Communication method and device

Abstract

A communication method and device. The method comprises: a first device may receive a configuration message, wherein the configuration message may comprise information of a PDCCH resource, and the PDCCH resource may comprise a CORESET, a search space, a listening opportunity, or an alternative PDCCH; and then according to whether a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource has been received, the first device may determine whether to receive a PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. By means of the method, a first device can be prevented from carrying out blind detection on a PDCCH resource without a PDCCH, so that the complexity of receiving the PDCCH by the first device is reduced, and the energy consumption of the first device is reduced.

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 China on January 16, 2024, with application number 202410067593.7 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] In mobile communication systems, such as 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, access network equipment can send a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to a terminal. The PDCCH can be used to transmit downlink control information (DCI), which can indicate at least one of the following: uplink scheduling information, downlink scheduling information, and other physical layer control information.

[0005] Currently, a terminal receives a PDCCH based on static information such as the number of blind detections corresponding to a search space and the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs). This method is highly complex. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for reducing the complexity of receiving a PDCCH.

[0007] In the first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a first device. The first device can be a terminal or a module in the terminal (for example, a circuit, a chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip or system in package (SIP) chip containing a modem core), a chip system or a processor), and can also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions. Among them, the method may include: the first device may receive a configuration message, and the configuration message may include information about PDCCH resources, and the PDCCH resources may include: a control resource set (CORESET), a search space, a listening opportunity, or an alternative PDCCH. Then, the first device may determine whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource based on whether the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource is received.

[0008] By using this method, the first device can be prevented from performing blind detection on a PDCCH resource without a PDCCH, thereby reducing the complexity of the first device receiving the PDCCH and reducing the energy consumption of the first device.

[0009] In one possible design, if the first condition is met, the first device may receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. The first condition may include a combination of one or more of the following: the first device receives a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource; the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of blind detections; or the number of non-overlapping control channel elements (CCEs) corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs. When the first condition includes the first device receiving a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, the first device may determine to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource only when it receives the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, thereby avoiding the first device from performing blind detection on a PDCCH resource without a PDCCH, reducing the complexity of the first device receiving the PDCCH, and reducing the energy consumption of the first device.

[0010] In one possible design, the method further includes: if the first condition is met, the first device may subtract the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the remaining number of blind detections to obtain an updated remaining number of blind detections, and / or the first device may subtract the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs to obtain an updated remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs. With this design, the first device can timely update the remaining number of blind detections and / or the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs.

[0011] In one possible design, if the second condition is met, the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. The second condition may include a combination of one or more of the following: the first device does not receive the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource; the first device receives the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, and the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of blind detections; the first device receives the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs. When the second condition includes: the first device does not receive the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource if it does not receive the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, thereby avoiding the first device from performing blind detection on a PDCCH resource without a PDCCH, reducing the complexity of the first device receiving the PDCCH, and reducing the energy consumption of the first device. When the second condition includes: the first device receives a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, and the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of blind detections, it can be ensured that the number of blind detections performed by the first device in a time slot of a cell or a bandwidth part (BWP) does not exceed the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol. When the second condition includes: the first device receives a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, it can be ensured that the number of non-overlapping CCEs involved in the blind detection of the first device does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified by the protocol.

[0012] In one possible design, if the second condition is met, the first device may keep the remaining number of blind detections unchanged, and / or the first device may keep the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs unchanged. When the second condition includes: when the first device does not receive the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, if the second condition is met, the first device may skip allocating the number of blind detections and / or the number of non-overlapping CCEs for the PDCCH resource, thereby avoiding the first device from performing blind detection on a PDCCH resource without a PDCCH, reducing the complexity of the first device receiving the PDCCH, and reducing the energy consumption of the first device. When the second condition includes: when the first device receives the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, and the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of blind detections, it can be ensured that the number of blind detections performed by the first device in a time slot of a cell or a BWP does not exceed the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol. When the second condition includes: the first device receives a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, it can be ensured that the number of non-overlapping CCEs involved in the blind detection of the first device does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified in the protocol.

[0013] In one possible design, the configuration information may include information of multiple PDCCH resources, where the multiple PDCCH resources include: multiple control resource sets, multiple search spaces, multiple listening opportunities, or multiple alternative PDCCHs. The PDCCH resource mentioned above may be any PDCCH resource among the multiple PDCCHs. The first device may determine whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to each PDCCH resource according to whether the first signal associated with each PDCCH resource in the multiple PDCCH resources is received in the order of the multiple PDCCH resources.

[0014] Optionally, each of the multiple PDCCH resources is associated with a first signal, and the first signal is used to determine whether a PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource associated with the first signal is sent.

[0015] Optionally, for the first PDCCH resource among multiple PDCCH resources, the remaining number of blind detections may be the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol, and / or the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs may be the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified by the protocol.

[0016] This design is applicable to scenarios with multiple PDCCH resources, thereby avoiding blind detection by the first device on PDCCH resources without PDCCH, reducing the complexity of PDCCH reception by the first device, and reducing energy consumption of the first device.

[0017] In one possible design, the multiple PDCCH resources may be multiple control resource sets, and the order of the multiple PDCCH resources may be the order of the multiple control resource sets. The order of the multiple control resource sets may be determined based on at least one of the following: the order of index sizes of the multiple control resource sets, the order of reference times of search spaces corresponding to the multiple control resource sets, the order of reference times of first signals associated with the multiple control resource sets, or a pre-set order. Through this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the multiple control resource sets.

[0018] In one possible design, an order of the multiple control resource sets satisfies at least one of the following:

[0019] Multiple control resource sets are arranged in ascending order according to the index of the control resource set;

[0020] Multiple control resource sets are arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set;

[0021] The multiple control resource sets are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the search space corresponding to the control resource set;

[0022] The multiple control resource sets are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the control resource set; or

[0023] The M control resource sets among the multiple control resource sets are in the first order, M is a positive integer, and the M control resource sets are preset.

[0024] This design provides multiple possible ways to control the order of the multiple resource sets, which is flexible and easy to implement.

[0025] In one possible design, when multiple control resource sets are arranged in descending order according to the reference times of the search spaces corresponding to the control resource sets, if the reference times of the search spaces corresponding to N control resource sets in the multiple control resource sets are the same, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the N control resource sets may be arranged in ascending order according to the indexes of the control resource sets; or, the N control resource sets may be arranged in descending order according to the indexes of the control resource sets. With this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the N control resource sets.

[0026] In one possible design, when multiple control resource sets are arranged in descending order according to the reference times of the first signals associated with the control resource sets, if the reference times of the first signals associated with P control resource sets in the multiple control resource sets are the same, and P is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the P control resource sets may be arranged in ascending order according to the control resource set indices; or, the P control resource sets may be arranged in descending order according to the control resource set indices. With this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the P control resource sets.

[0027] In one possible design, the multiple PDCCH resources may be multiple search spaces, the order of the multiple PDCCH resources may be the order of the multiple search spaces, and the order of the multiple search spaces may be determined based on at least one of the following: the order of the size of the indexes of the multiple search spaces, the order of the reference times of the multiple search spaces, the order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple search spaces, the order of the size of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the multiple search spaces, or a pre-set order. Through this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the multiple search spaces.

[0028] In one possible design, the order of the multiple search spaces may satisfy at least one of the following:

[0029] Multiple search spaces are arranged in ascending order according to the index of the search space;

[0030] Multiple search spaces are arranged in descending order according to the index of the search space;

[0031] The multiple search spaces are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the search space;

[0032] The multiple search spaces are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the search space; or

[0033] The order of Q search spaces among the multiple search spaces is the first, Q is a positive integer, and the Q search spaces are preset.

[0034] This design provides multiple possible ways of ordering the multiple search spaces, is relatively flexible, and is easy to implement.

[0035] In one possible design, when multiple search spaces are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the search spaces, if the reference time of R search spaces in the multiple search spaces is the same, and R is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the R search spaces can be arranged in order from smallest to largest according to the index of the search space; or, the R search spaces can be arranged in order from largest to smallest according to the index of the search space; or, the R search spaces can be arranged in order from smallest to largest according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space; or, the R search spaces can be arranged in order from largest to smallest according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space. Through this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the R search spaces.

[0036] In one possible design, when multiple search spaces are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the search space, if the reference time of the first signal associated with S search spaces in the multiple search spaces is the same, and S is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the S search spaces may be arranged in order from smallest to largest according to the index of the search space; or, the S search spaces may be arranged in order from largest to smallest according to the index of the search space; or, the S search spaces may be arranged in order from smallest to largest according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space; or, the S search spaces may be arranged in order from largest to smallest according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space. Through this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the S search spaces.

[0037] In one possible design, the multiple PDCCH resources may be multiple listening opportunities, the order of the multiple PDCCH resources may be the order of the multiple listening opportunities, and the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be determined based on at least one of the following: the order of reference times of the multiple listening opportunities, the order of reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple listening opportunities, the order of the size of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the multiple listening opportunities, the order of the size of the indexes of the search sets corresponding to the multiple listening opportunities, or a pre-set order. Through this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the multiple listening opportunities.

[0038] In one possible design, the order of the multiple listening opportunities may satisfy at least one of the following:

[0039] The multiple listening opportunities are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the listening opportunity;

[0040] The plurality of listening opportunities are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunities;

[0041] The multiple listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity;

[0042] The plurality of listening opportunities are arranged in descending order according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunities; or

[0043] Among the multiple listening opportunities, T listening opportunities are at the front of the list, T is a positive integer, and the T listening opportunities are preset.

[0044] This design provides multiple possible ways to order the multiple listening opportunities, which is flexible and easy to implement.

[0045] In one possible design, when multiple listening opportunities are arranged in order from early to late according to the reference time of the listening opportunities, if the reference time of U listening opportunities in the multiple listening opportunities is the same, and U is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the U listening opportunities can be arranged in order from small to large according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity; or, the U listening opportunities can be arranged in order from large to small according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity; or, the U listening opportunities can be arranged in order from small to large according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity; or, the U listening opportunities can be arranged in order from large to small according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity. Through this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the U listening opportunities.

[0046] In one possible design, when multiple listening opportunities are arranged in order from early to late according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunities, if the reference time of the first signal associated with V listening opportunities in the multiple listening opportunities is the same, and V is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the V listening opportunities can be arranged in order from small to large according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity; or, the V listening opportunities can be arranged in order from large to small according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity; or, the V listening opportunities can be arranged in order from small to large according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity; or, the V listening opportunities can be arranged in order from large to small according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity. Through this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the V listening opportunities.

[0047] In one possible design, when multiple listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunities, if W of the multiple listening opportunities correspond to the same search space, where W is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the W listening opportunities may be arranged in descending order according to the reference time of the listening opportunities; or, the W listening opportunities may be arranged in descending order according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunities. With this design, the first apparatus can quickly and accurately determine the order of the W listening opportunities.

[0048] In one possible design, the multiple PDCCH resources may be multiple alternative PDCCHs, the order of the multiple PDCCH resources may be the order of the multiple alternative PDCCHs, and the order of the multiple alternative PDCCHs may be determined based on at least one of the following: the order of the listening opportunities corresponding to the multiple alternative PDCCHs, the order of the aggregation levels of the multiple alternative PDCCHs, the order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple alternative PDCCHs, or the order of the indexes of the multiple alternative PDCCHs. Through this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the multiple alternative PDCCHs.

[0049] In one possible design, the order of the multiple candidate PDCCHs may satisfy at least one of the following:

[0050] The multiple candidate PDCCHs are arranged in order from front to back according to the order of the listening opportunities corresponding to the candidate PDCCHs; or

[0051] The multiple candidate PDCCHs are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the candidate PDCCHs.

[0052] This design provides multiple possible ways of ordering the multiple candidate PDCCHs, which is flexible and easy to implement.

[0053] In one possible design, when multiple candidate PDCCHs are arranged in order from front to back according to the order of listening opportunities corresponding to the candidate PDCCHs, if the listening opportunities corresponding to X candidate PDCCHs in the multiple candidate PDCCHs are the same, and X is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the X candidate PDCCHs may be arranged in order from high to low according to the aggregation level of the candidate PDCCHs; or, the X candidate PDCCHs may be arranged in order from low to high according to the aggregation level of the candidate PDCCHs. With this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the X candidate PDCCHs.

[0054] In one possible design, if Y candidate PDCCHs among X candidate PDCCHs have the same aggregation level, where Y is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the Y candidate PDCCHs may be arranged in ascending order of the candidate PDCCH indices; or, the Y candidate PDCCHs may be arranged in descending order of the candidate PDCCH indices. With this design, the first apparatus may quickly and accurately determine the order of the Y candidate PDCCHs.

[0055] In one possible design, when multiple candidate PDCCHs are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the candidate PDCCHs, if the reference time of the first signal associated with Z candidate PDCCHs in the multiple candidate PDCCHs is the same, where Z is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the Z candidate PDCCHs can be arranged in order from front to back according to the order of the listening opportunities corresponding to the candidate PDCCHs. Through this design, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the Z candidate PDCCHs.

[0056] In the second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can be applied to a second device. The second device can be an access network device or a module in the access network device (such as a circuit, a chip (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip), a chip system or a processor), and can also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. Among them, the method may include: the second device may send a configuration message, and the configuration message may include information about PDCCH resources, and the PDCCH resources may include: a control resource set, a search space, a listening opportunity, or an alternative PDCCH. The second device may determine whether to send a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource based on whether the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is sent.

[0057] Through this method, the second device can determine whether to send the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource based on whether the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is sent. In this way, the first device can determine whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource based on whether the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource is received, thereby avoiding the first device from performing blind detection on a PDCCH resource without PDCCH, reducing the complexity of the first device receiving PDCCH, and reducing the energy consumption of the first device.

[0058] In one possible design, if the second device transmits the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the second device may determine to transmit the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource; and / or if the second device does not transmit the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the second device may determine not to transmit the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource. With this design, the second device can quickly and accurately determine whether to transmit the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource.

[0059] In one possible design, the configuration information may include information about multiple PDCCH resources, where the multiple PDCCH resources include: multiple control resource sets, multiple search spaces, multiple listening opportunities, or multiple alternative PDCCHs. The PDCCH resource mentioned above may be any PDCCH resource in the multiple PDCCHs. For each of the multiple PDCCH resources, the second device may execute the method of the second aspect.

