Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device receiving a configuration message, the configuration message comprising a configuration parameter of a first signal; receiving the first signal on the basis of the configuration parameter of the first signal; and, if the first signal is successfully received, receiving a PDCCH associated with the first signal. In the present application, the introduction of the first signal enables the terminal device to receive the PDCCH as required, so that the terminal device is prevented from traversing all possible time-frequency resource positions to perform PDCCH blind detection, thereby reducing the PDCCH reception complexity for the terminal device.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China on December 20, 2023, with application number 202311766345.3 and application name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0004] The network device may configure multiple time-frequency resource locations for the terminal device for sending a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to the terminal device. When the network device actually sends the PDCCH, it may only send the PDCCH on some of the time-frequency resource locations.

[0005] If the terminal device is not sure at which time-frequency resource location the PDCCH sent by the network device is located, it will attempt to receive the PDCCH at all time-frequency resource locations where the PDCCH may exist (i.e., perform PDCCH blind detection). For example, the terminal device performs descrambling, rate matching, decoding, and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) checks on the signal transmitted at each time-frequency resource location where the PDCCH may exist. If the decoding is successful, it means that the PDCCH of the terminal device does exist at the time-frequency resource location. If the decoding fails, it means that the PDCCH of the terminal device does not exist at the time-frequency resource location.

[0006] It can be seen that the method in which the terminal device traverses all possible time-frequency resource positions to receive the PDCCH has the problem of high complexity. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus that can reduce the complexity of PDCCH reception and enable a terminal device to receive PDCCH on demand.

[0008] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a terminal device. Unless otherwise specified, the "terminal device" in this application can refer to the terminal device itself, or a component in the terminal device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The method includes: receiving a configuration message, the configuration message including configuration parameters of a first signal; receiving the first signal according to the configuration parameters of the first signal; if the first signal is successfully received, receiving the PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0009] Optionally, the configuration message includes configuration parameters of the first signal, which can also be described as: the configuration message includes configuration parameters, and the configuration parameters are used to configure the first signal; or, the configuration message includes configuration parameters, and the configuration parameters are used to configure the association between the first signal and PDCCH, etc.

[0010] The embodiment of the present application introduces a first signal so that the terminal device receives the PDCCH only when it successfully receives the first signal, and the terminal device receives the PDCCH associated with the first signal. This allows the terminal device to receive the PDCCH on demand, avoids the terminal device traversing all possible time-frequency resource locations for PDCCH blind detection, and reduces the complexity of the terminal device receiving the PDCCH.

[0011] In one possible design, if the first signal corresponds to the terminal device, it is determined that the first signal is successfully received.

[0012] Through this design method, the terminal device can continue to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the first signal only when it receives the first signal corresponding to itself, and the terminal device can receive the PDCCH corresponding to itself based on the first signal.

[0013] In one possible design, the method also includes: if reception of the first signal fails, not receiving the PDCCH associated with the first signal, or in other words, skipping the PDCCH associated with the first signal when performing PDCCH blind detection.

[0014] Through this design method, when a terminal device receives a first signal that does not correspond to itself, it does not receive the PDCCH corresponding to the first signal, and based on the first signal, the terminal device does not receive the PDCCH corresponding to other terminal devices.

[0015] In one possible design, if the first signal and the terminal device do not correspond, it is determined that reception of the first signal has failed.

[0016] In one possible design, after receiving a first signal sent by a network device, a correlation test can be performed between the received first signal and the first signal corresponding to the terminal device (such as the first signal stored by the terminal device), and whether the received first signal is the first signal corresponding to the terminal device is determined based on the correlation test result. For example, if the correlation test is successful (such as the correlation value exceeds a threshold), it means that the first signal received by the terminal device is the first signal corresponding to the terminal device, and the terminal device successfully receives the first signal; for example, if the correlation test fails (such as the correlation value does not exceed the threshold), it means that the first signal received by the terminal device is not the first signal corresponding to the terminal device, and the terminal device fails to receive the first signal.

[0017] Optionally, the first signal may be a user-level signal. Specifically, each user is configured with a specific first signal, and each terminal device may store the first signal of its corresponding user. The first signals configured for different users may be all the same, all different, or partially the same or different, without limitation.

[0018] In one possible design, the configuration parameters of the first signal include one or more of the following:

[0019] The first parameter is used to determine whether to enable or disable the first signal. This parameter can ensure that the terminal device receives the PDCCH based on the first signal when the first signal is enabled, thereby improving the reliability of the solution.

[0020] The type of the first signal, which includes one or more of the following: a first signal associated with a control resource set, a first signal associated with a search space, a first signal associated with a listening opportunity, and a first signal associated with an alternative PDCCH. This parameter ensures that the terminal device receives the PDCCH using the first signal type configured by the network, improving the reliability of the solution.

[0021] The association relationship between the first signal and one or more of the following resources: control resource set, search space, listening opportunity, alternative PDCCH. This parameter can help the terminal device determine the resources associated with the first signal and then receive the PDCCH on the resources associated with the first signal.

[0022] It is understood that when the configuration parameters of the first signal include both the type of the first signal and the association relationship between the first signal and the resource, the type of the first signal corresponds to (or matches) the association relationship between the first signal and the resource. For example, if the type of the first signal includes a control resource set, the association relationship between the first signal and the resource includes an association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set.

[0023] It is understood that the above examples are merely examples and not limitations, and there may be other possibilities.

[0024] This design approach ensures that the behavior of network devices corresponds to that of terminal devices, thereby improving the reliability of communication between network devices and terminal devices.

[0025] In one possible design, receiving the first signal according to a configuration parameter of the first signal may include: receiving the first signal according to the first parameter. For example, if the first parameter indicates that the first signal is enabled, detecting whether the network device has sent the first signal (or received the first signal). If the first parameter indicates that the first signal is not enabled, not detecting whether the network device has sent the first signal (or not received the first signal).

[0026] In one possible design, receiving the first signal according to the configuration parameters of the first signal may include: receiving the first signal according to the type of the first signal. For example, detecting whether the network device has sent the first signal of the type to the terminal device (or received the first signal of the type).

[0027] In one possible design, the association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set includes: a control resource set associated with the first signal, or a first signal associated with the control resource set. It is understood that a first signal can be associated with one or more control resource sets, or a control resource set can be associated with one or more first signals, without limitation.

[0028] In one possible design, the association relationship between the first signal and the search space includes: a search space associated with the first signal, or a first signal associated with the search space. It is understood that a first signal can be associated with one or more search spaces, or a search space can be associated with one or more first signals, without limitation.

[0029] In one possible design, the association relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunity includes: a listening opportunity associated with the first signal, or a first signal associated with the listening opportunity. It is understood that a first signal can be associated with one or more listening opportunities, or a listening opportunity can be associated with one or more first signals, without limitation.

[0030] In one possible design, the association relationship between the first signal and the alternative PDCCH includes: the alternative PDCCH associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH. It is understood that a first signal can be associated with one or more alternative PDCCHs, or a candidate PDCCH can be associated with one or more first signals, without limitation.

[0031] In one possible design, the PDCCH associated with the first signal includes one or more of the following: the PDCCH corresponding to the control resource set associated with the first signal; the PDCCH corresponding to the search space associated with the first signal; the PDCCH corresponding to the listening opportunity associated with the first signal; and the PDCCH corresponding to the alternative PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0032] In one possible design, receiving the PDCCH associated with the first signal includes: receiving the PDCCH associated with the first signal according to configuration parameters of the first signal. For example, the configuration parameters carry an association relationship between the first signal and one or more resources, and based on the association relationship between the first signal and the one or more resources in the configuration parameters, the PDCCH is received on the one or more resources associated with the first signal.

[0033] With this design approach, the terminal device can determine on which resources to receive the PDCCH based on the configuration parameters, thereby improving the reliability of the solution.

[0034] In one possible design, before receiving the configuration message, the terminal device's capability information may also be sent;

[0035] The capability information of the terminal device is used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0036] whether the terminal device supports PDCCH reception according to the first signal, or whether the terminal device supports the first signal;

[0037] The type of the first signal supported by the terminal device;

[0038] the number of first signal types supported by the terminal device;

[0039] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal for controlling resource set association;

[0040] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the search control;

[0041] Whether the terminal device supports listening for the first signal associated with the opportunity;

[0042] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH;

[0043] The number of first signals supported by the terminal device.

[0044] It can be understood that the above items are only examples and not limitations, and other possibilities may be included.

[0045] Through this design approach, the terminal device can report its own capability information to the network device, thereby enabling the network device to configure the configuration parameters of the first signal based on the capability information of the terminal device, thereby further improving the reliability of communication.

[0046] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a network device. Unless otherwise specified, the "network device" in this application can refer to the terminal device itself, or a component in the network device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal device functions. The method includes: sending a configuration message, the configuration message including configuration parameters of a first signal; sending the first signal and a PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0047] In one possible design, the configuration parameters of the first signal include one or more of the following:

[0048] A first parameter, the first parameter is used to determine whether to enable the first signal;

[0049] The type of the first signal includes one or more of a first signal associated with a control resource set, a first signal associated with a search space, a first signal associated with a listening opportunity, and a first signal associated with a candidate PDCCH;

[0050] The association relationship between the first signal and one or more of the following resources: a control resource set, a search space, a listening opportunity, and an alternative PDCCH.

