spacing supported in the unlicensed carrier.

[0105] Illustratively, the third subcarrier spacing is the maximum subcarrier spacing supported in the unlicensed carrier.

[0106] In some embodiments of the present application, the third subcarrier spacing and P2 satisfy at least one of the following relationships: a) If the third subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=0, P2 is 10 or greater. b) If the third subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=1, P2 is 12 or greater. C) If the third subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=2, P2 is 22 or greater. d) If the third subcarrier spacing is 120 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=3, P2 is 25 or greater.

[0107] Illustratively, at least one of the above cases corresponds to UE capability 1.

[0108] In some embodiments of the present application, the third subcarrier spacing and P2 satisfy at least one of the following relationships: a) If the third subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=0, P2 is 5 or greater. b) If the third subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=1, P2 is 5.5 or greater. C) If the third subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=2, P2 is 11 or greater.

[0109] Illustratively, at least two of the above cases correspond to UE capability 1.

[0110] In the present embodiment, the values ​​of P1 and P2 may be the same, for example, both values ​​of P1 and P2 are represented as P.

[0111] In the present embodiment, for example, any two of the first subcarrier spacing, the second subcarrier spacing, and the third subcarrier spacing may be the same subcarrier spacing or different subcarrier spacings.

[0112] In the embodiment of the present application, exemplarily, any two of the first serving cell, the second serving cell, and the third serving cell may be the same serving cell or different serving cells.

[0113] Example 4 In one embodiment, for a first serving cell belonging to a first serving cell group, when at least one SS set of the first serving cell is configured with a first group identifier (e.g., group 0) and there is no SS set configured with a second group identifier (e.g., when at least one SS set configured with the first group identifier and no SS set configured with a second group identifier exists in the downlink activated BWP of the first serving cell), the PDCCH monitoring operation of the terminal device may include at least one of the following multiple schemes.

[0114] In method 1, when a terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier in at least one serving cell in a first serving cell group, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the first serving cell.

[0115] In method 2, when a terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier (e.g., group 1) in at least one serving cell in a first serving cell group, the terminal device does not perform PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier in the first serving cell.

[0116] In method 3, when a terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier (e.g., group 1) in at least one serving cell in a first serving cell group, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier in the first serving cell.

[0117] Here, for example, if there is at least one search space set that does not correspond to the above-mentioned first group identifier, the terminal device needs to perform PDCCH monitoring based on the at least one search space set. For example, regardless of whether the first serving cell group performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set corresponding to the first group identifier or performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set corresponding to the second group identifier, the terminal device needs to perform PDCCH monitoring in the first serving cell for the search space that does not correspond to the first group identifier.

[0118] In another embodiment, in the case of a first serving cell belonging to a first serving cell group, if there is no SS set configured with a first group identifier (e.g., group 0) and no SS set configured with a second group identifier (e.g., group 1) in the first serving cell (e.g., if there is no SS set configured with the first group identifier and no SS set configured with the second group identifier in the downlink activated BWP of the first serving cell), the PDCCH monitoring operation of the terminal device may include that the terminal device needs to perform PDCCH monitoring for all SS sets configured in the first serving cell, regardless of whether the first serving cell group performs PDCCH monitoring based on a search space set corresponding to the first group identifier or performs PDCCH monitoring based on a search space set corresponding to the second group identifier.

[0119] Exemplarily, the terminal device switches an active BWP in a first serving cell from a first BWP to a second BWP.

[0120] Exemplarily, for a first serving cell belonging to a first serving cell group, when at least one SS set in a second BWP of the first serving cell is configured with a first group identifier (e.g., group 0) and there is no SS set configured with a second group identifier, the PDCCH monitoring operation of the terminal device includes at least one of the following multiple schemes:

[0121] In method 1, after a terminal device switches an active BWP in a first serving cell to a second BWP, when the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier in at least one serving cell in a first serving cell group, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the second BWP of the first serving cell.

[0122] In method 2, after a terminal device switches an active BWP in a first serving cell to a second BWP, if the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier (e.g., group 1) in at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group, the terminal device does not perform PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the second BWP of the first serving cell.

[0123] In method 3, after a terminal device switches an active BWP in a first serving cell to a second BWP, if the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier (e.g., group 1) in at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the second BWP of the first serving cell.

