Downlink control information size alignment method and apparatus, communication device and storage medium

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a downlink control information size alignment method and apparatus, a communication device, and a storage medium. The downlink control information size alignment method includes determining that the size of downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling data of a plurality of cells is aligned with the size of DCI for scheduling data of a single cell. 【Solution means】According to the present disclosure, it is possible to determine that the size of DCI for scheduling data of a plurality of cells is aligned with the size of DCI for scheduling data of a single cell, thereby reducing the number of types of DCI received by a terminal in a serving cell and being advantageous for reducing the complexity of blind detection of DCI by the terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies, and specifically, to a downlink control information size alignment method, a downlink control information size alignment apparatus, a communication apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium.

Background Art

[0002] 5G NR (New Radio) operates in a relatively wide spectrum range, and with the re-farming of the corresponding frequency band of the existing cellular network, the utilization rate of the corresponding spectrum is steadily improving. However, for FR1, the available frequency domain resources are gradually becoming fragmented. In order to meet different spectrum demands, it is necessary to use these dispersed spectrum resources in a more spectrum / power efficient and flexible manner to achieve higher network throughput and a good coverage range.

[0003] Based on the current mechanism, one DCI (Downlink Control Information) in the existing serving cell only permits scheduling the data of one cell. On the other hand, as the fragmentation of frequency resources progresses, the need to schedule the data of multiple cells simultaneously is increasing, so it is necessary to introduce a DCI that schedules the data of multiple cells.

[0004] However, when introducing a new DCI, the types of DCI sizes may increase, and the sizes of too many types of DCI may increase the complexity for the terminal to blindly detect the DCI.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In view of this, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a downlink control information size alignment method, a downlink control information size alignment apparatus, a communication apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium to solve technical problems in related technologies. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to a first embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a downlink control information size alignment method is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the method includes the step of determining that the size of downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling data of multiple cells is aligned with the size of DCI for scheduling data of a single cell.

[0007] According to a second embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a downlink control information size alignment method is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the method includes the step of determining that the size of a first downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling uplink data of a plurality of cells is aligned with the size of a second DCI for scheduling downlink data of a plurality of cells.

[0008] According to a third embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a downlink control information size alignment method is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the method includes the steps of: determining that the size of DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell is aligned according to a predefined mechanism; determining the size of DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell and the size of DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells in a cell for transmitting DCIs; determining a candidate DCI from among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell if the number of DCI size types is greater than a predefined threshold; determining a target DCI from among the candidate DCIs; and determining that the size of the target DCI and the size of DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells are aligned.

[0009] A fourth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a downlink control information size alignment method applicable to a network device, the method comprising the step of aligning the size of downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling data for multiple cells with the size of DCI for scheduling data for a single cell.

[0010] A fifth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a downlink control information size alignment method applicable to a network device, the method comprising the step of aligning the size of a first downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling uplink data of a plurality of cells with the size of a second DCI for scheduling downlink data of a plurality of cells.

[0011] According to a sixth embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a downlink control information size alignment method is provided, which is applied to a network device, the method comprising: aligning the size of a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell according to a predefined mechanism; determining the size of a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell and the size of a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells in a cell for transmitting a DCI; determining a candidate DCI from among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell if the number of DCI size types is greater than a predefined threshold; determining a target DCI from among the candidate DCIs; and aligning the size of the target DCI with the size of a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells.

[0012] According to a seventh embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a downlink control information size alignment device is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the device includes a processing module configured to determine that the size of downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling data of multiple cells is aligned with the size of DCI for scheduling data of a single cell.

[0013] According to an eighth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a downlink control information size alignment device is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the device includes a processing module configured to determine that the size of a first downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling uplink data of a plurality of cells is aligned with the size of a second DCI for scheduling downlink data of a plurality of cells.

[0014] According to a ninth embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a downlink control information size alignment device is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the device includes a processing module configured to determine, according to a predefined mechanism, that the size of a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell is aligned, that the size of a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell and the size of a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells in a cell for transmitting a DCI be aligned, that if the number of DCI size types is greater than a predefined threshold, that candidate DCIs be selected from the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell be selected, that a target DCI be selected from the candidate DCIs be selected, and that the size of the target DCI be selected and the size of a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells be aligned.

[0015] According to a tenth embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a downlink control information size alignment device is provided, which is applied to a network device, and the device includes a processing module configured to align the size of downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling data of multiple cells with the size of DCI for scheduling data of a single cell.

[0016] According to an eleventh embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a downlink control information size alignment device is provided, which is applied to a network device, and the device includes a processing module configured to align the size of a first downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling uplink data of a plurality of cells with the size of a second DCI for scheduling downlink data of a plurality of cells.

[0017] According to a twelfth embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a downlink control information size alignment device is provided, which is applied to a network device, and the device includes a processing module configured to align the size of DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell according to a predefined mechanism, determine the size of DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell and the size of DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells in a cell for transmitting DCIs, determine candidate DCIs from among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell if the number of DCI size types is greater than a predefined threshold, determine a target DCI from among the candidate DCIs, and align the size of the target DCI with the size of DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells.

[0018] According to a thirteenth aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication device including a processor and memory for storing a computer program, wherein a downlink control information size alignment method applicable to the terminal is realized when the computer program is executed by the processor.

[0019] According to 14 embodiments of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication device is provided which includes a processor and memory for storing a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, a downlink control information size alignment method applicable to the network device is realized.

[0020] According to a 15th embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program is provided, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, steps in a downlink control information size alignment method applied to the above-mentioned terminal are realized.

[0021] According to a sixteenth embodiment of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program is provided, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, steps in a downlink control information size alignment method applied to the network device are realized. [Effects of the Invention]

[0022] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the size of the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells can be aligned with the size of the DCI for scheduling data from a single cell, which is advantageous in reducing the number of DCI size types that a terminal receives in a serving cell and reducing the complexity of blindly detecting the DCIs. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical concepts of the embodiments of this disclosure, the drawings to be used in the description of the embodiments are briefly described below. Clearly, the drawings in the following description represent only a limited number of embodiments of this disclosure, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without expending any creative effort. [Figure 1]Schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] Schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] Schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] Schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] Schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] Schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] Schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] Schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] Schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] Schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] Schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] Schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] Schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure.. [Figure 14] This is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device as shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] This is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device as shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 16] This is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device as shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 17] This is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device as shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 18] This is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device as shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 19] This is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device as shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 20] This is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for downlink control information size alignment as shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 21] This is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for downlink control information size alignment as shown in the embodiments of the present disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0024] The following describes the technical concepts in the embodiments of this disclosure clearly and completely, together with the drawings of the embodiments of this disclosure, although it is clear that the embodiments described are not all embodiments but only a portion of the embodiments of this disclosure. A person skilled in the art will know that all other embodiments obtained based on the embodiments of this disclosure, without any creative work, fall within the scope of the protection of this disclosure.

[0025] The terms used in the embodiments of this disclosure are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the embodiments of this disclosure. The singular forms “one kind” and “the said” used in the embodiments of this disclosure and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural form unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “and / or” as used herein refer to any combination or all possible combinations of one or more related enumerated items.

[0026] In the embodiments of this disclosure, we may use terms such as first, second, third, etc., to describe various types of information, but it should be understood that this information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are simply used to distinguish the same type of information. For example, without departing from the scope of the embodiments of this disclosure, first information may be called second information, and similarly, second information may be called first information. Depending on the context, the word “if” as used herein may be interpreted as “when,” “in the case of,” or “in response to a decision.”

[0027] For the sake of brevity and ease of understanding, the terms “greater” or “less,” “higher” or “lower” are used in this specification to describe size relationships. However, those skilled in the art will know that the term “greater” also means “greater or equal to,” “lesser” also means “lesser or equal to,” “higher” also means “higher or equal to,” and “lower” also means “lower or equal to.”

[0028] This embodiment provides several Downlink Control Information (DCI) size alignment methods, which can be applied to a terminal, which includes, but is not limited to, communication devices such as mobile phones, tablet computers, wearable devices, sensors, and Internet of Things devices. The terminal can communicate with a network device, which includes, but is not limited to, network devices in communication systems such as 4G, 5G, and 6G, such as base stations and core networks.

[0029] Furthermore, DCI size can be translated as DCI size, or it can refer to the number of bits occupied by the DCI, or it can be called the length of the DCI.

[0030] In all embodiments of this disclosure, the data of a serving cell may refer to the PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) of the serving cell, or to the PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) of the serving cell, etc.

[0031] In all embodiments of this disclosure, the DCI alignment scheme includes, but is not limited to, zero padding, the addition of a reserved state, and the reduction of the number of bits occupied by a particular DCI field.

[0032] Taking two DCIs, DCI#1 and DCI#2, as an example, DCI#1 has a size of 3 bits, DCI#2 has a size of 2 bits, DCI#1 includes information field #1 and information field #2, with information field #1 occupying 2 bits and information field #2 occupying 1 bit, DCI#2 also includes information field #1 and information field #2, with information field #1 occupying 1 bit and information field #2 occupying 1 bit, information field #1 in DCI#1 and information field #1 in DCI#2 are the same type of information field, and information field #2 in DCI#1 and information field #2 in DCI#2 are the same type of information field, in this case the above two methods will be explained exemplarily.

[0033] For example, DCI#1 and DCI#2 are aligned using a zero-padding method, allowing one bit to be added after the two bits of DCI#2, so that DCI#2 is the same size as DCI#1, and both have three bits.

[0034] In this case, the states that can be indicated by the aligned DCI#2 and the unaligned DCI#2 are the same, and they can indicate a total of 4 states (2 to the power of 1). The third bit (i.e., the supplemented bit) in the aligned DCI#2 is always 0, and only the first two bits change depending on the indicated content.

[0035] For example, DCI#1 and DCI#2 are aligned in a reserved state addition manner, allowing preferential alignment of information fields of the same type. For example, if information field #2 in DCI#1 and information field #2 in DCI#1 are not yet aligned, information field #2 in DCI#1 and information field #2 in DCI#2 can be preferentially aligned. For example, one bit can be added after the bits occupied by information field #2 in DCI#2, so that DCI#2 becomes the same size as DCI#1, both of which have three bits.