[0051] In one possible design, the association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set includes: the control resource set associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the control resource set; or

[0052] The association relationship between the first signal and the search space includes: the search space associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the search space; or,

[0053] The association relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunity includes: the listening opportunity associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the listening opportunity; or,

[0054] The association relationship between the first signal and the candidate PDCCH includes: the candidate PDCCH associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the candidate PDCCH.

[0055] In one possible design, the PDCCH associated with the first signal includes one or more of the following:

[0056] A PDCCH corresponding to the control resource set associated with the first signal;

[0057] A PDCCH corresponding to the search space associated with the first signal;

[0058] A PDCCH corresponding to a listening opportunity associated with the first signal;

[0059] The PDCCH corresponding to the candidate PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0060] In one possible design, before sending the configuration message, capability information of the terminal device is also received;

[0061] The capability information of the terminal device is used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0062] whether the terminal device supports PDCCH reception according to the first signal, or whether the terminal device supports the first signal;

[0063] The type of the first signal supported by the terminal device;

[0064] the number of first signal types supported by the terminal device;

[0065] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal for controlling resource set association;

[0066] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the search control;

[0067] Whether the terminal device supports listening for the first signal associated with the opportunity;

[0068] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH;

[0069] The number of first signals supported by the terminal device.

[0070] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a module, a unit or a technical means for executing the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect.

[0071] Exemplarily, the communication device may include:

[0072] a transceiver module, configured to receive a configuration message including configuration parameters of the first signal;

[0073] The processing module is configured to control the transceiver module to receive the first signal according to the configuration parameters of the first signal; if the first signal is successfully received, control the transceiver module to receive the PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0074] In one possible design, the processing module is further used to: if the first signal corresponds to the terminal device, determine that the first signal is successfully received.

[0075] In one possible design, the processing module is also used to: if the reception of the first signal fails, control the transceiver module not to receive the PDCCH associated with the first signal, or control the transceiver module to skip the PDCCH associated with the first signal when performing PDCCH blind detection.

[0076] In one possible design, the processing module is further used to: if the first signal and the terminal device do not correspond, determine that the reception of the first signal has failed.

[0077] In one possible design, the configuration parameters of the first signal include one or more of the following:

[0078] A first parameter, the first parameter is used to determine whether to enable the first signal;

[0079] The type of the first signal includes one or more of a first signal associated with a control resource set, a first signal associated with a search space, a first signal associated with a listening opportunity, and a first signal associated with a candidate PDCCH;

[0080] The association relationship between the first signal and one or more of the following resources: a control resource set, a search space, a listening opportunity, and an alternative PDCCH.

[0081] In one possible design, the association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set includes: the control resource set associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the control resource set; or, the association relationship between the first signal and the search space includes: the search space associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the search space; or, the association relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunity includes: the listening opportunity associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the listening opportunity; or, the association relationship between the first signal and the alternative PDCCH includes: the alternative PDCCH associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH.

[0082] In one possible design, the PDCCH associated with the first signal includes one or more of the following:

[0083] A PDCCH corresponding to the control resource set associated with the first signal;

[0084] A PDCCH corresponding to the search space associated with the first signal;

[0085] A PDCCH corresponding to a listening opportunity associated with the first signal;

[0086] The PDCCH corresponding to the candidate PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0087] In one possible design, the processing module is also used to: control the transceiver module to receive the PDCCH associated with the first signal according to the configuration parameters of the first signal.

[0088] In one possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to: send capability information of the terminal device before receiving the configuration message;

[0089] The capability information of the terminal device is used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0090] whether the terminal device supports PDCCH reception according to the first signal, or whether the terminal device supports the first signal;

[0091] The type of the first signal supported by the terminal device;

[0092] the number of first signal types supported by the terminal device;

[0093] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal for controlling resource set association;

[0094] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the search control;

[0095] Whether the terminal device supports listening for the first signal associated with the opportunity;

[0096] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH;

[0097] The number of first signals supported by the terminal device.

[0098] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a module, a unit, or a technical means for executing the method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0099] Exemplarily, the communication device may include:

[0100] The transceiver module is configured to send a configuration message including configuration parameters of a first signal; and send the first signal and a PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0101] Optionally, the communication device may further include: a processing module, configured to generate a configuration message.

[0102] In one possible design, the configuration parameters of the first signal include one or more of the following:

[0103] A first parameter, the first parameter is used to determine whether to enable the first signal;

[0104] The type of the first signal includes one or more of a first signal associated with a control resource set, a first signal associated with a search space, a first signal associated with a listening opportunity, and a first signal associated with a candidate PDCCH;

[0105] The association relationship between the first signal and one or more of the following resources: a control resource set, a search space, a listening opportunity, and an alternative PDCCH.

[0106] In one possible design, the association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set includes: the control resource set associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the control resource set; or, the association relationship between the first signal and the search space includes: the search space associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the search space; or, the association relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunity includes: the listening opportunity associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the listening opportunity; or, the association relationship between the first signal and the alternative PDCCH includes: the alternative PDCCH associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH.

[0107] In one possible design, the PDCCH associated with the first signal includes one or more of the following:

[0108] A PDCCH corresponding to the control resource set associated with the first signal;

[0109] A PDCCH corresponding to the search space associated with the first signal;

[0110] A PDCCH corresponding to a listening opportunity associated with the first signal;

[0111] The PDCCH corresponding to the candidate PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0112] In one possible design, the transceiver module is further configured to: receive capability information of the terminal device before sending the configuration message;

[0113] The capability information of the terminal device is used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0114] whether the terminal device supports PDCCH reception according to the first signal, or whether the terminal device supports the first signal;

[0115] The type of the first signal supported by the terminal device;

[0116] the number of first signal types supported by the terminal device;

[0117] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal for controlling resource set association;

[0118] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the search control;

[0119] Whether the terminal device supports listening for the first signal associated with the opportunity;

[0120] Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH;

[0121] The number of first signals supported by the terminal device.

[0122] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is electrically coupled to the processor, and the processor causes the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect to be executed through a logic circuit or execution code instructions, or causes the method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect to be executed.

[0123] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein a computer program or instruction is stored in the storage medium. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect is executed, or the method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect is executed.

[0124] In the seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising instructions, which, when run on a computer, causes the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect to be executed, or causes the method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect to be executed.

[0125] In an eighth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising a terminal device and a network device, wherein the terminal device is used to execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible design of the first aspect, and the network device is used to execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible design of the second aspect.

[0126] The specific designs and beneficial effects of the third to eighth aspects mentioned above can be referred to the corresponding designs and beneficial effects in the first to second aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0127] FIG1 is an example diagram of a PDCCH configuration;

[0128] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a possible communication system applicable to embodiments of the present application;

[0129] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a possible communication system applicable to embodiments of the present application;

[0130] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the application;

[0131] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0132] FIG6 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0133] The following is an explanation of some technical terms involved in the embodiments of this application:

[0134] 1. Physical downlink control channel (PDCCH): In mobile communication systems, PDCCH is used to transmit downlink control information (DCI). DCI is mainly used to indicate: (1) downlink scheduling information, which is used by terminal devices to receive the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); (2) uplink scheduling information (or uplink grants), which is used by terminal devices to send the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); (3) other physical layer control information, such as slot format indicator (SFI), pre-emption indicator (PI), power control commands and other control signaling, to assist terminal devices in receiving and sending data.

[0135] The signal carried on the PDCCH is called a PDCCH signal. In some embodiments, the PDCCH signal can be simply referred to as PDCCH. In other words, PDCCH can refer to the physical downlink control channel or the signal transmitted on the physical downlink control channel.

[0136] A network device can schedule multiple terminal devices simultaneously in both uplink and downlink. This means that a network device can send multiple scheduling messages in each time slot. Each scheduling message is transmitted on a separate PDCCH. This means that a network device can send multiple PDCCHs simultaneously in a time slot.

[0137] Before the network device and the terminal device transmit PDCCH, the network device needs to send PDCCH configuration (such as control resource set (CORESET) and search space (search space) etc.) to the terminal device to configure the relevant parameters of PDCCH transmission for the terminal device and assist the terminal device in receiving PDCCH.

[0138] 2. Control resource set (CORESET):

[0139] It is mainly used to configure the frequency domain resource information of PDCCH (such as which resource blocks (RBs) are occupied) and some time domain resource information (such as how many symbols are occupied). The network equipment can configure one or more control resource sets for the terminal device for different purposes. A control resource set can be associated with one or more search spaces.

[0140] For example, consider a configuration example of a control resource set:

[0141] Some parameters in this example are explained as follows:

[0142] controlResourceSetId indicates the index of the control resource set;

[0143] frequencyDomainResources indicates the frequency domain resources of the control resource set, which can be a bitmap. Each bit in the bitmap corresponds to 6 consecutive RBs.

[0144] Duration indicates the number of consecutive orthogonal frequency divided multiplexing (OFDM) symbols occupied by the time domain resources of the control resource set;

[0145] cce-REG-MappingType indicates the mapping mode of control channel element (CCE) and resource element group (REG), including interleaved and non-interleaved.

[0146] precoderGranularity indicates the granularity of PDCCH precoding;

[0147] tci-StatesPDCCH-ToAddList indicates the addition of one or more transmission configuration indicator (TCI)-states;

[0148] tci-StatesPDCCH-ToReleaseList indicates the release of one or more TCI-states;

[0149] tci-PresentInDCI indicates whether there is a TCI field in the DCI;

[0150] pdcch-DMRS-ScramblingID indicates the scrambling identifier used by PDCCH.