[0124] For example, for a first serving cell belonging to a first serving cell group, if there is no SS set configured with a first group identifier (e.g., group 0) and no SS set configured with a second group identifier (e.g., group 1) in the second BWP of the first serving cell, the PDCCH monitoring operation of the terminal device may include needing to perform PDCCH monitoring on the SS set configured in the second BWP of the first serving cell after the terminal device switches the active BWP switching in the first serving cell to the second BWP, regardless of whether the first serving cell group performs PDCCH monitoring based on a search space set corresponding to the first group identifier or performs PDCCH monitoring based on a search space set corresponding to the second group identifier.

[0125] In the present embodiment, the terminal device can switch an activated BWP (e.g., a downlink activated BWP) in a first serving cell from a first BWP to a second BWP. In this case, the terminal device can perform PDCCH monitoring in the second BWP in the first serving cell based on PDCCH monitoring operations in other serving cells in the first serving cell group.

[0126] Example 5 In this embodiment, if the serving cell is a first serving cell belonging to a first serving cell group, the PDCCH monitoring operation of the terminal device includes at least one of the following multiple manners:

[0127] In a first scheme, when a terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier in at least one serving cell in a first serving cell group, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the first serving cell.

[0128] In a second scheme, when a terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier in at least one serving cell in a first serving cell group, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier in the first serving cell.

[0129] Exemplarily, the first serving cell includes an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier and an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier.

[0130] Exemplarily, the terminal device switches an active BWP in the first serving cell from a first BWP to a second BWP. For example, the PDCCH monitoring operation of the terminal device includes at least one of the following multiple manners:

[0131] In the first scheme, after a terminal device switches an active BWP in a first serving cell to a second BWP, when the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier in at least one serving cell in a first serving cell group, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the second BWP of the first serving cell.

[0132] In a second scheme, after a terminal device switches an active BWP in a first serving cell to a second BWP, when the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier in at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to the second group identifier in the second BWP of the first serving cell.

[0133] In the present embodiment, the terminal device can switch an activated BWP (e.g., a downlink activated BWP) in a first serving cell from a first BWP to a second BWP. In this case, the terminal device can perform PDCCH monitoring in the second BWP in the first serving cell based on PDCCH monitoring operations in other serving cells in the first serving cell group.

[0134] Example 6 In this embodiment, when the serving cell is a fourth serving cell that does not belong to any serving cell group, the terminal device can determine the switching operation of the SS group according to the explicit switching method or implicit switching method of the fourth serving cell when performing PDCCH monitoring in the fourth serving cell.

[0135] Exemplarily, when the fourth serving cell is configured with a first group identifier (e.g., SS group 0) and the second group identifier is not configured, the PDCCH monitoring operation of the terminal device may include at least one of the following schemes.

[0136] In the first scheme, if no switching indication signaling is provided for the fourth serving cell (e.g., if the SearchSpaceSwitchTrigger-r16 parameter is not provided or configured), the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the fourth serving cell.

[0137] In a second manner, when a switching instruction signaling is provided to the fourth serving cell, if the switching instruction signaling instructs to perform PDCCH monitoring based on a search space set corresponding to a first group identifier, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on a search space set corresponding to the first group identifier, and if the switching instruction signaling instructs to perform PDCCH monitoring based on a search space set corresponding to a second group identifier, the UE does not perform PDCCH monitoring based on a search space set corresponding to the first group identifier.

[0138] In the third scheme, the terminal device always performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set corresponding to the first group identifier. In scheme 4, for at least one search space set that does not correspond to the first group identifier, the terminal device needs to perform PDCCH monitoring based on the at least one search space set.

[0139] Exemplarily, the terminal device switches an active BWP in a first serving cell from a first BWP to a second BWP.

[0140] Exemplarily, the first serving cell also includes an SS set corresponding to the first group identifier and an SS set corresponding to the second group identifier, and the PDCCH monitoring operation of the terminal device includes at least one of the following methods:

[0141] In method 1, when the first serving cell includes a first SS set, where the first SS set includes at least one SS set, and the first SS set does not belong to the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier and does not belong to the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the first SS set in the second BWP.

