Method for transmitting control information, and communication apparatus

Abstract

Disclosed in embodiments of the present application are a method for transmitting control information, and a communication apparatus. In order to reduce the number of times of blind detection for DCI by a terminal device, the DCI can be carried on a PDSCH. In order to improve the transmission performance of the DCI carried on the PDSCH, the position of a time domain symbol for carrying the DCI in the PDSCH can be determined on the basis of the position of a time domain symbol of a DMRS in the PDSCH.

Description

Method and communication device for transmitting control information

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on August 30, 2023, with application number 202311116734.1 and application name “A method and communication device for transmitting control information”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a method and a communication device for transmitting control information. Background Art

[0003] Network equipment can carry downlink control information (DCI) on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), which can be used to schedule the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0004] Currently, when DCI is carried on a PDCCH, a terminal device performs a large number of blind detections on PDCCH candidates, and the power consumption of the terminal device is high.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The embodiments of the present application provide a method and a communication device for transmitting control information, which can reduce the power consumption of a terminal device receiving DCI and improve the transmission performance of DCI.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions.

[0008] In a first aspect, a method for transmitting control information is provided, the method comprising: receiving indication information, the indication information indicating a first time-frequency resource for carrying a first downlink data channel, the first time-frequency resource including a third time-frequency resource, the third time-frequency resource being used to carry a demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel; receiving first downlink control information on a second time-frequency resource, the second time-frequency resource being part of the first time-frequency resource, the first downlink control information indicating a time-frequency resource for carrying a second data channel; wherein the second time-frequency resource is determined based on the first symbol of the first time-frequency resource, or the second time-frequency resource is determined based on the third time-frequency resource.

[0009] The first downlink data channel may be, for example, a PDSCH. The first downlink control information may be conventional DCI or the second-level DCI in two-level DCI. The first downlink control information is used to schedule an uplink channel or a downlink channel, or to schedule an uplink signal or a downlink signal.

[0010] When the first downlink control information indicates the time-frequency resources for carrying the second data channel, the second data channel may be a PUSCH or a PDSCH.

[0011] Receiving the indication information and receiving the first downlink control information may be performed by the terminal device, or by a module (such as a chip) in the terminal device.

[0012] That is, in the present application, the first time-frequency resource carrying the first downlink data channel not only carries a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), but also carries the first DCI. The second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is determined based on the first time-frequency resource carrying the first PDSCH, or is determined based on the third time-frequency resource carrying the DMRS on the first time-frequency resource. Taking into account that the downlink data channel is sent to the terminal device itself, compared with the prior art of carrying DCI on PDCCH, which requires the terminal device to blindly detect DCI on multiple PDCCH candidates, resulting in a problem of high power consumption of the terminal device, in the present application, the terminal device can also receive the first DCI that schedules the second data channel while receiving the time-frequency resource of the first downlink data channel, thereby avoiding the problem of high power consumption caused by the terminal device blindly detecting DCI on multiple PDCCH candidates. Moreover, if the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is determined based on the first time-frequency resource, or based on the third time-frequency resource in the first time-frequency resource, the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI can be determined by comprehensively considering aspects such as delay, channel estimation performance and implementation complexity of the terminal device, thereby improving the transmission performance of the DCI.

[0013] In a second aspect, a method for transmitting control information is provided, the method comprising: sending indication information, the indication information indicating a first time-frequency resource for carrying a first downlink data channel, the first time-frequency resource including a third time-frequency resource, the third time-frequency resource being used to carry a demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel; sending first downlink control information on a second time-frequency resource, the second time-frequency resource being part of the first time-frequency resource, the first downlink control information indicating a time-frequency resource for carrying a second data channel; wherein, the second time-frequency resource is determined based on the first symbol of the first time-frequency resource, or the second time-frequency resource is determined based on the third time-frequency resource.

[0014] The sending of the indication information and the sending of the first downlink control information may be executed by the network device or by a module in the network device.

[0015] The beneficial effects of the second aspect can be found in the description of the first aspect.

[0016] In the above-mentioned first aspect and / or second aspect, there are the following multiple possible designs.

[0017] In one possible design, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel is N groups of demodulation reference signals, where N is a positive integer; the time domain resources of the third time-frequency resources are N groups of symbols, and the nth group of symbols in the N groups of symbols carries the nth group of demodulation reference signals of the N groups of demodulation reference signals; wherein, any group of the N groups of symbols is one symbol or two consecutive symbols; when N is greater than or equal to 2, the time domain is discontinuous between any two groups of the N groups of symbols, and n is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0018] The reason why N DMRS groups are mentioned here is that there may be multiple DMRS groups on the first PDSCH. Each DMRS group may occupy one or more consecutive symbols. If each DMRS group occupies one symbol, it can be understood as a single-symbol DMRS mode; if each DMRS group occupies two consecutive symbols, it can be understood as a dual-symbol DMRS mode. When carrying the first DCI on the first PDSCH, taking into account the DMRS carried on the first PDSCH, if the symbol carrying the first DCI is located between a DMRS symbol and a DMRS symbol, the channel estimate for the first DCI can be obtained by interpolating the channel estimates of the DMRS on both sides of the symbol carrying the first DCI; if the DMRS exists on only one side of the symbol carrying the first DCI, the channel estimate for the first DCI can be obtained by extrapolating the channel estimate of the DMRS on one side of the symbol carrying the first DCI. This allows for comprehensive consideration of the channel estimation quality at different symbol positions, determining the symbol position of the symbol carrying the first DCI relative to the DMRS symbol, and improving the channel estimation quality for the first DCI.

[0019] In one possible design, the second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resource on each of M symbols starting from the first symbol in the first time-frequency resource, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0020] In this way, if the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is part or all of the time-frequency resources on each symbol of the M symbols starting from the first symbol carrying the first PDSCH, the time domain of sending the first DCI on the first PDSCH is earlier and the transmission delay of the first DCI is smaller.

[0021] In one possible design, the second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resource on each symbol of M symbols starting from the first symbol of N groups of symbols in the first time domain resource, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0022] In this way, if the first DCI is sent starting from the first symbol of the N groups of symbols carrying DMRS, not only can the time domain of sending the first DCI be earlier and the transmission delay of the first DCI be smaller, but the channel estimation performance of the first DCI can also be improved while taking into account the guaranteed channel estimation quality of DMRS.

[0023] In one possible design, the second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resources on each of the M symbols starting from the first symbol after the first group of N groups of symbols in the first time-frequency resource, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0024] In this way, if the first DCI is transmitted after the first group of symbols carrying DMRS, the problem of rate matching between DMRS and the first DCI can be avoided, and a compromise can be made among the delay, channel estimation performance and implementation complexity of the first DCI.

[0025] In one possible design, when N is greater than or equal to 2, the second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resources on the M symbols closest to the second symbol in the time domain in the first time-frequency resource, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; wherein the second symbol is a symbol between the first group of symbols of N groups of symbols and the first symbol, the first symbol is the first symbol of a group of symbols in the N groups of symbols other than the first group of symbols, and the second symbol and the first group of symbols are discontinuous in time domain.

[0026] In this way, when the first DCI is transmitted on the first PDSCH, when the symbol carrying the first DCI is located on the time-frequency resource closest to the second symbol in the time domain between the first group of symbols and the first symbol, the channel estimation of the first DCI can be obtained by interpolating the channel estimation of the DMRS on both sides of the symbol carrying the first DCI, thereby improving the channel estimation performance of the first DCI.

[0027] In one possible design, the first symbol is the first symbol of the last group of symbols in the N groups of symbols. Thus, all DMRSs carried on the first PDSCH can be used to perform channel estimation for the first DCI, and the channel estimation quality of the first DCI is good.

[0028] In one possible design, the first symbol is the earliest symbol in the time domain that can meet the following conditions: the time-frequency resources between the first group of symbols and the first symbol that can be used to carry the first downlink control information are greater than or equal to the time-frequency resources required by the first downlink control information.

[0029] In this way, the channel estimation of part of the DMRS on the first PDSCH can be used to perform the channel estimation of the first DCI, which not only ensures that the channel estimation of the first DCI is obtained by interpolating the channel estimation of the RM-RS, thereby improving the channel estimation quality of the first DCI, but also only uses part of the DMRS on the first PDSCH, which can reduce the delay from the first DCI to the second data channel.

[0030] In one possible design, the first symbol is one of N groups of symbols indicated by signaling or specified by a protocol. In this way, the symbol carrying the first DCI is between the first group of symbols and the first symbol. The network device may determine a coding or rate matching scheme for the first DCI based on the time-frequency resources between the first group of symbols and the first symbol to ensure that the first DCI is carried between the first group of symbols and the first symbol.

[0031] In one possible design, when N is 1, the second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resources on the M symbols closest to the N groups of symbols in the time domain in the first time-frequency resource.

[0032] For example, the network device or terminal device may select symbols that are close to the first group of symbols, symbols before the first group of symbols in the time domain, symbols after the first group of symbols in the time domain, etc. Considering that there is only one group of DMRS symbols on the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH, the closer to this group of DMRS symbols, the better the channel estimation quality, which can ensure that the channel estimation quality of the first DCI is better.

[0033] In one possible design, the M symbols are: continuous symbols in the time domain; or, symbols in the time domain continuous symbols other than the first category of symbols; wherein the first category of symbols includes at least one of the following: symbols indicating where information is located; symbols in N groups of symbols; symbols containing rate matching resources.

[0034] In this way, if the M symbols carrying the first DCI are continuous symbols in the time domain, the implementation complexity of the network device sending the first DCI and the terminal device receiving the first DCI is relatively small. If the M symbols carrying the first DCI do not include the first type of symbols, the implementation complexity of the network device sending the first DCI and the terminal device receiving the first DCI can also be relatively small.

[0035] In one possible design, when the terminal device reports that it does not support receiving the first downlink control information on N groups of symbols, the first type of symbols includes symbols in the N groups of symbols. That is, whether to carry the first DCI on the N groups of symbols may be determined by the capabilities of the terminal device. If the terminal device does not support carrying the first DCI on the N groups of symbols, considering that the resources of the N groups of symbols carried on the first PDSCH are irregular, the network device does not send the first DCI on the N groups of symbols, which can increase the implementation complexity of the network device sending the first DCI and the terminal device receiving the first DCI.

[0036] In one possible design, when the terminal device reports that it does not support receiving the first downlink control information on the CORESET that carries the indication information, the first type of symbol includes the symbol where the indication information is located. That is, if the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH carries the indication information, and the terminal device's capabilities do not support carrying the first DCI on the symbol carrying the indication information, the network device does not send the first DCI on the symbol carrying the indication information, which can improve the implementation complexity of the network device sending the first DCI and the terminal device receiving the first DCI.

[0037] In one possible design, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the third time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is a first time interval. The first time interval is the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second downlink control information and the start symbol of the data channel scheduled by the second downlink control information, where the second downlink control information is any downlink control information carried on the physical downlink control channel.

[0038] For example, the second downlink control information is a second DCI, which is any DCI carried on the PDCCH. That is, the first time interval is the minimum time interval between the end symbol carrying the second DCI and the start symbol time of a data channel scheduled by the second DCI. The data channel scheduled by the second DCI is, for example, the PDSCH / PUSCH.