[0151] In some embodiments, the resources configured by the control resource set (such as one or more symbols, one or more RBs, etc.) may also be referred to as the control resource set. In other words, the control resource set may be used to represent resources or to represent configuration parameters of resources.

[0152] 3. Search space (SS): Also known as the search space set. This is primarily used to configure PDCCH time domain resource information, or to configure PDCCH blind detection related information. The search space set may include, for example: the time domain period (or blind detection period), which indicates how many slots the search space appears once; the monitoring occasion within a slot, which indicates the possible symbol positions of the PDCCH within a slot; the PDCCH aggregation level, which indicates how many frequency domain resources are used to carry the PDCCH, and the number of PDCCH candidates for each aggregation level, etc.

[0153] In some embodiments, the resources configured by the search space may also be referred to as the search space. In other words, the search space may be used to represent resources or to represent configuration parameters of resources.

[0154] 4. Monitoring occasion (MO):

[0155] A search space may include one or more listening opportunities. In some embodiments, the search space may be indicated by the monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot parameter. The monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot parameter is a 14-bit bitmap, and each bit corresponds to an OFDM symbol. A bit value of 1 indicates that the OFDM symbol corresponding to the bit is the first OFDM symbol in a search space, that is, starting from this OFDM symbol, there is a listening opportunity for X consecutive OFDM symbols. X is indicated by the duration parameter in CORESET, which indicates the number of time domain symbols occupied by PDCCH. For example, if the value of monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot is 10000100000000, and the value of duration in the associated CORESET is 3, then the search space has two listening opportunities, the first one is located at the 1st to 3rd OFDM symbols, and the second one is located at the 6th to 8th OFDM symbols.

[0156] 5. PDCCH candidate:

[0157] Alternatively, it's called a potential PDCCH. This refers to a time-frequency resource location where a network device can transmit a PDCCH. A time-frequency resource location where a PDCCH might exist is called a candidate PDCCH. The network device may or may not transmit a PDCCH on a candidate PDCCH. Candidate PDCCHs can be configured based on the aggregation level. For example, the network device can configure two candidate PDCCHs with aggregation level 4 and four candidate PDCCHs with aggregation level 8 for a terminal device. The terminal device then performs blind detection on the two candidate PDCCHs with aggregation level 4 and the four candidate PDCCHs with aggregation level 8. The network device configures candidate PDCCHs to control the number of blind detections for each aggregation level, thereby reducing the complexity of PDCCH blind detection. The time-frequency location of the candidate PDCCH for each specific aggregation level is calculated according to a specific formula. The terminal device can determine the time-frequency location of the candidate PDCCH for each specific aggregation level and then receive the PDCCH at that time-frequency location.

[0158] The following is an example of a search space configuration:

[0159] Some parameters in this example are explained as follows:

[0160] searchSpaceId indicates the index of SearchSpace;

[0161] controlResourceSetId indicates the index of the CORESET associated with the SearchSpace;

[0162] monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset indicates the period of SearchSpace and the specific slot within a period;

[0163] Duration indicates how many slots are in a cycle, that is, how many consecutive slots the searchSpace exists in a cycle;

[0164] monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot indicates the presence of a listening opportunity within a slot;

[0165] nrofCandidates indicates the total number of blind checks;

[0166] searchSpaceType indicates the type of the blind detection space, which is used to determine the type of PDCCH corresponding to the blind detection space.

[0167] It should be understood that the terms control resource set, search space, listening opportunity, alternative PDCCH, etc. in this application are for convenience of description and are not limited to the literal meaning. For example, control resource set can generally refer to the configuration parameters of PDCCH frequency domain information, and can be replaced by any other term that characterizes PDCCH frequency domain information. For example, search space can generally refer to the configuration parameters of PDCCH time domain information or PDCCH blind detection information, and can be replaced by any other term that characterizes PDCCH time domain information or PDCCH blind detection information. For example, listening opportunity can generally refer to the configuration parameters of the time domain position of PDCCH in a time slot, and can be replaced by any other term that characterizes the time domain position of PDCCH in a time slot. For example, alternative PDCCH can generally refer to the configuration parameters of the time-frequency resource position where PDCCH may exist, and can be replaced by any other term that characterizes the time-frequency resource position where PDCCH may exist.

[0168] The control resource set and its associated search space are combined to determine all possible time-frequency resource locations of the PDCCH, and the terminal device can perform blind detection of the PDCCH at these time-frequency resource locations.

[0169] 4. PDCCH blind detection:

[0170] PDCCH blind detection is a method for terminal devices to receive PDCCHs. Specifically, it means that when the terminal device is not sure at which time-frequency resource position the PDCCH sent by the network device is located, it uses a blind test method to try to receive the PDCCH at each time-frequency resource position where the PDCCH may exist (that is, each candidate PDCCH). The process of the terminal device traversing each candidate PDCCH and determining in turn whether the PDCCH of the terminal device exists on the time-frequency resource corresponding to each candidate PDCCH is called blind detection. It can be understood that which candidate PDCCHs the terminal device wants to traverse are configured in advance for the terminal device by the network device (such as through CORESET and search space configuration).

[0171] Figure 1 shows an example of a PDCCH configuration. The network device configures a control resource set (CRS) for a terminal device, which is associated with two search spaces (SS1 and SS2). SS1 is configured with three listening opportunities (MO1, MO2, MO3), and SS2 is configured with four listening opportunities (MO1, MO2, MO3, MO4). Both SS1 and SS2 are configured with two listening opportunities, which appear in each listening opportunity. Therefore, there are actually 3x2=6 time-frequency resource locations where a PDCCH may be present in SS1, and 4x2=8 time-frequency resource locations where a PDCCH may be present in SS2. When receiving a PDCCH, the terminal device sequentially traverses the signals of each candidate PDCCH in each listening opportunity and performs reception processing, such as descrambling, rate matching, decoding, and CRC checking. A successful decoding indicates that the terminal device's PDCCH is present in that listening opportunity. A failed decoding indicates that the terminal device's PDCCH is not present in that listening opportunity. According to the example given in FIG1 , the terminal device needs to traverse 14 candidate PDCCHs to detect the PDCCH.

[0172] The disadvantage of the above-mentioned PDCCH receiving method is that the terminal device needs to perform blind detection on all time-frequency resource positions (such as all candidate PDCCHs) configured for it by the network device, which is very complicated.

[0173] In view of this, a technical solution of an embodiment of the present application is provided to reduce the complexity of PDCCH reception and enable a terminal device to receive PDCCH on demand.

[0174] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: fifth-generation (5G) communication systems, sixth-generation (6G) communication systems or other future evolution systems, or various other wireless communication systems using wireless access technologies, etc., can all adopt the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

[0175] FIG2 exemplarily illustrates a possible communication system architecture diagram applicable to embodiments of the present application, wherein the system includes terminal devices and network devices. It will be understood that FIG2 uses one network device and one terminal device as an example for illustration, and in practice, the communication system may include a greater number of terminal devices and network devices.

[0176] The network device may include an access network device. Optionally, the network device may also include a core network device. Unless otherwise specified, the network device in the embodiment of the present application is an access network device.

[0177] The access network equipment may also be referred to as an access network element, a network device, a radio access network (RAN) entity, a RAN node, or an access node, etc., to help terminal devices achieve wireless access. Optionally, the RAN may be a cellular system related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), for example, a 4G mobile communication system (such as a long term evolution (LTE) system), a 5G mobile communication system (such as a new radio (NR) system), or a future-oriented evolution system (such as a 6G mobile communication system). The RAN may also be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. The RAN may also be a communication system that is a fusion of two or more of the above systems.

[0178] In one possible scenario, the network device may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation NodeB (gNB), a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. The network device may also be a macro base station, a micro base station or an indoor station, a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the network device may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an onboard device. For example, the access network device in vehicle to everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU).

[0179] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and DU can be set separately, or they can be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0180] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN or open RAN or ORAN) system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application takes CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0181] Optionally, for network elements in the ORAN system, each network element may implement the protocol layer functions shown in Table 1 below.

[0182] Table 1

[0183] It should be noted that, in the ORAN system, the network device in this application may be one or more network elements in Table 1 above.

[0184] The following describes the architecture of the CU and DU of an access network device. The access network device includes at least one CU and at least one DU. Optionally, the access network device also includes at least one RU.

[0185] The following is an introduction using the example of an access network device including a CU and a DU. The CU has some functions of the core network, and the CU may include a CU-CP and a CU-UP. The CU and the DU may be configured according to the protocol layer functions of the wireless network they implement. For example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and the protocol layers above it (for example, the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer). The DU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (for example, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the physical (PHY) layer). For another example, the CU is configured to implement the functions of the protocol layers above the PDCP layer (such as the RRC layer and / or the SDAP layer), and the DU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer and the protocol layers below it (for example, the RLC layer, the MAC layer, and / or the PHY layer, etc.).

[0186] When a CU includes a CU-CP and a CU-UP, the CU-CP is used to implement the control plane functions of the CU, and the CU-UP is used to implement the user plane functions of the CU. For example, when the CU is configured to implement the functions of the PDCP layer, RRC layer, and SDAP layer, the CU-CP is used to implement the RRC layer functions and the control plane functions of the PDCP layer, and the CU-UP is used to implement the SDAP layer functions and the user plane functions of the PDCP layer.