[0060] Optionally, each of the multiple PDCCH resources is associated with a first signal, and the first signal is used to determine whether a PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource associated with the first signal is sent.

[0061] This design is applicable to scenarios with multiple PDCCH resources, so that the first device can determine whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to each PDCCH resource based on whether the first signal associated with each PDCCH resource is received. This can avoid the first device from performing blind detection on PDCCH resources without PDCCH, reduce the complexity of the first device receiving PDCCH, and reduce the energy consumption of the first device.

[0062] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal or a module in a terminal (e.g., a circuit, a chip (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip), a chip system, or a processor), and may also be a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions. The communication device has the function of implementing the first aspect described above. For example, the communication device includes a module, unit, or means corresponding to the operation involved in the first aspect described above, and the module, unit, or means may be implemented by software, or by hardware, or the corresponding software implementation may be executed by hardware.

[0063] In one possible design, the communication device includes an interface unit and a processing unit. The interface unit can be used to send and receive signals to enable communication between the communication device and other devices; the processing unit can be used to perform certain internal operations of the communication device. The functions performed by the processing unit and the interface unit can correspond to the operations described in the first aspect above.

[0064] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor, which can be coupled to a memory. The memory can store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the first aspect. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design of the first aspect.

[0065] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and a memory, where the memory may store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the first aspect. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design of the first aspect.

[0066] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method in any possible design of the first aspect above.

[0067] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be an access network device or a module in the access network device (e.g., a circuit, a chip (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip), a chip system, or a processor), and may also be a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device. The communication device has the function of implementing the second aspect mentioned above. For example, the communication device includes a module or unit or means corresponding to the operation involved in the second aspect mentioned above, and the module or unit or means may be implemented by software, or by hardware, or the corresponding software implementation may be executed by hardware.

[0068] In one possible design, the communication device includes an interface unit and a processing unit. The interface unit can be used to send and receive signals to enable communication between the communication device and other devices; the processing unit can be used to perform certain internal operations of the communication device. The functions performed by the processing unit and the interface unit can correspond to the operations described in the second aspect above.

[0069] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor, which can be coupled to a memory. The memory can store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions of the second aspect. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method of any possible design of the second aspect.

[0070] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and a memory, and the memory may store the necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions involved in the second aspect. The processor may execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory. When the computer program or instructions are executed, the communication device implements the method in any possible design of the second aspect.

[0071] In one possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the method in any possible design of the second aspect above.

[0072] It can be understood that in the third aspect or the fourth aspect above, the processor can be implemented by hardware or by 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, which is implemented by reading the software code stored in the memory. In addition, the above processors can be one or more, and the memories can be one or more. The memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and the processor can be set separately. In the specific implementation process, the memory can be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or can be set on different chips respectively. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of memory and the setting method of the memory and the processor.

[0073] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which may include the communication device described in the third aspect and the communication device described in the fourth aspect. For example, the communication system includes a terminal and an access network device; wherein the terminal can be used to execute the communication method provided in the first aspect, and the access network device can be used to execute the communication method provided in the second aspect.

[0074] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed, the method in any possible design of any aspect of the first to second aspects above is implemented.

[0075] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program code. When the computer program code is executed, the method in any possible design of any aspect of the first to second aspects mentioned above is implemented.

[0076] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a chip for reading a computer program stored in a memory to execute a method in any possible design of any one of the first to second aspects above.

[0077] The technical effects that can be achieved in any of the third to eighth aspects mentioned above can refer to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved in any possible design in any of the first to second aspects mentioned above, and the repetitions will not be discussed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0078] FIG1 is an architecture diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG2 is an architecture diagram of another communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG5 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG6 is a structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0084] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, fourth generation (4G) mobile communication system (such as long term evolution (LTE) system), 5G mobile communication system (such as new radio (NR) system), and future evolved communication system (such as sixth generation (6G) mobile communication system).

[0085] This application will present various aspects, embodiments, or features in the context of systems that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all of the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the figures. Furthermore, combinations of these aspects may also be used.

[0086] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, Figure 1 shows a possible, non-limiting system diagram. As shown in Figure 1, a communication system 10 includes a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system 10 may also include the Internet 300.

[0087] The RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a and 110b in FIG. 1 , collectively referred to as 110) and at least one terminal (e.g., 120a-120j in FIG. 1 , collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay equipment and / or wireless backhaul equipment (not shown in FIG. 1 ). The terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to the RAN node 110. The RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to the core network 200. The core network equipment in the core network 200 and the RAN node 110 in the RAN 100 may be separate physical devices, or they may be a single physical device that integrates core network logical functions and radio access network logical functions.

[0088] The RAN 100 may be a cellular system related to the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as a 4G or 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolutionary system (such as a 6G mobile communication system). The RAN 100 may also be an open access network (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a WiFi system. The RAN 100 may also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0089] The RAN node 110, sometimes also referred to as a RAN entity or access node, constitutes part of the communication system and facilitates wireless access for terminals. Multiple RAN nodes 110 in the communication system 10 can be of the same type or different types. In some scenarios, the roles of the RAN node 110 and the terminal 120 are relative. For example, the network element 120i in Figure 1 can be a helicopter or drone, which can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals 120j accessing the RAN 100 via network element 120i, network element 120i is a base station; however, for base station 110a, network element 120i is a terminal. The RAN node 110 and the terminal 120 are sometimes referred to as communication devices. For example, network elements 110a and 110b in Figure 1 can be understood as communication devices with base station functionality, and network elements 120a-120j can be understood as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0090] The RAN node can also be expressed in different ways, such as access network equipment. Unless otherwise specified in this application, the access network equipment is used to express it.

[0091] In one possible scenario, the access 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 6G mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. The access network device may be a macro base station (such as 110a in Figure 1), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110b in Figure 1), a relay node or a donor node, or a wireless controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, the access network device may also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle or an on-board device, etc. For example, the access network device in the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology may be a road side unit (RSU). All or part of the functions of the access network device in this application may also be implemented by software functions running on hardware, or by virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (such as a cloud platform). The access network device in this application may also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the access network device.

[0092] In another possible scenario, multiple access network devices collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, and different access network devices respectively implement part of the functions of the base station. For example, the access network device 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).

[0093] 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 the ORAN system, CU may also be called open CU (open CU, O-CU), DU may also be called open DU (open DU, O-DU), CU-CP may also be called open CU-CP (open CU-CP, O-CU-CP), CU-UP may also be called open CU-UP (open CU-UP, O-CU-UP), and RU may also be called open RU (open RU, O-RU). 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.

[0094] Access network equipment may typically be provided with modules (e.g., circuits, chips, chip systems, or processors) that perform corresponding communication functions and / or processing functions. Access network equipment may also be configured with computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding communication functions and / or processing functions.

[0095] A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), V2X communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. A terminal may be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver function, wearable device, vehicle, drone, helicopter, airplane, ship, robot, robotic arm, smart home appliance, etc. A module (e.g., circuit, chip, chip system or processor) for performing corresponding communication functions and / or processing functions may generally be provided in the terminal. A computer program or instruction for performing corresponding communication functions and / or processing functions may also be configured in the terminal. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the device form of the terminal.

[0096] The communication between each access network device and each terminal in the communication system shown in Figure 1 can also be represented in another form. As shown in Figure 2, terminal 120 includes a processor 101, a memory 102, and a transceiver 103. Transceiver 103 includes a transmitter 1031, a receiver 1032, and an antenna 1033. Access network device 110 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 configured to receive signals via antenna 1033, and transmitter 1031 can be configured to transmit signals to access network device 110 via antenna 1033. Transmitter 2031 can be configured to transmit signals to terminal 120 via antenna 2033, and receiver 2032 can be configured to receive signals transmitted by terminal 120 via antenna 2033.

[0097] The communication system and business 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. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0098] The following first explains the relevant terms involved in the embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that these explanations are intended to make the embodiments of the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by this application.

[0099] 1) PDCCH:

[0100] In mobile communication systems, PDCCH can be used to transmit DCI. DCI is mainly used to indicate at least one of the following: (1) downlink scheduling information, which is used by the terminal to receive the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); (2) uplink scheduling information, which is used by the terminal to send the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); (3) other physical layer control information, such as slot format indicator (SFI), resource preemption indicator (PI), power control command and other control signaling, to assist the terminal in receiving and sending data.

[0101] The signal carried on the PDCCH is called a PDCCH signal. In this application, the PDCCH signal may be referred to as PDCCH for short; in other words, PDCCH may refer to a physical downlink control channel or a signal transmitted on the physical downlink control channel.

[0102] Before the access network device sends the PDCCH to the terminal, the access network device may configure relevant parameters of PDCCH transmission (eg, control resource set configuration and search space (SS) configuration) for the terminal to assist the terminal in receiving the PDCCH.

[0103] 2) Control resource set:

[0104] The control resource set can be used to configure the frequency domain resource information of the PDCCH (such as which resource blocks (RBs) the PDCCH occupies) and part of the time domain resource information of the PDCCH (such as how many symbols the PDCCH occupies). The access network device can configure one or more control resource sets for the terminal for different purposes. A control resource set can be associated with one or more search spaces.

[0105] The following shows an example configuration of a control resource set:

[0106] Some parameters in this example are explained as follows:

[0107] controlResourceSetId indicates the index of the control resource set;

[0108] 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.

[0109] Duration indicates the number of consecutive orthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) symbols occupied by the time domain resources of the control resource set, or the number of consecutive OFDM symbols occupied by the PDCCH;

[0110] cce-REG-MappingType indicates the mapping mode between CCE and resource element group (REG), including interleaved and non-interleaved.

[0111] precoderGranularity indicates the granularity of PDCCH precoding;

[0112] tci-StatesPDCCH-ToAddList indicates adding one or more transmission configuration index (TCI)-states;

[0113] tci-StatesPDCCH-ToReleaseList indicates the release of one or more TCI-states;

[0114] tci-PresentInDCI indicates whether there is a TCI field in the DCI;

[0115] pdcch-DMRS-ScramblingID indicates the scrambling identifier used by PDCCH.

[0116] In some embodiments, the PDCCH resources (such as one or more symbols, one or more RBs, etc.) configured by the control resource set can be called a control resource set; in other words, the control resource set can be used to represent PDCCH resources, and can also be used to represent the configuration parameters of PDCCH resources.

[0117] 3) Search space:

[0118] The search space, also known as the search space set, is primarily used to configure PDCCH time domain resource information, or to configure PDCCH blind detection related information. The search space may include, for example: the time domain period (or blind detection period), which indicates the number of time slots between each search space occurrence; the monitoring occasion (MO) within a slot, which indicates which symbols within a slot the PDCCH may be located on; 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, among other parameters.

[0119] In some embodiments, the PDCCH resources configured by the search space may be referred to as a search space; in other words, the search space may be used to represent the PDCCH resources, and may also be used to represent configuration parameters of the PDCCH resources.

[0120] 4) Listening opportunity:

[0121] A search space may include one or more listening opportunities. In some embodiments, the listening symbol may be indicated by a monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot parameter within a time slot. The monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot parameter is a 14-bit bitmap, with each bit corresponding to an OFDM symbol. A bit value of 1 indicates that the OFDM symbol corresponding to the bit is the first OFDM symbol of a listening opportunity, that is, starting from this OFDM symbol, there are X consecutive OFDM symbols corresponding to a listening opportunity. X is indicated by the duration parameter in the control resource set. For example, if the value of monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot is 10000100000000, and the value of the duration parameter in the associated control resource set is 3, then the search space has two listening opportunities, the first listening opportunity is located at the 1st to 3rd OFDM symbols, and the second listening opportunity is located at the 6th to 8th OFDM symbols.

[0122] In some embodiments, the PDCCH resource configured by the listening opportunity may be referred to as a listening opportunity; in other words, the listening opportunity may be used to represent the PDCCH resource, and may also be used to represent the configuration parameters of the PDCCH resource.

[0123] 5) PDCCH candidate:

[0124] The alternative PDCCH can also be called a potential PDCCH or a PDCCH candidate, which refers to the time-frequency resource location where the access network device can send a PDCCH, that is, a time-frequency resource location where a PDCCH may exist is called an alternative PDCCH. A search space may include one or more alternative PDCCHs, and the one or more alternative PDCCHs may be included in the listening opportunities included in the search space. The access network device may send a PDCCH on an alternative PDCCH, or may not send a PDCCH. The alternative PDCCH can be configured according to the aggregation level of the set. For example, the access network device can configure 2 alternative PDCCHs with an aggregation level of 4 and 4 alternative PDCCHs with an aggregation level of 8 for the terminal. Then the terminal will perform blind detection on the 2 alternative PDCCHs with an aggregation level of 4, and blind detection on the 4 alternative PDCCHs with an aggregation level of 8. The access network device configures the alternative PDCCH to control the number of blind detections (monitored PDCCH candidates) for each aggregation level, thereby controlling the complexity of the PDCCH blind detection. The time-frequency position of the candidate PDCCH for each aggregation level is calculated according to a formula. The terminal can determine the time-frequency position of the candidate PDCCH for each aggregation level, and thus receive the PDCCH at the time-frequency position.

[0125] In some embodiments, the PDCCH resources configured by the candidate PDCCH may be referred to as candidate PDCCHs; in other words, the candidate PDCCHs may be used to represent PDCCH resources, and may also be used to represent configuration parameters of PDCCH resources.

[0126] An example configuration of the search space is shown below:

[0127] Some parameters in this example are explained as follows:

[0128] searchSpaceId indicates the index of the search space;

[0129] controlResourceSetId indicates the index of the control resource set associated with the search space;

[0130] monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset indicates the period of the search space and which slot within a period is the starting slot of the search space;

[0131] Duration indicates how many slots the search space occupies in one cycle;

[0132] monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot indicates the presence of a listening opportunity within a slot;

[0133] nrofCandidates indicates the number of blind detections corresponding to the search space;

[0134] searchSpaceType indicates the type of the blind detection space, and is used to determine the type of PDCCH corresponding to the blind detection space.