[0039] If the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the third time-frequency resource carrying DMRS on the first PDSCH and the start symbol of the second data channel scheduled by the first DCI is the first time interval, the design of channel estimation using all DMRS on the first PDSCH can be combined to make the channel estimation quality of the first DCI better, and can also ensure that the terminal device determines whether to send or receive the data channel according to the first time interval, thereby improving the data transmission efficiency of the terminal device, and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device when not sending or receiving the data channel.

[0040] In which, within the first time interval, the terminal device can perform channel estimation, demodulation and decoding of the first DCI, and data preparation for the data channel, etc.

[0041] In one possible design, if the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is after the end symbol of N groups of symbols, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval. Assuming that N groups of symbols are 1 group of symbols, the end time of the second time-frequency resource occupied by the first DCI is after the end time of this 1 group of symbols, the minimum time interval between the end time of the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource occupied by the first DCI and the start time of the start symbol of the second data channel scheduled by the first DCI is the first time interval. That is, the first time interval is determined according to the end time of the first DCI to ensure the reception performance of the terminal device for receiving the first DCI.

[0042] If the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is before the end symbol of N groups of symbols, in the N groups of symbols, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the earliest symbol group after the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval. Therefore, if N is 1, it is equivalent to that the end symbol of the first DCI is before this group of symbols, and the minimum time interval between the end symbol of this group of symbols and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval. If N is greater than or equal to 2, the first DCI can be carried between the first group of symbols and the earliest symbol group after the end symbol of the first DCI. At this time, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the earliest symbol group and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval. The channel estimate carrying the first DCI can be obtained by interpolation, and the quality of the channel estimate obtained in this way is better.

[0043] If the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is one of N groups of symbols, then the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the symbol group in the N groups of symbols that overlap with the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval. Assuming N is 3, and the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is in the second group of symbols, then the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second group of symbols and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval.

[0044] In one possible design, when N is greater than or equal to 2, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval plus a preset duration. In this way, when the DMRS and the first DCI are carried on the first PDSCH, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the first DCI and the start symbol of the second data channel can be the existing first time interval plus the preset duration, so that the terminal device can complete channel estimation, demodulation and decoding of the first DCI, and preparation of the data channel within the minimum time interval.

[0045] In one possible design, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried in all symbol groups of the N symbol groups is used to estimate the channels of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource. In this way, when the first DCI is carried between the first and last symbol groups and the DMRS carried in all symbol groups is used to perform channel estimation for the first DCI, the channel estimate for the first DCI can be interpolated from the channel estimate for the DMRS, thereby improving the channel estimation performance for the first DCI.

[0046] In one possible design, when N is greater than or equal to 2: among the N groups of symbols, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried on the earliest symbol group after the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and all symbol groups before the earliest symbol group is used to estimate the channel of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource.

[0047] In conjunction with the above design, if N is greater than or equal to 2, the symbol carrying the first DCI may be between the first and last groups of symbols. If the DMRS on the earliest symbol group after the end symbol carrying the first DCI and all symbol groups before the earliest symbol group are used for channel estimation of the first DCI, the channel estimate of the first DCI can be obtained by interpolation of the DMRS. Furthermore, if N is greater than or equal to 3, if the first DCI is carried before a group of symbols between the earliest and last groups of symbols, partial DMRS can also be used for channel estimation of the first DCI, thereby reducing the transmission delay from the first DCI to the first DCI scheduling.

[0048] Or, among N groups of symbols, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried on the symbol group where the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is located, and all symbol groups before the symbol group where the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is located, is used to estimate the channel of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource. That is, if N is greater than or equal to 2, and the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is on a certain group of DMRS symbols, the DMRS carried on the DMRS symbol group where the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is located can be used to estimate the channel of all symbols carrying the first DCI. In combination with the above design, when the end symbol carrying the first DCI is on a certain group of symbols in the middle, part of the DMRS can be used to perform channel estimation of the first DCI. This not only ensures that the channel estimation of the first DCI is obtained by interpolation of the DMRS, but also reduces the transmission delay from the first DCI to the first DCI scheduling.

[0049] In one possible design, among N groups of symbols, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried on all symbol groups before the end time of the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is used to estimate the channel of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource.

[0050] For example, when N is 1, on the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH, the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI may be after the symbol group carrying the DMRS, and the DMRS carried on this symbol group is used to estimate the channel of all symbols carrying the first DCI. Alternatively, when N is greater than or equal to 2, on the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH, the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI may be between two symbol groups, and the DMRS carried on all symbol groups before the end time of the second time-frequency resource is used to estimate the channel of all symbols of the first DCI. This allows the channel of the first DCI to be obtained by interpolating the DMRS, thereby improving the channel estimation quality of the first DCI.

[0051] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a receiving unit for receiving indication information, the indication information indicating a first time-frequency resource for carrying a first downlink data channel, the first time-frequency resource including a third time-frequency resource, and the third time-frequency resource for carrying a demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel; the receiving unit is also used to receive first downlink control information on a second time-frequency resource, the second time-frequency resource being part of the first time-frequency resource, and the first downlink control information indicating a time-frequency resource for carrying a second data channel; wherein the second time-frequency resource is determined based on the first symbol of the first time-frequency resource, or the second time-frequency resource is determined based on the third time-frequency resource.

[0052] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, including: a sending unit, used to send indication information, the indication information indicating a first time-frequency resource used to carry a first downlink data channel, the first time-frequency resource including a third time-frequency resource, and the third time-frequency resource being used to carry a demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel; the sending unit, further used to send first downlink control information on a second time-frequency resource, the second time-frequency resource being part of the first time-frequency resource, and the first downlink control information indicating the time-frequency resource used to carry the second data channel; wherein the second time-frequency resource is determined based on the first symbol of the first time-frequency resource, or the second time-frequency resource is determined based on the third time-frequency resource.

[0053] The beneficial effects of the third and fourth aspects can be found in the description of the first aspect.

[0054] In a fifth aspect, a communication system is provided, which may include a network device and at least one terminal device in any possible implementation of any of the above aspects.

[0055] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer instructions are stored. When the computer instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device executes the method for transmitting control information in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation methods.

[0056] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which, when the computer program instructions are executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method for transmitting control information in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0057] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of PDSCH mapping type A and mapping type B provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the sorting of channel estimation quality of each symbol at pos0, pos1, pos2 and pos3 in a single symbol mode DMRS scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a PDCCH scheduling PDSCH provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of the time from the end of the last symbol of the PDCCH scheduling PUSCH to the start of the first uplink symbol of the corresponding PUSCH provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG6 is a schematic flow chart of a method for transmitting control information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a second time-frequency resource on a first time-frequency resource of a first PDSCH provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a second time-frequency resource on a first time-frequency resource of a first PDSCH provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of the minimum time interval between the first DCI and the PUSCH when the first PDSCH carries the DMRS and the first DCI according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0068] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 10 used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1 , the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 110) and may also include at least one terminal (e.g., 120a-120j in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). Terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 110. Terminals and RAN nodes may be connected to each other via wired or wireless connections. Communication system 10 may also include a core network 200. RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to core network 200. Core network devices in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 may be separate, distinct physical devices, or they may be a single physical device that integrates the logical functions of core network devices and RAN nodes. The communication system 10 may also include the Internet 300 .

[0069] RAN100 may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future radio access system defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). RAN100 may also include two or more of the aforementioned different radio access systems. RAN100 may also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0070] A RAN node, also known as a radio access network device, RAN entity, or access node, facilitates wireless access to a communication system by a terminal. In one application scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station, an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1), a relay node, or a donor node.

[0071] In another application scenario, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to help terminals achieve wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the base station's functions. For example, a RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The CU implements the base station's radio resource control protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) functions, as well as the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) functions. The DU implements the base station's radio link control layer and medium access control (MAC) layer functions, as well as some or all of the physical layer functions. For detailed descriptions of each of the above protocol layers, please refer to the relevant 3GPP technical specifications. The RU can be used to implement the transmission and reception of radio frequency signals. The CU and DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or they can be integrated into the same RAN node, such as in a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in radio frequency equipment, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) or an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: CU-control plane and CU-user plane.

[0072] In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in an O-RAN system, a CU may be called an open CU (O-CU), a DU may be called an open DU (O-DU), and a RU may be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN node in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node may be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the RAN node. For ease of description, the following description takes a base station as an example of a RAN node.

[0073] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to a base station or receive signals from a base station. A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal.

[0074] Base stations and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminals.

[0075] The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, the helicopter or drone 120i in Figure 1 can be configured as a mobile base station. To terminals 120j accessing the wireless access network 100 via 120i, terminal 120i is a base station. However, to base station 110a, 120i is a terminal, meaning that communication between 110a and 120i occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 120i can also occur via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, 120i is also a base station relative to 110a. Therefore, base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with base station functionality, while 120a-120j in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0076] Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals can be carried out through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0077] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes the base station functions. The control subsystem that includes the base station functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or modem) in the terminal, or by a device that includes the terminal functions.

[0078] In this application, a base station sends downlink signals or downlink information to a terminal, and the downlink information is carried on a downlink channel; the terminal sends uplink signals or uplink information to the base station, and the uplink information is carried on an uplink channel. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection in the cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal has established a wireless connection is called the serving cell of the terminal. When the terminal communicates with the serving cell, it will also be interfered with by signals from neighboring cells.

[0079] In the embodiments of the present application, the time domain symbols may be orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols. Unless otherwise specified, the symbols in the embodiments of the present application refer to time domain symbols.

[0080] It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, PDSCH, PDCCH and PUSCH are merely examples of downlink data channels, downlink control channels and uplink data channels, respectively. In different systems and different scenarios, data channels and control channels may have different names, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0081] To facilitate understanding, the following examples provide some descriptions of concepts related to the embodiments of the present application for reference.

[0082] 1. Subcarrier Spacing (SCS)

[0083] In NR, multiple SCSs are defined. Each SCS number corresponds to a kHz frequency. For example, SCS numbers 0 to 4 correspond to 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, 120kHz, and 240kHz, respectively. In NR, a resource block (RB) is defined as 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain.

[0084] 2. Carrier and Cell

[0085] A carrier is a radio signal (electromagnetic wave) with a specific frequency, bandwidth, and format, emitted by the radio frequency equipment of a base station or terminal. It is the carrier used to carry information in wireless mobile communications. The carrier used by a base station for transmission is called a downlink carrier, while the carrier used by a terminal for transmission is called an uplink carrier.

[0086] A cell is described by a higher layer (such as the radio resource control layer, media access control layer, and other protocol layers above the physical layer) from the perspective of resource management or mobility management. The coverage area of ​​each network device can be divided into one or more cells.

[0087] In the current NR standard, a cell can be configured with one downlink carrier. Optionally, a cell can also be configured with one uplink carrier or two uplink carriers. For a terminal device, the cell that provides service to it is called a serving cell. The cell involved in this application may also be a serving cell.

[0088] 3. Carrier aggregation and cross-carrier scheduling

[0089] To achieve high-speed transmission, NR has a carrier aggregation (CA) mechanism. Terminals that support CA can transmit data on multiple carriers simultaneously, increasing the data transmission rate.

[0090] Each carrier in CA is also called a component carrier or component carrier (CC).

[0091] The cell that can send the PDCCH corresponding to the data channel is called the scheduling cell, also known as the master cell; the cell that performs data channel transmission is called the scheduled cell. The UE receives the PDCCH on the master cell and sends or receives data on the scheduled cell based on the control information carried by the PDCCH.