[0187] The CU-CP can interact with network elements in the core network that implement control plane functions. The network elements in the core network that implement control plane functions can be access and mobility function network elements, such as the access and mobility management function (AMF) in the 5G system. The access and mobility function network element is responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as location update of terminal devices, registration network of terminal devices, and switching of terminal devices.

[0188] The CU-UP can interact with network elements in the core network that implement user plane functions. Network elements in the core network that implement user plane functions, such as the user plane function (UPF) in the 5G system, are responsible for forwarding and receiving data in terminal devices.

[0189] The above configuration of CU and DU is only an example, and the functions of CU and DU can also be configured as needed. For example, the CU or DU can be configured to have the functions of more protocol layers, or the CU or DU can be configured to have partial processing functions of the protocol layer. For example, some functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are set in the CU, and the remaining functions of the RLC layer and the functions of the protocol layers below the RLC layer are set in the DU. For another example, the functions of the CU or DU can be divided according to the service type or other system requirements. For example, according to the delay, the functions whose processing time needs to meet the smaller delay requirement are set in the DU, and the functions that do not need to meet the delay requirement are set in the CU.

[0190] The DU and RU can work together to implement the functions of the PHY layer. A DU can be connected to one or more RUs. The functions of the DU and RU can be configured in various ways according to the design. For example, the DU is configured to implement the baseband function, and the RU is configured to implement the mid-RF function. For another example, the DU is configured to implement the high-layer functions in the PHY layer, and the RU is configured to implement the low-layer functions in the PHY layer or to implement the low-layer functions and the RF functions. The high-layer functions in the physical layer may include a part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the MAC layer, and the low-layer functions in the physical layer may include another part of the functions of the physical layer, which is closer to the mid-RF side.

[0191] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the network device may be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the network device, or by a control subsystem that includes the network device functions. The control subsystem that includes the network device functions may be a control center in the aforementioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city.

[0192] The terminal device may also be referred to as a terminal, a terminal apparatus, a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, or a mobile terminal. The terminal device can be widely used in various scenarios, for example, 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, or smart city. For example, the terminal device may be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wearable device, a vehicle, a drone, a helicopter, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, or a smart home device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal device.

[0193] In the embodiment of the present application, the functions of the terminal device can also be performed by a module in the terminal (such as a chip or a modem), or by a device that includes terminal functions.

[0194] Network devices and terminal devices can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; and in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of network devices and terminal devices.

[0195] It is understood that the network architecture and application scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. It is known to those skilled in the art that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new application scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are equally applicable to similar technical problems. The embodiments of the present application are described using the communication system shown in Figure 2 as an example. When applying the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application to other communication systems, the devices, components, modules, etc. in the embodiments can be replaced with corresponding devices, components, and modules in other communication systems without limitation.

[0196] The communication between each network device and each terminal device in the communication system shown in Figure 2 can also be represented in another form. As shown in Figure 3, terminal device 10 includes a processor 101, a memory 102, and a transceiver 103. Transceiver 103 includes a transmitter 1031, a receiver 1032, and an antenna 1033. Network device 20 includes a processor 201, a memory 202, and a transceiver 203. Transceiver 203 includes a transmitter 2031, a receiver 2032, and an antenna 2033. Receiver 1032 can be used to receive signals via antenna 1033, and transmitter 1031 can be used to send signals to network device 20 via antenna 1033. Transmitter 2031 can be used to send signals to terminal device 10 via antenna 2033, and receiver 2032 can be used to receive signals sent by terminal device 10 via antenna 2033.

[0197] See Figure 4, which is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, which can be applied to the communication system shown in Figure 2. Unless otherwise specified, the "network device" in this application can refer to the network device itself (for example, the network device shown in Figure 2), or a component in the network device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. The "terminal device" in this application can refer to the terminal device itself (for example, the terminal device shown in Figure 2), or a component in the terminal device (for example, a processor, a chip, or a chip system, etc.), or a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0198] As shown in FIG4 , the method includes steps S401 to S405:

[0199] S401: A network device sends a configuration message, and a terminal device receives the configuration message.

[0200] It can be understood that when the network device is implemented through multiple RAN nodes, for example, when the network device is a network device in the ORAN system, the network device sends a configuration message, specifically, one of the O-CU, O-DU and O-RU sends the configuration message, or multiple of the O-CU, O-DU and O-RU jointly send the configuration message.

[0201] In an embodiment of the present application, the configuration message includes configuration parameters of the first signal; or, the configuration message includes configuration parameters, and the configuration parameters are used to configure the first signal; or, the configuration message includes configuration parameters, and the configuration parameters are used to configure the association between the first signal and the PDCCH, and so on.

[0202] Among them, the first signal is used to determine (or indicate) whether there is a PDCCH, or the first signal is used by the terminal device to determine (or judge) whether there is a PDCCH sent to the terminal device, or the first signal is used to determine (or indicate) whether the network device has sent the PDCCH, or the first signal is used by the terminal device to determine (or judge) whether the network device has sent the PDCCH to the terminal device, or the first signal is used to determine (or indicate) at which time-frequency resource positions the PDCCH is sent, or the first signal is used by the terminal device to determine (or judge) at which time-frequency resource positions the network device has sent the PDCCH to the terminal device, or the first signal is used to indicate whether the terminal device needs to perform PDCCH detection, or the first signal is used to indicate at which time-frequency resource positions (such as the time-frequency resource positions associated with the first signal) the terminal device needs to perform PDCCH detection, or the first signal is used by the terminal device to discover the PDCCH sent to the terminal device, and so on.

[0203] In one possible design, the name of the first signal may be a control discovery signal (CDS), indicating that it can be used by the terminal device to discover the PDCCH. The name of the first signal may be a control detection signal (CDS), indicating that it can be used by the terminal device to detect the PDCCH. Of course, this is only an example, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific name of the first signal.

[0204] In one possible design, the first signal may be a reference signal sent on the PDCCH, such as a demodulation reference signal (DMRS). In this way, there is no need to design a new signal type, which can save system resources.

[0205] In one possible design, the first signal may be a user-level (or terminal device-level) signal. Exemplarily, the first signal may be a sequence (e.g., a CDS sequence). A user may correspond to one sequence or multiple different sequences. Optionally, different users may correspond to different sequences. Optionally, different users may correspond to the same sequence. For example, if multiple terminal devices belong to the same user group, all users in the user group may correspond to the same sequence. Optionally, the terminal device may store the first signal of the user corresponding to the terminal device.

[0206] In one possible implementation, the configuration parameters of the first signal sent by the network device to different terminal devices may be different. For example, the configuration message sent by the network device to each terminal device only includes the configuration parameters of the first signal corresponding to that terminal device. For example, the configuration message sent by the network device to a first terminal device includes the configuration parameters of the first signal corresponding to the first terminal device, and the configuration message sent by the network device to a second terminal device includes the configuration parameters of the first signal corresponding to the second terminal device.

[0207] Taking the configuration parameters represented by tables as an example, Table 1A and Table 1B respectively represent the configuration parameters of the first signal sent by the network device to the first terminal device and the configuration parameters of the first signal sent by the network device to the second terminal device, where the first signal corresponding to the first terminal device is CDS-1, and the configuration parameters of CDS-1 are A1, B1, and C1; the first signal corresponding to the second terminal device is CDS-2, and the configuration parameters of CDS-2 are A2, B2, and C2.

[0208] Table 1A Configuration parameters of the first signal sent by the network device to the first terminal device

[0209] Table 1B Configuration parameters of the first signal sent by the network device to the second terminal device

[0210] It should be understood that Table 1A and Table 1B are only used to illustrate that the configuration parameters of the first signal sent by the network device to different terminal devices may be different, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the configuration parameters of the first signal.

[0211] In another possible implementation, the configuration parameters of the first signal sent by the network device to different terminal devices may be the same. For example, the configuration message sent by the network device to each of the multiple terminal devices includes the configuration parameters of the first signal corresponding to the multiple terminal devices. After receiving the configuration message, each terminal device determines the configuration parameters of the first signal corresponding to the terminal device from the configuration parameters of the first signals corresponding to the multiple terminal devices. For example, the configuration message sent by the network device to the first terminal device and the second terminal device includes the configuration parameters of the first signal corresponding to the first terminal device and the configuration parameters of the first signal corresponding to the second terminal device. After receiving the configuration message, the first terminal device determines the configuration parameters of the first signal corresponding to the first terminal device from the configuration message. After receiving the configuration message, the second terminal device determines the configuration parameters of the second signal corresponding to the second terminal device from the configuration message. It can be understood that, in addition to the configuration parameters of the first signal corresponding to the terminal device, the configuration message received by the terminal device in S401 may also include the configuration parameters of the first signals corresponding to other terminal devices.

[0212] Taking the configuration parameters represented by a table as an example, Table 1C represents the configuration parameters of the first signal sent by the network device to the first terminal device and the second terminal device. A row in the table corresponds to the configuration parameters of a first signal, where the first signal corresponding to the first terminal device is CDS-1, and the configuration parameters of CDS-1 are A1, B1, and C1. The first signal corresponding to the second terminal device is CDS-2, and the configuration parameters of CDS-2 are A2, B2, and C2.

[0213] Table 1C Configuration parameters of the first signal

[0214] It should be understood that Table 1C is only used to illustrate that the configuration parameters of the first signal sent by the network device to different terminal devices can be the same, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific form of the configuration parameters of the first signal.