[0142] In method 2, when the first serving cell includes a second SS set, where the second SS set includes at least one SS set, and the second SS set belongs to the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier and also belongs to the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the second SS set in the second BWP.

[0143] In the third method, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the first BWP of the first serving cell, and detects one DCI format in one SS set corresponding to the first group identifier. Assume that the first slot after at least P symbols after the last symbol of the PDCCH carrying the DCI format is slot A, and the first slot after the active BWP in the first serving cell is switched to the second BWP is slot B. If slot A is earlier than slot B, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier in the second BWP of the first serving cell, and stops performing PDCCH monitoring by the search space set corresponding to the first group identifier. Alternatively, if slot A is not earlier than slot B, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier in the second BWP of the first serving cell from slot A, and stops performing PDCCH monitoring by the search space set corresponding to the first group identifier. Exemplarily, if slot A is not earlier than slot B, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring in resources from slot A to slot B in the second BWP of the first serving cell based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier.

[0144] In the fourth method, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier in the first BWP of the first serving cell. It is assumed that the first slot after at least P symbols after the slot where the timer expires is slot C, the first slot after at least P symbols after the last symbol of the channel occupation time (COT) (if the terminal device can obtain this information) of the first serving cell is slot D, and the first slot after the activated BWP in the first serving cell is switched to the second BWP is slot B. It is assumed that the earlier slot in time among slots C and D is slot E. If slot E is earlier than slot B, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the second BWP of the first serving cell, and stops performing PDCCH monitoring by the search space set corresponding to the second group identifier. Alternatively, if slot E is not earlier than slot B, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the second BWP of the first serving cell from slot E, and stops performing PDCCH monitoring using the search space set corresponding to the second group identifier. Exemplarily, if slot E is not earlier than slot B, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring in the second BWP of the first serving cell based on the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier in resources from slot A to slot B.

[0145] For example, slot A may be determined based on a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a first BWP, or based on a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a second BWP, or based on a smaller / larger subcarrier spacing among the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the first BWP and the second BWP, or based on a predetermined / configured subcarrier spacing.

[0146] Illustratively, slot B may be determined based on a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a first BWP, or based on a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a second BWP, or based on a smaller / larger subcarrier spacing among the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the first BWP and the second BWP, or based on a predetermined / configured subcarrier spacing.

[0147] Illustratively, the slot C or the slot corresponding to the timer is determined based on a subcarrier spacing corresponding to the first BWP, or based on a subcarrier spacing corresponding to the second BWP, or based on a smaller / larger subcarrier spacing among the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the first BWP and the second BWP, or based on a predetermined / configured subcarrier spacing.

[0148] For example, slot D may be determined based on a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a first BWP, or based on a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a second BWP, or based on a smaller / larger subcarrier spacing among the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the first BWP and the second BWP, or based on a predetermined / configured subcarrier spacing.

[0149] For example, the P symbols are determined based on a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a first BWP, or based on a subcarrier spacing corresponding to a second BWP, or based on a smaller / larger subcarrier spacing between the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the first BWP and the second BWP, or based on a predetermined / configured subcarrier spacing.

[0150] Exemplarily, at least two of the slots A, B, C, and D, the slots corresponding to the P symbols, and the timer are determined based on the same subcarrier spacing. Exemplarily, the slots A, B, C, and D, the slots corresponding to the P symbols, and the timer are determined based on the same subcarrier spacing.

[0151] For example, since the downlink activated BWP and the uplink activated BWP on an unlicensed carrier may be the same BWP, in the present embodiment, the terminal device switching the activated BWP in the first serving cell from a first BWP to a second BWP includes the terminal device switching the downlink activated BWP in the first serving cell from the first BWP to the second BWP, and / or the terminal device switching the uplink activated BWP in the first serving cell from the first BWP to the second BWP.

[0152] In this embodiment, the terminal device can switch an active BWP in a first serving cell from a first BWP to a second BWP. In this case, the terminal device can determine a PDCCH monitoring operation in the second BWP based on the PDCCH monitoring operation in the first BWP in the first serving cell.

[0153] In addition to the above various embodiments, for the first serving cell belonging to the first serving cell group, PDCCH monitoring may be performed by at least one of the following schemes:

[0154] In some embodiments of the present application, the terminal device performs physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring in a first serving cell and based on the first serving cell.