[0092] A cell's downlink carrier carries a control channel and schedules the cell's uplink and downlink data channels. This cell is a self-scheduling cell, acting as both a scheduling cell and a scheduled cell.

[0093] In CA, a cell's downlink carrier carries a control channel, which can schedule the uplink and downlink data channels of another cell. The cell carrying the control channel is called the scheduling cell, and the cell carrying the uplink and downlink data channels is called the scheduled cell. This type of scheduling is called cross-carrier scheduling (CCS). A single scheduling cell can correspond to multiple scheduled cells, meaning it can send control channels to schedule data for multiple scheduled cells.

[0094] 4. PDCCH

[0095] A PDCCH candidate in a NR can contain L = {1, 2, 4, 8, 16} control channel elements (CCEs). Here, L is called the aggregation level (AL) of the PDCCH candidate. A CCE contains six resource-element groups (REGs), each of which corresponds to a resource resource group (RB) on an OFDM symbol.

[0096] A PDCCH candidate may or may not contain a PDCCH for a UE. A UE can monitor a PDCCH candidate to determine whether there is a PDCCH for it.

[0097] A search space with an aggregation level (AL) of L is defined as a set of PDCCH candidates with a size of L CCEs. A search space set is a set of search spaces with different ALs. The term "search space" is sometimes used broadly to refer to a search space, a search space set, multiple search space sets, or a class of search space sets.

[0098] A search space set is associated with a control resource set (CORESET). A CORESET is a concept introduced in NR. A CORESET is defined in a cell and contains a set of continuous or non-contiguous RBs in the frequency domain and 1 / 2 / 3 continuous OFDM symbols in the time domain.

[0099] 5. DCI

[0100] 1) Introduction to basic concepts of DCI

[0101] In NR, the PDCCH carries DCI. For example, the DCI in the PDCCH that schedules the PDSCH may include control information such as the cell being scheduled, and the two resource indication fields of the PDSCH: frequency domain resource assignment and time domain resource assignment. The DCI in the PDCCH that schedules the PUSCH may include control information such as the cell being scheduled, and the two resource indication fields of the PUSCH: frequency domain resource assignment and time domain resource assignment.

[0102] 2) DCI size

[0103] There are two ways to understand the size of a DCI: the first is the number of bits in the DCI payload, and the second is the sum of the number of bits in the payload and the number of bits in the cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If the information bits in the DCI are padded, the number of bits in the payload is the sum of the number of information bits and the number of padding bits; if the information bits in the DCI are not padded, the number of bits in the payload is the number of information bits. In the NR system, for example, the bit width of the CRC is 24.

[0104] 3) Two-level DCI

[0105] Two-level DCI consists of first-level DCI and second-level DCI. These two DCIs carry different downlink scheduling information and are used together to perform PDSCH / PUSCH scheduling or other functions. The number of information bits in first-level DCI is generally fixed, while the number of information bits in second-level DCI is generally variable. Two-level DCI can save control channel resources and reduce the complexity of PDCCH monitoring for UEs.

[0106] The use of two-level DCI in the multi-cell scheduling DCI format is currently under discussion. The multi-cell scheduling DCI format is introduced below.

[0107] 6. Multi-cell scheduling DCI format

[0108] 1) Modulated cell set

[0109] Currently, two new DCI formats are being discussed in the standard. These two DCI formats can be used to schedule data transmission in two or more cells simultaneously, and are called multi-cell scheduling DCI formats. Table 1 shows an example of the two DCI formats.

[0110] Table 1

[0111] One UE may be configured with one or more scheduled cell sets, and the cells in each scheduled cell set may use the DCI format 0_3 / 1_3 shown in Table 1 for multi-cell scheduling.

[0112] For example, a UE is configured with two scheduled cell sets, where the first scheduled cell set includes cell 0, cell 1, cell 2, and cell 3, and the second scheduled cell set includes cell 4, cell 5, and cell 6. DCI format 0_3 can simultaneously schedule one or more cells among cell 0, cell 1, cell 2, and cell 3; and DCI format 1_3 can simultaneously schedule one or more cells among cell 4, cell 5, and cell 6.

[0113] A DCI format specified as a multi-cell scheduling DCI format can schedule data transmission on multiple cells, but not every DCI format specified as a multi-cell scheduling DCI format schedules data transmission on multiple cells simultaneously. A multi-cell scheduling DCI format contains an indication field that indicates one or more scheduled cells for the current DCI scheduling. These one or more scheduled cells are all cells in the scheduled cell set corresponding to the multi-cell scheduling DCI format.

[0114] Since multi-cell scheduling is scheduling multiple carriers in multiple cells, the multi-cell scheduling DCI format is sometimes also called a multi-carrier scheduling DCI format.

[0115] 7. DMRS transmission of PDSCH

[0116] 1) PDSCH mapping type

[0117] In NR, PDSCH has two mapping types: mapping type A and mapping type B. The two types of PDSCH have different starting symbols (S) (the first symbol of the time slot is numbered 0, and so on) and the number of continuous symbols (L) (counting from symbol S), and the location of the DMRS is also different. The following table shows the differences in S and L between the two mapping types. As shown in Table 2, when the normal cyclic prefix (NCP) is used (and the extended cyclic prefix (ECP) is similar):

[0118] The starting symbol occupied by the PDSCH of mapping type A can be the first 4 symbols {0, 1, 2, 3}, and the starting symbol occupied by the PDSCH of mapping type B can be the first 13 symbols {0,…, 12}; the number of consecutive symbols occupied by the PDSCH of mapping type A can be {3,…, 14}, and the number of consecutive symbols occupied by the PDSCH of mapping type B can be {2, 4, 7}.

[0119] Table 2

[0120] The dmrs-TypeA-Position in Table 2 is a high-level parameter that can be configured as {pos0, pos1, pos3}. If not configured, it defaults to pos2. pos represents the number of symbol groups, which are described below. pos0 indicates that the PDSCH carries one DMRS symbol group, pos1 indicates two DMRS symbols, pos2 indicates three DMRS symbols, and pos3 indicates four DMRS symbols.

[0121] As shown in Figure 2 (a), an example of PDSCH mapping type A is shown. The starting symbol S of the PDSCH is 2, and the number of consecutive symbols L is 11 (symbols 2 to 12). As shown in Figure 2 (b), an example of PDSCH mapping type B is shown. The starting symbol S of the PDSCH is 4, and the number of consecutive symbols L is 2 (symbols 4 to 5). As shown in Figure 2 (c), an example of PDSCH mapping type B is shown. The starting symbol S of the PDSCH is 8, and the number of consecutive symbols L is 4 (symbols 8 to 11).

[0122] 2) Transmission of DMRS for PDSCH

[0123] First, let's clarify the description in the protocol: in the protocol, the symbol count starts at 0, but when we talk about the symbol number, we start from 1. That is, the symbol with a count of 0 is the first symbol, the symbol with a count of 1 is the second symbol, and so on.

[0124] DMRS carried by PDSCH has single-symbol mode and dual-symbol mode. In single-symbol mode, DMRS can be sent on one or more symbols, and these DMRS symbols are not connected. In dual-symbol mode, DMRS can be sent on one or more groups of symbols, with each group of DMRS transmitted on two consecutive OFDM symbols, and the groups are not connected.

[0125] Among them, DMRS is placed The symbol of . Among them:

[0126] In single symbol mode, is one or more discontinuous symbols, l′ is 0;

[0127] In dual symbol mode, It is one or more discontinuous symbols, i.e., the first symbol of each DMRS symbol group. l' can be 0 or 1, corresponding to two consecutive symbols in dual symbol mode.

[0128] The reference point of l and the first DMRS symbol position l0 depend on the mapping type.

[0129] For mapping type A, l is defined based on the starting symbol of the timeslot. If the higher-layer parameter dmrs-TypeA-Position is 'pos3', the starting symbol l0 = 3; otherwise, l0 = 2. The dmrs-AdditionalPosition mentioned above is a higher-layer parameter. If not configured, it defaults to pos2.

[0130] For mapping type B, l is defined according to the starting symbol of the scheduled PDSCH resource, and the starting symbol l0=0.

[0131] The position of the DMRS symbol is determined by and l d OK, here is l d There are two situations:

[0132] For mapping type A, l d It is the time domain interval from the first OFDM symbol of the time slot to the last symbol of the scheduled PDSCH resource; for mapping type B, l d It is the time domain interval of the OFDM symbol of the scheduled PDSCH resource.

[0133] Tables 3 and 4 below show the PDSCH DMRS positions under single-symbol DMRS and dual-symbol DMRS, respectively.

[0134] For mapping type A and single-symbol DMRS, l1 in Table 3 may be 11 or 12. In addition, for PDSCH mapping type B, the DMRS position may be moved backward due to the influence of some rate matching resources.

[0135] Table 3 PDSCH DMRS position under single symbol DMRS

[0136] Table 4 PDSCH DMRS position under dual-symbol DMRS

[0137] 8. PDSCH channel estimation quality

[0138] Since the DMRS of the PDSCH is only placed on some symbols of the PDSCH, the channel estimation quality on different symbols of the PDSCH is different.

[0139] Figure 3 shows the ranking of the channel estimation quality of each symbol for PDSCH with a symbol length of 14 and DMRS-Additional Positions pos0, pos1, pos2, and pos3, respectively, in the PDSCH mapping type A, single-symbol mode DMRS scenario. The numbers corresponding to the symbol channel estimation quality are ranked from small to large, corresponding to the best to worst channel estimation quality for the current symbol.

[0140] For example, for the pos0 scenario, the DMRS carried on the PDSCH occupies only one symbol 2; for the pos1 scenario, the DMRS carried on the PDSCH occupies two symbols: symbols 2 and 11; for the pos2 scenario, the DMRS carried on the PDSCH occupies two symbols: symbols 2, 7 and 11; for the pos3 scenario, the DMRS carried on the PDSCH occupies four symbols: symbols 2, 5, 8 and 11.

[0141] The channel estimation quality of each symbol has the following two rules: the channel estimation performance between DMRS symbols obtained by DMRS interpolation is better; when DMRS exists only on one side, the channel estimation performance obtained by DMRS extrapolation is lower than the channel estimation performance obtained by interpolation.

[0142] Among them, interpolation means that a PDSCH symbol is located between two DMRS symbols. After the DMRS on the two DMRS symbols are used to perform channel estimation for the two DMRS symbols, the channel estimate for this PDSCH symbol is interpolated from the channel estimates of the two DMRS symbols. For example, for dmrs-AdditionalPosition = pos1, the channel estimates for PDSCH symbols 3 to 10 can be obtained by interpolating the channel estimates of DMRS symbols 2 and 11. Extrapolation means that if there is a DMRS symbol on only one side of a PDSCH symbol, interpolation channel estimation cannot be performed, and only extrapolation channel estimation can be performed. For example, taking dmrs-AdditionalPosition = pos1 as an example, the channel estimates for PDSCH symbols 0 and 1, as well as PDSCH symbols 12 and 13 can be obtained by extrapolating the channel estimates of DMRS symbols 2 and 11.