[0215] Furthermore, a terminal device may correspond to one first signal or multiple different first signals (such as multiple different CDS sequences). Accordingly, when the terminal device corresponds to one first signal, the configuration message received by the terminal device includes configuration parameters corresponding to one first signal; when the terminal device corresponds to multiple first signals, the configuration message received by the terminal device includes configuration parameters corresponding to each of the multiple first signals. It can be understood that the configuration message received by the terminal device in S401 may include configuration parameters of one or more first signals corresponding to the terminal device.

[0216] Taking the configuration parameters represented by a table as an example, Table 1D represents the configuration parameters of the first signal sent by the network device to the first terminal device. The first signal corresponding to the first terminal device includes CDS-1 and CDS-3. The configuration parameters of CDS-1 are A1, B1, and C1, and the configuration parameters of CDS-3 are A3, B3, and C3.

[0217] Table 1D Configuration parameters of the first signal sent by the network device to the first terminal device

[0218] It should be understood that Table 1C is only used to illustrate the configuration parameters of multiple first signals that the network device can send to the same terminal device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the configuration parameters of the first signal.

[0219] In one possible design, the configuration parameters of the first signal include one or more of the following:

[0220] 1. A first parameter, which is used to determine (or indicate) whether to enable or disable the first signal; in other words, the first parameter is used to determine (or indicate) whether to perform PDCCH reception according to the first signal.

[0221] It can be understood that when the first parameter indicates that the first signal is to be activated, the terminal device needs to receive the first signal before receiving the PDCCH (as shown in step S402 below); when the first parameter indicates that the first signal is not to be enabled, the terminal device may not receive the PDCCH, or the terminal device may not receive the PDCCH based on the first signal, for example, the PDCCH blind detection method may be used to receive the PDCCH.

[0222] The first parameter can be implemented in many ways. The following are some possible implementations:

[0223] In method 1, the first parameter has two values, indicating whether the first signal is enabled or disabled. For example, the first parameter is a bit. When the bit is 0, it indicates that the first signal is enabled, and when the bit is 1, it indicates that the first signal is disabled; or when the bit is 1, it indicates that the first signal is enabled, and when the bit is 0, it indicates that the first signal is disabled.

[0224] Method 2: The first parameter has only one value, which indicates that the first signal is enabled. In other words, as long as the first parameter is included in the configuration parameters, the first signal is enabled. When the first parameter is not included in the configuration parameters, the first signal is disabled by default.

[0225] Method 3: The first parameter has only one value, which means that the first signal is not enabled. In other words, when the first parameter is not configured or the first parameter in the configuration parameters is empty, the first signal is enabled by default; when the first parameter is configured, it is disabled.

[0226] Of course, the above three implementation methods are only examples and are not limited to these.

[0227] 2. The type of the first signal.

[0228] Here, the type of the first signal refers to the type of the first signal used, specifically, the type of the first signal used by the network device and / or the type of the first signal that the terminal device is allowed to use, etc.

[0229] In one possible design, the type of the first signal may be distinguished according to the type of resource associated with the first signal. For example, the type of the first signal includes but is not limited to one or more of the following:

[0230] A. First signal associated with a control resource set: When the type of the first signal is a first signal associated with a control resource set, the terminal device needs to receive the PDCCH in the control resource set associated with the first signal.

[0231] B. Search space associated first signal: When the type of the first signal is a search space associated first signal, the terminal device needs to receive the PDCCH in the search space associated with the first signal.

[0232] C. First signal associated with a listening opportunity: When the type of the first signal is the first signal associated with a listening opportunity, the terminal device needs to receive the PDCCH in the listening opportunity associated with the first signal.

[0233] D. First signal associated with a candidate PDCCH: When the type of the first signal is the first signal associated with a candidate PDCCH, the terminal device needs to receive the PDCCH in the candidate PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0234] Of course, the above are just a few examples and are not limited to these.

[0235] In a possible example, a standard, protocol, or system specifies the type of the first signal, and the network device may indicate in a configuration parameter whether to use the type of the first signal specified by the standard, protocol, or system.

[0236] Exemplarily, the standard stipulates that the type of the first signal is a first signal associated with a control resource set (or a search space or a listening opportunity or an alternative PDCCH), and the terminal device may carry a bit in the configuration parameter to indicate whether to adopt the first signal associated with the control resource set (or a search space or a listening opportunity or an alternative PDCCH). For example, when the bit is 0, it indicates that the first signal associated with the control resource set is adopted; when the bit is 1, it indicates that the first signal associated with the control resource set is not adopted; or, when the bit is 1, it indicates that the first signal associated with the control resource set is adopted; when the bit is 0, it indicates that the first signal associated with the control resource set is not adopted; or, when the bit is carried in the configuration parameter, it indicates that the first signal associated with the control resource set is adopted; when the bit is not carried in the configuration parameter, it indicates that the first signal associated with the control resource set is not adopted; or, when the bit is not carried in the configuration parameter, it indicates that the first signal associated with the control resource set is adopted; when the bit is carried in the configuration parameter, it indicates that the first signal associated with the control resource set is not adopted.

[0237] In another possible example, the network device carries an identifier of the type of the first signal used in the configuration parameters, for example, per CORESET CDS, per Search Space CDS, per Monitoring occasion CDS, and per PDCCH candidate CDS respectively represent the first signal associated with the control resource set, the first signal associated with the search space, the first signal associated with the monitoring opportunity, and the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH.

[0238] In another possible example, the network device carries a bitmap in the configuration parameters, where each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a type of the first signal, and the value of each bit is used to indicate whether the type of the first signal corresponding to the bit is adopted. For example, the bitmap includes a total of 4 bits, from the 1st bit to the 4th bit, respectively corresponding to the first signal associated with the control resource set, the first signal associated with the search space, the first signal associated with the listening opportunity, and the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH. The value of the bit is 1 for adoption, and the value of 0 for non-adoption. For example, the bitmap is "1100", indicating that the types of the first signal adopted are the first signal associated with the control resource set and the first signal associated with the search space.

[0239] Of course, the above are just some examples and are not limited to these.

[0240] 3. The relationship between the first signal and the resource.

[0241] The resource may be a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, or a time-frequency resource, without limitation.

[0242] The resource association relationship of the first signal is used to indicate which resource the first signal is associated with. For example, the association relationship between the first signal and the resource includes but is not limited to one or more of the following association relationships:

[0243] A. Association between the first signal and the control resource set.

[0244] The association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set is used to indicate that the type of resources associated with the first signal is the control resource set.

[0245] Optionally, the association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set can also be used to indicate which first signals are associated with which control resource sets, where one first signal can be associated with one control resource set, or one first signal can be associated with multiple control resource sets, or multiple first signals can be associated with one control resource set, and so on.

[0246] The specific manifestation of the association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set can be one or more control resource sets associated with the first signal (for example, CDS-1 is associated with CORESET-1 and CORESET-2), or one or more control signals associated with the control resource set (for example, CORESET-1 is associated with CDS-1 and CDS-2), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, the configuration message is used to configure the first signal CDS-1, and the configuration message carries the identifier of the control resource set associated with CDS-1, such as CORESET-1 and CORESET-2, indicating that CDS-1 is associated with CORESET-1 and CORESET-2. Or for example, the configuration message is used to configure the control resource set CORESET-1, and the configuration message carries the identifier of the first signal associated with CORESET-1, such as CDS-1 and CDS-2, indicating that CORESET-1 is associated with CDS-1 and CDS-2.

[0247] B. the correlation between the first signal and the search space;

[0248] The association relationship between the first signal and the search space is used to indicate that the type of the resource associated with the first signal is the search space.

[0249] Optionally, the association relationship between the first signal and the search space can also be used to indicate which first signals are associated with which search spaces, where one first signal can be associated with one search space, or one first signal can be associated with multiple search spaces, or multiple first signals can be associated with one search space, and so on.

[0250] The specific manifestation of the association relationship between the first signal and the search space can be one or more search spaces associated with the first signal (for example, CDS-1 is associated with SS-1 and SS-2), or one or more control signals associated with the search space (for example, SS-1 is associated with CDS-1 and CDS-2), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, a configuration message is used to configure the first signal CDS-1, and the configuration message carries an identifier of the search space associated with CDS-1, such as SS-1 and SS-2, indicating that CDS-1 is associated with SS-1 and SS-2. Or, for example, a configuration message is used to configure the search space SS-1, and the configuration message carries an identifier of the first signal associated with SS-1, such as CDS-1 and CDS-2, indicating that SS-1 is associated with CDS-1 and CDS-2.

[0251] C. The relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunity;

[0252] The association relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunity is used to indicate that the type of the resource associated with the first signal is the listening opportunity.

[0253] Optionally, the association relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunity can also be used to indicate which first signals are associated with which listening opportunities, where one first signal can be associated with one listening opportunity, or one first signal can be associated with multiple listening opportunities, or multiple first signals can be associated with one listening opportunity, and so on.

[0254] The specific manifestation of the association relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunity can be one or more listening opportunities associated with the first signal (for example, CDS-1 is associated with MO-1 and MO-2), or one or more control signals associated with the listening opportunity (for example, MO-1 is associated with CDS-1 and CDS-2), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, a configuration message is used to configure the first signal CDS-1, and the configuration message carries an identifier of the listening opportunity associated with CDS-1, such as MO-1 and MO-2, indicating that CDS-1 is associated with MO-1 and MO-2. Or for example, a configuration message is used to configure the listening opportunity MO-1, and the configuration message carries an identifier of the first signal associated with MO-1, such as CDS-1 and CDS-2, indicating that MO-1 is associated with CDS-1 and CDS-2.