[0135] It should be understood that the terms control resource set, search space, listening opportunity or alternative PDCCH in this application are for convenience of description and are not limited to the literal meaning. For example, the control resource set can generally refer to the configuration parameters of the PDCCH frequency domain information, and can be replaced by any other term that characterizes the PDCCH frequency domain information. For another example, the search space can generally refer to the configuration parameters of the PDCCH time domain information or the PDCCH blind detection information, and can be replaced by any other term that characterizes the PDCCH time domain information or the PDCCH blind detection information. For another example, the listening opportunity can generally refer to the configuration parameters of the time domain position of the PDCCH in a time slot, and can be replaced by any other term that characterizes the time domain position of the PDCCH in a time slot. For another example, the alternative PDCCH can generally refer to the configuration parameters of the time-frequency resource position where the PDCCH may exist, and can be replaced by any other term that characterizes the time-frequency resource position where the PDCCH may exist.

[0136] 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 can perform blind detection of the PDCCH at these time-frequency resource locations.

[0137] 6) PDCCH blind detection:

[0138] Blind PDCCH detection is a method used by terminals to receive PDCCHs. This method involves blindly testing the terminal to receive PDCCHs at various possible PDCCH locations (i.e., candidate PDCCHs), without knowing the specific time-frequency resource locations of the PDCCHs sent by the access network. Blind detection involves the terminal iterating through each candidate PDCCH and determining whether the terminal's PDCCH exists on the corresponding time-frequency resources.

[0139] To ensure that the number of blind detections performed by a terminal within a cell or a time slot of a BWP does not exceed the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol, and that the number of non-overlapping CCEs involved in the blind detection does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified by the protocol, the terminal can implement a PDCCH blind detection overbooking mechanism. The non-overlapping CCE number means that if the CCEs corresponding to at least two candidate PDCCHs overlap, the overlapping CCEs are counted once and are not counted twice.

[0140] The overbooking mechanism can also be referred to as a solution to excessive blind detection times or a blind detection capacity budgeting mechanism. The overbooking mechanism determines whether blind detection is required for each search space based on available blind detection resources, such as the number of blind detection times and / or the number of non-overlapping CCEs. Currently, the overbooking mechanism may include: the terminal sequentially allocating the maximum number of blind detection times and the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs to each search space in the order of multiple search spaces. For each search space, if the remaining number of blind detection times is greater than or equal to the number of blind detection times corresponding to the search space, and the remaining maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs is greater than or equal to the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the search space, the terminal may allocate the number of blind detection times and the number of non-overlapping CCEs to the search space, subtract the number of blind detection times corresponding to the search space from the remaining number of blind detection times to obtain an updated remaining number of blind detection times, and subtract the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the search space from the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs to obtain an updated remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs. If the remaining number of blind detections is less than the number of blind detections corresponding to the search space, and / or the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs is less than the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the search space, the terminal stops allocating the number of blind detections and the number of non-overlapping CCEs.

[0141] For example, the search space is shown in Figure 3. Assume that the protocol specifies a maximum blind detection count of 4 and a maximum non-overlapping CCE count of 8. The four search spaces (SS1, SS2, SS3, and SS4) correspond to blind detection counts of 2, 3, 2, and 1, respectively, and non-overlapping CCE counts of 4, 6, 4, and 2, respectively. Assume that SS4 is the common search space (CSS) and the other search spaces are UE-specific search spaces (USS). The order of the four search spaces is: SS4, SS1, SS2, and SS3.

[0142] For SS4, the remaining number of blind detections is 4 and the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs is 8. The terminal may allocate a blind detection number of 1 and a non-overlapping CCE number of 2 to SS4, and subtract the blind detection number 1 corresponding to SS4 from the remaining number of blind detections 4 to obtain an updated remaining number of blind detections 3, and subtract the non-overlapping CCE number 2 corresponding to SS4 from the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs 8 to obtain an updated remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs 6.

[0143] For SS1, since the number of blind detections corresponding to SS1, 2, is less than or equal to the remaining number of blind detections, 3, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to SS1, 4, is less than or equal to the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, 6, the terminal can allocate to SS1 the number of blind detections, 2, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs, 4. The terminal subtracts the number of blind detections corresponding to SS1, 2, from the remaining number of blind detections, 3, to obtain an updated remaining number of blind detections, 1, and subtracts the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to SS1, 4, from the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, 6, to obtain an updated remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, 2.

[0144] For SS2, since the blind detection number 3 corresponding to SS2 is greater than the remaining blind detection number 1, and the non-overlapping CCE number 6 corresponding to SS2 is greater than the remaining non-overlapping CCE number 2, the terminal stops allocating blind detection times and non-overlapping CCE numbers.

[0145] Through the above method, the terminal can perform blind detection on SS1 and SS4, but not on SS2 and SS3.

[0146] 7) Hereinafter in this application, “less than or equal to” may be replaced by “less than”, and / or “greater than” may be replaced by “greater than or equal to”.

[0147] 8) In the following text of this application, the order may be replaced by at least one of the following: priority or priority order, etc.

[0148] 9) In the following text of this application, “sending information to a device (such as a terminal)” can be understood as the destination of the information being the device, and can include sending information to the device directly or indirectly. “Receiving information from a device (such as a terminal)” or “receiving information from a device (such as a terminal)” can be understood as the source of the information being the device, and can include receiving information from the device directly or indirectly. The information may be processed as necessary between the source and destination of the information, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0149] Currently, terminals perform PDCCH blind detection based on static information such as the number of blind detections and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the search space, thereby achieving PDCCH reception. As long as the number of blind detections and non-overlapping CCEs for a search space is less than the currently remaining number of blind detections and non-overlapping CCEs, the terminal determines whether to allocate blind detections and non-overlapping CCEs for that search space. This method results in a high number of unnecessary blind detections, resulting in a higher number of blind detections and non-overlapping CCEs for the terminal, which increases the complexity of PDCCH reception.

[0150] In addition, as mentioned above, the terminal allocates the maximum number of blind detections and the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs to each search space in the order of multiple search spaces. A search space ranked higher may not have a corresponding PDCCH, causing the terminal to perform unnecessary blind detection on it, which in turn results in higher energy consumption for the terminal. A search space ranked lower may have a corresponding PDCCH, but because it is not allocated the number of blind detections and the number of non-overlapping CCEs, the terminal will not perform blind detection on it, resulting in the terminal failing to receive the PDCCH. For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 3 above, the terminal can perform blind detection on SS1 and SS4, but not on SS2 and SS3. If SS1 does not have a corresponding PDCCH, the terminal will still perform blind detection on it, resulting in higher energy consumption for the terminal. If SS2 has a corresponding PDCCH, the terminal will not be able to receive the PDCCH.

[0151] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. Figure 4 is a flow chart corresponding to the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. In Figure 4, the method is illustrated by taking the first device and the second device as the execution subjects of the interaction diagram as an example, but the present application does not limit the execution subjects of the interaction diagram. For example, the first device can be a terminal, or a module applied to the terminal, such as a circuit, a chip (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip), a chip system or a processor, or a logical node, a logical module or software that can realize all or part of the terminal functions; the second device can be an access network device, or a module applied to the access network device, such as a circuit, a chip (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip), a chip system or a processor, or a logical node, a logical module or software that can realize all or part of the access network device functions. As shown in Figure 4, the method includes:

[0152] S401: The second device may send a configuration message; correspondingly, the first device may receive the configuration message.

[0153] In some possible embodiments, the second device may be a base station, and the second device may send a configuration message to the first device.

[0154] In other possible approaches, the second device can implement communication functions with the terminal through the first node. In other words, the first node can implement signal transmission and reception functions; the second device can also implement processing functions through the second node. For example, the first node can send a configuration message to the first device. Optionally, the configuration message can be jointly determined by the first node and the second node, or the first node can receive it from the second node. Exemplarily, the first node is an O-DU or DU, and the second node is an O-CU or CU.

[0155] In the embodiments of the present application, the first node and / or the second node may be located in the second device or outside the second device, without limitation. In addition, the first node and the second node may be the same device or separate independent devices, without limitation.

[0156] Among them, the configuration message may include information about the PDCCH resource. In other words, the configuration message can be used to configure the PDCCH resource; or, the configuration message includes configuration parameters of the PDCCH resource. The PDCCH resource may include at least one of the following: a control resource set, a search space, a listening opportunity, or an alternative PDCCH. Among them, the specific contents of the control resource set, search space, listening opportunity and alternative PDCCH can refer to the explanation of the control resource set, search space, listening opportunity and alternative PDCCH in the explanation of the relevant terms above, and the configuration method of the control resource set, search space, listening opportunity and alternative PDCCH can also refer to the explanation of the control resource set, search space, listening opportunity and alternative PDCCH in the explanation of the relevant terms above, which will not be repeated here.

[0157] The configuration message may be a traditional message or a new message. The configuration message may include one message or multiple messages. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0158] Optionally, the configuration message may further include information about the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource. In other words, the configuration message may also be used to configure the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource; or, the configuration message may also be used to indicate the association relationship between the PDCCH resource and the first signal.

[0159] Among them, the first signal can be used to determine (or indicate) whether the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is sent. In other words, the first signal can be used to determine (or indicate) whether the PDCCH corresponding to the first signal is sent, and the PDCCH corresponding to the first signal may be the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource associated with the first signal. Among them, the first signal may be sent when the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is sent, and the device that sends the first signal may be the second device. In this way, the first device can determine whether the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is sent based on whether the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource is received. For example, if the first device receives the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, the first device can determine that the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is sent. For example, if the first device does not receive the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, the first device can determine that the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is not sent.

[0160] This application does not limit the specific name of the first signal. For example, the name of the first signal can be a control discovery signal (CDS), which means that it can be used for the terminal to discover the PDCCH. The first signal can also have other names as long as it achieves the above functions.

[0161] In some possible manners, the information of the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource may include at least one of the following information 1 to information 3:

[0162] Information 1: The first parameter.

[0163] The first parameter can be used to determine (or indicate) whether to adopt or not adopt the first signal; in other words, the first parameter can be used to determine (or indicate) whether the first device receives the PDCCH according to the first signal. It should be understood that when the first signal is adopted, the first device and the second device can perform the method shown in Figure 4. When the first signal is not adopted, the first device and the second device can transmit the PDCCH by traditional methods. For example, the second device can send the PDCCH, and the first device can receive the PDCCH through PDCCH blind detection. For the specific content of the PDCCH blind detection, please refer to the explanation of the PDCCH blind detection in the explanation of the relevant terms above, which will not be repeated here.

[0164] There are multiple ways for the first parameter to be used to determine (or indicate) whether to adopt or not adopt the first signal, for example, way a1, way a2 or way a3.

[0165] Method a1: The first parameter can have two values, indicating whether to use the first signal or not. For example, if the value of the first parameter is the first value (e.g., 0), it indicates that the first signal is used; if the value of the first parameter is the second value (e.g., 1), it indicates that the first signal is not used.

[0166] Mode a2: The first parameter can have a value, indicating that the first signal is used. In other words, as long as the configuration parameters include the first parameter, the first signal is used; if the configuration parameters do not include the first parameter, the first signal is not used.

[0167] Mode a3: The first parameter may have a value indicating that the first signal is not used. In other words, if the configuration parameters do not include the first parameter, the first signal is used; if the configuration parameters include the first parameter, the first signal is not used.

[0168] Information 2: used to indicate the type of the first signal.

[0169] The type of the first signal may refer to the type of the first signal used, for example, the type of the first signal used by the second device and / or the type of the first signal that the first device is allowed to use.

[0170] Optionally, the type of the first signal used may be configured for the first device by the second device. For example, the first device reports a type of first signal that it supports, and the second device may configure the first device to use or not use the type of the first signal. For another example, the first device reports that it supports multiple types of first signals, and the second device may configure the first device to use at least one of the multiple types of first signals. For another example, a standard, protocol, or system specifies (or supports) one or more types of first signals, and the second device may configure the first device to use one of the one or more types of first signals.

[0171] Information 2 may explicitly indicate the type of the first signal, for example, information 2 may include the type of the first signal; or, information 2 may implicitly indicate the type of the first signal, for example, information 2 may include information that corresponds to the type of the first signal.

[0172] Information 3: used to indicate the association relationship between the first signal and the PDCCH resource.

[0173] Exemplarily, the association relationship between the first signal and the PDCCH resource may include at least one of the following relationships 1 to 4:

[0174] Relationship 1: association relationship between the first signal and the control resource set.

[0175] Optionally, one first signal may be associated with one control resource set, or one first signal may be associated with multiple control resource sets.

[0176] In some examples, information 3 may indicate one or more control resource sets associated with the first signal. For example, if the configuration message is used to configure the first signal CDS1, information 3 in the configuration message may include indexes (or identifiers) of control resource sets associated with CDS1, such as CORESET1 and CORESET2, indicating that CDS1 is associated with CORESET1 and CORESET2.

[0177] In other examples, information 3 may indicate one or more first signals associated with the control resource set. For example, if the configuration message is used to configure the control resource set CORESET1, information 3 in the configuration message may include indexes (or identifiers) of the first signals associated with CORESET1, such as CDS1 and CDS2, indicating that CORESET1 is associated with CDS1 and CDS2.

[0178] Relationship 2: The association relationship between the first signal and the search space.

[0179] Optionally, one first signal may be associated with one search space, or one first signal may be associated with multiple search spaces.

[0180] In some examples, information 3 may indicate one or more search spaces associated with the first signal. For example, if the configuration message is used to configure the first signal CDS1, information 3 in the configuration message includes indexes (or identifiers) of search spaces associated with CDS1, such as SS1 and SS2, indicating that CDS1 is associated with SS1 and SS2.

[0181] In other examples, information 3 may indicate one or more first signals associated with the search space. For example, if the configuration message is used to configure search space SS1, information 3 in the configuration message includes indexes (or identifiers) of first signals associated with SS1, such as CDS1 and CDS2, indicating that SS1 is associated with CDS1 and CDS2.

[0182] Relationship 3: association between the first signal and the listening opportunity;

[0183] Optionally, one first signal may be associated with one listening opportunity, or one first signal may be associated with multiple listening opportunities.

[0184] In some examples, information 3 may indicate one or more listening opportunities associated with the first signal. For example, if the configuration message is used to configure the first signal CDS1, information 3 in the configuration message includes indexes (or identifiers) of listening opportunities associated with CDS1, such as MO1 and MO2, indicating that CDS1 is associated with MO1 and MO2.