[0036] In this case, information field #2 in DCI#2 can indicate more states after alignment than before alignment. For example, information field #2 in DCI#2 before alignment can indicate one 2 to the power of 1, a total of two states, while DCI#2 after alignment can indicate two 2 to the power of 1, a total of four states. The first two states may be the same as the two states indicated by information field #2 in DCI#2 before alignment, and the other two states may be newly added reserved states. All three bits in DCI#2 after alignment can change according to the indicated content.

[0037] Of course, alignment methods are not limited to methods of adding bits, such as zero padding and adding reserved states as described above. Alignment can also be done by reducing bits in specific information fields, for example, by preferentially aligning information fields of the same type, such as information field #2 and DCI#1. 2 Since information field #2 in DCI#1 is not yet aligned, information field #2 in DCI#1 and information field #2 in DCI#2 can be preferentially aligned. For example, if the bits occupied by information field #2 in DCI#1 are reduced by 1 bit, the sizes of DCI#2 and DCI#1 become the same, and both consist of 2 bits.

[0038] Figure 1 is a schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 1, the downlink control information size alignment method may include the following step S101.

[0039] In step S101, it is determined that the size of the downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling data from multiple cells is aligned with the size of the DCI for scheduling data from a single cell.

[0040] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may be a legacy DCI, for example, a DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may include at least one of DCI format 0_0, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, and DCI format 1_2.

[0041] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may be configured to have a different format from that of the legacy DCI for scheduling data from a single cell, or it may be configured to have the same format as the legacy DCI for scheduling data from a single cell. The technical examples of this disclosure will be described below primarily in cases where the format of the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells differs from that of the legacy DCI for scheduling data from a single cell.

[0042] In one embodiment, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may include a first DCI for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells. For example, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may be configured to include DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, where the first DCI is DCI format 0_3 and is used for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells, and the second DCI is DCI format 1_3 and is used for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells.

[0043] Furthermore, a DCI used for scheduling data from multiple cells can, in some cases, also be used to schedule data from a single cell. The format of the first DCI and the format of the second DCI may be the same or different. The following explanation will primarily focus on cases where the format of the first DCI and the format of the second DCI are different, illustrating these cases with examples.

[0044] Conventional technologies generally only include DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell. Therefore, after adding DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells, the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells may differ from the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell. This increases the number of different DCI size types that the terminal receives in the serving cell, and increases the complexity of blindly detecting the DCIs.

[0045] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a network device can align the size of a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells with the size of a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell, and accordingly, a terminal can determine that the size of a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells is aligned with the size of a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell, which is advantageous in reducing the number of DCI size types the terminal receives in a serving cell and reducing the complexity of blindly detecting DCIs.

[0046] In all embodiments of the present disclosure, the serving cell may be the cell located when the terminal receives a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells and a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell, and may be, for example, a primary cell, a primary secondary cell, a secondary cell, and so on.

[0047] In all embodiments of this disclosure, when a network device aligns the size of a DCI, it means that the network device performs an actual alignment operation based on steps, for example, by changing the size of one or more DCIs, thereby aligning the sizes of multiple DCIs, for example, by zero-padding, adding reserved states, reducing the number of bits occupied by a particular information field, etc.

[0048] When a terminal determines that a DCI size is aligned, it does not align the DCI size, for example, by changing the DCI size, but rather by inferring the alignment operation step by step, determining the size of the DCI after the alignment operation has been performed step by step, for example, determining the number of bits occupied by the DCI, and further enabling the detection and analysis of the corresponding DCI based on the DCI size. Based on this, the terminal can also determine which bits of the DCI belong to the captured bits, making it easier to accurately analyze the DCI.

[0049] Figure 2 is a schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 2:

[0050] In step A1, the sizes of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in CSS (Common Search Space) are aligned, which can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in CSS".

[0051] In step A2, the sizes of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in USS (UE Specific Search Space) are aligned, which can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in USS".

[0052] In step A3, a non-fallback DCI operation is performed to align, for example, the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to a supplementary uplink (SUL) with the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to a non-SUL, which can be translated as DCI size alignment of format 0_1 ​​SUL / non SUL.

[0053] In step A4, a DCI operation corresponding to URLLC (Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications) is performed, and for example, the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to supplemental uplink SUL is aligned with the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to non-SUL, which can be translated as DCI size alignment of format 0_2 SUL / non SUL.

[0054] In step A5, it is determined whether a first pre-configured condition is met (for example, for legacy DCI): whether the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI (Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier) ​​for the terminal within the serving cell is three or less, and whether the number of DCI size types configured for the terminal within the serving cell is four or less. If the first pre-configured condition is met, the DCI alignment process can be terminated; otherwise, the process proceeds to the next step (step A6).

[0055] Furthermore, in step A6 and each step thereafter, it is necessary to re-determine whether the first pre-set conditions are met: the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI for the terminal within the serving cell is 3 or less, and the number of DCI size types set for the terminal within the serving cell is 4 or less. If the above first pre-set conditions are met, the alignment process is terminated; otherwise, the process proceeds to the next step. For the sake of simplicity, only diagrams are shown, and the textual explanations are omitted.

[0056] In step A6, the alignment operation between the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in USS and the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in CSS is as follows:

[0057]

number

[0058] Step A6 can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in USS and DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in CSS".

[0059] In step A7, the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 are aligned, and this can be translated as DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_2 / 1_2.

[0060] In step A8, the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 1_1 are aligned, and this can be translated as DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_1 / 1_1.

[0061] In step A9, the sizes of DCI format 0_1 / 1_1 and DCI format 0_3 / 1_3 are aligned (i.e., the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 0_3 are aligned, and the sizes of DCI format 1_1 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned), which can be translated as DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_1 / 1_1 and DCI format 0_3 / 1_3.

[0062] Here, the alignment method may include determining the sizes of two DCIs that need to be aligned, determining the difference between the sizes of the two DCIs, and, based on the difference, supplementing bits for the DCIs that are smaller in size.

[0063] As an example of aligning the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​with the size of DCI format 0_3, let's say the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​is 20 bits and the size of DCI format 0_3 is 30 bits. If we determine that the difference between the size of DCI format 0_3 and the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​is 10 bits, we can add 10 bits to the end of DCI format 0_1 ​​using zero-padding. The size of DCI format 0_1 ​​with the added bits is also 30 bits, thus achieving alignment between the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 0_3.

[0064] Since the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1 have already been aligned in step A8, in step A9, after aligning the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 0_3, and aligning the sizes of DCI format 1_1 and DCI format 1_3, the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 0_3 can be made the same, and / or the sizes of DCI format 1_1 and DCI format 1_3 can be made the same, effectively reducing the number of DCI size types.

[0065] Alternatively, the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 can be aligned first, and after determining that the first pre-set condition described above is not met, step A9 can be executed. The process of aligning the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 will be explained in subsequent examples.

[0066] As shown in Figure 2, the sizes of other DCIs can be aligned before aligning the sizes of the Downlink Control Information (DCI) for scheduling data for multiple cells (e.g., DCI format 0_3 / 1_3) with the sizes of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell (e.g., DCI format 0_1 / 1_1). The operation of aligning the sizes of the Downlink Control Information (DCI) for scheduling data for multiple cells with the sizes of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell can be set in step A9, i.e., after all alignment steps, as shown in Figure 2, and the execution order can be adjusted as needed, and it can also be set between any two steps.

[0067] To avoid redundant explanations, the statement that a terminal "decides that... will be aligned" and the statement that a network device "aligns..." are both described as "aligning..." as shown in Figure 2 and subsequent embodiments in Figures 4, 5, 7, 8, and 10. However, it is important to understand that the description "aligning..." in these figures can be replaced with "decides that... will be aligned" when applied to a terminal, and should be understood as "aligning..." when applied to a network device.

[0068] Figure 3 is a schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method as shown by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, the method further includes the following step S301.

[0069] In step S301, before determining that the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell are aligned, it is determined that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned.

[0070] In one embodiment, if the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are different, it may be determined first that the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are aligned before determining that the sizes of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells and the sizes of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell are aligned.

[0071] After determining that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned, it is possible to determine whether a first preset condition is met. If the first preset condition is met, there is no need to perform subsequent alignment operations, for example, there is no need to determine that the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells is aligned with the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell. If the first preset condition is not met, subsequent alignment operations can be performed, for example, by determining that the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells is aligned with the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell.

[0072] Figure 4 is a schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method as demonstrated by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4, based on the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the step of determining that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned includes the step of determining that the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 1_1 are aligned, and then determining that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned.

[0073] In one embodiment, the size of the first DCI and / or the second DCI, for example, DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, is relatively large (i.e., it occupies a relatively large number of bits). Therefore, in order to determine that the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned, a relatively large number of bits need to be supplemented (e.g., supplementing DCI format 0_3 or DCI format 1_3). On the other hand, a large number of bits occupy a large amount of communication resources, reducing the transmission efficiency of the PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) where the DCI is located.

[0074] In this embodiment, it is first determined that the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1 are aligned, and then it is determined that the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned.

[0075] After determining that the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1 are aligned, it is necessary to determine whether the first preset condition described above is met. If the first preset condition is met, the alignment process can be terminated, and it is not necessary to further determine whether the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned. On the other hand, if the first preset condition is not met, it is necessary to further determine whether the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned.

[0076] In other words, after deciding that the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1 are aligned, it may not be necessary to decide that the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned. Therefore, the problem of reduced PDCCH transmission efficiency due to the large number of bits being supplemented can be mitigated to some extent.

[0077] Figure 5 is a schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method as demonstrated by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, based on the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the step of determining that the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are aligned includes the step of determining that the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are aligned before determining that the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 are aligned.

[0078] In one embodiment, since the first DCI and the second DCI, for example DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, are DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells, they belong to newly added DCI formats compared to DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell. In order to minimize the impact on legacy DCI formats, such as DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 1_1, in this embodiment, it is possible to decide to align the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2, and then decide to align the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3.