[0255] D. Association between the first signal and the candidate PDCCH.

[0256] The association relationship between the first signal and the candidate PDCCH is used to indicate that the type of the resource associated with the first signal is the candidate PDCCH.

[0257] Optionally, the association relationship between the first signal and the alternative PDCCH can also be used to indicate which first signals are associated with which alternative PDCCHs, where one first signal can be associated with one alternative PDCCH, or one first signal can be associated with multiple alternative PDCCHs, or multiple first signals can be associated with one alternative PDCCH, and so on.

[0258] The specific manifestation of the association relationship between the first signal and the alternative PDCCH can be one or more alternative PDCCHs associated with the first signal (for example, CDS-1 is associated with alternative PDCCH-1 and alternative PDCCH-2), or one or more control signals associated with the alternative PDCCH (for example, alternative PDCCH is associated with alternative CDS-1 and CDS-2), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. For example, a configuration message is used to configure the first signal CDS-1, and the configuration message carries an identifier of the alternative PDCCH associated with CDS-1, such as alternative PDCCH-1 and alternative PDCCH-2, indicating that CDS-1 is associated with alternative PDCCH-1 and alternative PDCCH-2. Or for example, a configuration message is used to configure an alternative PDCCH alternative PDCCH-1, and the configuration message carries an identifier of the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH-1, such as CDS-1 and CDS-2, indicating that PDCCH-1 is associated with CDS-1 and CDS-2.

[0259] It can be understood that the association relationship between the first signal and the resource may include any one of A, B, C, and D above, or a combination of multiple of A, B, C, and D above. When there are multiple association relationships between the first signal and the resource, the resource associated with the first signal can be determined in combination with the multiple association relationships. For example, the association relationship between the first signal and the resource includes: the association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set CORESET-1, the association relationship between the first signal and the search space SS-1, and the association relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunities MO-1 and MO-2. Then, the resources associated with the first signal are: the resource CORESET-1 in the frequency domain, and MO-1 and MO-2 in the resource SS-11 in the time domain.

[0260] It can be understood that when the configuration message includes the type of the first signal and the association relationship between the first signal and the resource at the same time, the type of the first signal and the association relationship between the first signal and the resource are corresponding (or matched). For example, when the type of the first signal includes the first signal associated with the control resource set, the association relationship between the first signal and the resource includes the association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set; for example, when the type of the first signal includes the first signal associated with the search space, the association relationship between the first signal and the resource includes the association relationship between the first signal and the search space; for example, when the type of the first signal includes the first signal associated with the listening opportunity, the association relationship between the first signal and the resource includes the association relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunity; for example, when the type of the first signal includes the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH, the association relationship between the first signal and the resource includes the association relationship between the first signal and the alternative PDCCH, and so on.

[0261] It is understood that the first parameter, the type of the first signal, and the association between the first signal and the resource do not necessarily need to be present simultaneously in the configuration message. For example, if the system defaults or the standard specifies that the first signal is enabled, the configuration message may not carry the first parameter; for example, if the system defaults or the standard specifies the type of the first signal, the configuration message may not carry the type of the first signal; for example, if the system defaults or the standard specifies the resources associated with each type of first signal, the configuration message may not carry the association between the first signal and the resource, and so on.

[0262] It can be understood that when the type of the first signal is the first signal associated with the control resource set (or the association relationship between the first signal and the resource is the association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set), the network device needs to send the first signal according to the granularity of the control resource set, for example, sending a first signal corresponding to one or more control resource sets, and PDCCH exists in the one or more control resource sets. Compared with several other types of first signals, the first signal overhead corresponding to this type is less.

[0263] When the type of the first signal is a first signal associated with a candidate PDCCH (or the association between the first signal and the resource is the association between the first signal and the candidate PDCCH), the network device needs to send the first signal according to the granularity of the candidate PDCCH, for example, sending one first signal corresponding to one or more candidate PDCCHs, where the one or more candidate PDCCHs contain a PDCCH. Compared with other types of first signals, this type of first signal requires fewer PDCCH detections.

[0264] In one possible design, the configuration message may also carry resource configuration parameters, which are used to configure the resources of the PDCCH. The PDCCH resource configuration parameters include, but are not limited to, one or more of a control resource set, a search space, a listening opportunity, an alternative PDCCH, etc. In a specific implementation, the network device may configure one or more control resource sets and one or more search spaces for the terminal device. Each control resource set is associated with one or more search spaces. Each search space may include one or more listening opportunities. Each search space may also include one or more alternative PDCCHs. The one or more alternative PDCCHs included in the search space exist in each listening opportunity included in the search space.

[0265] In one possible design, the configuration message is a radio resource control (RRC) message (or RRC signaling), or the configuration message is carried in an RRC message (or RRC signaling).

[0266] S402: The network device sends a first signal and a PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0267] It can be understood that when the network device is implemented through multiple RAN nodes, for example, when the network device is a network device in an ORAN system, the network device sends the first signal and the PDCCH associated with the first signal. Specifically, it can be that one of the O-CU, O-DU and O-RU sends the first signal and the PDCCH associated with the first signal, or multiple O-CU, O-DU and O-RU jointly send the first signal and the PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0268] It is understood that the network device sending the first signal here may be sending the first signal to one terminal device or sending the first signal to multiple terminal devices. In other words, the network device sending the first signal here includes the first signal corresponding to one terminal device or the first signals corresponding to multiple terminal devices. The number of first signals sent by the network device to each terminal device can be one or more, without limitation.

[0269] The PDCCH associated with the first signal refers to the PDCCH corresponding to the resource associated with the first signal. For example, the PDCCH associated with the first signal includes one or more of the following: the PDCCH corresponding to (one or more) control resource sets associated with the first signal, the PDCCH corresponding to (one or more) search spaces associated with the first signal, the PDCCH corresponding to (one or more) listening opportunities associated with the first signal, the PDCCH corresponding to (one or more) alternative PDCCHs associated with the first signal, and the like.

[0270] S403. The terminal device receives the first signal according to the configuration parameters of the first signal;

[0271] Specifically, the terminal device detects whether the network device has sent the first signal to the terminal device based on the configuration parameters of the first signal, or in other words, the terminal device detects whether the network device has sent the first signal corresponding to the terminal device based on the configuration parameters of the first signal. For example, the configuration parameters of the first signal include a first parameter. If the first parameter indicates that the first signal is enabled, the terminal device detects whether the network device has sent the first signal to the terminal device. If the first parameter indicates that the first signal is not enabled, the terminal device does not detect whether the network device has sent the first signal to the terminal device. For example, the configuration parameters include the type of the first signal. The terminal device detects whether the network device has sent the first signal of that type to the terminal device based on the type of the first signal.

[0272] It is understood that when the configuration message includes configuration parameters of the first signal for multiple terminal devices, the terminal device receives the first signal specifically based on the configuration parameters of the first signal corresponding to the terminal device. Taking the configuration parameters shown in Table 1C above as an example, the configuration parameters of the first signal received by the first terminal device include the configuration parameters of CDS-1 and the configuration parameters of CDS-2, where CDS-1 corresponds to the first terminal device and CDS-2 corresponds to the second terminal device. The first terminal device then detects whether the network device has sent CDS-1 to the terminal device based on the configuration parameters of CDS-1.

[0273] It can be understood that when the configuration parameters include configuration parameters for multiple first signals corresponding to the terminal device, the terminal device receives the first signal based on the configuration parameters of each first signal corresponding to the terminal device in the configuration parameters. Taking the configuration parameters shown in Table 1D above as an example, the configuration parameters of the first signal received by the first terminal device include the configuration parameters of CDS-1 and the configuration parameters of CDS-3, where both CDS-1 and CDS-3 correspond to the first terminal device. In this case, the first terminal device detects whether the network device has sent CDS-1 to the terminal device based on the configuration parameters of CDS-1, and detects whether the network device has sent CDS-3 to the terminal device based on the configuration parameters of CDS-3.

[0274] In some embodiments, the time-frequency resource position of the first signal may be pre-configured (the time-frequency resource of the first signal may be configured by a network device (for example, the time-frequency resource position of the first signal is indicated in the time-frequency resource configuration parameters), or the time-frequency resource position of the first signal is specified by a standard or protocol, etc., without limitation). The process of the terminal device receiving the first signal according to the configuration parameters of the first signal may include: first, the terminal device detects the first signal at all time-frequency resource positions where the first signal may exist; if the first signal is detected at any time-frequency resource position, the first signal and the first signal corresponding to the terminal device (such as the first signal saved by the terminal device) are subjected to correlation matching (or correlation detection); based on the correlation matching result, it is determined whether the received first signal is the first signal corresponding to the terminal device. If the correlation matching is successful, such as the correlation value exceeds the threshold, it means that the received first signal corresponds to the terminal device, and the terminal device successfully receives the first signal; if the correlation matching fails, such as the correlation value does not exceed the threshold, it means that the received first signal does not correspond to the terminal device, and the terminal device fails to receive the first signal.

[0275] For example, the terminal device detects CDS-1 at the first time-frequency resource position and detects CDS-2 at the second time-frequency resource position. The terminal device performs correlation matching on CDS-1 and CDS-2 with the CDS corresponding to the terminal device respectively. The matching result is that CDS-1 corresponds to the terminal device and CDS-2 does not correspond to the terminal device. Then, the terminal device successfully receives CDS-1 but fails to receive CDS-2.