[0185] In other examples, information 3 may indicate one or more first signals associated with the listening opportunity. For example, if the configuration message is used to configure listening opportunity MO1, information 3 in the configuration message includes the index (or identifier) ​​of the first signal associated with MO1, such as CDS1 and CDS2, indicating that MO1 is associated with CDS1 and CDS2.

[0186] Relationship 4: Association between the first signal and the candidate PDCCH.

[0187] Optionally, one first signal may be associated with one candidate PDCCH, or one first signal may be associated with multiple candidate PDCCHs.

[0188] In some examples, information 3 may indicate one or more alternative PDCCHs associated with the first signal. For example, if the configuration message is used to configure the first signal CDS1, information 3 in the configuration message includes the index (or identifier) ​​of the alternative PDCCH associated with CDS1, such as alternative PDCCH1 and alternative PDCCH2, indicating that CDS1 is associated with alternative PDCCH1 and alternative PDCCH2.

[0189] In other examples, information 3 may indicate one or more first signals associated with the candidate PDCCH. For example, if the configuration message is used to configure candidate PDCCH1, information 3 in the configuration message includes the index (or identifier) ​​of the first signal associated with candidate PDCCH1, such as CDS1 and CDS2, indicating that candidate PDCCH1 is associated with CDS1 and CDS2.

[0190] It should be understood that information 1 through information 3 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 include information 1. For another example, if the system defaults or the standard specifies the type of the first signal, the configuration message may not include information 2. For another example, if the system defaults or the standard specifies the resources associated with each type of first signal, the configuration message may not include information 3.

[0191] Optionally, the information of the PDCCH resource and the information of the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource may be carried in the same message or in different messages, and this application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0192] S402: The second device may determine whether to send a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource according to whether the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is sent.

[0193] If the second device sends the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the second device may determine to send the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource; and / or, if the second device does not send the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the second device may determine not to send the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource.

[0194] In some possible ways, after determining whether to send the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, the second device may perform corresponding operations according to the determination result. For example, if the second device determines to send the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, in other words, if the second device sends the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the second device may send the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource. Optionally, the second device may send the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource before sending the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. Alternatively, the second device may send the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource while sending the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. For another example, if the second device determines not to send the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, in other words, if the second device does not send the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the second device does not send the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource. In other words, the second device may skip sending the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource.

[0195] In some examples, the second device may be one of the following: a base station or a module applied to a base station. If the second device sends a PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the second device may send the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource and a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource to the first device.

[0196] In other examples, the second device can implement communication functions with the terminal through the first node (e.g., O-DU or DU). In other words, the first node can implement signal transmission and reception functions; the second device can also implement processing functions through the second node (e.g., O-CU or CU). If the second device sends a PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the first node can send the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource and the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource to the first device.

[0197] It should be understood that there is also a corresponding relationship between the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource and the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource. Therefore, S402 can also be replaced by: the second device can determine whether to send the first signal corresponding to the PDCCH according to whether to send the PDCCH.

[0198] S403: The first device may determine (or judge) whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource based on whether the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource is received.

[0199] S403 may be implemented in multiple ways, for example, way b1 and / or way b2.

[0200] Mode b1: If the first condition is met, the first device may receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. In other words, if the first condition is met, the first device may determine to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource.

[0201] Among them, the first condition may include a combination of one or more of the following: Condition a1: the first device receives a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource; Condition a2: the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of blind detections; or Condition a3: the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs.

[0202] The following is an example illustrating method b1 in combination with condition 1.

[0203] In some examples, the first condition may include condition a1; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the first device may receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. For the specific content of the PDCCH resource, please refer to the description of the PDCCH resource in S401 and will not be repeated here. Through this example, the first device can determine to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource only when it receives the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, thereby avoiding the first device from performing blind detection on a PDCCH resource without a PDCCH, reducing the complexity of the first device receiving the PDCCH, and reducing the energy consumption of the first device.

[0204] In other examples, the first condition may include condition a1 and condition a2; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, and the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of blind detections, then the first device may receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, and the remaining number of blind detections is 4, then the first device may receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. Through this example, the first device can be prevented from performing blind detection on a PDCCH resource without a PDCCH, reducing the complexity of the first device receiving the PDCCH and reducing the energy consumption of the first device. Furthermore, this example can ensure that the number of blind detections performed by the first device in a time slot of a cell or a BWP does not exceed the maximum number of blind detections specified in the protocol.

[0205] In some further examples, the first condition may include condition a1 and condition a3; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs, then the first device may receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 2, and the number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs is 4, then the first device may receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. Through this example, the first device can avoid blind detection on a PDCCH resource without a PDCCH, reduce the complexity of the first device receiving the PDCCH, and reduce the energy consumption of the first device. Furthermore, this example can ensure that the number of non-overlapping CCEs involved in the blind detection of the first device does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified by the protocol.

[0206] In some further examples, the first condition may include conditions a1 to a3; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of blind detections, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, then the first device may receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, the remaining number of blind detections is 4, the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 2, and the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs is 4, then the first device may receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. Through this example, the first device can avoid performing blind detection on a PDCCH resource without a PDCCH, reduce the complexity of the first device receiving the PDCCH, and reduce the energy consumption of the first device. Moreover, this example can ensure that the number of blind detections performed by the first device in a cell or a time slot of a BWP does not exceed the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs involved in the blind detection of the first device does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified by the protocol.

[0207] Optionally, in mode b1, the method shown in FIG4 may further include S404:

[0208] S404: If the first condition is met, the first device may subtract the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the remaining number of blind detections to obtain an updated remaining number of blind detections, and / or the first device may subtract the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs to obtain an updated remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs. Optionally, the first device may use the updated remaining number of blind detections and the number of non-overlapping CCEs to continue to determine (or judge) whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the subsequent PDCCH resource. The determination method can refer to S403 and is not further described here.

[0209] The following describes S404 with an example in combination with the first condition.

[0210] In some examples, the first condition may include condition a1 and condition a2; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, and the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of blind detections, the first device may subtract the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the remaining number of blind detections to obtain an updated remaining number of blind detections. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, and the remaining number of blind detections is 4, the first device may subtract the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource 3 from the remaining number of blind detections 4 to obtain an updated remaining number of blind detections 1. In this example, the first device may allocate the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource to the PDCCH resource. Through this example, the first device can update the remaining number of blind detections in a timely manner.

[0211] In other examples, the first condition may include condition a1 and condition a3; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs, the first device may subtract the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs to obtain an updated number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 2, and the number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs is 4, the first device may subtract the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource, 2, from the number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs, 4, to obtain an updated number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs, 2. In this example, the first device may allocate the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource to the PDCCH resource. Through this example, the first device can update the number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs in a timely manner.

[0212] In some further examples, the first condition may include conditions a1 to a3; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of blind detections, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, then the first device may subtract the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the remaining number of blind detections to obtain an updated number of remaining blind detections, and may subtract the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs to obtain an updated number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, the remaining number of blind detections is 4, the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 2, and the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs is 4, then the first device may subtract the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource, 3, from the remaining number of blind detections, 4, to obtain an updated remaining number of blind detections, 1, and subtract the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource, 2, from the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, 4, to obtain an updated remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, 2. In this example, the first device may allocate the number of blind detections and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource to the PDCCH resource. Through this example, the first device can timely update the remaining number of blind detections and the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs.

[0213] Mode b2: If the second condition is met, the first apparatus may skip receiving (or detecting, blind detecting, or measuring) the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. In other words, the first apparatus may not receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource; or the first apparatus may not (or skip) configure the number of blind detections and / or the number of non-overlapping CCEs for the PDCCH resource.

[0214] Among them, the second condition may include a combination of one or more of the following: Condition b1: the first device does not receive the first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource; Condition b2: the first device receives the first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, and the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of blind detections; Condition b3: the first device receives the first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs; Condition b4: the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of blind detections; or Condition b5: the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs.

[0215] The following is an example illustrating method b2 in combination with the second condition.

[0216] In some examples, the second condition may include condition b1; in other words, if the first device does not receive the first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. For the specific content of the PDCCH resource, please refer to the description of the PDCCH resource in S401 and will not be repeated here. Through this example, the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource if it does not receive the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource, thereby avoiding the first device from performing blind detection on the PDCCH resource without the PDCCH, reducing the complexity of the first device receiving the PDCCH, and reducing the energy consumption of the first device.

[0217] In other examples, the second condition may include condition b2; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, and the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of blind detections, the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, and the remaining number of blind detections is 2, the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. This example ensures that the number of blind detections performed by the first device within a time slot in a cell or a BWP does not exceed the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol.

[0218] In some further examples, the second condition may include condition b3; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs, then the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, and the number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs is 2, then the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. This example ensures that the number of non-overlapping CCEs involved in the blind detection of the first device does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified by the protocol.

[0219] In some further examples, the second condition may include condition b2 and condition b3; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of blind detections, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, then the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, the remaining number of blind detections is 2, the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, and the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs is 2, then the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. Through this example, it can be ensured that the number of blind detections performed by the first device in a time slot of a cell or a BWP does not exceed the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs involved in the blind detection by the first device does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified by the protocol.

[0220] In some examples, the second condition includes: condition b1, condition b4, or condition b5. In other words, if the first device does not receive the first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, or the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of blind detections, or the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, then the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource. In this example, the first device may skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource if it does not receive the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource. This avoids the first device from performing blind detection on PDCCH resources without PDCCHs, reduces the complexity of PDCCH reception for the first device, and reduces energy consumption for the first device. Furthermore, this example ensures that the number of blind detections performed by the first device within a time slot in a cell or a BWP does not exceed the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol, and that the number of non-overlapping CCEs involved in the blind detection by the first device does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified by the protocol.

[0221] Optionally, in mode b2, the method shown in FIG4 may further include S405:

[0222] S405: If the second condition is met, the first device may perform at least one of the following operations: Operation 1: Keep the remaining number of blind detections unchanged; in other words, do not (or skip) subtract the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the remaining number of blind detections, or do not (or skip) allocate the number of blind detections for the PDCCH resource. Operation 2: Keep the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs unchanged; in other words, do not (or skip) subtract the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, or do not (or skip) allocate the number of non-overlapping CCEs for the PDCCH resource.

[0223] The following describes S405 with an example in conjunction with the second condition.

[0224] In some examples, the second condition may include condition b1; in other words, if the first device does not receive the first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the first device may maintain the remaining number of blind detections unchanged and / or maintain the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs unchanged. Through this example, if the first device does not receive the first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the first device may skip allocating the number of blind detections and / or the number of non-overlapping CCEs for the PDCCH resource, thereby avoiding the first device from performing blind detection on a PDCCH resource without a PDCCH, reducing the complexity of the first device receiving the PDCCH, and reducing energy consumption of the first device.

[0225] In other examples, the second condition may include condition b2; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, and the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of blind detections, the first device may keep the remaining number of blind detections unchanged, and / or keep the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs unchanged. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, and the remaining number of blind detections is 2, the first device may keep the remaining number of blind detections unchanged, and / or keep the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs unchanged. Through this example, it can be ensured that the number of blind detections performed by the first device in a time slot of a cell or a BWP does not exceed the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol.

[0226] In some further examples, the second condition may include condition b3; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs, the first device may keep the remaining number of blind detections unchanged, and / or keep the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs unchanged. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, and the number of remaining non-overlapping CCEs is 2, the first device may keep the remaining number of blind detections unchanged, and / or keep the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs unchanged. Through this example, it can be ensured that the number of non-overlapping CCEs involved in the blind detection of the first device does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified in the protocol.

[0227] In some further examples, the second condition may include condition b2 and condition b3; in other words, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of blind detections, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs, then the first device may maintain the remaining number of blind detections unchanged and / or maintain the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs unchanged. For example, if the first device receives a first signal corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, the remaining number of blind detections is 2, the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is 3, and the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs is 2, then the first device may maintain the remaining number of blind detections unchanged and / or maintain the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs unchanged. This example ensures that the number of blind detections performed by the first device within a time slot of a cell or a BWP does not exceed the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol, and that the number of non-overlapping CCEs involved in the blind detections by the first device does not exceed the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified by the protocol.

[0228] It should be understood that the method shown in Figure 4 can be applied to the case of one or more PDCCH resources. The following describes the case where the method is applied to multiple PDCCH resources.

[0229] In S401, the configuration message may include information about multiple PDCCH resources. The multiple PDCCH resources may include at least one of the following: multiple control resource sets, multiple search spaces, multiple sensing opportunities, or multiple candidate PDCCHs. Any of the multiple PDCCH resources may be the PDCCH resource in S401. The content of each PDCCH resource in the multiple PDCCH resources can refer to the description of PDCCH resources in S401 and is not further described here.

[0230] In S402, the second device may determine whether to send the first signal associated with each PDCCH resource according to whether to send the PDCCH corresponding to each PDCCH of the multiple PDCCH resources.

[0231] In S403, the first device may determine whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to each PDCCH resource according to the order of the multiple PDCCH resources and whether the first signal associated with each PDCCH resource in the multiple PDCCH resources is received.

[0232] Each of the multiple PDCCH resources can be associated with a first signal, and the first signal can be used to determine whether the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource associated with the first signal is transmitted. In this way, for each of the multiple PDCCH resources, the first device and the second device can both process the method shown in Figure 4 above, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0233] Optionally, for the first PDCCH resource among the multiple PDCCH resources, the remaining number of blind detections may be the maximum number of blind detections specified (or supported) by the protocol or standard, and / or the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs may be the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified (or supported) by the protocol or standard. For example, the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol is 4, and the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs is 8. If the multiple PDCCH resources are four search spaces (i.e., SS1, SS2, SS3, and SS4), and the order of the four search spaces is: SS4, SS1, SS2, and SS3, then for SS4, the remaining number of blind detections is 4, and the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs is 8.

[0234] There are multiple ways to implement the order of the multiple PDCCH resources, for example, at least one of ways c1 to c4.

[0235] Mode c1: The order of the multiple PDCCH resources is the order of the multiple control resource sets; in other words, the multiple PDCCH resources are multiple control resource sets. The order of the multiple control resource sets can be determined based on at least one of the following: the order of the indexes of the multiple control resource sets, the order of the reference times of the search spaces corresponding to the multiple control resource sets, the order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple control resource sets, or a pre-set order.