[0155] In some embodiments of the present application, when the first serving cell includes a first SS set, where the first SS set includes at least one SS set, and the first SS set does not belong to the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier and does not belong to the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the first SS set.

[0156] For a first serving cell belonging to a first serving cell group, in some other embodiments of the present application, if a search space switching indication signaling is configured in the terminal device (e.g., if a search space switching indication signaling (e.g., a SearchSpaceSwitchTrigger-r16 parameter) corresponding to the first serving cell group is configured), the terminal device performs physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring in the first serving cell based on the first serving cell group. In some other embodiments of the present application, if a search space switching indication signaling is not configured in the terminal device (e.g., if a search space switching indication signaling (e.g., a SearchSpaceSwitchTrigger-r16 parameter) corresponding to the first serving cell group is not configured), the terminal device does not perform physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring in the first serving cell based on the first serving cell group. In some other embodiments of the present application, when the terminal device does not perform physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring in the first serving cell based on the first serving cell group, the terminal device performs physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring in the first serving cell based on the first serving cell.

[0157] In some embodiments of the present application, any two of the above first serving cell, second serving cell and third serving cell may be the same cell or different cells, which can realize a solution related to at least one of the above embodiments of the present application.

[0158] The following describes the implementation of the present invention using a schematic example.

[0159] For any cell belonging to one serving cell group (e.g., a first serving cell group), if the UE is configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on the serving cell group, and the UE is not provided with switching indication signaling corresponding to the first serving cell group (e.g., the UE is provided or configured with a searchSpaceSwitchingGroupList-r16 parameter but not provided or configured with a SearchSpaceSwitchTrigger-r16 parameter), a first timer corresponding to the first serving cell group may be configured in the UE, where the value of the first timer includes N slots. The UE may determine a reference subcarrier spacing, for example, the reference subcarrier spacing is configured by a network device or is preset as a minimum subcarrier spacing among the subcarrier spacings corresponding to the serving cells included in the first serving cell group. The PDCCH monitoring operation of the UE may include at least one of the following cases.

[0160] In any cell in the first serving cell group, for at least one search space that does not correspond to group 0 or group 1, the UE needs to perform PDCCH monitoring based on the at least one search space set.

[0161] If the UE detects one DCI format when performing PDCCH monitoring based on one search space set corresponding to group 0 in any cell in the first serving cell group, from the first slot after at least P symbols after the last symbol of the PDCCH carrying the DCI format, in any cell in the first serving cell group, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set corresponding to group 1 and stops performing PDCCH monitoring with the search space set corresponding to group 0, where the P symbols are P symbols determined based on the above reference subcarrier spacing, and the first slot is determined based on the above reference subcarrier spacing.

[0162] If the UE detects one DCI format when performing PDCCH monitoring in any search space set in any cell in the first serving cell group, the UE sets or resets a first timer to N slots, where the N slots are determined based on a reference subcarrier spacing.

[0163] If the UE detects one DCI format when performing PDCCH monitoring based on one search space set corresponding to group 1 in any cell in the first serving cell group, i) start from the first slot after at least P symbols after the corresponding slot when the first timer expires, or ii) if DCI format 2_0 corresponding to at least one cell in the first serving cell group is configured for the UE, start from the first slot after at least P symbols after the last symbol of the residual channel occupancy length that ends latest in the first serving cell group indicated by DCI format 2_0. Subject to the slot that starts earlier in time in the above two cases i) and ii), in any cell in the first serving cell group, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring based on the search space set corresponding to group 0, and stops performing PDCCH monitoring with the search space set corresponding to group 1. Here, the P symbols are P symbols determined based on the reference subcarrier spacing, and the first slot is a slot determined based on the reference subcarrier spacing.

[0164] Above, a specific configuration and embodiment of the present application embodiment are described from different perspectives through multiple examples. At least one of the above examples can be used to effectively determine the switching behavior of search space (SS) groups in multiple cells in one serving cell group.

[0165] Corresponding to the processing method of at least one of the above embodiments, the present embodiment provides a terminal device 100. Referring to FIG. 6, the terminal device 100 includes: and a physical channel monitoring module 110 configured to perform PDCCH monitoring in a first serving cell based on a first serving cell group when at least one serving cell group is configured in a terminal device, where the first serving cell is a serving cell included in the first serving cell group, and the first serving cell group is a serving cell group of the at least one serving cell group.