[0079] After determining that the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 should be aligned, it is necessary to determine whether the first preset condition described above is met. If the first preset condition is met, the alignment process is terminated, and it is not necessary to further determine whether the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 should be aligned. On the other hand, if the first preset condition is not met, it is determined that the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 should be aligned.

[0080] In other words, it may not be necessary to first decide that the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned, and further decide that the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 are aligned, thereby reducing the impact on legacy DCI formats such as DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2.

[0081] In one embodiment, the method further includes the steps of: the terminal not wanting the number of DCI size types received in the serving cell to be more than four; and the terminal not wanting the number of DCI size types scrambled by the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) received in the serving cell to be more than three.

[0082] The alignment operation in the above embodiment ensures that the number of DCI size types received by the terminal in this serving cell is no more than four (i.e., four or less), and the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI received by the terminal in the serving cell is no more than three (i.e., three or less). This allows the terminal to perform blind detection of DCI in the serving cell according to the condition that there are four or fewer DCI sizes and three or fewer DCI sizes scrambled by C-RNTI, thereby satisfying the "3+1" requirement and reducing the complexity of blind detection for the terminal.

[0083] In all embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device may have a specific instruction field for indicating the format of a DCI in different DCIs, for example, indicating that the DCI is a DCI that schedules data for a single cell (e.g., legacy DCI) or a newly added DCI (e.g., DCI format 0_3, DCI format 1_3).

[0084] Network devices can also scramble different DCIs using different RNTIs. For example, a C-RNTI can scramble a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell, while a newly defined RNTI (e.g., MCS-RNTI (multi-carrier scheduling-RNTI), which can be called a multi-cell scheduling RNTI) or an RNTI other than a C-RNTI (e.g., a configuration scheduling radio network temporary identifier (CS-RNTI), a semi-static channel state information radio network temporary identifier (SP-CSI-RNTI), or a modulation coding strategy cell radio network temporary identifier (MCS-C-RNTI)) can scramble a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells.

[0085] Accordingly, the terminal can distinguish DCIs by the RNTI that scrambles them. For example, if the RNTI that scrambles the DCIs is determined to be a C-RNTI, the terminal can determine that the DCI scrambled by the C-RNTI is a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell. Similarly, if the RNTI that scrambles the DCIs is determined to be an MCS-RNTI, the terminal can determine that the DCI scrambled by the MCS-RNTI is a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells.

[0086] In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of: if at least one PDCCH candidate between DCI format 0_2 corresponding to a first USS and DCI format 0_3 corresponding to a second USS is mapped to the same resource, the terminal does not want the DCI length of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the first USS to be the same as the DCI length of DCI format 0_3; and if at least one PDCCH candidate between DCI format 1_2 corresponding to a first USS and DCI format 1_3 corresponding to a second USS is mapped to the same resource, the terminal does not want the DCI size of DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS to be the same as the DCI size of DCI format 1_3.

[0087] Figure 6 is a schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, the downlink control information size alignment method may include the following step S601.

[0088] In step S601, it is determined that the size of a first downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling uplink data for multiple cells and the size of a second DCI for scheduling downlink data for multiple cells are aligned.

[0089] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may be a legacy DCI, for example, a DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may include at least one of DCI format 0_0, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, and DCI format 1_2.

[0090] Note that legacy DCI includes, but is not limited to, DCI formats such as DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_0, and DCI format 1_0.

[0091] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may be configured to have a different format from that of the legacy DCI for scheduling data from a single cell, or it may be configured to have the same format as the legacy DCI for scheduling data from a single cell. The technical proposal of this disclosure will be described exemplarily below, mainly in cases where the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells and the legacy DCI-like format for scheduling data from a single cell are different.

[0092] In one embodiment, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may include a first DCI for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells. For example, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may be configured to include DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, where the first DCI is DCI format 0_3 and is used for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells, and the second DCI is DCI format 1_3 and is used for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells.

[0093] Conventional technologies generally only include DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell. Therefore, after adding a first DCI for scheduling uplink data for multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data for multiple cells, the sizes of the first and second DCIs may differ. This increases the number of DCI size variations received by the terminal in a serving cell (e.g., a cell that sends DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells and DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell), thereby increasing the complexity of blind DCI detection by the terminal.

[0094] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a network device can align the size of a first DCI for scheduling uplink data for multiple cells with the size of a second DCI for scheduling downlink data for multiple cells, and accordingly, a terminal can decide that the size of the first DCI for scheduling uplink data for multiple cells and the size of the second DCI for scheduling downlink data for multiple cells are aligned, which is advantageous in reducing the number of DCI types received by the terminal in the serving cell and reducing the complexity of blind detection of DCIs by the terminal.

[0095] In one embodiment, the step of determining that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned includes the step of determining that the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 1_1 are aligned, and then determining that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned.

[0096] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7:

[0097] In step B1, the sizes of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in CSS are aligned, which can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in CSS".

[0098] In step B2, the sizes of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in USS are aligned, which can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in USS".

[0099] In step B3, a non-fallback DCI operation is performed to align, for example, the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to the supplemental uplink SUL with the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to the non-SUL, which can be translated as DCI size alignment of format 0_1 ​​SUL / non SUL.

[0100] In step B4, perform the DCI operation corresponding to URLLC, for example, align the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the supplemental uplink SUL with the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the non-SUL, and this can be translated as DCI size alignment of format 0_2 SUL / non SUL.

[0101] In step B5, 1 Determine whether the following pre-set conditions are met: The number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI for the terminal within the serving cell 3 The DCI size type is less than or equal to the number of types, and the DCI size type set for the terminal within the serving cell is 4 The question is whether or not it is of a certain type. 1 If the pre-set conditions are met, the DCI alignment process can be terminated. 1If the pre-set conditions are not met, proceed to the next step (Step B6).

[0102] Furthermore, in step B6 and each step thereafter, 1 It is necessary to re-determine whether the following pre-set conditions are met: the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI for the terminal within the serving cell 3 The number of types is less than or equal to the number of types set for the terminal within the serving cell. 4 The types are as follows: 1 The alignment process is terminated when the pre-set conditions are met. 1 If the pre-set conditions are not met, proceed to the next step. For simplicity, this is shown only in the diagram, and the textual explanation is omitted.

[0103] In step B6, the size alignment operations for DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in USS and DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in CSS follow the same specific operational process as in step A6, and therefore will not be explained here.

[0104] Step B6 can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in USS and DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in CSS".

[0105] In step B7, the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 are aligned, and this can be translated as DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_2 / 1_2.

[0106] In step B8, the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1 are aligned, and this can be translated as DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_1 / 1_1.

[0107] In step B9, the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned, and this can be translated as DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_3 / 1_3.

[0108] The alignment method may include determining the sizes of two DCIs that need to be aligned, determining the difference between the sizes of the two DCIs, and, based on the difference, supplementing bits for the DCIs that are smaller in size.

[0109] As an example of aligning the size of DCI format 0_3 with the size of DCI format 1_3, suppose DCI format 0_3 has 20 bits and DCI format 1_3 has 30 bits. First, we determine that the difference between the size of DCI format 1_3 and the size of DCI format 0_3 is 10 bits. We can then add 10 bits to the end of DCI format 0_3 using zero-padding. The size of DCI format 0_3 with the added bits is also 30 bits, thus achieving alignment between the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3.

[0110] In one embodiment, the size of the first DCI and / or the second DCI, for example, DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, is relatively large (i.e., it occupies a relatively large number of bits). Therefore, in order to align the size of DCI format 0_3 and the size of DCI format 1_3, a relatively large number of bits need to be supplemented (for example, supplementing DCI format 0_3 or supplementing DCI format 1_3). On the other hand, a large number of bits occupy a large amount of communication resources, which reduces the transmission efficiency of the PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) where the DCI is located.

[0111] In this example, the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1 are aligned first, and then the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned.

[0112] After aligning the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1, it is necessary to determine a first pre-set condition. If the first pre-set condition is met, the alignment process is terminated, and there is no need to further align the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3. On the other hand, if the first pre-set condition is not met, the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are further aligned.

[0113] In other words, since it may not be necessary to first align the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​with the size of DCI format 1_1, and to align the size of DCI format 0_3 with the size of DCI format 1_3, the problem of reduced PDCCH transmission efficiency due to the large number of bits being supplemented can be mitigated to some extent.

[0114] In one embodiment, the step of aligning the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI includes the step of aligning the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI before aligning the size of DCI format 0_2 and the size of DCI format 1_2.

[0115] Figure 8 is a schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8:

[0116] In step B1, the sizes of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in CSS are aligned, which can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in CSS".

[0117] In step B2, the sizes of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in USS are aligned, which can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in USS".

[0118] In step B3, a non-fallback DCI operation is performed to align, for example, the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to the supplemental uplink SUL with the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to the non-SUL, which can be translated as DCI size alignment of format 0_1 ​​SUL / non SUL.

[0119] In step B4, perform the DCI operation corresponding to URLLC, for example, align the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the supplemental uplink SUL with the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the non-SUL, and this can be translated as DCI size alignment of format 0_2 SUL / non SUL.

[0120] In step B5, it is determined whether (for example, for legacy DCI) the second pre-defined condition is met: the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI for the terminal within the serving cell 4 The DCI size type is less than or equal to the number of types, and the DCI size type set for the terminal within the serving cell is 5The question is whether or not it is of a certain type. If the second pre-set condition is met, the DCI alignment process can be terminated; if the second pre-set condition is not met, proceed to the next step (step B6).

[0121] Furthermore, in step B6 and each step thereafter, it can be determined again whether the second set condition is met: the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI for the terminal within the serving cell is 4 or less, and the number of DCI size types set for the terminal within the serving cell is 5 or less. If the above second set condition is met, the alignment process is terminated; otherwise, the process proceeds to the next step. For the sake of simplicity, only the diagram is shown, and the textual explanation is omitted.

[0122] In step B6, the size alignment operations for DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in USS and DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in CSS follow the same specific operational process as in step A6, and therefore will not be explained here.