[0236] The reference time of the search space may be the start time of the search space (e.g., the first time domain symbol corresponding to the search space), or the end time of the search space, or a time in the middle of the search space. If a control resource set corresponds to multiple search spaces, the reference time of the search space corresponding to the control resource set may be the reference time of the search space with the earliest reference time corresponding to the control resource set, or may be the reference time of the search space with the latest reference time corresponding to the control resource set.

[0237] The reference time of the first signal may be a reception time of the first signal, or may be a transmission time of the first signal.

[0238] Optionally, the order of the multiple control resource sets satisfies at least one of the following A1 to A7:

[0239] A1. Multiple control resource sets can be arranged in ascending order according to the index of the control resource set: for example, if the multiple control resource sets include CORESET1 to CORESET3, and the order of the indexes of CORESET1 to CORESET3 from small to large is: CORESET1, CORESET2 and CORESET3, then the order of the multiple control resource sets can be: CORESET1, CORESET2 and CORESET3.

[0240] A2. Multiple control resource sets can be arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set: for example, if the multiple control resource sets include CORESET1 to CORESET3, and the order of the indexes of CORESET1 to CORESET3 from small to large is: CORESET1, CORESET2 and CORESET3, then the order of the multiple control resource sets can be: CORESET3, CORESET2 and CORESET1.

[0241] A3. Multiple control resource sets may be arranged in descending order according to the reference time of the search spaces corresponding to the control resource sets. For example, the multiple control resource sets include CORESET1 to CORESET3. CORESET1 to CORESET3 correspond to search spaces SS1 to SS3, respectively. If the reference time of SS1 to SS3 is arranged in descending order as SS1, SS2, and SS3, the order of the multiple control resource sets may be CORESET1, CORESET2, and CORESET3. In this manner, the earlier the reference time of the corresponding search space, the higher the order of the control resource set. In this way, when the first device receives the PDCCH according to this order, it may prioritize allocating the number of blind detections and the number of non-overlapping CCEs to the control resource sets corresponding to the search spaces with earlier reference times, thereby preferentially receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the control resource sets corresponding to the search spaces with earlier reference times.

[0242] A4. Multiple control resource sets may be arranged in descending order based on the reference times of the search spaces corresponding to the control resource sets. For example, the multiple control resource sets include CORESET1 through CORESET3. CORESET1 through CORESET3 correspond to search spaces SS1 through SS3, respectively. If the reference times of SS1 through SS3 are ordered from earliest to latest: SS1, SS2, and SS3, then the order of the multiple control resource sets may be: CORESET3, CORESET2, and CORESET1.

[0243] In A3 or A4, the order of multiple control resource sets is determined according to the order of reference times of the search spaces corresponding to the multiple control resource sets. Optionally, if the reference times of the search spaces corresponding to at least two control resource sets in the multiple control resource sets are the same, the order of the at least two control resource sets may be determined according to the order of the size of the indexes of the at least two control resource sets. Exemplarily, in A3 or A4, if the reference times of the search spaces corresponding to N control resource sets in the multiple control resource sets are the same, and N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the N control resource sets may be arranged in order from small to large according to the indexes of the control resource sets; or, the N control resource sets may be arranged in order from large to small according to the indexes of the control resource sets. In this way, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the multiple control resource sets.

[0244] For example, multiple control resource sets are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the search space corresponding to the control resource set. The multiple control resource sets include CORESET1 to CORESET3. CORESET1 to CORESET3 correspond to search spaces SS1 to SS3, respectively. The reference time of SS1 and SS2 is the same, and the reference time of SS1 is earlier than the reference time of SS3. If CORESET1 and CORESET2 are arranged in order from smallest to largest according to the index of the control resource set, and the index of CORESET1 is smaller than the index of CORESET2, then the order of the multiple control resource sets may be: CORESET1, CORESET2, and CORESET3. Alternatively, if CORESET1 and CORESET2 are arranged in order from largest to smallest according to the index of the control resource set, and the index of CORESET1 is smaller than the index of CORESET2, then the order of the multiple control resource sets may be: CORESET2, CORESET1, and CORESET3.

[0245] For another example, multiple control resource sets are arranged in order from latest to earliest reference time of the search spaces corresponding to the control resource sets. The multiple control resource sets include CORESET1 to CORESET3. CORESET1 to CORESET3 correspond to search spaces SS1 to SS3, respectively. The reference time of SS1 and SS2 is the same, and the reference time of SS1 is earlier than the reference time of SS3. If CORESET1 and CORESET2 are arranged in order from smallest to largest index of the control resource sets, and the index of CORESET1 is smaller than the index of CORESET2, then the order of the multiple control resource sets may be: CORESET3, CORESET1, and CORESET2. Alternatively, if CORESET1 and CORESET2 are arranged in order from largest to smallest index of the control resource sets, and the index of CORESET1 is smaller than the index of CORESET2, then the order of the multiple control resource sets may be: CORESET3, CORESET2, and CORESET1.

[0246] A5. Multiple control resource sets may be arranged in descending order based on the reference time of the first signal associated with the control resource sets. For example, the multiple control resource sets include CORESET1 through CORESET3. CORESET1 through CORESET3 correspond to first signals CDS1 through CDS3, respectively. If the reference times of CDS1 through CDS3 are ordered from earliest to latest: CDS1, CDS2, and CDS3, then the order of the multiple control resource sets may be: CORESET1, CORESET2, and CORESET3. In this manner, the earlier the reference time of the corresponding first signal, the earlier the control resource set is ordered. Thus, when the first device receives a PDCCH according to this order, it may prioritize allocating blind detection times and non-overlapping CCE numbers to the control resource set associated with the first signal with an earlier reference time, thereby preferentially receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the control resource set associated with the first signal with an earlier reference time.

[0247] A6. Multiple control resource sets may be arranged in descending order based on the reference times of the first signals associated with the control resource sets. For example, the multiple control resource sets include CORESET1 through CORESET3. CORESET1 through CORESET3 correspond to the first signals CDS1 through CDS3, respectively. If the reference times of CDS1 through CDS3 are ordered from earliest to latest: CDS1, CDS2, and CDS3, then the order of the multiple control resource sets may be: CORESET3, CORESET2, and CORESET1.

[0248] In A5 or A6, the order of multiple control resource sets is determined according to the order of reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple control resource sets. Optionally, if the reference times of the first signals associated with at least two control resource sets in the multiple control resource sets are the same, the order of the at least two control resource sets may be determined according to the order of the size of the indexes of the at least two control resource sets. Exemplarily, in A5 or A6, if the reference times of the first signals associated with P control resource sets in the multiple control resource sets are the same, and P is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the P control resource sets may be arranged in order from small to large according to the indexes of the control resource sets; or, the P control resource sets may be arranged in order from large to small according to the indexes of the control resource sets. In this way, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the multiple control resource sets.

[0249] For example, multiple control resource sets are arranged in order from earliest to latest reference time of the first signal associated with the control resource sets. The multiple control resource sets include CORESET1 to CORESET3. CORESET1 to CORESET3 correspond to the first signals CDS1 to CDS3, respectively. The reference time of CDS1 and CDS2 is the same, and the reference time of CDS1 is earlier than the reference time of CDS3. If CORESET1 and CORESET2 are arranged in order from smallest to largest index of the control resource sets, and the index of CORESET1 is smaller than the index of CORESET2, then the order of the multiple control resource sets may be: CORESET1, CORESET2, and CORESET3. If CORESET1 and CORESET2 are arranged in order from largest to smallest index of the control resource sets, and the index of CORESET1 is smaller than the index of CORESET2, then the order of the multiple control resource sets may be: CORESET2, CORESET1, and CORESET3.

[0250] For another example, multiple control resource sets are arranged in descending order of reference time of the first signal associated with the control resource sets. The multiple control resource sets include CORESET1 to CORESET3. CORESET1 to CORESET3 correspond to the first signals CDS1 to CDS3, respectively. The reference time of CDS1 and CDS2 is the same, and the reference time of CDS1 is earlier than the reference time of CDS3. If CORESET1 and CORESET2 are arranged in ascending order of control resource set indexes, and the index of CORESET1 is smaller than the index of CORESET2, then the order of the multiple control resource sets may be: CORESET3, CORESET1, and CORESET2. If CORESET1 and CORESET2 are arranged in descending order of control resource set indexes, and the index of CORESET1 is smaller than the index of CORESET2, then the order of the multiple control resource sets may be: CORESET3, CORESET2, and CORESET1.

[0251] A7. M control resource sets among the multiple control resource sets are ordered first, where M is a positive integer. The M control resource sets may be pre-set, for example, as specified by a protocol. Exemplarily, the M control resource sets may include a control resource set corresponding to a CSS.

[0252] Optionally, the control resource sets other than the M control resource sets in the multiple control resource sets may be sorted according to any of A1 to A6. For example, the multiple control resource sets include CORESET1 to CORESET4. If CORESET4 corresponds to a CSS, then in the multiple control resource sets, CORESET4 is ranked first, and CORESET1 to CORESET3 may be sorted according to any of A1 to A6.

[0253] Exemplarily, the control resource sets other than the M control resource sets in the multiple control resource sets may include control resource sets corresponding to the USS.

[0254] Through the method c1, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of multiple control resource sets.

[0255] Method c2: The order of multiple PDCCH resources is the order of multiple search spaces; in other words, the multiple PDCCH resources are multiple search spaces. The order of the multiple search spaces can be determined based on at least one of the following: the order of the size of the indexes of the multiple search spaces, the order of the reference times of the multiple search spaces, the order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple search spaces, the order of the size of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the multiple search spaces, or pre-set. Among them, the specific content of the reference time of the search space can refer to the description of the reference time of the search space in method c1; the specific content of the reference time of the first signal can refer to the description of the reference time of the first signal in method c1, and will not be repeated here.

[0256] Optionally, the order of the multiple search spaces satisfies at least one of the following B1 to B7:

[0257] B1: Multiple search spaces can be arranged in ascending order according to the index of the search space: for example, if the multiple search spaces include: SS1 to SS3, and the order of the indexes of SS1 to SS3 from small to large is: SS1, SS2 and SS3, then the order of the multiple search spaces can be: SS1, SS2 and SS3.

[0258] B2: Multiple search spaces can be arranged in descending order according to the index of the search space: for example, if the multiple search spaces include: SS1 to SS3, and the order of the indexes of SS1 to SS3 from small to large is: SS1, SS2 and SS3, then the order of the multiple search spaces can be: SS3, SS2 and SS1.

[0259] B3: Multiple search spaces can be arranged in order from early to late according to the reference time of the search space: for example, the multiple search spaces include: SS1 to SS3. If the reference time of SS1 to SS3 is in the order of SS1, SS2 and SS3 from early to late, then the order of the multiple search spaces can be: SS1, SS2 and SS3. In this way, the earlier the reference time of the search space, the higher the order of the search space. In this way, when the first device receives the PDCCH according to this order, it can give priority to allocating the number of blind detections and the number of non-overlapping CCEs to the search space with an early reference time, so that it can give priority to receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the search space with an early reference time.

[0260] B4: Multiple search spaces may be arranged in descending order of their reference times. For example, the multiple search spaces include SS1 through SS3. If the reference times of SS1 through SS3 are arranged in descending order of SS1, SS2, and SS3, the order of the multiple search spaces may be SS3, SS2, and SS1.

[0261] In B3 or B4, the order of multiple search spaces is determined according to the order of the reference times of the search spaces. Optionally, if the reference times of at least two search spaces in the multiple search spaces are the same, the order of the at least two search spaces may be determined according to the order of the size of the indexes of the at least two search spaces, or the order of the at least two search spaces may be determined according to the order of the size of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the at least two search spaces. Exemplarily, in B3 or B4, if the reference times of R search spaces in the multiple search spaces are the same, and R is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the R search spaces may be arranged in order of the indexes of the search spaces from small to large; or, the R search spaces may be arranged in order of the indexes of the search spaces from large to small; or, the R search spaces may be arranged in order of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the search spaces from small to large; or, the R search spaces may be arranged in order of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the search spaces from large to small. In this way, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the multiple search spaces.

[0262] For example, multiple search spaces are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the search space. The multiple search spaces include: SS1 to SS3. The reference time of SS1 and SS2 is the same, and the reference time of SS1 is earlier than the reference time of SS3. If SS1 and SS2 are arranged in order from smallest to largest according to the index of the search space, and the index of SS1 is smaller than the index of SS2, then the order of the multiple search spaces may be: SS1, SS2 and SS3. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in order from largest to smallest according to the index of the search space, and the index of SS1 is smaller than the index of SS2, then the order of the multiple search spaces may be: SS2, SS1 and SS3. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in order from smallest to largest according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS2, then the order of the multiple search spaces may be: SS1, SS2 and SS3. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS2, then the order of the multiple search spaces can be: SS2, SS1 and SS3.

[0263] For another example, multiple search spaces are arranged in order from latest to earliest reference time of the search spaces. The multiple search spaces include: SS1 to SS3. The reference time of SS1 and SS2 is the same, and the reference time of SS1 is earlier than the reference time of SS3. If SS1 and SS2 are arranged in order from smallest to largest index of the search spaces, and the index of SS1 is smaller than the index of SS2, then the order of the multiple search spaces may be: SS3, SS1, and SS2. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in order from largest to smallest index of the search spaces, and the index of SS1 is smaller than the index of SS2, then the order of the multiple search spaces may be: SS3, SS2, and SS1. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in order from smallest to largest index of the control resource sets corresponding to the search spaces, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS2, then the order of the multiple search spaces may be: SS3, SS1, and SS2. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS2, then the order of the multiple search spaces can be: SS3, SS2 and SS1.

[0264] B5: Multiple search spaces can be arranged in order from early to late according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the search space: for example, the multiple search spaces include: SS1 to SS3. SS1 to SS3 correspond to the first signals CDS1 to CDS3 respectively. If the reference time of CDS1 to CDS3 is in the order from early to late: CDS1, CDS2 and CDS3, then the order of the multiple search spaces can be: SS1, SS2 and SS3. In this way, the earlier the reference time of the corresponding first signal, the higher the order of the search space. In this way, when the first device receives the PDCCH according to this order, it can give priority to allocating the number of blind detections and the number of non-overlapping CCEs to the search space associated with the first signal with an early reference time, so that the PDCCH corresponding to the search space associated with the first signal with an early reference time can be received preferentially.