[0166] Exemplarily, in the present embodiment, the physical channel monitoring module includes a receiving module and / or a processing module, where the receiving module is configured to receive a candidate PDCCH, and the processing module is configured to detect whether the candidate PDCCH includes a DCI format.

[0167] Exemplarily, in the present embodiment, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set includes the terminal device performs blind detection of PDCCH based on candidate PDCCHs of the SS set, and determines whether the candidate PDCCH includes DCI information based on the blind detection result. If the terminal device detects a DCI format in a specific candidate PDCCH during PDCCH monitoring, the terminal device may consider that the candidate PDCCH includes DCI information, and if the terminal device does not detect a DCI format in a specific candidate PDCCH during PDCCH monitoring, the terminal device may consider that the candidate PDCCH does not include DCI information.

[0168] Illustratively, in this embodiment, the physical channel monitoring module 110 includes: a first monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on a search space (SS) set corresponding to a first group identifier in the first serving cell; and a second monitoring submodule configured to, when the first format detection module detects a first DCI format in a second serving cell in the first serving cell group based on an SS set corresponding to the first group identifier, perform PDCCH monitoring in the first serving cell based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier from a first slot in the first serving cell, and stop performing PDCCH monitoring by the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier.

[0169] Illustratively, in this embodiment, the physical channel monitoring module 110 includes: and a timer setting submodule configured to set a first timer with a first timer value when the first format detection module detects a second DCI format in at least one SS set in a third serving cell in the first serving cell group.

[0170] Illustratively, in this embodiment, the physical channel monitoring module 110 includes: a third monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier in the first serving cell; and a fourth monitoring submodule configured to, when the third monitoring submodule performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the first serving cell, from a second slot in the first serving cell, perform PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the first serving cell, and stop performing PDCCH monitoring by the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier.

[0171] Illustratively, in this embodiment, the physical channel monitoring module 110 includes: a fifth monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier in at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group; a sixth monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the first serving cell when the fifth monitoring submodule performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group; a seventh monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier in at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group; and a sixth monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to the second group identifier in the first serving cell when the seventh monitoring submodule performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier in at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group.

[0172] Exemplarily, in the present embodiment, the first serving cell includes an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier and does not include an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier, and the physical channel monitoring module 110: a ninth monitoring submodule, configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier in at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group; a tenth monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the first serving cell when the ninth monitoring submodule performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group; an eleventh monitoring submodule, configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier in at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group; and a 12th monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the first serving cell when the 11th monitoring submodule performs PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier in at least one serving cell in the first serving cell group.

[0173] Illustratively, in the present embodiment, the terminal device 100 further comprises: The system includes a switching processing module configured to switch an active bandwidth portion (BWP) of the terminal device in the first serving cell from a first BWP to a second BWP. Illustratively, in this embodiment, the physical channel monitoring module 110 includes: a thirteenth monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the second BWP in the first serving cell; or and a fourteenth monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on an SS set corresponding to the second group identifier in the second BWP in the first serving cell.

[0174] Illustratively, in this embodiment, the physical channel monitoring module 110 includes: and a 15th monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring based on the first SS set when the first serving cell includes a first SS set and the first SS set does not belong to an SS set corresponding to a first group identifier and also does not belong to an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier.

[0175] Illustratively, in this embodiment, the physical channel monitoring module 110 includes: A sixteenth monitoring submodule is configured to perform PDCCH monitoring in the first serving cell based on the first serving cell group when search space switch indication signaling is configured in the terminal equipment.

[0176] Illustratively, in this embodiment, if search space switching indication signaling is not configured in the terminal equipment, the 16th monitoring submodule does not perform PDCCH monitoring in the first serving cell based on the first serving cell group.

[0177] Illustratively, in the present embodiment, the terminal device 100 further comprises: A seventeenth monitoring submodule configured to perform PDCCH monitoring in the first serving cell based on the first serving cell.