[0123] Step B6 can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in USS and DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in CSS".

[0124] In step B6', the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned, which can be translated as DCI alignment size of DCI format 0_3 / 1_3. The alignment method and the alignment method shown in Figure 7 above may be the same, and the explanation is omitted here.

[0125] In step B7, the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 are aligned, and this can be translated as DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_2 / 1_2.

[0126] In step B8, the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1 are aligned, and this can be translated as DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_1 / 1_1.

[0127] In one embodiment, the first DCI and the second DCI, for example DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, are DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells. Therefore, they belong to newly added DCI formats compared to DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, and are intended to minimize the impact on legacy DCI formats, such as DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 1_1.

[0128] In this embodiment, the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 can be aligned first, and then the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 can be aligned.

[0129] After aligning the size of DCI format 0_3 and the size of DCI format 1_3, the above 2 Because it is necessary to determine whether or not the pre-set conditions are met, 2 The alignment process is terminated when the pre-set conditions are met, thereby eliminating the need to further align the DCI format 0_2 size and the DCI format 1_2 size, while the second 2If the pre-set conditions are not met, the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 are further aligned.

[0130] In other words, it may not be necessary to first align the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, and further align the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2, thereby reducing the impact on legacy DCI formats such as DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2.

[0131] In one embodiment, the method further includes the steps of not wanting the number of DCI size types received in the serving cell to be more than five, and not wanting the number of DCI size types scrambled by the Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) received in the serving cell to be more than four.

[0132] The alignment operation in the above embodiment ensures that the number of DCI size types received by the terminal within the serving cell is no more than five (i.e., five or less), and the number of DCI size types scrambled by the RNTI received by the terminal within the serving cell is no more than four (i.e., four or less). This allows the terminal to perform blind detection of DCIs according to the case where there are five or fewer DCI sizes and four or fewer DCI sizes scrambled by the RNTI, thereby satisfying the "4+1" requirement and reducing the complexity of blind detection for the terminal.

[0133] The aforementioned RNTIs include, but are not limited to, C-RNTIs and newly defined RNTIs.

[0134] In all embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device may have a specific instruction field for indicating the format of a DCI in different DCIs, for example, indicating that the DCI is a DCI that schedules data for a single cell (e.g., legacy DCI) or a newly added DCI (e.g., DCI format 0_3, DCI format 1_3).

[0135] Network devices can also scramble different DCIs using different RNTIs. For example, C-RNTI can scramble DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, while newly defined RNTIs (e.g., MCS-RNTI (multi-carrier scheduling-RNTI), which can be called multi-cell scheduling RNTI) or RNTIs other than C-RNTI (e.g., CS-RNTI, SP-CSI-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI) can scramble DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells.

[0136] Accordingly, the terminal can distinguish DCIs by the RNTI that scrambles them. For example, if the RNTI that scrambles the DCIs is determined to be a C-RNTI, the terminal can determine that the DCI scrambled by the C-RNTI is a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell. Similarly, if the RNTI that scrambles the DCIs is determined to be an MCS-RNTI, the terminal can determine that the DCI scrambled by the MCS-RNTI is a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells.

[0137] In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of: if at least one PDCCH candidate between DCI format 0_2 corresponding to a first USS and DCI format 0_3 corresponding to a second USS is mapped to the same resource, the terminal does not want the DCI length of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to a first USS to be the same as the DCI length of DCI format 0_3; and if at least one PDCCH candidate between DCI format 1_2 corresponding to a first USS and DCI format 1_3 corresponding to a second USS is mapped to the same resource, the terminal does not want the DCI length of DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS to be the same as the DCI length of DCI format 1_3.

[0138] Figure 9 is a schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 9, the downlink control information size alignment method may include the following steps S901 to S905.

[0139] In step S901, it is determined that the sizes of DCIs (e.g., multiple legacy DCIs such as DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, etc.) for scheduling data for a single cell are aligned according to a predefined mechanism.

[0140] In step S902, the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells are determined for the cell to send the DCI.

[0141] In step S903, if the number of size types of the DCI is greater than a preset threshold, a candidate DCI is determined from among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell.

[0142] In step S904, a target DCI is determined from among the candidate DCIs.

[0143] In step S905, it is determined that the size of the target DCI and the size of the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells are aligned.

[0144] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may be a legacy DCI, for example, a DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may include, but not be limited to, at least one of DCI format 0_0, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, or DCI format 1_2.

[0145] The predefined mechanism may reuse existing mechanisms such as the mechanism in Sec 7.3.1 TS38.212 [1].

[0146] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may be configured to have a different format than the DCI for scheduling data from a single cell, or it may be configured to have the same format as the DCI for scheduling data from a single cell. The technical proposal of this disclosure will be described below primarily as an example when the format of the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells is different from that of the DCI for scheduling data from a single cell.

[0147] Conventional technologies generally only include DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell. Therefore, after adding DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells, the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells may differ from the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell. Even after determining that the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell is aligned according to a predefined mechanism, the number of DCI size variations in a serving cell (e.g., a cell where a terminal receives both DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells and DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell) may still be too large, for example, exceeding a pre-set threshold, which increases the complexity of blind detection of DCIs by the terminal.

[0148] According to embodiments of this disclosure, if the number of DCI size types in a serving cell is greater than a preset threshold, candidate DCIs (e.g., one or more DCI types) can be selected from among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, a target DCI (e.g., one DCI type) can be selected from among the candidate DCIs, and it can be determined that the size of the target DCI is aligned with the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells. This reduces the number of DCI size types received by the terminal in the serving cell, which is advantageous in reducing the complexity of blind DCI detection by the terminal.

[0149] Figure 10 is a schematic flowchart of another downlink control information size alignment method as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 10, the downlink control information size alignment method may include the following steps:

[0150] In step C1, the sizes of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in CSS are aligned, which can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in CSS".

[0151] In step C2, the sizes of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in USS are aligned, which can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 and DCI format 1_0 in USS".

[0152] In step C3, a non-fallback DCI operation is performed to align, for example, the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to the supplemental uplink SUL with the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to the non-SUL, which can be translated as DCI size alignment of format 0_1 ​​SUL / non SUL.

[0153] In step C4, a DCI operation corresponding to URLLC is performed, for example, aligning the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the supplemental uplink SUL with the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the non-SUL, which can then be translated as DCI size alignment of format 0_2 SUL / non SUL.

[0154] In step C5, it is determined whether the legacy DCI satisfies a first pre-set condition: the number of legacy DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI for the terminal within the serving cell is three or less, and the number of legacy DCI size types set for the terminal within the serving cell is four or less. If the first pre-set condition is met, the process can proceed to step C9; otherwise, the process proceeds to the next step (step C6).

[0155] In steps C6 and C7, it can be determined again whether the legacy DCI satisfies the first pre-set conditions: the number of legacy DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI for the terminal within the serving cell is 3 or less, and the number of legacy DCI size types set for the terminal within the serving cell is 4 or less. If the above first pre-set conditions are met, proceed to step C9; otherwise, proceed to the next step. For the sake of simplicity, only the diagrams are shown, and the textual explanations are omitted.

[0156] In step C6, the alignment operation between the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in USS and the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in CSS is the same as in step A6 described above, and therefore the explanation is omitted here.

[0157] Step C6 can be translated as "DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in USS and DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 in CSS".

[0158] In step C7, the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 are aligned, and this can be translated as DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_2 / 1_2.

[0159] In step C8, the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1 are aligned, which can be translated as DCI size alignment of DCI format 0_1 / 1_1, after which we can proceed to C9.

[0160] In step C9, it is determined whether the total number of legacy DCI and DCI size types for scheduling data for multiple cells satisfies a first pre-set condition: whether the total number of legacy DCI and DCI size types for scheduling data for multiple cells scrambled by C-RNTI for the terminal within the serving cell is three or less, and whether the number of legacy DCI and DCI size types for scheduling data for multiple cells set for the terminal within the serving cell is four or less. If the first pre-set condition is met, the alignment process ends; otherwise, the process proceeds to the next step (step C10).

[0161] In step C10, a candidate DCI is determined from among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, a target DCI is determined from among the candidate DCIs, and the size of the target DCI is aligned with the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells before the DCI alignment process can be terminated.

[0162] Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in Figure 10, the step of determining whether or not the first preset condition is met can be adjusted to determine whether or not a second preset condition is met, as needed, in which case it is possible to ensure that the requirement of "4+1" is met.

[0163] In one embodiment, the step of determining a target DCI from among the candidate DCIs includes determining that the DCI with the largest size among the candidate DCIs is the target DCI, and among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, any DCI whose size is smaller than the size of a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells is a candidate DCI. For example, step C9 is to align the DCI with DCI format 0_3 / DCI format 1_3 by zero-padding and / or by adding reserved bits, among the DCIs (candidate DCIs) that are smaller than the DCI format 0_3 / DCI format 1_3 size.

[0164] From among the DCIs that schedule data for a single cell, a DCI whose size is smaller than the size of a DCI that schedules data for multiple cells can be determined as a candidate DCI, and furthermore, the DCI with the largest size among the candidate DCIs can be determined as the target DCI. Since the target DCI is the DCI with the largest size among the candidate DCIs and is closest to the size of a DCI that schedules data for multiple cells, the number of bits that need to be added to the target DCI when aligning the size of the target DCI with the size of a DCI that schedules data for multiple cells is relatively small, and the impact on the PDCCH transmission performance after alignment is relatively small.

[0165] In one embodiment, the step of determining a target DCI from among the candidate DCIs includes determining that the DCI with the smallest size among the candidate DCIs is the target DCI, and among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, any DCI whose size is larger than the size of a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells is a candidate DCI. For example, step C9 is to align the DCI format 0_3 / DCI format 1_3 with the DCI with the smallest size (target DCI) among the DCIs (candidate DCIs) that are larger than the DCI format 0_3 / DCI format 1_3 size by methods such as zero-padding and / or adding reserved bits.