[0143] 9. DCI to data channel processing time

[0144] 1) DCI to PDSCH processing time

[0145] When DCI is carried on PDCCH, the PDCCH carrying DCI is transmitted in a subcarrier spacing of μ PDCCH The PDSCH scheduled by DCI is sent on another subcarrier with a spacing of μ PDSCH is sent on a carrier wave, and μ PDCCH Not equal to μ PDSCH When the unit time slot length of PDCCH is μ PDCCH The unit time slot length μ of the time slot and PDSCH PDSCH different.

[0146] In μ PDCCH <μ PDSCH In the case of PDSCH, the starting symbol is not earlier than N after the end time of PDCCH. pdsch The first symbol of the first PDSCH slot after the PDCCH symbols is shown in (a) of FIG4. PDCCH <μ PDSCH Schematic diagram of PDCCH scheduling PDSCH in the case of subcarrier spacing of μ PDCCHWhen PDCCH is sent on a carrier of , the end time of PDCCH is on time slot n, and the DCI carried by PDCCH is on a subcarrier spacing of μ PDSCH When scheduling PDSCH on a carrier, the start time of PDSCH is N times later than the end time of PDCCH. pdsch The first PDSCH time slot 2n+2 after PDCCH symbols, for example, the start time of PDSCH is at time slot 2n+3.

[0147] In μ PDCCH >μ PDSCH In this case, the time interval between the end symbol of PDCCH and the start symbol of PDSCH is not less than N pdsch PDCCH symbols, as shown in (b) of Figure 4, are in μ PDCCH >μ PDSCH Schematic diagram of PDCCH scheduling PDSCH in the case of subcarrier spacing of μ PDCCH When PDCCH is sent on a carrier with a subcarrier spacing of μ, the end time of PDCCH is on time slot 2n, and the DCI carried by PDCCH is on a subcarrier spacing of μ. PDSCH When scheduling PDSCH on a carrier, the start time of PDSCH is N times later than the end time of PDCCH. pdsch PDCCH symbols, for example, the start time of PDSCH is at time slot n+1.

[0148] Among them, N pdsch The value of PDCCH subcarrier spacing μ PDCCH The different values ​​can be seen in Table 5.

[0149] Table 5

[0150] 10. DCI to PUSCH processing time

[0151] NR defines two user capabilities (UE processing capability 1 and UE processing capability 2) for the PUSCH processing time (i.e., the time from the UE receiving the DCI scheduling PUSCH to the UE preparing to transmit the PUSCH).

[0152] Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the time from the end of the last symbol of the PDCCH that schedules the PUSCH to the start time of the first uplink symbol of the corresponding PUSCH (including DMRS). The time from the end of the last symbol of the PDCCH that schedules the PUSCH to the start time of the first uplink symbol of the corresponding PUSCH (including DMRS) is not less than T proc,2 =max((N2+d 2,1 )(2048+144)·κ2 -μ ·TC ,d 2,2 ). That is to say, when designing the terminal equipment, it must be able to proc,2 Only by being able to complete PDCCH reception and information analysis and generate the corresponding PUSCH (including channel estimation for DCI, demodulation and decoding of DCI, and PUSCH data preparation) can the most stringent scheduling requirements be met.

[0153] 1) N2 is determined by the UE based on μ and its own processing capability, according to UE processing capability 1 shown in Table 6 and UE processing capability 2 shown in Table 7. Here μ corresponds to the downlink subcarrier spacing and uplink subcarrier spacing (μ DL ,μ UL ) A larger T will be generated in the sequence number proc,2 The μ value of .

[0154] 2)κ=T s / T c =64. In the NR system, Tc is a time unit, T c =1 / (Δf max ·N f ) where Δf max =480·103Hz and N f =4096; κ represents the ratio between Ts and Tc, and takes a fixed value of κ = T s / T c =64. Among them, T s =1 / (Δf ref ·N f,ref ),Δf ref =15·10 3 Hz and N f,ref =2048.

[0155] 3) If the first symbol of PUSCH contains only DMRS, then d 2,1 =0, otherwise d 2,1 =1.

[0156] 4)(N2+d 2,1 )(2048+144)·κ2 -μ ·T C This item corresponds to the PDCCH analysis time and PUSCH preparation time when bandwidth part (BWP) switching is not considered.

[0157] 5) If the scheduling DCI triggers the BWP switch, d 2,2 Equal to the BWP switching time, otherwise d 2,2 =0.

[0158] Table 6 PUSCH preparation time under UE processing capability 1

[0159] Table 7 PUSCH preparation time under UE processing capability 2

[0160] As mentioned above, DCI can currently be carried on the PDCCH. However, for terminal devices, this requires blind detection of a large number of PDCCH candidates, which results in high power consumption. Furthermore, if multiple terminal devices are scheduled to transmit data on the PDCCH, the PDCCH's time and frequency resources are limited, which may result in the terminal device failing to receive the DCI.

[0161] As mentioned above, DMRS can be used on the time-frequency resources of PDSCH. The terminal device performs PDSCH channel estimation based on the received DMRS to obtain channel estimates of different symbols of PDSCH, so that the terminal device can demodulate and decode PDSCH based on the channel estimation results.

[0162] Currently, the idea of ​​transmitting DCI on the PDSCH has been proposed. Considering that the PDSCH is transmitted to a specific terminal device, if the DCI sent to that terminal device is carried on the PDSCH, the terminal device only needs to demodulate and decode the DCI on the specific PDSCH time-frequency resources, eliminating the need for blind detection. However, determining the DCI-carrying resources on the PDSCH time-frequency resources and improving DCI transmission performance remains an urgent issue.

[0163] In this regard, the present application proposes a method for transmitting a control channel, in which, while carrying DMRS on the time-frequency resources of PDSCH, the time-frequency resources of the DCI carried on the time-frequency resources of the PDSCH can be determined according to the time-frequency resources of the PDSCH, or according to the time-frequency resources of the DMRS carried on the PDSCH. In this way, considering that the PDSCH is sent to a specific terminal device, the number of times the terminal device detects DCI can be reduced, and the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced. Moreover, when determining the time-frequency resources of the DCI carried on the time-frequency resources of the PDSCH according to the time-frequency resources of the PDSCH, or according to the time-frequency resources of the DMRS carried on the PDSCH, the delay, the channel estimation performance when the DMRS performs channel estimation, and the complexity of the terminal device are comprehensively considered to determine the DCI resources that improve the transmission performance of the DCI.

[0164] FIG6 is a flow chart of a method for transmitting control information, which includes the following process.

[0165] 601. A network device sends indication information to a terminal device, where the indication information indicates a first time-frequency resource for carrying a first downlink data channel, where the first time-frequency resource includes a third time-frequency resource, and the third time-frequency resource is used to carry a demodulation reference signal for the first downlink data channel. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the indication information from the network device.

[0166] The embodiments of the present application are described by taking the terminal device as UE and the network device as a wireless access network device, such as a base station as an example.

[0167] Exemplarily, the first downlink data channel is a first PDSCH, and the first time-frequency resource is a time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH.

[0168] The base station sending indication information to the UE includes: the base station sending DCI to the UE, and the DCI includes indication information. For example, the indication information indicates the offset K0, the starting symbol S, and the number of continuous symbols L of the first time-frequency resource relative to the PDCCH time slot in the time domain. In some embodiments, if the subcarrier spacing of the PDCCH is the same as the subcarrier spacing of the first PDSCH, K0=0 indicates that the first PDSCH and the PDCCH are scheduled in the same time slot, and K0=1 indicates that the first PDSCH is scheduled in the next time slot of the PDCCH. Alternatively, the base station sending indication information to the UE includes: the base station sending high-layer information to the UE, and the high-layer information includes indication information.

[0169] Among them, if the indication information is included in the DCI, this DCI can be the first-level DCI in the two-level DCI, or it can be the traditional first-level DCI, and this application does not limit it. The two-level DCI includes the first-level DCI and the second-level DCI, wherein the first-level DCI indicates the reception information of the second-level DCI, for example, the first-level DCI indicates the reception resources of the second-level DCI or the number of information bits of the second-level DCI. In some embodiments, the first-level DCI and the second-level DCI are used to schedule data transmission in the first cell. The first-level DCI and the second-level DCI are not exactly the same. Data transmission in the first cell cannot be performed only based on the first-level DCI; data transmission in the first cell cannot be performed only based on the second-level DCI. The first-level DCI and the second-level DCI are also used to schedule data transmission in the second cell, and the second cell is different from the first cell.

[0170] In some embodiments, the first-level DCI and the second-level DCI are not identical. Data transmission on the first carrier cannot be performed based solely on the first-level DCI; nor can data transmission on the first carrier be performed based solely on the second-level DCI. The first-level DCI and the second-level DCI are also used to schedule data transmission on a second carrier, which is different from the first carrier. The first carrier and the second carrier can be the uplink carrier and downlink carrier of the same cell, or the uplink carrier and downlink carrier of different cells.

[0171] 602. The network device sends first downlink control information to the terminal device on a second time-frequency resource, where the second time-frequency resource is a portion of the first time-frequency resource. The first downlink control information indicates a time-frequency resource used to carry a second data channel. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first downlink control information from the network device on the second time-frequency resource.

[0172] The second time-frequency resource is determined based on the first symbol of the first time-frequency resource, or the second time-frequency resource is determined based on the third time-frequency resource.

[0173] In some embodiments, the network device may determine the second time-frequency resource based on the first time-frequency resource, or determine the second time-frequency resource based on the first time-frequency resource and a third time-frequency resource carrying a DMRS of the first PDSCH. Then, the network device sends the first DCI to the terminal device on the second time-frequency resource.

[0174] Accordingly, after receiving the indication information, the terminal device may determine the second time-frequency resource based on the first time-frequency resource, or determine the second time-frequency resource based on the first time-frequency resource and the third time-frequency resource carrying the DMRS of the first PDSCH. The terminal device then receives the first DCI sent by the network device on the second time-frequency resource.

[0175] The first DCI is used to schedule an uplink channel or a downlink channel, or to schedule an uplink signal or a downlink signal. When the first DCI indicates the time-frequency resources used to carry the second data channel, if the second data channel is an uplink channel, the uplink channel may be a PUSCH, and if the second data channel is a downlink channel, the downlink channel may be a PDSCH. The uplink signal may be a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), and the downlink signal may be a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0176] For the network device, the determination of the second time-frequency resource by the network device may occur before the network device sends the indication information, or may occur after the network device sends the indication information.

[0177] The first DCI may be a traditional first-level DCI or a second-level DCI in a two-level DCI. When the first DCI is the second-level DCI in a two-level DCI, the corresponding first-level DCI is a DCI containing indication information.

[0178] Therefore, for the terminal device, considering that the PDSCH is sent to a specific terminal device, if the second time-frequency resource carrying the DCI is determined on the first time-frequency resource of the PDSCH, the number of blind detections of the terminal device in blindly detecting the PDCCH candidate to receive the DCI can be avoided, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device. Moreover, when the second time-frequency resource carrying the DCI on the first time-frequency resource is determined based on the first time-frequency resource carrying the PDSCH, or based on the first time-frequency resource carrying the PDSCH and the third time-frequency resource carrying the DMRS of the PDSCH, the delay, the channel estimation performance when the DMRS performs channel estimation, and the complexity of the terminal device can be comprehensively considered to determine the DCI resource that improves the transmission performance of the DCI.

[0179] The method described below of how to determine the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI within the first time-frequency resource is applicable to network devices and terminal devices.