[0178] The terminal device 100 according to the present embodiment can realize the corresponding functions described in the above method embodiments, and the functions, embodiments and beneficial effects corresponding to each module (sub-module, unit, component, etc.) in the terminal device 100 can be referred to the corresponding descriptions in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0179] It should be noted that the functions of each module (sub-module, unit, component, etc.) in the terminal device 100 described in the present embodiment may be realized by different modules (sub-modules, units, components, etc.) or by the same module (sub-module, unit, component, etc.), for example, the first monitoring sub-module and the second monitoring sub-module may be different modules or the same module, both of which can realize the corresponding functions of the terminal device in the present embodiment.

[0180] FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 600 according to an embodiment of the present application, in which the communication device 600 includes a processor 610, which executes the method according to the embodiment of the present application by calling and executing a computer program from a memory.

[0181] Exemplarily, the communication device 600 may further include a memory 620. Here, the processor 610 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 620 to perform the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0182] Here, the memory 620 may be a separate device independent of the processor 610 or may be integrated into the processor 610 .

[0183] By way of example, the communication device 600 may further include a transceiver 630, and the processor 610 may control the transceiver 630 to communicate with other devices, specifically to transmit information or data to other devices or to receive information or data transmitted by other devices.

[0184] Here, the transceiver 630 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 630 may further include an antenna, the number of which may be one or more.

[0185] For example, the communication device 600 may be a network device in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 600 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be described repeatedly here for the sake of brevity.

[0186] For example, the communication device 600 may be a terminal device in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 600 may implement corresponding processes implemented by the terminal device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be described repeatedly here for the sake of brevity.

[0187] FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 700 according to an embodiment of the present application, in which the chip 700 includes a processor 710, which executes the method according to the embodiment of the present application by calling and executing a computer program from a memory.

[0188] Exemplarily, the chip 700 may further include a memory 720. Here, the processor 710 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 720 to execute the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0189] Here, the memory 720 may be a separate device independent of the processor 710 or may be integrated into the processor 710 .

[0190] Exemplarily, the chip 700 may further include an input interface 730. Here, the processor 710 may control the input interface 730 to communicate with other devices or chips, specifically to obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0191] Exemplarily, the chip 700 may further include an output interface 740. Here, the processor 710 may control the output interface 740 to communicate with other devices or chips, specifically, to output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0192] For example, the chip may be applied to a network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip may implement corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiments of the present application, which will not be described repeatedly here for the sake of brevity.

[0193] For example, the chip may be applied to a terminal device in the embodiment of the present application shown in FIG. 6, and the chip can realize the corresponding processes realized by the terminal device in each method of the embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0194] It should be understood that the chips referred to in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as systems on chips, system chips, chip systems, or systems on chips.

[0195] The above-mentioned processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, etc. Here, the above-mentioned general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, any conventional processor, etc.

[0196] The memory may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or a combination of a volatile memory and a non-volatile memory. Here, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM).

[0197] It should be understood that the above-mentioned memories are exemplary only and are not intended to be limiting of the present application. For example, the memory in the present application may be a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synch link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and a direct memory bus random access memory (DR RAM), etc. Thus, the memory in the present application is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0198] FIG. 9 is an exemplary block diagram of a communication system 800 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication system 800 including a terminal device 810 and a network device 820.

[0199] Here, the terminal device 810 can be configured to realize the corresponding functions realized by the terminal device in the method of each embodiment of the present application, and the network device 820 can realize the corresponding functions realized by the network device in the method of each embodiment of the present application, which will not be repeated here for the sake of brevity.

[0200] All or part of the above embodiments may be realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When realized using software, all or part of them may be realized in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed by a computer, all or part of them are realized according to the process or function described in the embodiments of the present application. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, radio, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium accessible by a computer, or may be a data storage device integrated with one or more available media, such as a server, a data center, etc. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0201] In various embodiments of the present application, it should be understood that the magnitude of the numbers of each of the above processes does not indicate the order of execution, and 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 the present application.