[0166] From among the DCIs that schedule data for a single cell, a DCI whose size is larger than the size of a DCI that schedules data for multiple cells can be determined as the candidate DCI, and furthermore, the DCI with the smallest size among the candidate DCIs can be determined as the target DCI. Since the target DCI is the smallest DCI among the candidate DCIs and is closest in size to the size of a DCI that schedules data for multiple cells, it is decided that the size of the target DCI and the size of the DCI that schedules data for multiple cells will be aligned. As a result, the number of bits that need to be added to the DCI that schedules data for multiple cells is relatively small, and the impact on the PDCCH transmission performance after alignment is relatively small.

[0167] In one embodiment, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may include a first DCI for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells. For example, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may be configured to include DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, where the first DCI is DCI format 0_3 and is used for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells, and the second DCI is DCI format 1_3 and is used for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells.

[0168] Furthermore, while DCIs can be used to schedule data from multiple cells, in some cases they can also be configured to schedule data from a single cell. The format of the first DCI and the format of the second DCI may be the same or different. The following explanation will primarily focus on cases where the format of the first DCI and the format of the second DCI are different, illustrating these cases with examples.

[0169] In one embodiment, the method determines that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned before determining that the size of the target DCI and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells are aligned.

[0170] In one embodiment, before determining the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells in a cell for transmitting a DCI, if the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are different and the first preset condition is not met, it can be determined that the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are aligned first.

[0171] If the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are different and the first preset condition is not met, it is determined that the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are aligned before aligning the size of the target DCI with the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells, and because the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are generally close, relatively few supplemented bits are needed to determine that they are aligned. After aligning the first DCI and the second DCI, if the first or second preset condition is met, it is not necessary to align the size of the subsequent target DCI with the size of the DCI for data for multiple cells, further reducing the impact on PDCCH transmission.

[0172] Therefore, it can be decided in advance that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned, which has the same effect whether it is decided that the size of the target DCI and the size of the first DCI are aligned or the size of the second DCI are aligned. This not only reduces the number of DCI size types but also simplifies the process of deciding whether the size of the target DCI and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells are aligned.

[0173] In one embodiment, the method further includes the steps of not wanting the number of DCI size types received by the serving cell to be more than four, and not wanting the number of DCI size types scrambled by the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) received by the serving cell to be more than three.

[0174] The alignment operation in the above embodiment ensures that the number of DCI size types received by the terminal in this serving cell is no more than four (i.e., four or less), and the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI received by the terminal in this serving cell is no more than three (i.e., three or less). This allows the terminal to perform blind detection of DCI in the serving cell according to the condition that there are four or fewer DCI sizes and three or fewer DCI sizes scrambled by C-RNTI, thereby satisfying the "3+1" requirement and reducing the complexity of blind detection for the terminal.

[0175] In all embodiments of the present disclosure, the network device may have a specific instruction field for indicating the type of DCI in different DCIs, for example, indicating that the DCI is a DCI that schedules data for a single cell (e.g., legacy DCI) or a newly added DCI (e.g., DCI format 0_3, DCI format 1_3).

[0176] Network devices can also scramble different DCIs using different RNTIs. For example, C-RNTI can scramble DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, while newly defined RNTIs (e.g., MCS-RNTI (multi-carrier scheduling-RNTI), which can be called multi-cell scheduling RNTI) or RNTIs other than C-RNTI (e.g., CS-RNTI, SP-CSI-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI) can scramble DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells.

[0177] Accordingly, the terminal can distinguish DCIs by the RNTI that scrambles them. For example, if the RNTI that scrambles the DCIs is determined to be a C-RNTI, the terminal can determine that the DCI scrambled by the C-RNTI is a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell. Similarly, if the RNTI that scrambles the DCIs is determined to be an MCS-RNTI, the terminal can determine that the DCI scrambled by the MCS-RNTI is a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells.

[0178] In one embodiment, the method includes the steps of: if at least one PDCCH candidate between DCI format 0_2 corresponding to a first USS and DCI format 0_3 corresponding to a second USS is mapped to the same resource, the terminal does not want the DCI length of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to a first USS to be the same as the DCI length of DCI format 0_3; and if at least one PDCCH candidate between DCI format 1_2 corresponding to a first USS and DCI format 1_3 corresponding to a second USS is mapped to the same resource, the terminal does not want the DCI length of DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS to be the same as the DCI length of DCI format 1_3.

[0179] This embodiment proposes several methods for aligning downlink control information sizes, which can be applied to network devices, and the terminals include, but are not limited to, communication devices such as mobile phones, tablets, wearable devices, sensors, and Internet of Things devices. The terminals can communicate with network devices, and the network devices include, but are not limited to, network devices in communication systems such as 4G, 5G, and 6G, such as base stations and core networks.

[0180] Figure 11 is a schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 11, the downlink control information size alignment method may include the following step S1101.

[0181] In step S1101, the size of the downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling data from multiple cells is aligned with the size of the DCI for scheduling data from a single cell.

[0182] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may be a legacy DCI, for example, a DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may include at least one of DCI format 0_0, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, and DCI format 1_2.

[0183] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may be configured to have a different format from that of the legacy DCI for scheduling data from a single cell, or it may be configured to have the same format as the legacy DCI for scheduling data from a single cell. The technical examples of this disclosure will be described below primarily in cases where the format of the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells differs from that of the legacy DCI for scheduling data from a single cell.

[0184] In one embodiment, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may include a first DCI for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells. For example, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may be configured to include DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, where the first DCI is DCI format 0_3 and is used for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells, and the second DCI is DCI format 1_3 and is used for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells.

[0185] Furthermore, a DCI used for scheduling data from multiple cells can, in some cases, also be used to schedule data from a single cell. The format of the first DCI and the format of the second DCI may be the same or different. The following explanation will primarily focus on cases where the format of the first DCI and the format of the second DCI are different, illustrating these cases with examples.

[0186] Conventional technologies generally only include DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell. Therefore, after adding DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells, the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells may differ from the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell. This increases the number of different DCI sizes received by the terminal in the serving cell (for example, the cell where the terminal receives both DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells and DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell), and increases the complexity of blindly detecting DCIs for the terminal.

[0187] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a network device can align the size of DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells with the size of DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, which is advantageous in reducing the number of DCI size types received by the terminal when the serving cell transmits DCIs to the terminal, and facilitating a reduction in the complexity of blindly detecting DCIs by the terminal.

[0188] In one embodiment, the specific execution steps of the downlink control information size alignment method are shown in Figure 2, and the explanation of the steps is omitted here.

[0189] In one embodiment, the method further includes the step of aligning the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI before aligning the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell.

[0190] If the sizes of the first and second DCIs are different, before aligning the DCI size for scheduling data from multiple cells with the DCI size for scheduling data from a single cell, the sizes of the first and second DCIs can be aligned first.

[0191] After aligning the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI, it can be determined whether a first pre-set condition is met. If the first pre-set condition is met, there is no need to perform subsequent alignment operations, for example, there is no need to align the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells with the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell. If the first pre-set condition is not met, subsequent alignment operations can be performed, for example, by aligning the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells with the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell.

[0192] In one embodiment, the step of aligning the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI includes the step of aligning the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 1_1, and then aligning the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI.

[0193] Because the size of the first DCI and / or the second DCI, for example DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, is relatively large (i.e., they occupy a relatively large number of bits), a relatively large number of bits need to be supplemented (e.g., supplementing DCI format 0_3 or DCI format 1_3) in order to align the size of DCI format 0_3 and the size of DCI format 1_3. On the other hand, a large number of bits occupy a large amount of communication resources, which reduces the transmission efficiency of the PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) where the DCI is located.

[0194] In this example, the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1 are aligned first, and then the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned.

[0195] After aligning the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 1_1, it is necessary to determine whether the first preset condition described above is met. If the first preset condition is met, the alignment process can be terminated, and it is not necessary to further align the size of DCI format 0_3 and the size of DCI format 1_3. On the other hand, if the first preset condition is not met, the size of DCI format 0_3 and the size of DCI format 1_3 are further aligned.

[0196] In other words, since it may not be necessary to align the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 after aligning the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1, the problem of reduced PDCCH transmission efficiency due to the large number of bits being supplemented can be mitigated to some extent.

[0197] In one embodiment, the step of aligning the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI includes the step of aligning the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI before aligning the size of DCI format 0_2 and the size of DCI format 1_2.

[0198] The first and second DCIs, for example DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, are DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells. Therefore, they belong to the newly added DCI formats, compared to DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, in order to minimize the impact on legacy DCI formats, such as DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 1_1.

[0199] In this embodiment, the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 can be aligned first, and then the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 can be aligned.

[0200] After aligning the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, it is necessary to determine whether the first pre-set condition described above is met. If the first pre-set condition is met, the alignment process is terminated and there is no need to further align the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2. On the other hand, if the first pre-set condition is not met, the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 are further aligned.

[0201] In other words, it may not be necessary to first align the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, and further align the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2, thereby reducing the impact on legacy DCI formats such as DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2.

[0202] According to embodiments of this disclosure, it is possible to ensure that the number of DCI size types transmitted to the terminal in the serving cell by the network device is four or less, and the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI transmitted to the terminal in the serving cell by the network device is three or less. This allows the terminal to perform blind detection of DCI in the serving cell according to the condition that there are four or fewer DCI sizes and three or fewer DCI sizes scrambled by C-RNTI, thereby satisfying the "3+1" requirement and reducing the complexity of blind detection for the terminal.

[0203] In one embodiment, the method further includes the steps of: configuring the network such that the DCI size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the first USS and the DCI format 0_3 are different when at least one PDCCH candidate from DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the first USS and DCI format 0_3 corresponding to the second USS are mapped to the same resource; and configuring the network such that the DCI size of DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS and the DCI format 1_3 are different when at least one PDCCH candidate from DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS and DCI format 1_3 corresponding to the second USS are mapped to the same resource.

[0204] Figure 12 is a schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 12, the downlink control information size alignment method may include the following step S1201.

[0205] In step S1201, the size of the first downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling uplink data for multiple cells is aligned with the size of the second DCI for scheduling downlink data for multiple cells.

[0206] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may be a legacy DCI, for example, a DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may include at least one of DCI format 0_0, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, and DCI format 1_2.