[0180] In some embodiments, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel is N groups of demodulation reference signals, where N is a positive integer. The time domain resources of the third time-frequency resource are N groups of symbols, and the nth group of symbols in the N groups of symbols carries the nth group of demodulation reference signals of the N groups of demodulation reference signals; wherein any group of the N groups of symbols is one symbol or two consecutive symbols; when N is greater than or equal to 2, any two groups of the N groups of symbols are discontinuous in the time domain, and n is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

[0181] That is, when the DMRS of the first PDSCH is N groups of DMRS, the time domain resources of the third time-frequency resources are N groups of symbols. For example, referring to Figure 2, in the single-symbol mode of the DMRS of the first PDSCH, when the dmrs-Additional Position is pos1, the DMRS of the first PDSCH is 2 groups of DMRS, and the time domain resources of the third time-frequency resources are 2 groups of symbols. The first group of symbols (symbol 2) carries the first group of DMRS, and the second group of symbols (symbol 11) carries the second group of DMRS. The time domain is discontinuous between the first group of symbols and the second group of symbols. Similarly, if in the dual-symbol mode of the DMRS of the first PDSCH, when the dmrs-Additional Position is pos1, for example, the first group of symbols (symbols 2 and 3) carries the first group of DMRS, and the second group of symbols (symbols 11 and 12) carries the second group of DMRS, the time domain is discontinuous between the first group of symbols and the second group of symbols.

[0182] The following examples illustrate various implementation methods for determining the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI within the first time-frequency resource.

[0183] In mode 1, the first DCI may be carried on M consecutive symbols starting from a certain symbol of the first PDSCH.

[0184] In some embodiments, the second time-frequency resource is part of or all of the time-frequency resource on each of M symbols starting from the first symbol in the first time-frequency resource, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. In other words, on any one of the M symbols, the frequency domain range of the second time-frequency resource is less than or equal to the frequency domain range of the first time-frequency resource.

[0185] Assuming that the mapping type of the first PDSCH is mapping type A, the indication information indicates that in the time domain information of the first PDSCH, the starting symbol S=2, the number of consecutive symbols L=11, and the second time-frequency resource used to carry the first DCI is part of or all of the time-frequency resources on each of the M symbols starting from symbol 2. As shown in (a) of Figure 7, a schematic diagram of the second time-frequency resource on the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH is shown. For example, when M is 2 and symbol 2 does not carry DMRS, the second time-frequency resource used to carry the first DCI is the two symbols starting from symbol 2, that is, all of the time-frequency resources on symbol 2 and part of or all of the time-frequency resources on symbol 3. In this case, if DMRS is transmitted on symbol 2 on the third time-frequency resource shown in Figure 2, but the DMRS occupies part of the time-frequency resources of symbol 2, the remaining resources on symbol 2 can be used to carry the first DCI, and the second time-domain resource used to carry the first DCI can be part of the time-frequency resources on symbol 2 and part of or all of the time-frequency resources on symbol 3.

[0186] In this way, when the first DCI is carried on the first PDSCH, if the first DCI is sent starting from the first symbol of the first PDSCH resource, the delay of the UE receiving the first DCI is small.

[0187] In some embodiments, the second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resource on each of the M symbols starting from the first symbol of the N groups of symbols in the first time-frequency resource.

[0188] As shown in (b) of Figure 7, this is a schematic diagram of a second time-frequency resource. Assume that the dmrs-AdditionalPosition configured by the high-level layer is pos1. In the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH, the first symbol is symbol 2, and the N groups of symbols carrying DMRS are 2 groups of symbols, one group of symbols is symbol 2, and the other group of symbols is symbol 11. The second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is part or all of the time-frequency resources on each of the M symbols starting from symbol 2. For example, when M=2, the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is the 2 symbols starting from symbol 2, that is, part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbol 2 and symbol 3. Here, if DMRS does not occupy all the time-frequency resources of symbol 2 on symbol 2, the first DCI can occupy part of the time-frequency resources on symbol 2 and part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbol 3.

[0189] In this way, considering that the channel estimation quality on the symbol where the DMRS is located is guaranteed to a certain extent, it is ensured that the delay of the first DCI is small and the channel estimation performance of the UE receiving the first DCI can be improved.

[0190] In some embodiments, the second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resource on each of the M symbols starting from the first symbol after the first group of symbols of N groups of symbols in the first time-frequency resource.

[0191] As shown in (c) of Figure 7, a schematic diagram of a second time-frequency resource is shown. Assume that the dmrs-AdditionalPosition configured by the high layer is pos1. In the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH, the first symbol is symbol 0, and the N groups of symbols carrying DMRS are 2 groups of symbols, one group of symbols is symbol 2, and the other group of symbols is symbol 11. The second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is part or all of the time-frequency resources on each symbol of the M symbols starting from symbol 3 after symbol 2. For example, when M is 2, the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbols 3 and 4.

[0192] This is because if the first DCI is transmitted in the same symbol as the DMRS, the base station and UE avoid the DMRS when performing resource mapping for the first DCI, which increases the implementation complexity of the base station and UE. If the first DCI is transmitted in the first symbol after the first of the N groups of DMRS symbols, a trade-off can be achieved between the latency of the first DCI, channel estimation performance, and implementation complexity.

[0193] In mode 2, when N is 1, the second time-frequency resource is part of or all of the time-frequency resources of the M symbols closest to the N groups of symbols in the time domain of the first time-frequency resource. In other words, for any of these M symbols, the frequency domain range of the second time-frequency resource is less than or equal to the frequency domain range of the first time-frequency resource.

[0194] That is, if there is only one group of symbols on the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH used to carry DMRS, the first time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI can be part or all of the time-frequency resources on the M symbols closest to this group of symbols in the time domain.

[0195] For example, as shown in (d) in FIG7 , there is a schematic diagram of a second time-frequency resource. Assuming that the starting symbol of the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH is symbol 0 and the length is 14, there is only one group of symbols on the first time-frequency resource for carrying DMRS, that is, in the case of pos0, when this group of symbols is symbol 2, part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbol 2 and the M symbols closest to symbol 2 in the time domain can be selected. For example, when M is 2, part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbol 2 and symbol 1 can be selected to carry the first DCI (as shown in (d) in FIG7 ), or part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbol 2 and symbol 3 can be selected to carry the first DCI. Alternatively, part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbol 1 and symbol 3 can also be selected to carry the first DCI. The specific method of selecting symbols for carrying the first DCI in the order of distance from the DMRS symbol can be configured by a high-level layer.

[0196] In this way, considering that there is only one group of symbols on the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH used to carry DMRS, the channel estimation quality of the symbols carrying DMRS is the best, and the channel estimation quality decreases from good to poor as the distance from this group of symbols increases. If the UE selects part or all of the time-frequency resources on the M symbols closest to this group of symbols in the time domain to carry the first DCI, the channel estimation performance of the first DCI can be improved, and the data transmission efficiency on the UE side can be improved.

[0197] Mode 3: When N is greater than or equal to 2, the second time-frequency resource is part of or all of the time-frequency resources on the M symbols closest to the second symbol in the time domain of the first time-frequency resource. In other words, on any of these M symbols, the frequency domain range of the second time-frequency resource is less than or equal to the frequency domain range of the first time-frequency resource. The second symbol is a symbol between the first symbol of the N groups of symbols and the first symbol, the first symbol is the first symbol of a group of symbols other than the first symbol in the N groups of symbols, and the second symbol and the first symbol are not continuous in time domain.

[0198] That is, if there are at least two groups of symbols on the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH for carrying DMRS, a second time-frequency resource for carrying the first DCI may be determined on the PDSCH symbol between the two groups of symbols.

[0199] Various possibilities for the first symbol are illustrated here.

[0200] In some embodiments, the first symbol is the first symbol of the last group of N symbols.

[0201] For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 8, a schematic diagram of a second time-frequency resource is shown. Assume that the dmrs-AdditionalPosition configured by the high layer is pos1. In the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH (starting symbol is 2 and length is 11), if the DMRS is in single-symbol mode, the N groups of symbols carrying the DMRS are 2 groups of symbols, one group of symbols is symbol 2, the other group of symbols is symbol 11, and the first symbol is symbol 11. Alternatively, for what is not shown in (a) of Figure 8, if the DMRS is in dual-symbol mode, the first group of symbols is symbols 2 and 3, the other group of symbols is symbols 11 and 12, and the first symbol is symbol 11.

[0202] For the DMRS shown in (a) of Figure 8, which is in single-symbol mode, the second symbol is a symbol between symbol 2 and symbol 11, and the second symbol and symbol 2 are not continuous in time domain. The second symbol can be one of symbols 4 to 10. Considering that for the case of pos1, when the channel estimate is obtained by interpolating symbols 2 and 11, the channel estimation quality of symbols 6 and 7 between symbols 2 and 11 is the best, the second symbol can be symbol 6 or 7, and the second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resources on the M symbols closest to symbol 6 or symbol 7 in the time domain in the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH. For example, when the second symbol is symbol 6, if M=2, the first DCI can be carried on part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbols 6 and 7 (as shown in (a) of Figure 8), or on part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbols 5 and 6.

[0203] Optionally, for the multiple second time-frequency resources exemplified above, part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbols 5 and 6 can be preferentially selected as the second time-frequency resources, so that the delay of the first DCI is smaller, and when the channel estimation of the first DCI is obtained by DMRS interpolation, the channel estimation quality of the first DCI is better.

[0204] Figure 8(b) shows a schematic diagram of a second time-frequency resource. Assuming the DMRS-AdditionalPosition configured by the higher layer is pos2, for the DMRS in single-symbol mode shown in Figure 8(b), in the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH, the N groups of symbols carrying DMRS are three symbols: the first symbol group is symbol 2, the second symbol group is symbol 7, and the third symbol group is symbol 11. The first symbol is symbol 11. The second symbol can be a symbol between symbols 2 and 11, and the second symbol and symbol 2 are not contiguous in the time domain. For example, the second symbol can be a symbol between symbols 4 and 10. Considering that the channel estimate obtained by interpolating the DMRS channel estimate has better channel estimation quality for the center symbol between DMRS symbols, assuming M = 2, the second time-frequency resource can be part of or all of symbols 5 and 6 (as shown in Figure 8(b)). In this way, the symbols occupied by the first DCI are continuous, and the channel estimates for symbols 5 and 6 can be interpolated by the DMRS channel estimates for symbols 2, 7, and 11. Alternatively, part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbols 8 and 9 may be selected, or part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbols 6 and 8 may be selected. Alternatively, if the first DCI can occupy DMRS symbols and there are remaining time-frequency resources on symbol 7, part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbol 6 and part of the remaining time-frequency resources on symbol 7 may also be selected.

[0205] Optionally, for the multiple second time-frequency resources exemplified above, part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbols 5 and 6 may be preferentially selected as the second time-frequency resources, which may reduce the delay of the first DCI.

[0206] In this way, when the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is between the first group of symbols and the last group of symbols of DMRS, considering that the channel estimation of the first DCI obtained by the UE through channel estimation interpolation of DMRS, the channel estimation quality of the central symbol between the DMRS symbols is better, which can improve the channel estimation performance of the first DCI obtained by the UE.