[0202] Although it can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific work processes of the above systems, devices and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0203] The above content is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, and the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any modifications or replacements that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A physical channel monitoring method applied to a terminal device, comprising: At least one serving cell group is configured in a terminal device; The terminal device performs physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring in a first serving cell based on a first serving cell group; The first serving cell is a serving cell included in the first serving cell group, and the first serving cell group is a serving cell group of the at least one serving cell group; The terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring in a first serving cell based on a first serving cell group, The terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on a search space (SS) set corresponding to a first group identifier in the first serving cell; When the terminal device detects a first DCI format based on an SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in a second serving cell in the first serving cell group, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring in the first serving cell based on an SS set corresponding to a second group identifier from a first slot in the first serving cell, and stops performing PDCCH monitoring by the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier; When the terminal device detects a second DCI format in at least one SS set in a third serving cell in the first serving cell group, the terminal device sets a first timer with a first timer value; The first slot includes a first slot after at least P1 symbols after a last symbol of a PDCCH carrying the first DCI format; The slot corresponding to the first timer is determined based on a second subcarrier interval, and the second subcarrier interval is a minimum subcarrier interval among subcarrier intervals corresponding to serving cells included in the first serving cell group. A method for monitoring physical channels.

2. The terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring in a first serving cell based on a first serving cell group, When the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier in the first serving cell, the terminal device performs PDCCH monitoring based on the SS set corresponding to the first group identifier in the first serving cell from a second slot in the first serving cell, and stops performing PDCCH monitoring by the SS set corresponding to the second group identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical channel is monitored.

3. the second slot comprises a first slot at least P2 symbols after the slot corresponding to when the first timer expires; Or, The second slot includes a first slot after at least P2 symbols after the last symbol of the first residual channel occupancy length; Or, the second slot is the earliest arriving slot among a first slot at least P2 symbols after the slot corresponding to when the first timer expires and a first slot at least P2 symbols after the last symbol of a first residual channel occupancy length; The first residual channel occupation length includes a residual channel occupation length having a latest end position among at least one residual channel occupation length corresponding to a serving cell in the first serving cell group, or a residual channel occupation length having an earliest end position among at least one residual channel occupation length corresponding to a serving cell in the first serving cell group, or a residual channel occupation length corresponding to the second serving cell in the first serving cell group.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the physical channel is monitored.

4. The first slot is determined based on a first subcarrier interval.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical channel is monitored.

5. The P1 symbols are determined based on a first subcarrier spacing.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical channel is monitored.

6. When the first subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing is configured such that μ=0, P1 is 10 or greater; Or, When the first subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=1, P1 is 12 or more; Or, When the first subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=2, P1 is 22 or more; Or, When the first subcarrier spacing is 120 kHz, or when the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=3, P1 is 25 or more; 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the physical channel is monitored.

7. When the first subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=0, P1 is 5 or more; Or, When the first subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=1, P1 is 5.5 or more; Or, When the first subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz or the first subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=2, P1 is 11 or more; 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the physical channel is monitored.

8. The first subcarrier spacing is a minimum subcarrier spacing among subcarrier spacings corresponding to serving cells included in the first serving cell group. A method for monitoring a physical channel according to any one of claims 4 to 7.

9. The first timer uses a slot as a time measurement unit, and after a value of the first timer is set, the value of the first timer is subtracted by 1 every time one slot elapses. A method for monitoring a physical channel according to claim 1 or 3.

10. The second slot is determined based on a third subcarrier interval. A method for monitoring a physical channel according to claim 2 or 3.

11. The P2 symbols are determined based on a third subcarrier spacing.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the physical channel is monitored.

12. When the third subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=0, P2 is 10 or more; Or, When the third subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=1, P2 is 12 or more; Or, When the third subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=2, P2 is 22 or more; Or, When the third subcarrier spacing is 120 kHz, or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=3, P2 is 25 or more; The method of claim 11 .

13. When the third subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=0, P2 is 5 or more; Or, When the third subcarrier spacing is 30 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=1, P2 is 5.5 or more; Or, When the third subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz or the third subcarrier spacing configuration is μ=2, P2 is 11 or more; The method of claim 11 .

14. The third subcarrier spacing is a minimum subcarrier spacing among subcarrier spacings corresponding to serving cells included in the first serving cell group. A method for monitoring a physical channel according to any one of claims 10 to 13.

15. A terminal device including a processor and a memory, A terminal device, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor executes the physical channel monitoring method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 by calling and executing the computer program stored in the memory.

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