[0207] Note that legacy DCI includes, but is not limited to, DCI formats such as DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_0, and DCI format 1_0.

[0208] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may be configured to have a different format from that of the legacy DCI for scheduling data from a single cell, or it may be configured to have the same format as the legacy DCI for scheduling data from a single cell. The technical examples of this disclosure will be described below primarily in cases where the format of the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells differs from that of the legacy DCI for scheduling data from a single cell.

[0209] In one embodiment, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may include a first DCI for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells. For example, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may be configured to include DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, where the first DCI is DCI format 0_3 and is used for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells, and the second DCI is DCI format 1_3 and is used for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells.

[0210] Conventional technologies generally only include DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell. Therefore, after adding a first DCI for scheduling uplink data for multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data for multiple cells, the sizes of the first and second DCIs may differ. This increases the number of DCI size variations received by the terminal in a serving cell (e.g., a cell that sends DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells and DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell), thereby increasing the complexity of blind DCI detection by the terminal.

[0211] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a network device can align a first DCI size for scheduling uplink data for multiple cells with a second DCI size for scheduling downlink data for multiple cells, thereby reducing the number of DCI size types received by the terminal when the serving cell transmits DCIs to the terminal, which is advantageous in reducing the complexity of blind DCI detection by the terminal.

[0212] In one embodiment, the step of aligning the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI includes the step of aligning the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 1_1, and then aligning the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI. The specific alignment process can be shown in Figure 7, which is omitted from this description.

[0213] Because the size of the first DCI and / or the second DCI, for example DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, is relatively large (i.e., they occupy a relatively large number of bits), a relatively large number of bits need to be supplemented (e.g., supplementing DCI format 0_3 or DCI format 1_3) in order to align the size of DCI format 0_3 and the size of DCI format 1_3. On the other hand, a large number of bits occupy a large amount of communication resources, which reduces the transmission efficiency of the PDCCH where the DCI is located.

[0214] In this example, the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1 are aligned first, and then the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are aligned.

[0215] After aligning the sizes of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1, it is necessary to determine a first pre-set condition. If the first pre-set condition is met, the alignment process is terminated, and there is no need to further align the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3. On the other hand, if the first pre-set condition is not met, the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 are further aligned.

[0216] In other words, since it may not be necessary to first align the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​with the size of DCI format 1_1, and to align the size of DCI format 0_3 with the size of DCI format 1_3, the problem of reduced PDCCH transmission efficiency due to the large number of bits being supplemented can be mitigated to some extent.

[0217] In one embodiment, aligning the size of the first DCI with the size of the second DCI includes aligning the size of the first DCI with the size of the second DCI before aligning the size of DCI format 0_2 with the size of DCI format 1_2. The specific alignment process can be shown in Figure 8, which is omitted from this description.

[0218] In one embodiment, the first DCI and the second DCI, for example DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, are DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells. Therefore, they belong to newly added DCI formats compared to DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, and are intended to minimize the impact on legacy DCI formats, such as DCI format 0_2, DCI format 1_2, DCI format 0_1, and DCI format 1_1.

[0219] In this embodiment, the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 can be aligned first, and then the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3 can be aligned.

[0220] After aligning the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, it is necessary to determine whether the first pre-set condition described above is met. If the first pre-set condition is met, the alignment process is terminated, and there is no need to further align the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2. On the other hand, if the first pre-set condition is not met, the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 are further aligned.

[0221] In other words, it may not be necessary to first align the sizes of DCI format 0_3 and DCI format 1_3, and further align the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2, thereby reducing the impact on legacy DCI formats such as DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2.

[0222] According to embodiments of this disclosure, it is possible to ensure that the number of DCI size types transmitted to a terminal in a serving cell by a network device is not greater than five (i.e., five or less), and that the number of DCI size types scrambled by RNTI transmitted to a terminal in a serving cell by a network device is not greater than four (i.e., four or less). This allows a terminal to perform blind detection of DCI in a serving cell according to the case where there are five or fewer DCI sizes and four or fewer DCI sizes scrambled by RNTI, thereby satisfying the "4+1" requirement and reducing the complexity of blind detection for the terminal.

[0223] In one embodiment, the method is: The present invention further includes the step of configuring the network such that the DCI size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the first USS and the DCI format 0_3 corresponding to the second USS are different when at least one PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the first USS and DCI format 0_3 corresponding to the second USS are mapped to the same resource, and the step of configuring the network such that the DCI size of DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS and the DCI format 1_3 corresponding to the first USS are different when at least one PDCCH candidate of DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS and DCI format 1_3 corresponding to the second USS are mapped to the same resource.

[0224] Figure 13 is a schematic flowchart of a downlink control information size alignment method as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 13, the downlink control information size alignment method may include the following steps S1301 to S1305.

[0225] In step S1301, the sizes of DCIs (e.g., multiple legacy DCIs such as DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, etc.) for scheduling data for a single cell are aligned according to a predefined mechanism.

[0226] In step S1302, the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells are determined for the cell to send the DCI.

[0227] In step S1303, if the number of DCI size types is greater than a preset threshold, a candidate DCI is determined from among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell.

[0228] In step S1304, a target DCI is determined from among the candidate DCIs.

[0229] In step S1305, the size of the target DCI is aligned with the size of the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells.

[0230] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may be a legacy DCI, for example, a DCI for scheduling data in a single cell may include, but not be limited to, at least one of DCI format 0_0, DCI format 1_0, DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_1, DCI format 0_2, or DCI format 1_2.

[0231] The predefined mechanism may reuse existing mechanisms such as the mechanism in Sec 7.3.1 TS38.212 [1].

[0232] In one embodiment, the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells may be configured to have a different format than the DCI for scheduling data from a single cell, or it may be configured to have the same format as the DCI for scheduling data from a single cell. The technical proposal of this disclosure will be described below primarily as an example when the format of the DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells is different from that of the DCI for scheduling data from a single cell.

[0233] Conventional technologies generally only include DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell. Therefore, after adding DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells, the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells may differ from the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell. Even after aligning the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell according to a predefined mechanism, the number of DCI size variations in a serving cell (e.g., a cell where a terminal receives DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells and DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell) may still be too large, for example, exceeding a pre-set threshold, which increases the complexity of blind detection of DCIs by the terminal.

[0234] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, if the number of DCI size types in a serving cell is greater than a preset threshold, the network device can determine candidate DCIs (e.g., one or more DCI types) from among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, further determine a target DCI (e.g., one DCI type) from among the candidate DCIs, and align the size of the target DCI with the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells. This allows the network device to reduce the number of DCI size types received by the terminal in the serving cell when the serving cell transmits DCIs to the terminal, which is advantageous in reducing the complexity of blind DCI detection by the terminal.

[0235] The specific steps for implementing the downlink control information size alignment method shown in the embodiments of this disclosure can be shown in Figure 10, and their explanation is omitted here.

[0236] In one embodiment, the step of determining a target DCI from among the candidate DCIs includes determining that the DCI with the largest size among the candidate DCIs is the target DCI, wherein the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell whose size is smaller than the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells are the candidate DCIs.

[0237] From among the DCIs that schedule data for a single cell, a DCI whose size is smaller than the size of a DCI that schedules data for multiple cells can be determined as a candidate DCI, and furthermore, the DCI with the largest size among the candidate DCIs can be determined as the target DCI. Since the target DCI is the largest DCI among the candidate DCIs and is closest in size to the size of a DCI that schedules data for multiple cells, the number of bits that need to be added to the target DCI when aligning the size of the target DCI with the size of a DCI that schedules data for multiple cells is relatively small, and the impact on the PDCCH transmission performance after alignment is relatively small.

[0238] In one embodiment, the step of determining a target DCI from among the candidate DCIs includes determining that the DCI with the smallest size among the candidate DCIs is the target DCI, and among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, any DCI whose size is larger than the size of a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells is a candidate DCI.

[0239] From among the DCIs that schedule data for a single cell, a DCI whose size is larger than the size of a DCI that schedules data for multiple cells can be determined as the candidate DCI, and furthermore, the DCI with the smallest size among the candidate DCIs can be determined as the target DCI. Since the target DCI is the smallest DCI among the candidate DCIs and is closest in size to the size of a DCI that schedules data for multiple cells, the number of bits that need to be supplemented for the DCI that schedules data for multiple cells when aligning the size of the target DCI with the size of the DCI that schedules data for multiple cells is relatively small, and the impact on the PDCCH transmission performance after alignment is relatively small.

[0240] In one embodiment, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells includes a first DCI for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells. For example, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells can be configured to include DCI format 0_3 and / or DCI format 1_3, where the first DCI is DCI format 0_3 and is used for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells, and the second DCI is DCI format 1_3 and is used for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells.

[0241] In one embodiment, the method further includes the step of aligning the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI before aligning the size of the target DCI and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells.

[0242] In one embodiment, if the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are different and the first preset condition is not met, the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI can be aligned before determining the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells in a cell for transmitting a DCI.

[0243] If the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are different and the first preset condition is not met, the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are aligned before aligning the size of the target DCI with the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells, and because the sizes of the first DCI and the second DCI are generally close, relatively few supplemental bits are required to align them. After aligning the first DCI and the second DCI, if the first or second preset condition is met, the size of the subsequent target DCI does not need to be aligned with the size of the DCI for data for multiple cells, further reducing the impact on PDCCH transmission.

[0244] Therefore, it can be decided in advance that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned, which has the same effect whether the size of the target DCI is aligned with the size of the first DCI or the size of the second DCI. This not only reduces the number of DCI size types but also simplifies the process of aligning the size of the target DCI with the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells.

[0245] According to embodiments of this disclosure, it is possible to ensure that the number of DCI size types transmitted to the terminal in the serving cell by the network device is four or less, and the number of DCI size types scrambled by C-RNTI transmitted to the terminal in the serving cell by the network device is three or less. This allows the terminal to perform blind detection of DCI in the serving cell according to the condition that there are four or fewer DCI sizes and three or fewer DCI sizes scrambled by C-RNTI, thereby satisfying the "3+1" requirement and reducing the complexity of blind detection for the terminal.