[0207] In some embodiments, the first symbol is the earliest symbol in the time domain that can meet the following conditions: the time-frequency resources between the first group of symbols and the first symbol that can be used to carry the first downlink control information are greater than or equal to the time-frequency resources required by the first downlink control information.

[0208] In this approach, the base station or UE first determines the time-frequency resource size required for the first DCI, such as the number of resource elements (REs) required for the first DCI. It then determines a first symbol, which can be understood as the earliest DMRS symbol that can ensure the first DCI is carried between the first group of symbols and the first symbol.

[0209] For example, FIG8(c) shows a schematic diagram of a second time-frequency resource. In FIG8(c) , the DMRS is in single-symbol mode. For the case of pos2, N groups of symbols are 3 groups of symbols, the first group of symbols is symbol 2, the second group of symbols is symbol 7, and the third group of symbols is symbol 11. If the number of REs for the first DCI determines that the first DCI needs to occupy all 3 symbols, that is, when M = 3, without occupying DMRS symbols, the first symbol can be symbol 7. The second symbol can be symbol 4, 5, or 6. The three symbols occupied by the second time-frequency resource can be, for example, symbols 4, 5, and 6.

[0210] FIG8(d) shows a schematic diagram of a second time-frequency resource. In the DMRS single-symbol mode shown in FIG8(d), for the case of pos3, N groups of symbols are 4 groups of symbols, the first group of symbols being symbol 2, the second group of symbols being symbol 5, the third group of symbols being symbol 8, and the fourth group of symbols being symbol 11. If the number of REs for the first DCI determines that the first DCI needs to occupy two complete symbols, that is, when M=2, without occupying DMRS symbols, the first symbol can be symbol 5, and the second symbol can be symbol 4. The two symbols required for the first DCI are symbols 3 and 4 (as shown in FIG8(d)). If the number of REs for the first DCI determines that the first DCI needs to occupy three complete symbols, that is, when M=3, without occupying DMRS symbols, the first symbol can be symbol 8, and the second symbol can be symbol 4, 6, or 7. The three symbols required for the first DCI can be symbols 3, 4, and 6, or symbols 4, 6, 7, etc. (not shown in FIG8(d)).

[0211] In some embodiments, the first symbol is one of N groups of symbols indicated by signaling or specified by a protocol.

[0212] For example, assuming that in the case of pos2 in the single-symbol mode shown in (c) of FIG8 , if the first symbol is specified as symbol 7, the M symbols required for the first DCI are 3 symbols, and the second symbol is symbol 4, 5, or 6, the M symbols can be symbols 3 to 5, or symbols 4 to 5. assuming that in the case of pos2 in the single-symbol mode shown in (d) of FIG8 , if the first symbol is specified as symbol 5, the M symbols required for the first DCI are 2 symbols, and the second symbol is symbol 4, the M symbols can be symbols 3 and 4. The base station needs to determine the coding and rate matching method for the first DCI to ensure that the first DCI can be carried on the first group of symbols, that is, symbols 3 and 4 between symbols 2 and 5.

[0213] Thus, for cases pos2 and pos3, when the first DCI is carried between the first symbol and the first symbol of the N symbol groups, and the first symbol is not the last symbol of the N symbol groups, the UE can use a portion of the DMRS channel estimation of the first PDSCH to perform channel estimation for the first DCI, ensuring that the channel estimation for the first DCI is obtained by interpolating the channel estimation using the DMRS. This improves the quality of the channel estimation for the first DCI obtained by the UE. Furthermore, when the UE uses a portion of the DMRS on the first PDSCH to perform channel estimation for the first DCI, the data channel delay from the first DCI to the first DCI scheduling can be reduced.

[0214] In the above-mentioned multiple implementation methods for determining the second time-frequency resource, the M symbols may be: symbols that are continuous in the time domain; or symbols other than the first category of symbols among the symbols that are continuous in the time domain.

[0215] Among them, the first type of symbols include time-frequency resources that cannot be used to transmit the first DCI. Furthermore, in the first time-frequency resources, the first type of symbols include time-frequency resources that cannot be used to transmit the first DCI. That is, if a symbol of the first time-frequency resource includes time-frequency resources that cannot be used to transmit the first DCI, but the frequency domain resources of the time-frequency resources that cannot be used to transmit the first DCI are not included in the frequency domain resources of the first time-frequency resource, then this symbol is not a first type of symbol; if a symbol of the first time-frequency resource includes time-frequency resources that cannot be used to transmit the first DCI, and the frequency domain resources of the time-frequency resources that cannot be used to transmit the first DCI are included in the frequency domain resources of the first time-frequency resource, then this symbol is a first type of symbol. The first type of symbols includes at least one of the following: symbols where indication information is located; symbols in N groups of symbols; symbols containing rate matching resources. Furthermore, the first type of symbols are symbols in the first time-frequency resource that include indication information; and / or, symbols in N groups of symbols; and / or, symbols containing rate matching resources.

[0216] If the M symbols used to carry the first DCI are continuous symbols in the time domain, for the base station and the UE, the delay of sending / receiving the first DCI is relatively small.

[0217] If the M symbols are symbols other than the first type of symbols in the time domain that are continuous, for example, it is assumed that the indication information indicates that the first time-frequency resource of the first PDSCH is 14 symbols in the time domain: symbols 0 to 11. Symbols 0 and 1 are used to carry the indication information, the first time-frequency resource may be irregular, and symbols 0 and 1 are not used to map the second time-frequency resource that carries the first DCI. If symbols 0 and 1 are not used to carry the indication information, or if the CORESET that overlaps with the time-frequency resource where the first PDSCH is located does not contain the indication information, symbols 0 and 1 can be used to map the second radio frequency resource that carries the first DCI.

[0218] In this case, the base station and the UE may, when the terminal device reports that it does not support receiving the first DCI on the CORESET that carries the indication information, include the first type of symbol containing the symbol where the indication information is located. That is, the UE may report its capabilities to the network device, indicating whether it supports receiving the first DCI carried on the first PDSCH on the CORESET that carries the DCI.

[0219] Furthermore, when the base station and the UE determine the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI, symbols in the N groups of symbols carrying the DMRS may be skipped, i.e., symbols carrying the DMRS are not used to map the second radio frequency resource carrying the first DCI. For example, as shown in FIG8(b), when the two symbols carrying the first DCI are continuous in the time domain, part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbols 5 and 6, or part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbols 8 and 9, or part or all of the time-frequency resources on symbols 6 and 8 may be selected, but part of the time-frequency resources on symbol 7 may not be selected, i.e., symbols 6 and 7, or symbols 7 and 8 cannot be selected as the two selected symbols.

[0220] In this case, the base station and the UE may determine that the first category of symbols includes symbols in the N groups of symbols when the UE reports that it does not support receiving the first DCI on the N groups of symbols. That is, whether to receive the first DCI on the N groups of symbols is determined according to the capabilities of the terminal device.

[0221] Furthermore, if the M symbols do not include symbols for rate matching resources, the network device does not need to perform rate matching when sending the first DCI on the M symbols, and the terminal device does not need to perform rate matching when receiving the first DCI on the M symbols. The transmission efficiency of the first DCI is high and the delay is small. For example, when selecting a symbol to carry the first DCI, according to the example in (a) of Figure 8, the sequence number is incremented starting from symbol 6 with the best channel estimation quality, and symbols 6 and 7 can be selected. However, if symbol 7 is a symbol that requires rate matching, when the time domain of the M symbols is continuous, the sequence number can also be decremented starting from symbol 6, and symbols 5 and 6 can be used to carry the first DCI.

[0222] It should be noted that, in the above-mentioned multiple implementations of selecting the M symbols for carrying the first DCI, when selecting the M symbols, the selection may not be in the order of increasing or decreasing symbol numbers, but after the symbol selection is completed, the network device may send the first DCI in the order of increasing sequence numbers of the selected M symbols, and the terminal device also receives the M symbols in the order of increasing sequence numbers. For example, in the example (d) in Figure 7, when the two symbols selected to carry the first DCI are symbols 1 and 3, symbol 3 may be selected first and then symbol 1, but when sending the first DCI, the first DCI is sent starting from symbol 1 in the order of increasing sequence numbers of symbols 1 and 3.

[0223] In some embodiments, when a terminal device receives a first DCI and DMRS on a first time-frequency resource of a first PDSCH, the terminal device may determine part or all of the DMRS carried within the first time-frequency resource for channel estimation of the first DCI, so as to demodulate and decode the first DCI based on part or all of the DMRS.

[0224] How to determine the DMRS for performing channel estimation of the first DCI on the first time-frequency resource? Multiple possible implementations are given below.

[0225] In mode A, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried on all symbol groups in the N symbol groups is used to estimate the channels of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource.

[0226] That is, the DMRS of the first PDSCH carried on all symbols in the N groups of symbols is used to estimate the channels of all symbols carrying the first DCI.

[0227] For example, in the second time-frequency resource mode shown in (a) of Figure 8, DMRS occupies 2 groups of symbols, namely symbols 2 and 11, and the DMRS carried on symbols 2 and 11 are used to estimate the channels of symbols 6 and 7 carrying the first DCI.

[0228] In the second time-frequency resource mode shown in (b) of FIG8 , when DMRS occupies 3 groups of symbols, symbols 2, 7 and 11 corresponding to these 3 groups of symbols are used to estimate the channels of symbols 5 and 6 carrying the first DCI.

[0229] In the second time-frequency resource mode shown in (d) of Figure 8, when DMRS occupies 4 groups of symbols and M=2, symbols 2, 5, 8 and 11 corresponding to these 4 groups of symbols are used to estimate the channels of symbols 3 and 4 carrying the first DCI.

[0230] Considering that the channel estimation for the first DCI is performed using the DMRS of all PDSCHs, the interpolated channel estimation quality is better. If the channel estimation for all symbols carrying the first DCI is obtained by interpolation, the channel estimation quality of the first DCI is better, which is beneficial for the terminal device to demodulate and decode the first DCI. This method A for performing channel estimation for the first DCI has better channel estimation quality for the first DCI when the first symbol is the first symbol of the last group of N groups of symbols.

[0231] Method B, when N is greater than or equal to 2:

[0232] Among the N groups of symbols, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried in the earliest symbol group after the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and all symbol groups before the earliest symbol group is used to estimate the channel of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource. The demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried in all symbol groups after the earliest symbol group is not used to estimate the channel of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource.

[0233] For example, in the second time-frequency resource mode shown in (c) of Figure 8, when DMRS occupies 3 groups of symbols, although these 3 groups of symbols correspond to symbols 2, 7 and 11, when the second time-frequency resource selected to carry the first DCI is symbols 4, 5 and 6, the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is symbol 6, the earliest symbol group after symbol 6 is symbol 7, and all symbol groups before symbol 7 are symbol 2, then only the DMRS of the first PDSCH carried on symbols 2 and 7 is used to estimate the channels of symbols 4, 5 and 6.

[0234] In the second time-frequency resource mode shown in (d) of Figure 8, when DMRS occupies 4 groups of symbols, although these 4 groups of symbols correspond to symbols 2, 5, 8 and 11, when the second time-frequency resource selected to carry the first DCI is symbols 3 and 4, the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is symbol 4, the earliest symbol group after symbol 4 is symbol 5, and all symbol groups before symbol 5 are symbol 2, then only the DMRS of the first PDSCH carried on symbols 2 and 5 is used to estimate the channels of symbols 3 and 4.