[0276] Furthermore, after the terminal device receives the first signal, the terminal device determines whether to perform PDCCH reception (or detection or blind detection) based on the reception status of the first signal (success or failure), or in other words, determines on which resources PDCCH reception (or detection or blind detection) needs to be performed.

[0277] If the terminal device successfully receives the first signal, it executes:

[0278] S404. The terminal device receives a PDCCH associated with the first signal;

[0279] If the terminal device fails to receive the first signal, execute:

[0280] S405. The terminal device does not receive the PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0281] It can be understood that the number of first signals successfully received by the terminal device can be one or more, depending on the actual situation. The number of first signals failed to be received by the terminal device can be one or more, depending on the actual situation. Moreover, when the first signal received by the terminal device is multiple first signals, the terminal may receive all of them successfully (for example, the terminal device detects CDS-1, and CDS-1 is received successfully), or may fail to receive all of them (for example, the terminal device detects CDS-2, and CDS-2 fails to be received), or may receive part of them successfully and the other part fails to be received (for example, the terminal device detects CDS-1 and CDS-2, CDS-1 is received successfully, and CDS-2 fails to be received). In other words, there may be only one of S404 and S405, or they may exist at the same time. When S404 and S405 exist at the same time, the first signal in S404 is different from the first signal in S405.

[0282] It can be understood that the terminal device receiving the PDCCH associated with the first signal means that the terminal device receives the PDCCH associated with the first signal successfully. The terminal device does not receive the PDCCH associated with the first signal, including: the terminal device does not receive the PDCCH associated with the first signal that is not successfully (i.e., failed) received. For example, if the first terminal device successfully receives CDS-1 and fails to receive CDS-2, the first terminal device receives the PDCCH associated with CDS-1, and the first terminal device does not receive the PDCCH associated with CDS-2.

[0283] In some embodiments, the terminal device does not receive the PDCCH associated with the first signal, which can also be described as the terminal device skipping the PDCCH associated with the first signal during the process of performing PDCCH blind detection (or detection).

[0284] In some embodiments, the PDCCH associated with the first signal refers to the PDCCH corresponding to the resource associated with the first signal. When the configuration parameters of the first signal include the association relationship between the first signal and the resource, the terminal device can also receive the PDCCH associated with the first signal according to the configuration parameters of the first signal. For example, the terminal device receives the PDCCH in the control resource set associated with the first signal according to the association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set; for example, the terminal device receives the PDCCH in the search space associated with the first signal according to the association relationship between the first signal and the search space; for example, the terminal device receives the PDCCH in the listening opportunity associated with the first signal according to the association relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunity; for example, the terminal device receives the PDCCH in the alternative PDCCH associated with the first signal according to the association relationship between the first signal and the alternative PDCCH, and so on.

[0285] The above scheme introduces the first signal so that the terminal device can determine whether the network device has sent the PDCCH to the terminal device (or on which resources the network device has sent the PDCCH to the terminal device) based on the first signal, avoiding the terminal device from traversing all possible time-frequency resource positions to perform blind detection of the PDCCH, enabling the terminal device to receive the PDCCH on demand, avoiding the terminal device from traversing all possible time-frequency resource positions to perform blind detection of the PDCCH, reducing the complexity of the terminal device receiving the PDCCH, and saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0286] In one possible design, before S401, the terminal device may also report its own capability information to the network device, so that the network device can issue a configuration message and transmit the first signal based on the capability information of the terminal device. Exemplarily, the terminal device sends the capability information of the terminal device, and the network device receives the capability information. The capability information of the terminal device may be used to indicate one or more of the following:

[0287] A. Whether the terminal device supports PDCCH reception according to the first signal, or whether the terminal device supports the first signal, or whether the terminal device supports enabling the first signal.

[0288] Optionally, when the terminal device supports the first signal, the network device may indicate in the configuration parameters of the first signal sent to the terminal device that the first signal is enabled; when the terminal device does not support the first signal, the network device may indicate in the configuration parameters sent to the terminal device that the first signal is not enabled. For example, the configuration parameters of the first signal sent to the terminal device may carry a first parameter, and the first parameter indicates whether to enable or disable the first signal.

[0289] In a specific implementation, the terminal device may carry a second parameter in the capability information to indicate whether the terminal device supports the first signal. There are many ways to implement the second parameter, and several possible examples are listed below:

[0290] In mode 1, the second parameter can have two values, indicating support for the first signal and non-support for the first signal. For example, the second parameter is a bit. When the bit is 0, it indicates support for the first signal, and when the bit is 1, it indicates non-support for the first signal; or, when the bit is 1, it indicates support for the first signal, and when the bit is 0, it indicates non-support for the first signal.

[0291] Mode 2: The second parameter has only one value, indicating support for the first signal. In other words, as long as the capability information carries the second parameter, it indicates support for the first signal. When the capability information does not contain the second parameter, it is defaulted to not supporting the first signal.

[0292] Method 3: The second parameter has only one value, indicating that the first signal is not supported. In other words, when the second parameter is not configured or the second parameter in the capability information is empty, the first signal is supported by default; when the second parameter is configured, it indicates that the first signal is not supported.

[0293] Of course, the above three methods are just examples.

[0294] By reporting this information, the terminal device can enable the network device to send the configuration parameters of the first signal and / or the first signal to the terminal device only when the terminal device supports the first signal.

[0295] B. the type of the first signal supported by the terminal device;

[0296] In a possible example, the standard, protocol, or system specifies the type of the first signal, and the terminal device may indicate in the capability information whether it supports the type of the first signal specified by the standard, protocol, or system.

[0297] Exemplarily, the standard stipulates that the type of the first signal is a first signal associated with a control resource set (or a search space or a listening opportunity or an alternative PDCCH), and the terminal device may carry a bit in the capability information to indicate whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the control resource set (or a search space or a listening opportunity or an alternative PDCCH). For example, when the bit is 0, it indicates that the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the control resource set; when the bit is 1, it indicates that the terminal device does not support the first signal associated with the control resource set; or, when the bit is 1, it indicates that the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the control resource set; when the bit is 0, it indicates that the terminal device does not support the first signal associated with the control resource set; or, when the capability information carries the bit, it indicates that the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the control resource set; when the capability information does not carry the bit, it indicates that the terminal device does not support the first signal associated with the control resource set; or, when the capability information does not carry the bit, it indicates that the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the control resource set; when the capability information carries the bit, it indicates that the terminal device does not support the first signal associated with the control resource set.

[0298] In another possible example, the terminal device carries an identifier of the type of first signal supported by the terminal device in the capability information, for example, per CORESET CDS, per Search Space CDS, per Monitoring occasion CDS, and per PDCCH candidate CDS respectively represent the first signal associated with the control resource set, the first signal associated with the search space, the first signal associated with the monitoring opportunity, and the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH.

[0299] In another possible example, the terminal device carries a bitmap in the capability information, each bit of the bitmap corresponds to a type of the first signal, and the value of each bit is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports the type of the first signal corresponding to the bit. For example, the bitmap includes a total of 4 bits, from the 1st bit to the 4th bit respectively corresponding to the first signal associated with the control resource set, the first signal associated with the search space, the first signal associated with the listening opportunity, and the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH, and the bit value is 1 for support and 0 for non-support. For example, the bitmap is "1100", indicating that the types of first signals supported by the terminal device are the first signal associated with the control resource set and the first signal associated with the search space.

[0300] Of course, the above are just some examples and are not limited to these.

[0301] By reporting this information, the terminal device can enable the network device to send a first signal of a type supported by the terminal device to the terminal device when sending the first signal to the terminal device.

[0302] C. The number of first signal types supported by the terminal device.

[0303] By reporting this information, the terminal device can enable the network device to send the first signal to the terminal device within the range of the number of first signal types supported by the terminal device. For example, if the terminal device supports two types of first signals, the network device can send one or two types of first signals to the terminal device.

[0304] D. Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the control resource set;

[0305] E. Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the search control;

[0306] F. Whether the terminal device supports listening for the first signal associated with the opportunity;

[0307] G. Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH;

[0308] It can be understood that among the above D, E, F, G and B, only D, E, F, G may exist, only B may exist, or D, E, F, G and B may exist at the same time. When D, E, F, G and B exist at the same time, each item in D, E, F, G corresponds to the type of the first signal supported by the terminal device in B. For example, when the type of the first signal supported by the terminal device includes the first signal associated with the control resource set, the terminal device in D supports the first signal associated with the control resource set.

[0309] H. The number of first signals supported by the terminal device.

[0310] The number of first signals supported by the terminal device can be the maximum number of first signals that the terminal device supports receiving, or the maximum number of times the terminal device supports receiving the first signal. For example, if the number of first signals supported by the terminal device is 3, it means that the terminal device receives a maximum of 3 (or 3 times) first signals. Then, when the network device sends the first signal to the terminal device (or sends the first signal corresponding to the terminal device), it sends a maximum of 3 (or 3 times) first signals (it can be understood that the types of the 3 first signals can be the same or different, without limitation).

[0311] By reporting this information, the terminal device can ensure that the number of first signals sent by the network device is within the receiving capability of the terminal device.

[0312] Through the above design, the network device can send the configuration parameters of the first signal and the first signal to the terminal device according to the capability information of the terminal device, thereby improving the reliability of communication.

[0313] It can be understood that the above embodiments can be implemented separately or in combination with each other without limitation.