[0246] In one embodiment, the method further includes the steps of: configuring the network such that the DCI size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the first USS and the DCI format 0_3 are different when at least one PDCCH candidate from DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the first USS and DCI format 0_3 corresponding to the second USS are mapped to the same resource; and configuring the network such that the DCI size of DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS and the DCI format 1_3 are different when at least one PDCCH candidate from DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS and DCI format 1_3 corresponding to the second USS are mapped to the same resource.

[0247] In accordance with the embodiment of the downlink control information size alignment method described above, this disclosure further provides an embodiment of a downlink control information size alignment device.

[0248] This embodiment proposes several downlink control information size alignment devices, which can be applied to terminals, and which include, but are not limited to, communication devices such as mobile phones, tablets, wearable devices, sensors, and Internet of Things devices. The terminals can communicate with network devices, and which include, but are not limited to, network devices in communication systems such as 4G, 5G, and 6G, such as base stations and core networks.

[0249] Figure 14 is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 14, the downlink control information size alignment device may include a processing module 1401 configured to determine that the size of downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling data for multiple cells is aligned with the size of DCI for scheduling data for a single cell.

[0250] In one embodiment, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells includes a first DCI for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells.

[0251] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned before determining that the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell are aligned.

[0252] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine that the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 1_1 are aligned, and then to determine that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned.

[0253] In one embodiment, the configuration is configured to determine that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned before determining that the size of DCI format 0_2 and the size of DCI format 1_2 are aligned.

[0254] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured not to require that the number of DCI size types received by the serving cell be greater than four, and not to desire that the number of DCI size types scrambled by the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) received by the serving cell be greater than three.

[0255] Figure 15 is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 15, the downlink control information size alignment device may include a processing module 1501 configured to determine that the size of a first downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling uplink data for multiple cells and the size of a second DCI for scheduling downlink data for multiple cells are aligned.

[0256] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine that the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 1_1 are aligned, and then to determine that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned.

[0257] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned before determining that the size of the DCI format 0_2 and the size of the DCI format 1_2 are aligned.

[0258] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured not to require that the number of DCI size types received by the serving cell be greater than five, and not to desire that the number of DCI size types scrambled by the Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) received by the serving cell be greater than four.

[0259] Figure 16 is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 16, the downlink control information size alignment device may include a processing module 1601 configured to determine, according to a predefined mechanism, that the size of a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell be aligned, that the size of a DCI for scheduling data for a single cell and the size of a DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells be aligned in a cell for transmitting a DCI, that if the number of DCI size types is greater than a pre-set threshold, that candidate DCIs be selected from the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell be selected, that a target DCI be selected from the candidate DCIs be selected, and that the size of the target DCI be selected and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells be aligned.

[0260] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine that the DCI with the largest size among the candidate DCIs is the target DCI, and among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, DCIs whose size is smaller than the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells are the candidate DCIs.

[0261] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine that the DCI with the smallest size among the candidate DCIs is the target DCI, and among the DCIs for scheduling data for a single cell, any DCI whose size is larger than the size of the DCIs for scheduling data for multiple cells is the candidate DCI.

[0262] In one embodiment, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells includes a first DCI for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells.

[0263] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine that the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI are aligned before further determining that the size of the target DCI and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells are aligned.

[0264] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured not to require that the number of DCI size types received by the serving cell be greater than four, and not to desire that the number of DCI size types scrambled by the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) received by the serving cell be greater than three.

[0265] This embodiment proposes several downlink control information size alignment devices, which can be applied to network devices, and the terminals include, but are not limited to, communication devices such as mobile phones, tablets, wearable devices, sensors, and Internet of Things devices. The terminals can communicate with network devices, and the network devices include, but are not limited to, network devices in communication systems such as 4G, 5G, and 6G, such as base stations and core networks.

[0266] Figure 17 is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 17, the downlink control information size alignment device includes a processing module 1701 configured to align the size of downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling data for multiple cells with the size of DCI for scheduling data for a single cell.

[0267] In one embodiment, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells includes a first DCI for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells.

[0268] In one embodiment, the device processing module is configured to align the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI before aligning the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for a single cell.

[0269] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to align the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 1_1, and then to align the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI.

[0270] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to align the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI before aligning the size of the DCI format 0_2 and the size of the DCI format 1_2.

[0271] Figure 18 is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 18, the downlink control information size alignment device may include a processing module 1801 configured to align the size of a first downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling uplink data of multiple cells with the size of a second DCI for scheduling downlink data of multiple cells.

[0272] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to align the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 1_1, and then to align the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI.

[0273] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to align the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI before aligning the size of DCI format 0_2 and the size of DCI format 1_2.

[0274] FIG. 19 is a schematic block diagram of a downlink control information size alignment device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 19, the downlink control information size alignment device aligns the size of DCI for scheduling data of a single cell according to a predefined mechanism, and determines the size of DCI for scheduling data of a single cell and the size of DCI for scheduling data of multiple cells in a cell for transmitting DCI. When the number of DCI size types is greater than a preset threshold, a candidate DCI is determined from the DCIs for scheduling data of a single cell, a target DCI is determined from the candidate DCIs, and a processing module 1901 is configured to align the size of the target DCI and the size of DCI for scheduling data of multiple cells.

[0275] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine that the DCI with the largest size among the candidate DCIs is the target DCI, and among the DCIs for scheduling data of a single cell, the DCIs with a size smaller than the size of the DCI for scheduling data of multiple cells are the candidate DCIs.

[0276] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to determine that the DCI with the smallest size among the candidate DCIs is the target DCI, and among the DCIs for scheduling data of a single cell, the DCIs with a size larger than the size of the DCI for scheduling data of multiple cells are the candidate DCIs.

[0277] In one embodiment, a DCI for scheduling data from multiple cells includes a first DCI for scheduling uplink data from multiple cells and a second DCI for scheduling downlink data from multiple cells.

[0278] In one embodiment, the processing module is configured to align the size of the first DCI and the size of the second DCI before further aligning the size of the target DCI and the size of the DCI for scheduling data for multiple cells.

[0279] The specific method for operating each module of the apparatus in the above embodiment has already been described in detail in the related method embodiments, but will not be described in detail here.

[0280] Since the embodiments of the apparatus essentially correspond to the embodiments of the method, relevant points can be explained by referring to parts of the embodiments of the method. The embodiments of the apparatus described above are merely schematic, and modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and components shown as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network modules. Depending on the actual needs, some or all of these modules can be selected to achieve the objectives of the embodiment. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without paying any creative labor.

[0281] Embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a communication device including a processor and memory for storing a computer program, which implements a downlink control information size alignment method applicable to the terminal described in any of the above embodiments when the computer program is executed by the processor.

[0282] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication device including a processor and memory for storing a computer program, which, when the computer program is executed by the processor, implements a downlink control information size alignment method applicable to the network device described in any of the above embodiments.

[0283] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements steps in a downlink control information size alignment method applied to a terminal described in any of the above embodiments.

[0284] Embodiments of this disclosure provide a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements steps in a downlink control information size alignment method applied to a network device described in any of the embodiments above.

[0285] As shown in Figure 20, 20 is a schematic block diagram of a device 2000 for downlink control information size alignment as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 2000 can be provided as a base station. Referring to Figure 20, the device 2000 includes a processing component 2022, a radio transmit / receive component 2024, an antenna component 2026, and a signal processing unit specific to the radio interface, the processing component 2022 may further include one or more processors. One of the processors in the processing component 2022 may be configured to implement the downlink control information size alignment method applied to the network device described in any of the embodiments above.

[0286] Figure 21 is a schematic block diagram of a device 2100 for downlink control information size alignment as shown in an embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the device 2100 may be a mobile phone, computer, digital broadcasting terminal, messaging device, game console, tablet device, medical device, fitness device, personal digital assistant, etc.

[0287] Referring to Figure 21, the device 2100 may include one or more of the following components: processing component 2102, memory 2104, power supply component 2106, multimedia component 2108, audio component 2110, input / output (I / O) interface 2112, sensor component 2114, and communication component 2116.

[0288] The processing component 2102 typically controls the overall operation of the device 2100, such as operations related to display, telephone ringing, data communication, camera operation, and recording. The processing component 2102 may include one or more processors 2120 for executing instructions to complete the steps of the downlink control information size alignment method applied to the terminal described in any of the embodiments above. The processing component 2102 may also include one or more modules to facilitate interaction with other components. For example, the processing component 2102 may include a multimedia module to facilitate interaction between the multimedia component 2108 and the processing component 2102.

[0289] Memory 2104 is configured to store various types of data to support operation in the device 2100. Examples of this data include instructions for any application program or method to operate the device 2100, contact data, phonebook data, messages, images, videos, etc. Memory 2104 may be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as static random access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), read-only memory (ROM), magnetic memory, flash memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0290] The power supply component 2106 provides power to each type of component of the device 2100. The power supply component 2106 may include a power management system, one or more power supplies, and other components related to the generation, management, and distribution of power to the device 2100.

[0291] The multimedia component 2108 includes a screen that provides an output interface between the device 2100 and the user. In some embodiments, the screen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel (TP). If the screen includes a touch panel, the screen may be implemented as a touchscreen to receive input signals from the user. The touch panel includes one or more touch sensors to sense touches, slides, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors may not only sense the boundaries of a touch or slide operation but also detect the duration and pressure associated with the touch or slide operation. In some embodiments, the multimedia component 2108 includes one front camera and / or a rear camera. When the device 2100 is in an operating mode such as shooting mode or video mode, the front camera and / or the rear camera may receive external multimedia data. Each front camera and rear camera may be a single fixed optical lens system or may have a focal length and optical zoom capability.

[0292] The audio component 2110 is configured to output and / or input audio signals. For example, the audio component 2110 includes a microphone (MIC) configured to receive external audio signals when the device 2100 is in an operating mode such as calling mode, recording mode, and voice recognition mode. The received audio signals may be further stored in memory 2104 or transmitted via communication component 2116. In some embodiments, the audio component 2110 further includes a speaker for outputting audio signals.