[0235] In this way, not only is it ensured that the channel estimation of the first DCI is obtained through DMRS interpolation and the channel estimation quality of the first DCI is good, but it is also ensured that the delay of the channel estimation of the first DCI obtained by interpolation is small.

[0236] Alternatively, among the N groups of symbols, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried in the symbol group where the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is located and all symbol groups before the symbol group where the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is located is used to estimate the channels of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource. The demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried in all symbol groups after the symbol group where the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is located is not used to estimate the channels of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource.

[0237] That is, if the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is a symbol in N groups of symbols, the DMRS carried on the symbol group where the end symbol is located and all previous symbol groups are used to estimate the channels of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI.

[0238] For example, assuming that in the DMRS carrying mode shown in (d) of Figure 8, if a DMRS symbol can be selected to carry the first DCI, and the second time-frequency resources carrying the first DCI are symbols 3, 4 and 5 (the first DCI occupies part of the time-frequency resources of symbol 5), the end symbol of the second time-frequency resources is symbol 5, then symbol 5 and the DMRS of the first PDSCH carried on symbol 2 are used to estimate the channels of all symbols 3, 4 and 5 of the second time-frequency resources carrying the first DCI.

[0239] Similarly, this not only ensures that the channel estimation of the first DCI is obtained by interpolating the channel estimation of the DMRS, and the channel estimation quality on the symbol carrying the first DCI is good, but also ensures that the delay of the interpolated channel estimation of the symbol carrying the first DCI is small.

[0240] Mode C: In N groups of symbols, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried in all symbol groups before the end time of the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is used to estimate the channel of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource. The demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried in all symbol groups after the end time of the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is not used to estimate the channel of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource.

[0241] For example, in the second time-frequency resource mode shown in (c) of Figure 8, when DMRS occupies 3 groups of symbols, although these 3 groups of symbols correspond to symbols 2, 7 and 11, when the second time-frequency resource selected to carry the first DCI is symbols 4, 5 and 6, the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is symbol 6, and all symbol groups before the end time of symbol 6 are symbol 2, then only the DMRS of the first PDSCH carried on symbol 2 is used to estimate the channels of symbols 4, 5 and 6.

[0242] In the DMRS carrying method shown in (d) of Figure 8, when DMRS occupies 4 groups of symbols, although these 4 groups of symbols correspond to symbols 2, 5, 8 and 11, if the second time-frequency resource selected to carry the first DCI is symbols 3, 4 and 6, the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is symbol 6, and all symbol groups before the end time of symbol 6 are symbols 2 and symbol 5, then only the DMRS of the first PDSCH carried on symbols 2 and 5 is used to estimate the channels of symbols 3, 4 and 6.

[0243] In this way, if the DMRS symbol before the end time of the first DCI is used to obtain the channel estimate of the symbol carrying the first DCI, for the terminal device, the DMRS symbol used to obtain the channel estimate of the symbol carrying the first DCI is received earlier than the first DCI, which can make the UE obtain the channel estimate of the symbol carrying the first DCI with a smaller delay, thereby improving the demodulation and decoding efficiency of the terminal device for the first DCI.

[0244] In addition, as stated above, as shown in Figure 4, if the PDCCH carries DCI, the DCI is used to schedule the PDSCH, and there is a minimum time interval between the start symbol of the PDSCH and the end symbol of the PDCCH. The minimum time interval is related to the subcarrier spacing of the PDSCH and the subcarrier spacing of the PDCCH. As shown in Figure 5, if the PDCCH carries DCI, the DCI is used to schedule the PUSCH, and there is also a minimum time interval between the start symbol of the PUSCH and the end symbol of the PDCCH. The minimum time interval is not less than T proc,2 Similarly, in the case where the present application carries DMRS and the first DCI on the first PDSCH, considering that the channel estimation of the first DCI must be determined using the channel estimation of the DMRS on the first PDSCH, the embodiment of the present application can also determine the minimum time interval between the first DCI and the data channel scheduled by the first DCI based on the symbol carrying the DMRS, so that within the minimum time interval, the terminal device can complete the channel estimation, demodulation and decoding of the first DCI, and prepare for the transmission of the data channel scheduled by the first DCI.

[0245] Therefore, after step 602, as shown in FIG6 , which is a flow chart of a method for transmitting a control channel, the method of the embodiment of the present application may further include:

[0246] 603. The terminal device determines the time interval between the first downlink control information and the second data channel. If the time interval is less than the minimum time interval, the terminal device does not receive the second data channel or does not send the second data channel.

[0247] In other words, the terminal device does not expect the time interval between the first downlink control information and the second data channel to be less than the minimum time interval. However, when the terminal device receives the first downlink control information, and the time interval between the first downlink control information and the second data channel is less than the minimum time interval, the terminal device considers the first downlink control information invalid.

[0248] For example, if the first DCI carried on the first PDSCH is used to schedule a PUSCH, and the UE determines that the time interval between the first DCI and the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI is less than the minimum time interval, the terminal device does not send the PUSCH. In this case, the UE does not need to prepare for PUSCH transmission.

[0249] If the first DCI carried on the first PDSCH is used to schedule the PDSCH, the UE determines that the time interval between the first DCI and the PDSCH scheduled by the first DCI is less than the minimum time interval, and the terminal device does not receive the PDSCH.

[0250] In some scenarios, the first DCI carried on the first PDSCH may also be used to schedule CSI-RS. The minimum time interval determined in this application may also apply to the minimum time interval between the first DCI and the CSI-RS. When the UE determines that the time interval between the first DCI and the CSI-RS is less than the minimum time interval, the UE does not receive the CSI-RS.

[0251] In some scenarios, the first DCI carried on the first PDSCH may also be used to schedule an SRS. The minimum time interval determined in this application may also apply to the minimum time interval between the first DCI and the SRS. When the UE determines that the time interval between the first DCI and the SRS is less than the minimum time interval, the UE does not send the SRS.

[0252] Of course, in addition to being used to schedule the above-mentioned PUSCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS / SRS, the first DCI in this application can also be used to schedule other types of uplink channels / signals and downlink channels / signals, which will not be described in detail in this application.

[0253] In this application, how to determine the minimum time interval from the first DCI to the PUSCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS / SRS scheduled by the first DCI based on the third time-frequency resource carrying DMRS, multiple possible implementation examples are given below.

[0254] Mode a: The minimum time interval between the end symbol of the third time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval. The data channel can be replaced by a signal.

[0255] The first time interval is the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second DCI and the start symbol of the data channel scheduled by the second DCI, and the second DCI is any DCI carried on the physical downlink control channel. Here, the second data channel scheduled by the first DCI and the data channel scheduled by the second DCI are both PDSCHs, or both are PUSCHs. Alternatively, the signal scheduled by the first DCI and the data signal scheduled by the second DCI are both CSI-RSs, or both are SRSs.

[0256] When the second data channel scheduled by the first DCI and the data channel scheduled by the second DCI are both PDSCH, the subcarrier spacing of the second DCI is the same as the subcarrier spacing of the first DCI, and the subcarrier spacing of the PDSCH scheduled by the second DCI is the same as the PDSCH scheduled by the first DCI, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the third time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel scheduled by the first DCI and the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second DCI and the start symbol of the data channel scheduled by the second DCI are the same, and are both the first time interval.

[0257] For example, as shown in FIG4 , the second DCI and DMRS are carried on the PDCCH, the second DCI is used to schedule the PDSCH, and the first time interval is N shown in FIG4 pdsch PDCCH symbols.

[0258] When the second data channel scheduled by the first DCI and the data channel scheduled by the second DCI are both PUSCH, the subcarrier spacing of the second DCI is the same as the subcarrier spacing of the first DCI, and the subcarrier spacing of the PUSCH scheduled by the second DCI is the same as the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI, and the first symbols of the PUSCH scheduled by the second DCI and the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI both contain only DMRS, or the first symbols of the PUSCH scheduled by the second DCI and the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI both contain only data, and neither the first DCI nor the second DCI triggers BWP switching, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the third time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the data channel scheduled by the first DCI and the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second DCI and the start symbol of the data channel scheduled by the second DCI are the same, and are both the first time interval.

[0259] For example, as shown in FIG5 , the second DCI and DMRS are carried on the PDCCH, the second DCI is used to schedule the PUSCH, and the first time interval is T proc,2 .

[0260] That is, when the second DCI schedules the PUSCH or the PDSCH, the first time interval corresponding to the PUSCH is different from the first time interval corresponding to the PDSCH.

[0261] In the present application, if the first PDSCH carries the first DCI in addition to the DMRS, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the DMRS carried on the first time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the data channel scheduled by the first DCI is the first time interval.

[0262] The following example is for the case where the second data channel scheduled by the first DCI and the data channel scheduled by the second DCI are both PUSCH, the subcarrier spacing of the second DCI is the same as the subcarrier spacing of the first DCI, and the subcarrier spacing of the PUSCH scheduled by the second DCI and the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI are the same, and the first symbols of the PUSCH scheduled by the second DCI and the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI both contain only DMRS, or the first symbols of the PUSCH scheduled by the second DCI and the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI both contain only data, and neither the first DCI nor the second DCI triggers BWP switching.

[0263] FIG9 is a schematic diagram showing the minimum time interval between the first DCI and the PUSCH when the first PDSCH carries the DMRS and the first DCI. proc,2 Taking the definition as an example, in the case of pos2 of the single symbol mode shown in method a, the third time-frequency resource on the first PDSCH has 3 groups of symbols, the last group of symbols is symbol 11, and when the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is symbol 3, the minimum time interval between symbol 11 and the start symbol of the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI is the first time interval. That is, the starting symbol of the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI is not earlier than the moment corresponding to the first time interval after the end moment of symbol 11. If the time interval between the end time of symbol 3 and the start time of PUSCH is less than the first time interval, the terminal device does not send PUSCH.

[0264] In this way, it can be ensured that the channel estimation of the UE for the first DCI is obtained by interpolating the channel estimations of all DMRSs, and the channel estimation quality of the first DCI is relatively good.

[0265] Mode b: If the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is after the end symbol of the N group of symbols, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval.

[0266] As shown in Figure 9, if the DMRS carried on the first PDSCH is pos0, that is, the N group of symbols of the third time-frequency resource carrying DMRS is 1 group of symbols, this 1 group of symbols is symbol 2, and the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI occupies 1 symbol, and is symbol 3, that is, the end time of the second time-frequency resource is after the end time of the N group of symbols, in this case, the minimum time interval between the end time of symbol 3 carrying the first DCI and the start symbol (start time) of the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI can be used as the first time interval. If the time interval between the end time of symbol 3 and the start time of PUSCH is less than the first time interval, the terminal device does not send PUSCH.

[0267] In this way, when the DMRS is pos0, the UE can determine the channel estimate of the symbol carrying the first DCI based on the channel estimate of the DMRS received before the first DCI, thereby improving the demodulation and decoding efficiency of the first DCI and ensuring good channel estimation quality for the first DCI.

[0268] Method c: If the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is before the end symbol of N groups of symbols, in the N groups of symbols, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the earliest symbol group after the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval.