[0314] The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and the device provided by the embodiment of the present application is described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0315] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device 500, which can be, for example, a satellite, a base station, a terminal, or an access point, or a chip inside a satellite, a base station, a terminal, or an access point. The device 500 includes modules, units, or means corresponding to the method steps in the above method embodiments. The functions, units, or means can be implemented by software or hardware, or the corresponding software implementation can be executed by hardware.

[0316] Exemplarily, referring to FIG. 5 , the apparatus 500 may include a processing module 501 and a transceiver module 502 .

[0317] Optionally, the transceiver module 502 may include a sending module and / or a receiving module. The sending module is used to perform the sending operation in the above method embodiment. The receiving module is used to perform the receiving operation in the above method embodiment.

[0318] It should be noted that the communication device 500 may include a sending module but not a receiving module. Alternatively, the communication device 500 may include a receiving module but not a sending module. The specific implementation depends on whether the above solution executed by the communication device 500 includes a sending action and a receiving action.

[0319] The processing module 501 is used for data processing, and the transceiver module 502 can realize corresponding communication functions.

[0320] Optionally, the communication device 500 may further include a storage module, which may be used to store instructions and / or data. The processing module 501 may read the instructions and / or data in the storage module so that the communication device 500 implements the aforementioned method embodiment.

[0321] For example, the communication device 500 may be a terminal device or a component that can be configured in a terminal device. The processing module 501 is used to perform processing-related operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment. The transceiver module 502 is used to perform reception-related operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment.

[0322] For example: the transceiver module 502 is used to receive a configuration message, which includes configuration parameters of the first signal; the processing module 501 is used to control the transceiver module 502 to receive the first signal according to the configuration parameters of the first signal; if the first signal is successfully received, the transceiver module 502 is controlled to receive the PDCCH associated with the first signal.

[0323] For example, the communication device 500 may be a network device or a component configurable in a network device. The processing module 501 is used to perform processing-related operations on the network device side in the above method embodiment. The transceiver module 502 is used to perform receiving-related operations on the network device side in the above method embodiment.

[0324] For example, the transceiver module 502 is configured to send a configuration message including configuration parameters of the first signal, and to send the first signal and a PDCCH associated with the first signal. Optionally, the processing module 501 is configured to generate a configuration message.

[0325] It should be understood that all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0326] The processing module 501 in the above embodiment can be implemented by at least one processor or processor-related circuits. The transceiver module 502 can be implemented by a transceiver or transceiver-related circuits. The transceiver module 502 can also be called a communication module or a communication interface.

[0327] Another structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown below. As shown in FIG6 , an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 600, comprising:

[0328] At least one processor 601; and a communication interface 603 communicatively connected to the at least one processor 601; the at least one processor 601 executes instructions stored in the memory 602, so that the device performs the method steps in the above method embodiment through the communication interface 603.

[0329] Optionally, the memory 602 is located outside the device 600 .

[0330] Optionally, the apparatus 600 includes the memory 602, which is connected to the at least one processor 601 and stores instructions executable by the at least one processor 601. FIG6 shows with dashed lines that the memory 602 is optional for the apparatus 600.

[0331] The processor 601 and the memory 602 may be coupled via an interface circuit or may be integrated together, which is not limited here.

[0332] The specific connection medium between the processor 601, memory 602, and communication interface 603 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In Figure 6, the processor 601, memory 602, and communication interface 603 are connected via bus 604. The bus is represented by a bold line in Figure 6. The connection between other components is only for illustrative purposes and is not intended to be limiting. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, Figure 6 only uses a single bold line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0333] The specific connection medium between the processor 601, memory 602, and communication interface 603 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In Figure 6, the processor 601, memory 602, and communication interface 603 are connected via bus 604. The bus is represented by a bold line in Figure 6. The connection between other components is only for illustrative purposes and is not intended to be limiting. The bus can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, Figure 6 only uses a single bold line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0334] When the communication apparatus 600 is a terminal device, the terminal device may include a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, such as the terminal device 10 shown in FIG3 . The memory may store computer program code, and the transceiver includes a transmitter 1031 and a receiver 1032 .

[0335] The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data; control terminal devices, execute software programs and process software program data, etc.

[0336] Memory is mainly used to store software programs and data.

[0337] Radio frequency circuits are mainly used for conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and for processing radio frequency signals.

[0338] Antennas are mainly used to send and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves.

[0339] When the communication device 600 is a chip in a terminal device, the chip may include a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The transceiver may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processor may be a processing module, a microprocessor, or an integrated circuit integrated on the chip. In the above method embodiments, the sending operation of the terminal device may be understood as the output of the chip, and the receiving operation of the terminal device in the above method embodiments may be understood as the input of the chip.

[0340] When the communication apparatus 600 is a network device, the network device may include a processor, a memory, and a transceiver, such as the network device 20 shown in FIG3 . The memory may store computer program code, and the transceiver includes a transmitter 2031 and a receiver 2032 .

[0341] The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data; control network equipment, execute software programs and process software program data, etc.

[0342] Memory is mainly used to store software programs and data.

[0343] Radio frequency circuits are mainly used for conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and for processing radio frequency signals.

[0344] Antennas are mainly used to send and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves.

[0345] When the communication device 600 is a chip in a network device, the chip may include a processor, memory, and a transceiver. The transceiver may be an input / output circuit or a communication interface. The processor may be a processing module, microprocessor, or integrated circuit integrated on the chip. The sending operation of the network device in the above method embodiment can be understood as the output of the chip, and the receiving operation of the network device in the above method embodiment can be understood as the input of the chip.

[0346] It should be understood that the processors mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware or software. When implemented by hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc. When implemented by software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor that is implemented by reading software code stored in a memory.

[0347] Exemplarily, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0348] It should be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DR RAM).

[0349] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0350] It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0351] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, including a program or instructions. When the program or instructions are run on a computer, the method in the above method embodiment is executed.

[0352] Based on the same technical concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the method in the above method embodiment to be executed.

[0353] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0354] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0355] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0356] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving a configuration message, the configuration message including configuration parameters of the first signal; receiving the first signal according to configuration parameters of the first signal; If the first signal is successfully received, a physical downlink control channel PDCCH associated with the first signal is received.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: If the first signal corresponds to the terminal device, it is determined that the first signal is successfully received.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The method further comprises: If receiving the first signal fails, the PDCCH associated with the first signal is not received, or the PDCCH associated with the first signal is skipped when performing PDCCH blind detection.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that Also includes: If the first signal does not correspond to the terminal device, it is determined that reception of the first signal fails.

5. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending a configuration message, wherein the configuration message includes configuration parameters of the first signal; The first signal and a physical downlink control channel PDCCH associated with the first signal are sent.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 or the method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The configuration parameters of the first signal include one or more of the following: a first parameter, wherein the first parameter is used to determine whether to enable or disable the first signal; The type of the first signal, the type of the first signal comprising one or more of a first signal associated with a control resource set, a first signal associated with a search space, a first signal associated with a listening opportunity, and a first signal associated with an alternative PDCCH; The association relationship between the first signal and one or more of the following resources: a control resource set, a search space, a listening opportunity, and an alternative PDCCH.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set includes: the control resource set associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the control resource set; or, The association relationship between the first signal and the search space includes: the search space associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the search space; or, The association relationship between the first signal and the listening opportunity includes: the listening opportunity associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the listening opportunity; or, The association relationship between the first signal and the candidate PDCCH includes: the candidate PDCCH associated with the first signal, or the first signal associated with the candidate PDCCH.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 6 to 7 or any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that: The PDCCH associated with the first signal includes one or more of the following: A PDCCH corresponding to the control resource set associated with the first signal; A PDCCH corresponding to the search space associated with the first signal; The PDCCH corresponding to the listening opportunity associated with the first signal; The PDCCH corresponding to the candidate PDCCH associated with the first signal.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, 6 to 8, characterized in that: The receiving the PDCCH associated with the first signal includes: A PDCCH associated with the first signal is received according to the configuration parameters of the first signal.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and 6 to 9, characterized in that: Before receiving the configuration message, the method further includes: Sending terminal device capability information; The capability information of the terminal device is used to indicate one or more of the following: whether the terminal device supports PDCCH reception according to the first signal, or whether the terminal device supports the first signal; The type of the first signal supported by the terminal device; The number of types of the first signal supported by the terminal device; Whether the terminal device supports a first signal for controlling resource set association; Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the search control; whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the listening opportunity; Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the candidate PDCCH; The number of the first signals supported by the terminal device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that: Before sending the configuration message, the method further includes: receiving capability information of terminal equipment; The capability information of the terminal device is used to indicate one or more of the following: whether the terminal device supports PDCCH reception according to the first signal, or whether the terminal device supports the first signal; The type of the first signal supported by the terminal device; The number of types of the first signal supported by the terminal device; Whether the terminal device supports a first signal for controlling resource set association; Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the search control; whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the listening opportunity; Whether the terminal device supports the first signal associated with the candidate PDCCH; The number of the first signals supported by the terminal device.

12. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 and 6 to 10, or comprises a module for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 8 and 11.

13. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is electrically coupled to the processor, and the processor executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-4, 6-10 through a logic circuit or executes a code instruction, or executes the method as claimed in any one of claims 5-8, 11.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and 6 to 10 is executed, or the method according to any one of claims 5 to 8 and 11 is executed.

15. A communication system, characterized in that: include: Terminal device, used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1-4, 6-10; A network device, used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 5-8 and 11.

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