[0293] The I / O interface 2112 provides an interface between the processing component 2102 and a peripheral interface module, which may be a keyboard, click wheel, buttons, etc. These buttons may include, but are not limited to, a home button, volume buttons, a start button, and a lock button.

[0294] The sensor component 2114 includes one or more sensors to provide the device 2100 with various forms of state evaluation. For example, the sensor component 2114 can detect the on / off state of the device 2100, the relative positioning of components, for example, the display and keypad of the device 2100, and the sensor component 2114 can further detect changes in the position of the device 2100 or one of its components, the presence or absence of contact between the user and the device 2100, the direction and position of the device 2100 or acceleration / deceleration, and temperature changes of the device 2100. The sensor component 2114 may also include proximity sensors configured to detect the presence of nearby objects in the absence of any physical contact. The sensor component 2114 may further include optical sensors, such as CMOS or CCD image sensors used in imaging applications. In some embodiments, the sensor component 2114 may further include acceleration sensors, gyroscopes, magnetic sensors, pressure sensors, or temperature sensors.

[0295] The communication component 2116 is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the device 2100 and other devices. The device 2100 can access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as WiFi, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, 5G NR, or a combination thereof. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 2116 receives a broadcast signal or broadcast-related information from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In an exemplary embodiment, the communication component 2116 further includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communication. For example, the NFC module may be implemented based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) technology, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, Bluetooth (BT: registered trademark) technology, and other technologies.

[0296] In an exemplary embodiment, the device 2100 may be implemented by an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Digital Signal Processing Device (DSPD), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, or other electronic components, one or more applications, to execute the downlink control information size alignment method applied to the terminal described in any of the above embodiments.

[0297] In an exemplary embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions, such as a memory 2104 containing instructions, is further provided, and the instructions may be executed by a processor 2120 of the device 2100 to complete the downlink control information size alignment method applied to the terminal described in any of the above embodiments. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device.

[0298] A person skilled in the art, after reviewing the specification and practicing the inventions disclosed herein, will readily conceive of other embodiments of the present disclosure. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or appropriate modifications of the present disclosure, which will adhere to the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or conventional art means of the art not disclosed herein. The specification and examples are for illustrative purposes only, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are indicated by the following claims.

[0299] This disclosure is not limited to the exact structure described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications and changes may be made as long as they do not deviate from its scope. The scope of this disclosure is limited only to the attached claims.

[0300] In this specification, relational terms such as those in the first and second paragraphs are used solely to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply that such an actual relationship or order exists between these entities or operations. The terms “contains,” “includes,” or any other variation thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive “contains” such that a process, method, article, or device containing a set of elements contains not only those elements but also other elements not expressly enumerated, or elements specific to such process, method, article, or device. Unless otherwise specified, an element limited by the phrase “contains one” does not preclude the existence of another identical element in a process, method, article, or device containing that element.

[0301] While the methods and apparatus provided by the embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above, this specification uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and embodiments of this disclosure, and the above description of embodiments is solely for the purpose of understanding the methods and core ideas of this disclosure. At the same time, those skilled in the art will know that there are modifications in specific embodiments and scope of application based on the ideas of this disclosure, and the content of this specification should not be understood as limitations of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A downlink control information size alignment method, which is performed by a terminal. The steps include determining that the size of DCI format 0_0 monitored in the Common Search Space (CSS) and the size of DCI format 1_0 monitored in the CSS are aligned, The steps include determining that the size of DCI format 0_0 monitored in the User Equipment Specific Search Space (USS) and the size of DCI format 1_0 monitored in the USS are aligned, The steps include determining that the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to a supplemental uplink (SUL) and the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to a non-SUL are aligned, The steps include determining that the size of the DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the supplemental uplink (SUL) and the size of the DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the non-SUL are aligned, After determining that the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the supplemental uplink (SUL) and the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the non-SUL are aligned, the process determines whether a first preset condition is met. If the first preset condition is met, the process of aligning the downlink control information is terminated. If the first preset condition is not met, the process determines that the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the USS and the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the CSS are aligned. After determining that the sizes of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the USS and DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the CSS are aligned, the process determines whether the first preset condition is met, and if the first preset condition is met, the downlink control information alignment process is terminated, and if the first preset condition is not met, the process determines that the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 are aligned. After determining that the sizes of DCI format 0_2 and DCI format 1_2 are aligned, the first preset condition is determined to be met. If the first preset condition is met, the downlink control information alignment process is terminated. If the first preset condition is not met, the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1 are determined to be aligned. The steps include determining whether the first preset condition is met, terminating the downlink control information alignment process if the first preset condition is met, and determining that the size of the first downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling uplink data of multiple cells and the size of the second DCI for scheduling downlink data of multiple cells are aligned if the first preset condition is not met. If at least one PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to a first USS and at least one PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_3 corresponding to a second USS are mapped to the same resource, the step of determining that the DCI size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the first USS and the DCI size of DCI format 0_3 corresponding to the second USS are different, The process includes the step of determining that if at least one PDCCH candidate for DCI format 1_2 corresponding to a first USS and at least one PDCCH candidate for DCI format 1_3 corresponding to a second USS are mapped to the same resource, then the DCI size of DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS and the DCI size of DCI format 1_3 corresponding to the second USS are different. A downlink control information size alignment method characterized by the following.

2. The first DCI is DCI format 0_3, and the second DCI is DCI format 1_3. The downlink control information size alignment method according to claim 1.

3. Determining that the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the USS and the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the CSS are aligned means The determination is made that the size of DCI format 0_0 monitored by the USS and the size of DCI format 0_0 monitored by the CSS are aligned, This includes determining that the size of DCI format 1_0 monitored by the USS and the size of DCI format 1_0 monitored by the CSS are aligned. The downlink control information size alignment method according to claim 1.

4. The method for determining how the size of a first DCI for scheduling uplink data for multiple cells and the size of a second DCI for scheduling downlink data for multiple cells are aligned is: Zero padding and, This includes reducing the number of bits in a specific information field, and one of the following: The downlink control information size alignment method according to claim 1.

5. The first pre-set condition is, The number of DCI size types received within the serving cell is four or less, The number of DCI size types scrambled by the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) received by the serving cell is three or less, including: The downlink control information size alignment method according to claim 1.

6. A downlink control information size alignment method, which is performed by a network device. The steps include aligning the size of DCI format 0_0 monitored in the Common Search Space (CSS) with the size of DCI format 1_0 monitored in CSS, The steps include aligning the size of DCI format 0_0 monitored in the User Equipment Specific Search Space (USS) with the size of DCI format 1_0 monitored in the USS, The steps include aligning the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to the supplemental uplink (SUL) with the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​corresponding to the non-SUL, The steps include aligning the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the supplemental uplink (SUL) with the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the non-SUL, After aligning the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the supplemental uplink (SUL) with the size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the non-SUL, it is determined whether a first preset condition is met. If the first preset condition is met, the downlink control information alignment process is terminated. If the first preset condition is not met, the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the USS is aligned with the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the CSS. After aligning the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the USS and the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the CSS, the process determines whether the first preset condition is met. If the first preset condition is met, the downlink control information alignment process is terminated. If the first preset condition is not met, the process aligns the size of DCI format 0_2 and the size of DCI format 1_2. After aligning the size of DCI format 0_2 and the size of DCI format 1_2, determine whether the first preset condition is met, terminate the downlink control information alignment process if the first preset condition is met, and align the size of DCI format 0_1 ​​and the size of DCI format 1_1 if the first preset condition is not met. The steps include determining whether the first preset condition is met, terminating the downlink control information alignment process if the first preset condition is met, and aligning the size of the first downlink control information (DCI) for scheduling uplink data of multiple cells with the size of the second DCI for scheduling downlink data of multiple cells if the first preset condition is not met. If at least one PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to a first USS and at least one PDCCH candidate of DCI format 0_3 corresponding to a second USS are mapped to the same resource, the steps include setting the DCI size of DCI format 0_2 corresponding to the first USS and the DCI size of DCI format 0_3 corresponding to the second USS to be different, The procedure includes the step of setting the DCI size of DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS and the DCI size of DCI format 1_3 corresponding to the second USS to be different if at least one PDCCH candidate of DCI format 1_2 corresponding to the first USS and at least one PDCCH candidate of DCI format 1_3 corresponding to the second USS are mapped to the same resource, A downlink control information size alignment method characterized by the following.

7. The first DCI is DCI format 0_3, and the second DCI is DCI format 1_3. The downlink control information size alignment method according to feature 6.

8. Aligning the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the USS with the size of DCI format 0_0 / 1_0 monitored by the CSS is Aligning the size of DCI format 0_0 monitored by the USS and the size of DCI format 0_0 monitored by the CSS, This includes aligning the size of DCI format 1_0 monitored by the USS with the size of DCI format 1_0 monitored by the CSS, The downlink control information size alignment method according to feature 6.

9. The method for aligning the size of a first DCI for scheduling uplink data for multiple cells with the size of a second DCI for scheduling downlink data for multiple cells is: Zero padding and, This includes reducing the number of bits in a specific information field, and one of the following: The downlink control information size alignment method according to feature 6.

10. The first pre-set condition is, The number of DCI size types transmitted within the serving cell is four or less, This includes the condition that the number of DCI size types scrambled by the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) transmitted within the serving cell is three or less, The downlink control information size alignment method according to feature 6.

11. A communication device, Processor and It includes memory for storing computer programs, When the computer program is executed by a processor, the downlink control information size alignment method described in any one of claims 1 to 5 is realized. A communication device characterized by the following features.

12. A communication device, Processor and It includes memory for storing computer programs, When the computer program is executed by a processor, the downlink control information size alignment method described in any one of claims 6 to 10 is realized. A communication device characterized by the following features.

13. A computer-readable storage medium on which computer programs are stored, When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps in the downlink control information size alignment method described in any one of claims 1 to 5 are realized. A computer-readable storage medium characterized by the following features.

14. A computer-readable storage medium on which computer programs are stored, When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps in the downlink control information size alignment method described in any one of claims 6 to 10 are realized. A computer-readable storage medium characterized by the following features.

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