[0265] B6: Multiple search spaces may be arranged in descending order based on the reference times of the first signals associated with the search spaces. For example, the multiple search spaces include SS1 through SS3. SS1 through SS3 correspond to first signals CDS1 through CDS3, respectively. If the reference times of CDS1 through CDS3 are arranged in descending order as CDS1, CDS2, and CDS3, the order of the multiple search spaces may be SS3, SS2, and SS1.

[0266] In B5 or B6, the order of the multiple search spaces is determined based on the order of reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple search spaces. Optionally, if the reference times of the first signals associated with at least two search spaces in the multiple search spaces are the same, the order of the at least two search spaces may be determined based on the order of the magnitude of the indexes of the at least two search spaces, or the order of the at least two search spaces may be determined based on the order of the magnitude of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the at least two search spaces. Exemplarily, in B5 or B6, if the reference times of the first signals associated with S search spaces in the multiple search spaces are the same, where S is an integer greater than or equal to 2, the S search spaces may be arranged in ascending order of the indexes of the search spaces; or the S search spaces may be arranged in descending order of the indexes of the search spaces; or the S search spaces may be arranged in descending order of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the search spaces; or the S search spaces may be arranged in descending order of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the search spaces. In this way, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the multiple search spaces.

[0267] For example, multiple search spaces are arranged in descending order based on the reference time of the first signal associated with the search space. The multiple search spaces include SS1 to SS3. SS1 to SS3 correspond to first signals CDS1 to CDS3, respectively. CDS1 and CDS2 have the same reference time, and the reference time of CDS1 is earlier than the reference time of CDS3. If SS1 and SS2 are arranged in ascending order based on the search space index, and the index of SS1 is smaller than the index of SS2, the order of the multiple search spaces may be: SS1, SS2, and SS3. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in descending order based on the search space index, and the index of SS1 is smaller than the index of SS2, the order of the multiple search spaces may be: SS2, SS1, and SS3. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in ascending order based on the index of the control resource sets corresponding to the search spaces, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS2, the order of the multiple search spaces may be: SS1, SS2, and SS3. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS2, then the order of the multiple search spaces can be: SS2, SS1 and SS3.

[0268] For another example, multiple search spaces are arranged in descending order based on the reference time of the first signal associated with the search space. The multiple search spaces include SS1 through SS3. SS1 through SS3 correspond to first signals CDS1 through CDS3, respectively. CDS1 and CDS2 have the same reference time, and the reference time of CDS1 is earlier than the reference time of CDS3. If SS1 and SS2 are arranged in ascending order based on the search space index, and the index of SS1 is smaller than the index of SS2, the order of the multiple search spaces may be SS3, SS1, and SS2. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in descending order based on the search space index, and the index of SS1 is smaller than the index of SS2, the order of the multiple search spaces may be SS3, SS2, and SS1. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in ascending order based on the index of the control resource sets corresponding to the search spaces, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS2, the order of the multiple search spaces may be SS3, SS1, and SS2. Alternatively, if SS1 and SS2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to SS2, then the order of the multiple search spaces can be: SS3, SS2 and SS1.

[0269] B7: Q search spaces among the multiple search spaces are ordered first, where Q is a positive integer. The Q search spaces may be pre-set, for example, as specified by a protocol. Exemplarily, the Q search spaces may include a CSS.

[0270] Optionally, the search spaces other than the Q search spaces in the multiple search spaces may be ordered according to any of B1 to B6. For example, the multiple search spaces include SS1 to SS4. If SS4 is a CSS, then SS4 is ranked first in the multiple search spaces, and SS1 to SS3 may be ordered according to any of B1 to B6.

[0271] Exemplarily, the search spaces other than the Q search spaces in the multiple search spaces may include a USS.

[0272] Through method c2, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of multiple search spaces.

[0273] Method c3: The order of the multiple PDCCH resources is the order of the multiple listening opportunities; in other words, the multiple PDCCH resources are multiple listening opportunities. The order of the multiple listening opportunities can be determined according to at least one of the following: the order of the reference times of the multiple listening opportunities, the order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple listening opportunities, the order of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the multiple listening opportunities, the order of the indexes of the search sets corresponding to the multiple listening opportunities, or pre-set. Among them, the reference time of the listening opportunity can be the start time of the listening opportunity (for example, the first time domain symbol corresponding to the listening opportunity), or it can be the end time of the listening opportunity, or it can be a time in the middle of the listening opportunity. For the specific content of the reference time of the first signal, please refer to the description of the reference time of the first signal in method c1, which will not be repeated here.

[0274] Optionally, the order of the multiple listening opportunities satisfies at least one of the following C1 to C7:

[0275] C1: Multiple listening opportunities can be arranged in order from early to late according to the reference time of the listening opportunity: for example, the multiple listening opportunities include: MO1 to MO3. If the reference time of MO1 to MO3 is in the order from early to late: MO1, MO2 and MO3, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities can be: MO1, MO2 and MO3. In this way, the earlier the reference time of the listening opportunity, the earlier the order of the listening opportunity. In this way, when the first device receives the PDCCH according to this order, it can give priority to allocating the number of blind detections and the number of non-overlapping CCEs to the listening opportunity with an early reference time, so that it can give priority to receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the listening opportunity with an early reference time.

[0276] C2: The multiple listening opportunities may be arranged in descending order based on their reference times. For example, the multiple listening opportunities include MO1 to MO3. If the reference times of MO1 to MO3 are arranged in descending order as MO1, MO2, and MO3, the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be MO3, MO2, and MO1.

[0277] In C1 or C2, if the order of the multiple listening opportunities is determined according to the order of the reference times of the multiple listening opportunities. Optionally, if the reference times of at least two listening opportunities among the multiple listening opportunities are the same, the order of the at least two listening opportunities may be determined according to the order of the size of the indexes of the search spaces corresponding to the at least two listening opportunities, or the order of the at least two listening opportunities may be determined according to the order of the size of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the at least two listening opportunities. Exemplarily, in C1 or C2, if the reference times of U listening opportunities among the multiple listening opportunities are the same, and U is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the U listening opportunities may be arranged in ascending order according to the indexes of the search spaces corresponding to the listening opportunities; or, the U listening opportunities may be arranged in descending order according to the indexes of the search spaces corresponding to the listening opportunities; or, the U listening opportunities may be arranged in descending order according to the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the listening opportunities; or, the U listening opportunities may be arranged in descending order according to the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the listening opportunities. In this way, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the multiple listening opportunities.

[0278] For example, multiple listening opportunities are arranged in descending order according to the reference time of the listening opportunities. The multiple listening opportunities include MO1 to MO3. The reference time of MO1 and MO2 is the same. The reference time of MO1 is earlier than the reference time of MO3. If MO1 and MO2 are arranged in ascending order according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunities, and the index of the search space corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the search space corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be MO1, MO2, and MO3. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunities, and the index of the search space corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the search space corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be MO2, MO1, and MO3. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in ascending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunities, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be MO1, MO2, and MO3. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities can be: MO2, MO1 and MO3.

[0279] For another example, multiple listening opportunities are arranged in descending order according to the reference time of the listening opportunities. The multiple listening opportunities include MO1 to MO3. MO1 and MO2 have the same reference time. MO1's reference time is earlier than MO3's reference time. If MO1 and MO2 are arranged in ascending order according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunities, and the index of the search space corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the search space corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be MO3, MO1, and MO2. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunities, and the index of the search space corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the search space corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be MO3, MO2, and MO1. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in ascending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunities, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be MO3, MO1, and MO2. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities can be: MO3, MO2 and MO1.

[0280] C3: Multiple listening opportunities can be arranged in order from early to late according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunity: for example, the multiple listening opportunities include: MO1 to MO3. MO1 to MO3 correspond to the first signals CDS1 to CDS3 respectively. If the reference time of CDS1 to CDS3 is in the order from early to late: CDS1, CDS2 and CDS3, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities can be: MO1, MO2 and MO3. In this way, the earlier the reference time of the corresponding first signal, the earlier the order of the listening opportunity. In this way, when the first device receives the PDCCH according to this order, it can give priority to allocating the number of blind detections and the number of non-overlapping CCEs to the listening opportunity associated with the first signal with an early reference time, so that it can give priority to receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the listening opportunity associated with the first signal with an early reference time.

[0281] C4: The multiple listening opportunities may be arranged in descending order based on the reference times of the first signals associated with the listening opportunities. For example, the multiple listening opportunities include MO1 through MO3. MO1 through MO3 correspond to the first signals CDS1 through CDS3, respectively. If the reference times of CDS1 through CDS3 are in the descending order of CDS1, CDS2, and CDS3, the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be MO3, MO2, and MO1.

[0282] In C3 or C4, the multiple listening opportunities are determined according to the order of reference times of the first signals associated with the listening opportunities. Optionally, if the reference times of the first signals associated with at least two of the multiple listening opportunities are the same, the order of the at least two listening opportunities may be determined according to the order of the size of the indexes of the search spaces corresponding to the at least two listening opportunities, or the order of the at least two listening opportunities may be determined according to the order of the size of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the at least two listening opportunities. For example, in C3 or C4, if the reference time of the first signal associated with V listening opportunities in multiple listening opportunities is the same, and V is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the V listening opportunities can be arranged in ascending order according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity; or, the V listening opportunities can be arranged in descending order according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity; or, the V listening opportunities can be arranged in ascending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity; or, the V listening opportunities can be arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity. In this way, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of the multiple listening opportunities.

[0283] For example, multiple listening opportunities are arranged in order from early to late according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunity. The multiple listening opportunities include: MO1 to MO3. MO1 to MO3 correspond to the first signals CDS1 to CDS3 respectively. The reference time of CDS1 and CDS2 is the same. The reference time of CDS1 is earlier than the reference time of CDS3. If MO1 and MO2 are arranged in order from small to large according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity, and the index of the search space corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the search space corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities can be: MO1, MO2 and MO3. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in order from large to small according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity, and the index of the search space corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the search space corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities can be: MO2, MO1 and MO3. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be: MO1, MO2 and MO3. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be: MO2, MO1 and MO3.

[0284] For another example, a plurality of listening opportunities are arranged in order from late to early according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunity. The plurality of listening opportunities include: MO1 to MO3. MO1 to MO3 correspond to the first signals CDS1 to CDS3, respectively. The reference time of CDS1 and CDS2 is the same. The reference time of CDS1 is earlier than the reference time of CDS3. If MO1 and MO2 are arranged in order from small to large according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity, and the index of the search space corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the search space corresponding to MO2, then the order of the plurality of listening opportunities may be: MO3, MO1 and MO2. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in order from large to small according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity, and the index of the search space corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the search space corresponding to MO2, then the order of the plurality of listening opportunities may be: MO3, MO2 and MO1. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be: MO3, MO1 and MO2. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the control resource set corresponding to the listening opportunity, and the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO1 is smaller than the index of the control resource set corresponding to MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be: MO3, MO2 and MO1.

[0285] C5: The multiple listening opportunities may be arranged in ascending order based on the indexes of the search spaces corresponding to the listening opportunities. For example, the multiple listening opportunities include MO1 to MO3. MO1 to MO3 correspond to search spaces SS1 to SS3, respectively. If the indexes of SS1 to SS3 are arranged in ascending order as SS1, SS2, and SS3, the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be MO1, MO2, and MO3.

[0286] C6: The multiple listening opportunities may be arranged in descending order based on the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity. For example, the multiple listening opportunities include MO1 to MO3. MO1 to MO3 correspond to search spaces SS1 to SS3, respectively. If the index of SS1 to SS3 is in ascending order: SS1, SS2, and SS3, the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be MO3, MO2, and MO1.

[0287] In C5 or C6, multiple listening opportunities are determined in order of the size of the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunities. Optionally, if the search spaces corresponding to at least two listening opportunities among the multiple listening opportunities are the same, the order of the at least two listening opportunities may be determined according to the order of the reference times of the at least two listening opportunities, or the order of the at least two listening opportunities may be determined according to the order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the at least two listening opportunities. Exemplarily, in C5 or C6, if the search spaces corresponding to W listening opportunities among the multiple listening opportunities are the same, and W is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the W listening opportunities may be arranged in order from early to late according to the reference time of the listening opportunities; or, the W listening opportunities may be arranged in order from late to early according to the reference time of the listening opportunities; or, the W listening opportunities may be arranged in order from early to late according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunities; or, the W listening opportunities may be arranged in order from late to early according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunities.

[0288] For example, multiple listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity. The multiple listening opportunities include: MO1 to MO3. MO1 and MO2 correspond to the search space SS1, and MO3 corresponds to the search space SS2. The index of SS1 is smaller than the index of SS2. If MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the reference time of the listening opportunity, and the reference time of MO1 is earlier than the reference time of MO2, the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be: MO1, MO2 and MO3. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the reference time of the listening opportunity, and the reference time of MO1 is earlier than the reference time of MO2, the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be: MO2, MO1 and MO3. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunities, and the reference time of the first signal associated with MO1 is earlier than the reference time of the first signal associated with MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be: MO1, MO2, and MO3. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in order from earliest to earliest according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunities, and the reference time of the first signal associated with MO1 is earlier than the reference time of the first signal associated with MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be: MO2, MO1, and MO3.

[0289] For another example, a plurality of listening opportunities are arranged in descending order according to the index of the search space corresponding to the listening opportunity. The plurality of listening opportunities include: MO1 to MO3. MO1 and MO2 correspond to the search space SS1, and MO3 corresponds to the search space SS2. The index of SS1 is smaller than the index of SS2. If MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the reference time of the listening opportunity, and the reference time of MO1 is earlier than the reference time of MO2, then the order of the plurality of listening opportunities may be: MO3, MO1 and MO2. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in descending order according to the reference time of the listening opportunity, and the reference time of MO1 is earlier than the reference time of MO2, then the order of the plurality of listening opportunities may be: MO3, MO2 and MO1. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in order from earliest to latest according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunity, and the reference time of the first signal associated with MO1 is earlier than the reference time of the first signal associated with MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be: MO3, MO1, and MO2. Alternatively, if MO1 and MO2 are arranged in order from latest to earliest according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunity, and the reference time of the first signal associated with MO1 is earlier than the reference time of the first signal associated with MO2, then the order of the multiple listening opportunities may be: MO3, MO2, and MO1.