[0269] For example, as shown in method c-1 in Figure 9, if the DMRS carried on the first PDSCH is pos0, that is, the N groups of symbols of the third time-frequency resource carrying DMRS are 1 group of symbols, assuming that this group of symbols is symbol 3, the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI occupies 1 symbol, and is symbol 2, and the end time of symbol 2 carrying the first DCI is before symbol 3 carrying DMRS. The earliest symbol group after symbol 2, that is, the minimum time interval between the end time of symbol 3 and the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI can be the first time interval. If the time interval between the end time of symbol 2 and the start time of PUSCH is less than the first time interval, the terminal device does not send PUSCH.

[0270] Alternatively, as shown in mode c-2 of FIG9 , if the DMRS carried on the first PDSCH is pos3 and is in single-symbol mode, the N groups of symbols of the third time-frequency resource carrying the DMRS are 4 groups of symbols, which are symbols 2, 5, 8, and 11, respectively. The second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI occupies 1 symbol, which is symbol 3. In this way, the end time of symbol 3 carrying the first DCI is before the end time of these 4 groups of symbols (the end time of symbol 11). Then, among these 4 groups of symbols, the earliest symbol group after symbol 3 carrying the first DCI is symbol 5, and the minimum time interval between the end time of symbol 5 and the start time of the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI is the first time interval.

[0271] Method d: If the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is a symbol in N groups of symbols, among the N groups of symbols, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the symbol group in the N groups of symbols overlapping with the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval.

[0272] For example, in the case where the DMRS carried on the first PDSCH is pos3 and in single-symbol mode, the N groups of symbols of the third time-frequency resource carrying the DMRS are 4 groups of symbols, which are symbols 2, 5, 8, and 11 respectively. The second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI occupies 1 symbol, which is symbol 3. When the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI requires 3 symbols, if the time-frequency resources between the first group of symbols and the first symbol that can be used to carry the first DCI are greater than or equal to the time-frequency resources required for the first DCI information, and the 3 symbols required for the second time-frequency resources include one symbol in the 4 groups of symbols, then the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is symbols 3, 4, and 5. In this way, the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource belongs to these 4 groups of symbols. Among these 4 groups of symbols, the symbol group that overlaps with the end symbol 5 of the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI is symbol 5. The minimum time interval between the end time of symbol 5 and the start time of the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI can be used as the first time interval. If the time interval between the end symbol of the first DCI, that is, the end time of symbol 5 and the start time of PUSCH is less than the first time interval, the terminal device does not send PUSCH.

[0273] In this way, it can be ensured that the channel estimation of the first DCI is obtained by interpolating the channel estimation of the DMRS symbol, thereby improving the channel estimation performance of the first DCI.

[0274] Mode e: When N is greater than or equal to 2, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval plus the preset duration.

[0275] For example, as shown in the mode e in FIG9 , if the DMRS carried on the first PDSCH is pos3 and is in single symbol mode, the N groups of symbols of the third time-frequency resource carrying the DMRS are 4 groups of symbols, which are symbols 2, 5, 8 and 11 respectively, and the second time-frequency resource carrying the first DCI occupies 1 symbol, which is symbol 3. The minimum time interval between the end time of symbol 3 carrying the first DCI and the start time of the start symbol of the PUSCH scheduled by the first DCI may be the existing first time interval T proc,2 Add the preset duration. proc,2 In addition to the preset duration, the UE can perform channel estimation, demodulation and decoding of the first DCI, and PUSCH data preparation after receiving the first DCI, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the PUSCH.

[0276] In this way, when carrying DMRS and DCI on PDSCH, the present application can take into account the DMRS used for channel estimation to determine the minimum time interval between DCI and PUSCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of DCI scheduling data channel or CSI-RS.

[0277] It is understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in conjunction with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a computer software-driven hardware manner depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0278] Figures 10 and 11 are schematic diagrams of the structures of possible communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or base station in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be the terminal 120 as shown in Figure 1, or the base station 110 as shown in Figure 1, or a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal or base station.

[0279] As shown in Figure 10, the communication device 1000 includes a processing unit 1010 and a transceiver unit 1020. The communication device 1000 is used to implement the functions of the terminal or base station in the method embodiment shown in Figure 6 above.

[0280] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the terminal functions of the method embodiment shown in FIG6 , the transceiver unit 1020 is used to receive the indication information and the first downlink control information; the processing unit 1010 is used to process the indication information and the first downlink control information. The processing unit 1010 may also be used to determine the time interval between the first downlink control information and the second data channel.

[0281] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement the function of the base station in the method embodiment shown in Figure 6: the transceiver unit 1020 is used to send the indication information and the first downlink control information; the processing unit 1010 is used to generate the indication information and the first downlink control information.

[0282] For a more detailed description of the processing unit 1010 and the transceiver unit 1020 , reference may be made to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG6 .

[0283] As shown in Figure 11, communication device 1100 includes a processor 1110 and an interface circuit 1120. Processor 1110 and interface circuit 1120 are coupled to each other. It will be appreciated that interface circuit 1120 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, communication device 1100 may further include a memory 1130 for storing instructions executed by processor 1110, input data required by processor 1110 to execute instructions, or data generated by processor 1110 after executing instructions.

[0284] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the method shown in FIG6 , the processor 1110 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1010 , and the interface circuit 1120 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 1020 .

[0285] When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above-mentioned method embodiment. When the terminal chip receives information from the base station, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the terminal chip by these modules. When the terminal chip sends information to the base station, it can be understood that the information is first sent to other modules in the terminal (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0286] When the above-mentioned communication device is a chip applied to a base station, the base station chip implements the functions of the base station in the above-mentioned method embodiment. When the base station chip receives information from the terminal, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the base station (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the base station chip by these modules. When the base station chip sends information to the terminal, it can be understood that the information is sent to other modules in the base station (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) and then sent to the terminal by these modules.

[0287] In this application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be done directly from A to B or indirectly through another entity. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, it can be done directly from entity B or indirectly through another entity. Entities A and B herein can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within a RAN node or terminal. The sending and receiving of information can be information exchange between a RAN node and a terminal, for example, between a base station and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between two RAN nodes, for example, between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between different modules within a device, for example, between a terminal chip and other modules in the terminal, or between a base station chip and other modules within the base station.

[0288] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or may be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0289] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disk, mobile hard disk, CD-ROM or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and storage medium can also exist in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0290] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0291] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0292] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "Including at least one of A, B and C" can mean: including A; including B; including C; including A and B; including A and C; including B and C; including A, B and C.

[0293] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting control information, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive indication information, where the indication information indicates a first time-frequency resource used to carry a first downlink data channel, where the first time-frequency resource includes a third time-frequency resource, and the third time-frequency resource is used to carry a demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel; receiving first downlink control information on a second time-frequency resource, where the second time-frequency resource is a portion of the first time-frequency resource, and the first downlink control information indicates a time-frequency resource used to carry a second data channel; The second time-frequency resource is determined based on the first symbol of the first time-frequency resource, or the second time-frequency resource is determined based on the third time-frequency resource.

2. A method for transmitting control information, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending indication information, where the indication information indicates a first time-frequency resource used to carry a first downlink data channel, where the first time-frequency resource includes a third time-frequency resource, and the third time-frequency resource is used to carry a demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel; Sending first downlink control information on a second time-frequency resource, where the second time-frequency resource is a portion of the first time-frequency resource, and the first downlink control information indicates a time-frequency resource used to carry a second data channel; The second time-frequency resource is determined based on the first symbol of the first time-frequency resource, or the second time-frequency resource is determined based on the third time-frequency resource.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel is N groups of demodulation reference signals, where N is a positive integer; The time domain resources of the third time-frequency resources are N groups of symbols, and the nth group of symbols in the N groups of symbols carries the nth group of demodulation reference signals of the N groups of demodulation reference signals; Among them, any group of the N groups of symbols is one symbol or two consecutive symbols; when N is greater than or equal to 2, any two groups of the N groups of symbols are discontinuous in time domain, and n is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to N.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resource on each symbol of M symbols starting from the first symbol in the first time-frequency resource, and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resource on each symbol of M symbols starting from the first symbol of the N groups of symbols in the first time domain resource, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

6. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resources on each symbol of M symbols starting from the first symbol after the first group of symbols of the N groups of symbols in the first time-frequency resource, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

7. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that When N is greater than or equal to 2, the second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resources on M symbols closest to the second symbol in the time domain in the first time-frequency resource, where M is an integer greater than or equal to 1; The second symbol is a symbol between the first group of symbols of the N groups of symbols and the first symbol, the first symbol is the first symbol of a group of symbols in the N groups of symbols except the first group of symbols, and the second symbol and the first group of symbols are not continuous in time domain.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first symbol is the first symbol of the last group of symbols of the N groups of symbols.

9. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first symbol is the earliest symbol in the time domain that can meet the following conditions: The time-frequency resources between the first group of symbols and the first symbol that can be used to carry the first downlink control information are greater than or equal to the time-frequency resources required by the first downlink control information.

10. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first symbol is one of the N groups of symbols indicated by signaling or specified by a protocol.

11. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that When N is 1, the second time-frequency resource is part or all of the time-frequency resources on the M symbols closest to the N groups of symbols in the time domain in the first time-frequency resource.

12. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 11, characterized in that: The M symbols are: Symbols that are continuous in the time domain; or symbols other than the first category of symbols among the symbols that are continuous in the time domain; The first type of symbols includes at least one of the following: The symbol where the indication information is located; A symbol in the N groups of symbols; Contains the symbol for the rate matching resource.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that When the terminal device reports that it does not support receiving the first downlink control information on the N groups of symbols, the first type of symbols includes symbols in the N groups of symbols.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that When the terminal device reports that it does not support receiving the first downlink control information on the control resource set that carries the indication information, the first type of symbols includes the symbols where the indication information is located.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that: The minimum time interval between the end symbol of the third time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval.

16. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 14, characterized in that: If the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is after the end symbol of the N group of symbols, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval; If the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is before the end symbol of the N groups of symbols, in the N groups of symbols, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the earliest symbol group after the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval; If the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is a symbol in the N groups of symbols, in the N groups of symbols, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the symbol group in the N groups of symbols overlapping with the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval.

17. The method according to any one of claims 3-10, 12-14, characterized in that: When N is greater than or equal to 2, the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the start symbol of the second data channel is the first time interval plus a preset duration.

18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that: The first time interval is the minimum time interval between the end symbol of the second downlink control information and the start symbol of the data channel scheduled by the second downlink control information, and the second downlink control information is any downlink control information carried on the physical downlink control channel.

19. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 18, characterized in that: The demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried on all symbol groups in the N groups of symbols is used to estimate the channels of all symbols of the second time-frequency resources.

20. The method according to any one of claims 3-10, 12-18, characterized in that: When N is greater than or equal to 2: Among the N groups of symbols, the earliest symbol group after the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource and the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried on all symbol groups before the earliest symbol group are used to estimate the channels of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource; Or, among the N groups of symbols, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried on the symbol group where the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is located and all symbol groups before the symbol group where the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is located is used to estimate the channels of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource.

21. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 18, characterized in that: In the N groups of symbols, the demodulation reference signal of the first downlink data channel carried on all symbol groups before the end time of the end symbol of the second time-frequency resource is used to estimate the channels of all symbols of the second time-frequency resource.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising modules for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 21.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed on a communication device, the communication device is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that The method comprises computer instructions, which, when executed on a communication device, cause the communication device to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 21.

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