[0290] C7: T listening opportunities among the plurality of listening opportunities are at the front, where T is a positive integer. The T listening opportunities may be pre-set, for example, as specified by a protocol. Exemplarily, the T listening opportunities may include listening opportunities corresponding to a CSS.

[0291] Optionally, the plurality of listening opportunities other than the T listening opportunities may be ordered according to any of C1 to C6. For example, the plurality of listening opportunities include MO1 to MO4. If MO4 corresponds to the CSS, then MO4 is ranked first among the plurality of listening opportunities, and MO1 to MO3 may be ordered according to any of C1 to C6.

[0292] Exemplarily, the listening opportunities other than the T listening opportunities in the multiple listening opportunities may include listening opportunities corresponding to the USS.

[0293] Through method c3, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of multiple listening opportunities.

[0294] Method c4: The order of the multiple PDCCH resources is the order of the multiple alternative PDCCHs; in other words, the multiple PDCCH resources are multiple alternative PDCCHs. The order of the multiple alternative PDCCHs can be determined based on at least one of the following: the order of the listening opportunities corresponding to the multiple alternative PDCCHs, the order of aggregation levels of the multiple alternative PDCCHs (or high-low order), the order of reference time of the first signals associated with the multiple alternative PDCCHs, or the order of indexes of the multiple alternative PDCCHs. Among them, the specific content and determination method of the order of the listening opportunities can refer to the description of the order of the listening opportunities in method c3; the specific content of the reference time of the first signal can refer to the description of the reference time of the first signal in method c1, and will not be repeated here.

[0295] Optionally, the order of the multiple candidate PDCCHs may satisfy at least one of the following D1 to D2:

[0296] D1: Multiple candidate PDCCHs may be arranged in the order of the listening opportunities corresponding to the candidate PDCCHs from front to back. For example, the multiple candidate PDCCHs include candidate PDCCH1 to candidate PDCCH3. Candidate PDCCH1 to candidate PDCCH3 correspond to listening opportunities MO1 to MO3, respectively. If the order of MO1 to MO3 is MO1, MO2, and MO3, the order of the multiple candidate PDCCHs may be candidate PDCCH1, candidate PDCCH2, and candidate PDCCH3.

[0297] In some possible approaches, when multiple candidate PDCCHs are arranged in order from front to back according to the order of the listening opportunities corresponding to the candidate PDCCHs, if the listening opportunities corresponding to X candidate PDCCHs in the multiple candidate PDCCHs are the same, and X is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the order of the X candidate PDCCHs can be determined according to the order of the aggregation levels of the candidate PDCCHs. Exemplarily, the X candidate PDCCHs can be arranged in order from high to low according to the aggregation levels of the candidate PDCCHs; or, the X candidate PDCCHs can be arranged in order from low to high according to the aggregation levels of the candidate PDCCHs.

[0298] For example, the multiple candidate PDCCHs include candidate PDCCH1 to candidate PDCCH3. Candidate PDCCH1 and candidate PDCCH2 correspond to listening opportunity MO1, and candidate PDCCH3 corresponds to listening opportunity MO2. The order of MO1 and MO2 is: MO1 and MO2. If the candidate PDCCH1 and candidate PDCCH2 are arranged in descending order according to the aggregation level of the candidate PDCCHs, and the aggregation level of candidate PDCCH1 is higher than the aggregation level of candidate PDCCH2, then the order of the multiple candidate PDCCHs may be: candidate PDCCH1, candidate PDCCH2, and candidate PDCCH3. Alternatively, if the alternative PDCCH1 and alternative PDCCH2 are arranged in order from low to high according to the aggregation level of the alternative PDCCH, and the aggregation level of alternative PDCCH1 is higher than the aggregation level of alternative PDCCH2, the order of the multiple alternative PDCCHs can be: alternative PDCCH2, alternative PDCCH1 and alternative PDCCH3.

[0299] Optionally, if Y candidate PDCCHs among the X candidate PDCCHs have the same aggregation level, and Y is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the Y candidate PDCCHs may be determined in order of size of the candidate PDCCH indexes. Exemplarily, the Y candidate PDCCHs may be arranged in ascending order of the candidate PDCCH indexes; or, the Y candidate PDCCHs may be arranged in descending order of the candidate PDCCH indexes.

[0300] For example, the Y candidate PDCCHs include candidate PDCCH 1 and candidate PDCCH 2. The index of candidate PDCCH 1 is smaller than the index of candidate PDCCH 2. If candidate PDCCH 1 and candidate PDCCH 2 are arranged in ascending order according to the index of the candidate PDCCH, the order of the Y candidate PDCCHs is: candidate PDCCH 1 and candidate PDCCH 2. Alternatively, if candidate PDCCH 1 and candidate PDCCH 2 are arranged in descending order according to the index of the candidate PDCCH, the order of the Y candidate PDCCHs is: candidate PDCCH 2 and candidate PDCCH 1.

[0301] In other possible embodiments, when multiple candidate PDCCHs are arranged in order from front to back according to the order of the listening opportunities corresponding to the candidate PDCCHs, if the listening opportunities corresponding to X candidate PDCCHs in the multiple candidate PDCCHs are the same, and X is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the order of the X candidate PDCCHs can be determined according to the order of the size of the candidate PDCCH indexes. Exemplarily, the X candidate PDCCHs can be arranged in order from small to large according to the candidate PDCCH indexes; or, the X candidate PDCCHs can be arranged in order from large to small according to the candidate PDCCH indexes.

[0302] For example, the multiple alternative PDCCHs include alternative PDCCH1 to alternative PDCCH3. Alternative PDCCH1 and alternative PDCCH2 correspond to the listening opportunity MO1, and alternative PDCCH3 corresponds to the listening opportunity MO2. The order of MO1 and MO2 is: MO1 and MO2. The index of alternative PDCCH1 is less than the index of alternative PDCCH2. If alternative PDCCH1 and alternative PDCCH2 are arranged in order from small to large according to the index of the alternative PDCCH, the order of the multiple alternative PDCCHs is: alternative PDCCH1, alternative PDCCH2 and alternative PDCCH3. Alternatively, if alternative PDCCH1 and alternative PDCCH2 are arranged in order from large to small according to the index of the alternative PDCCH, the order of the multiple alternative PDCCHs is: alternative PDCCH2, alternative PDCCH1 and alternative PDCCH3.

[0303] D2: Multiple candidate PDCCHs are arranged in descending order based on the reference time of the first signal associated with the candidate PDCCHs. For example, the multiple candidate PDCCHs include candidate PDCCH1 through candidate PDCCH3. Candidate PDCCH1 through candidate PDCCH3 correspond to first signals CDS1 through CDS3, respectively. If the reference times of CDS1 through CDS3 are ordered from earliest to latest: CDS1, CDS2, and CDS3, then the order of the multiple candidate PDCCHs may be: candidate PDCCH1, candidate PDCCH2, and candidate PDCCH3.

[0304] Optionally, when multiple alternative PDCCHs are arranged in order from early to late according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH, if the reference time of the first signal associated with Z alternative PDCCHs in the multiple alternative PDCCHs is the same, and Z is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the Z alternative PDCCHs can be arranged in order from front to back according to the order of the listening opportunities corresponding to the alternative PDCCHs. In other words, the Z alternative PDCCHs can be sorted in the manner in D1.

[0305] For example, the multiple candidate PDCCHs include candidate PDCCH1 to candidate PDCCH3. The candidate PDCCHs 1 to 3 correspond to the first signals CDS1 to CDS3, respectively. The reference time of CDS1 and CDS2 is the same, and the reference time of CDS1 is earlier than the reference time of CDS3. If the order of the listening opportunity corresponding to candidate PDCCH1 is before the order of the listening opportunity corresponding to candidate PDCCH2, the order of the multiple candidate PDCCHs may be: candidate PDCCH1, candidate PDCCH2, and candidate PDCCH3.

[0306] Through the method c4, the first device can quickly and accurately determine the order of multiple candidate PDCCHs.

[0307] Optionally, the above method may be applicable to all PDCCH resources, or the above method may be applicable only to set PDCCH resources. For example, in the above method, the PDCCH resources only include the control resource set corresponding only to the USS. In other words, the above method only applies to the control resource set corresponding only to the USS. For another example, in the above method, the PDCCH resources only include the control resource set corresponding only to the USS. In other words, the above method only applies to the control resource set corresponding only to the USS. For another example, in the above method, the PDCCH resources only include the USS. In other words, the above method only applies to the USS. For another example, in the above method, the PDCCH resources only include the cell-level search space. In other words, the above method only applies to the cell-level search space. For another example, in the above method, the PDCCH resources only include the listening opportunities corresponding to the USS. In other words, the above method only applies to the listening opportunities corresponding to the USS. For another example, in the above method, the PDCCH resources only include the listening opportunities corresponding to the cell-level search space. In other words, the above method only applies to the listening opportunities corresponding to the cell-level search space. For another example, in the above method, the PDCCH resources only include the candidate PDCCHs corresponding to the USS. In other words, the above method is only applicable to the candidate PDCCHs corresponding to the USS. For another example, in the above method, the PDCCH resources only include the candidate PDCCHs corresponding to the cell-level search space. In other words, the above method is only applicable to the candidate PDCCHs corresponding to the cell-level search space.

[0308] Based on the same technical concept as the above-mentioned method embodiment, the embodiment of the present application provides a corresponding communication device that can be used to perform the functions of the relevant steps in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The function can be implemented by hardware, can be implemented by software, or can be implemented by hardware executing the corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above-mentioned functions. The communication device can be a terminal, or can be a module in the terminal (such as a circuit, or a chip (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip)), or can be a logical node, logical module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal or access network device functions; or the communication device can be an access network device or a module in the access network device (such as a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip containing a modem core, or a SIP chip)), or can be a logical node, logical module or software that can implement all or part of the access network device functions.

[0309] In one possible implementation, the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG5 , and includes a processing unit 502. Optionally, the communication device further includes an interface unit 501. The functions of each unit in the communication device 500 are described below.

[0310] The interface unit 501 is used to input and / or output information. Input information can be replaced by receiving information, and output information can be replaced by sending information. When outputting information, the interface unit 501 can output information to other devices outside the communication device 500, or it can output information to other units in the communication device 500. The interface unit 501 can be a transceiver unit, including a receiving unit and / or a sending unit, which can be used to support the communication device 500 to implement the receiving and / or sending operations in the above method embodiments. In some embodiments, the interface unit 501 can be implemented by at least one of a physical interface, a communication module, a communication interface, and an input / output interface. In other embodiments, the interface unit 501 can be implemented by an interface circuit, for example, a mobile communication module. The mobile communication module may include one or more of at least one antenna, at least one filter, a switch, a power amplifier, a low noise amplifier (LNA), etc.

[0311] The processing unit 502 can be used to support the communication device 500 in performing the processing actions in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The processing unit 502 can be implemented by one or more processors. For example, the processor can 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, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0312] In one embodiment, the communication device 500 is applied to the first device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 4. The specific functions of the processing unit 502 in this embodiment are introduced below.

[0313] The processing unit 502 is used to: receive a configuration message through the interface unit 501, the configuration message including information about PDCCH resources, the PDCCH resources including: a control resource set, a search space, a listening opportunity, or an alternative PDCCH; and determine whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource based on whether a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource is received.

[0314] In some possible embodiments, the processing unit 502 is specifically used to: receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource through the interface unit 501 when the first condition is met, and the first condition includes a combination of one or more of the following: receiving a first signal; the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of blind detections; or, the number of non-overlapping control channel elements CCE corresponding to the PDCCH resource is less than or equal to the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs.

[0315] Optionally, the processing unit 502 is also used to: when the first condition is met, subtract the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resources from the remaining number of blind detections to obtain an updated remaining number of blind detections, and / or subtract the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resources from the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs to obtain an updated remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs.

[0316] In other possible embodiments, the processing unit 502 is specifically used to: skip receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource when the second condition is met, and the second condition includes a combination of one or more of the following: the first signal is not received; the first signal is received, and the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of blind detections; or, the first signal is received, and the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource is greater than the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs.

[0317] Optionally, the processing unit 502 is further configured to: when the second condition is met, keep the remaining number of blind detections unchanged, and / or keep the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs unchanged.

[0318] In some implementations, the configuration information includes information about multiple PDCCH resources, where the multiple PDCCH resources include: multiple control resource sets, multiple search spaces, multiple sensing opportunities, or multiple candidate PDCCHs, and the PDCCH resource is any one of the multiple PDCCHs. The processing unit 502 is specifically configured to: determine, in an order of the multiple PDCCH resources, whether to receive a PDCCH corresponding to each of the multiple PDCCH resources based on whether a first signal associated with each of the multiple PDCCH resources is received.

[0319] In another embodiment, the communication device 500 is applied to the second device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 4. The specific functions of the processing unit 502 in this embodiment are introduced below.

[0320] The processing unit 502 is used to: send a configuration message through the interface unit 501, the configuration message including information about PDCCH resources, the PDCCH resources including: a control resource set, a search space, a listening opportunity, or an alternative PDCCH; and determine whether to send a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource based on whether the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is sent.

[0321] In some possible embodiments, the processing unit 502 is specifically used to: determine to send a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource when the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is sent; and / or, determine not to send the first signal associated with the PDCCH resource when the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is not sent.

[0322] A more detailed description of the processing unit 502 and the interface unit 501 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in the method embodiment shown in FIG4 , and is not repeated here.

[0323] It should be noted that the division of modules in the above embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a processing unit, or may exist separately physically, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units.

[0324] If the above-mentioned integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0325] In one possible implementation, the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG6 , where the communication device 600 includes a processor 602. Optionally, the communication device 600 further includes an interface circuit 601 and a memory 603. The interface circuit 601, the processor 602, and the memory 603 are coupled to each other.

[0326] Optionally, the interface circuit 601, the processor 602, and the memory 603 are coupled to each other via a bus 604. Bus 604 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus. Buses can be classified as address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of illustration, FIG6 shows only one thick line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0327] Interface circuit 601 is used to input and / or output information. Inputting information can be replaced by receiving information, and outputting information can be replaced by sending information. When outputting information, interface circuit 601 can output information to other devices outside of communication device 600, or to other units within communication device 600. Exemplarily, interface circuit 601 can be implemented via at least one of a physical interface, a communication module, a communication interface, an input / output interface, and a mobile communication module. The mobile communication module may include one or more of at least one antenna, at least one filter, a switch, a power amplifier, an LNA, and the like.

[0328] Processor 602 can be used to support communication device 600 in executing the processing actions in the above-described method embodiments. When communication device 600 is used to implement the above-described method embodiments, processor 602 can also be used to implement the functions of processing unit 502. Processor 602 can be a CPU, other general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. Processor 602 can include one or more processors.

[0329] In one possible design, when the communication device 600 is a terminal or an access network device, the interface circuit 601 may be a transceiver, including a receiver and / or a transmitter, which may be used to support the communication device 600 in implementing the receiving and / or transmitting operations in the above-mentioned method embodiments; the processor 602 may include a modem chip, a SoC chip including a modem core, or one or more SIP chips, which may be used to support the communication device 600 in implementing the processing operations in the above-mentioned method embodiments.

[0330] In another possible design, when the communication device 600 is a circuit or chip in a terminal or access network device, such as a modem chip, or a SoC chip including a modem core, or a SIP chip, the interface circuit 601 can be an interface circuit or a data transceiver circuit on the circuit or chip, which can be used to support the communication device 600 in implementing the receiving and / or sending operations in the above-mentioned method embodiment; the function of the processor 602 can be implemented by a circuit system including one or more processors or processor cores in the above-mentioned circuit or chip, which can be used to support the communication device 600 in implementing the processing operations in the above-mentioned method embodiment.

[0331] In one embodiment, the communication device 600 is applied to the first device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 4. The specific functions of the processor 602 in this embodiment are described below.

[0332] Processor 602 is used to: receive a configuration message through interface circuit 601, the configuration message including information about PDCCH resources, the PDCCH resources including: a control resource set, a search space, a listening opportunity, or an alternative PDCCH; and determine whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource based on whether a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource is received.

[0333] In another embodiment, the communication device 600 is applied to the second device in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 4. The specific functions of the processor 602 in this embodiment are introduced below.

[0334] Processor 602 is used to: send a configuration message through interface circuit 601, the configuration message including information about PDCCH resources, the PDCCH resources including: a control resource set, a search space, a listening opportunity, or an alternative PDCCH; and determine whether to send a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource based on whether the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource is sent.

[0335] The specific functions of the processor 602 can refer to the description of the communication method provided in the above embodiments and examples of the present application, as well as the specific functional description of the communication device 500 in the embodiment of the present application shown in Figure 5, and will not be repeated here.

[0336] The memory 603 is used to store program instructions and / or data, etc. Specifically, the program instructions may include program code, which includes computer operation instructions. The memory 603 may include RAM, and may also include non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk storage. The processor 602 executes the program instructions stored in the memory 603 and uses the data stored in the memory 603 to implement the above functions, thereby realizing the communication method provided in the above embodiment of the present application. The memory 603 can be integrated with the processor 602, or it can be a memory outside the communication device.

[0337] It will be appreciated that the memory 603 in FIG. 6 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 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 RAM, which is used as an external cache. By way of example but 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 rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0338] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including computer-executable instructions. When the computer program product is run, the method provided in the above embodiments is executed.

[0339] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the above embodiments.

[0340] The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0341] Based on the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which is used to read a computer program stored in a memory to implement the method provided in the above embodiments.

[0342] Based on the above embodiments, embodiments of the present application provide a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the functions involved in each device in the above embodiments. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing the necessary programs and data for the computer device. The chip system can be composed of a chip or can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0343] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0344] 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.

[0345] 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.

[0346] 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.

[0347] In this application, "at least one" or "at least one item" refers to one or more, and "multiple" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. "A combination of multiple items" can mean performing a logical 'and' operation on multiple items, or performing a logical 'or' operation on multiple items, or performing a combination of a logical 'and' operation and a logical 'or' operation on multiple items (for example, performing a logical 'and' operation on the first part of the multiple items and a logical 'or' operation on the second part of the multiple items). For example, the combination of A, B and C can mean the existence of A, B and C at the same time; it can also mean the existence of A alone, B alone or C alone; it can also mean the existence of A and B at the same time, or the existence of C alone; it can also mean the existence of A and B at the same time, or the existence of A and C at the same time. In the text description of this application, the character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0348] It is understood that the various numbers used in the embodiments of this application are merely for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not necessarily imply a specific order of execution; the order of execution of the processes should be determined by their functions and inherent logic.

[0349] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Comprising: Receiving a configuration message, the configuration message including information on a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) resource, the PDCCH resource including: a Control Resource Set (CORESET), a search space, a listening opportunity, or an alternative PDCCH; Determining whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource according to whether a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource is received.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Determining whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource according to whether a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource is received, including: If a first condition is satisfied, receiving the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the first condition including a combination of one or more of the following: Receiving the first signal; The number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource being less than or equal to the remaining number of blind detections; or The number of non-overlapping Control Channel Elements (CCEs) corresponding to the PDCCH resource being less than or equal to the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, Further comprising: If the first condition is satisfied, subtracting the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the remaining number of blind detections to obtain an updated remaining number of blind detections, and / or subtracting the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource from the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs to obtain an updated remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein Determining whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource according to whether a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource is received, including: If a second condition is satisfied, skipping the reception of the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource, the second condition including a combination of one or more of the following: Not receiving the first signal; Receiving the first signal, the number of blind detections corresponding to the PDCCH resource being greater than the remaining number of blind detections; or Receiving the first signal, the number of non-overlapping CCEs corresponding to the PDCCH resource being greater than the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, If the second condition is satisfied, keeping the remaining number of blind detections unchanged, and / or keeping the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs unchanged.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The configuration information includes information on a plurality of PDCCH resources, the plurality of PDCCH resources including: a plurality of control resource sets, a plurality of search spaces, a plurality of listening opportunities, or a plurality of alternative PDCCHs, and the PDCCH resource is any one of the plurality of PDCCHs; Determining whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource according to whether a first signal associated with the PDCCH resource is received, including: In the order of the plurality of PDCCH resources, determining whether to receive the PDCCH corresponding to each PDCCH resource in the plurality of PDCCH resources according to whether a first signal associated with each PDCCH resource in the plurality of PDCCH resources is received respectively.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein Each PDCCH resource in the plurality of PDCCH resources is respectively associated with a first signal, and the first signal is used to determine whether the PDCCH corresponding to the PDCCH resource associated with the first signal is sent.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that, For the first PDCCH resource among the multiple PDCCH resources, the remaining number of blind detections is the maximum number of blind detections specified by the protocol, and / or the remaining number of non-overlapping CCEs is the maximum number of non-overlapping CCEs specified by the protocol.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that The multiple PDCCH resources are the multiple control resource sets, and the order of the multiple PDCCH resources is the order of the multiple control resource sets. The order of the multiple control resource sets is determined according to at least one of the following: the order of the sizes of the indices of the multiple control resource sets, the chronological order of the reference times of the search spaces corresponding to the multiple control resource sets, the chronological order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple control resource sets, or is preset.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The order of the multiple control resource sets satisfies at least one of the following: The multiple control resource sets are arranged in ascending order of the indices of the control resource sets; The multiple control resource sets are arranged in descending order of the indices of the control resource sets; The multiple control resource sets are arranged in chronological order of the reference times of the search spaces corresponding to the control resource sets from earliest to latest; The multiple control resource sets are arranged in chronological order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the control resource sets from earliest to latest; or The order of M control resource sets among the multiple control resource sets is the most forward, where M is a positive integer, and the M control resource sets are preset.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, In the case where the multiple control resource sets are arranged in chronological order of the reference times of the search spaces corresponding to the control resource sets from earliest to latest, if the reference times of the search spaces corresponding to N control resource sets among the multiple control resource sets are the same, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the N control resource sets are arranged in ascending order of the indices of the control resource sets; or the N control resource sets are arranged in descending order of the indices of the control resource sets; or In the case where the multiple control resource sets are arranged in chronological order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the control resource sets from earliest to latest, if the reference times of the first signals associated with P control resource sets among the multiple control resource sets are the same, where P is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the P control resource sets are arranged in ascending order of the indices of the control resource sets; or the P control resource sets are arranged in descending order of the indices of the control resource sets.

12. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that, The multiple PDCCH resources are the multiple search spaces, and the order of the multiple PDCCH resources is the order of the multiple search spaces. The order of the multiple search spaces is determined according to at least one of the following: the order of the sizes of the indices of the multiple search spaces, the chronological order of the reference times of the multiple search spaces, the chronological order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple search spaces, the order of the sizes of the indices of the control resource sets corresponding to the multiple search spaces, or is preset.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The order of the multiple search spaces satisfies at least one of the following: The multiple search spaces are arranged in ascending order of the indices of the search spaces; The multiple search spaces are arranged in descending order of the index of the search space; The multiple search spaces are arranged in ascending order of the reference time of the search space; The multiple search spaces are arranged in ascending order of the reference time of the first signal associated with the search space; or The order of Q search spaces among the multiple search spaces is the most forward, where Q is a positive integer, and the Q search spaces are preset.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein In the case where the multiple search spaces are arranged in ascending order of the reference time of the search space, if the reference times of R search spaces among the multiple search spaces are the same, where R is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the R search spaces are arranged in ascending order of the index of the search space; or, the R search spaces are arranged in descending order of the index of the search space; or, the R search spaces are arranged in ascending order of the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space; or, the R search spaces are arranged in descending order of the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space; or In the case where the multiple search spaces are arranged in ascending order of the reference time of the first signal associated with the search space, if the reference times of S search spaces among the multiple search spaces associated with the first signal are the same, where S is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the S search spaces are arranged in ascending order of the index of the search space; or, the S search spaces are arranged in descending order of the index of the search space; or, the S search spaces are arranged in ascending order of the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space; or, the S search spaces are arranged in descending order of the index of the control resource set corresponding to the search space.

15. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that The multiple PDCCH resources are the multiple listening opportunities, and the order of the multiple PDCCH resources is the order of the multiple listening opportunities. The order of the multiple listening opportunities is determined according to at least one of the following: the chronological order of the reference times of the multiple listening occasions, the chronological order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple listening occasions, the size order of the indices of the control resource sets corresponding to the multiple listening occasions, the size order of the indices of the search sets corresponding to the multiple listening occasions, or preset.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein The order of the multiple listening opportunities satisfies at least one of the following: The multiple listening occasions are arranged in ascending order of the reference time of the listening occasion; The multiple listening occasions are arranged in ascending order of the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening occasion; The multiple listening occasions are arranged in ascending order of the index of the search space corresponding to the listening occasion; The multiple listening occasions are arranged in descending order of the index of the search space corresponding to the listening occasion; or The order of T listening occasions among the multiple listening occasions is the most forward, where T is a positive integer, and the T listening occasions are preset.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that, When the multiple listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order of the reference time of the listening opportunities from early to late, if the reference times of U listening opportunities among the multiple listening opportunities are the same, where U is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the U listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order of the indexes of the search spaces corresponding to the listening opportunities; or, the U listening opportunities are arranged in descending order of the indexes of the search spaces corresponding to the listening opportunities; or, the U listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the listening opportunities; or, the U listening opportunities are arranged in descending order of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the listening opportunities; or When the multiple listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order of the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunities from early to late, if the reference times of V listening opportunities among the multiple listening opportunities are the same, where V is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the V listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order of the indexes of the search spaces corresponding to the listening opportunities; or, the V listening opportunities are arranged in descending order of the indexes of the search spaces corresponding to the listening opportunities; or, the V listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the listening opportunities; or, the V listening opportunities are arranged in descending order of the indexes of the control resource sets corresponding to the listening opportunities; or When the multiple listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order of the indexes of the search spaces corresponding to the listening opportunities, or when the multiple listening opportunities are arranged in descending order of the indexes of the search spaces corresponding to the listening opportunities, if the search spaces corresponding to W listening opportunities among the multiple listening opportunities are the same, where W is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the W listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order of the reference time of the listening opportunities from early to late; or, the W listening opportunities are arranged in ascending order of the reference time of the first signal associated with the listening opportunities from early to late.

18. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that The multiple PDCCH resources are the multiple candidate PDCCHs, and the order of the multiple PDCCH resources is the order of the multiple candidate PDCCHs. The order of the multiple candidate PDCCHs is determined according to at least one of the following: the order of the listening opportunities corresponding to the multiple candidate PDCCHs, the order of the aggregation levels of the multiple candidate PDCCHs, the order of the reference times of the first signals associated with the multiple candidate PDCCHs, or the order of the indexes of the multiple candidate PDCCHs.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The order of the multiple candidate PDCCHs satisfies at least one of the following: The multiple candidate PDCCHs are arranged in the order from front to back according to the order of the listening opportunities corresponding to the candidate PDCCHs; or The multiple candidate PDCCHs are arranged in ascending order of the reference time of the first signal associated with the candidate PDCCHs from early to late.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein When the multiple alternative PDCCHs are arranged in the order from front to back according to the order of the listening occasions corresponding to the alternative PDCCHs, if the listening occasions corresponding to X alternative PDCCHs among the multiple alternative PDCCHs are the same, where X is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the X alternative PDCCHs are arranged in the order from high to low according to the aggregation level of the alternative PDCCHs; or, the X alternative PDCCHs are arranged in the order from low to high according to the aggregation level of the alternative PDCCHs; Or When the multiple alternative PDCCHs are arranged in the order from early to late according to the reference time of the first signal associated with the alternative PDCCH, if the reference times of the first signals associated with Z alternative PDCCHs among the multiple alternative PDCCHs are the same, where Z is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the Z alternative PDCCHs are arranged in the order from front to back according to the listening occasions corresponding to the alternative PDCCHs.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein If the aggregation levels of Y alternative PDCCHs among the X alternative PDCCHs are the same, where Y is an integer greater than or equal to 2, then the Y alternative PDCCHs are arranged in the order from small to large according to the index of the alternative PDCCHs; or the Y alternative PDCCHs are arranged in the order from large to small according to the index of the alternative PDCCHs.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising units for performing the method according to any one of claims 1-21.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, Comprising a processor, the processor being configured to execute a computer program or instructions such that the device performs the method according to any one of claims 1-21.

24. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program or instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program or instructions are executed, the method according to any one of claims 1-21 is implemented.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product comprises: computer program code, and when the computer program code is run, the method according to any one of claims 1-21 is implemented.

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